Jonaitis
Soli Deo Gloria
- Jan 4, 2019
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Your post is not so distinct from what we would say.
Certainly, God uses ALL things, even what happens to us as a result of our faults, or as the result of our own sinfulness or the sins of others, to bring us into the likeness of Christ for our salvation - if we cooperate with Him. We can of course respond wrongly to any situation.
God knows our path, certainly, He knows all things from before time. He does not however choose our sins and force us to do so, if that's what you meant. Maybe you didn't.
As far as glory - God IS glorious. Nothing we can do or not do takes away or adds to that. I'm always a little confused by an extreme position (not what you are saying but others I have heard) that goes so far as to say God intends evil or creates people in order to condemn them - for the sole purpose of somehow increasing or demonstrating or shoring up His own glory. I can't see how anyone can think that is glorious, but more importantly - God doesn't need any such thing to add to Himself, doesn't need to "prove" anything. When we see Him as He is, we will have no doubt of His glory.
But most importantly, yes, He does use all things - even bad things - for good out of love if we allow it. I've always thought the selling of Joseph into slavery, leading to the saving of the house of Jacob from famine, to be a good example. (Of course that led to slavery, which then led to Moses bringing Israel to the Promised Land, and so on ... )
I agree, we cannot add or take away anything from his essential glory, because he is glorious in and of himself. Many think that when we are called to give him glory or that we were created for his glory that we are giving him something that he needs, but this not what we mean. God doesn't need heaven's host to hymn his praises, neither does he need the earth to engage his attention. He is essentially glorious for who he is, not what the creature renders to him. "Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?" (Exod. 15:11). Whatever glory we "give" or "render" to him is more of ourselves acknowledging and declaring what is already true about him. Among the works of creation we were created, in our own peculiar design, to manifest some profound truth about this awesome Divine being. We could never augment or diminish anything essential to himself.
While I do agree that God is not the author of sin, I affirm that he does in fact predestine some individuals to eternal life and others to eternal punishment according to his own holy and eternal plan. It is a misunderstanding as to what is meant by this statement. Many people think that we are saying God takes pleasure in punishing people - so he creates some individuals for that purpose, or that he needs to prove something about his justice. While God doesn't need to prove anything to anyone about anything, and nothing makes him glorious, he does in fact decree all things for the demonstration of his glory. Yes, some are for the demonstration of his glorious justice and others are for the demonstration of his glorious mercy, but it is not as you think.
"Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: and that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?" - Romans 9:21-24
It is a beautiful truth I wish more understood better.
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