TheosGuy

There is a certain view in theology that believes God decrees every event that has or will occur. This view is taken from verses such as the following:

(Eph 1:11 ESV) In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,

Granted that Ephesians 1:11 does indicate that God works all things to His purpose and according to the counsel of His will.  But, is it the same to say “that God works all things” and ” that God decrees all things.”  I have to say quite unequivocally “NO!”  The reason is nothing less than the Word of God.  Let’s take a look at these verses.

(Jer 19:3-6 ESV) ³You shall say, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, O kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing such disaster upon this place that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle. ⁴Because the people have forsaken me and have profaned this place by making offerings in it to other gods whom neither they nor their fathers nor the kings of Judah have known; and because they have filled this place with the blood of innocents, ⁵and have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, which I did not command or decree, nor did it come into my mind– ⁶therefore, behold, days are coming, declares the LORD, when this place shall no more be called Topheth, or the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter.

(Jer 7:30-31 ESV) ³⁰“For the sons of Judah have done evil in my sight, declares the LORD. They have set their detestable things in the house that is called by my name, to defile it. ³¹And they have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I did not command, nor did it come into my mind.

(Jer 32:35 ESV) They built the high places of Baal in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to offer up their sons and daughters to Molech, though I did not command them, nor did it enter into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.

How do we explain these apparent differences?  Well, I can only surmise that when the word tells us “God ordains something,” there is a difference than to say “God decrees something.”  The explanation might be in our concept of what God’s sovereignty means.  Theology recognizes a “meticulous sovereignty” versus a more “general sovereignty.”   C. Michael Patton has provided a detailed analysis of at least four views of the sovereignty of God, at his Parchment and Pen blog.  Maybe our difference is properly explained in the differentiations noted therein.

1. Meticulous sovereignty: God is the instrumental cause behind every action and reaction there has ever been. For this view, in order for God to be truly sovereign, he must be the ultimate and instrumental cause for everything, including sin.
2. Providential sovereignty: God is bringing about his will in everything (Eph 1:11). However,  his will is not the instrumental cause of all that happens. God’s will plays a providential role in “causing” all things, using secondary causes as instruments. What God wills is not always what he would want in a perfect world, but all he has is sin to work with. Therefore, in this sense, even evil is the will of God.
3. Providential oversight: Here God’s sovereignty is expressed in active oversight. He has a general plan, but is not married to the details. God can and often does intervene in the affairs of humanity to bring about his purpose. In this case he never “wills” evil; he only uses it.
4. Influential oversight: Here God limits his own sovereignty. God could control things, but to preserve human freedom, he will not intervene in the affairs of men to the degree that human freedom is effected. He is hopeful that his influence will be persuasive to change a person’s heart or to guide them to his will. Here God never wills evil, but only allows it.

Tags: Decree, Sovereignty