Just a further note to Debthe argument regarding the two positions is not an argument as to when in relation to actual creation took place but whether God decreed to elect before or after he decreed to create.both positions agree that all the decrees took place in eternity past.so the text in Ephesians does not teach either position.indeed Dabney would say that it suggests infa because of the through Christ, Our election is in Christ our Redeemer, Eph. I agree there are difficulties involved when discussing eternality. A Caveat. The decree does not necessitate them to sin (as choices the creature makes are contingent and belong to them) nor does it directly prevent them from saving faith and repentance. Supralapsarianism.. First, the supralapsarian scheme. An interesting view I find some biblical credence for that weighs in on this topic some is that this world is basically a stage (note physics keeps finding all creation more and more an energy field think holograms). Copyright 2023 Modern Reformation. Challenging decades of scholarship, Shao Kai Tseng argues that despite Barth's stated favor of supralapsarianism, his mature lapsarian theology is complex and dialectical, critically reappropriating both supra- and infralapsarian patterns of thinking. In short, Paul gives Supralapsarian answers to the question of injustice in predestination. First off, lets talk terminology. Published by Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. There is little need, according to this definition of predestination, to consider any moral qualities of those who are made the object of predestination. Then, whether one is fallen or unfallen is really beside the point. Knowing the history of the Westminster Divines with the Lord involves knowing that the Westminster Divines did earnestly pursue a happy common ground between the Supra and Infra positions for Christians. 9-124) attempts to chart and examine three accents that supralapsarian Christology assumed in its nineteenth-century revival, namely in Friedrich Schleiermacher ('the first major supralapsarian theologian since the Middle Ages', p. 9), in Isaak August Dorner, and in Karl Barth, attempting in each case to attend to the . (This is where Hyper-Calvinists tripped up in their view of global missions and evangelism in their debates against William Carey. God is greater than time(past,present, or future). Required fields are marked *. Yes, God did decree the fall and all events that terminate to his glory! [7], However the Synod did not reject those who held to a supralapsarian position, as illustrated in the trial held against Johannes Maccovius and his eventual exoneration concerning his views on sin in the divine decree. The Supralapsarians rightly emphasise the divine sovereignty and grace but open the possibility of making God responsible for sin and evil, and indeed the whole order of creation being a monstrous economy intending the fall and damnation of multitudes. A supralapsarian believes that God first decrees (or elected) some for salvation, then decreed creation, the fall and then redemption. The example of William Twisse may be interesting to many given some of emphases, which may not be as unique to him historically speaking. Id love to hear your thoughts, and will gladly receive any corrections if I have misunderstood anything. Im wondering if such a thing as timing even exists in the mind of God, who knows all things perfectlypast, present and futureat once. Building on this insight, theologians have considered the relationship between the things God has decreed. Supralapsarianism (historical) 1. the election of some men to salvation in Christ (and the reprobation of the others) 2. the decree to create the world and both kinds of men 3. the decree that all men would fall 4. the decree to redeem the elect, who are now sinners, by the cross work of Christ Early modern theologians emphasized that Gods decree is a single reality, insofar as he sees all things from eternity in a single glance (as it were), and that there is no succession in his decree, as if something were first and another second. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. I will start with a brief discussion on time and Edwards concept of physics. According to this definition of predestination, the decree need not suppose fallenness, because, after all, whether the rational creature falls or not, the end in predestination has not changedit is still to bring him, her, or it (an angel) to eternal blessedness. In the last century, the most recent proponents of supralapsarianism include Abraham Kuyper, Herman Hoeksema, Arthur Pink, Gordon Clark. The lump of clay, by analogy, is the object Gods election. God demonstrates His glory through all creation, especially man. In love He predestined us for adoption to Himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace, with which He has blessed us in the Beloved" (ESV). ( For instance some commentators say that in Edwards model God had to create? What if Judas and Antichrist were predetermined to give Satan a right o image his position? The first is that eternity consists of an infinite period of time, which is all time: past, present, and future. Truthful Witness and the Transgender Debate, The Family of God in a World Without Families, What Is a Man? As an example, lets look at Peters statement of fact on the death of Christ in Acts 4, For truely in this city were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur (Acts 4:27 28 NASB). What does this have to do