God Decreed It to Happen! Pt1

God Decreed It to Happen!

Part 1

In the Christian way of life, believers can be motivated (prompted or moved) by Bible doctrine in their souls and the filling of the Holy Spirit. This produces personal love for God. Or, they can be motivated by the lust patterns of their old sin natures and Satan’s cosmic system. This produces good and evil, all from man’s works, not God’s works. Our attitude toward doctrine and spiritual growth will tell us if we have the right motivation. At the judgment seat of Christ, our lives will be evaluated by our motivation, or what made us live the way we lived. What moves you?

1 Corinthians 4:5 Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time,[but wait] until the Lord comes Who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of [men’s] hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to him from God.

The decree of God: His eternal (always existed), holy (perfect integrity), wise (the application of omniscience to creation), and sovereign purpose, comprehending simultaneously (knowing at the same time) all things that ever were or will be in their causes, conditions (status), successions (interaction with others that leads to certain decisions), relations, and determining the certainty of their future.

We have such an awesome God! He wanted to give us complete security, so he decreed in eternity past what would happen! Decreed here means that God our King ordered what would happen. God is omniscient. This means that He knows everything. He knew all at the same time, everything that would take place in human history; He knew every good and bad thought, action, and decision of every person! He also knew how all of these thoughts, actions, and decisions would work together! That is difficult to imagine and makes our minds swirl, but with God it was no problem! He knew what would happen and said that it would happen! He decreed it to be! God had an eternal purpose! By coming to understand the divine decrees, we can see that God has a perfect plan for our lives. In the decree of God, God shows us His grace, mercy, forgiveness, and love. What great motivation we have to continue in His plan. We can rest in the security of God!

Ephesians 3:11 This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord

Again, the decree of God happened billions of years ago in the blink of an eye. Even though it was one decree, we refer to all that is in it as the decrees. The decrees of God are His eternal and unchangeable will concerning the future existence of all events which will happen in time. They also tell the exact way and order that these events will happen. God has said that these events of the universe (angelic and human history), whether past, present, or future, are for certain! For His own glory, God has said in eternity past what would happen. And He didn’t need anyone’s advice! The decrees are the will and purpose of God concerning all that ever was or ever will be. God has a lot going on in His mind! However, remember that He is omniscient, and He can handle it!

2 Timothy 1:8-9 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, or of me His prisoner; but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God, Who has saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity,

Everything in the divine decrees will ultimately bring glory to God because of His magnificent nature! It doesn’t matter if the events involve elect angels or fallen angels, believers or unbelievers, loser believers or winner believers. All of the decrees are either the directive will of God or the permissive will of God. The word “efficacious” is used in referring to God’s directive will or His efficacious will. It means that which is directly made or fashioned by God from His sovereignty. He is the cause. He directly wills and decreed that all believers will go to heaven. God’s permissive will refers to that which is set by God to be done by the free will and action of man. God permits unbelief, but He doesn’t want it. The sovereign, directive will of God and the free will of man co-exist in human history by divine decree. This brings glory to God because of who He is and what He does! This means that God will be glorified with or without us, whether we have positive or negative volition. However, let’s be counted as positive believers in the plan of God!

Numbers 14:21 But indeed, as I live, all the earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord.

There are five characteristics of the divine decrees. The first one is that the decrees are all-comprehensive. This means that God took everything into consideration and He didn’t leave anything out! There is not the slightest uncertainty of the smallest or most insignificant event! All the events in the life of every person are interwoven and interdependent (the events depend on each other). Everything you think, why you think it, and where you think it was all known to God in eternity past. Although it may not seem to some of you that your life has been blended perfectly together by God, in heaven you will understand that it was! God is not the author of confusion. God is perfect and you were born in the best time and environment for you! God is the best Planner and Organizer!

Luke 12:6-7 Are not five sparrows sold for two cents? And [yet] not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are of more value than many sparrows.

The divine decrees are eternal. What God knows He has always known! In His omniscience, He has always known everything that would happen. However, because of the way our minds work, we have to learn things according to their different stages or times. So that we can understand the thinking of God, He puts Bible doctrine in a time frame for us. However, the divine decrees have always existed in the mind of God! That blows my mind!

Psalm 119:89 Your word, O Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens.
(NIV translation)

The divine decrees are perfect in the end result. Everything in the decrees isn’t perfect, because they do include evil, sin, and failure. However, God knows how to work everything together for His glory, even the smallest details! God perfectly understands all that has happened, is happening, and will happen. God sees the beginning from the end. He makes the end perfect!
Deuteronomy 32:4 The Rock! His work is perfect, for all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness and without injustice, righteous and upright is He.

The divine decrees are unchangeable and certain. Nothing can happen to make a change necessary. God is never caught not knowing something. Everything that He has decreed has definitely happened, is definitely happening, or will definitely happen.

Isaiah 14:24 The Lord of hosts has sworn saying, Surely, just as I have intended so it has happened, and just as I have planned so it will stand.

The divine decrees are the free choice of God in eternity past. Every part of them was decreed by His free will. The free choice of God, from His own sovereign volition, invented free will for angels and mankind. This was so that both angels and mankind could choose for or against God. Both angels and mankind were created for God’s glory. It is because of the will of God that we were created, that we exist, and that we possess a free will! Having decreed, however, He is bound by His infinite faithfulness and truth to complete what He has begun. This includes completing the work He has begun in us. Thanks be to God!

Revelation 4:11 Worthy art Thou, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for Thou didst create all things, and because of Thy will they existed, and were created.

The divine decrees are all-comprehensive, eternal, perfect, unchangeable, and the free choice of God in eternity past. What God has decreed to happen will happen. God has worked out every detail for our benefit. We can’t lose except by our own bad choices. And even then, God has worked out everything to bring Him glory! Glory be to God!