Jeremiah 30:15-19 – Israel & Restoration

15 Why do you cry about your affliction?
Your sorrow is incurable.
Because of the multitude of your iniquities,
Because your sins have increased,
I have done these things to you.
…
17 For I will restore health to you
And heal you of your wounds,’ says the Lord,
‘Because they called you an outcast saying:
“This is Zion;
No one seeks her.” ’
…
19 Then out of them shall proceed thanksgiving
And the voice of those who make merry;
I will multiply them, and they shall not diminish;
I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small.

     O Lord, How rich your praise shall be, how rich it must be! How longsuffering and truly patient you were with Israel and with we, our people if this day! These absolute and extensive promises in verses 16 and following have yet to be fulfilled in history; they look forward to the reign of Christ, the greater David, in the millennial kingdom of the “latter days.” How much it demonstrates your character as one who takes the undeserving, the wretched and lifts them up. You surely did that with Israel. They were your people no matter what they did and they remained your people no matter what they did. You chose them, rooted in your own mind and purpose, not in their own.

     We cry about our afflictions, but they are just! Our sufferings in this world are there because of our sins and because of our sinfulness, and further because you do what you are well justified in doing!

     Our situation is incurable! We cannot make ourselves well - But glory! You can! You are both source of our affliction in that you are scourging us (not the cause but the scourging one) as well as the solution for the problem.

     These things didn't just happen because Israel removed herself from God's protection. God did them. If He did them then, then unless He stopped relating to national Israel, unless everlasting covenant stopped meaning everlasting covenant, He is still doing them.

     The idea that this stuff "just happens" or that it happens because we remove ourselves out from under God's protection is foreign to the Bible. There is no such thing as God being passive in these events. He is sovereign and He is the one who is proactive. It is he who acts and causes. He does not sit and watch and wring his hands while things happen to his people, wishing that they would only allow him to "let him" fix it.

     Of course, it is not that simple either. There is the mechanism of sin involved. There is the causality of sin and the direct mechanism that brings about judgment and chastening as is reflected here as well.

     Thanks be to God that we serve a God who will "heal our wounds" and not simple cause them!

     A part of the reason why, and perhaps a large part, God heals and restores is to vindicate himself in the eyes of those watching. Notes the uses of "Zion", a name for the promised land. God will heal and restore so that those looking round about see that God fulfills his promises, that he has not forgotten and cast Israel away, as well as to make his people well.

     "Then" - What a fabulous word! "Then" Upon seeing all of the above! When the they are restored and enjoy the fruits of being in the land again. When they are God's people once more. When God has restored to them all that he has promised. Remembering that what is in view here is far more than just a return to the physical land, that it culminated with the promise of the New Covenant in a couple chapters…the person of the Messiah - one can see why there would be great praise and thanksgiving! It is easily understandable why there would be merrymaking and great happiness.

     That this is not speaking primarily of the return to the land after Babylon is evidenced by the next couple phrases…for they did diminish again. Either God speaks in rhetorical flourishes and cannot be taken seriously or literally, or this passage is talking about some other time. Note also the reference to "Glorifying them" There was not glory for Israel at this point. That await the Millennial age.

     Likewise, this passage demonstrates that the time immediately after the Babylonian captivity is not in view for Israel was not faithful at that time. They were not, sadly, God's people then (spiritually speaking). That awaits a time yet future when God will miraculously call them to faith and bring them to the place of embracing their Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Psalm 92:5-6 - How Great are the Works of God!

     Here the psalmist elaborated on God’s praiseworthy actions. The writer sang because of the Lord’s deeds . . . great works, and profound . . . thoughts. Specifically he was thinking of God’s vindication of the righteous by His destroying senseless . . . evildoers who sprout like grass (cf. 90:5) and flourish for a short time (cf. Pss. 49; 73).

O Lord, how great are Your works!

      How marvelous is it that we can directly address the Lord of the universe and He hears us? Those are not deaf ears.  Because of the work of Christ - we can address him - enter His courts and speak and he hears us and is sympathetic to our speaking, small and futile as it is!

      How truly great!  How marvelous and unassailably great - without question!  Man's greatness is either derived from you, a mirror of your own or creation's, or false, faked.  But your greatness, O Lord is truly Great!

     God’s acts and thoughts overwhelm us as we contemplate them. They draw us on to reverent fascination and humble devotion that exceeds our poor grasp.

     There is no end to His works, only and endless variety to what He has done, a tapestry varied and colorful for the believer to look at and enjoy.

…Your thoughts are very deep.

     That God has thoughts demonstrates that he is a being and not a force.  Only a being can have thoughts, a force can only do or be.  O God YOU think and are and act.

      Lord, your thoughts are deep, often too deep for us!  Too complex.  Too detailed.  They take too much into consideration and have too much to consider.  They are godly thoughts.  They are clean thoughts, pure thoughts.  They look backward to consider that past and forward to take in the plans for the future.

      O Lord your thoughts are too deep for us and we are glad that you are thinking them and not us!  For they are they are the thoughts of God and not man!

     The Lord’s plans are as profound as his doings are vast. Some people think but cannot work, and others are mere drudges working without thought; in the Eternal the conception and the execution go together. Providence is inexhaustible, and the divine decrees which originate it are inscrutable. Redemption is grand beyond conception, and the thoughts of love which planned it are infinite. Human beings are superficial, God is deep. We stand by the fathomless sea of divine wisdom, and exclaim with holy awe, “Oh the depth!”

      A senseless man does not know, 
      Nor does a fool understand this.

      Thank you Lord for the sense to both perceive and understand that your thoughts are not man's thoughts.  What a great gift!  What a fabulous treasure!  I praise you Lord for the great gift of understanding and the great gift of be able to perceive what God has done for me and understand what it means as well and to know that t this something that not all men are aware of!

      Don’t expect the natural man to understand the deep things of God. He can’t understand them, “because they are spiritual discerned” (1 Cor. 2:14). As far as divine realities are concerned, he is dull and stupid though he may be an intellectual giant as far as the world is concerned. He never comes to grip with the fact that fixed moral laws in the universe prescribe destruction for the wicked. Though he may seem to prosper for a while, still his success is as short-lived as grass. Just as sure as the Lord is enthroned forevermore, so surely will His enemies be scattered and perish.

Pastor John Piper - “Don’t Waste Your Life!”

John Piper has way of express confrontive ideas in a way that are somehow non-confrontive. His caring and warm mannerisms and methodology allow him to say things that would offend put people off in the mouths of other men. Here is a great example:

Life is a gift from God – we need to be certain that is not wasted!

Hebrews 2:9-10 VIA James White – Great Action!!

Some men can just bring the Word with great authority and clarity – James White is one of those men -

Does God Do Harsh Chastening?

One of my favorite blogs is Ray Comfort’s blog, “Atheist Central”.  Today he answered a question that, sooner or later, any apologist gets. 

"Do you really believe the holocaust was God's punishment of the Jews?"

In answer to the question, Ray, I believe made one of the few mistakes he makes in that great blog.  In a very good desire, I think, to direct the attention of the questioner, to the Gospel, he actually denied the truth that God was using Germany in dealing with Israel.

I would never say that God used Hitler to punish the Jews. If God treated any of us justly and punished us according to our sins, we would all be in Hell in an instant. I’m Jewish and I am as guilty as any Gentile of violating His Law.

He then went on to talk about our sinfulness and our need for mercy as a people, all very commendable and very true.  The problem is, that it is not the truth. 

There are at least three  Biblical examples where God used horrible oppressors to chasten and correct Israel.  The first was Egypt.  Israel was there by choice, but God used Pharaoh (the embodiment of national Egypt) to chasten Israel and cause Israel to cry out to Him for deliverance.

God raised up the Assyrians to take the Northern Kingdom into captivity in 705 BC, never to return!  Some portion of the peoples of that area drifted down to live in Judah, but the 10 tribes were taken and never formally returned.  The Assyrians were responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths.

