What are the decrees of God?

Posted on October 28, 2016 Written by Mark McIntyre Leave a Comment

Question 7 of the Westminster Shorter Catechism asks, “What are the decrees of God?”

The answer given is, “The decrees of God are his eternal plan, based on the purpose of His will, by which, for His own glory, He has foreordained everything that happens.”

Four things jump out at me when I read this question and answer.

First, there is nothing that happens in the world that takes God by surprise. When our first parents rebelled against God by eating the fruit, God had a plan already in place to send Jesus to fix the resulting mess.

Fast forward to 2016. We are nearing a presidential election in the United States. God knows who will win the election and how he will use the resulting government to build the church. I find that I can so easily lose sight of this truth and get caught up in the hysteria surrounding the political climate. Good theology reminds us that God remains in control.

Secondly, knowledge that God is totally in control should not resign us to a passive fatalism. A search using my Bible software counts 563 imperatives in the New Testament epistles. We are called to live in a certain way and our wills are to be engaged in living out those commands. We are not pre-programmed automatons.

Thirdly, what God decrees is for his own glory. From Question 1 of this catechism, we learn that man’s purpose is to glorify God. So when we are participating in the fulfillment of our purpose, we are also fulfilling the purpose of God.

Fourthly, I am encouraged that I cannot mess up God’s plan through weakness or rebellion. I take great comfort in that fact. Because if the plan of God was up to me, it would certainly result in a train wreck. In Matthew 16:18, Jesus said to Peter, “I will build my church.” Jesus is the builder, I am merely a laborer.

How many persons are in the one God?

Posted on October 27, 2016 Written by Mark McIntyre Leave a Comment

Question 6 of the Westminster Shorter Catechism asks, “How many persons are in the one God?”

The answer given is, “Three persons are in the one God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three are one God, the same in substance and equal in power and glory.”

Let me start by admitting that one God in three persons is one of the more difficult things to begin to understand. J. I. Packer says this:

“The historic formulation of the Trinity (derived from the Latin word trinitas, meaning ‘threeness’) seeks to circumscribe and safeguard this mystery (not explain it; that is beyond us), and it confronts us with perhaps the most difficult thought that the human mind has ever been asked to handle. It is not easy, but it is true.”

We see a trinitarian formula in the Great Commission as given by Jesus in Matthew 28:19-20;

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (NASB)

As Packer said above, “it is not easy, but it is true.”

The importance of a proper understanding of the trinity is highlighted when we think of love as a characteristic of God. Love implies an other to love. God did not create humanity because without us, he would not have been able to demonstrate love. Love existed from eternity between the persons of the Godhead. In other words, God is not dependent upon us as his only object of love. We are not necessary for God to love.

Somehow, I find some measure of peace in this understanding. There is comfort in knowing that perfect love is found in God. I feel better knowing that my failures do not diminish God’s love.

Also, as Jesus prayed in John 17, the love and unity which is experienced among the members of the trinity can be experienced by us in some measure. Jesus prayed,

“Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are.” (John 17:11b, NASB)

Is there more than one God?

Posted on October 26, 2016 Written by Mark McIntyre Leave a Comment

Question 5 of the Westminster Shorter Catechism asks, “Is there more than one God?”

The answer provided is, “There is only one, the living and true God.”

At their core, all belief systems are exclusive. Even those who pride themselves on inclusivity are exclusive of those who believe that truth is exclusive. In other words, those who preach tolerance are often intolerant of those who believe in objective truth.

Christianity believes (because the Bible declares) that there is only one God. And as we learned yesterday in Question 4, there are specific things to be believed about that one God as revealed in the Bible.

He is the living and true God, despite those who have proclaimed his death. As Ravi Zacharias has pointed out, God always seems to outlive his pall bearers.

Not only is he living, he is true.

In the Old Testament, the test for one who claimed to speak for God was whether the proclamation came true. Any prophet who prophesied an event that did not happen was to be cut off from the nation of Israel. Because God is true, he takes truth very seriously.

But when we look at the number of fulfilled prophecies contained in Scripture we see that God has a track record for truth. He, and he alone is the true God.

What is God?

Posted on October 25, 2016 Written by Mark McIntyre 1 Comment

Question 4 of the Westminster Shorter Catechism asks, “What is God?”

The answer given is, “God is a spirit, Whose being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth are infinite, eternal, and unchangeable.”

The first thing that jumps out at me in this answer is that God is a spirit who is infinite, eternal and unchangeable. These are what is called incommunicable attributes of God; they are attributes that cannot be shared with humanity. These are also attributes that cannot be fully understood by us.

God is infinite – without boundaries. God is eternal – he exists outside of time. God is unchangeable – he does not grow or diminish or change over time. We can only nibble at the edges of these concepts and cannot fully understand them.

The answer to Question 4 also lists some communicable attribute of God. These are aspects of God’s being that can be shared with his creatures. Because these are communicable, we are right to pursue wisdom, power (under the direction of the other attributes), holiness, justice, goodness and truth.

As we learned yesterday in Question 3 of the Catechism, our contemplation of this question must be informed by Scripture, which is the means of God revealing himself to us. Therefore, when we think of the communicable attributes that we should pursue, we need to consult the Bible to define those attributes and allow it to define how we should go about pursuing them.

For example, men have at various times defined holiness in various ways. Often, it is thought to result from strict adherence to a set of principles or rules of behavior. Any reading of the Gospels would provide ample evidence that the Bible does not define holiness this way.

The Pharisees were very good at creating and following rules. They held the Bible in high esteem and formulated many rules to guide themselves and others about how to avoid violating any of the commands of Scripture. They thought themselves holy as a result of their rule keeping and encouraged the people around them to think so also.

But Jesus, on many occasions, showed them that they missed the point. Holiness is not attained through rule keeping. Holiness is more about heart and attitude than about external action. Rule keeping cannot change my heart. Legalism always results in failure. That is the bad news.

The good news is that Jesus came to give us a new heart and a new motivation. Jesus paid the penalty for our failure so that we can experience true holiness.

“He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21, NASB)

How cool is it that God allows us, and empowers us, to take on some of his characteristics!

What are the decrees of God?

How many persons are in the one God?

Is there more than one God?

What is God?

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