What is a biblical decree, it refers to a declaration that is made in the name of Jesus so that something is fulfilled according to what the word establishes. Systematic theology is the one that is in charge of studying the decrees of God that are manifested in the Word.
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In this sense, God has sovereign decrees, which can cause some discomfort to people. But these fit perfectly with the idea of a sovereign, all-knowing, holy and just God, as presented in the Bible.
What is a biblical decree
A biblical decree refers to the purposes of God from eternity, which he knows and has always organized to carry out his divine plan. God is sovereign and has the power to act according to his will, which is perfect.
God does what he wants, but we cannot attribute everything sinful in the world to him, only that he allows things and does it with a certain purpose. We must understand that God already knows everything. According to the Bible, we must consider the following aspects when it comes to learning more about what God’s decrees are:
1.- Biblical decrees are eternal and unalterable
God’s decrees were created in eternity past and are unalterable, that is, they cannot be changed. The Lord never changes his plans and they cannot be hindered, as the Holy Scriptures point out:
“The Lord of hosts has sworn: ‘Surely, just as I had thought, so it has come to pass; just as he had planned, so it will come to pass. If the Lord of hosts has determined it, who can thwart it? And as for his outstretched hand, who can turn it away?” (Isaiah 14:24, 27)
2.- The Lord decrees with full freedom
Our God has never had an outdated or incomplete thought. For this reason, he has no advisors or people who can improve his ideas or plans, since no one can surpass him.
3.- The decrees of the Lord are perfect
God is perfect, which is why his word is perfect, where we can clearly see the glory of the Lord. And this perfection is attributed the ability to create wise, perfect, and holy things from eternity. Therefore he is incapable of doing anything wrong.
For the Lord there are no surprises or accidents. At present, open theology affirms that God does not know the future and that he reacts to the things that happen. But the Bible refutes this idea: “And he told me: It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give freely from the spring of the water of life.” (Revelation 21:6)
4.- God is sovereign, he does what he wants
The Lord is the owner of all kingdoms, and he gives them to whoever he wants, since he is sovereign and has the highest authority over heaven and earth. Therefore he will fulfill everything he has said in his word, and will do according to divine justice and his perfect will.
In the book of Daniel 4:35 such sovereignty of God can be evidenced: “All the inhabitants of the earth are considered as nothing, but He acts according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can stay his hand, nor say to him: ‘What have you done?
Many times we think that as children of God we can assume certain attributions that do not correspond to us and we glorify ourselves when God does works through us. Without understanding that we are only instruments of God and that all the glory is for him.
In the same way, we think that we can give orders to God or ask him for things to comply with at a certain time. Which is a mistake, since God’s time is perfect and different from our time.
That is why it is important to nourish ourselves every day with the word of God so as not to fall into ignorance, ignoring what is the place that we should give God in our lives and what is our mission as children of God. We must understand that God does as he wants, at his time and does not obey our commands, nor fulfill our whims. He alone searches our hearts and grants our requests before asking them.
In this way we must stop worrying, and let the Lord work in our life without interfering with God’s plan, making assumptions and wanting to guess the future. Which is an abomination for God, because only he has access to the things that are to come, which are already revealed in the word of God.
5.- God decrees to glorify himself
Biblical decrees appear in the Holy Scriptures only to exalt the Lord, to give Him all the glory and all the honor, since this Glory represents what He is and what He does. And his revelations are solely for this purpose.
In this way, the more our Lord reveals himself, the more we love and know him, and we rejoice in his presence, we enjoy all his benefits. For this reason we must dethrone ourselves and put our vanity aside because all things are done by him according to his purpose and his will.
Who are we to refute the Glory to God, to overshadow his work and pretend to be better than him. We must remember that God is sovereign, perfect and is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. So we must respect his power and authority. As his word expresses it:
“For My name’s sake I restrain My anger, and to My praise I restrain it against you so as not to destroy you. For I have purified you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the crucible of affliction. For My love, for My love, I will, for how could My name be desecrated? My glory, then, I will not give to another.” (Isaiah 48:9-11)
6.- Everything has been decreed by God
The decrees that appear in the Bible are only made by God, and we can name some of them:
- The creation of heaven and earth (Genesis 1-2).