Babylon is another example of a terrible oppressor, responsible for innumerable deaths and the displacement of the nation that God raised up deliberately and with the sure purpose of bringing Israel back to obedience and causing him to forsake the idolatry and false religion that become a staple of their national existence.  Babylon kinds many, many tens of thousands over the three separate captivities they exercised (605, 597 & 586 BC)

Those three are very clearly put forth in the Scripture,  and we haven’t even talked about God raising up the Roman Empire, and allowed it to conquer the nation and exercise harsh rulership over that area.  We haven’t mentioned that God raised up Cyrus the Persian, mentioning him by name some 150 years before he came on the scene and conquered both the Israel and the Babylonian empire.  The Persians weren’t the nicest guys on the block either.

The point here is that is wrong to assert that God does not use such instruments to chasten His people.  Israel is alone in this, God uses harsh methods to chasten us all.  Because Israel is a national entity, God used national-level methods.

I do agree with Ray in one area.  It may be a small distinction, but I think it an important one.  All that God has done of the centuries in Israel’s life has not been done by way of punishment.  I think perhaps that this is part of what Ray was trying to get across.  God’s aim with his people, with His chosen ones is never punishment, it is chastening.

Now, one might argue that there is little difference – I beg to differ.  From a human point of view, an experiential point of view – it may be that there is little difference.  But from God’s point of view, the only one that really matters in the long run, there is a big difference.

The aim in punishment is to satisfy God’s wrath against sinful behavior.  That is not the primary aim in any of the occasions we have mentioned.  The intention of in all of those occasions was not punishment – satisfying Himself.  It was chastening.

Chastening has as its aim the teaching of a lesson with the intent of causing the change of perspective, of mindset and the resulting change of behavior.  That was the aim of God in each of the captivities and likewise it was the aim in the holocaust. 

If God is sovereign, and He is, how can we draw any other conclusion?  Is He in charge, except for this?  Has He abandoned His people?  We the Nazi’s stronger than He was? 

It is always the case that God does as He desires and that what occurs in life is as He has planned.  The horror of the crucifixion was planned before the world began happened exactly as God desired it happen.  I completely agree that from a human point of view it makes no sense, and even seems contrary to common sense, but we are not the God of the universe and are not the architect of the world and of the all that is in it.  Our minds are subject to the fall and our reason tainted by the effects of sin.  There is no shame in admitting that.  There is only shame in the pride and arrogance of insisting God conform the creatures standards and not vice-versa.

Was the Holocaust God’s punishment of the Jews.  With the change of single word – (punishment to chastening) and remembering that the intent of chastening in bringing men to glory – I fear we must answer yes. 

God is willing to what He must to bring His people to salvation – to obedience to the Gospel.  He simply is.  Men make the issue any number of things.  Fairness.  Harshness.  Suffering.  Human ideas of right and wrong.  But none of that is what lies at the root.  At the root of the issue is the character of God and His unwillingness to compromise that character for any reason.  That is why Christ had to come and die, and that is why God’s people must be chastened.  It is not our conception morality that rules creation – it is His.  Like it or not – that’s what reality is.

What Exactly Does The Counsel of God “Do”? (Part 1)

It is important for us to understand that the Counsels of God are not theoretical – they are real and they are binding on God’s creation.  By that I mean that they accomplish real things.  these are not the musings of an impotent Being who sits in heaven wishing that His creation would shape up and do what He wants them to do while all the while they do as they please.   

Oh no!  This is a sovereign God, much to the chagrin and the irritation of the secular, unredeemed world.  Much, as well, to the consternation of the unsaved world.  This is a God that they cannot figure out.  They insist on holding Him to human standards and trying measure Him by human measurements, and then are angry and/or frustrated when those measures come out cockeyed.  Their verdict then is this God is either unjust or non-existent.  Neither could further from the truth.  He is simply not a man and cannot be measured by our standards.

Yet it IS important to remember that God is going about accomplishing His plan for His creation.  So, just what is it that these counsels and purposes of God are accomplishing in the world?  Well, the specific acts of God would, of course, be too numerous to list in this context.  But we can do some talking in a “heading” manner.  I see at the least four general headings ^[1] that we can group the actions of under.

1. God Acts in Human History

First we could say that God acts in History.  Just in one grand example, Is. 46:10-11 says:

10 Declaring the end from the beginning,
And from ancient times things that are not yet done,
Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
And I will do all My pleasure,’
11 Calling a bird of prey from the east,
The man who executes My counsel, from a far country.
Indeed I have spoken it;
I will also bring it to pass.
I have purposed it;
I will also do it.

Those two verses are full of sovereignty language, aren’t they?  People who reject the authority of the Bible will argue that this passage, and others like it were written after Cyrus came and conquered Babylon and returned the people of God to their land.  Their assumption is that such knowledge is not possible a century and a half (that is when Isaiah lived) is not possible and thus this text had to be written after it happen by some Pseudo-Isaiah after the fact. 

But such assumptions only do more to show our own spiritual state than they do to argue for the truth of the text of Isaiah.  The fact of the matter is that there is ample evidence that this passage was written in the 8th century along with the rest of the Book of Isaiah.  It is not unreasonable to accept what is, really, a wealth of textual evidence, for the genuine authorship of Isaiah at that time.

Given that truth, we see a marvelous demonstration of the sovereignty of God in these two verses.  He says that Cyrus the Persian will come, even calling him by name (Isaiah 44:28; 45:1) and that he will overthrow the Babylonian Empire. 

All of this, doing “My counsel”.  God says “I have spoken it, I will bring it to pass”.  This very clear language.  “I have purposed it, I will also do it”.  Using poetic mechanism, God uses a doublet to underscore the truth that His sovereign power will accomplish in human History what His counsel has purposed in His mind.

2.  God Acted In Accomplishing The Death of Christ

This is certainly no surprise to most believers.  That God delivered up Christ by His own purpose, a determined purpose that according to foreknowledge is one of the tenets of the Christian faith.  Acts 2:23 says:

Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death;

This is one of those verse that we take great care over.  Every word in this verse is significant and we need to take more care, really, than we have time for in this short space.  But we do have time for a few relevant comments.

First, “determined” is a verb and a participle.  It has two primary meanings^[2].  When it used in the active sense it means “to decide, or determine as seen in Ac 11:29. 2.   When it is in the passive voice, that is when the verb indicates that the object of the sentence is being acted upon and not doing the action, it means “to appoint, to set, or to decree”.  This is the use here.  Christ did not do the delivering, He was delivered. 

Further we would note both that this delivering was a finished act, referring, of course to the act of sacrifice on the cross of Calvary; and that this action was an action accomplished by the Father in a determined action. 

This decree occurred, we’re told according to God’s “foreknowledge”.  Actually what the passage says is that all of this occurred according to the plan that God foreknew.  “Foreknew” is a noun in this case (there is also a verb that means “to foreknow”).  In this context it mean to have knowledge of or to plan out.  Note the use of the word “counsel” just before.  That was what was foreknown.  It was His plan!  Christ was crucified according to the foreknown plan of God.  God saw to it that what occurred was exactly what He had planned would occur in eternity past.

From eternity past God predetermined that Jesus would die an atoning death as part of the His pre-ordained plan.^[3] Our calling is a holy calling according to grace given before time began. 2 Tim. 1:8-9:

8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, 9 who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began,

The names of believers are written in the “Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the Foundation of the World”. Rev. 13:8:

…And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. 8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

The early church preached that the crucifixion of Jesus was according to foreknowledge of God as well.  Acts 4:27, 28:

27 “For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together 28 to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done.

There was no question in the minds of the Apostles and the early church the the death of Jesus fulfilled the prophesies of the OT.  Acts 13:27–29:

27 For those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they did not know Him, nor even the voices of the Prophets which are read every Sabbath, have fulfilled them in condemning Him. 28 And though they found no cause for death in Him, they asked Pilate that He should be put to death. 29 Now when they had fulfilled all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb.

All of this demonstrated that God acted in fulfilling His counsels in the death of Christ.  As He did in history in general, He did in this specific aspect of history – He moved with power and authority as the One Who controls all things to do as He had decreed in eternity past to bring about that which He desired – the salvation His people.

