Month: August 2023

“The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations” Psalm 33:10-11

Written by Dr. Marcus J. Serven

Introduction:

Every theological system contains distinctive marks that identify the way of thinking and believing that is inherent to that system. For example, Roman Catholic theology focuses on a highly developed sacramentalism. Arminian theology focuses on the freedom of the will and personal choice in the matter of salvation. Pentecostal theology emphasizes the sign gifts of the Holy Spirit and spiritual renewal. Lutheran theology is built upon the Bible’s teaching on justification by grace through faith. Anglican/Episcopalian theology focuses on a highly developed liturgy in worship. And, Reformed theology is particularly focused on the sovereignty of God in the matters of creation, providence, and salvation. 

But which theological system is true? Given that Christians reject the notion that truth is completely unknowable, and the attitude that truth doesn’t really matter, then how does one rightly discern the truth? Those within the Reformed community would answer that we know truth by studying God’s revelation to us through the Bible. God speaks to us through his Word. The Bible doesn’t answer every possible question we may have about God and his ways, but it does give us all that we need to know about God, matters of faith, and the Christian life. Hence, for those in Reformed churches an emphasis on studying, preaching, and teaching the Bible has always been paramount. Moreover, the Reformation dictum—“The Bible interprets the Bible”—formalizes the way in which truth is known; by comparing one passage of Scripture with another. The easier to understand passages shed light upon the more difficult passages. It is in this way truth can be known.

Key Biblical Words:

Some Christians deny the doctrine of God’s sovereignty by simply asserting the there are no words in the Bible that teach the sovereignty of God. This is false. Below are references to the words in the Bible that directly teach that God sovereignly rules over the affairs of men. These words cannot be denied, nor can their frequency be ignored. God is sovereign as these words assert.

— Old Testament names of God > (Heb.) Yahweh Sabaoth = “LORD of hosts” (1 Sam. 1:3; 1 Sam. 17:45); El Elyon = “God Most High” (Gen. 14:18-20; Ps. 47:2; Ps. 57:2; Ps. 78:35); El Shaddai = “God Almighty” (Gen. 17:1; Job 5:17)

— “rule” and “dominion” and “reign” (Heb.) mashal > Judges 8:23; Ps. 47:8; Ps. 99:1 

— “ruler” and “king” and “Sovereign” (Gk.) dunastes > 1 Tim. 6:15 

— “Elect” and “election” and “chosen” (Gk.) eklectos (23x) and ekloges (7x) > Matthew 24:22-24; Mark 13:20, 22, 27; Luke 18:7; Romans 8:33, 9:11, 11:5, 7 and 28; Colossians 3:12; 1 Thessalonians 1:4; 2 Timothy 2:10; Titus 1:1; 1 Peter 1:1; 2 Peter 1:10

— “Foreknew” and “foreknown” (Gk.) proginosko (7x) > Acts 26:5; Romans 8:29, 11:2; 1 Peter 1:20; 2 Peter 3:17

— “Foreknowledge” (Gk.) prognosis (2x) > Acts 2:23; 1 Peter 1:2

— “Foresaw” and “seen before” (Gk.) proorao (2x) > Acts 2:25, 21:29

— “Predestined” and “predestination” and “foreordain” (Gk.) prooridzo (6x) > Acts 4:28; Romans 8:28-30; 1 Corinthians 2:7; Ephesians 1:5, 11

Key Texts from the Bible:

(English Standard Version; all italics are mine)

— Judges 8:23 – Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the LORD will rule over you.” 

— 1 Chronicles 29:10-13 – (10) Therefore David blessed the LORD in the presence of the assembly. And David said: “Blessed are you, O LORD, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever. (11) Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and you are exalted as head above all. (12) Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. (13) And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name.” 

— Job 42:1-2 – Then Job answered the LORD and said: “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.” 

— Psalm 47:8 – God reigns over the nations; God sits on his holy throne.

— Psalm 103:19 The LORD has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.

— Proverbs 21:1-2 (1) The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will. (2) Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the heart.

— Isaiah 45:5-7 (5) I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me, (6) that the people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; (7) I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the LORD, who does all these things.

— Isaiah 46:8-11 – (8) Remember this and stand firm, recall it to mind, you transgressors, (9) remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is none like me, (10) declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, “My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose, (11) calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it.”

— Daniel 4:34-35 – (34) At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; (35) all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?” 

