The Plan of God

Millard Erickson defines God’s plan as “his eternal decision rendering certain all things that will come to pass.”[1] The Westminster Shorter Catechism adds an important dimension to this definition. According to the catechism, God’s plan consists of “his eternal purpose, according to the counsel of his will, whereby, for his own glory, he hath foreordained whatsoever comes to pass.”[2]

Millard Erickson defines God’s plan as “his eternal decision rendering certain all things that will come to pass.”[1] The Westminster Shorter Catechism adds an important dimension to this definition. According to the catechism, God’s plan consists of “his eternal purpose, according to the counsel of his will, whereby, for his own glory, he hath foreordained whatsoever comes to pass.”[2]

Millard Erickson defines God’s plan as “his eternal decision rendering certain all things that will come to pass.”[1] The Westminster Shorter Catechism adds an important dimension to this definition. According to the catechism, God’s plan consists of “his eternal purpose, according to the counsel of his will, whereby, for his own glory, he hath foreordained whatsoever comes to pass.”[2]

Biblical Teaching

Old Testament. (1) God’s plan includes every day and the intricacies of every individual. The psalmist writes, “Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them” (). (2) Events as significant as Assyria destroying Israel were part of God’s plan. God informs Israel that their destruction had been determined long ago. “I planned from days of old what now I bring to pass, that you should make fortified cities crash into heaps of ruins” (). (3) Events as insignificant as a reservoir being built were as well part of God’s divine plan (). (4) The wicked were part of God’s divine plan. The author of informs the reader that the “Lord has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble” (). (5) Not even the rain merely falls without his divine enactment. “For the Hebrews, rain did not simply happen; God sent the rain.”[3] “The LORD by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens; by his knowledge the deeps broke open, and the clouds drop down the dew” ().

He will accomplish his plan. Not only does God plan everything, but he accomplishes his plan. In Isaiah, the Lord says, “As I have planned, so shall it be, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand . . . For the LORD of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back” (). And again, Job acknowledges the he knows God can do all things and “that no purpose of yours can be thwarted” ().

New Testament passages. Similarly, the New Testament authors considered God’s plan to be exhaustive. Jesus entire life, through to his death, including the redemptive plan, unfold as God designed. His birth occurred at a divinely appointed time. Paul writes in Galatians, “when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law” (). During his sermon at Pentecost, Peter acknowledges that Jesus was “delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God” (). Judas’ betrayal and the disciples following faithfulness are both considered to be part of God’s plan (; ; ; , ).

Even evil. Even evil somehow fit into the plan of God. When Peter and John stand before the council, they proclaim that Herod and Pilate, along with all Gentiles and people of Israel, persecuted and killed Jesus in the way that God’s “hand and plan had predestined to take place” (). (4) Similarly, the destruction of Jerusalem () and following wars and unrest and earthquakes and famines, all occur according to God’s plan; and will last until the gospel is “proclaimed to all nations” ().

Organization of the body of Christ. Additionally, and more positively, God’s plan includes the arrangement of believers into the body of Christ as well as those believers roles and giftings. “God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose” ().

He will accomplish his plan. But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— ().

The Nature of the Divine Plan

From eternity. “Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them” (). “even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him” ().

Entirely based on His will. According to Paul, God works out his plan “for his good pleasure” (). Both Isaiah and Paul point out the fact that no one can add to the wisdom of God. His plans and wisdom are beyond anyone’s comprehension. “Who has measured the Spirit of the LORD, or what man shows him his counsel? Whom did he consult, and who made him understand” (). “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God . . . For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?”().

For His glory. Paul declares that our predestination to adoption of sons is “according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace” (). God declares, through the prophet Isaiah, “for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another” (). “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” ().

Secondary motivations. This does not mean that there are not secondary motivations in God’s plan, such as the salvation of mankind. Due to His love for His creation, He chose to save some. While this is a motivation, it is secondary to the primary goal of Him being glorified.

