Old Testament Reading: Jeremiah 1:1-10

“The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, one of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, to whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, and until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month. Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying, ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.’ Then I said, ‘Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.’ But the LORD said to me, ‘Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the LORD.’ Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the LORD said to me, ‘Behold, I have put my words in your mouth. See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.’” (Jeremiah 1:1–10, ESV)

New Testament Reading: Colossians 1:24-29

“Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.” (Colossians 1:24–29, ESV)

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Please excuse any typos and misspellings within this manuscript. It has been published online for the benefit of the saints of Emmaus Reformed Baptist Church, but without the benefit of proofreading.

Introduction

This sermon is a continuation of the previous one. Here in this text, Paul the Apostle speaks of his sufferings, his stewardship, and his struggle. Last Sunday, I focused on verse 24 and the topic of suffering. There, Paul says, “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church…” Paul truly suffered for Christ and for the sake of his church, and yet he rejoiced in his sufferings. Why? Because he knew they were decreed by God, that they were for the good of Christ’s church, and that Christ was with him in the midst of the sufferings. In short, suffering for the sake of Christ and his church, though no doubt very difficult, was worth it to Paul, for Paul valued Christ and the gospel of Jesus Christ supremely. The question that we asked ourselves was this: Do I so value Christ, his gospel, and his church that I would be happy to suffer in the flesh for the sake of them? Or would I turn back from following Christ if faced with suffering for his name’s sake?

Today, we will turn our attention to Paul’s stewardship. I love how Paul gives us insight into his mind and heart in this passage. It’s as if he says, yes, I suffer in the flesh for the sake of Christ and his church. Here is how I think and feel about my sufferings. I rejoice in them, etc. And yes, I am an Apostle of Jesus Christ. Here is how I view myself as an Apostle. I’m a minister or servant entrusted with a stewardship. And as a steward, I work very hard. I toil and struggle to please my Lord. It’s wonderful to have this insight into Paul’s mind and heart concerning his sufferings, stewardship, and struggle. I believe there is a great deal for us to learn from him. 

Today, we will focus our attention on Paul’s stewardship.

Paul’s Stewardship (v. 25)

Paul speaks of himself as a servant and of his stewardship in verse 25 in the words,  “of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known…” (Colossians 1:25, ESV). 

There are three things to consider in this one verse. First, Paul the servant. Secondly, Paul the steward. And thirdly, the stewardship itself. 

Paul, The Servant

How did Paul the Apostle view himself? Notice this: As an Apostle, he viewed himself as a minister or servant of Christ and of his church.

The words “of which” at the beginning of verse 25 refer back to the church mentioned at the very end of verse 24. It’s as if Paul said this: “[Of the church] I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known” (Colossians 1:25, ESV). And we must remeber that, here, the word “church” does not refer to a particular, local or visible church, such as this one, or the one in Colossae to which Paul wrote, but to the universal church—the mystical body of Christ on earth, made up of all who are united to Christ by faith. Paul the Apostle was appointed to serve as a minister of this church, that is to say, the universal church of Jesus Christ. 

This is one of the things that distinguishes the extraordinary office of Apostle, which ceased to exist when the Apostles died, and the ordinary offices of elder and deacon, which remain until Christ returns—the offices of elder and deacon are offices of the local church, whereas the Apostles served the whole church. 

When we speak of an office, we refer not to a building or a room but to an official position of authority. In Christ’s church, there are presently only two offices: the office of elder, bishop, or pastor and the office of deacon. But in the early days of their church, there were other offices besides these, the highest of them being the office of Apostle. 

Listen to what John Gill says about the office of Apostle: 

And he gave some apostles…  That is, he gave them gifts by which they were qualified to be apostles: who were such as were immediately called by Christ, and had their doctrine from him, and their commission to preach it; and were peculiarly and infallibly guided by the Spirit of God, and had a power to work miracles for the confirmation of their doctrine; and had authority to go everywhere and preach the Gospel, and plant churches, and were not confined to any one particular place or church; this was the first and chief office in the church, and of an extraordinary kind, and is now ceased… (Gill, Exposition Of The Old And New Testaments, Vol 9, p. 89)

More could be said about the office of Apostle. And we could also talk about another extraordinary office that existed in the earliest days of the church, but has now ceased, namely, the office of Prophet. Furthermore, we could talk about the office of Evangelist. All three of these are listed together in Ephesians 4:11. 

