The Doctrine of the Divine Decrees. Part 22

The Doctrine of the Divine Decrees. Part 22.

Friday, September 21, 2007

Point 9. The divine decrees and divine imputations.

a. Human life is imputed to the soul.

JoNAH 4:10-11 “What’s this? How is it that you can change your feelings from pleasure to anger overnight about a mere shade tree that you did nothing to get? You neither planted nor watered it. It grew up one night and died the next night. And should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know {the difference} between their right and left hand, as well as many animals?”

The principle behind the divine decrees is that since condemnation precedes salvation, they must be condemned before they can be saved; therefore they are condemned at birth.

Soul life is provided by God at birth, JOB 33:4; ECC 12:7; ISA 45:2.

JOB 33:4 “And the breath from God has created me [a human being], and the breath [soul life] of the Almighty gives me [human] life.”

ECC 12:7 then the dust [human body] will return to the earth as it was, and the soul-life will return to God Who gave it.

GEN 2:7 Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

Because the sin nature is a part of biological life and is not passed on by God, ROM 6:6; ROM 7:14;
GAL 5:16; EPH 2:3.

Biological life originates with our parents; soul life originates from God at birth.

Only Adam and the woman were given biological and soul life simultaneously at original creation.

God imputes human life to the format soul at birth; therefore, God gives human life.

b. Adam’s original sin imputed to the old sin nature, automatically condemning each member of the human race at birth.

GEN 8:21 for the intent of man’s heart is evil from his youth;
ROM 5:12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned -
ROM 5:19 for as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the one the many will be made righteous.

Selection is a technical term related to the divine imputation of human life at the point of physical birth.

At the moment of physical birth, God imputes human life to the format soul, at which point the individual becomes alive.

Job describes the limits of life: Out from the womb and to the tomb. The limits of human life are from birth to death.

At birth, God creates soul life and imputes it to biological life.
At death, God removes soul life from biological life, and for the believer, takes that soul life to heaven.

Job could not die before birth, because he was not a human being prior to birth.
JOB 1:21 “The Lord gave [soul life at birth], and the Lord has taken it away [at death]; blessed be the name of the Lord.”

Biological life is only temporary.
Soul life is permanent.

It is not surprising that the Bible emphasizes human experience as existing between birth and death, not conception and death.

PSA 58:3 “The wicked are estranged outside the womb [me rechem]; those who speak lies go astray outside the womb [mi beten].”

ECC 3:2 “There is a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot what is planted.”

At the moment of physical birth, God imputes human life to the format soul, at which point the individual becomes alive. Life has meaning, purpose, and definition for everyone, regardless of environment or circumstances, historical prosperity or historical adversity.

a. Human life is imputed to the soul.
b. Adam’s original sin imputed to the old sin nature.
c. The third imputation as a part of the divine decrees takes place at the point of faith in Christ; eternal life is imputed to the human spirit, created by God the Holy Spirit (called regeneration).

TIT 3:5 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,

d. The fourth imputation in the divine decrees = perfect righteousness is imputed as a judicial imputation to the believer at salvation.

2CO 5:21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

e. The fifth imputation in the divine decrees took place on the cross when the sins of the world were imputed to Jesus Christ in His spiritual death.

f. Blessing in time is imputed to perfect righteousness previously imputed to the believer when the believer grows spiritually and especially cracks the maturity barrier.

g. Blessing for eternity is imputed to the believer’s perfect righteousness at the judgment seat of Christ.

The omniscience of God in taking cognizance of the fall of man graciously provided a plan based on imputations from divine justice.

Non-meritorious human volition can fall short of any potential of God’s plan.

To what extent every individual advances in this plan was known to the omniscience of God in eternity past and fed into the divine decrees.

The attainment of divine blessing through imputation is the means God has chosen to glorify Himself and to give Himself pleasure.

The glory of God is related to the believer’s advance to maturity and resultant imputation of divine blessing.

The biggest problems to being consistent are distractions, mental attitude sins, inordinate desire, entertainment, rather than contentment.

NEH 8:18 And he read from the book of the law of God daily, from the first day to the last day.

PRO 8:30 Then I was beside Him, as a master workman; and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him,

Chokmah, wisdom or doctrine, promises blessings to those who listen to it daily,
PRO 8:34 “Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at my doorposts.”

LUK 9:23 And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.”
LUK 19:47 And He was teaching daily in the temple; but the chief priests and the scribes and the leading men among the people were trying to destroy Him,
LUK 22:53 While I was with you daily in the temple,

The decrees unite in one final and all-inclusive objective which is the glory of God, PRO 16:4; ROM 11:36;HEB 2:10; REV 4:11.

ROM 11:36 For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.

As the origin and subject of the divine decrees, it is inevitable that every thought, decision, and action in history will glorify God.

Since the manifestation of His glory also includes the highest and best for His creatures and their greatest good,ROM 8:28, it is inevitable that imputing blessing to the mature believer will glorify God.

ROM 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

MAT 10:42 “And whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you he shall not lose his reward.”

LUK 19:17 And he said to him, “Well done, good slave, because you have been faithful in a very little thing, be in authority over ten cities.”

REV 22:12 “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward {is} with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done.”

1PE 4:5 But they shall give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.

ROM 14:12 So then each one of us shall give account of himself to God.

ROM 3:19 And all the world may become accountable to God,

MAT 12:36 And I say to you, that every careless word that men shall speak, they shall render account for it in the day of judgment.

JOB 31:14 What then could I do when God arises, and when He calls me to account, what will I answer Him?

P.V.T.D. + Capacity + Blessing In Time And Eternity = Glorification Of God.