THE WILL OF GOD
T.P. Simmons
The will of God is used here to embrace the following: (1) God's
faculty of self-determination and choice. (2) The inherent preference of God.
(3) The purpose and plan of God.
I. QUALITIES OF GOD'S WILL
1. FREEDOM.
Freedom of will, whether it be in God, angels,
or men, means that the will is not constrained by anything outside the nature
of the being who possesses it. But it does not mean that the will can act
independent of or contrary to the character of that being. In the operation of
the will we have simply a moral being preferring, choosing, and determining
courses of action in view of motives. Motives influence, but do not constrain
the will. The relative strength of motives is determined by character. The will is never subject to caprice or arbitrariness.
2. POWER.
We speak of some men as lacking will-power. And by this we mean
that they lack the power to will that which they should will.
This results from the perversity of man's character or nature through sin. But
there is no lack of power with God to will that which He should will. His
character is perfectly holy. Consequently God always wills that which is
perfectly holy, just, and good.
The immutability of God's will has been touched upon in the
preceding chapter. It is mentioned here for the sake of emphasis. God's will is
but the expression of His immutable nature and character, and thus it is
necessarily immutable. God's will is incapable of the slightest wavering,
vacillation, or variation. It must ever retain the
perfection and the holiness that it possessed in eternity. Whatever God willed
in eternity to do or to bring to pass, He must now and evermore will to do and
to bring to pass. Thus there has not and there will not be any change in His
purpose or plan.
1. GOD'S WILL OF PURPOSE.
God has purposed or decreed all things that have come to pass and
all things that shall ever come to pass. See Psa. 135:6; Isa. 46:10;
Dan. 4:35; Acts 2:23; 4:27- 28; 13:48; Rom. 8:29,30; 9:15-18; Eph. 1:11. These
passages show God to be an absolute sovereign in directing all the affairs of
this world and in the distribution of saving grace. His will of purpose
includes evil as well as good, sin as well as righteousness; and it is always
accomplished perfectly. But the following subdivisions of God's will of purpose
are necessary.
(1) Gods Positive Purpose.
God is the active, positive cause of all good. Everything good is
the result of the efficient working of Gods power, either directly or through
His creatures. It is to this subdivision of God's will of purpose that Phil.
2:13 applies, which tells us: "It is God that worketh
in you both to will and to work for his good pleasure."
(2) God's Permissive Purpose.
God is not the cause of evil; but for just,
holy, and wise reasons, known fully to Himself only, He has decreed to permit
such evil as comes to pass and to overrule it for His own glory. It is to God's
permissive will that the Scripture refers when it says: "Surely the wrath
of man shall praise thee; the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain"
(Psa. 76:10). This Scripture points out that God restrains men from doing more
sin that He is pleased to overrule for His glory. Therefore He permits them to commit such sins as they do commit. He could keep men from all
sin as easily as He stops them at the appointed place. We can give no reason
why God permits sin that will satisfy the carnal mind; but the fact that He
does so is abundantly clear. And, since God always does right, we know that it
is right for Him to permit such sin as comes to pass.
In Acts 2:23 and 4:27,28 we have a clear statement that the
crucifixion of Christ was a part of the purposive or decretive will of God. But
we know that God did not efficiently cause the crucifiers to do what they did.
Such would make God responsible for the killing of Christ. God merely withheld
His restraining power and permitted the crucifiers to proceed according to
their own evil desires. This is all God has to do to bring
about the commission of any sin He is pleased to overrule for His glory. Man
will commit any sin that God will permit him to commit.
The hardening of the heart of Pharaoh, as detailed in Exodus, and
his making of vessels unto dishonor (Rom. 9:21) are to be understood
also as coming under God's permissive purpose.
The careful student will note that it is implied in the foregoing
discussion that God's permission of sin is not a bare or necessary permission,
such as Arminians are willing to admit and such as is exemplified in a man's
permission of that which he cannot prevent; but is a sovereign, providential,
willing, and purposeful permission of that which God has
full power to prevent had He so willed. With regard to Adam's sin, John Gill
aptly remarks: "There was a concourse of divine providence attending this
action, and influencing it as an action, without which it could never have been
performed; as divine providence supports every wicked man in his being
throughout the whole course of his vicious life, [determining the circumstances
and occasions of all his acts], and so while he is sinning;
the same providence upheld [and surrounded] Adam in his being, whilst he was
eating of the forbidden fruit; otherwise as Eve could not have stretched out
her hand and taken the fruit of the tree and eaten it, so neither could Adam
have put forth his hand and taken it of her. The influences of divine
providence concur with every action, be it what it may, as an action, since all
live, and move, and have their being in God; every action,
as an action, is from God; BUT THE OBLIQUITY, IRREGULARITY, AND SINFULNESS OF
THE ACTION, IS FROM THE CREATURE: WHEREFORE GOD IS NOT THE AUTHOR OF ANY SIN;
AS HE IS NOT THE AUTHOR OF SIN IN ANY MAN, NOTWITHSTANDING THE CONCOURSE OF HIS
PROVIDENCE WITH EVERY ACTION OF HIS, AS AN ACTION..." (Body of Divinity,
p. 319).
