by R. A. Huebner
http://www.presenttruthpublishers.com/pdf/Gods_Sovereignty_and_Glory.pdf
Preface
Have you been taught that lost man has moral free will towards God? Have you been taught that God has limited Himself so as not to interfere with that supposed moral free will? And, Have you been taught that one is saved through an act of human faith exercised by his own will? Have you also been taught that once saved, a Christian cannot be lost again by the exercise of that same moral free will? In other words, God says to lost man, if you exercise your free will to believe what I say to you, i.e., if you choose Me, then I choose you; and if I choose you, I will force you into incapacity to un-choose Me. Is that what you have been, in effect, taught?
Frequently, persons hold certain unscriptural teachings because they think they are protecting or honoring the character of God. For example, those holding the notion of man’s moral free will towards God think that it would be immoral of God to expect payment from man if man has not the ability to pay.
Inability to pay God means no responsibility to pay, they say. Should we expect such to say to someone who owes them one million dollars, and has not one cent to pay, “Inability to pay means no responsibility to pay, so you do not owe me anything”?
Similarly, many say that God would never command men to do anything that man cannot perform. But did any man but Christ ever keep the law perfectly? Well, we will consider such matters. The sovereignty and the glory of God have a claim upon every believer that we should honor Him in His sovereignty and glory.
In speaking of God’s sovereignty, what is meant is that His will is supreme and He is in control of everything -- whoever it be and whatsoever it be:
. . . till thou shalt know that the Most High ruleth over the kingdoms of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will (Dan. 4:25).
The king’s heart in the hand of Jehovah is [as] brooks of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will (Prov. 21:1). He that dwelleth in the heavens shall laugh, the Lord shall have them in derision (Psa. 2:4).
The kings of the earth were there, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against his Christ . . . to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel had determined before should come to pass (Acts 4:26-28).
. . . but God has thus fulfilled what he had announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ should suffer (Acts 3:18)
. . . . for I [am] God and there is none else; [I am] God, and there is none like me; declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure (Isa. 46:9, 10).
The glory of God seems more difficult to Christians to apprehend. The word itself (doxa) indicates an honor rendered. I suggest to the reader that the glory of God involves what He is in His nature. He is two things: light and love (and in that moral order as revealed in the Word). God always acts in accordance with what He is. Thus, in all His ways He acts in moral excellence consistently with what He is as light and love. All that proceeds from God, proceeds forth in moral excellence, always consistent with what He is as light and love. His election and salvation of lost men displays this infinite, moral excellence. If we think of the cross, we see there God as light judging sin and sins, root and fruit, providing a righteous basis upon which His love can go out to the lost and upon which He can be just in justifying the sinner whose faith rests in the Person and work of Christ. He must be just in justifying the sinner, else it would be evil and a disgrace rather than glory.
For the work on the cross to glorify God -- to express the moral excellency of what He is in His nature as light and love, thus glorifying Him -- the sacrifice on the cross must be of such a moral character, be of such moral excellence, that it can meet that glory of God. Yes, indeed, that glory of the sacrifice must be of commensurate glory with the glory of God. It is the Person of Christ as the God-man Who is commensurate in glory and could do such a God-glorifying work. Why so? It is because the glory and virtue of His Person was imparted to the work. Christ’s whole pathway here glorified God as did His work on the cross, as indicated in John 17:4. As has been pointed out, this glory was typified in Lev. 16 on the day of atonement.
