THE WILL OF GOD
C. D. Cole
April 4 2023
Tuesdays Blog Post
In all intelligent beings there is a will, men and angels and
God have wills. In men the will is the faculty of the mind by
which choice is made of a future action determined upon. In
willing a man has the purpose of action in view. And his will is
the cause of the action, else he would be a mere machine or
automation. If I take a gun and shoot another man, the will
worked before the hand did; the purpose was before the act.
But if I am held by another man, and a gun is placed in my
hand, and another hand moves my finger to pull the trigger,
that is not my act because I did not will or choose to do it. In
that act I was not a responsible being, but a mere machine or
tool of another.
In God the will is the attribute by which He determines and
executes future events. “And this is the Father’s will which
hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose
nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day” (John
6:39). His will includes “whatsoever comes to pass, “hence
everything that comes to pass is providential and not
accidental so far as God is concerned. “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” (Eph. 1:11). The sparrow does not fall without the
will of God.
Webster defines Providence as an event divinely ordained.
Now it is well known that events happen in sequence, that is,
they are related in order of time and one event is the cause of
another event. So it seems evident, that if some events are
ordained then all events are ordained. It is usual for men to
distinguish events as providential and accidental. Even
Christians are prone to classify their experiences either as
providential or accidental. They associate providence with
good things, and accident with evil things; therefore, they
speak of having an accident. The Rickenbacker party
regarded their rescue at sea as providential, but the writer
regards the whole of their experiences as providential. The fall
of their plane into the sea was as much providential as was
their rescue. We need to see God’s will in our afflictions as
well as in our blessings. Job was speaking of both “And said,
Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I
return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken
away; blessed be the name of the LORD” (Job 1:21). And
when his wife pleaded with him to curse God and die, “But he
said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women
speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God,
and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with
his lips” (Job 2:10). And when he had lost all earthly comforts;
seeing God’s hand in it all he said, “Though he slay me, yet
will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before
him” (Job 13:15).
The will of God includes the wicked actions of sinful men, but
does not take away their blame worthiness. We may not see
how this can be, but the Scriptures declare it and we should
believe it. The Scriptures were not written to confirm our
reasoning but rather to correct it. On the day of Pentecost
Peter said, concerning Jesus, “Him being delivered by the
determinate counsel (will) and foreknowledge of God, ye have
taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain” (Acts
2:23). And on a later occasion he said that “For of a truth
against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both
Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of
Israel, were gathered together, For to do whatsoever thy hand
and thy counsel (will) determined before to be done” (Acts
4:27,28). We may not be able to see how God can will or
determine a sin without becoming the author of sin, but the
fact remains that the greatest of all sins, the slaying of the Son
of God, was divinely ordained.
DISTINCTIONS IN THE WILL OF GOD
Theologians have made many distinctions in the will of God;
some of them are false, others are vain and useless, but there
is one distinction that is necessary, and which will prove
helpful in rightly dividing the word of truth. This is that which
distinguishes between God’s decretive will and His preceptive
will, or His will of purpose and His will of command. God’s will
of purpose is always done; His will of command is often left
undone. God’s will of purpose cannot be thwarted, for this
would mean His dethronement; His will of command is often
violated, for men are in rebellion against Him. If the human will
is greater in power than the Divine will then, of course, this
human rebellion will succeed and God will be dethroned. If
human rebellion can overthrow the government of God, we
have no supreme Being at all. To further amplify the
distinction between God’s decretive and preceptive wills we
will consider each separately.
GOD’S WILL OF PURPOSE
1. It is eternal. God is not forming any new purposes, for His
counsels are of old: “O LORD, thou art my God; I will exalt
thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful
things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth” (Isa.
25:1). His purpose in Christ is said to be eternal: “According to
the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our
Lord:” (Eph. 3:11). What is to be will be, therefore, “Known
unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world”
(Acts 15:18).
2. It is effectual. God’s will of purpose is always accomplished.
God is not man that He should engage in wishful thinking.
There are no mere wishes with Him which He cannot perform.
“The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have
thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so
shall it stand: That I will break the Assyrian in my land, and
upon my mountains tread him under foot: then shall his yoke
depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their
shoulders. This is the purpose that is purposed upon the
whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all
the nations. For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who
shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall
turn it back?” (Isa. 14:24-27). For example, back in eternity
God willed or determined the death of His Son, and centuries
after time began we see Him controlling and directing the free
actions of sinful men to bring this event to pass. Moreover, He
predestinated and predicted the detail when, where, and how
His Son should die. And so in the four gospels we are told that
this and that was done to Him that the Scripture might be
fulfilled.
3. It is immutable. God never changes His will of purpose.
There are only two possible reasons for anybody changing his
will; it must be either because he sees that what he purposed
was not wise, or that he sees it cannot be accomplished. But
neither of these reasons can apply to God. He was All wise in
planning and is All powerful in performing.
