WCF 3.5-8

Chapter 3 - Of God's Eternal Decree (cont'd)

V. Those of mankind that are predestined unto life, God, before the foundation of the world was laid, according to His eternal and immutable purpose, and the secret counsel and good pleasure of His will, hath chosen, in Christ, unto everlasting glory,(9) out of His mere free grace and love, without any foresight of faith, or good works, or perseverance in either of them, or any other thing in the creature, as conditions, or causes moving Him thereunto:(10) and all to the praise of His glorious grace.(11)

V. God has chosen, in Christ, those who are predestined to receive eternal life. His choosing was according to His eternal and immutable purpose and according to His good pleasure. Those chosen were predestined to everlasting glory(9) by God's free grace and love, without any foresight of faith, good works, perseverance or any other condition in the creature as motivation for His choosing.(10) All this was done so that the elect might praise His glorious grace.(11)

A little rearranging and a lot of cleaning. I think this arrangement makes more sense, is much easier to read and maintains the substance of the section. I removed "and the secret counsel and good pleasure of His will" and shortened it simply to "according to His good pleasure" because the former is a cumbersome way of stating something that doesn't need stating. The secrecy of the mechanics of predestination are implicit in the doctrine and don't need to be explicitly affirmed.

VI. As God hath appointed the elect unto glory, so hath, by the eternal and most free purpose of His will, foreordained all the mans thereunto.(12) Wherefore, they who are elected, being fallen in Adam, are redeemed by Christ,(13) are effectually called unto faith in Christ by His Spirit working in due season, are justified, adopted, sanctified,(14) and kept by His power, through faith, unto salvation.(15) Neither are any other redeemed by Christ, effectually called, justified, adopted, sanctified, and saved, but the elect only.(16)

VI. By His eternal and most free will, not only has God appointed the elect unto glory, He has also foreordained all the means to this end for them.(12) Those elected, being originally fallen in Adam, are redeemed by Jesus.(13) They are effectually called to faith in Christ by the Holy Spirit working in due season; they are justified, adopted, sanctified(14) and kept by His power, through faith, unto salvation.(15) Only those appointed by God are redeemed by Jesus.(16)

Once again, little more than cleaning. I added "originally" to tie the reason for being fallen in Adam back to his original sin in Eden. I removed the salutis language from the last sentence because it isn't necessary and it clutters up the section.

VII. The rest of mankind God was pleased, according to the unsearchable counsel of His own will, whereby He extendeth or withholdeth mercy, as He pleaseth, for the glory of His sovereign power over His creatures, to pass by; and to ordain them to dishonour and wrath for their sin, to the praise of His glorious justice.(17)

VII. According to His own will, by which He extends or withholds mercy, God was pleased to ordain the rest of mankind to dishonor and wrath for their sin. This He has done for His own glory and to the praise of His justice.(17)

I rearranged and shortened this section a little bit to make it easier to read.

VIII. The doctrine of this high mystery of predestination is to be handled with special prudence and care,(18) that men, attending 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.(19) So shall this doctrine afford matter of praise, reverence, and admiration of God;(20) and of humility, diligence, and abundant consolation to all that sincerely obey the Gospel.(21)

VIII. The doctrine of the mystery of predestination should be handled with special prudence and care.(18) Those who attend to the will of God, which is revealed in His word, and who yield obedience to it may be assured of their eternal election(19) from the certainty of their effectual calling. This doctrine should foster praise, reverence and admiration for God(20) while instilling humility, diligence and giving abundant consolation to all that sincerely obey the Gospel.(21)

Not much here. I changed "effectual vocation" to "effectual calling" because "vocation" carries the concept of "occupation" in today's culture. In this section it is used, instead, to refer to that particular step of redemption we see above in section VI. This is the only place in the Confession that "vocation" is used so I feel like changing it to "calling" makes it more consistent.