1689 BCF, Chapter 3, Paragraph 1: God’s Decree

INTRODUCTION

The 1689 has 7 paragraphs outlining pertinent details of God’s Decree. The chapter moves from the general to the specific, and it has a focus on salvation as it goes into detail about God’s plan to save a people. This chapter explores the relationship between God and His creation. Chapter 2 was an exploration of who God is; now we look at this biblical God in relation to His creation. The vantage point that we begin with is the God we have seen taught in the Bible now planning and executing His will. How does this supreme God who cannot deny Himself, who is all powerful and needs nothing plan and execute His will. The doctrine of God’s decree and providence look at the two sides of this issue. God’s Decree focuses on how God plans it; providence looks at how God brings His plan to pass. This is a chapter full of controversy because it is also the predestination chapter. Predestination must feature prominently because salvation is a centerpiece to God’s plan. Predestination is the planning of our salvation. So looking at the structure of the 7 paragraphs we can see that paragraphs 1-2 look at the general plan of God, but chapters 3-7 get really specific about the doctrine of predestination. Today we will be looking at paragraph 1 noting several aspects of God’s Decree.