— Matthew 10:29-31 – (29) Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. (30) But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. (31) Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

 — Matthew 24:22, 24, 31 (22) And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would have been saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. … (24) For false Christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. … (31) And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

— Acts 2:22-24 (22) Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know—(23) this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men, (24) God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.

— Acts 13:48 (48) And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.

— Acts 17:26-27 – (26) And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, (27) that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us. 

— Romans 8:29-30 (29) For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be firstborn among many brothers. (30) And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

— Romans 9:10-13 (10) And not only so, but also when Rebecca had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, (11) though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of his call—(12) she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” (13) As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated. “

— Ephesians 1:3-5, 11 (3) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, (4) even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love (5) he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will. … (11) In him we obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will.

— 1 Timothy 6:13-16 – (13) I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, (14) to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, (15) which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, (16) who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion.

 — 2 Timothy 2:10 (10) Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they may also obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

Confessional Reconnaissance:

Many Creeds, Confessions, and Catechisms could be consulted on the subject of God’s sovereignty. These particular ones from the time of the Reformation support the doctrine of God’s sovereignty and give evidence of this through the statements on God’s attributes, his providential will, and the doctrines of election and predestination. In brief, it could be affirmed that the doctrine of God’s sovereignty is earnestly believed by Presbyterians, Reformed churches, some Lutherans, the Puritans and Pilgrims, many Baptist and Congregational churches, and also by many Episcopalians and Anglicans. 

— The Scots Confession of Faith (1560): 

Chapter 1 – Of God:  We confess and acknowledge one only God, to whom only we must cleave, whom only we must serve, whom only we must worship, and in whom only we must put our trust; who is eternal, infinite, unmeasurable, incomprehensible, omnipotent, invisible: one in substance, and yet distinct in three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost: By whom we confess and believe all things in heaven and in earth, as well visible as invisible, to have been created, to be retained in their being, and to be ruled and guided by his inscrutable Providence, to such end as his eternal wisdom, goodness, and justice has appointed them, to the manifestation of his own glory. 

(Schaaf, The Creeds of Christendom, Vol. 3, 439-440)

— The Belgic Confession (1561): 

Article 13:  We believe that the same God, after He has created all things, did not forsake them, or give them up to fortune or chance, but that He rules and governs them according to His holy will, so that nothing happened in this world without His appointment; nevertheless, God neither is the author of, nor can he charged with, the sins which are committed. For His power and goodness are so great and incomprehensible, that He orders and executes His work in the most excellent and just manner, even when devils and wicked men act unjustly. And as to what He doth surpassing human understanding, we will not curiously inquire into it further than our capacity will admit of; but with the greatest humility and reverence adore the righteous judgments of God which are hid from us, contenting ourselves that we are disciples of Christ, to learn only those things He has revealed to us in His Word without transgressing these limits. This doctrine affords us unspeakable consolation, since we are taught thereby that nothing can befall us by chance, but by the direction of our most gracious and heavenly Father, who watches over us with a paternal care, keeping all creatures so under His power that not a hair of our head (for they are all numbered), nor a sparrow, can fall to the ground, without the will or our Father, in whom we do entirely trust; being persuaded that He so restrains the devil and all our enemies that, without His will and permission, they cannot hurt us. And therefore we reject that damnable error of the Epicureans, who say that God regards nothing, but leaves all things to chance.

(Beeke and Ferguson, eds. Reformed Confessions Harmonized, 40-42)

— The Heidelberg Catechism (1563): 

Q. 26: What believest thou when thou sayest, “I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.?”     

A.: That the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (who of nothing made heaven and earth, with all that is in them; who likewise upholds and governs the same by His eternal counsel and providence) is for the sake of Christ His Son, my God and my Father; on whom I rely so entirely, that I have no doubt but He will provide me with all things necessary for soul and body; and further, that He will make whatever evils He sends upon me, in this valley of tears, turn out to my advantage; for He is able to do it, being Almighty God, and willing, being a faithful Father. 

Q. 27: What dost thou mean by the providence of God?     

A.: The almighty and everywhere present power of God; whereby, as it were by His hand, He upholds and governs heaven, earth, and all creatures; so that herbs and grass, rain and drought, fruitful and barren years, meat and drink, health and sickness, riches and poverty, yea, and all things come, not by chance, but by His fatherly hand. 

