Gleanings from
Friedrich Schleiermacher
The Christian Faith
The Grounds of Election
By Jonathan Mitchell
This article is the third in a series on aspects of the Reformed doctrine of Election. We have again taken a few quotes from Schleiermacher's, The Christian Faith (the apocryphile press 2011), and will offer a few comments.
"Every [free action] contributes something to the further course of the divine government of the world; for everything within range of it would be more or less different if 'it' were different. At the same time, every act is also in its determined place in time and space the result of the divine government of the world in its course up to that point" (ibid p 552; brackets represent the previous statement in his text).
In support of this view, consider Rom. 8:28b,
"God is constantly working all things together into good and is progressively co-energizing ALL HUMANITY together into that which is advantageous, worthy of admiration, noble and of excellent qualities,[with MS p46: Yet we know that God is continuously joining ALL together (or: working together with everything) into Goodness, by those continuously loving God...]."
Both Paul and Schleiermacher point to situations and realities that were in the future, relative to Paul's day, to Schleiermacher's day, and the same applies to our own day. This is because the reference must be to the times of the ages in which all free actions occur, all things exist, and all humanity lives out their lives.
"The consideration of election from this point of view, however, rests on the fact that the Kingdom of God and the divine procedure in its harvesting and propagation is represented as a special divine activity by itself, apart from the divine government of the world in general, and that then (all men on account of sin being originally equal in respect of redemption) the question arises why one is chosen and not another. We have the same title and reason to raise the question... 'Why is one already, and another not yet regenerated?'" (ibid).
Here, Schleiermacher brings up the consideration of "foreknowledge," which we discussed in our article on Rom. 8:29.
"For there is no foreknowledge in God that is not connected with a divine good-pleasure; and just as little is there a good-pleasure in any particular thing apart from its entire context, which in the case of everything temporal necessarily includes foreknowledge.... If the moments of regeneration are chiefly to be regarded as extending the union of the divine with the human nature, and the justifying divine activity as the temporal and particularized continuation of the general act of union begun in the incarnation of Christ, we must admit that the divine procedure will follow the same rule in the one case as in the other.... If we recall that this act was itself a becoming natural of the supernatural, and if we remember the kind of effect that were to proceed from it, we cannot answer in any other way than this: that time and place were chosen as the absolutely best, that is as yielding the maximum operative effect.... For by the same rule they must be chosen, and the time of their conversion determined, so as to make their share in the furtherance of the work of redemption the greatest possible.
In the same way, if we take a large view of election not merely as the determination of the order in which individual are regenerated, but as the election of nations to have the gospel firmly rooted in their midst, this too will be determined in just such a way as to attain the extensive and intensive maximum for the whole course of the historical development" (ibid pp 552-3).
We find Schleiermacher rooting his presentation in the Gen. 1 account of the creation of humanity, which was a foremost part of the entire creation, which God pronounced as being "very good." Throughout the quote from the section on "Grounds of Election," we find the constant repetition of the phrase, "divine good-pleasure." We read Schleiermacher as connecting this phrase to the "very good" of the creation. All in creation happens from, and in accord with God's good-pleasure. Support for this view is found in Eph. 1:
10. with respect to an administration, implementation and realization from a detailed plan of the effect of that which fills up the appointed seasons and fertile moments (or: unto a dispensing of the entire contents of the opportune situations; [leading] into a house-law of the result from the full measure of the fitting situations and a management of the household of the complement of these seasons; into an administration of the economy of the full effect from the eras), [designed] to itself bring back again all things up under one Head (or: to gather everything around the main point and sum it all up in unity; to unite and return all things to the Source) within, and in union with, the Christ: those things upon [other MSS: within] the heavens (or: skies and atmospheres) and the things upon the land (or: earth; soil) - centered in, within the midst of, and in union with, Him! [cf Heb. 9:10; 1 Cor. 3:22; Phil. 2:9-11]
11. Within, and in union with, Whom we were (or: are) also chosen (or: were randomly assigned or appointed an estate) by casting a lot (or: were made an allotted portion; or: had our lot cast), being previously marked out (or: being before designated) in keeping with (or: down from; corresponding to; in accord with) a before-placed (or: predetermined-by-setting-forth; destined; [cf Rom. 8:17, 30]) aim, design and purpose of the One continuously operating (effecting; energizing) all things (or: the whole) in accord with (or: down from; in line with; in correspondence to; following the pattern of) the deliberated purpose (intent; design; plan; determined counsel) of His will (or: resultant decision of His resolve; effect of His desire), [cf Isa. 46:10]
"In fact, an entirely atomistic view of the work of redemption underlies the whole [commonly held] position, if it is always and only the individual as such that is spoken of; and no such limitation can possibly yield a right view.... [There is] no foreknowledge in God that is not operative..... Christ therefore was determined as He was, only because, and in so far as, everything as a whole was determined in a certain way; and conversely, everything as a whole was only so determined, because, and in so far as, Christ was determined in a certain way. To say this is obviously to take our stand upon the divine good-pleasure, and to say that the determination in both cases is what it is simply through the divine good-pleasure.... Just as the whole world was so ordered by God that He could say it was all very good, that is, in accordance with His good-pleasure, and as the individual is, in this regard not separable from his connection with the rest of being - so, viewing the Kingdom of God as a self-enclosed whole, we can only say that, as it is, it is simply determined through divine good-pleasure. And everything appertaining to it is so determined - Christ as He actually is, and the whole actual inward manifold of the human race in space and time, out of which through Christ the Kingdom of God is formed." (ibid p- 554-5).
