Partial Submission and God's Satisfaction in Scripture
Partial Submission and God's Satisfaction in Scripture
The concept of partial submission is not directly addressed in Scripture, but the idea of submission to God's will is a recurring theme. The biblical anchor for this concept can be found in passages that emphasize the importance of submitting to God's sovereignty, such as Psalm 37:7, which commands believers to "be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him" [1].
In the biblical narrative, Jesus Christ is presented as the ultimate example of submission to God's will. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed, "Not my will, but yours be done" (Luke 22:42), demonstrating his willingness to submit to God's plan, even when it was difficult. This act of submission is seen as a model for Christian obedience and trust in God's sovereignty [1].
The Reformed tradition, as represented by John Calvin, emphasizes the importance of submission to God's will, particularly in the context of prayer. Calvin notes that God sometimes answers prayers in ways that differ from our expectations, as seen in the case of Samson's prayer for vengeance (Judges 16:28) [4]. This highlights the need for believers to submit their desires to God's will, trusting that He knows what is best.
In contrast, the Catholic (Scholastic) tradition, as represented by Thomas Aquinas, focuses on the concept of satisfaction in the context of penance and atonement. Aquinas argues that satisfaction involves depriving oneself of certain goods for the honor of God, citing alms-deeds, fasting, and other forms of self-denial as examples [5]. This understanding of satisfaction is rooted in the idea that humans owe a debt to God for their sins, and that this debt must be paid through acts of penance.
Charles Hodge, a Reformed (Old Princeton) theologian, offers a different perspective on satisfaction, arguing that it is not a matter of paying a debt to God, but rather of upholding God's moral government. According to Hodge, Christ's work on the cross was not a literal payment for sin, but rather a demonstration of God's justice and a means of deterring future sin [6].
The patristic tradition, as represented by Augustine, also grapples with the concept of satisfaction, although in a more nuanced and less systematic way. Augustine notes that the soul's happiness is derived from its participation in God's eternal life, and that the bodily senses can be soothed or offended in ways that affect the soul [7].
The biblical concept of God's satisfaction is closely tied to the idea of sacrifice and worship. In Psalm 50:14, the psalmist writes, "Sacrifice to God confession, and pay thy vows to the Most High" [2]. Similarly, Psalm 51:17 states, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise" [3]. These passages suggest that God is satisfied with sacrifices that come from a heart of humility and contrition.
The various traditions represented in the sources offer distinct perspectives on partial submission and God's satisfaction. While the Reformed tradition emphasizes the importance of submitting to God's will, the Catholic (Scholastic) tradition focuses on the concept of satisfaction in the context of penance and atonement. The patristic tradition offers a more nuanced and less systematic understanding of these concepts.
Sources
- Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Resignation — Christ set and example of -- Mt 26:39-44; Joh 12:27; 18:11. Commanded -- Ps 37:7; 46:10. Should be exhibited in Submission to the will of God. -- 2Sa 15:26; Ps 42:5,11; Mt 6:10. Submission to the sovereignty of God in his purposes. -- Ro 9:20,21. The prospect of death. -- Ac 21:13; 2Co 4:16-5:1. Loss of goods. -- Job 1:15,16,21. Loss of children. -- Job 1:18,19,21. Chastisements. -- Heb 12:9. Bodily suffering. -- Job 2:8-10. The wicked are devoid of -- Pr 19:3. Exhortation to -- Ps 37:1-11. Motives to God's greatness. -- Ps 46:10. God's love. -- Heb 12:”
- Psalms “Psalms 50:14 (YLT) — Sacrifice to God confession, And complete to the Most High thy vows.”
- King James Version “[KJV] Psalms 51:17 — The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 75: ( Judges 9:20 ); and hence God, by complying with the execration, seems to approve of passionate impulses. Similar fervor also seized Samson, when he prayed, “Strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes,” ( Judges 16:28 ). For although there was some mixture of good zeal, yet his ruling feeling was a fervid, and therefore vicious longing for vengeance. God assents, and hence apparently it might be inferred that prayers are effectual, though not framed in confor”
- theology (Catholic (Scholastic)) “Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Supplement (Supplementum), Of the Means of Making Satisfaction, Art. 3: Article: Whether the works of satisfaction are suitably enumerated? I answer that, Satisfaction should be of such a nature as to involve something taken away from us for the honor of God. Now we have but three kinds of goods, bodily, spiritual, and goods of fortune, or external goods. By alms-deeds we deprive ourselves of some goods of fortune, and by fasting we retrench goods of the body. As to goods of the soul, there is no need to deprive ourselves of any of them, either in whole or in part, s”
- CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 3, section 27: Here everything is purely governmental. It is not justice, in the proper and ordinary sense of the word, that is satisfied, but God’s wise and benevolent regard to the interests of his moral government. This changes everything. If God’s justice be not satisfied guilt is not removed, and sin is not expiated. And therefore conscience is not appeased; nor can the real authority and honour of the law be upheld. As to the other point, the nature of the satisfaction rendered 189 it was not a real equivalent, which by its intrinsic value met the”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 7: Augustine — Homilies on John — CHAPTER V. 19-40. (part 5): body subject to it, while the senses of the body can be soothed and delighted by things bodily, and that because of this kind of fellowship of soul and body in this life, and in this mutual embrace of theirs, the soul is delighted when the bodily senses are soothed, and saddened when they are offended; while yet the happiness by which the soul itself is made happy cannot be realized but by a participation of that ever-living, unchangeable life, of that eternal substance, which is God: that as the soul, which is inferior to”