Let us ever keep before us the great fact that every word, way and work of the Lord Jesus had a divine spring. This is so because of the union in Him of the human and divine -- two natures, one Person. The Son of God took humanity into His Person. His death was a human death, but it was not a death accomplished in independence of deity. The accomplishment of that death had a divine spring, which imparted to that death all the value of His Person. So was it with the atoning sufferings and the abandonment. It was as man He bore this, but not as man apart from deity. The value of His infinite Person imparted infinite value to the sufferings and abandonment. The stream of blood and water from His side has all the value of His death in it; and the death has in it all the value of His atoning sufferings and abandonment during the three hours of darkness. It is all one great whole having the infinite value of His Person. This is typified in Lev. 16, where the cloud of incense rose up from the incense upon the coals of fire from the altar before Jehovah -- and that cloud of the incense covered the mercy-seat which was upon the testimony (Lev. 16:12, 13). There was another cloud present upon that occasion: “for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat” (Lev. 16:2). This is the Shekinah of glory bespeaking all the glory of God. What could possibly meet that glory? One has well said that righteousness can meet the claims of righteousness, but only a cloud could meet a cloud! And here two clouds met. One cloud was brought before the other. The cloud brought into the sanctuary rose up from the incense upon the burning coals. It signifies the glory of our Beloved coming up from the burning coals of Calvary before the God of glory. The rising up of His glory, so to speak, before the Shekinah of glory, and what answers to the blood sprinkled on and before the mercy-seat, all took place on the cross. The work entailed the three hours of suffering, the voluntary death, and the blood shedding (accompanied by the water of cleansing). The blood has all the value of this work comprehended in its value -- which necessarily contains the value and glory of His Person. The blood rent the veil, so to speak. The rending of the veil, consequent upon the finishing of that work of infinite value to God, was the response of the Shekinah of glory, for God was infinitely glorified. Glory had met glory. “I have glorified thee on the earth, I have completed the work which thou gavest me that I should do it” (John 17:5). The abandonment, then, experienced as man, had all the value and glory of His Person before God. As a consequence of God being so glorified, it is the glory of God to justify sinners who trust the Person and finished work of Him Who brought such infinite glory to God. It is the glory of God to save lost men who will not come to Christ by their own will, doing so in a way consistent with His glory, and glorifying Himself in doing so.
The first topic to consider is the testing of man from the fall of Adam until the cross – to see if he was recoverable. No one asked God to do this. He exercised His sovereignty to test fallen man as an act of His own will. This, as all else, has in view the exhibition of His glory. It is important to understand the character of this trial of the fallen “first man,” its objective, and the conclusion to be understood from the completed testing. So, ch. 1 will briefly survey this subject. Then in ch. 2 we will consider Luke 13, 14, with emphasis on the parable of the great supper. This will examine the moral character of man in his response to God’s invitation as well as God’s sovereignty in view of man’s moral character displayed in refusal to come. How does God provide His great supper with participants? This helps us to understand the sovereignty and glory of God in the salvation of sinners. Subsequent chapters will examine the subject as given in a number of NT books.
While we will touch on some Arminian and Calvinistic views, the readers who are especially in mind in writing this book include those who, while accepting the truth of eternal security, also hold that man has free moral will towards God and who claim that faith is of human origin, not divinely implanted faith, but human will exercised in virtue of that alleged moral free will towards God. This view has been set forth again, by Norman Geisler in Chosen But Free (1999). This book was subsequently reprinted in 20001 with some additions; and in giving the page numbers of quotations from this work, the page for the later edition is in brackets [ ]. 1 I expect that his arguments for this view will be popular with those who hold both moral free will towards God and also eternal security. I will notice his more important points made concerning various Scriptures. The truth set out in the book in the reader’s hands is that unconditional election of the saints is taught in Scripture, along with the fact that man is totally lost. That is, his will is controlled by “sin in the flesh” (Rom. 8:3) and thus he does not have moral free will towards God. At the same time, the Calvinistic doctrine of an eternal decree of reprobation is rejected herein and this teaching will receive some notice in body of the book.
Also, appendix one gives some attention to that subject.
Appendix two presents Dr. Norman Geisler’s statement of “Moderate Calvinism” along with a few observations thereon.
Appendix 7 discusses and rejects the idea of the corporate election of the church.
Other appendices touch on subjects related to what we are considering concerning God and His sovereignty.
A Subject Index and a Scripture Index are added to, hopefully, make this book useful as a reference. Our subject is also related to the doctrine of the atonement. That subject has been considered in detail in a previous volume, The Work of Christ on the Cross and Some of Its Results. What is enclosed in braces { } has been added by me. Scripture quotations are from the translation by J. N. Darby. Finally, I owe much thanks to D. Ryan for editorial work on this book.