with this theological question? Turretin renders the classic complaint: On this hypothesis, the first act of Gods will towards some of his creatures is made to be an act of hatred, inasmuch as he willed to demonstrate his justice in their damnation (indeed before they were considered in sin, and consequently before they were worthy of hatred).7 It is on this ground that without a prior decree of sin, a loving God would not have decreed reprobation for some of his creatures that the majority of Reformed scholars hold the Infralapsarian view. Gods decree to send Christ and the Spirit to save the elect. When theologians talked about God decreeing something before something else, they made a logical distinction, as opposed to a temporal one. Several opposing positions have been proposed, all of which have names with the Latin root lapsus (meaning fall). Supralapsarianismsupra meaning above or before and lapsum meaning fallis the position which holds that Gods decree to save is logically prior to his decree to create the world and permit the fall. The Amyraldian Order takes a mediating position between Gods will for all to be saved and Gods decree that only some will be saved. (Theology) Christian theol a person who believes . Supralapsarian. The Christian, in understanding this text, asks, Are we to understand this lump as representing fallen humanity, or un-fallen humanity? Supralapsarians say un-fallen, and Infralapsarians say fallen. On this, supralapsarian theologians agree. Some theologians even said it was about both! All views expressed in this essay are those of the author. Alternatively, does predestination not assume the fall of Adam, thus making the object of divine predestination a humanity which is unfallen? Concerning his doctrine of salvation, Twisse was explicitly and staunchly supralapsarian. Reprobation, on the other hand, necessarily has sin in view, since it is fundamentally concerned with condemnation. There can be no chronological ordering for the reasons you give. Gods decree to elect certain fallen people to salvation by grace in Christ and reprobate others to just condemnation. Election, reprobation, the Fall, mercy, and justice are coordinate elements within the one divine decree. [5] Also according to Loraine Boettner and Curt Daniel, no major Reformed theologian and very few modern Calvinists are supralapsarian. In this case, the question of predestination is primarily who will get eternal life, not how. We dont have good categories available to do that very well. In modernoften populartreatments, one often finds lists of various divine decrees arranged under the headings: infralapsarianism, supralapsarianism, Amyraldianism, or Arminian. Such lists and headings, though they can be found from time to time in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, often hide the true point of dispute among the two positions. 2. Consider if the rebellion timing was either prior to the creation of the material universe (the stage), or the creation in anticipation of the rebellion in the heavenlies. The debate is not insignificant, but neither is it a hill to die on. Obviously, they were unfallen. The Supralapsarian and Infralapsarian Orders both teach that God eternally predestines persons for either election or reprobation, but they differ on whether the decree of election logically precedes or follows the decree of the fall. ix: 21. Infralapsarianism, on the other hand, insists that Gods decree to save is logically after his decrees related to creation and fall (infra meaning below or after). In election, was God choosing people out of a fallen mass of humanity, or from a mass of humanity irrespective of the fall? Really long sentence, eh? Systematic Theology, pp.124-25). The difference between them reflected in their names concerns whether the decree of election logically precedes or succeeds the decree of the fall. I have never spent much time thinking on this issue. What You Should Know About Biblical Complementarianism, Liberalism Is (Still) a Threat to Fundamentalism. Who is predestinated? And, moreover, our election is an election to the exercise of saving graces to be wrought in us by Christ, I Pet. Turretin, Johann . With the above information in mind, the question of supralapsarianism versus infralapsarianism cannot be worked through logically as it cannot be comprehended and if it could, it still would be counter to any sort of logic to place Gods decrees within the context of time if they took place in eternity. In England Beza's influence was felt at Cambridge, where William Perkins and William Ames held to it, as well as Franciscus Gomarus in the Netherlands. He cited from Thomas Aquinas repeatedly to the effect that reprobation includeth the will of God of permitting sin, and of inferring damnation for sin.[11] Concomitant to this, he claimed that God neither damnes nor decrees to damne any man, but for sinne and finall perseverance therein.