___________________________________

^[1] Thomas Nelson Publishers. (1995). Nelson's quick reference topical Bible index. Nelson's Quick reference (156). Nashville, Tenn.: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

^[2] Swanson, J. (1997). Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Greek (New Testament) (electronic ed.) (DBLG 3988, #2). Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

^[3] MacArthur, J. J. (1997, c1997). The MacArthur Study Bible (electronic ed.) (Ac 2:23). Nashville: Word Pub.

Just How Is The Counsel of God Described in the Bible? (Part 4 - Sovereign & Eternal)

We’ve seen that the Bible uses at least 4 different descriptions of the Counsels of God ^[1] in the Scriptures thus far.  He speaks of them as “Immutable”, as “Faithful”, as “Wonderful” and as “Great”.

He further speaks of these Counsels in His Word as Sovereign .  The Sovereignty of God can be defined as his absolute right to do all things according to his own good pleasure (Rom. 9:15–23; 1 Tim. 6:15; Rev. 4:11)^[2] .  It specifically refers to the unlimited power of God, who has sovereign control over the affairs of men, nature and history (Is. 45:9–19; Rom. 8:18–39).^[3]

The Bible declares that God is working out His sovereign plan of redemption for the world and that the conclusion is certain. Immediately after the Fall He talked about the curse of human sin and specified the cure for it. To the serpent He said,

“I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel” (Gen. 3:15).

The whole redemptive story of the Bible is the fulfillment of this prophecy by the sovereign God, as Paul clearly teaches in Romans 8–11.

The story of redemption from Genesis to Revelation is possible only because the sovereign God loves the created world, fallen though it is, and is able to do something about it. Without the sovereign love of the Father ministered to us through the Son and the Holy Spirit, there would be no real human freedom and no hope of everlasting life.^[4]

Daniel 4:35 says:

34 And at the end of the time I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me; and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever:

For His dominion is an everlasting dominion,
And His kingdom is from generation to generation.

35 All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing;
He does according to His will in the army of heaven
And among the inhabitants of the earth.
No one can restrain His hand
Or say to Him, “What have You done?”

A prime example of human pride in the Scripture is the Babylonian King, Nebuchadnezzar.  When, at the end of his humbling process, he lifted his eyes and saw the God was a sovereign God, and that he (Nebuchadnezzar) was but a tool in God’s hand, he also understood that this understanding was a gracious one.  He clearly recognizes that God is sovereign and that He does as He wills and no man can stop Him.  He confesses that man is answerable to God and that will be held accountable to God. 

All of this speaks of the sovereignty of the counsels of God!  Those counsels are plans that cannot be overturned and are counsels that stand forever!

His Counsels are Eternal

Further, the counsels of God are Eternal counsels.  Commenting on the receiving of His gracious commission to preach the mysteries of Gospel to the Gentiles from God, Paul said in Ephesians 3:8-11:

8 To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; 10 to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, 11 according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.

This purpose was an eternal purpose!  It was not a plan cobbled together at the last minute in response to what the Pharisees and Sadducees and other opponents of the Gospel came up with.  Paul was simply fulfilling the plan that God had in His mind from before the world was formed.

What is interesting in that verse in Ephesians is that Paul views that purpose as fully accomplished.  The boldness he now has, he has because the purpose of God is already accomplished, accomplished by means of what Christ has done already.  Now, of course, that points to Calvary and to the finished satisfaction provided there by our Lord’s broken body and shed blood.  Paul added nothing to it by his own work – he looked back and rested on what was already accomplished.  So ought you and I.

If we look to some earthly measure then our purpose is not eternal – it is temporal!  Paul says that the purpose of God is eternal.  He set his purposes back before time began – it was ever His purpose to look to the work of Christ on Calvary and base all there.  It was never, NEVER in His mind to require obedience from men and ask them to adhere to a standard.  It was always His desire to exalt His Son and thus lift up both the Son’s name and His own.

That ought to be our own purpose as well.

_______________________________________

^[1] Thomas Nelson Publishers. (1995). Nelson's quick reference topical Bible index. Nelson's Quick reference (156). Nashville, Tenn.: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

^[2] Easton, M. (1996, c1897). Easton's Bible dictionary. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

^[3] Youngblood, R. F., Bruce, F. F., Harrison, R. K., & Thomas Nelson Publishers. (1995). Nelson's new illustrated Bible dictionary. Rev. ed. of: Nelson's illustrated Bible dictionary.; Includes index. Nashville: T. Nelson.

^[4] Ibid.

Just How is the Counsel of God Described in the Bible? (Part 3)

We’ve been considering just how the Counsels of God are described in the Bible?^[1] This is part 3 of our study; in part one we said that those counsels are immutable, that God Himself never changes them, and that no outside force can force them to change.  Yesterday we said that those counsels are faithful to the plans and purposes of God, and that they are an expression of His character, that He will be faithful to them.  Today we want to think for a moment about two things, that those Counsels are described as both Great and Wonderful.

His Counsels Are Great

Jeremiah 32:19 says:

You are great in counsel and mighty in work, for your eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men, to give everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings.

  The word used is a common one in the OT, having no less that eight separate shades of meaning^[2] depending the context in which it is used. 

1. It can refer to much, great or many; a large mass (Eze 38:13)
2. It can refer to upper range or scale of extent (Ex 32:11; Jdg 21:5)
3. It can speak of the size of an object taking up great area or mass compared to a norm (Dt 25:14; 2Sa 18:17)
4. Strange, i.e., pertaining to causing surprise and astonishment, in view of being important or unusual (Ex 3:3);
5. Pertaining to the older in comparison of two objects (Ge 10:21);
6. High, formally, great, i.e., to be in a spatial dimension which is elevated compared to other positions (Ge 29:7);
7. When used as a Unit:

• It can speak as a high priest, i.e., principle priest with special ministry, duties, and restrictions (Lev 21:10)
• It can speak of the quality of greatness, power, strength, i.e., the state of exerting great force or ability (Ex 15:6), see also domain LN 74; note: others parse as 1524
• It can speak of the specific Great Sea, i.e., the western-most body of water in relation to Canaanland (Nu 34:6, 7; Jos 1:4; 9:1; 15:12, 47; 23:4; Eze 47:10, 15, 19, 20; 48:28+)

However, in this specific context it speaks of the idea of that which is important, i.e., pertaining to having high status by a consensus of other persons.  In Jonah we see a similar use, though a Greek word is used, in Jonah3:3:

So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three-day journey in extent.

The greatness is not in the eyes of God, but is a subjective greatness, as is made plain by the next phrase “a three-day journey in extent”.  The greatness is measured by the consensus of men.

So it is here is Jeremiah.  This is not say that men make God great, but that men recognize God to be great.  That is an important distinction.  God is seen to great by men, recognized to be great in His works among men, in the demonstration of His counsel and plan as it works itself out in the world.

This in and of itself is a wonder!  That we can know and see His counsels work themselves out is both a blessing and a mystery!  Job said in Job 36:26:

“Behold, God is great, and we do not know Him;
Nor can the number of His years be discovered.

God’s greatness and His “unknowability” go hand-in-hand.  We can know only what He has revealed to us in His Word.  The rest lies in mystery shrouded and reserved for eternity future, when, the Bible tells us, we shall Him as He knows us.

His Counsels are Wonderful

We’re told also that God’s counsels are “Wonderful”.

There are a number of verses that champion this concept, but one immediate thinks of Isaiah where, among other name, Wonderful is connected with Counselor in 9:6

For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

In that passage, those are two different names, Wonderful and Counselor.  But in Isaiah 28:29 the two terms are joined together:

This also comes from the Lord of hosts,
Who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in guidance.

“Wonderful” in this verse is actually a verb.³  It means to be wonderful, or to be marvelous, be amazing, i.e., pertaining to an attitude of great surprise and awe over an event or person.  In the particular for that it is in, it refers to that which astounds or causes amazement, or is “wonderful” in any sense (positive or negative by the way).  It is used in this for form, for instance in Deuteronomy 28:59:

“…then the Lord will bring upon you and your descendants extraordinary plagues—great and prolonged plagues—and serious and prolonged sicknesses.”

