As Christians we often discover that we what we thought
would be good and for God’s glory might differ from what he has decreed will be
good and for his glory. Take the recipients of this letter.
They had believed in Jesus, which was the outcome of his
revealed will (believe the gospel) and his secret will (he had planned it
before the foundation of the world). There we can easily see how God’s goodness
is revealed and how his glory is connected to their good.
Their devotion to Jesus, however, had led to persecution
and their scattering. The possibility of persecution is stated in God’s
revealed will, but the precise nature of it (who did it, when they did it, how
they did it) and the consequences of it (where the readers ended up) is part of
his secret will. The persecutors are responsible for their actions, because no
one forced them to do it even although their actions were part of God’s secret
will. Yet we can see that God’s goodness was revealed in him saying this could
happen and how he would help them when it happened. And that would be for his
glory.
The readers’ proper response to this new situation is
described in his revealed will (the Old Testament) and their actual response
was part of his secret will. It was still their response for which they were
responsible for choosing. We can see from the letter that they had made wrong
choices, but their wrong choices did not mean that God had to adjust his secret
will. Yet God’s goodness was revealed in giving them the information as to how
they should react in their new circumstances.
When James discovered what had happened to them, he
decided as their pastor to send them a letter. We are not told the process by
which he came to this decision. Nowhere is there a statement in God’s revealed
will that he should do so. So his decision to send it was part of God’s secret
will. Yet the decision to send it would be in line with the general principles
revealed in God’s Word as to how a pastor should react. And God’s secret
arrangement for this letter was intended for the good of the recipients even
although they had sinned against his revealed will.
The letter was sent according to God’s secret will and
once written it became part of his revealed will for them. So when we look at
the big picture we can see that they had believed according to his revealed
will, had suffered for the faith according to his revealed will, had responded
wrongly to his revealed will initially, and now had received a letter from him
that revealed to them what they should do. All that was at one level, and at
another level it was all according to his secret will.
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