[12]. Copyright 2023 The Gospel Coalition, INC. All Rights Reserved. Most reformed theologians have been infralapsarian. Franciscus Gomarus and Johannes Maccovius were very strong Supralapsarians, and on extreme occasions even suggested the Predestination unto Reprobation being a Predestination unto Sin. Then predestination is supralapsarian, uphill from the permission of the fall. In this post, I want to give something of a primer on the question. Knowing the Gospel with the Lord means knowing with the Lord that the Lord, out of the mystery of His position in glory, has indeed moved to incarnate communication of the things of His grace to His people, at a one to one level with them on the earth (which pro Supra types may struggle with from time to time). The Missional Theology of Lesslie Newbigin Theology Through Novels: Susan Howatch Ecclesial Imagination Reformed Ecclesiology and Ecumenism Christology Models of Atonement Pauline Exegetes and Protestant Theology Karl Barth's Church Dogmatics John Calvin's Narrative Theology Churches Amidst Secularization The Rev. Remember to count the cost. Theologians have long assumed that Karl Barth's doctrine of election is supralapsarian. The infralapsarianist view follows Ephesians 1:4-6, " even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. When theologians talked about God decreeing something before something else, they made a logical distinction, as opposed to a temporal one. The debate is not over the temporal order of the decrees. By addressing the issue as it touches upon the objects of election, we are able avoid mere speculation and approach it in a more exegetical and scriptural manner. Published What if Satan does have rights for a period of time-to demand to sift those he wishes to attempt to prove or accomplish his plan, view, self-exaltation? This is probably poorly stated but this as far as I can figure the tension expressed by the paradox causes problems for most theologians when talking about Gods relation to time but Edwards seems to provide a model above the modern debate (not bad since the paradox is a 1901 concept). Im not aware of any two words in the theological lexicon quite like supralapsarianism and infralapsarianism. Usually, but not always, early modern theologians defined predestination as a divine decree about either: (1) Gods will to bring certain people to eternal life, or (2) Gods will to grant such means of grace (both internal [think: regeneration] and external [think: preaching of the gospel]) whereby God brings certain people infallibly to eternal life. 9:15; Eph. This approach is contrary to the Bibles teaching that salvation ultimately results from Gods will alone (Rom. While the will of God is a single unity, we may consider the logical arrangement between Gods decree for one thing in relation to another. 9:22) were first ordained to that role, and then the means by which they fell into sin was ordained. They are constantly awestruck about the wisdom, the character, the rock of steadfastness, the sacrificing love of God, that includes even the death and suffering of His Son and His sons. Gods election of some fallen men to salvation (and the reprobation of the others). Infralapsarianism teaches that all men are sinful by nature (due to the Fall), are thereby condemned through our own sin (free will), and that God had foreknowledge of whom He would rescue from condemnation. More insights from your Bible study - Get Started with Logos Bible Software for Free! Therefore, the decree of divine predestination with respect to the angels is what differentiated those who did not fall, rather than assuming them as fallen. List of Notable Supralapsarians Alphabetical by last name - William Ames (1576-1633) Louis Berkof desired to hold to both views (cf. Which sounds very supralapsarian to me. i: 4; iii: 11, which clearly shows that we are conceived as being fallen, and in need of a Redeemer, in this act. Sorry just wanted to say that Jays point (number 6) is extremely important, while disagreeing with Edwards on Election being supraI think reprobation would not be just unless it was infra.. Reprobation, on the other hand, necessarily has sin in view, since it is fundamentally concerned with condemnation.. Creation is just a habitat for us finite creatures. It is very enjoyable, and I am very grateful to RTS for making it free to the public. Supralapsarianism and Infralapsarianism | Ligonier Ministries In eternity, did God choose to elect His people to salvation based on His decision to permit humanity's fall into sin, or was it the other way around? Here the Westminster Divines key language is about the elect fallen in Adam. The Westminster Divines wanted to move with the Lord to make special emphasis on the features of salvation in the redeeming and justifying and sanctifying grace of Jesus dwelling with His people, in both Jesus incarnate ministry, and in the keeping power of the Holy Spirit. Theres something of a disconnect between modern discussions about infra- and supralapsarianism and early modern treatments of the subject. [] 16, 2007 by David Tony Reineke is hosting a great follow up discussion on the Packer lectures vis-a-vis the lapsarian controversy. A friend of mine bumped into John Piper in a bookstore a while back and, with the opportunity to ask him only one question, he decides to ask him whether hes infra or supra. I guess Im probably the Supralapsarian then? Clear as mud? Supralapsarianism is very correct in its approach. To bring this full-circle, when we discuss the predestination of angels, predestination is undoubtedly supralapsarianthe object of predestination is unfallen angels. Its not something that we have to box our way through thin air to find out. Challenging decades of scholarship, Shao Kai Tseng argues that despite Barth's stated favor of supralapsarianism, his mature lapsarian theology is complex and dialectical, critically reappropriating both supra- and infralapsarian patterns of thinking. Gods decree to save those who believe, do good works, and persevere, and to condemn those who do not. That it is erroneous in