UGW #3 : God's Will is a Verb
Understanding God's Will #3:
What Scriptural support is there for the idea that “His Will” is synonymous with what He desires from us and for us (what He wants us to do), and is not the same thing as His plans for us?
First of all, I do think that “His Will” also relates to His plans for us, in addition to what He desires from us and for us. But it does not refer to some pre-set, fixed plan that we have to find or (contrary to Calvinism) one that will happen no matter what.
“His Will” has more to do with the plans that He desires for us, plans that happen if we walk in obedience.
Calvinism says that everything that happens does so because God pre-planned it that way. Everything that happens is "His Plan, His Will," planned in advance and then carried out by Him. But Calvinists misunderstand what "His Will" means.
Let's look briefly at 1 Samuel 13:13-14. In this passage, God says (through the prophet Samuel) that He would have established King Saul's reign if only Saul had been fully obedient to Him. But Saul wasn't faithful and obedient, and so he lost the kingship. God said that He had a good plan that He would've carried out - blessings He would've given Saul - but it hinged on Saul's decision and actions.
But if Calvinism is true - that "God's Will" means He preplans/causes/orchestrates everything that happens and so nothing different could have happened, that everything that happens is "His Will" - then God preplanned and willed that Saul disobeyed and lost the kingship, because that's what happened. And therefore, God (or Samuel) was lying by saying that something different could've happened, that God had different plans that could've happened if Saul had obeyed - because there would've been no chance for Saul to obey if God preplanned/orchestrated his disobedience from the very beginning, if it was "His Will" and had to happen (according to Calvinism's understanding of "God's Will").
Either that, or Calvi-god preplans everything to happen exactly the way it does, but then he also makes alternative plans that he knows will never happen. Why would he do that? Why would he plan what happens but then also plan what doesn't happen? Why would he plan things that never happen if he alone has prewritten everything that happens and nothing can change it? And if he planned both - if he planned what happened and what didn't happen - then which one was really "his Will"?
If it's both, then it means his Will doesn't always happen - because the alternative plan that didn't happen would have also been "his Will." But it didn't happen. Yet Calvinists say his Will always happens. And so how does that work?
Either that, or he makes plans he doesn't really want/will. Calvinists insist that, yes, his Will always happens and everything that happens is his Will... but then that would mean that only what happened was his Will (Saul disobeyed and lost the kingship) and that the alternative wasn't his Will (God's plan to let Saul keep the kingship if Saul had obeyed), which means that Calvi-god makes alternative plans that aren't his Will. And so how does that work?
If Calvinism is true, then anytime the Bible says that something different "could have" happened, it would have to be a lie, a fake "could have" - because in Calvinism, nothing else was ever possible because Calvi-god planned every detail from the beginning and caused it to happen exactly how he planned. Either that, or he created two opposing plans that are both "his Will," which means one of his Wills doesn't happen and that he wills things that oppose his other will. Or else the plan that didn't happen wasn't his Will, which means he creates plans he doesn't will.
This is too messy. Trippy. Schizophrenic.
But the easy, most logical answer is this: Calvinism is wrong. God's Will doesn't mean "pre-set plans that must happen." God does not predestine everything that happens. God gives us real choices, and we make real decisions between real options, and then He responds accordingly, incorporating our choices into His plans.
And so "His Will" is about the things He wants us to do but doesn't force us to do. He allows us to either obediently follow Him in His Will or to disobediently reject His Will. And so it's our decision whether we remain in His Will or not. And we'll reap the consequences of our decision.
An important note: According to Strong's Concordance with Vine's Expository Dictionary, God's Will is about His "preferred" plans. It's what He wants to have happen in any given situation. And so when the Bible says something is "God's Will," it usually means that it's what He wants for us. But He allows us to decide if we will follow Him in His Will or not. His Will - the things He wants for us - happens or doesn't happen based on us, on if we obey Him or not. "His Will" is not about pre-set plans He creates that must certainly happen, as Calvinists would say.
