By Evan Knies

In Acts 2:23 Peter is preaching his sermon at Pentecost. He attributes the death of Christ to the hands of lawless men and the definite plan/foreknowledge of God. God is the cause of the cross. From the foundations of the world, it was planned that the Son would be crushed. When Adam rebelled, God gave Christ.[1] It was the will of the Father to crush His Son (Isaiah 53:10). God does not will sin, but it is subject to his rule.[2] The Cross of Christ was for the Father’s glory and our good. Since God is King of all, knowing all, He knew that man would rebel from the beginning of time. He had one plan in place and the Son carried it out. These evil acts are under God’s plan and God has brought good out of this horrible situation at the Cross.[3] These lawless men are responsible for their evil deeds, but God used wicked men to bring about the work of redemption by His Son.

[1] Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, n.d., 3:65.

[2] Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, n.d., 2:241.

[3] Feinberg, No One Like Him, 518.