The determinate counsel of God is the settled, pre-creation agreement of the Triune Godhead, made in full foreknowledge, by which the whole plan of the ages — including the cross — was determined.
In Acts 2:23, Peter tells Israel that Jesus of Nazareth was delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, yet they took Him and by wicked hands crucified Him. Les explains that before anything was created, the Triune God — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — agreed in a 'meeting of minds' to create the universe and the human race, knowing the fall would require one Person of the Godhead to be the Redeemer. This counsel did not remove human free will; rather, God's foreknowledge knew ahead of time exactly what every person and nation would choose.
Acts 2:23 — This verse contains the exact phrase 'determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God' and is the passage Peter preached when he told Israel that their crucifixion of Messiah did not take God by surprise.
Ephesians 1:11 — Paul uses the parallel phrase 'the counsel of His own will,' which Les ties directly to the determinate counsel of Acts 2:23 — both point to the Trinity's pre-creation plan.
The phrase comes from Acts 2:23, where Peter, speaking to the men of Israel, declares of Jesus of Nazareth: "Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain." The verse sets the crucifixion within both God's determinate counsel and foreknowledge and the wicked hands of men. Paul similarly writes in Ephesians 1:11 that believers are "predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will." Scripture itself, then, presents God working all things after the counsel of His will, while the men of Israel acted with wicked hands — two realities held together in the biblical text.
Les explains that the word "counsel" means a meeting of minds — the way a president calls his cabinet together for counsel before a decision is made (Clip 3, Clip 5). Before anything was ever created, the Triune God came together, and in a split-second decision — not a long human-style discussion — the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit agreed by "a determinate agreeing of their three minds" to create the universe, place the human race on the earth, and, knowing the race would fall in Adam, determined that one Person of the Triune God would be the Redeemer (Clip 1, Clip 2, Clip 3, Clip 7). That determinate counsel laid out the whole plan of the ages, including the coming of Jesus of Nazareth to the nation of Israel and Israel's rejection of their King (Clip 0, Clip 3). When Peter told Israel in Acts 2:23 that Jesus was delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, he was telling them they had not taken God by surprise — it was all decided before anything ever happened (Clip 4, Clip 7). At the same time, God never removes the free will of men and nations. His foreknowledge simply knew what every person who ever lived would do with the offer of salvation, so the plan could proceed without forcing anyone's choice (Clip 0, Clip 6).
No. Les points out that Peter's accusation in Acts 2 was that Israel's rejection and crucifixion of Jesus did not take God by surprise. It was all decided before anything ever happened, according to "the Determinant Consul, the full agreement of the Godhead, and foreknowledge of God" (Clip 4). Long before creation, the Godhead determined in a split-second decision that they would create and bring the human race on the scene, knowing the human race would sin and need a Redeemer — it was all pre-planned (Clip 7). Israel was given the opportunity to have the King and the Kingdom, but in God's foreknowledge He knew they would reject it (Clip 0, Clip 7).
Not according to Les. He teaches that God in His sovereignty is in control of everything, yet He never takes away the free will of men and nations — the two concepts are hard to bring together, but both are true (Clip 0). God knew what Israel would do, and He knows what every person who ever lived would do with the offer of salvation. As Les puts it, "it wasn't that He took away their choice, it was that He knew what they were going to do with their choice" (Clip 6). This is why, in Acts 2:23, Israel took Jesus and by wicked hands crucified and slain Him — they acted of their own will even though it was delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God (Clip 1, Clip 4).
Les's explanation is that way back in eternity past, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit came together and, by a determinate agreeing of their three minds, decided to create the universe, put little old planet earth in it, and place the human race on it (Clip 2). They knew in foreknowledge that the human race would fall in the man Adam, and they knew in that predeterminate counsel that one Person of the Triune God would have to be the Redeemer (Clip 2). Les emphasizes they did not need to sit and bat the matter back and forth over an afternoon — in a split second of time they determined the plan for the ages (Clip 1, Clip 3).
Les connects Paul's statement in Ephesians 1:11 — that we are predestinated "according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will" — directly back to Acts 2:23's "determinate counsel." He asks what a counsel is: "it's a meeting of the minds, that's plural." So who had a determinate meeting of the minds? The Trinity (Clip 5). The same counseling that determined the crucifixion also determined the believer's predestination and inheritance.
God's Sovereignty and Human Free Will
Les explains that God is sovereignly in control of everything, yet He never takes away the free will of men and nations — the best way he can explain it is that the Godhead planned before creation.
The Triune God's Determinate Counsel
Les shows from Acts 2:23 that the Triune God, back in eternity past, came into counsel and in a split second determined the plan for the ages, with His foreknowledge seeing every detail of it coming down through history.
The Pre-Creation Agreement of the Godhead
Les teaches that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit agreed in their three minds to create the universe and the human race, knowing the fall in Adam would require one Person of the Triune God to be the Redeemer.
Meeting of Minds: Counsel Defined
Les defines 'counsel' as a meeting of minds, like a president's cabinet, and says the Triune God used this counsel before creation to lay out the whole plan of the ages, including Israel's rejection of their King.
No Surprise at the Crucifixion
Les points out that Peter's accusation in Acts 2:23 was that Israel did not take God by surprise — it was all decided before anything happened by the full agreement of the Godhead and His foreknowledge.
The Counsel of His Own Will (Ephesians 1:11)
Les connects Paul's phrase 'the counsel of His own will' in Ephesians 1:11 to Acts 2:23's 'determinate counsel,' showing that counsel is a plural meeting of minds — the Trinity's.
Foreknowledge of Every Choice
Les teaches that God in His foreknowledge knew what every individual who has ever lived would do with the offer of salvation — including Israel — without removing their choice.
Pre-Planned Redemption
Les explains that although Israel killed their Messiah, God was not surprised: the Godhead determined in a split-second decision before creation to create and bring the human race on the scene, knowing sin would need a Redeemer — it was all pre-planned.
Acts 2:23: Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:
This is the very verse Peter preached when he told Israel that their rejection and crucifixion of Jesus was within God's determinate counsel and foreknowledge.
Ephesians 1:11: In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
Paul's parallel phrase 'the counsel of His own will' shows God working all things according to a settled counsel — the same idea Les finds in Acts 2:23.
The determinate counsel of God is the settled agreement of the Triune Godhead — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — made before anything was created, in which the whole plan of the ages was determined, including the cross of Christ. It is announced in Acts 2:23, where Peter says Jesus was delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God.
Les uses a president's cabinet as an illustration, but he is quick to say the Godhead did not sit for an afternoon batting the matter back and forth. In a split second of time, the Triune God determined the plan of the ages — a full agreement of their three minds.
No. Les teaches that God is in control of everything, yet He never takes away the free will of men and nations. God's foreknowledge knew what every person would do with their choice, so His plan unfolds without forcing anyone to act against their will.
Because both are true. Jesus was delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, yet Israel took Him and by wicked hands crucified and slain Him. Les says Israel did not take God by surprise — it was all decided before anything happened — but God still held them responsible for their own choice.
Watch the Teaching: Why Israel Rejected Their King — Matthew 23 Explained