Listen to what Gill says about the office of Evangelist. Commenting on Ephesians 4:11, he says, 

“[Evangelists] were below the apostles, and yet above pastors and teachers; they were the companions of the apostles, and assistants to them, and subserved them in their work; such were Philip, Luke, Titus, Timothy, and others; these were not fixed and stated ministers in any one place, as the following officers be, but were sent here and there as the apostles thought fit… (Gill, Exposition Of The Old And New Testaments, Vol 9, p. 89)

According to Gill, given the Evangelists’ tight connection with the Apostles, and given that no qualifications for this office are found in the New Testament, the office of Evangelist has also ceased. To be honest, this is a question I need to explore further. While I fully agree that the office of Evangelist was never an office of the local church (the only two offices of the local church are elder and deacon; see Second London Confession 26.8), I do wonder if what we call “missionaries” are not, in fact, what the Bible calls Evangelists—these are men who meet the qualifications for elders as expressed in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 who are sent (ordained) out by a local church to evangelize, to plant churches, and to see to it that these churches are fully established and properly ordered (see Titus 1:5; 2 Timothy 4:5). To be clear, whether or not the office of Evangelist remains, the church’s obligation to evangelize and to plant churches locally and to the ends of the earth certainly remains.  The question I am wrestling with is, what do we call those men whom the church sends out to do the work of church planting? The modern terms are church planters and missionaries. I do wonder if the biblical term is Evangelist.

One thing is certain. The offices of elder and deacon remain. We find qualifications for these offices in 1 Timothy 3. In Philippians 1:1, ​​Paul and Timothy greet “saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons…” (Philippians 1:1, ESV). Our confession of faith is correct:

“A particular church, gathered and completely organized according to the mind of Christ, consists of officers and members; and the officers appointed by Christ to be chosen and set apart by the church (so called and gathered), for the peculiar administration of ordinances, and execution of power or duty, which he intrusts them with, or calls them to, to be continued to the end of the world, are bishops or elders, and deacons.” (Acts 20:17, 28; Philippians 1:1)

The terms elder, bishop, and pastor all refer to the same office, and each term highlights a different aspect of the work to be done by those who hold this office. Elders, bishops, or pastors are called by God to serve Christ’s church by ruling (see 1 Timothy 5:17), overseeing (bishop means “overseer”; see Acts 20:28, 1 Timothy 3:1; Philippians 1:1), and shepherding the church (see 1 Peter 5:1-4) under the supreme authority of the Lord Jesus Christ and his word.


Our English word, deacon, comes from the Greek word, διάκονος, which means servant. Deacons have the authority to serve Christ and his people to ensure that no one within Christ’s church has the joy of their salvation diminished for lack of daily bread. Primarily, the work of the deacon is to care for the poor and needy within the congregation. The work of the deacon has also been summed up like this: deacons are called to serve tables (or better yet, to see to it that tables are served) (see Acts 6). They are to concern themselves with the widows’ table, the pastor’s table,  and the Lord’s Table. Those who hold the office of deacon are called by God to devote themselves to the work of service.  They are to serve, and they are to encourage others to give and to serve, as they oversee the benevolence ministries of the church.

Why have I provided you with an overview of these extraordinary and ordinary offices? One, I want you to see that Paul held the highest office in Christ’s — he was an Apostle! Two, I want you to see that Paul the Apostle regarded himself as a servant.  “[Of the church] I became a minister”, he says.

The word translated as minster means “servant”. In fact, it is the Greek word, διάκονος, that is behind the English word “minister”. So you can see, this Greek word can either refer to the office of deacon (as in Philippians 1:1 and 1 Timothy 3:8), or to one who is a servant in Christ’s church. That is how the word is used here (and in Romans 16:1 and 1 Timothy 4:6). Paul was not a Deacon. He was an Apostle. But as an Apostle, he regarded himself as a minister or servant. Paul says something similar in 1 Corinthians 3:5: “What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each.” (1 Corinthians 3:5, ESV). And n 1 Corinthians 4:1-2, he says, “This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:1–2, ESV).