Judges 13:19-20 uses the word in a more positive sense:

19 So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering, and offered it upon the rock to the Lord. And He did a wondrous thing while Manoah and his wife looked on— 20 it happened as the flame went up toward heaven from the altar—the Angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar! When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell on their faces to the ground.

David knew Wonder when he saw it!  verses like Ps 17:6-7 demonstrate this: 

6 I have called upon You, for You will hear me, O God;
Incline Your ear to me, and hear my speech.
7 Show Your marvelous lovingkindness by Your right hand,
O You who save those who trust in You
From those who rise up against them.

  The point is that these things all were out of the ordinary, way out of the ordinary and caused great amazement – wonder!  In doing these thing – God was causing “wonders” – He was acting in His capacity as the Almighty One and bringing His plan – His counsels to pass.

You’ll note that in Isaiah 28:29 the Name used for God is “Lord of Hosts”.  This is of the mighty names for God – one of the Names frequently used in context that shows His power and His ability to do what is needed to accomplish all that is necessary to accomplish His purposes (or, in case, His counsels). 

Just a word about the marvelous context of this particular verse.  After a long session of harsh words of judgment, Isaiah then inserted a word of comfort. The judgment would last for only a short while as it was designed to purge the people. A farmer must crush his crops to get the desired results. For example, caraway and cummin, aromatic herbs, are beaten out with a rod or stick, not threshed, because their seeds are so small. Grain is ground by millstone, after the wheat stalks are threshed. Various crops must be treated differently so no one step (plowing, harrowing, planting, or threshing) is done continuously.

Similarly God would bring about judgment but not forever. He is the Master “Farmer, ” who knows how to handle each “crop.” Therefore the Southern Kingdom should submit to Him because He is wonderful in counsel (cf. 9:6) and magnificent in wisdom.^[4]

_______________________________________

^[1]Thomas Nelson Publishers. (1995). Nelson's quick reference topical Bible index. Nelson's Quick reference (156). Nashville, Tenn.: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

^[2]Swanson, J. (1997). Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (electronic ed.) (DBLH 1524, #8). Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

^[3] Ibid 7098, #1).

^[4] Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1983-c1985). The Bible knowledge commentary : An exposition of the scriptures (1:1078). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

Just How is the Counsel of God Described in The Bible? (Part 2)

We’ve spoken quite a bit about the Counsel of God over the past weeks.  We’re taking some time to take a look at just how the Bible speaks for itself about those counsels.  The first thing we noted was that the Bible says that God’s Counsels are Immutable – they do not and cannot ever change.  They are ever the same just as He is ever the same.

A second quality¹ of these counsels is that they are Faithful. Isaiah 25:1 says:

Lord, You my God. 
I will exalt You, 
I will praise Your name, 
For You have done wonderful things; 
Your counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.

William Elwell² defines God’s faithfulness as “maintaining faith or allegiance; showing a strong sense of duty or conscientiousness.” In biblical Hebrew, “faith” and “faithfulness” are grammatically related. Although both concepts are important in the OT, there is no English word exactly equivalent to the Hebrew terms. The most relevant Hebrew verbal root (related to our word “amen”) carries such meanings as “strengthen,” “support,” or “hold up.” In a physical sense it is used of pillars that provide support for doors.  See 2 Kings 18:16 for instance:

At that time Hezekiah stripped the gold from the doors of the temple of the Lord, and from the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria.

Moses used the word when he disclaimed any role as supporter of the Israelites.  Numbers 11:12, for instance uses the term:

Did I conceive all these people? Did I beget them, that You should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a guardian carries a nursing child,’ to the land which You swore to their fathers?

The nursing mother is the sole support for the child until the child is able to eat and support itself.

God, however, is an eternally firm support for his people. and that is the connection between that ideas.  Deuteronomy 7:9 says:

“Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments…

Likewise Isaiah 49:7

Thus says the Lord,
The Redeemer of Israel, their Holy One,
To Him whom man despises,
To Him whom the nation abhors,
To the Servant of rulers:
“Kings shall see and arise,
Princes also shall worship,
Because of the Lord who is faithful,
The Holy One of Israel;
And He has chosen You.”

So faithfulness is an attribute of God and it only makes sense that the purpose of God, His plan for His creation, would share that attribute as well.  They are the faithful expression of the faithful character and intention of God’s nature.

If we do a study of the Hebrew word for faithfulness we find that there are three “branches” of meaning for the word in the OT, as we have seen above.  Those branches give us a good rich idea of what God’s faithfulness mean for the believer.  He is a “doorpost” for His children, that is, He is that which gives a sense of solidity and solidness to life, which holds all of life and eternity together.  He is the “frame around which all it held. 

He “nurses” His children, giving them sustenance and all they need to live and walk in the world, seeing to it that they can live as children of God in a hostile world and be faithful men and women of God, witnesses to His goodness and to His power to call and bring men out of the nations.

And He is a Father, with all that implies in the best sense of the word.  A Father will love, command, instruct, guide and warn. He will train, rebuke, restrain, punish, chasten, nourish, and supply needs. A Father is responsible to not provoke His children wrath.  All of this God will do – Praise His holy Name!

Many Americans don't believe in hell, but what about Pastors? (Part 2)

We talked a bit yesterday about the sharp decline in the belief in a real, literal Hell in our culture today.  We’d like to continue that discussion today…

A Real Place or a State of Mind?

The pope's comments on hell stirred up the ancient debate about whether hell is a real place of burning fire or a state of mind reflecting a dark, cold emptiness and distance from God.

Evangelical Christians have traditionally looked to the Bible and offered a sterner view of salvation and damnation. A Southern Baptist Home Mission Board study in 1993 estimated that 70% of all Americans are going to hell, based on projected numbers of those who have not had a born-again experience. (I think it far more than that).

There are many who have sought to lay the idea of hell as portrayed in the Bible along side of other, terrible ideas put forth by men throughout history. They look back through the pages of time and try and trace the development of the “concept” of hell and “trace” its origin.

They suggest that the human ideas about hell were still in ferment as the Bible was being written. Historian Alan Bernstein, for instance, author of “The Formation of Hell” would argue that the theological concept of hell has “a rich cultural heritage”.

According to Bernstein, the ancient Hebrews focused on the afterlife following their Babylonian captivity, when they experienced the torment of ungodly enemies who seemed to have an unjustifiably good life on Earth.

Further, he says, during the Babylonian exile, Jews were exposed to Zoroastrianism, which asserts there is an eternal, non-physical struggle between good and evil, with good triumphing in the end.

He argues that the Hebrew concept of “Sheol” — the realm of the dead — ws likely also have been influenced by the Greek mythology of Tartarus, a place of everlasting punishment for the Titans, a race of gods defeated by Zeus, Bernstein writes.

From about 300 B.C. to 300 A.D., those influences combined with Hebrew speculation about an eventual comeuppance to the worldly wicked.

According to Bernstein, in translating the Bible from Hebrew to Greek, the Greeks used the terms Tartarus, Hades and Gehenna. In Greek thought, Hades is not a place of punishment; it's where the dead are separated from the living.

But the term Gehenna referred to a ravine outside Jerusalem that was used as a garbage dump. It had once been a place of child sacrifice and became a symbol of pain and suffering, Selles observed. As a garbage dump, it was probably often a place of fire as trash was burned, emphasizing the symbolism of the flames of eternal damnation, he said.

Selles said:

“Jesus never soft-pedaled the concept of hell. It's not metaphorical in Jesus' mind; it's a real place.”

The Bible contains a litany of colorful images of hell as both fire and darkness, as in the Gospel of Matthew, which refers to “the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” and “the outer darkness” where “men will weep and gnash their teeth.”

Either way, Selles said, pretending that hell doesn't exist, or trying to preach around it, short-circuits the Bible.

