I’m poring over Barth and Berkhouwer on decrees and election, and seem to be making some progress. Try this: The doctrine of the decree is not merely that everything is predetermined. When the decree is formulated this way, it is hard to distinguish from determinism, and the decree has very little to do with the gospel. The gospel, in this formulation, is set against the backdrop of the decree. But election is not itself good news. It’s just what is the case with the world, perhaps a form of natural theology. In this formulation, “God” could mean nearly anything — that is, any kind of God with power enough to control the world. I’ll call this a “formal” doctrine of the decree or election.
The doctrine of the decree is about the content of the decree, of the election. It is not merely a belief that God has ordained all things, but that the Father has ordained all things to glorify the Son through the Spirit. It is that God has determined to gift the entire universe, and everything in it, to His Son and those who cling to Him. It is that the Son is the Beloved, the Elect and Chosen One, and being chosen for us means being with and in Him.
Not much progress, perhaps, but progress I think.
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