Who was Paul a servant of? First, he was a servant of God. That is what he says in the passage that is open before us. “I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me…” (Colossians 1:25, ESV). More specifically, he was a servant of Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ was the one who converted him and commissioned him (see Acts 9 and 1 Corinthians 4:1-2). And who was Paul’s service directed towards? Answer: God’s elect. In 2 Timothy 2:10, he says, “Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory” (2 Timothy 2:10, ESV). Here in our text, Paul puts it like this: “[Of the universal church] I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you…” (Colossians 1:25, ESV). Paul served the church as he sought the salvation and sanctification of God’s elect through the preaching and teaching of the Word of God. 

Application

Brothers and sisters, if Paul the Apostle regarded himself as a servant of God, of Christ, and of Christ’s people, shouldn’t we regard ourselves as servants too? Think of Paul’s influence. Think of the high position he occupied within Christ’s church. Think of the high office he held. Apart from the Lord Jesus Christ, I cannot think of a man more significant and impactful in Christ’s church than Paul the Apostle. And yet, he regarded himself as a servant. 

If Paul, who held the office of Apostle, regarded himself as a servant, then those who hold the office of elder and deacon must regard themselves as servants too—servants of God, of Christ, and of Christ’s people. 

Listen to Davenant on this point:

“The circumstance that Paul, who was constituted an Apostle, should speak of himself as a Minister of the Church, is an [encouragemnet] to those who have obtained the higher situations in the Church, to activity; and admonishes them to think more of their duties than their honour; and of the task imposed upon them, rather than the dignity attached to it. We, alas! on the contrary, are more willing to be called pastors, than studious to be such: we avoid the labours of our office, but are eager to obtain its honours… But we should always recollect, that the very term minister, is rather a title of labour than of dignity.

Brothers and sisters, please pray for your pastors (and deacons) that we would regard ourselves as ministers or servants of Christ and his church. Pray especially for your pastors in this regard. Yes, pastors are called by God to rule, oversee, shepherd, and teach within Christ’s church. Christ has placed real authority in the office of pastor or elder. And yes, it is a terrible thing when elders fail to exercise the authority that Christ has entrusted to them. But it must always be remembered that all of the authority that Christ has entrusted to elders is ministerial. This means that elders do not have the authority to make laws and to lord them over the people. No, elders only have the authority to command what Christ commands. And when elders exercise the authority that Christ has entrusted to them, we must do it as servants of Christ and his people, in a humble, gentle, and patient way, while leading by example. 

Listen to what the Apostle Peter says: 

“So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock” (1 Peter 5:1–3, ESV).

Brothers and sisters, please pray for your elders that we would be faithful to discharge the duties belonging to our office, and that we do so while maintaining the mindset and demeanor of servants — servants of God, Christ, and you, Christ’s people.

And it is not only elders and deacons who are called to serve, but all Christains. In 1 Peter 4:7-11, Peter speaks to all Christians, saying, “The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen” (1 Peter 4:7–11, ESV).

Dear Christian, when you think of yourself, do you regard yourself as a servant of God, Christ, and others? Clearly, not all Christians are called to serve Christ’s church in an official capacity as elders or deacons, but all are called to serve Christ and to one another. I urge you, therefore, to ask the Lord to help you to approach each day with the mind of a servant. Lord, help me to die to self today and to live for your glory and to the good of others. 

Do not forget what Christ said to his disciples after they were found arguing over which one was the greatest: 

“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:25–28, ESV).

This great truth was to be applied by the Apostles; it is to be applied by elders and deacons; it is to be applied by all who are united to Christ by faith. May the Lord help us all to live, not to be served, but to serve, and to give up our lives for the good of others. 

Paul, The Steward

We have considered Paul as a servant. Let us now consider Paul as a steward. Of course, these two things—servanthood and stewardship—are intimately related. If someone says, I am a servant, a very natural question to ask would be, a servant of whom, for whom, and of what, in particular? In other words, who is your master, what responsibilities have you been entrusted with, and for whose benefit do you serve? 

