The Will of God (Part 4): Individual 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 individual will (according to the traditional view). Included in God's individual will are decisions such as college, spouse, where to live, education major, career, and many others.

The following are key points about the individual will:

1. It is God's ideal, detailed life-plan for a person

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.
- Prov. 3:5-6

2. It is uniquely designed for each person

8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
- Psalm 32:8

3. Choosing apart from this will result in experiencing God's “second best,” or living within God's “permissive will.”

*Here is an image commonly used in relation to the individual will*

1. Here, the larger circle is God's moral will, and the center dot is God's individual will for a person's life.

2. Finding the dot in the center is essential to making correct decisions in daily life.

3. Choosing apart from God's perfect will ("missing the dot") will likely result in experiencing God's "second best," or living within God's "permissive will."

The following are the ways (road signs) commonly used to "find" God's individual will:

1. Scripture
2. Circumstances
3. Inner impressions from the Holy Spirit
4. Mature counsel
5. Personal desires
6. Common sense
7. Supernatural guidance

Scriptural Proof

Gen. 24; Psalm 32:8; Prov. 3:5-6, 16:9, 32:8; Isa. 30:21; Romans 12:2; Ephesians 2:10, 5:17, 6:6; Col. 1:9, 4:12

Certainty: How can I know for sure God's individual will

A. Agreement of the road signs
B. Prayer
C. Communion with God
D. Results of the dicision

Summary: Principles of Decision Making

A. Premise: For each of our decisions God has a perfect plan or will.
B. Purpose: Our goal is to discover God's individual will and make decisions in accordance with it.
C. Process: We interpret the inner impressions and outward signs through which the Holy Spirit communicates His leading.
D. Proof: The confirmation that we have correctly discerned the individual will of God comes from an inner sense of peace and outward (successful) results of the decision.