[Once again, Calvinism has redefined "sovereign" to be about how God has to use His power and authority in order to be God. They say that since He is all-powerful then it must mean that He uses His power all the time to control everything ... or else He wouldn't be an all-powerful God. If He doesn't act the way they say He has to then He can't really be God, in Calvinism.
But God Himself has shown us in His Word how He has chosen to use His power and authority. And - like it or not, Calvinists - God has chosen to give mankind a certain amount of freedom, within boundaries. He has chosen to restrain His use of power, in order to give people real choices that have real consequences. He has chosen NOT to control all things, all people, every decision we make. He has chosen to let us decide many things. And yet, in His sovereignty and power and authority, He knows how to work it all together for good, into His plans.
This is how God has chosen to act and to be, as seen all throughout His Word. Clearly and plainly and easily-understood.]
Another example that shows the absurdity of Calvinism is this:
In the Garden of Eden, God told Adam and Eve to not eat from the forbidden tree. But they ate from it anyway. So which one was "God's Will" in Calvinism?
In Calvinism, God's Will always happens because He preplans it and causes it, and nothing different could have happened. And so obviously, it would have to be His Will that they ate the fruit. But then why would He tell them to not eat the fruit, acting like His Will is that they don't eat it? Deceptive.
Calvi-god commands one thing but preplanned/causes the opposite. So which one does he really want, which is his real Will: what he says he wants or the opposite thing that he "preplanned" to happen? How can a god like that be trusted?
Calvinism makes a mess of God's word and God's character. And there's no reason, in Calvinism, to trust that God said what He meant or meant what He said. There's no reason to think that His commands are what He really wants... because He could've actually preplanned that we break His commands because that's what He really wants instead. In Calvinism.
Calvinism makes God a very unstable, untrustworthy, dishonest, divided, two-faced, self-sabotaging, schizophrenic God.
And all Calvinists can say in reply is "Oh, but God has two different levels of what He wills: what He says and what He does/planned. He can want one thing but cause the opposite. And God made the commands specifically so that people would break His commands so that He could punish them and send them to hell, like He planned from the beginning ... for His mysterious purposes and for His glory. We can't understand it because God is so far above us, and so we just have to accept it. Who are you to talk back to God!"
(Nonsense and hogwash!)
If Calvi-god tells us his Will is one thing while his actual Will is the opposite, then how can we ever trust any command he gives? Calvinism effectively destroys our trust in God's Word and our need to obey any command He gives - because in Calvinism, if we disobey God's command, it was because it was "God's real Will." This makes God - not us - the true cause of all disobedience and sin.
My recommendation to all Calvinists: Toss out the incorrect Calvinism altogether and figure out how God is based on what the Bible says. When looked at correctly, God and His Word actually make sense, and His character and truth and gospel is kept intact. God never causes us to do what He commands us not to do. And He never prevents us from doing what He commands us to do. He tells us what He expects of us, but then He gives us the choice of whether we will obey or not. He knows what the outcome of any decision we make will be. And so whether we obey or disobey - whatever we choose - He knows how to work all possibilities into His plans. But He does not decide which we choose. He lets us choose, and then He responds to us accordingly, letting us face the consequences of our decisions.
This makes sense and it keeps God's good, holy, righteous, just, loving, trustworthy nature intact. Because He commands us to do what He wants us to do (He tells us what His Will for us is in the Bible). And it's possible for all of us to obey. But He leaves the choice up to us. And He lets us face the consequences of our decisions, which is fair and just.
This is why God can say that His Will is that all people are saved, that no one perishes. It's His preferred plans for everyone, what He wants to have happen for everyone. But He doesn't force it. His Will, His desire, is that we all are saved, but He gave us the free-will to accept or reject what He desires for us. And then He lets us face the consequences of our decision, even if it means we hurt ourselves by our own choices.]