After referring to himself as a minister or servant, Paul mentions his stewardship. Verse 25: “[Of the church] I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known…” (Colossians 1:25, ESV). 

A stewardship is an arrangement. In a great household, the master of the house would make arrangements with his servants. He would give them some authority, appoint them to certain tasks, and provide them with instructions concerning the management of his affairs. In a great house, there would be many servants, and to each of them the master of the house would give different responsibilities, some greater and some lesser. When Paul speaks of the stewardship given to him as a servant, he wants us to think of the household of the church. 

Who did Paul receive his stewardship from? He received it from the master, that is, God. And who was his stewardship for? It was for the good of the members of Christ’s church. And what was Paul, the servant of Christ and his church, called by God to do? In brief, he was to make the word of God fully known. So then, not only did Paul view himself as a minister or servant of Christ and his church, but he also knew that specific duties and responsibilities had been entrusted to him. 

Tell me, brothers and sisters, what makes a servant a good servant? Most fundamentally, a good servant will faithfully perform the duties that have been entrusted to them. This is what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 4:2: “Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:2, ESV). But to be found faithful, a servant must first know what their responsibilities are. 

If you get a new job, won’t this be the first thing you want to know? What are my duties? What are my responsibilities? What is expected of me by my employer? You won’t have the job for long if you fail to answer this most fundamental question.

Rarely will we fail to ask this question in the secular realm, but often this question is neglected in the realm of the family and church. Here is what ought to say: Lord, you have called me to be a husband, a wife, a father, a mother, or a child in my parents’ home… I am your servant. What are the particular responsibilities that you have entrusted to me? What are the duties you have called me to perform? I wish to be faithful as a servant of yours, and so I must know. Or, Lord, you have called me to be an elder or deacon or member of Christ’s church. What are my duties? Lord, what gifts have you given to me that you intend for me to use for the building up of the body of Christ in this place? These gifts might be spiritual, or they might be temporal. Whatever gifts God gives ought to be viewed as a stewardship from him.   

Paul the Apostle viewed himself as a servant in God’s house, the church. More than this, he knew that he was a steward. By God’s arrangement, he had particular duties to perform within the great house of Christ’s church.  

To view yourself as a servant of Christ is a great start. But as Christ’s servants, we must learn to think of ourselves as stewards—as servants entrusted with particular gifts and duties to perform.  

Husbands, look at your wives and think in terms of stewardship. 

Wives,  look at your husbands and think in terms of stewardship. 

Parents,  look at your children and think in terms of stewardship. 

Officers, consider your office and think in terms of stewardship. 

Every disciple of Jesus must consider the gifts that God has given to them—spiritual gifts, natural gifts, and resources— and think in terms of stewardship. 

Not everyone in the church is gifted, fitted, and called to serve Christ and his church by holding the office of elder or deacon, but every member of Christ’s church is called to use whatever gift they have received from the Lord to serve others. Hear the Apostle again: “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace…” 

The Stewardship

We have considered Paul as a servant and steward. Finally, and very briefly, we must consider the stewardship he received. His task as a servant of Jesus Christ and Christ’s church may be summed up in the words: “to make the word of God fully known…” The offices of apostle, prophet, evangelist, and pastor share this in common: those who occupied these offices in the past and those who occupy them now are ministers of the word of God. What was the stewardship entrusted to the Apostle Paul? He was entrusted with the word of God, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. His task as a minister of Christ and his church was to proclaim Christ—for it is through the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ that sinners are saved and sanctified—and to defend this gospel against perversion and error. Pastors are called to do the same. We will pick up here next Sunday, Lord willing, as we consider Paul’s toil or struggle. 

Conclusion

I’ll conclude this sermon with two brief suggestions for application. 

