The Will of God (Part 3): Moral Will

*Just a reminder: In the first few parts of this series I will be explaining the traditionally accepted view of the will of God. I do not necessarily believe all that I will write in these three posts to be true and accurate with Scripture. The posts are simply to lay out for you the ideas so that I can better critique them and set forth my view and what Scripture really says*

According to the traditional view of God's will, there are three distinct wills of God:

1. The Sovereign will of God
2. The Moral will of God
3. The Individual will of God


In today's post I will define and explain God's moral will (according to the traditional view). God's moral will is God's revealed commands in the Bible that teach how men ought to believe and live. These include the 10 Commandments and any other direct commands in Scripture. A difficulty, though, is that God's moral will does not directly address many specific decisions faced by an individual.

The following are key points about the moral will:

1. It is God's revealed commands in the Bible

2. It teaches how we ought to live

3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality;
4 that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor
- 1 Thess. 4:3

3. It must be obeyed by the believer

1 And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the rules that I speak in your hearing today, and you shall learn them and be careful to do them.
- Deuteronomy 5:1

4. It reflects the nature and character of God

5. It does not directly address many specific decisions faced by an individual

Here is a helpful contrast of the individual will vs. the moral will:

Individual Will
1. A detailed plan for all decisions in a believer's life.
2. Believers are expected to find and do it.
3. Believers can miss it by failure to discover or obey it.
4. It is being revealed to the hearts of believers and cannot be found at all in the Bible.
5. It is revealed by the Holy Spirit through inward impressions using many means.
6. Its directives are specific for one specific believer.

Moral Will
1. A body of general commands and principles for life.
2. Believers are expected to find and do it.
3. Believers can miss it by failure to discover or obey it.
4. It was revealed to apostles and prophets and can be found completely in the Bible.
5. It was revealed by the Holy Spirit through supernatural revelation.
6. Its directives are general for all believers.

Scriptural Proof

The moral will of God is seen throughout the whole of Scripture. All throughout are commands from God teaching the Believer how he is to live. These commands reflect the nature and character of God . In addition to the ones listed above, here are some more passages which indicate the moral will of God:
Deut. 5:7-21;Matt. 28:19-20; Romans 2:18; 2 Cor. 6:14; 1 Thess. 4:3-7, 5:18; plus all other direct commands in Scripture