The Will of God

Introduction:

Biblical Doctrine: A Systematic Summary of Bible Truth Question

Westminster Confession (3.1) states, “God from all eternity, did, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely, and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass; yet so, as thereby neither is God the author of sin, nor is violence offered to the will of the creatures; nor is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established.”

I. God’s Decretive Will

The Decretive Will of God is sometimes referred to as God’s Sovereign, efficacious will, by which what he decrees must necessarily come to pass.

If God sovereignly degrees that something will happen, it will certainly take place.

The decretive will of God is irresistible.

This will is eternal and for his eternal purposes, but which is foreordains everything that comes to pass.

The Decretive will focuses on God’s lordship attitude of control.

And as said before, the decretive will cannot be successfully opposed.

Some have referred to God’s Decretive Will as God’s hidden or secret will, but that is misleading because God reveals some of His decrees through His Word.

The facts of God’s decretive will excludes libertarianism.

God’s decision as to what will actually happen is not based on his foreknowledge of the libertarisn free choices of men.

It is based, instead, on His choice to His historical drama in a certain way.

The decretive Will of God characterizes all of God’s essence, so it is eternal, immutable, independent, and omnipotent.

The Scriptures are clear concerning the Decretive Will of God.

Psalm 33:11 NASB95

The counsel of the Lord stands forever, The plans of His heart from generation to generation.

Psalm 115:3 NASB95

But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases.

Daniel 4:25 NASB95

that you be driven away from mankind and your dwelling place be with the beasts of the field, and you be given grass to eat like cattle and be drenched with the dew of heaven; and seven periods of time will pass over you, until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes.

Daniel 4:35 NASB95

“All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, But He does according to His will in the host of heaven And among the inhabitants of earth; And no one can ward off His hand Or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’

Romans 9:18 NASB95

So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.

Biblical Doctrine: A Systematic Summary of Bible Truth Question

This does not mean that he is the immediate or efficient cause of all things but that all things exist or occur by his eternal sovereign decree.

Although God decrees whatsoever things comes to pass, yet He does not coerce his creature to do anything.

He ordains the free choices of men.

And although man does have free choices, man’s choices are not libertarian free choices, they are always based on teh strongest desire of the man’s heart at the time.

Biblical Doctrine: A Systematic Summary of Bible Truth Question

Thus, sin is in God’s overall plan. He does not condone his creatures’ disobedience, nor is he the immediate or efficient cause of sin (James 1:13). He does not delight in the existence of sin in itself, but he ordains it by his decree in order to accomplish the most wise and holy end of bringing ultimate glory to himself

Biblical Doctrine: A Systematic Summary of Bible Truth Question

One should bear in mind two cautions about God’s decretive will. First, whenever God’s decretive will includes sin, that sin is certain to occur, but it will be initiated by the volition of the sinner. And second, God’s meticulous providence includes him upholding the various natural processes and even crafting (without compromising his holiness) the circumstances of an individual’s decision to sin

Job 42:2 NASB95

“I know that You can do all things, And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.

Ephesians 1:11 NASB95

also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will,

Isaiah 46:10 NASB95

Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, ‘My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’;

Amos

Amos 4:13 NASB95

For behold, He who forms mountains and creates the wind And declares to man what are His thoughts, He who makes dawn into darkness And treads on the high places of the earth, The Lord God of hosts is His name.

Amos 9:6 NASB95

The One who builds His upper chambers in the heavens And has founded His vaulted dome over the earth, He who calls for the waters of the sea And pours them out on the face of the earth, The Lord is His name.

Isaiah 55:11 NASB95

So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.

That is God’s Decretive Will

II. God’s Preceptive Will

The Preceptive Will refers to God’s precepts or commands, the law He enjoins to His creatures.

We are able to violate his preceptive will.

That is, we are capable of sinning, of disobeying His law.

This is a classic case of the difference between may and can.

Can refers to ability, while may refers to positive permission.

Matthew 7:21 NASB95

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.

Matthew 12:50 NASB95

“For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.”

John 7:17 NASB95

“If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from Myself.