I’d like to begin by asking how this text would have applied to the Colossians. As they read this letter and heard Paul the Apostle describe himself as a servant and steward of God’s word, it would have motivated their ministers to adopt the same mindset. How were the ministers—that is, the pastors or elders— in Colossae to view themselves? They were to view themselves as servants of Christ and his church. And what was their task or duty? Above all, they were stewards of the word of God. They were to minister the word of God to the people of God in private and in public. They were to defend the truth of the gospel against false teaching. And Paul’s description of himself as a servant and steward of God’s word would have had an impact on the members, too. They would have been moved to pray for their ministers and to encourage them to fulfill their calling. Paul makes an interesting comment at the end of this epistle that pertains to this point. In Colossians 4:17, he says, “And say to Archippus, ‘See that you fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord” (Colossians 4:17, ESV). Archipus was a minister. It appears that he was failing to proclaim Christ and defend the gospel against the errors that were present within the church, and so the whole church was to encourage him in his work. They were to encourage him, saying, “See that you fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord” (Colossians 4:17, ESV). In other words, they were to say, Archippus, remember that you are a servant of Christ and his church and that God has given you a stewardship. You are a steward of God’s word. You must proclaim it and protect it, therefore. 

Dear brothers and sisters, would you please pray for your elders and encourage them in their work? To be clear, we confess that not every elder will minister the word of God in the same way or to the same degree. Here is what our constitution says regarding the responsibilities of elders:

“The elders are men who have general oversight of all the church, its ministry and functions. They are responsible for the spiritual ministration and rule of the church, for the implementation of church discipline, and for watching over the souls of the members. All elders must discharge their duties as set forth in Acts 20:28-30, I Peter 5:1-4, and Hebrews 13:7,17. Anyone desiring the office of an elder must evidence the personal, domestic and ministerial qualifications as set forth in the Scriptures (I Timothy 3:1-7, Titus 1:5-9). While every elder bears spiritual rule and must be “apt to teach”, some will be more exclusively engaged in the details of ruling, rather than teaching (I Timothy 5:17).  

I believe this is a good statement that agrees with 1 Timothy 5:17. And while it is true that “some [elders will] be more exclusively engaged in the details of ruling, rather than teaching”, all elders are ministers of God’s word. They are to rule by God’s word, minister God’s word to God’s people, whether in public or private, and they must uphold the truth of God’s word against all error. Please pray for your elders and encourage them in their work. And as your elders lead you according to the truth of God’s word, do what Hebrews 13:17 says: “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you” (Hebrews 13:17, ESV).

My second suggestion for application is this: I would encourage you all to adopt the mindset of a servant who has received a stewardship from the Lord. Perhaps this would be something to meditate on later today. Consider all of the gifts and graces that God has given to you and ask, first of all, do I view these as gifts and graces from God? And secondly, do I view myself as a servant of God and others and as a steward of these things that he has entrusted to me? Dear brothers and sisters, I cannot help but think that we would be much happier people if we viewed ourselves and Christ’s servants and as stewards of God’s varied grace. Truly, it is a happy and joyous thing to submit to God’s will and to live in his service. It is a joy to serve our Maker and Redeemer. It is more blessed to give than to receive. May the Lord bless us with this mindset so that we might be joyful and content servants of his.  

Baptist Catechism 10

Q. 10. What are the decrees of God?

A. The decrees of God are His eternal purpose, according to the counsel of His will, whereby for His own glory, He has foreordained whatsoever comes to pass. (Eph. 1:11; Rom. 11:36; Dan. 4:35)

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Introduction

If you remember, our catechism has three major sections to it. Questions 1-6 establish first principles.  Question 6 is pivotal. It asks, “ What things are chiefly contained in the Holy Scriptures?” Answer: “The Holy Scriptures chiefly contain what man ought to believe concerning God, and what duty God requireth of man.”The rest of the catechism is divided into these two parts. Questions 7 through 43 summarize what the Scriptures teach concerning God (and all things in relation to him). Questions 44 through 114 summarize what the Scriptures say concerning our duty before God. So we have been learning about God, haven’t we? In particular, questions 7 through 9 of our catechism teach us about God’s nature and his persons. God is a spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in all his perfections (BC 7). There is only one living and true God (BC 8). And within the one true God, there are three persons, or subsistences, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (BC 9).

