From the majestic heights of God’s being in Chapter Two, the Westminster Confession descends into the profound depths of God’s will in Chapter Three. Having told us who God is, it now explains what God has eternally purposed to do. We are entering into one of the great mysteries of the faith: the doctrine of God’s eternal decree. This is a truth that has humbled philosophers and comforted martyrs. It is a doctrine that, if misunderstood, can lead to cold fatalism, but if rightly grasped, leads to warm, adoring praise of a God who is truly sovereign over all things for His own glory and for the good of His people.
The Confession presents God’s eternal decree not as a blueprint for fatalism, but as the sovereign, wise, and unchangeable purpose of the all-sufficient God, through which He ordains all of history for His own glory, without being the author of sin or violating the genuine will of the creature.
The Unchangeable Purpose of God (WCF 3.1)
The first paragraph lays out the comprehensive nature of the decree. The divines state that “God from all eternity, did, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely, and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass” (Eph. 1:11). This is a breathtakingly bold statement. Notice the qualifiers. The decree is eternal, not a plan He came up with in time. It is wise and holy, flowing from His perfect character. It is free, meaning nothing outside of God compelled Him. And it is unchangeable, for as Hebrews 6:17 reminds us, God’s counsel is immutable. The scope is total: “whatsoever comes to pass.”
But loved ones, the divines immediately confront the objection that this must make God responsible for evil. They add a crucial qualification: “yet so, as thereby neither is God the author of sin… nor is violence offered to the will of the creatures; nor is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established.” God cannot be the author of sin, for as James 1:13 makes plain, He tempts no one. Furthermore, His sovereign decree does not eliminate our choices or natural laws (“second causes”). Rather, it establishes them. The most powerful example is the cross. In Acts 4:27-28, the apostles pray, acknowledging that Herod, Pilate, and the Gentiles did what God’s “hand and… plan had predestined to take place.” God’s sovereign plan and man’s wicked, yet responsible, actions worked together perfectly. God’s decree does not override human will; it ordains what that will shall freely choose to do.
Foreknowledge and the Decree (WCF 3.2)
The Confession then clarifies a common misunderstanding. Does God decree things because He foresees that they will happen? The divines answer with a firm no. “Although God knows whatsoever may or can come to pass upon all supposed conditions,” they write, “yet hath He not decreed any thing because He foresaw it as future.” God’s decree is not based on what He sees us doing in the future. Rather, His knowledge of the future is based on His decree. He knows what will happen because He has ordained what will happen. As Paul argues in Romans 9, God’s choice of Jacob over Esau was made before they were born or had done anything good or evil, so that God’s purpose in election might stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls (Rom. 9:11). God’s will is the cause; His foreknowledge of events is the effect.
Predestination and Foreordination (WCF 3.3)
Here, the broad doctrine of the decree becomes intensely personal and sharpens to a fine point. The divines explain that “by the decree of God, for the manifestation of His glory, some men and angels are predestinated unto everlasting life; and others foreordained to everlasting death.” This is the doctrine of double predestination, a truth we must handle with the utmost reverence and care. On the one hand, God actively chooses some for salvation purely out of His good pleasure, as Ephesians 1:5-6 makes clear. On the other hand, He sovereignly chooses to pass by others, ordaining them to judgment for their sin, a judgment they have justly earned. As Proverbs 16:4 states, “The LORD has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble.” One choice is to grace, the other is to justice; both serve the ultimate end of manifesting God’s full glory.
A Certain and Definite Number (WCF 3.4)
Finally, the Confession speaks to the certainty of this decree. “These angels and men, thus predestinated, and foreordained, are particularly and unchangeably designed, and their number is so certain and definite, that it cannot be either increased or diminished.” This is a profound comfort for the believer and a solemn warning for the unbeliever. The Good Shepherd does not just plan to save a vague multitude; He knows His sheep by name. As Jesus said, “I know whom I have chosen” (John 13:18). The foundation of God’s saving plan is not our weak and faltering will, but His unshakeable purpose. As 2 Timothy 2:19 says, “But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: ‘The Lord knows those who are his.’”
Conclusion
The first four paragraphs of this chapter lay a foundation of tremendous importance. God, in His perfect wisdom and freedom, has an eternal and unchangeable plan for all of history. This plan includes all events, yet it does so in a way that establishes rather than destroys the real choices of His creatures. Within this all-encompassing decree is the specific purpose of predestination, whereby God has chosen a particular people for everlasting life to the praise of His glorious grace, and has foreordained the rest to face His perfect justice for their sin, to the praise of His glorious righteousness. This is not a doctrine designed to provoke anxiety in the believer, but to provide the deepest possible assurance. Our hope is not in our own strength, but in the unchangeable decree of the God who works all things for His own glory.
Key Terms/Concepts
- Decree (of God): God’s eternal, unchangeable, and all-encompassing purpose, based on the wise and holy counsel of His own will, by which He foreordains whatsoever comes to pass.
- Second Causes: The realm of created reality, including natural laws and the genuine choices of moral creatures (like humans). The Confession teaches that God’s primary causation works through these secondary causes without violating their integrity.
- Predestination: The aspect of God’s eternal decree that pertains specifically to the eternal destiny of angels and men. It includes both election (God’s choice of some for salvation) and reprobation (His choice to pass by others and ordain them to judgment for their sin).
- Foreknowledge (Divine): God’s eternal and perfect knowledge of all things. In Reformed theology, God’s foreknowledge of future events flows from His decree; He knows what will happen because He has ordained it. It is not a passive foresight of what creatures will independently choose to do.