We will pick up where we left off in the previous chapter and begin this chapter with giving biblical examples where God brought good out of evil. We have contended that God had a good and just reason for creating a world where evil would eventuate, which is the common Christian apologetic for what is called "the problem of evil." Most Christians believe that "free will" is that greater good. I don't subscribe to that apologetic but I do agree that God had a good reason for creating a world where evil would eventuate. That is not to say that I deny that God gave his rational creatures a degree of free will, but I don't believe that this is the greater good he had in mind. After all it must be conceded that "free will" has not turned out to be all that great a good thing. What bible believer can deny that more evil than good has come into being from God given free will? That more people are going to spend eternity in hell because of free will than go to heaven by free will? So then, what is that greater good?
God's Glory Displayed by Redemption
If there was no sin, then there would be no need for redemption, and therefore no glory in the act of being saved by Christ. Not only would there be no glory but there would be aspects of God's character and nature that would not be displayed. How would anyone know of God's mercy and compassion if there was never a need for mercy? How would anyone know of God's forbearance and longsuffering? Though some aspects of God's grace may be known apart from the knowledge of sin or evil, yet grace in its fullness could not have been known except in the story of saving wretched sinners. The beauty of diamonds is magnified when on a black background, so too the grace of God in the context of the blackness of moral evil.
Consider also that had there been no sin of man, then the man Christ Jesus would never have been. Yes, the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity, would have been. But, there would have been no incarnation, no Calvary, no redemption.
The big question is to ask which came first, God's purpose to create the world and the human race, or his purpose to glorify himself in redemption? Did he create apart from anything having to do with redemption from sin? Was redemption a kind of afterthought or plan B? Was God's glory through redemption by Christ behind the purpose of creation? Think of all the good that comes from redemption. Think also of all the glory that comes to God by redemption from sin. Think of all that is known about God through redemption. Can we say that God created the world, including all its rational creatures made in the image of God, with the intent that by its apostasy he might glorify himself in redemption? Or, did he create the world with no thought of redemption in mind? A key passage on this question is found in Ephesians chapter three.
"Unto me who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; and to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world has been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be made known by the church the manifold wisdom of God..."
In my series on "Redemption" I analyzed this text. (See here) The focus is on the words "who created all things by Jesus Christ to the intent..." What intent? I firmly believe God's intent was to display his glories through the redemption of the church. Therefore the text is saying that God's purpose in creating the world was so that he might later display his grace, mercy, and other moral attributes by suffering sin to come into existence and then redeeming men from it. In other words, creation was unto redemption. This would make redemption a premeditation rather than an afterthought.
In the previous chapter I cited from another article of mine from years ago where I cited from an article from philosophy of religion web site, which said:
"The good that is the existence of free moral agents, it is suggested, therefore outweighs the bad that is the existence of moral evil, and God therefore did well in creating free agents even though he knew that some of them would commit moral evils."
This is a utilitarian view of things. What is utilitarianism? It is the doctrine that an action is right insofar as it promotes happiness, and that the greatest happiness of the greatest number should be the guiding principle of conduct. But, we must not think that God's design in redemption was to save the majority of the human race, for Jesus said that only few would be saved and that the majority walk the road to perdition. (Matt. 7: 13-14) Rather, the greater good is the glory and praise God receives from the elect angels and the elect among men. Recall that Paul said that God's intent in creating all things was so that by the church (and redemption of it) might be the means whereby "the principalities and powers in heavenly places" might come to know something of God's wisdom, and also other aspects of the nature and character of God. By "principalities and powers" allusion is to the angels of heaven. The drama of man's fall and his restoration is a means of teaching angels about good and evil, about sin and redemption, about God's moral nature and his attributes. The following verses uphold this proposition.
"Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them." (Rom. 1: 19 kjv)
Who can doubt that the story (or novel) of man's creation, fall into sin and death, and condemnation and also of his redemption and restoration unto eternal life and glory, was designed to instruct his creatures, either angels or men, or any other creature God may yet create, in the character of God? Who can deny that there are things that would not be known of God apart from this story? I have often wondered if God could have successfully taught this lesson to all his creatures, including Satan and the fallen angels, by letting them see this story in a dream or vision and so accomplish his teaching without actually bringing evil into existence. If he did, it is doubtful that he would tell his creatures till after they have read the novel and virtually experienced it.
"Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into." (I Peter 1: 12 kjv)
The Greek word for "look" means to stoop down in order to get a close view. It means to get a very close inspection, as if looking through a microscope.
No doubt the elect holy angels learned much about God and his ways by how he dealt with Lucifer and the other fallen angels. But, they have learned much more about God and his ways by looking into the things that have to do with redemption, and particularly as it relates to the eternal Son of God who became a man. We may say therefore with the apostle that "where sin abounded, grace did much more abound." (Rom. 5: 20) There would be no abounding grace seen where there was no sin.