Now we are going to move on from talking about the nature and persons of God to talking about his actions or works. God exists infinitely, eternally, and unchangeably, and this same God acts in time. Eventually, we are going to talk about God’s work of creation and his works of providence. It is under the category of God’s providence that we will also consider God’s work of redemption. But before we get to God’s work of creation and his works of providence, we must talk about something that happened in eternity, that is, before the creation of the heavens and earth, namely, God’s decree. Before God created, God decreed.  

So what is a decree? Well, a decree is an order, an edict, or a proclamation. If I say to my children, thou shalt clean your room, that is a decree. I decided in my mind and heart that the room needed to be cleaned, that my children should do it, and that they should do it now, and so I declared it. The declaration is the decree. The cleaning of the room is the action that flows from the decree. 

Fathers and mothers issue decrees, and so do kings. Decrees are made by people who have some kind of authority. Those who have authority over some realm may issue decrees regarding what is to happen in that realm. Parents can decree that chores be done, and kings can command that armies move about, that things be built, and that money be collected, etc. These are decrees.

When we speak of the decrees of God, we are saying that God has done something similar. Before he created and began to providentially uphold and govern his creation, he issued a decree. His works of creation and providence are the result of his eternal decree.  

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His Eternal Purpose

So what are the decrees of God? Our catechism begins by saying, “the decrees of God are His eternal purpose…” The decrees of God are the purposes or plans of God. The word “eternal” is significant. It teaches us that God made his decree in eternity, or,  to use the language of Scripture, “before the foundation of the world.”

Ephesians 1 speaks of God’s decree as it pertains to the salvation of God’s elect. Listen to verses 3 and 4. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.” (Ephesians 1:3–4, ESV). When did God choose the elect? When did God decree that his elect would be in Christ? “Before the foundation of the world”, that is to say, before creation and in eternity.

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According To The Counsel Of His Will

What are the decrees of God? They are his plans and purposes. When did he issue his decree? Not in time— not over and over again as human history unfolds—but in eternity, before the foundation of the world. And what moved God to decree what he decreed? Our catechism is right to say that God made his decree “according to the counsel of His will.” In other words, nothing external to God offered him counsel to move him to decree what he decreed. 

This is so significant. Many falsely believe that God made his decree based upon the insights that he gained from his creatures as he considered what they would eventually do. The idea is that, because God can see the future, his decree was based upon the choices and actions of his creatures, which he foresaw. For example, some will claim that God elected or predestinated some to salvation based upon their faith, which he foresaw. But the Scriptures nowhere teach this. In fact, the Scriptures tell us what “moved” God to decree what he decreed. He made his decree according to the counsel of his own will, that is to say, from within himself, and without being moved by anything external to himself. 

Ephesians 1 also speaks to this. Listen to verse 5: “…he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will…” To decree is to predestinate. And here Paul says that God predestined his elect “for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ…” According to what? What “moved” God to predestinate those he predestined? “According to the purpose of his will…” In other words, no one offered counsel to God. Nothing external to God moved him to choose as he chose. He predestinated from within himself, according to his free and gracious will.

Paul also speaks to this in Romans 11:33ff, where he exclaims, “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! ‘For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor? [the implied answer is, no one!] Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?’ For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.” The words, for “from him and through him and to him are all things”, pretty much say it all.

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For His Own Glory

So, we know that the decree of God is his eternal purpose. We also know that God decreed what he decreed from within himself, according to the counsel of his own will. The next question we might ask is, what is God’s goal? What is his objective?  When men and women (parents and kings) make decrees, they have goals or objectives in mind. What is the goal or objective of God’s decree? Answer: God has decreed what he has decreed, “for His own glory.” 

Both the Ephesians 1 and Romans 11 passages that I have read teach this. Ephesians 1:5-6 says, “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.” The words “to the” indicate the end-goal or objective. God has predestinated some to salvation in Christ to the praise of his glorious grace. And at the end of that beautiful doxology of Romans 11:33-36, Paul says, “To him be glory forever. Amen.” Why has God decreed what he has decreed? So much remains a mystery to us, but this we know: it will be for God’s glory. Romans 9 teaches this, too, but we do not have time to go there. 

