April 22, 2026  |  Lesson 1

Divine Decrees

The decree of God is His eternal and unchangeable decision regarding the time and manner of occurrence of all events. God’s omniscience decreed all things at once in eternity past. In the mind of God, what we call “the decrees of God” was in fact one decree in a moment of time for God. (Psalm 2:7)

The technical, theological definition of the decree of God is His eternal, holy, wise, and sovereign purpose, comprehending simultaneously all things that ever were or will be. Because of our finite minds, we are limited in our understanding of God’s divine decree(s) made in eternity past and therefore we understand it in partial aspects as it is revealed to us by God’s Word. Therefore, we refer to God’s one decree as the divine decrees. A divine decree can be easily understood as the sovereign choice of God as to what and when will take place. Though many things occur that are contrary to the will of God, this in no way compromises God’s divine decree, because He decreed that both angelic creatures and human beings would have free will. You and I exist because God willed it to be. We owe our very life to Him.

In decreeing that mankind would have free will, God knew every decision we would ever make, good or bad, and He provided solutions for the bad ones. God knew before they occurred every problem we would face, every heartache we would experience, every tragedy, every disaster, every failure, and every success. Knowing this, God supplied everything a believer will ever need to handle and solve the problems of life, to have complete security, to share the happiness of God, and to glorify God to the maximum.

There is never an excuse for complaining. We have it all, if we will only take advantage of it by learning, believing, and applying His Word to our individual lives. God, according to His divine decree, is waiting to pour out greater blessings into the life of believers when they have developed the capacity to receive them. (Isaiah 30:18) God decreed to create mankind with free will and He never violates that decree. Therefore, God will never force anyone into a decision or course of action. He does not force an unbeliever to believe in Christ as Savior. He does not force a believer to execute the Protocol Plan of God.

He has decreed that we have the free will to decide our own fate. If a person decides to reject Jesus Christ as their Savior, their fate is the Lake of Fire (Hell) for eternity. If a person decides to believe in Christ as Savior, their fate is eternal life in Heaven. If a believer decides to reject God’s protocol plan, their fate is self-induced misery, unhappiness, divine discipline, and no greater blessings from God.

God possesses three kinds of knowledge: 1) self-knowledge  2) omniscience  3) foreknowledge. God has never had to learn anything about Himself. His self-knowledge is perfect, total, and complete. He is aware of Who He is, His essence, and His attributes. He is aware of the Godhead and the unlimited capabilities of the members of the Trinity. Each member of the Godhead shares the same self-knowledge of one another.

God knows all the knowledge outside of Himself. He knows every person who has been born or will be born, believer and unbeliever. God has always known the actual and the possible for every angelic being and every human being. Since God knew ahead of time what decisions we would make, those decisions became part of His divine decree. Foreknowledge acknowledges what God has decreed but does not cause it to occur. Foreknowledge is simply prior knowledge of the facts of everything that happens, everything that we decide, and everything that we think. The word foreknown in the Bible is used to describe the predesigned plan of God for those who believe in Jesus Christ as Savior, both positionally and experientially.

Because of our finite minds, it is difficult to completely understand the true meaning of the divine decrees of God. The decrees of God establish what will be caused by angels or mankind, but the decree is not the cause. Since God knew what we would think and do in eternity past, He decreed that it would happen. The cause of anything that happens is based on the free will of those making positive or negative decisions. It would be like God saying that He knew that you would make the decision to trust Christ as Savior, so He decreed it. The cause was your positive volition, not the decree. The decree was the fact that it would occur, already known by God.

God decreed that His will alone would decide what His creation would be. For example, God decided that mankind would be a rational being capable of making their own choices (volition). He decided that we would have a body, a soul with self-consciousness, mentality, and emotion, and a human spirit (upon faith in Christ).

Because of the Fall of mankind, the highest and best that God had planned was lost. Adam and Eve lost their human spirit (their connection to God) when they disobeyed God and sinned in the Garden. They also lost many other things, including their relationship with God and they became spiritually dead. However, Adam and Eve had something that we all have which restored their relationship with God; they had free will. They used their free will to make the decision to trust Jesus Christ as their Savior and God returned to them their human spirit, restored His relationship with them, and gave them eternal life.

With regard to those who believe in Jesus Christ in any dispensation of time, God decreed certain things to be true, stated in Scripture as predestination, election, and foreknowledge. We call the predesigned plan of God predestination. Predestination does not mean that God violates the free will of a person by making them believe in Christ. Predestination means that God has determined beforehand in eternity past what believers in Christ receive as a result of their free-will decision to trust Christ as Savior.

The Greek word for predestinate is “proorizo.” “Pro” means before and “orizo” means to mark or to design. Combined, these words mean “to determine or to design beforehand.” What is it that is predetermined or predesigned by God? We know from many Scriptures that God does not decide ahead of time who will believe in Christ and who will reject Him. This decision is always left to the free will of the individual. So, what is predetermined or predesigned? (John 3:16)

In eternity past, God predesigned a perfect plan for every believer. God decided that anyone who believed in Christ would receive certain blessings on earth and greater blessings in eternity. This plan was predetermined by God for a believer’s maximum happiness. The 40 spiritual assets we receive at salvation are God’s blessings to us, but there is much more awaiting those who execute the Christian Way of Life. (Romans 8:29; Ephesians 1:3–12)

A person enters the plan of God at salvation by freely choosing to believe in Christ. After salvation, a believer may or may not continue in God’s plan. In either case, God does not predetermine who will or will not believe, or who will or will not execute His plan — that decision is always left up to the individual’s volition. (John 3:16–18)

Since God knows ahead of time exactly what we will or will not choose to do, He is able ahead of time to design a perfect plan for our life. Within the framework of God’s plan for believers is His directive will (His desire for you), His permissive will (God allows you to make the decision even though it is not His desire), and His overruling will (hindering you from doing something in order to protect you or other believers). All three impact the life of a believer at different times and in different ways. In all cases, however, God is working all things together for good for those who are advancing in the Christian Way of Life (who love Him). (Romans 8:28)