Q. 28: What advantage is it to us to know that God has created, and by His providence doth still uphold all things? 

A.: That we may be patient with adversity; thankful in prosperity; and that in all things, which may hereafter befall us, we place our firm trust in our faithful God and Father, that nothing shall separate us from His love; since all creatures are so in His hand, that without His will they cannot so much as move. 

(Beeke and Ferguson, eds. Reformed Confessions Harmonized, 40-42)

— The Thirty-Nine Articles (1571): 

Article 17 – Of Predestination and election 

Predestination to life is the everlasting purpose of God whereby (before the foundations of the world were laid) he has constantly decreed by his council secret to us, to deliver from curse and damnation those whom he has chosen in Christ out of mankind, and to bring them by Christ to everlasting salvation, as vessels made to honor. Wherefore they which are indued with so excellent a benefit of God are called according to God’s purpose by his Spirit working in due season; they through grace obey the calling; they are justified freely; they are made sons of God by adoption; they are made like the image of his only begotten Son Jesus Christ; they talk religiously in good works; and at length by God’s mercy, they attain to everlasting felicity. 

(Noll, ed. Confessions and Catechisms of the Reformation, 291) 

— The Canons of Dort (1619):

Article 8: For this was the sovereign counsel, and most gracious will and purpose of God the Father, that the quickening and saving efficacy of the most precious death of His Son should extend to all the elect, for bestowing upon them alone the gift of justifying faith, thereby to bring them infallibly to salvation: that is, it was the will of God, that Christ by the blood of the cross, whereby He confirmed the new covenant, should effectually redeem out of every people, tribe, nation, and language, all those, and those only, who were from eternity chosen to salvation and given to Him by the Father; that He should confer upon them faith, which together with all the other saving gifts of the Holy Spirit, He purchased for them by His death; should purge them from all sin, both original and actual, whether committed before or after believing; and having faithfully preserved them even to the end, should at last bring them free from every spot and blemish to the enjoyment of glory in His own presence forever. 

(Beeke and Ferguson, eds. Reformed Confessions Harmonized, 33)

— Westminster Confession of Faith (1647):

Chapter II – Of God, and the Holy Trinity

2. God hath all life, glory, goodness, blessedness, in and of himself; and is alone in unto himself all-sufficient, not standing in need of any creatures which he hath made, nor deriving glory from them, but only manifesting his own glory in, by, unto, and upon them. He is the alone fountain of all being, of whom, through whom, and to whom are all things; and hath most sovereign dominion over them, to do by them, for them, or upon them whatsoever himself pleaseth. In his sight all things are open and manifest, His knowledge is infinite, infallible, and independent upon the creature, so as nothing is to him contingent, or uncertain. His is most holy in all his counsels, in all his works, and in all his commands. To him is due from angels and men, and every other creature, whatsoever worship, service, or obedience he is pleased to require of them. 

(Beeke and Ferguson, Reformed Confessions Harmonized, 7-9)

Chapter III “Of God’s Eternal Decree”

1. God from all eternity did, by the most wise and holy counsel of his own free will, freely, and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass; yet so, as thereby neither is God the author of sin, nor is violence offered to the will of the creatures; nor is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established.

2. Although God knows whatsoever may or can come to pass upon all supposed conditions, yet hath he not decreed anything because he foresaw it as future, or as that which would come to pass upon such conditions.

8. The doctrine of this high mystery of predestination is to be handled with special prudence and care, that men, attending to the will of God revealed in his Word, and yielding obedience thereunto, may, from the certainty of their effectual vocation, be assured of their eternal election. So shall this doctrine afford matter of praise, reverence, and admiration of God; and of humility, diligence, and abundant consolation to all that sincerely obey the gospel.

(Beeke and Ferguson, Reformed Confessions Harmonized, 29-31)

Helpful Quotes:

— John Calvin (1509-1564)
“We call predestination God’s eternal decree, by which he compacted with himself what he willed to become of each man. For all are not created in equal condition; rather, eternal life is foreordained for some, eternal damnation for others. Therefore, as any man has been created to one or the other of these ends, we speak of his predestined to life or to death.” (Calvin, Institutes 3:21:5)

“But if we have been chosen in him, we shall not find assurance of our election in ourselves; and not even in God the Father, if we conceive him as severed from his Son. Christ, then is the mirror wherein we must, and without self deception may, contemplate our own election. For since it is into his body the Father has destined those to be engrafted whom he has willed from eternity to be his own, that he may hold as sons all whom he acknowledges to be among his members, we have a sufficiently clear and firm testimony that we have been inscribed in the book of life [cf. Rev. 21:27] if we are in communion with Christ.” (Calvin, Institutes 3:24:5)