Includes every area of life. While we can have the tendency to make distinctions between that which is sacred and secular, and in so doing, at times, conclude God is not concerned with those things that are secular. In contrast, God makes no such distinctions. All things are ordained, organized or allowed by God. In Ephesians, Paul writes that God “works all things according to the counsel of his will” (). As well, the psalmists acknowledges that “by your appointment they stand this day, for all things are your servants” ().

Will be accomplished. “The LORD of hosts has sworn: “As I have planned, so shall it be, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand . . . This is the purpose that is purposed concerning the whole earth, and this is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations. For the LORD of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back?” ().

Involves human behavior. His plan does involve human actions. Consider how the following verses indicate how individuals’ responses were a result of God’s decision.

Good Actions. “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out” (). “since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. (). “And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed” ().

Bad Actions. “For the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!” (). “this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men” (). “for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place” ().

God’s Plan and Our Decisions

What is the primary catalyst in God’s plan – our decision or His? Do we make decisions because God decided before the creation of the world what we would do, or was His plan based on what He “foreknew” we would choose to do? There are two primary systems of thought in respect to this question.

Calvinism. A Calvinist believes that God’s decision was logically prior to man’s decisions. Man’s decision was the consequence of God’s plan. God, in His plan, chose those who would believe and come to eternal life. He foreknows their decisions because He determined what those decisions would be. God’s plan is not based on what man will do.

Arminianism. This system of thought emphasizes the free will of man. God desired for men to freely choose. The Arminian reasons that an invitation to salvation would be insincere if it were not truly possible for all men to come. The passages that include “whosoever” and “all” signify that all have the ability. Therefore, God’s plan is based on all those He foreknew would come to Him.

The Arminian would use a verse such as (“those whom He foreknew He also predestined”) to show how God’s choice was a result of His foreknowledge. God decided to save those who He foreknew would accept.

Conclusion. The foreknowledge of God is much more than simply advanced knowledge. While the Arminian perspective on foreknowledge may be sound reasonable, it simply has no basis in Scripture or in the Biblical understanding of the word “foreknowledge.” God did not simply have a previous knowledge of Israel or those who would believe. He intimately knew them. He had already established an intimate relationship with them.

In fact, considering Israel, God’s election of them was not based on His foreknowledge of them accepting Him. They didn’t accept Him. His foreknowledge was His prior decision to have an intimate relationship with them.

The choice of God in reference to Jacob and Esau had nothing to do with their decisions or their actions, but His choice. “though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls” ().

Therefore, God’s plan begins with His decision. Our actions are a result of that decision and plan.

Then what about “Free will”? If God has planned all that has and will come to pass, how can one deduce that anyone has a free will. We must begin to answer that question by making a distinction between rendering something certain and rendering something necessary. In the first case, God has decided that something will happen whereas in the second, God had decided that it must happen. In the first case, a human being is certain to act in a way that is in accordance to the plan of God in the second, a human being cannot act in any other manner.

The plan of God does not force humans to act in particular ways, but renders it certain that they will freely act in those ways. . . . God renders it certain that a person who could act differently does in fact act in a particular way (the way that God wills).[4]

There are, then, limitations on who I am and what I desire and will. I certainly did not choose the genes that I have; I did not select my parents or the exact geographical location and cultural setting of my birth. My freedom, therefore, is within these limitations. And here arises the question: “Who set up these factors?” The theistic answer is, “God did.”[5]

[1] Erickson, Christian Theology, 319.

[2] Westminster Assembly, The Westminster Confession of Faith: Edinburgh Edition, Logos (Philadelphia: William S. Young, 1851), 389.

[2] Westminster Assembly, The Westminster Confession of Faith: Edinburgh Edition, Logos (Philadelphia: William S. Young, 1851), 389.

[3] Erickson, Christian Theology, 320.

[3] Erickson, Christian Theology, 320.

[4] Erickson, 325, 328.

[4] Erickson, 325, 328.

[5] Erickson, 329.

[5] Erickson, 329.