_____________________________________
1. His book was answered from the Calvinistic standpoint by James R. White, The Potter’s Freedom, Amityville: Calvary Press publishing, 2000. Dr. Geisler’s 2001 edition contains a new appendix (13) being a response to Dr. White’s book.
Inability to pay God means no responsibility to pay, they say. Should we expect such to say to someone who owes them one million dollars, and has not one cent to pay, “Inability to pay means no responsibility to pay, so you do not owe me anything”?
Similarly, many say that God would never command men to do anything that man cannot perform. But did any man but Christ ever keep the law perfectly? Well, we will consider such matters. The sovereignty and the glory of God have a claim upon every believer that we should honor Him in His sovereignty and glory.
In speaking of God’s sovereignty, what is meant is that His will is supreme and He is in control of everything -- whoever it be and whatsoever it be:
. . . till thou shalt know that the Most High ruleth over the kingdoms of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will (Dan. 4:25).
The king’s heart in the hand of Jehovah is [as] brooks of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will (Prov. 21:1). He that dwelleth in the heavens shall laugh, the Lord shall have them in derision (Psa. 2:4).
The kings of the earth were there, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against his Christ . . . to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel had determined before should come to pass (Acts 4:26-28).
. . . but God has thus fulfilled what he had announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ should suffer (Acts 3:18)
. . . . for I [am] God and there is none else; [I am] God, and there is none like me; declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure (Isa. 46:9, 10).
The glory of God seems more difficult to Christians to apprehend. The word itself (doxa) indicates an honor rendered. I suggest to the reader that the glory of God involves what He is in His nature. He is two things: light and love (and in that moral order as revealed in the Word). God always acts in accordance with what He is. Thus, in all His ways He acts in moral excellence consistently with what He is as light and love. All that proceeds from God, proceeds forth in moral excellence, always consistent with what He is as light and love. His election and salvation of lost men displays this infinite, moral excellence. If we think of the cross, we see there God as light judging sin and sins, root and fruit, providing a righteous basis upon which His love can go out to the lost and upon which He can be just in justifying the sinner whose faith rests in the Person and work of Christ. He must be just in justifying the sinner, else it would be evil and a disgrace rather than glory.
For the work on the cross to glorify God -- to express the moral excellency of what He is in His nature as light and love, thus glorifying Him -- the sacrifice on the cross must be of such a moral character, be of such moral excellence, that it can meet that glory of God. Yes, indeed, that glory of the sacrifice must be of commensurate glory with the glory of God. It is the Person of Christ as the God-man Who is commensurate in glory and could do such a God-glorifying work. Why so? It is because the glory and virtue of His Person was imparted to the work. Christ’s whole pathway here glorified God as did His work on the cross, as indicated in John 17:4. As has been pointed out, this glory was typified in Lev. 16 on the day of atonement.