— Prof. Louis Berkhof (1873-1957)
“God knows Himself and in Himself all things that come from Him (internal knowledge). He knows all things as they actually come to pass, past, present, and future, and knows them in their real relations. He knows the hidden essence of things, to which the knowledge of man cannot penetrate. He sees not as man sees, who observes only the outward manifestations of life, but penetrates to the depths of the human heart. Moreover, He knows what is possible as well as what is actual; all things that might occur under certain circumstances are present to His mind.” (Berkhof, Systematic Theology, 67)

— Pastor Arthur W. Pink (1886-1952) “The sovereignty of God. What do we mean by this expression? We mean the supremacy of God, the kingship of God, the godhood of God. To say that God is sovereign is to declare that God is God. To say that God is sovereign is to declare that He is the Most High, doing according to His will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth, so that none can stay His hand or say unto Him what doest Thou? (Dan. 4:35). To say that God is sovereign is to declare that He is the Almighty, the Possessor of all power in heaven and earth, so that none can defeat His counsels, thwart His purpose, or resist His will (Ps. 115:3). To say that God is sovereign is to declare that He is “The Governor among the nations” (Ps. 22:28), setting up kingdoms, overthrowing empires, and determining the course of dynasties as pleaseth Him best. To say that God is sovereign is to declare that He is the “Only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords” (1 Tim. 6:15). Such is the God of the Bible.” (Pink, The Sovereignty of God, 19)

— Dr. Loraine Boettner (1901-1990)
“The basic principle of Calvinism is the sovereignty of God. This represents the purpose of the Triune God as absolute and unconditional, independent of the whole finite creation, and originating solely in the eternal counsel of His will. He appoints the course of nature and directs the course of history down to the minutest details. His decrees therefore are eternal, unchangeable, holy, wise, and sovereign. There are represented in the Bible as being the basis of the divine foreknowledge of all future events, and not conditioned by that foreknowledge or by anything originating in the events themselves.” (Boettner, The Reformed Faith, 2)

— Rev. G. I. Williamson (b.1925— )
“Some have thought that God makes predestination depend on what he foresees. Thus many have heard that God predestines to everlasting life those he foresees will by their own power turn to him. This contradicts Scripture, which teaches clearly (1) that no man has the power to do this by nature, (2) that such power is a gift of God, and (3) that the gift is given to those chosen of God for the gift. It is not, then, a question of predestination or foreknowledge. It is, and can be, only a question of predestination and foreknowledge. This we may indicate by asking two simple questions: (a) Does God know for certain what will happen before it happens? All Christians would no doubt say yes. (b) But if God knows that a thing is certain to happen before it happens, we may then ask, what makes it certain? We are unable to escape the conclusion that God foresees with certainty only because he guarantees the certainty he foresees. Things are “predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will” (Eph. 1:11). God foresees that the elect will be “holy and without blame before Him” (Eph. 1:4), and that they will experience “sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth” ( 2 Thess. 2:13). But this is foreseeable only because he “chose us in Him before the foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:4). His predestination is the cause of the holiness which he foresees. He does not choose us because he foresees that we will believe, but he foresees that we will believe because he has chosen us. Only thus are works wholly excluded (Eph. 2:8-10).” (Williamson, The Westminster Confession of Faith: For Study Classes, 41-42)

— Rev. Dr. R. C. Sproul (1939-2017)
“When we speak of divine sovereignty we are seeking about God’s authority and about God’s power. As sovereign, God is the supreme authority of heaven and earth. All other authority is lesser authority. Any other authority that exists in the universe is derived from and dependent upon God’s authority. All other forms of authority exist either by God’s command or by God’s permission. The word authority contains within itself the word author. God is the author of all things over which he has authority. He created the universe. He owns the universe. His ownership gives him certain rights. He may do with his universe what is pleasing to his holy will. Likewise, all power in the universe flows from the power of God. All power in this universe is subordinate to him. Even Satan is powerless without God’s sovereign permission to act.” (Sproul, Chosen By God, 24)

