Supralapsarianism, What Is This and Why Is It Important?  

FORGET NONE OF HIS BENEFITS
volume 23, number 21, May 23, 2024

“. . . vessels of wrath prepared for destruction. . . vessels of mercy which He prepared beforehand for glory.” -Romans 9:22-23

Last week I took up the question—does God foreordain evil and evildoers? I said, “Yes.”  I said there are two reasons for it. First, God on that great day will reveal the full measure of His divine attributes, culminating in a revelation of His holiness. All the evil and injustice will be seen in light of His holiness and we will bow in wonder and adoration before God (Revelation 5). 

But there is a second reason for God ordaining all things, including evil and evildoers—He will grant the fullness of His eternal salvation to all His people for all His glory, and suffering plays a big part in the unfolding of His plan of redemption. In Romans 9-11 the Apostle Paul takes up the issue of the Jews. How is it that the chosen people of God have largely rejected their Messiah? Paul says not all who are Israel are truly Israel (Romans 9:6). In other words, just because one has the privilege of a Jewish heritage is no guarantee he will follow God properly. The children of the flesh are not necessarily the children of promise. At this juncture Paul proves his point through the doctrine of election, showing that though Sarah had two sons, as did Rebekah, only one of their sons gained the promise—Isaac not Ishmael, and Jacob not Esau. He quotes Malachi 1:2, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated,” to prove his point. Paul then anticipates the objection of those who think God is unjust by choosing one over the other, citing Yahweh who said to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion,” (Exodus 33:19). Thus Paul concludes that this does not depend upon man who wills or runs but on God who has mercy. He says that God has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires (Romans 9:18). At this point Paul anticipates another objection—if true that God is totally the author of salvation then how can God hold man accountable for not believing on Jesus? At this point Paul concludes the discussion by saying we can only go so far into the mind of God, “O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, ‘Why did you make me like this,’ will it?” (Romans 9:19-21). 

At this point Paul fleshes out a full orbed declaration of foreordination and what some theologians call double predestination, election and reprobation. He says, “What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction?” What does Paul mean? Simply put, there are Jews and Gentiles whom God has not chosen to be saved. They are vessels of wrath prepared for destruction. They will not be saved because they were not predestined or foreordained to be saved. God, nonetheless, was patient with them. Why? Because it is God’s plan to make known to His elect (vessels of mercy) the riches of His glory. 

At this point you are probably strongly and negatively reacting to this statement, wondering how a loving God can predestine people to hell. If so, then you need to keep three things clearly in mind. First, God is in heaven and does as He pleases (Psalm 115:3). God is the sovereign creator. This is His world, not ours. He is not on trial, we are. Though we are the crown of His creation we have all sinned and all of us deserve eternity in hell. He can do with us as He pleases. The clay cannot say to the potter, “Why did you make me this way?” Second, God is infinitely holy. There is not the slightest taint of evil, injustice, or sin in anything He does, says, thinks, wills, intends, or values. And third, remember the complementarity of truth—100% God and 100% man. Most of the heresies in church history have come because men have refused to keep the balance between God’s sovereignty and human responsibility and other so called antinomies (apparent contradictions). God predestines some as vessels of wrath and others as vessels of mercy, but it is also true that whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (Romans 10:13-17). It is also true that all those who come to Jesus, He will in no way cast them out (John 6:37). Both God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility are true. How can we reconcile these in our minds? We cannot. These concepts fit only into the regenerate heart.

So God foreordained evil and evildoers to bring about the salvation of all His people for all His glory, knowing that tragedy very often humbles people, driving them to Christ for refuge. Here’s where this fancy word supralapsarianism comes into play. Theologians have long discussed the timing and place of God’s eternal decree (all His holy will, including the salvation of His people) in relation to creation, the fall into sin, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the application of this redemption to individuals. This discussion is not dealing with chronology. It is more ontological in nature. In other words, we are not talking about a sequence of events being played out in real time; rather this all occurs in the mind of God before He made anything—like an architect who has in his mind the design of a superstructure before he actually puts it in a set of blueprints. 

Reformed theologians usually fall into one of two camps on the order of the eternal decree. Some are infralapsarians—from the Latin infra, meaning under or after and lap, meaning fall, like a lapsed insurance policy. In other words, an infralapsarian believes that God’s eternal decree of election comes under or after the fall into sin. It goes like this—God created everything, man fell into sin, God chose a people to be His, Jesus came into the world to die and be raised again, and salvation is applied to individuals in due time. From my perspective, it is like saying, “God could not stop the fall into sin. It just happened. Now what should He do? And in answering His own question He says, “I know, I will bring about a plan of salvation.” This is a legitimate way to describe the mind of God on the issue of eternal salvation, and I think most Calvinists take this position. However, it seems to me that  infralapsarianism does not explain the origin of evil or the cause of it. This is why so many want to hedge their bets, as it were, on the issue of evil. Many well meaning Christians simply say, “We don’t know why God allows evil. We don’t know where it came from?”

Supralapsarians, on the other hand, believe the eternal decree is over (supra means over) or before the fall into sin. That is, God created the world, chose people to be His, ordained the fall into sin, brought Jesus into the world to die and be raised again from the dead, and He applies this salvation to His elect in due time. This position explains the origin of evil. Simply put—God ordained evil and evildoers, and the consequent suffering of the human race, all for His glory in the salvation of His elect. The salvation of His people drives everything God does, including evil and evildoers, because He gets the greatest glory in saving us. This is very clear in Ephesians 1:3-14 where Paul the apostle speaks of the Father’s electing grace (vs.4-6), the Son’s redeeming grace (vs.7-12), and the Spirit’s sealing grace (vs.13,14) all to the praise and glory of His grace. In other words, everything God does is subservient to His work of election, redemption, and regeneration by the Holy Spirit. God gets the greatest glory by plucking His people from the fire and miry clay and saving us by His free grace and mercy, all before anything else was in His mind. 

What does this all mean practically? God has a plan and He is working that plan fully, completely, and uncompromisingly. He foreordains all things. Man is totally responsible for all his actions before God. We have the responsibility of telling people of the glory of Jesus in offering Himself up for sinners. God will save all His elect. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. It means you ought to see God in everything in your life. He ordains every trial, every test you face, even evil and evildoers, desiring that you pass the test and grow in holiness (Romans 5:3-5, 1 Peter 1:3-9). Also remember Satan is right behind God in everything that happens in the world, seeking to destroy, discourage, and dissuade you (James 1:13-15). But also remember God will manifest the fullness of His divine perfections on that glorious day when Christ will be revealed from heaven. It means you can live here and now in utter and complete confidence in God, trusting Him with everything in your life. It means you can live with joy inexpressible and full of glory. It means you can live free from fear and anxiety. It means God will right all wrongs in due time. It means you have the grace to persevere, to endure in difficult circumstances, to forbear with difficult people. It means you must never give up on your marriage, your children, your parents, your work, your faith, or your life. It means you will live with Him in peace and joy forever on the new earth, wherein will dwell righteousness forever. Christian, God has you and will never let you go. Why? Because He has loved you as long as He has existed.