After all, by man's sin he came to "know good and evil" even as God does. What does that mean?
Adam and Eve knew before the Fall that eating from the tree was wrong as Eve's dialog with the Serpent shows. Therefore knowing good and evil cannot refer to the ability to distinguish right from wrong. Also, God "knows good and evil," and not by experience, so it cannot refer to experiential knowledge as many people think.
There appears to be some important sense in which this knowledge made them more like God because the text says that they have "become like one us, knowing good and evil."
Needless to say there is a lot of disagreement over what it meant for Adam and Eve to have knowledge of good and evil by their disobedience. I have wondered, as have a few others, whether God was speaking sarcastically when he said "Behold (or look at that) the man is become as one of us to know good and evil," which means just the opposite, that he had now lost the ability to discern right from wrong. To paraphrase, God is, by this view, saying "Take a look at the Adam and Eve now in their fallen condition, they thought disobeying my command would make them wise as I am, but now they run from me and hide, and are ashamed of themselves!"
However, it may not be sarcasm, and may be saying that Adam's and Eve's knowledge of right and wrong were somehow enhanced, implying that their knowledge of ethics and morals was before limited and superficial.
My whole point in referring to this event is to show that evil brought increased knowledge of righteousness and unrighteousness. In the same oracle God reveals through his words to the Serpent that a savior or redeemer would be provided to undo the work of the Serpent. Thus, not only did our first parents come to understand what alienation from God entailed, but they began to understand something about redemption. Had they never sinned, they would still have but a limited and superficial knowledge of good and evil and certainly no knowledge of a Redeemer nor of God's grace, mercy, and his justice.
Here are some verses that seem to tell us what is involved in knowing good and evil.
“Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?” (1 Kings 3:9).
Similarly, Hebrews 5:14 tells us that the spiritually mature "discern between good and evil" through constant practice. The word discern, in the Greek, diakrisis, comes from the same root word as krino—to judge.
God says there is coming a time when Israel would be able to discern between good and evil.
"Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not." (Mal. 3: 18 kjv)
What God knows naturally as God, Adam and Eve, yea, and every fallen sinner, comes to know by experience. There are things that we learn by experience.
In concluding this chapter, let us analyze some things about what Augustine said in the above citation at the heading of this post and some of the propositions in the reasoning of Epicurus.
Augustine - "God judged it better to bring good out of evil than to suffer no evil to exist."
I have contended that the greater good that God predetermined to bring out of the evil he made possible was redemption and a revelation of his benevolence, love, kindness, mercy, forbearance, longsuffering, forgiveness, yea, of his very heart. Paul said that he had not known sin except by divine law, writing these words:
"What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.” (Rom. 7: 7 nkjv)
Just as the law of God reveals sin (it actually also reveals what is right), do does sin reveal the need for redemption, and the gospel reveals the way of redemption. So we may say "I had not known forgiveness through Christ except by having fallen into sin."
Epicurus -
"if God is able and willing to prevent evil, then whence comes evil?"
"If he is able to prevent evil, but not willing, then he is malevolent."
In response to the first proposition we agree that God is able to prevent evil, a proposition many Christian teachers do not agree with. Some say that once God gave his creatures free will, he then became unable to prevent evil. However, we do find examples in scripture where God did in fact prevent a person from sinning. God said to Abimelech - "it was I who kept you from sinning against me" (Gen. 20: 6). The bible mentions many restraints that God has providentially in place to prevent evil from getting worse. Also, we know that God has prevented lots of instances of people doing wrong. So we read about Abraham and God's protection of him in these words:
"He permitted no one to do them wrong; Yes, He rebuked kings for their sakes, Saying, "Do not touch My anointed ones, And do My prophets no harm." (Psa. 105: 14-15 nkjv)
Notice also the word "permitted." He did not permit something and without that permission no one could do them wrong. This upholds what I have said about God's permissive will. Nothing can come to pass but what God permits.
In some cases God prevents sinners from committing the sin they imagine to do. At other times he does not prevent it. Some might say that God is wrong not to prevent every evil from occurring, but that would be a hasty generalization and fallacious reasoning.
Further, just because God is for the moment not preventing evil to occur does not mean that he will always cease preventing it. The bible informs us that evil doing is temporary, that a day is coming when there will be no more evil in the world. We have also seen how God does have a greater good in mind in the evil he now suffers to occur. We must always remember that God's ways are "beyond finding out," being inscrutable and unsearchable. (See Rom. 11: 33)
When Epicurus said "If he is able to prevent evil, but not willing, then he is malevolent," we see how this is fallacious reasoning. It is erroneous because it assumes that no good can come from evil and assumes that because God allows evil in one instance, he will allow it in every instance without end.
In the next chapter we will continue to examine this idea of God bringing immense good out of evil.
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