representing God as having before His mind, as the objects of predestination, men conceived in posse only; and in making creation a means of their salvation or damnation. The Peace of Christ Ruling in Our Hearts Or, What/Who. Does anyone else have insight into answering this question? Copyright 2023 The Gospel Coalition, INC. All Rights Reserved. Robert L. Dabney pointed out the essential unity of Gods decree: Gods decree has no succession; and to Him no successive order of parts, because Gods will is one infinite intuition.1 However, while this unity of God is acknowledged, it remains true that Scripture does speak to the purpose of God in relating one thing to another. Gods decree to send his Son as Savior for those who repent, believe, and persevere. Taught the sealing of the Spirit was a second work of grace bringing assurance of salvation. In love 5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. Your email address will not be published. Supralapsaranism and infralapsarianism assert that election and reprobation respectively preceded and succeeded the Fall. The supralapsarian says: The legal ground why men perish lies in sin that they deliberately commit within time. God's mercy is shown to some in both the forgiveness of those guilty of imputed and actual sin and the bestowal of eternal life. The Keller Center for Cultural Apologetics helps Christians show unbelievers the truth, goodness, and beauty of the gospel as the only hope that fulfills our deepest longings. I too am a past RTS student. God has used it to bless me. Early moderns also discussed the object of the decree of predestination. More recently, some theologians such as Herman Bavinck have refused to endorse either position. Created cannot really comprehend the eternal and the uncreated. It also provides a unified cause-effect relationship to the decrees of God as a whole, with each item finding its rationale in what precedes it. By Michael Lynch. " Supralapsarianism is the view that God, contemplating man as yet unfallen, chose some to receive eternal life and rejected all others. Please make sure all fields are filled out. "[10] Although he did not believe that the Fall occasioned election and reprobation, he did not maintain that election and reprobation had no regard for the Fall whatsoever. The Gospel Coalition supports the church by providing resources that are trusted and timely, winsome and wise, and centered on the gospel of Jesus Christ. Knowing and upholding the predestination of the Gospel with the Lord means upholding the aspects of mystery and incarnate revelation in predestination with the Lord for developing unity in the church among questioning Christians. The ordering is not chronological; it is logical and axiological. As such, placing Gods decrees during eternity within a temporal contexture simply nullifies the very concept of eternity. On the other hand, God's justice is shown in the permitting of those who are guilty of imputed and actual sin to continue on their chosen path and the bestowal of divine judgment for their unrepentant disobedience. Today we received a question from TSS reader, Jason Dalton. Edwards critiques this man was not created that he should be converted or reprobated. Theological Primer: Suprlapsarianism and Infralapsarianism. But this itself cannot occur apart from the permission of God's decree. How might one discuss the decree to predestine some angels to heavenly blessedness? The three Reformers: Luther, Zwingli, and Calvin, arrived at the supralapsarian view: election and reprobation are deeds of God's sovereignty, logically preceding God's decree concerning the. Even to the layman who has not digested the fullness of what it contains, it sparks an uneasy feeling in most cases. So God decreed the fall? As Turretin points out the fall and sin are not the result of damnation, damnation is the result of the fall and sin. Edwards Freedom of the Will) in order to magnify every different characteristic. Later, William Twisse wrote two comprehensive books on supralapsarianism, one in Latin entitled Vindiciae Gratiae, Potestatis, Et Providentiae Dei and a shorter but lengthy English work entitled The Riches of God's Love unto the Vessels of Mercy. Related to this question, is it accurate to speak of the things that an omniscient God knows (and decrees) in human terms of time and space at all? ii: 13.. That is, some are chosen to be elect (foreknowledge) but not created elect. Instead, the debate is about the logical order of the decrees. The issue concerns not the order in which they happened but the causal and logical relationship in the mind of God as he decreed them in eternity, to the extent that this can be discerned from Scripture. If God is eternal, pure, infinite, and holy, then he is set apart from creation (including time). William Gouge (1578-1653). In the Canons of Dort, First Point of Doctrine, Article 7, it states: Before the foundation of the world, by sheer grace, according to the free good pleasure of his will, [God] chose in Christ to salvation a definite number of particular people out of the entire human race which had fallen by its own fault from its original innocence into sin and ruin. I had to talk to the head of Gordon Conwell Seminary on this and other subjects to verify that I wasnt a kooky Christian. God is the author of all creation and that includes sinful man, who is the author of sinning against a holy and just God. I wonder if Edwards model Of God necessitate things being the way they are? We must be