The Will of God (Part 5): Critique of the Traditional View

*Warning: If you have not yet read my last four posts, go read them now. Do not read this post until you have done so.*

Now that I have laid out the ideas of the traditional view of God's will, I will take some time to critique it. The primary question I will be asking is, "Does this agree with Scripture?"
I will give my thoughts on each of the three wills proposed in the traditional view and examine if they are really in harmony with what the Bible says.
(Each section heading is a link to my previous post on the subject.)

The Sovereign Will

The sovereign will of God is one which Scripture makes very clear. It is without question that God does have a sovereign will. We see this all throughout Scripture and history.

God's sovereign will is:

1. Certain - it will be fulfilled (Genesis 3:15; Psalm 22; Isaiah 53:3-12; Daniel 9:26; Matt. 26:24; Luke 22:21; Acts 1:16; 1 Peter 1:20)

[35] All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing,
and he does according to his will among the host of heaven
and among the inhabitants of the earth;
and none can stay his hand
or say to him, “What have you done?”
(Daniel 4:35 ESV)

2. Detailed - it includes all things (Psalm 139:16; Prov. 21:1; Romans 8:29-30; Eph. 1:11; 2 Thess. 2:13-14; James 4:13-15; Rev. 4:11)

[13] Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— [14] yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. [15] Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”
(James 4:13-15 ESV)

3. Hidden - except when revealed by prophecy (Psalm 115:3; Romans 11:33-34; James 4:15)

[29] “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.
(Deuteronomy 29:29 ESV)

4. Supreme - without violating human responsibility or making God the author of sin (Psalm 145:17; Isa. 6:3; Acts 2:23, 14:16)

[13] Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.
(James 1:13 ESV)

5. Perfect - working all things together for God's glory and our good (Gen. 3:15; Rom. 5:20, 11:15, 30-33; Eph. 1:4; James 1:2-4; Rev. 5)

[28] And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. [29] For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
(Romans 8:28-29 ESV)

The Moral Will

The moral will of God is a clearly presented truth of Scripture. No Bible-believing evangelical in his right mind will/can argue against the idea of God's moral will. The sticky situation, though, begins at this point concerning the degree to which God's moral will provides guidance in our decision making. The traditional view says that the moral will only provides most of the guidance required for our decision making, and that a knowledge of God's individual will is required for complete guidance where the moral will (Scripture) is "lacking" or "insufficient."

My premise is that God's moral will revealed in Scripture provides the Believer with all he needs to know in order to make decisions that are pleasing to God (i.e., within God's will). This is why I spent a week talking about "The Sufficiency of Scripture" before I jumped into "The Will of God."
(*If you did not read those posts, go do so now! here, here, and here*)
This truth is one which I believe is taught throughout the Bible and is exemplified best in 2 Timothy 3:16-17:

[16] All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, [17] that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.
(2 Timothy 3:16-17 ESV)

(see also: Matt. 4:4-10, 5:18, 22:29; Romans 2:18; Eph. 5:1; 1 Thess. 4:3, 5:12-18; Heb. 1:1-2; 1 Peter 1:15-16; 2 Peter 1:19-21 1 john 5:3)

The nature of God's Moral Will:

1. Origin: It is the expression of God's character.
2. Communication: Is is fully revealed in the Bible.
3. Scope: It touches every aspect and moment of life - goals, attitudes, means, and perspectives (why, how, and what).
4. Impact: It is able to equip believers for every good work.

The logical and biblical outcome of the moral will will be dealt with more fully in another post.

The Individual Will

The idea of the individual will of God is the focus of my disagreement with the traditional view. In the traditional view, the individual will is essential to making correct decisions in daily life and, ultimately, living our lives fully pleasing to God. This is where I disagree (and I believe I am supported by Scripture). Since this is my where my critique will be primarily focused, I will devote the next post entirely to examining the individual will. But, just to get you thinking, here are some of the main problems of the individual will with which I will deal:

1. "Ordinary" decisions
2. Equal options
3. Immaturity
4. Subjectivity

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.

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

Desiring God July DVD sale

Hey everyone,
Stumbled across this and just thought I'd let you all know about it. Desiringgod.org is having a sale on all their DVDs for the month of July. They've got some that look really good. I think I might get a few for myself. And they're all just $9.99.
Here they are.

