Theology 101/James R. Gray
THE WILL OF GOD
One of the major characteristics
of God is His will. Few theologians handle the subject as a separate item,
although some do comment on it under a different heading (example: Louis
Berkhof under Attributes of Sovereignty).[1] The
will of God may be defined as: The
faculty of self-determination and choice that is consistent with God’s
character to carry out His purpose and plans.
There are a number of Hebrew and
Greeks words that denotes the will of God.[2] In
the Old Testament we find:
- Hapes (Isaiah 44:28; 46:10; 48:10; 53:10). It designates God’s desire, counsel, or good pleasure.
- Rason (Ezra 10:11; Psalms 103:21; 143:10). It indicates delight, pleasure, good will or favor (grace), satisfaction.
- Esa (Psalms 33:11; 73:24; Prov. 19:21; Isaiah 5:19; 46:10). It implies a determine plan, thus it indicates a counsel, advice, or purpose.
- Seba (Dan 4:17, 25, 32; 5:21). An Aramaic word found only in Daniel signifying God’s will or desire.
In the New Testament there are three
words that denote the will of God.
- Boule (Luke 7:30; Acts 2:23; Eph. 1:11). It indicates God’s purpose or plan based on His deliberation.
- Thelema
(Acts 22:14; Rom. 12:2; Eph. 1:9; 5:17;
- Eudokia (Luke 2:14; Eph. 1:5, 9; Phil 2:13). It denotes His good pleasure and delight.
All of these words indicate that
the will of God is His sovereign choice and for His glory. It is absolute, not
influenced by any outside source, and under no obligation to any other
creature. It is His internal nature in complete harmony with his holiness,
righteousness, goodness, and truth.
This tells us three characteristics
about God’s will:
- Freedom. God has freedom of His will which is not constrained by anything but His own character. He is free to will anything that is consistent with His own nature.
- Power. There is no power that can overtake the will of God. God is all-powerful and nothing or no one can over it.
- Immutability. It is an expression of His unchanging character and nature. Like His nature, once established, His will can not waver, vacillate, or vitiate. Thiessen notes about God’s purpose (or will): “He does not make His plans or alter them as human history develops; He made them in eternity and they remain unaltered.”[3]
The will of God is not just
theoretical, but an active power. It is display in the activity of carrying out
His predetermined plan or purpose. It seems to me that the display of God’s
will is threefold:
- Universal (Isaiah 14:26-27). This aspect of the will of God covers all creation. God voluntarily created for a purpose. He will carry out the purpose of His creation—including angels, earth, heaven, and man.
- National. This is clearly displayed in the forming of
His people—
- Individuals. It is His will to save individuals that
respond to Him in faith (John 1:12;
The grand goal of His will is His
own glory. This is true of His creation (Psa. 19:1, Romans 8:18-21), His nation
(Isaiah 48:11); and His people (Romans 9:23-24; Ephesians 1:6; 2:8-10).
"Immutability. It is an expression of His unchanging character and nature. Like His nature, once established, His will can not waver, vacillate, or vitiate. Thiessen notes about God’s purpose (or will): “He does not make His plans or alter them as human history develops; He made them in eternity and they remain unaltered.”"
ReplyDeleteThis, to me, just seems patently false. The times where God acts (an exercise of his will), contingently, toward his creatures, based on things they do or don't do, are almost too many to number. Isaiah 66:3-4 is one prime example:
“He who kills a bull is as if he slays a man;
He who sacrifices a lamb, as if he breaks a dog’s neck;
He who offers a grain offering, as if he offers swine’s blood;
He who burns incense, as if he blesses an idol.
Just as they have chosen their own ways,
And their soul delights in their abominations,
So will I choose their delusions,
And bring their fears on them;
Because, when I called, no one answered,
When I spoke they did not hear;
But they did evil before My eyes,
And chose that in which I do not delight.”
Clearly then, at times, God chooses to act a certain way based on the creature's choices. They chose that in which God did not delight--and because of this--God chose their delusions.
This does not mean that God is beholden to the creature for anything. It just means that God is willing (has chosen) to condescend to the whims of the creature, in certain particulars, as a part of carrying out his purposes.
But it does mean that God's will cannot be said to be immutable, at least not without qualification.
John...Thanks for your comments. Let me respond by saying, first I may not have been clear enough in the article. I was relating the will of God (or least trying to) to His sovereign or declare plan and purpose. See definition: The faculty of self-determination and choice that is consistent with God’s character to carry out His purpose and plans. With that said, let me make a couple of points. I believe for man there is freedom on choice within the will of God, which does not violate His sovereign plans or purpose. We see this in the form of options within the will of God. A great example of this is seen in blessing and curses of Israel. They were free to choose, but the consequences were fixed in the will of God. They were free to choose which options to take; even to switch options, but the consequences were fixed. Second, we talk about the permissive will of God. Even that is within the over all will of God. It is an aspect of freedom within His will. I would agree that there is freedom to choose within the will of God. While we could say that God's will allows for the choices of His creation, could we not say that the consequences of those choices are fixed (or immutable)? We see this is the law of the harvest--what you sow you reap. And also the Judgment Seat and White Throne Judgment.
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