“The Reformation view of double predestination is not this symmetrical, positive-positive view, but rather a positive-negative view. When God made His eternal decrees of salvation and reprobation in light of the (still future) fall, His decision to elect some people was based on His knowledge that people would need salvation. God’s decree of salvation was based on His knowledge of a world that is fallen. Contemplating this whole of humanity, God knew that every last one of them would be dead in sin and trespasses, fallen, corrupt, hostile to him, having no inclination toward divine things. Every one of them would be a slave to sin, refusing to have God in their thinking, walking according to the course of this world and the power of Satan. That is the condition of the fallen, corrupt humanity that God saw when decreeing election. Out of this group of rebels, God, in His mercy, elected to save some and to visit them with His special grace of redemption. He positively intervenes in their lives to quicken them from spiritual death and to work faith in their hearts, thereby meeting the condition for salvation. The others He passes over, leaving them in their sin. He does not force them into unbelief. But He knows that unless He intervenes, they will persist in unbelief and end up in damnation. On the mercy side of the ledger, God intervenes in people’s lives and brings their salvation to pass; on the other side, He does not intervene, leaving people to their own devices.” (Sproul, Truths We Confess, 80-81)

— Dr. Robert Reymond (1932-2013)
“What the Scriptures intend then when they ascribe omnipotence to God is that God has the power to do what it takes power to do. He has the power to do even that which he does not will to do, and the only reason he does not exercise his power in this area is that he does not will to do so (this truth points up the fact that God has full authority over his power at all times; it is ever under the governance of his eternal plan and wise control). But whatever he wills to do he has the power to do. In other words, God can do, and does, all his holy will. But God does not will to do all that he has the power to do. God has the power, for example, to rid the world of all evil right now, but for wise and holy reasons, determined from all eternity, he does not will to do so. This then is the conception of God’s omnipotence as Christian theism has perceived it: God has the power to do everything that he had determined that he will do, and even the power to do that which is noncontradictory which he does not will to do. The Christian should have no problem accepting this since there is nothing in the conception, when properly explained, that is self-contradictory.” (Reymond, A New Systematic Theology of the Christian Faith, 193)

“Before the creation of the world, out of his mere free grace and love, God elected many undeserving sinners to complete salvation without any foresight of faith or good works or any other thing in them as conditions and causes which moved him to choose them. That is to say, the ground of their election is not in them, but in him.” (Reymond, A New Systematic Theology of the Christian Faith, 1125)

— Dr. James I. Packer (1926-2020)
“Evangelism is the inalienable responsibility of every Christian community, and every Christian man. We are all under orders to devote ourselves to spreading the good news, and to use all our ingenuity and enterprise to bring it to the notice of the whole world…While we must always remember that it is our responsibility to proclaim salvation, we must never forget that it is God who saves. It is God who brings men and women under the sound of the gospel, and it is God who brings them to faith in Christ. Our evangelistic work is the instrument that He uses for this purpose, but the power that saves is not the instrument: it is the hand of the One uses the instrument. We must not at any stage forget that.” (Packer, Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God, 26-27)

Resources for Further Study:

Berkhof, Louis. Systematic Theology. Fourth Edition. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1939.

Boettner, Loraine. The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination. Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, 1932.

Boettner, Loraine. The Reformed Faith. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishers, 1983.

Calvin, John. Institutes of the Christian Religion. Ed. John T. McNeill. Trans. Ford Lewis Battles. 2 vols. Library of Christian Classics, no. 20-21. Philadelphia, PA: The Westminster Press, 1960.

Hoekema, Anthony A. Saved By Grace. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1989.

Packer, James I. Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1961.

Peterson, Robert A. Election and Free Will: God’s Gracious Choice and Our Responsability. Philipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2007.

Pink, Arthur W. The Sovereignty of God. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1930.

Reymond, Robert L. A New Systematic Theology of the Christian Faith. Second Edition. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1998.

Schreiner, Thomas R. and Bruce A. Ware, eds. Still Sovereign: Comtemporary Perspectives on Election, Foreknowledge, and Grace. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2000.

Sproul, R. C. Chosen by God. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale Publishers, 1986.

Sproul, R. C. Truths We Confess: A Systematic Exposition of the Westminster Confession of Faith. Revised Edition. Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust Publishing, 2019.

The Confession of Faith and Catechisms. American Edition (1788). Jointly published by Great Commission Publications (PCA) in Atlanta, GA, and the Committee on Christian Education (OPC) in Willow Grove, PA, 2005.

Vos, Johannes G. The Westminster Larger Catechism: A Commentary. G. I. Williamson, ed. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2002.

Williamson, G. I. The Westminster Confession of Faith: for Study Classes. Second Edition, Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2004.