If it sounds strange to you that God is most concerned with glorifying himself, then consider this. It is wrong for you and me to live for our own glory. Why? Because we are creatures. But it is right for God to seek his own glory. Indeed, it would be wrong for him not to! Why? Because he is God. If God were to seek the glory of any other, then God himself would violate the first commandment! But please hear this: when God seeks his own glory, he does at the same time seek our greatest good. For what is our greatest good except to have God as our God, to know him, and to worship and adore him? 

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He Has Foreordained Whatsoever Comes To Pass

Lastly, what has God decreed? Answer: “He has foreordained whatsoever comes to pass.”

To foreordain is to order or determine something ahead of time. And the Scriptures teach that God’s foreordination reaches, not just to the salvation of his elect, but to all things.  

Ephesians 1 speaks to this, too. Listen to verse 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…” 

Isaiah 46:9-10 also teaches this. There God says, “Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose’”.

And consider the words of Jesus himself: “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:29–31, ESV). God’s decree, and his providential upholding and governing of the world he has made, extends even to the lives of sparrows and to the hairs on our heads.

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Conclusion

I’m out of time. There is a danger in presenting such a difficult subject in such a limited timeframe. There are many questions that I have left unaddressed and unanswered. Lord willing, we will have an opportunity to address them later. For now, may I encourage you to read chapter 3 of our confession? There you will find a fuller treatment of this subject. 

I will conclude by saying that the doctrine of God’s decree should be a comfort to us. It should be comforting to know that the events of our lives are not random and out of control (as they often seem). They are not meaningless or without purpose. No, God is in them somehow. He has determined to work all things—the good and the bad—for his glory and for the good of his people (see Romans 8:28-30). How can this be? Well, there is much that is mysterious to us. But we know it is true. God is holy and just. He does no evil, nor does he tempt men to do evil. Men, by their free will, do choose to rebel against their Maker, and God in his wisdom does permit it. But hear this: this permission that I speak of is not bear, meaningless, or purposeless permission. No, all things that come to pass in time are the outworking of God who is “infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth” (BC, 7). All things will, in the end, glorify God’s infinite, eternal, and unchangeable being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth (see Romans 9).

Baptist Catechism 8 & 9

Q. 8. Are there more gods than one?

A. There is but one only, the living and true God. (Deut. 6:4; Jeremiah 10:10)

Q. 9. How many persons are there in the Godhead?

A. There are three persons in the Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one God, the same in essence, equal in power and glory. (1 Cor. 8:6; John 10:30; John 14:9; Acts 5:3,4; Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14)

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Introduction

If you were to consider questions 7, 8, and 9 of our catechism, you would see that all three have to do with the question, what is God? 

What is God? Catechism 7 answers, God is a spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth. But now we ask, are there more gods than one? And finally, how many persons are there in the Godhead? All three of these questions, and the answers that are given, help us to think correctly about what and who God is.

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Are There More Gods Than One?

So, are there more Gods than one? 

Please allow me to make a philosophical observation before getting to the straightforward answer to the question. If what is said about God in Baptist Catechism 7 is true, then there cannot be more than one God. If God is indeed infinite, eternal, and unchangeable (which we confess that he is), then it is impossible for more than one God to exist. I’ll leave that for you to ponder more thoroughly at a later time.

Now for the straightforward answer. Are there more Gods than one? We say, there is but one only, the living and true God.

That there is only one God is perhaps the most fundamental tenet of the Christian faith. Deuteronomy 6:4 says, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4, ESV). This means that God is singular. There is only one God, and he is simple within himself.

In Isaiah 44:8, God says, “Fear not, nor be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it? And you are my witnesses! Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock; I know not any” (Isaiah 44:8, ESV).

Are there more Gods than one? There is but one only. 

And notice that our catechism calls the one God, “the living and true God.” This is to distinguish the one true God from all false gods. The Scriptures do speak of other gods. But they are called that, not because they are in fact Gods, but because men and women worship them as such. In reality, these false gods are created things that men and women worship as if gods. They are idols that men have crafted out of the stuff of this world – stone and wood. The Scriptures connect the worship of idols with the worship of demons (see 1 Corinthians 10:20 and Revelation 9:20).  They are called gods, but really they are not. 

