Supralapsarianism

1. God first chose those who would be elect and those he who would be condemned

2. God then ordained that he would create those people

3. God then decided to permit the fall as a means of condemnation

4. God then decreed to provide salvation by Jesus Christ

Infralapsarianism

1. God ordained that he would create

2. God decreed that we would allow men to fall

3. God decreed that he would then save some of those who had fell

4. God then decreed that he would provide salvation by Jesus Christ

As you can see the difference between these views are not on what was decreed but in what order they were decreed in.  We know that God has ordained quite a few things in eternity past; however there is no scriptural view to support or negate either of these views. I personally find the whole discussion quite silly though, for logical reasons.

For one, it is not necessary to claim that one decree must be sequentially followed by another. It is perfectly reasonable to say that multiple, or all of them were decreed at the same time. As a finite being I often decide many things within the same moment for instance when I say that I am going to go to the store I instantly decree that I will leave my house, enter a store, abide by traffic laws, get in my car, not get distracted by other endeavors, and a thousand other insignificant things such as taking footsteps, checking my rear view mirror and that I will put a key into the ignition. I do not reason individually what steps I will take, I simply say I will go to the store and thus decreed all of the other processes that are involved with that choice automatically. This may be a poor example but I believe the point it clear that one not need to take sequential steps in logic.

Secondly, we are talking about God’s declaration in eternity past; therefore I personally find it quite silly to list a numerical procession within the eternal. If God has declared all these things from eternity past how can we say which one was first in eternity? The timelessness of God declares that he simply “is” to imply that God sat down and said “Now I’ll make this happen, and I guess that means I’ll need this, and well then the next logical step would be this thing…” lowers God down to our own human reasoning. Which brings me to my third point; I believe this type of inquiry is treading farther than theology can actually go, for it is entering into the very mind of God. We can use scripture and logic in order to discover various truths about the universe; however we are treading on mysteries when we venture out to far from what has been revealed to us.

If I had to pinpoint some view on what the order was, though I think the issue itself is ill asked, I would have to invert both of the processes of lapsarianism. All proper theology begins and ends with Christ and thus I would say that in him it was decreed first in eternity past that he would sacrifice his life for a people. (1 Peter 1:18-20) Through this decree of self sacrifice all other decrees were made. I will side more however with the following verse when trying to encapsulate the mind of God:

“O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?” (Rom 11:33-34 ESV)