John 7:17

1 Thessalonians 4:3 NASB95

For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality;

1 Thessalonians 5:18 NASB95

in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Hebrews 13:21 NASB95

equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

1 John 2:17 NASB95

The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.

Biblical Doctrine: A Systematic Summary of Bible Truth Question

It is often called God’s “revealed” or “signified” will. At times the decretive will and the preceptive will coincide, but often as part of his decretive will, God ordains that the creature disobey his preceptive will.

God has included sin in His plan, forbidding man to sine yet using sin as a means of bringing the greatest amount of glory to Himself.

Genesis 50:20 NASB95

“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.

Acts 2:23 NASB95

this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.

In both his decretive will and his preceptive will, God does not take pleasure in sin, not does he absolutely determine to save all people.

God’s decretive will is executed by means of his preceptive will.

Biblical Doctrine: A Systematic Summary of Bible Truth Question

God’s decretive will and preceptive will must be held in tension. To deny his preceptive will is to commit injustice against God’s holiness and to ignore the gravity of sin, but to deny God’s decretive will is to deny his omniscience, wisdom, omnipotence, and sovereignty

III. God’s Will of Disposition

This refers to the will of God that is pleasing or delightful to Him.

Now, let’s apply all three of these “wills” to one of the Semi-Pelgians favorit verses.

2 Peter 3:9 NASB95

The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

2 Peter 3:9

Let me quote from R.C. Sproul:

Grace Unknown: The Heart of Reformed Theology God’s Will and Redemption

1. God is not willing (in the sovereign, decretive sense) that any should perish. This means every person will be redeemed. No person will ever perish.

This interpretation proves more than the Arminian or semi-Pelagian wants. It establishes universalism, which puts this text on a collision course with everything the Bible teaches about particularism.

2. God is not willing (in the preceptive sense) that any should perish. This means God forbids, in a moral sense, anyone to perish. To perish is an act of disobedience or a sin.

Now surely anyone who in fact does perish does so as a law-breaker and is guilty of manifold acts of disobedience. It is possible to interpret the text in this manner, but it is a highly unlikely choice. It jars the mind to say that the text means merely that God does not “allow” people to perish.

3. God is not willing (in the dispositional sense) that any should perish. This means virtually the same thing as other texts, for example, those that say God does not delight in the death of the wicked. This speaks of God’s common grace and general love or benevolence for mankind. A human judge who sentences a guilty person to prison does not enjoy this task. He takes no gleeful delight in meting out punishment, yet he performs the task in order to uphold justice. We know that God is not full of glee when a wicked person dies, yet he still wills that death in some sense. Nor does this mean that God does something he really does not want to do. God wanted his Son to die on the cross. He ordained, willed, and commanded it. In one sense it pleased God to bruise his Son. His divine pleasure came, not from inflicting his wrath on his beloved Son, but from bringing about redemption. Of these three options, this one fits the whole context of Scripture the best.

Now, I hate to depart from my Reformed friends; let alone, R.C. Sproul.

Nor would I be so arrogant to even insinuate that I am smarter the many of my reformed brethren, but we ant to line of Scripture, not a particular theologian.

I believe that is, in fact, the decretive will of God; not do I believe that it teaches universalism.

Here is the main reason for my understanding of this passage as the decretive will of God.

Let’s see what the passage says:

2 Peter 3:9 NASB95

The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

Notice: “patient towards you....”

Who is the “you”.

2 Peter

1 Peter 1:22 NASB95

Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart,

2 Peter 1:10 NASB95

Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble;

1 Peter 1:1–2 NASB95

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.

Who is the book addressed?

Believers..

Who is Peter referring in ?

Believers...

To when Peter speaks about the fact that God is “patient to you”, who is He referring to?

Believers....

So if should be clear to us, by way of context, that if Peter is referring to believers as the addressee and that Peter is referring to Peter concerning the promises of verse 9, then there is no reason to conclude that it is a different group of people that “God is not willing to Perish”, right?

So if God is not willing that “any should perish” and that is speaking to believers, would it not hold that this is a decretive will?

Conclusion:

When we see the will of God mentioned in the Scripture, always interpret it by way of context.