Let us ever keep before us the great fact that every word, way and work of the Lord Jesus had a divine spring. This is so because of the union in Him of the human and divine -- two natures, one Person. The Son of God took humanity into His Person. His death was a human death, but it was not a death accomplished in independence of deity. The accomplishment of that death had a divine spring, which imparted to that death all the value of His Person. So was it with the atoning sufferings and the abandonment. It was as man He bore this, but not as man apart from deity. The value of His infinite Person imparted infinite value to the sufferings and abandonment. The stream of blood and water from His side has all the value of His death in it; and the death has in it all the value of His atoning sufferings and abandonment during the three hours of darkness. It is all one great whole having the infinite value of His Person. This is typified in Lev. 16, where the cloud of incense rose up from the incense upon the coals of fire from the altar before Jehovah -- and that cloud of the incense covered the mercy-seat which was upon the testimony (Lev. 16:12, 13). There was another cloud present upon that occasion: “for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat” (Lev. 16:2). This is the Shekinah of glory bespeaking all the glory of God. What could possibly meet that glory? One has well said that righteousness can meet the claims of righteousness, but only a cloud could meet a cloud! And here two clouds met. One cloud was brought before the other. The cloud brought into the sanctuary rose up from the incense upon the burning coals. It signifies the glory of our Beloved coming up from the burning coals of Calvary before the God of glory. The rising up of His glory, so to speak, before the Shekinah of glory, and what answers to the blood sprinkled on and before the mercy-seat, all took place on the cross. The work entailed the three hours of suffering, the voluntary death, and the blood shedding (accompanied by the water of cleansing). The blood has all the value of this work comprehended in its value -- which necessarily contains the value and glory of His Person. The blood rent the veil, so to speak. The rending of the veil, consequent upon the finishing of that work of infinite value to God, was the response of the Shekinah of glory, for God was infinitely glorified. Glory had met glory. “I have glorified thee on the earth, I have completed the work which thou gavest me that I should do it” (John 17:5). The abandonment, then, experienced as man, had all the value and glory of His Person before God. As a consequence of God being so glorified, it is the glory of God to justify sinners who trust the Person and finished work of Him Who brought such infinite glory to God. It is the glory of God to save lost men who will not come to Christ by their own will, doing so in a way consistent with His glory, and glorifying Himself in doing so.
The first topic to consider is the testing of man from the fall of Adam until the cross – to see if he was recoverable. No one asked God to do this. He exercised His sovereignty to test fallen man as an act of His own will. This, as all else, has in view the exhibition of His glory. It is important to understand the character of this trial of the fallen “first man,” its objective, and the conclusion to be understood from the completed testing. So, ch. 1 will briefly survey this subject. Then in ch. 2 we will consider Luke 13, 14, with emphasis on the parable of the great supper. This will examine the moral character of man in his response to God’s invitation as well as God’s sovereignty in view of man’s moral character displayed in refusal to come. How does God provide His great supper with participants? This helps us to understand the sovereignty and glory of God in the salvation of sinners. Subsequent chapters will examine the subject as given in a number of NT books.
While we will touch on some Arminian and Calvinistic views, the readers who are especially in mind in writing this book include those who, while accepting the truth of eternal security, also hold that man has free moral will towards God and who claim that faith is of human origin, not divinely implanted faith, but human will exercised in virtue of that alleged moral free will towards God. This view has been set forth again, by Norman Geisler in Chosen But Free (1999). This book was subsequently reprinted in 20001 with some additions; and in giving the page numbers of quotations from this work, the page for the later edition is in brackets [ ]. 1 I expect that his arguments for this view will be popular with those who hold both moral free will towards God and also eternal security. I will notice his more important points made concerning various Scriptures. The truth set out in the book in the reader’s hands is that unconditional election of the saints is taught in Scripture, along with the fact that man is totally lost. That is, his will is controlled by “sin in the flesh” (Rom. 8:3) and thus he does not have moral free will towards God. At the same time, the Calvinistic doctrine of an eternal decree of reprobation is rejected herein and this teaching will receive some notice in body of the book.
Also, appendix one gives some attention to that subject.
Appendix two presents Dr. Norman Geisler’s statement of “Moderate Calvinism” along with a few observations thereon.
Appendix 7 discusses and rejects the idea of the corporate election of the church.
Other appendices touch on subjects related to what we are considering concerning God and His sovereignty.
A Subject Index and a Scripture Index are added to, hopefully, make this book useful as a reference. Our subject is also related to the doctrine of the atonement. That subject has been considered in detail in a previous volume, The Work of Christ on the Cross and Some of Its Results. What is enclosed in braces { } has been added by me. Scripture quotations are from the translation by J. N. Darby. Finally, I owe much thanks to D. Ryan for editorial work on this book.
_____________________________________
1. His book was answered from the Calvinistic standpoint by James R. White, The Potter’s Freedom, Amityville: Calvary Press publishing, 2000. Dr. Geisler’s 2001 edition contains a new appendix (13) being a response to Dr. White’s book.
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