Not every one that saith unto me, Lord,
Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my
Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we
not prophesied in thy name?
and in thy name have cast out devils?
and in thy name done many wonderful
works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from
me, ye that work iniquity (Matt. 7:22 KJV).
COMMON GRACE ARGUMENT:
Scripture speaks of reprobate unbelievers,
such as Judas Iscariot, who were given power to exorcise demons (7:22; 10:1, 4)—of
the Father, through the Son and by the Holy Spirit (10:1; 12:28). Is this
really to be called an act of “grace”?
(I)
“Common Operations of the Spirit”
Rev. Angus Stewart
The erroneous notion of common grace is variously
understood. For most who hold this view, it means that Jehovah loves the
reprobate (those whom He has eternally ordained to destruction in the way of
their sins) and that by His love He makes them something less than totally
depraved, thus enabling them to do things ethically good in God’s sight in this
world.
Aside from the polemical aspect of the issue, it is
worthwhile to underscore that the Holy Spirit certainly does work upon unbelievers,
not just externally but also internally. This necessarily flows from the
universal scope of God’s providence and the truth of the Holy Trinity, that the
Father works all things through the Son and by the Holy Spirit.
We can distinguish three ways in which the Spirit
works upon and in all men, including the reprobate. First, the Spirit (being
equal with the Father and the Son) gives all men (including reprobate
unbelievers) physical life and strength, for it is only in
God—the Triune God—that we, both elect and non-elect, “live, and move, and have
our being” (Acts 17:28). Second, God by His Spirit gives the reprobate intellectual understanding
of natural things, for the good gift of knowledge in all spheres (reading,
writing, cooking, farming, construction, medicine, etc.) comes from the God of
all wisdom through His Son, the Word or Logos, and by the all-knowing Spirit.
Third, the Spirit even gives the reprobate a natural understanding
of spiritual things (though not a spiritual understanding of
spiritual things). Those not elected who are brought up in covenant homes or
attend church services or read Christian literature may have some intellectual
understanding of biblical truths. This cannot be apart from the Holy Spirit,
for all knowledge comes by Him.
In the sphere of the visible church, the
understanding of some reprobate can even be said to be “enlightened” by the
Spirit, so that they have a clear natural understanding of
spiritual things (Heb. 6:4) and a sense or “taste” of the beauty of the
Scriptures, the glory of heaven and the power of God (vv. 4-5). The ungodly
prophet Balaam (II Pet. 2:15-16) certainly experienced this, as one can see
from his four prophecies concerning Israel (Num. 23:7-10, 18-24; 24:3-9, 15-24)
and especially certain parts of them (e.g., 23:10, 23; 24:5, 9, 17, 23), for he
“knew the knowledge of the most High” (24:16) and spoke by “the spirit of God”
(v. 2). Through the preaching, the Spirit even gives some non-elect “joy” in
their natural understanding of spiritual things, before they fall away from
their (hypocritical) profession of faith (Matt. 13:20-21). After all, it is
only through the Spirit that unbelievers experience (an earthly) joy in the
pleasant things of God’s creation like a beautiful sunset or a good meal or
finally grasping a difficult concept. Even so, it is the Spirit who gives some
reprobate a natural understanding of spiritual things and a (temporary) natural
joy in spiritual things. Moreover, reprobate unbelievers, such as Judas
Iscariot, were given power to exorcise demons (7:22; 10:1, 4) of the Father,
through the Son and by the Holy Spirit (10:1; 12:28).
In connection with the three proof texts often
listed with Westminster Confession 10:4, we note, first, that
those who merely receive the “common operations of the Spirit,” such as, a
natural illumination in, and a natural taste of, spiritual things in Hebrews
6:4-5 are subject to God’s “cursing” (v. 8), which is His powerful, damning
wrath (Matt. 25:41). Second, sandwiched between the parable of the sower
(13:3-9) and its explanation (vv. 18-23), including its word about those who
experience natural joy over the mysteries of the kingdom for a time (vv. 20-21),
is Christ’s affirmation of God’s election and reprobation as determining man’s
response to the gospel (vv. 14-15; cf. Isa. 6:9-10; John 12:39-40). Third, to
those not elected to salvation who have uttered prophecies, exorcised demons
and performed miracles (Matt. 7:22), the Lord states that He will say, “I never
knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (v. 23). Since Christ, the
incarnate Son of God, knows all men head for head intellectually, and must know
everybody in order to proclaim this judgment upon many at the last day, “I
never knew you” refers to His knowledge of love: “I never loved you, not now,
not before the foundation of the world, not during your life on earth, never!”
Thus all these good gifts to the reprobate come to them not in God’s love and
grace (Ps. 73; Prov. 3:33; Rom. 9:13; 11:7-10) but by His sovereign, all-controlling
providence, which is of the Father, through the Son and by the Holy Spirit.
These “operations of the Spirit” are “common” to
the elect and the reprobate in that some elect and some reprobate have
performed miracles (Matt. 7:22) and all elect and some reprobate have been
enlightened and given joy in, and a taste of, the mysteries of the gospel by
the Spirit (13:20; Heb. 6:4-5). There are especially three differences,
however, with regard to the “operations of the Spirit” in the elect and the
non-elect. First, the Spirit gives to some reprobate a natural understanding,
joy and taste of or in spiritual things, whereas the elect receive a spiritual understanding,
joy and taste of or in spiritual things (John 17:13; I Cor. 2:14). Second, the “operations
of the Spirit” come to the two groups of people with a different divine
motivation and in a different way: the elect receive them in God’s grace but
the reprobate receive them in providence and not grace.
------------------------------------------
(II)
Philip
Rainey
[Source: Calvinism
Cast Out: The Reformed Presbyterian Church of Ireland and the Free Offer of the
Gospel]
This
verse speaks of those who in response to the gospel performed many great and
noteworthy works, at least in their own minds. But what does Jesus say about
those who have these “common operations of the Spirit”? He says this: “I never
knew you.” The verb “knew” here does not merely mean that Jesus was cognizant
of these people, that He merely knew certain facts about them. When Scripture
uses the verb to know in connection
with persons, it means the knowledge of love: “You only have I known of all the
families of the earth” (Amos 3:2). This obviously does not mean that God was unaware
of the other nations and that He only had knowledge of Israel; it means that He
loved only Israel. Jesus says of those who have the common operations of the
Spirit (those to whom according to [some theologians] God expresses His
loving-kindness) that He never loved them.
…
What needs to be understood regarding Matthew 7:22-23 is not only is it not
teaching common grace but it also flatly contradicts common grace in the most
unmistakable terms. The standpoint of Jesus’ condemnation of false professors
of religion is the Day of Judgment (Matt. 7:22; 25:41). Jesus does not say “I
will not love you” with reference to eternity, as if He loved them for a time,
but at the end of the world pronounces judgment upon them. Jesus is emphatic:
He says He never loved them. He never
loved them during all the course of their lives in this world when they were
prophesying, casting out devils and doing many other wonderful works in His
name.
It
is, therefore, clear that the term “common operations of the Spirit” is not an
example of common grace …
------------------------------------------
(II)
More
to come! (DV)
No comments:
Post a Comment