“This is a doctrine, a teaching, that's being neglected in churches, It needs to be preached. It's part of the Gospel.”

Actually, it is a part of the Gospel, it is sets the stage for the Gospel and is what the Gospel provides the solution for! Sin is the Problem, The Gospel (the Death, Burial and Resurrection of Christ) is the solution. If that solution is not availed of in life, then hell is only other alternative for man. Punishment for sin must be exacted. If God is not satisfied by the death of His only Son, then He will be satisfied by the punishment of the sinner himself. Horrible as that is, it is what it is!

Many Americans don't believe in hell, but what about Pastors?

In a recent article in the Religion New Service, Greg Garrison quoted a statistic that seemed to surprise him. He said that only 59% of Americans believe in hell, compared with 74% who believe in heaven, according to the recent surveys from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.

The overwhelming majority of Pastors and Teachers never preach or teach on the topic for fear of seeming extreme or of being “irrelevant”, that is not addressing things that modern audiences are concerned about.

Rev. Kurt Selles, director of the Global Center at Samford University's Beeson Divinity School and quoted extensively in the article, ties this trend to the modern desire to “market Jesus”.

“When you're trying to market Jesus, sometimes there's a tendency to mute traditional Christian symbols. Difficult doctrines are left by the wayside. Hell is a morally repugnant doctrine. People wonder why God would send people to eternal punishment.”

He couldn’t be more correct. The problem, of course, is that this is disastrous for the critical matter of actually getting saved! If we remove the doctrine of sin and its’ punishment then we remove the need for Christ to have come; and if we remove that need, the entire doctrine of the cross falls apart.

Speakers said the seriousness of Jesus dying for man's sins relates to the gravity of salvation vs. damnation, according to Rev. Fred Johns, pastor of Brookview Wesleyan Church in Irondale, Ala. Selles agreed and added:

“If you don't mention God's judgment, you are missing a big part of the Christian gospel, Without wrath, there's no grace.”

That’s true as well, it’s not just a big part, it is the biggest part – in fact, it is all of the Gospel. Surely there is a part of what God does in lives of those whom He saves once redemption is accomplished and men and women walk with Him as His children…but the Gospel is about sin and its’ solution and that is wrapped up in the cross and nothing else!

The article goes on to mention that Pope John Paul II stirred up a debate in 1999 by describing hell as:

“…the state of those who freely and definitely separate themselves from God, the source of all life and joy.”

Although the pope was reflecting official Roman Catholic teaching, some U.S. evangelicals expressed misgivings about the implication that hell is an abstract separation from God rather than a literal lake of fire as described in the Book of Revelation.

That puts it gently. The pope was dead wrong, couldn’t have been further from the truth. He was indeed reflecting official RC teaching, but not Biblical teaching. Hell is not for those who separate themselves but for those who, as a result of the Great Whit Throne, have been condemned by God and sentenced there – separated by Him. It is not their choice – it is His. When they are faced by that awesome and terrifying personage portrayed in Revelation 20:11ff, no one would chose to be separated; but they have no choice at that point. The pope is simply playing the RC party line.

We’ll talk more about this tomorrow…

Just How is “The Counsel of God” Described in the Bible?

While the phrase “Counsel of God” may seem a bit stilted and old fashioned, it is a useful one. The phrase appears 4 times in the KJV, once in 1 Samuel 14:37 where Samuel asked “counsel of God”. It is used twice in Job (15:8 and 29:4) both speaking the counsel of God in terms of the counsel of a friend. The last instance is the famous instance of Acts 20:27:

27 For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.

Paul here speaks of the entire content of his preaching as the “counsel of God”. From his office as Apostle, a writing Prophet, so to speak, that counsel takes on the authority and impact of one who spoke the very words of God Himself.

The word “counsel” in Acts 20:27 is “boulay” and speaks of a plan, purpose, or a decision^[1]. That makes the idea different than our idea of counsel. It is not a suggestion, it is the Kings objective purpose, laid out and declared for His subjects. When we think of “counsel” we think in terms of suggestions and helpful tips. That is not all the class of idea we are in here. No, no – This is no more a suggestion than the policeman’s light and siren is a suggestion that you pull over!

And so we ask – just how is this “Counsel” described in the Bible? ^[2] Space prohibits a full listing of all of the attributes that are used, but a short list can be supplied. But we’d like to make one observation first if we may – the attributes are all the attributes of God Himself!

And this is not Surprising – in fact we would expect it if we give it but a moment’s thought! It is God’s counsel and there is every reason that it would share the characteristics of His character. What He does should be like Him.

First, the Bible tells us that the counsel of God is Immutable. Speaking of the great purpose he had in Christ, and the truth that this purpose could not be thwarted, The writer to Hebrews said in Hebrews 6:17-18:

17 Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, 18 that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.

This shows exactly what we said earlier – that we are not talking about suggestions – but are talking about purposes – plans! They are unalterable because God’s character is unalterable! He doesn’t make one plan, have second thoughts and then erase that, and go for plan “B”. His plan is His plan – it is unshakeable! This is, in part why we can rest our hope on what He has promised! He and His Word are immutable.

_____________________________________________

^[1] Swanson, J. (1997). Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Greek (New Testament) (electronic ed.) (DBLG 1087, #2). Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

^[2] Thomas Nelson Publishers. (1995). Nelson's quick reference topical Bible index. Nelson's Quick reference (156). Nashville, Tenn.: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

When God Abandons A Nation

We stand in grave danger in our nation today.  We’ve allowed ourselves to become distracted by those who say “peace peace” when there is no peace!  As a consequence, the message of the church has become garbled and confused and associated with that of many different things other than those with which God intended.

We are here to call the unredeemed to submit themselves to Christ by means of the Cross.  What God does in there lives after that occurs is varied and profound, but before that occurs is singular and specific – recognize your sin, repent and turn to the finished work of Christ on Calvary’s Cross as the solution and be saved.  That is message we are to take to society around us and around the world.

We have and are failing to do so.  We God’s people historically fail to do as He desires and commands them to do, He He calls them to repentance and gives them another chance.  Should they fail then, He perhaps does it again.  But eventually, He gives them over to their sin and abandons them, and seeks another people to be His.  This is what is happening to America today.  We see it all around us is unprecedented fashion.

Dr. John MacArthur puts is we in the following video:

Thankfully, there is always a remnant, a group that God preserves to preach the truth in the midst of judgment.  It ain’t pleasant – but from a Biblical point of view it is a great privilege!

They Have Provoked The Holy One – Part 2d

We’ve looked thus far at 14 characteristics of the counsel of God:^[1]

1. They are Great – High in status, formally great.
2. They are Wonderful – astounding, causing amazement and boggling the mind.
3. They are Immutable – they will stand forever, never to be altered.
4. They are Sovereign – they demonstrate the absolute control of God over His creation.
5. They are Eternal – they extend from now into eternity future.
6. They are Faithful and True - demonstrate God’s faithfulness and truth to His Word.
7. They Cannot Be Frustrated & Shall Be Performed – There is nothing that men can do to prevent God from Doing As He Had Decreed.
8. The Scriptures tells that even the sufferings and death of Christ were according to these counsels – Christ was crucified from before the foundation of the world.
9. Saints are called and saved according to the counsels of God – The root of salvation rests, not in the mind and will of man, but in the determination counsel of God established before time began.
10. We see that the union of all saints in Christ, is according to these same counsels of God – the relationship of believers together, as a church is rooted in these same counsels.
11. Ultimately, all of the Works of God are according to the Counsels of God – in fact, all of his works are according to these self-same counsels of God.
12. The Scriptures tell us that these truths should be declared by ministers of the Gospel – we must declare them to all men.
13. We are to attend to these Counsels – We must hear them and obey them.
14. Portions of God’s counsels are secret and, like it or not, cannot be and are not ours to be searched into – God has reserved what are apparently many things for His own knowledge.

Fifteenth and lastly, the enemies of God, the unredeemed, the wicked bear several bear several specific relationships to these counsels.

