Chapter 31. The Work of Our Reconciliation with God in Christ Has Been in Progress from All Eternity
enabling them to go through the world and face all difficulties with comfort.
Chapter 31 The Work of Our Reconciliation with God in Christ Has Been in Progress from All Eternity In the last chapter, we arrived at the sixth point that was formerly propounded in the first chapter, which is this: that God was reconciling Himself to the world in Christ. Was—and when was He?
Even from all eternity, He was reconciling Himself to the world. I mentioned this point before and will now expand upon it before moving on.
Doctrine: The work of our reconciliation with God in Christ is not a recent matter; it is a work that has been in progress from all eternity.
It is not something that has occurred accidentally, but a matter that has been planned and plotted from all eternity.
I previously cited only one scripture to support this, but I will add more now and explain it more fully. The scripture I gave was Titus
1:2: In hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before the world began. Now, to whom did God make this promise before the world began? The first promise we read of was made to Adam in Paradise: The seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head. However, there was a promise beyond that promise—one made before Adam existed, before the angels, or before the world began; a
promise of eternal life, which is the fulfilment of our reconciliation with God. This promise could only have been made to the Son of God, who was with the Father, and who was the Father's delight—not just the delight of the Father as the Son eternally begotten, but as the One who undertook the great work of reconciliation between God and us. This promise was made to Him by the Father; the promise of reconciliation and eternal life before the world began.
Therefore, that scripture shows that from all eternity, there was not only a purpose or determination in God to reconcile us to Himself, but also an agreement and transaction between the Father and the Son about it, and a covenant made between them. God the Father promised something, and the Son promised something, and thus they made an agreement with each other from all eternity.
Firstly, there was a transaction of this great work of reconciliation between God the Father and the Son from all eternity. I will give you another couple of scriptures to support this.
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 the world began.
Here, we find not only a purpose but also grace besides purpose.
There was not just an intention in God before the world began; there was something more—there was purpose and grace, and this was given to us as well. It was not only intended for us (note this point), but it was given to us, and it was given to us before the world began.
But how could it be given to us before we existed? Therefore, it adds that it was His purpose and grace, given to us in Christ before the world began.
As it is possible for an inheritance to be made over to someone before they are born (for sometimes, between man and man, something is
made over "to our heirs lawfully begotten," even if they are not yet born), so it is with Christ. There is a legal arrangement in such cases.
Perhaps something is given to someone to hold in trust, so that if certain individuals are born, they shall benefit from it. In a similar way, Jesus Christ stood before the Father (if we may speak in such a manner) as a trustee, as the head of a covenant, and there were transactions between the Father and Him. There was not just a purpose in God to reconcile Himself to us, but grace was given to us in Christ; there was an actual bestowal of this upon Christ before the world began so that we might come to enjoy it.
Another scripture that speaks to this is 1 Corinthians 2:7: But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the world to our glory. Here, the Apostle does not only speak of God's electing or ordaining us to glory, but he speaks of the entire mystery of the Gospel, which he calls the hidden wisdom of God. This doctrine of reconciliation—that we are reconciled to God in Christ—is the hidden wisdom of God, which was kept secret from the beginning of the world and yet was ordained before the world began for our glory. God had already planned out all this doctrine of reconciliation and had purposed that, in time, it would be revealed to us, just as it is now.
There is yet another scripture for this which is very remarkable. It is in John 17. You will find in that chapter many expressions to that purpose, indicating that those who believed in Christ were given to Him by God the Father. By various expressions there, it is clear that there was an agreement, a transaction between the Father and the Son long before the actual event took place.
In verse 16, Christ says: "I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours, You gave
them to Me, and they have kept Your word." He does not speak merely of giving them to Him at that moment, but of giving them to the Son before that time, for He makes that the basis of their belief.
He does not present the Father's giving of them to the Son as a result of their believing; rather, He shows that their believing and keeping the word of faith are fruits of God's giving them to His Son. The Father's giving them to His Son is the foundation of their believing, and hence, in time, they come to believe because God the Father had, from all eternity, given them to His Son. That is Christ's argument.
This indeed makes the difference between some who believe and others who do not. There are some with limited abilities—poor people, and young ones—who believe in Jesus Christ and the great mysteries of the Gospel; yet others who are more knowledgeable, even learned men, do not believe. The difference is this: God the Father gives some to His Son to reconcile, and He does not give others. This is the argument Christ makes in John 17, where He establishes that the foundation of their faith is the Father's act of giving them to the Son.
Therefore, it is evident in scripture that before we come to believe, even before the world was created, there was a transaction between the Father and the Son about our reconciliation. God was reconciling
Himself to the world.
Our reconciliation with God and the non-imputation of our sins must therefore be considered across three periods of time:
1. Firstly (if we may call this a period of time, which, in fact, was before time itself), it existed from all eternity with the Son. Here,
God was reconciling Himself to us.
2. Secondly, when Christ came into the world, was upon the cross, and suffered, there was an actual imputation of the sins of all the elect unto Him, a laying of those sins upon Christ. There was a special act of God, imputing and charging the sins of all the elect to His Son.