In this passage, he firmly grounds his propositions in the sovereignty and plan of God, and concludes an over-arching inclusion for God's,
"purpose of the ages (a fore-designed aim, plan and object [which He is bent on achieving] of the unspecified time-periods) which He formed (forms; made; constructs; creates; produced) within the Christ..." (Eph. 3:11).
"Accordingly, all that remains to us is the task of linking up at every point this divine good-pleasure (which is necessarily implicit in our God-consciousness) with what we perceive of the actual course of the work of redemption... Indeed, faith in Christ is itself nothing else than sharing in this divine good-pleasure which abides on Christ and the salvation grounded in Him..." (ibid p 556).
This is an amazing insight: that we share in God's divine good-pleasure. This brings to mind all that Paul says about our being within, and in union with, Christ, in Whom the Father is well-pleased. All humanity is a part of God's "purpose of the ages." Each person within his or her time and place in the roll-out of the ages (1 Cor. 15:23).
"Our exposition knows of no unconditioned divine decree regarding the individual, for all individuals are mutually conditioned; it knows on a single unconditioned decree by which the whole, as an undivided system, is what it is in virtue of the divine good pleasure.... [E]ach individual comes into existence only because and in so far as an element of just such a kind, and of such active powers, is given a place in the whole, in accordance with the divine good-pleasure.... [N]o individual becomes anything whatever for himself, alone and apart from his place in the whole, in consequence of a special divine decree relating to him.... [V]iewed as a part of the general context of things, everything, and in particular the way in which redemption is realized, is the perfect manifestation at once of the divine good-pleasure and of the divine omnipotence.... Christ is still sent not only to, but also for, the whole human race.
This is only the case if it be admitted that at some time or another some trace of His activity actually makes itself felt in everyone [whether in this life, or the next, when God gives the next assignment to each person].... [And so,] if all in this fashion are included in the divine fore-ordination to blessedness, then the high-priestly dignity of Christ for the first time comes out in its whole efficacy - and efficacy which implies that God regards all men only in Christ" (ibid pp 557-560; brackets added).
This section of Schleiermacher's exposition focuses on the unity of God's decree to make humanity (Gen. 1:26), and discerns God's purpose as "a single unconditioned decree" for the whole of the human race. Whether bad, or existentially transferred to be within the Good (Christ), each individual plays a necessary role within the human odyssey. This perspective is based upon the foundation of the sovereignty of God. This calls to mind Paul's quote in Acts 17:28a,
"For you see, within the midst of and in union with Him we continuously live (or, as a subjunctive: could be constantly living), and are constantly moved about and put into motion [note: the verb is in the passive voice; God moves us and put us in motion], and continue existing (experiencing Being)..."
Schleiermacher's perspective flies in the face of post-modern humanism. Sadly, few folks really view God as being God. But Paul adds strength to this perspective, in Col. 1:16,
"because within Him was created The Whole
or: within the midst of Him, and centered in Him, these "all things" were at one point brought from chaos into order) - the things within the skies and atmospheres, and the things upon the earth
(or: those [situations, conditions and/or people] in the heavens and on the land); the visible things, and the unseen
(or: unable to be seen; invisible) things: whether thrones (seats of power; chairs of jurisdiction) or lordships (ownership systems) or governments (rulers; leadership systems; sovereignties)
or authorities (folks having rights or privilege from out of [particular] existence, or being) -
The Whole has been created and all things continue founded, put in order, and stand framed, through means of Him, and [proceed, or were placed] into Him, and with a view to Him (or: = He is the agent and goal of all creation)." [cf 1 Cor. 15:27; Rom. 11:36]
Jonathan
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