WCF 3.1-4

Chapter 3 - Of God's Eternal Decree

I. God from all eternity, did, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely, and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass:(1) yet so, as thereby neither is God the author of sin,(2) nor is violence offered to the will of the creatures; nor is liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established.(3)

I. Before creation, God unchangeably ordained, in accordance with the counsel of his most wise and holy will, everything that happens.(1) This was done in such a manner as to ensure that God is not the author of sin,(2) nor is the will of the creature impugned. Furthermore, the contingency of second causes is not taken away in this act, rather it is established.(3)

Pretty straightforward. I changed "from all eternity" to "before creation" because that is the important point; there's no reason to involve the concept of eternity at this point. I also removed "liberty" from the last sentence on second causes because I think it is superfluous within the context of today's culture. On a more personal note, I'm not sure it's ontologically necessary (or even possible) to maintain the notion of God ordaining all things that happen while at the same time maintaining the notion that He is not the author of sin. The relationship between "ordain" and "author" is not clearly defined and I don't think discussions about the definitions and parameters of "cause-and-effect" are going to bring any solid answers. Also, I'm not entirely sold on the importance of preserving the "will of the creature" in this ordaining act of God either. At the very least we find in Scripture that man is either a slave to sin or a slave to righteousness; so what does it mean to refrain from impugning the will of the creature given this setting?

II. Although God knows whatsoever may or can come to pass upon all supposed conditions,(4) yet hath He not decreed any thing because He foresaw it as future, or as that which would come to pass upon such conditions.(5)

II. Even though God is omniscient,(4) He has not decreed anything because He foresaw it as future or because particular conditions were going to be met.(5)

All I have done here is shortened and modernized. I'm really sort of at a loss as to the function if this section. It seems quite illogical that God could foresee something that was not, beforehand, decreed. Thus, how could any decree be based on something foreseen? I'm not sure why this needs to be explicitly stated. An unnecessary confusion between foreknowledge and foresight can be avoided by rewording and simplifying this section even more: "The ordaining of all things that happen is not based on God's foreseeing what will happen, rather it is grounded in His perfect righteousness and in accordance with His will." On the other hand, I do not think this chapter, or the confession as a whole, would suffer any great or lesser loss if this section were removed completely.

III. By the decree of God, for the manifestation of His glory, some men and angels(6) are predestined unto everlasting life; and others foreordained to everlasting death.(7)

III. For the manifestation of His glory, God has decreed that some men and angels(6) be predestined unto everlasting life; and others be predestined to everlasting death.(7)

A bit of rearranging, this section is quite straightforward. I haven't quite nailed down what substantial difference there is between "predestined" and "foreordained." Maybe there isn't a difference at all but then why not use "predestined" in place of "foreordained" in this section? At any rate, I changed "foreordained" to "predestined" for consistency.

IV. These angels and men, thus predestinated, and foreordained, are particularly and unchangeably designed, and their number so certain and definite, that it cannot be either increased or diminished.(8)

IV. These angels and men, being so predestined, are certainly and specifically designated to their particular end, be it eternal life or eternal death. The number of those respectively designated is so definite that it cannot be increased or diminished.(8)

More cosmetics. I, again, have dropped "foreordained" in favor of using only "predestined" for consistency's sake.