First, the wicked do not “know” or perceive them, no do they understand them.  The prophet Micah said in Mic 4:11-12:

11 Now also many nations have gathered against you,
Who say, “Let her be defiled,
And let our eye look upon Zion.”
12 But they do not know the thoughts of the Lord,
Nor do they understand His counsel;
For He will gather them like sheaves to the threshing floor.

“Know” means to possess information and the phrase speaks of a fundamental difference between the redeemed and the unredeemed, between the elect and the non-elect.  When we think about this a bit we will realize that this is not speaking simply about possessing information as both parties are privileged to have the same information, they both hear the same preaching.  It is not simply that one group hears the information concerning God and one does not.  It is a matter of understanding as Micah makes clear in the next phrase.

“Understand” in the particular form that it is in, means “to have a specialized knowledge that is effectively implemented.”^[2] The Bible makes it clear that the ability of men to understand the Bible and put into practice effectively is a matter of the ministry of the Holy Spirit and enlightenment that He brings.  Without that Spirit, there is no understanding and, hence, no true application.

Second, the Scripture tells us that the wicked, in reality, despise the counsels of God. There is no such thing as neutrality with regard to the things of God.  The unredeemed, by nature, reject the things of God, and set themselves against His thoughts, His purposes and the revelation of those thoughts – His counsels.  Isaiah said in 5:19-20:

19 That say, “Let Him make speed and hasten His work,
That we may see it;
And let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near and come,
That we may know it.”
20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;
Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness;
Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

It is the nature of the unredeemed, and not just because of their lack of understanding, but because of their nature as wicked men to disdain God and His counsel as another function of the depraved nature.  It is not simply that they misinterpret, though that surely happens. 

You’ll note that Isaiah makes it clear that they deliberately call evil good and good evil, etc.  We know this because God holds them responsible not just for the condition that results in that error, but for the error itself.  This indicates that the error is deliberate, not merely a function of something else.

Further, the wicked reject the counsels of God. Whatever the reasons for the their perceptions, they are convinced that those counsels are in error and so it makes good sense that they would reject them.  Luke 7:29-30 says:

29 And when all the people heard Him, even the tax collectors justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John. 30 But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.

The Pharisees and Lawyers, famous for their deliberate and fervent opposition to Christ and His teaching, “rejected the will of God”.  Again, this is not just because of their lack of ability to understand, but really, mainly, because of their unsaved condition.

 

All of this, the 15 things we have discussed over the past few days, have provoked the holy one of Israel here in Isaiah.  Here we see a second and disastrous effect on God – he has despised God’s call to repentance and thus provoked Him to anger.  We read it here in Isaiah 1:4:

Alas, sinful nation,
A people laden with iniquity,
A brood of evildoers,
Children who are corrupters!
They have forsaken the Lord,
They have provoked to anger
The Holy One of Israel,
They have turned away backward.

We’ll look further at this tomorrow…

___________________________________________

^[1] Torrey, R. (1995, c1897). The New Topical TextBook : A scriptural text book for the use of ministers, teachers, and all Christian workers. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos research Systems, Inc.

^[2] Swanson, J. (1997). Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (electronic ed.) (DBLH 1067, #2). Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

They Have Provoked The Holy One – Part 2c

We’ve looked thus far at 11 characteristics of the counsel of God:^[1]

1. They are Great – High in status, formally great.
2. They are Wonderful – astounding, causing amazement and boggling the mind.
3. They are Immutable – they will stand forever, never to be altered.
4. They are Sovereign – they demonstrate the absolute control of God over His creation.
5. They are Eternal – they extend from now into eternity future.
6. They are Faithful and True - demonstrate God’s faithfulness and truth to His Word.
7. They Cannot Be Frustrated & Shall Be Performed – There is nothing that men can do to prevent God from Doing As He Had Decreed.
8. The Scriptures tells that even the sufferings and death of Christ were according to these counsels – Christ was crucified from before the foundation of the world.
9. Saints are called and saved according to the counsels of God – The root of salvation rests, not in the mind and will of man, but in the determination counsel of God established before time began.
10. We see that the union of all saints in Christ, is according to these same counsels of God – the relationship of believers together, as a church is rooted in these same counsels.
11. Ultimately, all of the Works of God are according to the Counsels of God – in fact, all of his works are according to these self-same counsels of God.

We’ve seen that the counsels of God are the basis for virtually all that we experience as people.  But the Bible has more to say to us that just to declare these truths.  It talks a great deal about what we are supposed, as believers, to do with those truths once we know and understand something about them.

Twelfth, the Scriptures tell us that these truths should be declared by ministers of the Gospel.  Luke, referring to his preaching, said in Ac 20:27:

27 For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.

“The whole counsel of God” refers to the entire plan and purpose of God for man’s salvation in all its fullness, culminating in His Son Jesus Christ: divine truths of creation, election, redemption, justification, adoption, conversion, sanctification, holy living, and glorification. Paul strongly condemned those who adulterate the truth of Scripture (2 Cor. 2:17, 2 Tim. 4:3, cf. Rev. 22:18).^<2>  He did not suppress any truths of the gospel but preached the full gospel to Jew and Gentile. He always used tact and discretion but never compromised the good news.

This is the responsibility of all ministers of the Gospel, formal ministers especially, but certainly this truth applies to all believers as we preach and teach the Gospel to all men.

Thirteenth, we are to attend to these Counsels.  God, of course, does not speak for nothing.  Nor does He speak merely for ornamentation or for the sake of effect.  He intends that men not only pay attention to what He says, but that they take action on them, obeying and implementing them in their lives.

Jeremiah 49:20 says:

²⁰ Therefore hear the counsel of the Lord that He has taken against Edom, And His purposes that He has proposed against the inhabitants of Teman…

“Hear”  specifically refers to use the perception of hearing with the ears specifically to process information ^[3].  The verb is in the imperative and thus is a command.  We MUST hear these commands, we are commanded to do so, it is a responsibility of believers to hear the commands of God and act on them.  It is not something we SHOULD do, it is something we MUST, we are OBLIGATED to do.

As in the prior verse, Jeremiah, speaking to a disobedient people, says in 50:45:

Therefore hear the counsel of the Lord that He has taken against Babylon, And His purposes that He has proposed against the land of the Chaldeans:

As in 49:20, he uses the same word, in the same form.  We are commanded to hear the counsel of the Lord, that is the advice, counsel, i.e., the act. of telling someone what they should do based on a plan or scheme ^[4]. He also uses the word “purposes” speaking of a thought, i.e., the content of reasoning and thinking ^[5].  The point being that the counsel that He has communicated is the content of the plan God has thought through and developed in His mind.

The implication of this is tremendous!  Why in the world would anyone, ANYONE wish to cast aside the plan thought through by the God of the universe?  The overwhelming truth in all of this is that this is not just a matter of authority, but also a matter of wisdom and submission.  It simply does not make any sense for men to cast aside the counsel of, the fruit of the machinations of His mind.  The rest of Bible makes clear the reason for casting that counsel aside is not because men come up with better  ideas, but because sin compels them to do so.

Fourteenth, portions of God’s counsels are secret and, like it or not, cannot and are not to be searched into.  What we mean by this is that though God has revealed much in His Word, He has not revealed all.  This is true in two regards. 

• First, we are not capable of understanding all that His mind thinks.
• Second it is not time for all of His counsels to take place.
• Third, there are surely matters that He has reserved for only He to know, He is not responsible to tell His children all things.

Deuteronomy 29:29 says:

“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.”

It is clear from this that God, Who is certainly capable of revealing anything that He desires to reveal, has reserved some of that information, some of that plan for Himself.  That which is revealed included the law with its promises and threats; consequently, that which is hidden only can refer to the specific way in which God will carry out His will in the future, which is revealed in His Word and completed in His great work of salvation, in spite of the apostasy of His people.^[2]

Matthew 24:36, for instance, tells us of a portion of the plan of God that is surely set in stone in all  of its aspects, but is reserved for His knowledge alone.

“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.

