The WESTMINSTER LARGER Catechism

Q 13. What hath God especially decreed concerning angels and men?

A. God, by an eternal and immutable decree, out of His mere love, for the praise of His glorious grace, to be manifested in due time, hath elected some angels to glory;1 and in Christ, hath chosen some men to eternal life, and the means thereof:2 and also, according to His sovereign power, and the unsearchable counsel of His own will, (whereby He extendeth or withholdeth favour as He pleaseth,) hath passed by and foreordained the rest to dishonour and wrath, to be for their sin inflicted, to the praise of the glory of His justice.3

Proofs

1 1 Tim 5:21, 2 Eph 1:4-6; 2 Thes 2:13-14, 3 Rom 9:17-18, 21-22; Mt 11:25-26; 2 Tim 2:20; Jude 4; 1 Pet 2:8

Comments

We have already seen that in this world there are elect angels and men as well as reprobate angels and men; and we have seen that it is God who elected or reprobated "before the foundation of the world" (Eph 1:4; cf. Mt 25:34). This means that ultimately in the God’s world, some of God’s rational creatures will be enjoying his everlasting blessings, whereas others will suffer his everlasting condemnation.

How do they each arrive at their respective final destinies? Our catechism, following the Scriptures, informs us that God did not merely mark out who is who because He foresaw their final destinies; nor did He mark them out and then left them to reach their destinies by themselves so that there is a possibility that some elect may be lost and some reprobate saved.

No, the elect and reprobate are not only marked out, but also brought to their final destinies by the sovereign power of God answering to His eternal decrees. But God’s power is manifested in their lives differently. Our Confession of Faith speaks of this difference in the words: "By the decree of God, for the manifestation of His glory, some men and angels are predestinated unto everlasting life; and others foreordained to everlasting death" (WCF 3.3). The elect are predestinated, while the reprobate are foreordained. The two terms though synonymous in some sense, helpfully highlights the fact that in the case of men, particularly, election involves sovereign (supernatural) intervention (such as regneration); whereas reprobation, in general, involves leaving the individuals to the exercise of their free agency without any intervention.

This, of course does not mean that reprobation involves "bare permission." No, all things are ordained of God and comes to pass by God sovereign power executing His own decree. And moreover, in some instances, such as in the case of Pharaoh, God hardens the heart of the individual (see Rom 9:17-18; cf. Mt 6:52).

The difference between the way God deals with His elect and the reprobate is moreover manifested in how God views them and how they glorify him. We may summarise the differences in the following table, which is derived or inferred from our Catechism:

Party

Elect

Reprobate

Providential dealing

Predestinated unto Life

(Extension
of favour including means of grace and regeneration)

Foreordained unto Death

(Withholding of favour, and may include extraordinary hardening)

God’s View

Love / Delight / Mercy

Hatred / Wrath / Justice

How they glorify God

Praise of His glorious grace

Praise of His glorious justice

End

Glory /
Eternal Life

Dishonour / Eternal Death