God alone is God. And he, unlike idols which are carved from stone or wood, is living. The one true God is alive. The idols that men and women worship are lifeless. They have ears but cannot hear, eyes but cannot see, and mouths but cannot breathe or speak. They are dumb, deaf, and lifeless, and those who worship them become like them, but God is living. He is alive because he has life in himself. As Christ said, “the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.” (John 5:26, ESV). And it is God who gives life to all things. Paul charged Timothy “in the presence of God, who gives life to all things…” (1 Timothy 6:13, ESV).

When our catechism calls God the true God, it is to distinguish him from other living things that are revered as if God. Sometimes men are worshipped as if they were gods. They are living, but they are not true. Sometimes demons are worshipped as if God. Again, they are living, but not true. These are false gods. 

Brothers and sisters, we must worship God alone and flee from all forms of idolatry. There is a reason why the first of the Ten Commandments is, “You shall have no other gods before me” (Deuteronomy 5:7, ESV), and the second is, “You shall not make for yourself a carved image… You shall not bow down to them or serve them…” (Deuteronomy 5:8–9, ESV). We, in our fallen and sinful state, are prone to false worship and idolatry. 

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How Many Persons Are There In The Godhead?

Next, our catechism asks, How many persons are there in the Godhead? Answer: There are three persons in the Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one God, the same in essence, equal in power and glory.

Notice the order. First, we establish the oneness of God, and then we talk about his threeness. Whatever we say about God’s threeness must not violate his oneness. Both truths must coincide. 

Yes, God is one. This is true. But as we pay careful attention to the Scriptures, we also see that there is plurality in the Godhead. We find hints of it as early as Genesis 1 where we read, “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness’” (Genesis 1:26, ESV). These hints at the plurality in the Godhead are mysterious early in the Scriptures, but as we move to the New Testament, the dim mystery gives way to clarity and light. 

When all is considered, we see that there are three persons in the Godhead: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Father is in some way distinct from the Son and the Spirit. The Son is in some way distinct from the Father and the Spirit. And the Spirit is in some way distinct from the Father and the Son. What distinguishes them? Nothing at all except their personal properties of paternity, filiation, and spiration. That is a fancy way of saying that for all eternity the Father eternally begets the Son, the Son is eternally begotten of the Father, and the Spirit is eternally breathed forth by the Father and the Son. A keyword is “eternally”. There was never a time when the Son and Spirit were not. The Son is eternally begotten, not made. And the Spirit is eternally spirated, not made. Remember what we have said about the one living and true God. He is infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in all his perfections. Everything said about the nature of God in Q&A 7 must be said about the three persons of the Godhead.

The end of the matter is this. There is one God, and within the one God, there are three persons or subsistences, each with the fullness of the divine nature.  

The Father is fully God. Revelation 1:5-6 says, “and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” (Revelation 1:5–6, ESV)

The Son is fully God. John 1:1 and 14 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:1,14, ESV)

And the Spirit is fully God. In Acts 5:3-4, we read, “But Peter said, ‘Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land?… You have not lied to man but to God.’” (Acts 5:3–4, ESV)

What unites them? The divine nature. 

What distinguishes them? Only the personal and relational properties of Fatherhood, Sonship, and Spiration. The Father eternally begets the Son. And the Father and Son eternally breathe forth the Spirit. And yet there are not three Gods, but one only. 

Remember the Shemah: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” (Deuteronomy 6:4, ESV)

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Conclusion

As mindblowing as this doctrine is, did you know that our confession says that this “doctrine of the Trinity is the foundation of all our communion with God, and comfortable dependence on him (Second London Confession, 2.3). We could spend a while talking about why this is so. In brief, we have been reconciled to the Father, by the Son, and through the Spirit. Our salvation is Trinitarian, brothers and sisters. The one true and living God has determined to save us. And the one true and living God has accomplished our salvation and does apply it to his elect in due time. Again, we have been reconciled to the Father, by the Son, through the Spirit. It is the Triune God who created us and has saved us, to the praise of his glorious grace.