Whereas the disciples wanted to know the time and date of His return, but the emphasis of the passage is not that information, but on faithfulness, watchfulness, stewardship, expectancy, and preparedness.^[2] It is important to note that this statement is true to this day.  Any attempts to know the “day of hour” even as we get closer and closer to the time of the end, are effectively stopped by it. 

Similarly, at the time of the ascension, the disciples inquired about the time of Christ’s return.  Christ’s reply in Acts 1:7 was even more direct and to the point:

And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.

Even at this point, the apostles still believed the earthly form of the kingdom of Messiah would soon be re-established (cf. Luke 19:11; 24:21). They also knew that Ezek. 36 and Joel 2 connected the coming of the kingdom with the outpouring of the Spirit whom Jesus had promised.  But this verse shows that the apostles’ expectation of a literal, earthly kingdom mirrored what Christ taught and what the OT predicted. Otherwise, He would have corrected them about such a crucial aspect of His teaching. times or seasons. These two words refer to features, eras, and events that will be part of His earthly kingdom reign, which will begin at the second coming (Matt. 25:21–34). The exact time of His return, however, remains unrevealed.^[2]  It remains the province of God the Father and He alone.

The essence of the matter is that God has revealed information to us and we are responsible to act on that information.  But there is also information that He has reserved for His own and we are not only NOT responsible for that knowledge, but we are responsible to leave that knowledge with Him.

___________________________________________

^[1]Torrey, R. (1995, c1897). The New Topical TextBook : A scriptural text book for the use of ministers, teachers, and all Christian workers. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos research Systems, Inc.

^[2]MacArthur, J. J. (1997, c1997). The MacArthur Study Bible (electronic ed.) (Ac 20:27). Nashville: Word Pub.

^[3] Swanson, J. (1997). Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (electronic ed.) (DBLH 9048, #1). Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

^{[4] [5] Ibid.}

They Have Provoked The Holy One - Part 2b

We’ve looked thus far at 7 characteristics of the counsel of God:^[1]

1. They are Great – High in status, formally great.
2. They are Wonderful – astounding, causing amazement and boggling the mind.
3. They are Immutable – they will stand forever, never to be altered.
4. They are Sovereign – they demonstrate the absolute control of God over His creation.
5. They are Eternal – they extend from now into eternity future.
6. They are Faithful and True - demonstrate God’s faithfulness and truth to His Word.
7. They Cannot Be Frustrated & Shall Be Performed – There is nothing that men can do to prevent God from Doing As He Had Decreed.

Eighth, the Scriptures tells that even the sufferings and death of Christ were according to these counsels.  Acts 2:22-23 says:

^22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know— ^23 Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death;

Even the greatest of all of the actions of God in history was a part of the counsel, of His plan – the death of only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.  Notice that the entire matter was a part of that counsel, this verse specifically says that Christ was “delivered up” according the counsel of God.  This adjective means to be given up or over.  The is the implication of betrayal and of being delivered over to enemies or to some hostile power. 

Paul says the same thing later in Acts 4:27-28:

^27 “For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together ^28 to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done.

Those who acted against Christ did so because they were doing that which God had planned and decreed in His foreordained purpose!  While admittedly this is difficult to get hold of for many, it is the plain teaching of Scripture.

Ninth, Saints are called and saved according to the counsels of God.  As Christ was crucified from eternity past, according to these counsels. so also are the redeemed brought into the family of God by those self-same counsels.  Paul very clearly says in Romans 8:28-30:

^28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. ^29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. ^30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

This calling starts the so-called “Golden Chain of Redemption” that begins here with the decree, the counsels of God in eternity past and finishes, as we see in verse 30, with glorification in eternity future. 

The clear teaching of these verses, signified by chain of “alsos” through the three verses, is that these they are an unbreakable chain of events, each predicated on the one before.  If the prior one occurs, then the next one will certainly occur.  If we follow the “chain” or salvation all the way back to its’ beginning, we do not find anything human; we find the counsels of God in eternity past.  That is key to understand – The chain of salvation reaches all the back to BEFORE there even were people. 

Paul elaborates in 2 Timothy 1:9:

…who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began,

Note that the grace that brings salvation is grace that is “given” to the children of God.  Based on what we have already seen, that step is a part of that “chain” and is inevitably followed by the rest of the chain.  Further, note that the this grace is not given during “time”, or at the time of decision; but rather in eternity past, “before time began”.  This too is a part of the decree, or the counsels of God.

Tenth, we see that the union of all saints in Christ, is according to these same counsels of God.  Understanding the above concepts, we ought to be able to that the next step is only logical.  If the death of Christ was a part of the Counsels of God, and the redemption of the people of God were a part of those same Counsels, then it simply makes sense that the principle will continue after redemption is in place and the sinner is united with the saints of God.

Paul makes the truth very clear in Eph 1:9,10:

^9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, ^10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.

Verse 9 sets the context for us once again – verse 10 is all according to the good pleasure of His will “which He purposed in Himself or in Christ (depending on your translation)”.  It says that this purpose was founded “in Himself” or “in Christ” (as we said, depending which translation you use).  It is not founded in any other source, and does not owe its fount to any other spring.  It springs from the mind and purpose of God and He alone. 

That leads to the statement of verse 10.  This gathering of all things in Christ had its root in the counsels God in eternity past.  That purposes shows itself in, among other things, the gathering together of all that belongs to Christ into one body.

Eleventh, Ultimately, all of the Works of God are according to the Counsels of God.

Eph 1:11:

In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,

There is little to add to such a bald statement.  We have an inheritance as believers and that inheritance has been obtained “in Him” and  is obtained because of this purpose that was “predestinated”.  God is described notably here as one who “works ‘all things’ according to the purpose of His will’”.  “All things” is simply the word “all” and, in this context where there is noting to suggest any modification, argues that the counsel of God in eternity past controls literally all things.

While we don’t have the time to develop this idea to its fullest, we can note that the word translated “works” is the same one from which “energy,” “energetic,” and “energize” are derived. When God created the world, He gave it sufficient energy to begin immediately to operate as He had planned. It was not simply ready to function, but was created functioning. As God works out His plan according “to the counsel of His will,” He energizes every believer with the power necessary for his spiritual completion (cf. Phil 1:6; 2:13).^[2]

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^[1]  Torrey, R. (1995, c1897). The New Topical TextBook : A scriptural text book for the use of ministers, teachers, and all Christian workers. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos research Systems, Inc.

^[2]  MacArthur, J. J. (1997, c1997). The MacArthur Study Bible (electronic ed.) (Eph 1:11). Nashville: Word Pub.

#6 - They Have Provoked The Holy One – Part 2a

We looked at the first three of the characteristics of the Counsels of God in our last post.  God’s counsels are Great, they are Wonderful and they are immutable. 

We fourthly^[1] observe that they are Sovereign. In the midst of a discourse on the nature of God, Isaiah comments of the this aspect of God’s counsels in Isa 40:13,14:

¹³ Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord,
Or as His counselor has taught Him?
¹⁴ With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him,
And taught Him in the path of justice?
Who taught Him knowledge,
And showed Him the way of understanding?

After his humbling time crawling on his belly and eating grass like an animal, Nebuchadnezzar came to know about the wisdom of bowing to the counsels of the God of heaven.  In Daniel 4:35 we hear him say:

All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing;
He does according to His will in the army of heaven
And among the inhabitants of the earth.
No one can restrain His hand
Or say to Him, “What have You done?”

The control of God exercised over His creation is both an encouragement and a consolation.  Looked at from either side of an event, the truth of the sovereign hand of God is essential to a proper, Christian view of life.  From the “before” side, it can encourage us to to look at events with hope the assurance of God’s positive involvement.  From the “during” and “after” side, it can calm and reassure use that the is a controlling hand at the controls and life is not random.  This too is encouraging.

Fifthly, the Counsels are Eternal. Paul says in Ephesians 3:10-12:

^10 to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, ^11 according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, ^12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.