careful of saying supralapsarianism toward man would be unjust, since Gods election and non-election of angels must have been from a supralapsarian stance. Whereas, an object must be conceived as existing, in order to have its destiny given to it, And creation can with no propriety be called a means for effectuating a decree of predestination as to creatures. Gods decree to send his Son and Spirit to save the elect. A third defense of Supralapsarianism points out that Gods decree to elect or reprobate angels took place without reference to a prior decree of their fall, since the elect angels never fell into sin. My hero is John Piper, and it is from him that I have come to believe that Gods glory and Him displaying all facets of that glory is the most preeminent goal in all the universe. They know real one to one relationship with the Lord through His Son Jesus. Jonathan, He elects some and then decrees to create them, decrees the fall and redemption to establish this relationship with the elect. In all times man has sinned against God and the bible testifies to this fact. In the early modern debate over infra- and supralapsarianism, the stated question solely concerned the relationship between the decree of predestination and the decree to permit the fall of man. God decreed that prior to his decree of the fall (i.e. This was in accordance not with how God considers his decrees, but how we understand them. And in the Westminster Divines mortification of their sins to the cross of Christ with the Lord, they decided to take on both the Supra and Infra positions to allow for both positions (and much unity) between ministers in the pulpits. That expression of Himself is man the one true man is Jesus, who is fully God and man. First, all the angels who stood firm were elect. Studied at Cambridge. Im also convinced with the Lord that these men doubtless struggled against the Lord in demanding the doctrine of predestination to be at too much of an earthly level, and in looking down on the Supra ministers in attendance. Neither are any other redeemed by Christ, effectually called, justified, adopted, sanctified, and saved, but the elect only. (WCF 3: 6 qtd. Dr. Edwin Chr. The Andrew Fuller Center for Baptist Studies, Supralapsarianism and Jonathan Edwards Leviticus and Stuff. If you are interested in translating our content or are interested in joining our community of translators,please reach out to us. The Lord has shown it to us in His sovereign good pleasure. The supra position underscores the high sovereignty of God. Any conclusion other than that is at best an uneducated speculation and at worst a blaspheme of the living God. I would have thought Ephesians 1 a more pertinent passage with regard to election, esp v.4-6: God has willed evil to come to the reprobate to punish them for there sins. This is an interesting topic, which Ive only delved into a couple of times. He held to the classic supralapsarianism dictum: "Quod primum est in intentione, ultimum est in executionequod ultimum est in executione, primum est in intentione" (that which is first in intention is last in executionthat which is last in execution is first in intention) and stressed these repeatedly in his writings. God has chosen some prior to this creation to be elected to salvation and other to reprobation. God planned before the creation of the universe, that all things would be subject in His expression of himself, His Word (revelation of Himself) to the created. However, there must be a logical and axiological ordering according to the dictates of divine wisdom and love. Yet, because we are finite, we cannot help but think of things in accordance with their causes and ends. As are the order of the decrees. What if Adam had chosen not to sin? Lets use the language of the Bible,then we can never go wrong or confused. Where infralapsarianism says that God would only elect some to salvation and reprobate the others as a result of mans rejection of Him, supralapsarianism says that God desired even before the fall to elect some to salvation and reprobate the others to better glorify and display every aspect of his glorious characteristics. He held to a supralapsarian position with regard to election and an infralapsarian position with regard to reprobation. Gerstner writes: he [Edwards] refutes the fundamental argument of the supralapsarians. Here was the key for the Westminster Divines, especially for the pro Infra ministers in attendance: is election explicitly tied to individuals of the fallen flesh and seed of Adam? An infralapsarian however believes God first decrees creation, then the fall, then election and redemption. But he also did not believe that the gulf between infra- and supralapsarians was that extensive, thus stating that the differences between the two was meerely Logicall. Let us ask ourselves a question: What is eternity? This essay is freely available under Creative Commons License with Attribution-ShareAlike, allowing users to share it in other mediums/formats and adapt/translate the content as long as an attribution link, indication of changes, and the same Creative Commons License applies to that material. The Westminster Divines knew with the Lord that most of the Bibles language on predestination is centered on the carnal reality of the fall of man, and the Lords saving work ultimately revealed in the cross of Jesus among fallen men thereafter. As one would expect from a supralapsarian, Twisse maintained that the Fall did not occasion election or reprobation.
