God Decrees: (Updated) 2012
   
   

Defining the terms:
        With the assumption that most who have interest in this biblical doctrine will know the terms supralapsarian and infralapsarian, and so I will move on.  The lack of this distinction of purpose and historical has caused more than a small amount of confusion.  Let us remedy this.  In fact, the argument of supra. vs. infra. is more about incompleteness than out right error.

        When God’s decrees are laid out from Top to bottom or that is, when they are laid out from the perspective of what God chose as His goals first, then we call this the, “Purpose perspective.”  This is what some know as supralapsarian.
       When God’s decrees are laid out from the Bottom up or that is, when they are penned down from the perspective of executing His goals we call this, “historical perspective.”   This is what some know as infralapsarian.  Although, in the truest since this is not a description of decrees; rather, it is the execution of the decrees: that is, it is the historical execution of God's intended goals.

        Regarding the purpose or goal perspective what God chose as His first goal is last in execution, and what God purposed last in his goals comes first in execution or history.  I will explain this more.

        Take for example a kid after thinking about life decides he wants to be a great baseball player.  This is his first "purpose," or goal that is.  His second choice to support the first is that he needs to be an All Star baseball player, so that he can be a great player.   Thus, his third choice in purpose is to get great averages in hitting (etc.) so that he gets chosen to be an All Star.  His next is purpose is to be drafted to play in the Major League.  His next purpose is to start playing baseball at his local high school.  See, what he first intended was accomplished last in order, while that which was purposed last was accomplished first in history or in execution.  Ecclesiastes 7:8, "The end of a thing is better than its beginning," because the end was the original goal.

      This analogy with the baseball player is in the perspective of "purpose." Understand?

      Jonathan Edwards saw the scriptures speaking of God's "purpose perspective" more in broad decrees (basic clay vessel of mercy or destruction), whereas when these were mirrored in the historical perspective they got "specific," because it was not until after the fall that man sinned, and so such "specific" decrees of judgment or wrath, or mercy could not be done to any one person until this point.   

      For the sake of argument, whether this is true is not the crucial issue; rather, it is important for both to be taught from scripture and that the "purpose" be ordered Top to Bottom and the "historical" be ordered from Bottom to Top. The purpose order needs to be shown as the natural meaning of God Decreeing and the historical order as the effect of this being executed.  The lists need to make sense when read in either direction, whether from the perspective of purpose, or from the perspective of execution. Furthermore, the decrees encompass all things, so it is impossible for a simple list to include everything.  Depending on what topic or doctrine I was teaching on I could focus or bring to light these in the decrees: both in the purpose or historical.  What needs to happen is someone puts emphasis on God's election in a historical perspective and then they emphasize God's election in the purpose perspective in another sermon or book, then the ordering needs to agree with each other.

      Below is a simple list of decrees.  The first section is from God's Purpose perspective (top to bottom) and the second is the Historical perspective (bottom up.)   You will see how the second list mirrors the first so that what is decreed first in Purpose is executed last in order Execution.

TOP DOWN, ORDER of PURPOSE

1.)  Glory.  God decrees out of delight in His own Divine Nature, to create the full displaying of His Glory in a public creation. And God decrees to do this in particularly by making His Son to be the only living fountain, the Head, the first born, central axis, the Preeminence in all things in His created universe; that is, the invisible God glorifies Himself by making His Son the Public showcase.  

2.) Jesus Christ. Therefore God then decrees to elect His Son to be the savior of many people to whom He will create, and likewise to be a rock for which many will be crushed upon. God decrees that Christ becomes the Central public-Person, that is, He becomes the preeminence before a public audience.  His mercy given to a great many will lead them to be in the perfect place to see their joyful dependence for His love, and the damnation for others will also showcase this glory and many others.  Thus, Christ is glorified as the central dividing line for all public minds, both human and spiritual.  

3.) Election. God then Decrees to unconditionally elect and give infinite happiness to a great number of persons by unconditionally electing them into His Son for salvation, and thus communicating to these the greatest possible good and love from Himself.  Furthermore, God unconditionally elects others who He will not show His love to; rather, He decrees to glorify His wrath and justice through hating them. (Before the twins were born or had done good or bad choices it is written: Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.)  Both will be, for there is no other power in the metaphysical.

4.) The Fall. To imprison the whole human race to the slavery of sin and disobedience-so that the pervious decree of unconditional elect practically works out, so that the previous decree of Jesus' public Saving and judging comes into fruition.

5. Creation. God decrees to bring into being a grand universe suitable for the grand exhibition of God's glory through Christ.  