Dr. MacArthur has said:

“The supreme purpose of the church is to glorify God, which includes the displaying of His wisdom (v. 10) before the angels, who then honor Him with even greater praise.” ^[2]

If this is the supreme purpose of the Church (and it surely is) then those purposes must be eternal.  The highest purposes of God must also be the ones that He will seek to serve for the “longest” time, thus for all eternity. 

Further, sixth, the Counsels of God are proved to be faithful and true. Isaiah said in Isa 25:1:

O Lord, You are my God.
I will exalt You,
I will praise Your name,
For You have done wonderful things;
Your counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.

This passage begins a section in Isaiah of praise for God concerning His final judgment of the world as laid out in Chapter 24.  The praise is because God ahs planned all of His actions ahead of time, and will act in righteousness and faithfulness to His plan, to His counsel given long ago.

It is interesting that this affirmation is very personal on Isaiah’s part.  Note the use of personal pronouns and very individual nature of the application of the truth here.  This is fairly typical of the way that Isaiah responds to the revelation of God.  It is not a dry and academic truth for him, but something that seizes his mind and his emotions and propels his him forward into the midst of what God is doing.

Seventh, The counsels of God cannot be frustrated, they shall be performed.  Many of these ideas are certainly related, but it is good to consider them separately I believe.  Men seek to frustrate the plans and counsels of God by various means, what means they can think of really.  But the plans and schemes of man come to naught.  God’s counsels are sovereign and will be performed.  Isaiah said in Isaiah 14:26-27:

²⁶ This is the purpose that is purposed against the whole earth,
And this is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations.
²⁷ For the Lord of hosts has purposed,
And who will annul it?
His hand is stretched out,
And who will turn it back?” .

This is obviously an rhetorical question, the implied answer being “no one!  We must note that the emphasis here is the power lies with the decree of God.  It is not that God figures out a way to make it work.  The decree is, in and of itself, unable to overcome.  It is the arrogance and sinful pride of man that leads him to set himself against it, but that does not make the decree breachable.  The possibility of it being frustrated does not have to exist in order for this statement to have meaning! 

Our free-will buddies, those who argue for a libertarian free will, that in order for the will to be truly free there must be the possibility to contravene the the final desire of God, could take a lesson from this example.

Just before that statement Isaiah had said in verse 24:

The Lord of hosts has sworn, saying,
“Surely, as I have thought, so it shall come to pass,
And as I have purposed, so it shall stand:

The verb here is in a form that means “to swear an oath”.  It is coupled with the Name of God, “Lord of Hosts” that traditionally is associated with the might of God, His power and ability to do as He has decreed.

“As I have thought” is translated in that fashion because it is an infinitive, an active sense for the verb “to say”.  God has no verbal ability, no tongue with which to speak in the normal way in which in this verb would be used and thus the translator uses the idea of thinking or purposes in this context for God.  The idea is active, ongoing, not passive and looking backward at a finished act. 

The grammar of the phrase is a simple statement, very emphatic and thus the use of “surely.  As I am “thinking” or “saying”, so it shall be.  There is no question that what I purpose will come to pass!

Isaiah 46:11 repeats the idea:

Calling a bird of prey from the east,
The man who executes My counsel, from a far country.
Indeed I have spoken it;
I will also bring it to pass.
I have purposed it;
I will also do it.

Here God speaks more of a settled purpose, and declares that it will be accomplished – it will be done.  But the idea is the same nevertheless.  God has declared, He has purposed it – and those purposes will come to pass!

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^[1]  Torrey, R. (1995, c1897). The New Topical TextBook : A scriptural text book for the use of ministers, teachers, and all Christian workers. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos research Systems, Inc.

^[2]  MacArthur, J. J. (1997, c1997). The MacArthur Study Bible (electronic ed.) (Eph 3:11). Nashville: Word Pub.

#6 - They Have Provoked The Holy One – Part 2

We’ve spoken about the wisdom and counsel of the Lord previously and want to develop the idea a bit.  The Bible, of course, has quite a bit to say about the idea and it would be good to systematize it a bit.

The Counsels and Purposes of God ^[1]

Jeremiah (among many other passages) tells us that those counsels are “great”. Jeremiah 32:19 says:

You are great in counsel and mighty in work, for your eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men, to give everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings.

Great here meaning not large or many but pertaining to having high status, to be high, or formally great.  It is not that this is saying that God gives a lot of counsel (though one could surely observe that He does have a LOT to say about a LOT of things) but that God’s counsel is significant, it is counsel that stands out over and above other counsels from other sources.  To ignore such counsel is foolish and self-destructive.  This is the beginning of a case that is both conclusive and condemning.

Secondly, God’s counsels are described as “wonderful”. Isaiah, in a passage speaking of the need to listen to and heed the teaching of God, speaks of the counsels of God in this fashion in Isaiah 28:29 where he says:

This also comes from the Lord of hosts,
Who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in guidance.

The phrase “wonderful in counsel”  contains a verb that means “astound, to cause amazement, or to be wonderful”.  The counsel of God is astounding, it boggles the mind, it goes far and beyond any and all human counsel to the point of causing one to stop and take amazed notice.  And this is the norm for our God!  Once again we are compelled to note that the fact that Israel ignored, and even more than that, tossed aside that counsel (remember that God has already taken them to task for “provoking Him to anger” or showing despite or His commands.  The more wonderful the counsel, the great the crime involved in casting it aside!

Thirdly, the Counsels of God Are immutable. David said in Psalm 33:11:

The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
The plans of His heart to all generations

We’ll want to note several things about this great verse.

• Note that the word “counsel” is singular.  It is a common word, neither truly feminine or masculine.  David is not speaking of the specific things that God has said, but of His counsel in general, the entire package as a unit!  It is all trustworthy!  It can all be counted upon – none of it is more reliable or less reliable than any other part of it.
• The Word “LORD” is Yahweh – the covenant name for God – and casts our minds back to God and all of promises  and the reliability of His nature and the power of His great right arm to cause those promises to bring those promises to pass.
• The root meaning of the word “Stands” in stands forever means to present, i.e., to stand in front of a superior as an offering, or for evaluation (Gen. 43:15).  In this context and form it means to endure, to formally stand, i.e., be in a duration of time which lasts for an indefinite period of time (Ps 111:3) ^[2] The counsel of God is not a thing that will pass from the scene.  It stands before Him (for He is the authority, the Judge Who passes sentence on all matters) for all eternity.
• “Forever” is not intended to be understood as hyperbole.  This is not a figure of speech – it is intended to be understood literally.  His counsels stand from now until, well,there is no then!  His counsels, now given are never revoked.  They are ever in effect and always in force.They stand “forever”!

Not only do the counsels of the Lord stand of themselves, but the cannot be frustrated by any device of man.  Solomon observed in Proverbs 19:21:

There are many plans in a man’s heart,
Nevertheless the Lord’s counsel—that will stand.

We might be tempted to think of this as speaking to a simple contrast, man’s counsel versus God’s counsel.  But this cannot be so because of the use of the contrastive conjunction that starts the second phrase.  God’s counsel will stand despite what man plans and no matter man seeks to do to frustrate the plan of God.  That which God has promised cannot change.

Jeremiah puts it is sad, negative terms in 4:28 speaking of the time when those counsels come to pass and the earth reaps the result of the decree of God in judgment:

For this shall the earth mourn,
And the heavens above be black,
Because I have spoken.
I have purposed and will not relent,
Nor will I turn back from it.

All of this, by the way, is not empty theology.  It is real and it is “now”, working itself out in the now, not just waiting for the future.  Paul, speaking of the birth of Jacob and Esau, and God’s hand in the details of that birth, tells us in Ro 9:11:

(for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls),

God is not passively waiting for eternity future to come before He starts to enact His purposes.  They are being enacted now and those purposes will continue to be enacted from now throughout all time.

The writer to the Hebrews says Hebrews 6:17:

Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath,

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^[1]  Torrey, R. (1995, c1897). The New Topical TextBook : A scriptural text book for the use of ministers, teachers, and all Christian workers. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos research Systems, Inc.

^[2}  Swanson, J. (1997). Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (electronic ed.) (DBLH 6641, #7). Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.