What are the decrees of God?

The decrees of God are His eternal purposes, revealed through His words and acts. They are eternal because they come from the plan God established before the creation of the world, which will continue forever (Ephesians 1:4–5; Psalm 33:11). As God executes His plan in the past, present, and future, each of His individual decrees serves His sovereign will.

God’s decrees include all events in history, not just His direct actions. This means His decrees consist of what He does and what He permits. God’s direct actions include supernatural works, such as creating the world and performing miracles. What He permits involves allowing sinful human choices, such as idolatry, immorality, and other forms of rebellion against Him. What He permits also includes the consequences of human sin on the planet, such as natural disasters. Because God’s decrees include all events, evil cannot hinder His eternal and sovereign will (Romans 8:28).

The Bible also teaches that God’s decrees extend to the end of the world and beyond. Psalm 33:11 teaches that nothing can thwart God’s sovereign will: “But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.” Likewise, the writer of Hebrews says God’s eternal plans are fixed: “Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath” (Hebrews 6:17).

God’s decrees originate in eternity. An important example of this is God’s decision to save sinners through Jesus Christ (John 3:16). Paul writes that God “chose us in him before the creation of the world,” a decision that was in “accordance with his pleasure and will” (Ephesians 1:4–5). Similarly, in describing God’s redemption of sinners, he writes, “This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time” (2 Timothy 1:9).

God’s decrees are most clearly revealed in Jesus. John described Him as “the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world” (Revelation 13:8). The description of when Jesus was slain—from the creation of the world—points to the eternal purpose of His death. Likewise, Peter wrote that the Father chose Jesus to save sinners before He made the world: “He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake” (1 Peter 1:20).

In fact, Luke writes that even those who killed Jesus acted according to the Father’s plan: “This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross” (Acts 2:23). In addition, later in Acts, Luke lists the evil deeds of Herod and Pontius Pilate. Then he explains that their sinful choices didn’t disrupt God’s decrees. He wrote, “they did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen” (Acts 4:27–28). Therefore, Jesus’ death occurred in history, but God decreed it in eternity.

Christ, whose death the Father planned from eternity, will also reign in glory at the end of history. Matthew describes this when he writes, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne” (Matthew 25:31). Paul likewise shows that Christ’s saving work has eternal results for those united to Him. This assurance is clear when he says, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38–39).

While history unfolds across eras, cultures, and places, God has one eternal purpose. Through the prophet Isaiah, He says, “I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please’” (Isaiah 46:10). Because God’s decrees are eternal, believers can live with confidence that chance does not govern their lives, but God’s eternal and sovereign purposes do.