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a. Grounds for the doctrine of justification from eternity.
(1) Scripture speaks of a grace or mercy of God which is from ever-lasting, Ps. 25:6; 103:17.
Now all grace or mercy that is from eternity must have as its judicial or legal basis a justification
that is from eternity. But in answer to this it may be said that there are eternal mercies and
lovingkindnesses of God which are not based on any justification of the sinner, as, for instance,
His plan of redemption, the gift of His Son, and the willing suretyship of Christ in the pactum
salutis.
(2) In the pactum salutis the guilt of the sins of the elect was transferred to Christ, and the
righteousness of Christ was imputed to them. This means that the burden of sin was lifted from
their shoulders and that they were justified. Now there is no doubt about it that there was a
certain imputation of the righteousness of Christ to the sinner in the counsel of redemption,
but not all imputation can be called justification in the Scriptural sense of the term. We must
distinguish between what was merely ideal in the counsel of God and what is realized in the
course of history.
(3) The sinner receives the initial grace of regeneration on the basis of the imputed
righteousness of Christ. Consequently, the merits of Christ must have been imputed to him
before his regeneration. But while this consideration leads to the conclusion that justification
logically precedes regeneration, it does not prove the priority of justification in a temporal
sense. The sinner can receive the grace of regeneration on the basis of a justification, ideally
existing in the counsel of God and certain to be realized in the life of the sinner.
(4) Children also need justification, in order to be saved, and yet it is quite impossible that they
should experience justification by faith. But though it is perfectly true that children, who have
not yet come to maturity, cannot experience passive justification, they can be actively justified
in the tribunal of God and thus be in possession of that which is absolutely essential.
(5) Justification is an immanent act of God, and as such must be from eternity. It is hardly
correct, however, to speak of justification as an actus immanens in God; it is rather an actus
transiens, just as creation, incarnation, and so on. The advocates of justification from eternity
feel the weight of this consideration, and therefore hasten to give us the assurance that they do
not mean to teach that the elect are justified from eternity actualiter, but only in the intention
of God, in the divine decree. This leads us back to the usual distinction between the counsel of
God and its execution. If this justification in the intention of God warrants our speaking of a
justification from eternity, then there is absolutely no reason why we should not speak of a
creation from eternity as well.