God's Plan

Covenants

God’s plan can be traced through covenants that he made with his people

The Covenant of Redemption

This is the covenant between the Father , the Son, and the Spirit, in eternity past, in which they agreed to save the elect.

The Covenant of Works

This is the covenant that God made with Adam that had three stipulations.

They would be fruitful and multiply

They would have dominion over the animals and earth

They would not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

The Covenant of Grace

The Covenant of Grace is where God promises to rescue humanity from the consequences of sin and fulfil his creative purposes. (Paul R. Williamson)

wherein He (God) freely offers unto sinners life and salvation by Jesus Christ, requiring of them faith in Him, that they may be saved;3 and promising to give unto all those that are ordained unto eternal life, His Holy Spirit, to make them willing and able to believe. (1689 LBC, 7.2)

Noahic Covenant

This covenant is seen in Genesis 6-9. God promised Noah that his family that they would not die but they will be saved. God’s covenant to Noah that he would never produce judgment upon the earth in the form of a flood again.

The Abrahamic Covenant

First Seen in Genesis 12:1-3

Genesis 12:1–3 ESV

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

God would bless the children of Abraham to be a great nation and all the peoples would be blessed.

There is a sign of the covenant with Abraham. Circumcision which set apart those who where part of this covenant.

There would be a offspring that would bless all nations through the seed.

The Mosaic Covenant

God established a covenant with moses/Israel.

God rescues Israel from slavery.

This covenant provides stipulations concerning how the people must act given they are God’s chosen possession or a holy nation. Israels Stipulations are seen in Exodus 20-23, or the Law.

“Israel Would be manifestly different from other nations and thus reflect God’s wisdom and greatness to surrounding peoples.” (Paul Williamson)

Failing to keep the Stipulations, would cause curses upon them but following would provide blessings.

“Israel would showcase true theocracy and thus serve as God’s witnesses to a watching world. Moreover, since human rebellion threatened to jeopardize God’s ultimate objective (i.e., blessing all nations through Abraham’s “seed”), the Mosaic covenant also encompassed the means by which the divine-human relationship between Yahweh and Israel could be maintained: sacrificial worship, particularly on the Day of Atonement (Lev. 16), would ritually atone for Israel’s sin and symbolically express God’s forgiveness. Therefore, just as the Noahic covenant guaranteed the preservation of human life on earth, so the Mosaic covenant guaranteed the preservation of Israel, Abraham’s great nation, in the land.” (Paul Williamson)

The Davidic Covenant

God Promises a great name, conquer their enemies, relationship with God, seed continue throughout, must keep God’s laws, offspring would bring blessing.

There will be a descendant of Abraham through David to fulfill the original Covenant with Abraham.

The New Covenant

The New Covenant is found through Christ. We can be partakers of this covenant through faith in Jesus Christ. We will be God’s people and there will be a divine relationship between us and him. The symbol of this covenant is now baptism.

Hebrew 8:6 “But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises.”

We do not have to wait to experience the realities of the new covenant in Christ.

Hebrews 9:11 “But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation)”

yet more is to come.

The Nature of the Divine Plan (Erickson)

God’s plan is from eternity.

Psalm 139:16 “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.”

Isaiah 22:11 “You made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool. But you did not look to him who did it, or see him who planned it long ago.”

Ephesians 1:4 “even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love”

God’s plan and the decisions are free on his part.

They are done on the good pleasure of his will Eph. 1:5 “he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,”

God’s plan is not subject to the incompleteness of knowledge and the errors of judgement so characteristic of humanities plans.

All of his decisions in his plans are consistent in his nature yet not defined by his nature

he can create, he didn't have to create but he did out of choice.

the purpose of God’s plan is his glory.

Colossians 1:16 “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.

Ephesians 1:5-6 “he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.”

Revelation 4:11 ““Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.””

God does all things for his name sake. This is seen in the purpose of salvation. The purpose of salvation is seen in the fact that God would get the glory through the good works that his people do.

Ephesians 2:8–10 ESV

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

He has provided salvation to show his love for his creation so that he may get the glory.

God’s plan is all inclusive.

Ephesians 1:11 “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,”

All the ends and means in which they are done are apart of God;s plan.

His plan extends throughout all the nations.

God’s plan is efficacious. (effective)

He will do what he has planned and nothing will thwart it.

Isaiah 14:24,27 “For the Lord of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back?”

His plans relates to his actions rather than his nature.

God does not decide to be loving and powerful, he is loving and powerful simply by virtue of being God.

God’s plan relates primarily to what God himself does in terms of creating, preserving, detecting, and redeeming.

The plan of God des not force humans to act in particular ways, but renders it certain that they will freely act in those ways.

God’s plan relates primarily to what he does, the actions of humans are also included.

God’s plan is unchangeable in terms of its specifics.

God’s plan or Human action

Calvinism

God’s plan is prior and human decisions are a consequence of God’s plan.

This is seen in their view of salvation.

God in his plan has chosen that some shall believe and receive the offer of eternal life. He foreknows what will happen because he knows what will happen.

God is not dependent on what humans decide.

God decision has rendered it certain that every individual will act in a particular way.

God’s plan is unconditional upon human decision.

Arminians

Have a stronger emphasis on human freedom.

God allows and expects humans to exercise the will they have been given.

God’s choice then is determined by the looking forward in time of God and seeing what they will chose. God knows what all of us are going to do therefore he wills what he foresees will happen.

God’s plan is conditional upon human decision.

Can God create truly free humans?

Decree vs decision

Decree is it must occur

will not act against the decree of God

Decision it will happen

cannot act in a way contrary to what God has chosen.

I am free to chose but my choice will be influenced by who i am.

Lactose intolerant

My choices are subject to who I am.

Who I am is based off of God’s decision and activity.

God is in control of all the circumstances that bear on my situation in live. He may bring to bear factors that will make particular option appealing, even powerfully appealing to me. He has affected what will come to pass by willing that it was I who was brought into being.

God’s will and Human Freedom

“Could the individual chosen differently?” yes

Would they? no

There is a matter of predictability that humans act under.

Added to this is the idea of God's work in a non coercive fashion to bring about our decision. He does not compel us by force, that is, external compulsion. Nor does he compel us by threats and manipulation, that is, internal compulsion. Rather, he makes the choice so appealing to us that we choose it, rather than an alternative. John Feinberg uses an illustration of a student in his class, whom he, as the instructor, decides should leave the room, perhaps because he is disturbing the class. The instructor, if he is strong enough, could pick up the student, carry him outside the door, deposit him there, then lock the door. That would be external compulsion. Alternatively,he could threaten the student, perhaps even using a firearm to threaten his life. That would be internal compulsion. The third option would be to reason with the student, pointing out to him certain advantages to his leaving the room and the disadvantages of his remaining. This would be the student's own decision." This third idea comes the closest to the model of divine sovereignty that we are advocating. Sometimes one hears the caricature of Calvinism (which occasionally is deserved) that God drags people kicking and screaming into his kingdom, with them objecting all the while. There are times, to be sure, when God compels persons to obey him. Most of the time, however, the picture is more like God making his will so persuasive and attractive that persons willingly and even joyfully accept it and carry it out.

If God has rendered certain things the end, his plan also includes the means to that end. We proclaim the gospel because that is the means to the end. It is par of God’s plan that we share Christ. It will be fulfilled.