- The seasons (Genesis 8:22).
- The boundaries of nations and where man dwells (Acts 17:26).
- The length of human life (Job 14:5).
- The rulers of the different nations (Romans 13:1).
So all things have been decreed by God, whether it be a blessing or a tragedy. The Lord does everything in a sovereign way with the authority and power that characterizes him, as revealed by the word:
“Who is it that speaks and so it happens, unless the Lord has commanded it? Does not both good and evil come out of the mouth of the Most High? (Lamentations 3:37-38)
7.- God does not practice sin
The word of God says that our Lord is in control of both the good and the evil of men. In the case of Joseph, a character from the Bible, we can see how the sale of him as a slave was very sinful. And even more so the crucifixion of his Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary. But the Lord allowed all this to achieve the divine plan and achieve victory against Satan.
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In this way, it is essential to understand that God is not the author of sin and does not tempt people to sin: “Let no one say when tempted: I am tempted by God; because God cannot be tempted by evil and He himself does not tempt anyone. (James 1:13).
8.- Man is responsible for his actions
God is sovereign and plans everything. But man is responsible for his actions, since he has the free will to make decisions and act according to his heart.
For this reason, those who crucified Jesus, for example, are absolutely responsible for their sins, despite the fact that all of that happened within God’s sovereign plans to accomplish the divine plan.
This may sound somewhat complicated to understand, but God is sovereign and has the power to orchestrate everything according to his plans and do his perfect will. Man is an instrument of God, but he makes his own decisions because God gives him that freedom.
However, as children of God we must always ask for God’s direction so that he guides us through his paths of justice and we can understand his purposes. The wisdom to delve into the divine plans of the Lord is immersed in the Holy Scriptures, where we can find the biblical decrees that enhance the Glory of God.
9.- Preaching does not discard the decrees of God
Despite the fact that in the word we can find the truth, the admirable light of Christ and the biblical decrees, preaching continues to play a very important role in rescuing lost souls and clarifying God’s message.
Also through preaching you can make known the decrees given by the Lord in the word and recognize the Glory that emanates in each of his works. As his word reveals:
“How, then, will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how will they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without a preacher? And how will they preach if they are not sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who announce the good gospel!’ (Romans 10:14-15)
In this way, preaching is a mandate from God, to make the message of salvation known to the nations and to rescue the souls that are lost and have not received Jesus Christ in their hearts. That is the purpose of God on earth, to preach the gospel to every creature so that it does not get lost in the paths of darkness.
10.- Our mind cannot understand the wisdom of God
The mind of man is limited and we cannot know things as God knows them. We are imperfect and God gives us gifts according to our commitment to him and his will. For this reason, we must ask God to give us wisdom from above so that we can discern and understand the message that God has left us in his word:
“Oh, depth of the riches and of the wisdom and of the knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and his ways past finding out! For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who became his adviser? Or who has given to Him first so that he has to be rewarded? For of Him, through Him, and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen”, (Romans 11:33-36)
In this passage we can notice our limitations as human beings, and it makes clear to us the greatness, wisdom, power and majesty of Our Heavenly Father, who through his word exhorts us to seek the wisdom from above to understand that spiritual world and full of mysteries that is limited to us.
Is decreeing biblical?
Today we can find many pastors, prophets, apostles decreeing blessings and curses, making claims that God has given them that authority. However, the intention to “declare” a blessing or a curse is not in the hands of men, since no one has the authority to “declare” but only the Lord, the Almighty, The Great I Am.
In this sense, the Son of God only has the mission of announcing, warning, exhorting, teaching. But never decree, since no human being has the authority to say “I curse or bless you in the name of the Lord”
In the Old Testament, the Lord placed a blessing and a curse before Israel. If the people obeyed, he would receive a blessing. But in case they disobeyed, they would receive a curse. And so it happened.
But when Christ came into this world, he freed us from the curse of the law, to give us his thanks. And despite the fact that obedience or disobedience have their…