BOTTOM UP, ORDER of HISTORICAL EXECUTION

6.)  Creation.  God decrees to bring into being a grand universe suitable for the grand displaying of His glory

7.)  The Fall. God decrees to imprison the whole human race to the slavery of sin and disobedience.
8.)  Election.  I say election, but at this point, because we are in history it would be more apt to call it summing or calling.  God now elects or summons for mercy from the disobedient human race the particular people, whom He decreed originally to crown with His infinite love.  Furthermore, to fulfill His election of the reprobate, God now chooses the level of wickedness that each vessel of wrath will fall while on earth. 

9.)  Jesus Christ.  In order to accomplish this election God to call His Son, Jesus Christ, to come into the world and provide perfect righteousness, complete forgiveness, and the purchasing of the Holy Spirit for many persons to be to the praise of His Son, and likewise to be a rock for which many will be crushed upon for the praise of His Son.  The result is that Christ becomes the historical, and future center point of the universe before a public audience.

10.)  Glory.  The sending of His Son a second time for the final and compete separation of the people of wrath and children of His love, so that Jesus will have all evil closed off from His presence and the final intimate gathering of His chosen people (and all elect creatures) to Himself-to the Father.  In this Jesus truly becomes the Public Supremacy before all public eyes, and in becoming so He (the image of the Father) causes His invisible Father to be glorified as the Supremacy.   

      The result is that God brings all the human children of His love (now of His electing mercy) with all the elect angels of His grace and heavenly creatures of His goodness, IN CHRIST, whom Christ is in the Father, in order that the most indescribable and brilliant display of the Glory of His Supremacy is accomplished for all to marvel and enjoy.  This is why Ephesians talks about the "Glory of His Grace," because the displaying of grace is the height of God's wisdom for the reinforcing and magnification of His Supremacy.  All goodness in life is from free grace, therefore, the source of where this grace flows from has the "Preeminence."  All who receive this grace must boast in that source.  The result is that all of their life, strength, and hope came not from themselves but from the source of free grace.

          The creating love of God magnifies His Supremacy, as this is the spring from where all good things flow out, but the free mercy of God, even more, magnifies the Glory of God's absolute Supremacy!  God's mercy does this because it exposes, in a tangible way, our absolute dependence, while, on the other hand, exposing tangibly the sheer beauty of God's absolute Supremacy.
         

Scripture:

Ephesians 1:9, "having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth-in Him." 

Colossians 1:18, "And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence (Supremacy)." 

1 John 4:9, "In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him." 

Romans 5:8, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." 

Proverbs 16:4, "The LORD has made all for Himself, Yes, even the wicked for the day of doom." 

Romans 9:21, "Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor? 22 What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23 (namely) that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory." 

Romans 11:27, "For this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins." Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election, they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. For as you were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their disobedience, even so these also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy shown you they also may obtain mercy. For God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all. Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!  "For who has known the mind of the LORD? Or who has become His counselor?" "Or who has first given to Him and it shall be repaid to him?" "For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen."

      In this Romans 11 passage we read, "For God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all, [that is, "take away their sins"]."
          The phrase "that He might have mercy" is a referring to the purpose perspective.  The "so that" is speaking of a prior decree.  In particular it is speaking of the prior decree of unconditional election or mercy for many.  If it helps recall the analogy I wrote earlier:  Take for example a kid after thinking about life decides he wants to be a great baseball player.  This is his first "purpose," or intention, or goal that is.  His second choice to support the first is that he needs to be an All Star baseball player, so that he can be a great player.   Thus, his third choice in purpose is to get great averages in hitting (etc.) so that he gets chosen to be an All Star.

        Not all "so thats" in the bible are about the order of God's decree from the perspective of purpose, but it can be if the context is regarding that subject as this passage is.  What we see is that God electing some to mercy is before the decree of the fall from the purpose perspective ordering.  Understand?  I use this as an example to show the Bible does speaks on these issues.   In fact Eph. 1:9-10 gives us the first and second decree of purpose.  Herein the second decree of Christ being the central Supremacy with a public audience is spoken of, and we know it is second because it reads "all things in Christ - in Him."  The, "in Him," is referring to the first or the prior decree of the Father wanting His glory to go public.  

        Furthermore, another example may be found in Romans 8:29, when it says, "For whom He foreknew(i.e. fore-loved), He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren."  Here, as in the previous scripture the "that" is indeed indicating a previous decree, for this is the context of the passage.  The model of the decrees I have in this essay showed Christ's public supremacy before a public audience was decreed before election. God decreed the creating of loved vessels and electing into His Son for the very reason of fulfilling the previous decree of Christ's public supremacy by being the first born. This verse clearly shows that order.  (Decree 3) God for-loved and predestined many to be conformed to His Son's image, (decree 2) so that He might full His previous choice to give His Son public preeminence, so that (decree 1) God fulfill His previous choice that He might fully glorify Himself through His Son.  Moreover, in the next verse the "predestination" still refers to the "purpose order," but starting with "being called" to the end of the verse the order is in historical, which can been seen in the order I have in this essay.