The Will of God (Part 2): Sovereign 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 sovereign will (according to the traditional view). The sovereign will is God's secret plan that determines everything that happens in the universe. It is that which God purposes/has purposed to come to pass in eternity past. Since God's sovereign will is secret (until it comes to pass or is prophetically revealed to us by God through Scripture), it does not directly affect or decision making. Included in God's sovereign will are things such as creation, God's plan to redeem mankind, the death of Jesus, God's choice of Jacob over Esau, natural disasters, etc.

The following are key points about the sovereign will:

1. It is unaffected by man

34 "...For his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
and his kingdom endures from generation to generation;
35 all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, 'What have you done?'"
- Dan. 4:34-35

2. It is unknown by man in advance

11 “Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they existed and were created.”
- Rev. 4:11

3. It does not directly affect our decision making

29 “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law."
- Deut. 29:29

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

Individual Will
1. A detailed plan for all decisions in a believer's life.
2. The Believer is able to find and know it.
3. Believers are expected to find it as part of the Christian life.
4. Believers can miss it by failure to discover or obey it.
5. Includes only that which is good and ideal.
6. Must be discovered before a decision can be made.
7. Directly Ideal Plan: It is in harmony with the Bible and is always the most ideal decision and so brings glory to God

Sovereign Will
1. A detailed plan for all events in the universe.
2. It is hidden — the believer cannot find and know it.
3. Believers are not expected to find it as part of the Christian life.
4. Believers cannot miss it because it always comes to pass.
5. Includes both good and evil.
6. Can only be discovered after it happens.
7. Indirectly Ideal Plan: Though it includes evil acts and foolish decisions, it will ultimately lead to God's glory.

Scriptural Proof

Most of the passages which speak of the sovereign will of God can be found in the Old Testament, although a main category of the uses of the phrases "the will of God" and "God's will" in the New Testament are attributed to the sovereign will - specifically those in connection with Paul's calling and apostleship (i.e., "called by the will of God"). In addition to the ones listed above, here are some more passages which indicate the sovereign will of God:
Num. 23:19; Job 14:5; Psalm 33:11; Prov. 16:33, 21:1; Isaiah 14:24, 37:26, 45:7 46:9-11; Dan. 2:28; Amos 3:6; Matt. 25:34; John 6:64; Acts 1:24, 26, 2:23, 4:27-28, 15:18; Romans 9:19, 11:33-36; 1Cor. 1:1; 2Cor. 1:1; Eph. 1:1; Col. 1:1; 2Tim. 1:1; James 1:17; 1Peter 1:20
Also, since prophecy can be attributed to God's sovereign will, a whole host of prophetic passages also fall under this category.

The Will of God (Part 1): Introduction

So although I could probably spend another couple of weeks talking about the Sufficiency of Scripture, I'm gonna go ahead and move on to The Will of God like I promised (sorry for taking so long). To start off, I must say that the my view on the Will of God is quite different than the traditional/typical view of most Christians. So please wait until I have covered the whole topic - and you have researched it thoroughly yourself - before you judge me as a heretic. My change in view has come primarily from an examination of what Scripture had to say on the subject along with some helpful insight from a couple of great books(Found: God's Will - John MacArthur and Decision Making and the Will of God: A Biblical Alternative to the Traditional View - Garry Friesen). Upon study I found that the common view just didn't quite line up correctly with Scripture. My purpose - as with everything I write about - is to encourage you and hopefully communicate effectively to you what God has taught me. So, my plan is to take the next three posts to explain the traditional view of God's will and then the following two or three to critique it and examine what Scripture really has to say on the subject. Throughout Scripture the phrases "the will of God" and "God's will" occur a total of 23 times(17 of "The will of God" and 6 of "God's will"). The use of the phrases in these contexts can be categorized into a few main groups which will be dealt with where applicable in the next few posts here. Interestingly, though, these phrases do not come about until the New Testament. But does this mean the idea of "God's will" is just a new testament teaching. I don't think so (we'll examine some OT passages that talk about the subject in the next few posts also). I would encourage you to examine Scripture along with anything I have to say as I discuss this topic and would suggest you to take a look at the Scriptures which refer to "God's will" and "the will of God" (provided in the links above) and examine for yourself what they have to say.

David Platt

I didn't get a chance to write up a post for today, so I want to just point you to the talk by David Platt which I referenced in my post yesterday. It's from the 2010 Together for the Gospel(T4G) conference. Really good. Check it out here (it's the last one on the bottom).