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In this episode of The Reformed Standard, we delve into Question 7 of the Westminster Shorter Catechism: “What are the decrees of God?” Building on previous discussions about God’s nature and attributes, we now turn to what God does. The episode examines the profound theological concept of God’s eternal decrees—His authoritative, sovereign plan that encompasses all of creation and history. This doctrine, often considered central to Reformed theology, raises challenging questions about divine sovereignty, human responsibility, and the problem of evil. The episode invites listeners to wrestle with the tension between God’s comprehensive control and our genuine moral agency, ultimately presenting a view of reality as a purposeful narrative authored by a wise and good God rather than a chaotic, meaningless sequence of events.
Key Takeaways
- God’s decrees flow logically from His nature—because God is infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, His plan must share those same qualities.
- A decree is not a suggestion or wish, but a formal, authoritative order that determines what shall be.
- Scripture teaches that God’s plan is comprehensive, encompassing “all things” (Ephesians 1), even events we might consider random (Proverbs 16).
- The doctrine of God’s decrees creates tension between divine sovereignty and human responsibility, particularly regarding sin and suffering.
- Scripture affirms both God’s absolute sovereignty and human genuine responsibility, often in the same contexts.
- This doctrine presents two contrasting views of reality: either a purposeful narrative authored by God or a chaotic, meaningless sequence of events.
- Understanding God’s decrees shapes everything we believe about history, providence, salvation, and the meaning of our lives.
Key Concepts
The Comprehensive Nature of God’s Plan
God’s decree encompasses absolutely everything that comes to pass in His creation. This comprehensive nature is expressed in Scripture through passages like Ephesians 1, where Paul writes that God “works all things according to the counsel of his will.” The scope is truly universal—from the grandest cosmic events to the minutest details of daily life, even including what we might consider random chance (Proverbs 16:33). This teaching stands in stark contrast to views that limit God’s sovereignty or suggest that certain aspects of creation operate independently of His control. The comprehensive nature of God’s decree means that nothing happens by accident or outside His purpose. Every event, circumstance, and action—whether good or evil—occurs within the boundaries of His sovereign plan, though God relates to good and evil in fundamentally different ways.
The Tension Between Sovereignty and Responsibility
One of the most challenging aspects of this doctrine is maintaining both God’s absolute sovereignty and genuine human responsibility. If God has decreed all things from eternity, how can humans be truly responsible for their actions, particularly sinful ones? Scripture does not resolve this tension with neat philosophical explanations but consistently affirms both truths. God sovereignly ordains events involving human choices (Acts 2:23; 4:27-28), yet holds people accountable for those very choices. Rather than presenting humans as mere puppets, the Bible portrays them as acting according to their own desires and nature, even while fulfilling God’s decree. This mystery calls us not to create artificial resolutions that diminish either divine sovereignty or human responsibility, but to humbly accept both truths as revealed by God, recognizing that our finite minds cannot fully comprehend how they cohere in God’s infinite wisdom.
Memorable Quotes
“Having established the character of the artist, we now turn to consider His work. Having learned who God is, we must now ask, what does God do? How does a being who is all-wise, all-powerful, and absolutely sovereign actually relate to the world He has made?”
“Is your life, with its triumphs and tragedies, ultimately a part of a grand, purposeful narrative, or is it, in the end, a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing?”
“Scripture does not shy away from this tension. It affirms both God’s absolute sovereignty and man’s genuine responsibility, often in the very same breath. The question for us, as we stand before the mystery, is whether we will trust the God who has revealed these truths, even when we cannot fully resolve them with our finite minds.”
Transcript
[00:00:19] Exploring the Nature and Being of God
For the past several weeks, we have been occupied with the most glorious of all subjects: the nature and being of God Himself. We have stood in awe before a God who is one in substance, but three in person. We have considered His attributes—that He is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in all of His perfections. We have, in a sense, been looking at a portrait of the divine nature, contemplating who God is.
And now, the catechism makes another logical and necessary pivot. Having established the character of the artist, we now turn to consider His work. Having learned who God is, we must now ask, what does God do? How does a being who is all-wise, all-powerful, and absolutely sovereign actually relate to the world He has made?
For many people, both inside and outside the church, the topic of God’s sovereign control over all things is what they believe to be the very heart of Reformed theology. They see it as our central, defining doctrine. But as we’ve seen in our journey through the catechism so far, this question about what God does is not our starting point. It is the necessary and logical consequence of everything we have already affirmed about who God is. Because God is infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, His plan must therefore share those same qualities.
[00:01:40] Understanding God’s Decrees
The catechism frames this question with a specific and weighty theological term. It does not ask “what is God’s plan?” or “what are God’s actions?” Instead, it poses the question in this way: What are the decrees of God?
We must let the weight of that word, “decrees,” settle on us. A decree is not a suggestion. It is not a wish. A decree is a formal, authoritative order from a king that determines what shall be. To ask about the decrees of God is to ask about the eternal, unchangeable, and sovereign plan that God has ordained from before the foundation of the world. This is not a concept we have invented; it is how God Himself speaks of His work. Through the prophet Isaiah, God declares, “I am God, and there is no other… declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.’” Notice the language: God declares the end from the beginning. His plan isn’t a reaction; it’s a declaration.
This question immediately forces us to confront the comprehensive nature of God’s plan. If God is who we have said He is, then His plan must encompass everything. The Apostle Paul brings this cosmic reality down to the most personal level. He writes in Ephesians 1 that believers are “predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will.” All things. Not some things. This is so comprehensive that Scripture even attributes the most seemingly random events to God’s sovereign hand. Proverbs 16 says, “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.” The roll of the dice—what we call chance is, for the Bible, simply an instrument in the hands of a purposeful God.
[00:03:29] The Tension Between Sovereignty and Responsibility
And let’s be honest, this is where the doctrine becomes unsettling for many. It raises the most difficult questions that have been debated for centuries. If God has decreed all things, what does that mean for our human responsibility, particularly for our sin? Are we simply puppets on a string? How can God ordain all things, and yet we be held truly culpable for our wicked actions? How can a good and holy God decree a world in which there is so much profound evil and suffering?
These questions are not abstract. They are the very substance of our lived experience. They are the cry of the heart in the face of tragedy and the protest of the mind in the face of injustice. This doctrine challenges our modern sensibilities, our deep-seated desire for autonomy, and our neat, clean categories of cause and effect. Scripture does not shy away from this tension. It affirms both God’s absolute sovereignty and man’s genuine responsibility, often in the very same breath. The question for us, as we stand before the mystery, is whether we will trust the God who has revealed these truths, even when we cannot fully resolve them with our finite minds.
[00:04:41] The Choice Before Us
This question, “What are the decrees of God?”, forces a choice upon us. It presents two fundamentally different ways of viewing reality. On the one hand, is the universe a story written by a wise and good author, even if the plot contains chapters of deep sorrow and mystery that we cannot yet understand? Or, on the other hand, is it all just a chaotic, meaningless sequence of events? Is your life, with its triumphs and tragedies, ultimately a part of a grand, purposeful narrative, or is it, in the end, a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing?
That is the choice this question places before us. It is not a comfortable question. It demands that we wrestle, that we trust, and that we bow before a God whose ways are higher than our ways, and whose thoughts are higher than our thoughts.
So for this week, let us meditate on the sheer scope of this question. It challenges our desire for autonomy and confronts our fear of the unknown. It is a question that shapes everything we believe about history, providence, salvation, and the meaning of our own lives. What are the decrees of God?