3. Thirdly, when God calls any sinner to believe, there is another act of God passing the sentence of absolution upon the soul—an actual pronouncement, which we call justification.
To illustrate, in legal matters between man and man, the law may be satisfied for a prisoner, and yet the prisoner is not absolved. The prisoner is not acquitted until the judge solemnly pronounces the sentence, even though a verdict of "not guilty" may have been delivered. Similarly, though Jesus Christ, in His sufferings and crucifixion, satisfied the law for all who would believe in Him, there still needs to be the pronouncement of the sentence by the judge to confirm their acquittal—this is our justification.
Yet, even after the sentence is pronounced, we know that a convict might still remain in prison until the fees are paid. Just so with us: after our justification, we remain in this world, still burdened by the chains of our corrupt nature and afflictions, until we have fulfilled our earthly obligations and the providential workings of God.
One who is elect but not yet a believer is like a prisoner for whom the law has been satisfied, even though he does not know it. Yet, assuredly, he shall be saved. An elect person who is a believer is like a prisoner who has had the judge pronounce the sentence of absolution upon him, yet remains in prison until the fees are paid.
But those in heaven—they have not only had the law satisfied and the fees paid, but they are set at liberty and dwell in their Father's house.
Therefore, there are different times in which God manifests our reconciliation to us, not imputing our sins to us.
However, even though God's work unfolds in these distinct phases, this does not imply any change in God, which is an objection that many, due to weakness, might raise. They might argue that because
God performs these actions now which were not done before, it suggests a change in God, and therefore they might conclude that nothing is done now which was not done eternally, in the same manner.
But we must understand this: God's actual pronouncement of a sentence of absolution now, which was not done before, does not imply any change in God, any more than God's glorification of the saints in heaven now—who were not glorified before—implies a change. To be justified in time does not imply a change in God any more than to be glorified in time implies it. The saints on earth are not yet glorified, even though they shall be, and this does not suggest any change in God. In the same way, the elect who are not yet believers are not justified in the sense that the scripture speaks of justification, though they shall be justified—and this does not imply any change in God.
But that we may further understand how God has been reconciling Himself to the world from all eternity, we must acknowledge that there are several periods of time in which God's actions towards a sinner manifest themselves in different ways, which are indeed implied in the words of the text: "God was reconciling the world to Himself." He was doing it, and this work, before it comes to completion, unfolds through various periods of time.
To help you understand this better, you must recognise that there is a great difference between God's actions within Himself, according to
His own nature, and His actions towards the creature in a way that is suitable to the creature. The failure to understand this difference leads many people into serious errors and mistaken conclusions.
They infer from God's infinite and incomprehensible way of acting within Himself to the ways in which God's actions are experienced and received by the creature. When they hear about God's workings as received by the creature, they assume these must be understood in the same way as God's actions in Himself. I will now show you how great a difference exists between them.
Firstly, consider the acts of God within Himself. It is true that the act of God is, in fact, His very Being. God's essence and His act in Himself are one and the same. However, the act of God as the creature receives it is not the essence of God, for the creature is incapable of containing God's essence; otherwise, the creature would be infinite. The act of God within Himself is God Himself, and thus it is infinite; there is no act in God that is not infinite, because it is God.
What the creature receives, however, cannot be infinite.
Similarly, the acts of God within Himself are eternal, without any distinction of time. There is no past, present, or future with God.
When we consider the acts of God within Himself, even the glorification of the saints, as far as it is considered in God, it is eternal, and there is no distinction of time whatsoever. However, if we consider these acts as they are received by the creature, we must acknowledge differences in time—one act at one time, another at another time, as they are received by the creature.
We must be cautious against being overly bold when we speak of God. When God manifests His workings as they are received by the creature, we should not assume that these are the same as the acts of God in Himself, which are infinite and can only be understood in an
infinite manner. Such an understanding is beyond the reach of anything but an infinite intellect. Therefore, those who think they can fathom the acts of God as they are in Himself are far too presumptuous, for only an infinite understanding can fully grasp them.
We must understand these acts as they are received by the creature, in the manner they are revealed in the Word. This is essentially what is revealed concerning God's actions towards us: namely, that from eternity, there was a transaction between God and the Son in a manner beyond our comprehension; that, in time, the Lord laid our sins upon His Son on the cross; and that afterwards, when the appointed time comes to call a sinner to Himself, He justifies that sinner and pronounces a sentence of absolution. But first, He calls them. The scripture says, "those whom He called, He justified." The scripture clearly places the calling of a sinner before justification, therefore, whatever might exist in God from eternity, it is evident that (speaking of justification in the way scripture presents it) vocation precedes justification.
Thus, justification is no more from eternity than vocation. God could as truly be said to call a sinner out of his natural state from eternity as to justify a sinner from eternity, in the sense that the scripture speaks of it in Romans 8. When we ordinarily speak of justification, however, we do so in the sense that the scripture speaks of it here, where vocation is first, followed by justification, and then glorification.
Therefore, though the Lord has been pleased to reveal much of the mystery of the Gospel to us, and tell us that He has been reconciling
Himself to us from eternity, we must understand this in a sober way