Because Calvinists have recognized the full truth as unmistakably
set forth in those Scriptures that ascribe evil to God (see Ex. 7:3,4; 1 Sam.
18:10; 2 Sam. 24:1, compared with 1 Chron. 21:1; John 12:40; Acts 4:27, 28;
Rom. 9:18), and, therefore, have been unwilling to divorce God's permission of
sin from His decrees; Arminians have accused them of making
God the author of sin. But every representative Calvinist that has ever lived
has repudiated this charge and, like John Gill, has given logical ground for
that repudiation. This includes Calvin himself. A careful perusal of his works
will show indisputably that he taught nothing more with regard to God's
relation to sin than is taught herein.
2. GOD'S WILL OF APPROBATION.
This phase of God's will has to do with God's attitude toward
things considered separately and apart from their relation to His eternal
purpose. When thus considered, sin is never pleasing to God. God never approves sin as a thing within itself; nevertheless He has decreed by
the most wise and holy design to allow men to use the powers He gives them to
commit sin. God always approves righteousness, but in His perfect plan He has
not found it suitable to bring all men to righteousness. Herein lies both the
distinction and the harmony between God's will of purpose and His will of
approbation.* God's will of purpose embraces both evil and good, while His will
of approbation includes only that which is good within
itself. Another difference between these two phases of God's will lies in the
fact that His will of purpose is always accomplished in its fullness, while His
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*Theologians have used various names for this
second phase of God's will, such as revealed will, preceptive will, directive
will, will of command, will of desire, and will of pleasure. The author has
adopted the designation herein employed as the one that seems to him most
fitting and comprehensive.
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will of approbation is, at best, accomplished only very
imperfectly on earth.
Let no one suppose that it is here meant that God would have some
things come to pass that He cannot bring to pass; or that He would prevent the
coming to pass of some things that He cannot prevent. God always accomplishes what He wants to accomplish, but, in doing this, He
uses that which within itself is not a thing that is pleasing to Him. Just as a
parent, taking pleasure in the proper training of a child, often chastens the
child, notwithstanding the fact that the chastening of itself affords the
parent no pleasure.
God's pleasure in things as a whole is always
carried out. "Our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he
pleased" (Psa. 115:3), "Whatsoever Jehovah pleased, that hath he
done, in heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps" (Psa. 135:6).
"Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things are
not yet done; saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure"
(Isa. 46:10).
It is on the basis of the phase of God's will now under
consideration that Ezek. 33:11 is to be explained and understood.*
However, the death here mentioned is not spiritual death, but
physical death in the Babylonian siege. But the relation of
the declaration to the will of God is the same. In itself considered, the
perishing of the Israelites in the Babylonian siege vas not a pleasing thing to
God; but, considered in connection with things as a whole, God had decreed to
permit the death of many of them.
Much might be said as to why God permits that
which He does not approve, but this fact can never be explained to the
satisfaction of the finite mind. It was in the face of this fact that Paul
arose to great heights in exclaiming: "O the depth of the riches both of
the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his
ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath
been his counselor? Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be
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*But it is not on the basis of this phase of God's will that we
are to understand 2 Pet. 3:9 and 1 Tim 2:4. See treatment of these two passages
in chapter on atonement.
recompensed to him again? For of him, and through him, and to him,
are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen (Rom. 11:33-36). Therefore we
do not attempt to explain this mystery lest we seem to try to be wise above
that which is written or to darken counsel by words to no profit.
God's will of approbation is revealed in two ways, viz., through
His Word, the Bible, and through the Holy Spirit. It is revealed through His
Word as to broad principles and basic truths. It is revealed through the Holy Spirit
as to the application of these principles and truths to the circumstances and
details of every-day life, and as to the calling, capacity,
and plan in which God would have each individual serve him.
It is God's will of approbation, as revealed in His Word, that
fixes man's responsibility. This is very forcefully shown in Deut. 29:29, which
reads: "The secret things belong unto Jehovah our God; but the things that
are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever,
that we may do all the words of this law." "The secret things"
are those things embraced in God's will of purpose or decree. "The things
that are revealed" are those things that are embraced in God's will of
approbation as revealed in His Word.