Prayer does not change God’s will, but it does change things.
Changes wrought by prayer are all within the circle of God’s
purposing will. “And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth
what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession
for the saints according to the will of God” (Rom. 8:27).
Answered prayer is made in the energy of the Holy Spirit. A
man may pray without the Spirit and get what he asks for, but
it would not be in answer to prayer. Two generals on opposing
sides may pray for victory in the coming battle, but both could
not be praying in the Holy Spirit, and it is possible that neither
of them are. In all true prayer this thought is implied or
expressed: Not my will but Thine be done.
“Thy way, not mine, O Lord,
However dark it be;
O lead me by Thine own right hand,
Choose out the path for me.
“I dare not choose my lot;
I would not if I might;
But choose Thou for me, O my God,
So shall I walk aright.
“Take thou my cup, and it
With joy or sorrow fill;
As ever best to Thee may seem,
Choose Thou my good and ill.
“Not mine, not mine the choice,
In things of great or small;
Be Thou my guide, my guard, my strength,
My wisdom, and my all.”
4. God’s will of purpose was the cause of our conversion. I am
a converted or saved man. I have been born again. What is
the explanation of this tremendous change? Back of every
performance or action there must be a will. Did I will myself
into a new man? Did some other man effectually will my
second birth? “But as many as received him, to them gave he
power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe
on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of
the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:12,13).
Saving faith does not originate with our parents, nor with
ourselves, nor with some other man; it is the gift and work of
God. “Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that
we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures” (James
1:18).
GOD’S WILL OF COMMAND
1. God’s preceptive will refers to what He has prescribed as
our rule of thought and conduct. The will of God is expressed
in all Divine law. In Eden it was God’s will that determined
what kind of law would be given to Adam and Eve. At Sinai
God did not consult Moses or the children of Israel about what
laws they would be under. In a democracy the people make
their own laws through chosen representatives who serve in
legislative halls. This gives rise to pressure groups and class
legislation because men are selfish; they do not love their
neighbors as themselves. But in our relation to God we are
not dealing with a democracy but with a Theocracy. In God’s
will of command we have the sovereignty of authority; in
God’s will of purpose we have the sovereignty of power.
2. It is God’s will of command and not His will of purpose that
men are responsible to perform. It was His will of purpose that
Christ should be crucified, but it was not His will of command.
In putting Jesus Christ to death men were fulfilling the
purpose of God, but they were not obeying any command of
God. There can be no sin in doing what God has commanded.
Peter tells us that they put Christ to death with wicked hands;
“Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and
foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands
have crucified and slain” (Acts 2:23); therefore, they were not
obeying a command of God. What God purposes is the
determining factor; what He commands is our duty. It seems
easy for men to see this distinction in everything except
religion. A man who can see only one side of the truth will say,
“If it is God’s will or purpose to save me, He will save me;
therefore, I will sit down and do nothing about it.” Now this
same man would not dare reason this way about other things.
Concerning this year’s crop, God’s will of purpose determines
the harvest, but His command is to plow and plant, cultivate
and reap. God’s will of purpose determines whether we live or
die: “For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live,
and do this, or that” (James 4:15), but it is His will of
command that we regard the laws of health. Nobody quits
eating because he believes God’s will of purpose determines
whether he lives or dies. God’s will of purpose will determine
the outcome of this war, but it would be foolish to sit down and
say: “If it is God’s will we will win, if not we will lose; therefore,
let us strike and stop mining coal and producing steel.” God’s
will of purpose determines the result of our witnessing for
Christ. “In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening
withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall
prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike
good” (Eccl. 11:6). “For as the rain cometh down, and the
snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the
earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed
to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that
goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void,
but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper
in the thing whereto I sent it” (Isa. 55:10,11). It is God’s will of
command that we sow beside all waters, to preach the Gospel
to every creature, and His will of purpose will take care of the
results and make it accomplish what He pleases.
It is God’s will of purpose that determines whether I am saved
or not, but it is folly to sit down and say that if I am one of the
elect I will be saved; therefore, I need not take any interest in
the matter. God’s will of command is to repent and believe,
and this is every man’s responsibility. We are commanded
“Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your
calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall
never fall:” (2 Peter 1:10). We are commanded to “Strive to
enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to
enter in, and shall not be able” (Luke 13:24). The man who
takes no interest in his soul and has no concern for his
salvation; if he persists in this attitude will surely land in the
lake of fire; for he that believeth not shall be damned. Much of
God’s will of purpose belongs to His secret will, “The secret
things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which
are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that
we may do all the words of this law” (Deu. 29:29).
“Only one life to live and soon is past
Only what’s done for Christ will last!”
Hoping to make the time I have left count for the glory of God.
THE WILL OF GOD