As noted in the previous article, two weeks ago, that article and this one aim to articulate the distinction between the “will of decree” and the “will of precept” by enlisting the help of Francis Turretin in particular (Institutes of Elenctic Theology [IET]). We noted that in our treatment of this topic, we are bound by virtue of our creatureliness to speak complexly though God is simple. When we speak of God’s will of decree, we speak of the end toward which his external works are directed, and we noted the fact that this must be his own glory, that is, complacency in himself. He is the good end of all his outward works.
When we ponder God’s “will for our life,” we must recognize the two ways of speaking of his will. His will of decree is his determination of all things outside himself, or the eternal determination according to which the acts of creation and providence are directed. When we want to know God’s will, we often want this aspect of the will in particular. We want to know the internal purpose of God that will show itself externally in the direction of our particular lives. When we desire to know God’s will of decree, we are expressing faith in the truth that all things, down to the minutest details of our tiny lives, such as the jobs we take, people we marry, and places we move, are determined and directed by the almighty hand of the sovereign God. But there is a “however” to this desire. The “however” is that we are not privileged to the mind of God apart from his revelation of his mind. “Who knows the mind of a man except the spirit of that man.” (1 Cor 2:11, paraphrase). There are things we can say about the will of God in this way, but they are limited to essentially two things. First, there are those things that have already happened. The fact that you are reading this right now is due to the fact that God willed that you would be reading this. The fact that Luther nailed 95 Theses to the church door in Wittenberg in the fall of 1517 was because God willed it. We can say this because we know that nothing happens outside the will of God, and since these things happened, they must have been willed by God. For the future, we know those things God has revealed. We know that the Lord Jesus will return, that those who die beforehand are ushered into the intermediate state, that Christ’s church will continue, that there will be a “new heavens and earth,” that the wicked will be judged. We know these things because God has told us beforehand what he will do. The will of decree is that according to which God acts, and since he has given some knowledge of this decree for our comfort and hope—as well as a warning—we can say with certainty those things which God has revealed.
However, we speak of the will of precept as that according to which God has called us to act. The decree “means that which God wills to do or permit himself,” says Turretin, while the will of precept means “what [God] wills that we should do. The former relates to the futurition and the event of things and is the rule of God’s external acts; the latter is concerned with precepts and promises and is the rule of our action” (IET 1.3.15.2). Sometimes Scripture refers to one or the other of these, while other times it refers to both at the same time. Sometimes it says something like, “It was the will of the Lord to crush him” (Isa 53:10), which would refer to the will of decree, or we read, “Teach me to do your will, for you are my God” (Ps. 143:10), by which we express desire to follow the precepts of God. However, there are times we actually mean both, such as when we pray the Lord’s Prayer, and say, “Thy will be done.” We mean both, “let there be an increase in obedience to your will of precept, in which you are well pleased,” as well as, “Nevertheless, not my will but your will be done.” Turretin points out that Christ’s confession that he came “to do the will of his Father” refers to both of these senses. Christ came to fulfill the decree of God as well as obey the law of God.
Now, Turretin’s statement that promises fall under will of precept should be understood in a very particular way, especially in light of what was said above about how promises are God’s revelation of his decree before the events take place. It may seem that we disagreed with Turretin. There is no contradiction here though. Note, it was said that God’s revelation of these things should serve as a comfort or warning for those who hear them. In that way the revelation of the will of decree serves as a means of prescription (faith) and prohibition (repentance). Thus, Turretin explains that “promise” and “precept” formally differ as to their nature. Thus, we know God’s decree about “things themselves (i.e., from the ordination and inseparable connection established by God between faith and salvation as between the means and the end)” (IET 1.3.15.21), even though we do not know his decree about particular persons. In other words, God has willed (by decree) that all who look to Christ in faith will be saved, thus we tell people to look to Christ in faith. However, the particular people who will in fact fit into this “category,” that is, those whom God has decreed will look to Christ in faith, is a particularity of which we are not given knowledge. Earlier, Turretin says, “We can only gather that there is an inseparable connection between faith and salvation, constituted by God himself so that no one can obtain salvation who does not possess faith, and no one can have faith without most certainly obtaining salvation. Thus the promises added to the precepts signify only what God will grant to believers and penitents, not what he wills to grant to all those to whom the precept is proposed” (IET 1.3.15.12).
In obeying the will of precept, we must seek the Scriptures for our instruction. The law of God is the rule of holiness. À Brakel says, “We need not ascertain whether something is consistent with the holy character of God in order to establish a basis for obedience. Rather, we ought to ascertain what God has been pleased to command us” (Christian’s Reasonable Service, 1.120). In other words, we should not go seeking to establish the will of precept by our own reasoning, but go to God’s Word to hear his will. He urges us to have a humble disposition: “God says, “I will,” to which the believer responds, “Amen.” (CRS, 1.121). When we ask, “What is God’s will for my life?” as a question regarding what we ought to do, we must go to the will of precept to determine that. We must not try to probe the depths of the decree, but seek the Word and act in accord with it. God’s will of decree, though largely unknown to us beforehand, cannot be thwarted, and his plans work to his glory and his people’s good. There is great comfort in this, and great comfort in knowing that we are walking in the way prescribed by him.