Bible Question:
What would you say about the position that before the beginning of time (2 Timothy 1:9, 10), God planned what He was going to do (Isaiah 14:26), before He actually created all things, and decided to create angels, the universe, earth, vegetation, animals and mankind (Ephesians 3:10) so that He could have the means through which to abolish the eventual and potential corruption, sin, decay, pain, suffering that would inevitably affect all creation (Daniel 9:24, Hebrews 2:14,1 John 3:8, Colossians 1:13), so that corruption would never again infect creation morally, physically, or spiritually (1 Corinthians 15:50f), and that is why once God created that specific scenario He stopped creating anything else (Hebrews 4), such as beings in other planets, since His goal was to create an instrument (Hebrews 10:5) through which He could exercise His abilities, qualities, and characteristics (man), until that instrument, that body (Christ) could bring about the abolition of death, corruption, decay, sin, and the corruptible, so there will never be corruption again for the rest of eternity, and that once the actuality and potentiality of corruption is abolished God will resume creation with a new universe and a new earth, given that man was created so that God could wage that battle, for all of creation, on earth (Ephesians 6:12)?
Bible Answer:
It appears that you are trying to determine the order of God’s decisions or decrees in eternity past from the original creation to the new creation. However, much of your viewpoint deals with God’s plan about the salvation of man. We will limit our response to a consideration of God’s decrees relative to salvation since that seems to be the majority of your viewpoint. God’s decrees relative to man’s salvation is an issue that theologians have been struggling with for a time. There are six major viewpoints.[1]
Supralapsarian
Some believe in what is called the supralapsarian view of God’s decrees,
1) Decree to elect some to salvation.
2) Decree to permit the fall.
3) Decree to provide salvation for the elect through Jesus Christ.
4) Decree to give the Holy Spirit to save and sanctify the redeemed.
Infralapsarian
Others believe in what is called an infralapsarian viewpoint of the order of God’s decrees. This view says that God’s decrees relative to salvation were as follows,
1) Decree to permit the fall.
2) Decree to elect some to salvation.
3) Decree to provide salvation for the elect through Jesus Christ.
4) Decree to give the Holy Spirit to save and sanctify the redeemed.
Amyraidian
A third view of the order of God’s decrees is called Amyraidian. It essentially proposes an unlimited viewpoint of the decrees.
1) Decree to permit the fall.
2) Decree to make salvation possible through Jesus Christ for all.
3) Decree to elect some based on moral ability or foreseen faith.
4) Decree to give the Holy Spirit to work moral ability in the elect and sanctify the redeemed.
Lutheran
A fourth view of the order of God’s decrees is called the Lutheran view. Here is the view.
1) Decree to permit the fall.
2) Decree to provide satisfaction for the sins of the world through Christ.
3) Decree to communicate saving grace through the means of grace.
4) Decree to predestinate those who do not resist the means of grace.
5) Decree to provide salvation through the means of grace.
Wesleyan
A fifth view of the order of God’s decrees is called the Wesleyan view. Here is the view,
1) Decree to permit the fall.
2) Decree to provide satisfaction for the sins of the world through Christ.
3) Decree to forgive the original sin to all and provide sufficient grace to all as a gift.
4) Decree to predestinate those who grow in sufficient grace.
5) Decree to sanctify those who cooperate with sufficient grace.
Roman Catholic
A sixth view of the order of God’s decrees is called the Roman Catholic view. Here is the view,
1) Decree to permit the fall resulting in the loss of supernatural righteousness.
2) Decree to render satisfaction for all human sins through Christ.
3) Decree to apply satisfaction through the institutional church.
4) Decree to sanctify those to whom the sacraments are communicated.
There are other views about the order of God’s decrees but these are the major ones. However, there is a difficulty with these views. No one can defend the sequence or order with scripture. The viewpoints are the result of human logic and scripture. It is fortunate that the order of God’s decrees is not important, since we do not know the exact order.
You have also proposed an order of God’s decrees, but your order is much more extensive. But once more no one knows the order. Scripture does not reveal which decision He made first, then second and so forth. Your order is just like the others – the result of human logic and derived from scripture.
Upon examining your order, we would encourage you to reevaluate the statement that corruption would “never again infect creation . . .” and then you cite 1 Corinthians 15:50f. However, that passage does not support your claim. Also, Hebrews 10:5 says nothing about aliens on other planets. The passage is about Jesus Christ.
Conclusion:
Trying to determine the order of God’s decrees is an interesting adventure but one about which no one can ever be sure. They can never be sure because scripture never discusses the order of God’s decrees. Wayne Grudem states,
The discussion is complex and highly speculative because there is very little direct biblical data to help us with it. Good arguments have been advanced in support of each view, and there is probably some element of truth in each one. But in the last analysis it seems wiser to say that Scripture does not give us enough data to probe into this mystery, and, moreover, it does not seem very edifying to do so.[2]
References
H. Wayne house. Chart of Christian Theology and Doctrine. Zondervan. 1992., p. 59.
Wayne Grudem. Systematic Theology. Zondervan. 1994., p. 679.