Okay now, that was quite a tangent, but back to the original post (and keeping in mind that God's Will is about what He prefers to happen):
When I look up verses that relate to us concerning God’s Will, I mostly see that His Will is a more like a verb, not a noun. Yes, it's a noun technically, but we decide to do or not do it (verb). The Bible talks about doing the things that God wills, things that He desires us to do. It does not as often talk about waiting for His Will or trying to find it, as though it was a pre-set path or plan we have to find or wait around for until it happens. It's not something that happens to us; it's something we choose to do.
Matthew 7:21: "‘Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven....’"
John 7:17: “If anyone chooses to do God’s will ...”
Ephesians 5:17,18: “Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.... be filled with the Spirit.”
1 Thessalonians 4:3: “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified ...”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18: “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
And a line in the Lord’s Prayer says, “your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10) I used to read this as “May Your plans come to pass,” as though we had no real responsibility for that happening and that it would happen no matter what. We were simply acknowledging that we wanted His plans to happen. But I’m beginning to wonder if it really means, “May Your Will be obediently done by us on earth, as it is done up in heaven by your angels. May we do what You want us to do, and may what You want to have happen, happen; by our obedience and prayer.”
It seems that, in general, His Will for us is how He desires us to live, in obedience to His Word. And doing this will lead us in the paths He wants us to take. Therefore, it’s up to us whether His Will gets done or not, whether we stay in His Will or not. It's up to us whether or not we know what His Will is, based on whether or not we read and understand and apply His Word.
Of course, He does have some pre-set, overarching plans for mankind that will happen, regardless of our decisions, and He is working everything toward that end. But when it comes to our own individual lives, He doesn’t force His Will or have some pre-set plan that we have to find or that will happen regardless of us.
Yes, He has a best plan for us, one He wants us to follow Him in, for our good and for His glory and purposes. But we don’t have to follow Him in it if we’d rather rebel and go our own way or just float through life, like a bag in the wind. He leaves it up to us.
This is why it's so important to properly understand what "God's Will" is, to truly understand our responsibility in making it happen and in reaping the blessings God wants for us and in staying on the path He wants us on.
And we can only truly understand it by getting to know what God is really like in His Word, by understanding that He gave us the free-will to make our own real decisions among real options, and by learning what He expects from us, the way He wants us to live, the responsibilities He gave us, and the consequences that go with our choices, according to His Word.
And so my advice for those who are always worrying about finding God's future plans for them or worrying about missing "His Will" is this:
Don't worry about searching for His future plans for you, as if it's a pre-set plan you must figure out. Focus first and foremost on obeying what He has already revealed in His Word. Focus on what you do know, on being obedient to what He's already revealed, and then what you don't know will become clear, in God's time and in God's way. This is a part of living by faith.
If we in obedience to what He has already revealed to us in His Word, we will be walking closely in step with Him, safe in His Will, and He will guide our future steps, and we will reap the blessings that come with being faithfully obedient to Him.
So don't worry about looking for His future plans for you. Look for Him instead. Focus on Him. Follow Him and His Word. And as you do so, you'll naturally be walking in the direction He wants you to go, and He'll straighten out the path under your feet as you walk in harmonious obedience to His Word.
But once again, you don't have to do this if you don't want to. You can follow your own wisdom and go your own way, or you can float through life, letting the circumstances take you wherever they may because you're convinced that everything that happens is "God's Will" and that you can't affect it one way or the other.
The choice is yours.
Psalm 143:10: “Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.”
Psalm 25:4-5,9,12: ”Show me Your ways, O Lord, teach me Your paths; guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long… He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them His way… Who, then, is the man that fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the way chosen for him…”
Psalm 19:7-8-11: “The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the Lord are sure and altogether righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. By them is Your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.”
Psalm 119:105: "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path."
Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”
2 Timothy 2:15: "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth."
Galatians 5:16: "So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature."
For the posts in this series, see the "Understanding God's Will" label in the sidebar (or find the original series, without the Calvinism info, by clicking here).
