Chapter 2- The Decrees of God

Great chapter, but at times made my head want to explode....luckily it wasn't a decree of God. Here's a few quotes that caught my eye.

"The decrees of God relate to all future things without exception: whatever is done in time was foreordained before time began. God's purpose was concerned with everything, whether great or small, whether good or evil, although with reference to the latter we must be careful to state that while God is the Orderer and Controller of sin, he is not the Author of it in the same way that he is the Author of good."

"God did not merely decree to make man, place him upon the earth, and them leave him to his own uncontrolled guidance; instead, he fixed all the circumstances in the lot of individuals, and all the particulars which will comprise the history of the human race from its commencement to its close."

"God is not ignorant of future events which will be executed by human volitions; he has foretold them in innumerable instances, and prophecy is but the manifestation of his eternal prescience."

"Secondly, the decrees of God are wise. Wisdom is shown in the selection of the best possible ends and of the fittest means of accomplishing them."

"In every instance where God has decreed an end, he has also decreed every means to that end. The one who decreed the salvation of his elect also decreed to work faith in them (2 Thess. 2:13)."

"Side by side with the immutability and invincibility of God's decrees, Scripture plainly teaches that man is a responsible creature and answerable for his actions. And if our thoughts are formed from God's Word the maintenance of the one will not lead to the denials of the other. That there is a real difficulty is defining where the one ends and the other begins is freely granted. This is ever the case where there is a conjunction of the Divine and the human. Real prayer is indited by the Spirit, yet it is also the cry of a human heart. The Scriptures are the inspired Word of God, yet they were written by men who were something more than machines in the hand of the Spirit. Christ is both God and man. He is Omniscient, yet "increased in wisdom" (Luke 2:52). He was Almighty, yet was "crucified in weakness" (2 Cor. 13:4). He was the Prince of life, yet he died. High mysteries are these, yet faith receives them, unquestioningly."