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
__________
*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.
__________
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
__________
*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.