Salvation By Grace

From Reformed study bible article in Ez 18:

The Will of God: How Can I Know God’s Will?

• The Scriptures speak of the will of God in a variety of ways.
  • Even human wills are complex, so we should not be surprised to find that the divine will is multi-faceted
  • Reformed theology has traditionally stressed two senses in which we should understand God’s will.
  • Some Reformed theologians also speak of a third sense.

• In the first place the Scriptures tell us of God’s decretive will (R.C. Sproul – God’s sovereign, efficacious will by which he brings about everything He decrees).
  • This is his eternal decree of all that musttake place in history, “his eternal purpose, according to the counsel of his will, whereby, for his own glory, he hath foreordained whatsoever comes to pass” (INSC 7).
  • In this sense God’s will is unchanging and cannot in any way be thwarted.
  • What God has decreed will come to pass precisely as he has ordained.
  • The decretive will of God cannot be knownahead of time, except in glimpses revealed in the relatively few prophecies that God confirms by promise oroath.
  • Even in these rare prophecies only the most general parameters can be discerned.
    • The rest of God’s eternal plan by which he orders the universe is hidden from human beings until it actually unfolds in history.
  • For this reason we are called upon to trust the goodness of God that somehow he will work all things for our good (Ro 8:28).
• In the second place, we may speak of God’s preceptive will; that is, his will expressed in precepts or commands.
  • This consists of God’s moral requirements revealed in his general and special revelation.
  • The preceptive will of God is the subject of many portions of Scripture (1Ch 13:2; Ezr 7:18; Ro 12:2; Eph 5:17; Col 1:9; 1Th 4:3-6; 5:16-18).
  • This sense of God’s will is already known in part through natural or general revelation.
  • It can be known more fully by the study of Scripture, where it is recorded.
  • In fact, one of the main purposes of revelation is to teach us the preceptive will of God.
  • (R.C. Sproul – God’s decretive will does not preclude us from violating His preceptive will)
• Finally, many Christian traditions speak of God’s desiderative will as his desire for things that will never come to pass and his regret over things that have already happened.
  • (R.C. Sproul – God’s will of disposition, that is God takes no delight in the punishment of the wicked)
  • Sometimes this concept is coupled with the idea that God cannot do whatever he pleases, which is clearly contrary to Scripture (Ps 115:3).
  • Nevertheless, at times God truly expresses just such desire and regret (e.g., Ge 6:6-7; 2Sa 24:16; Eze 18:23,32; 33:11).
    • These expressions are not contrary to his decretive will—God is not compelled to bring some things to pass against his will or desire.
    • Rather, God’s desiderative will is closely related to his preceptive will in that it reveals his earnest desire that his precepts be obeyed.
    • God’s expressions of desire and regret also demonstrate his mercy and gracious intent toward his creatures, even when they rebel against him.
    • For instance, God told Moses to move aside because he was going to destroy Israel (Ex 32:9-10).
      • After hearing Moses’ prayer, however, God relented and “did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened” (Ex 32:14).
      • God also told Ezekiel that he did not take pleasure in the death of the wicked (Eze 33:11); he desired repentance instead.
  • This desire is frequently expressed at those times when the free offer of the gospel is in view (1Ti 2:4).
  • God even expressed his concern for the wicked, pagan city of Nineveh On 4:11), and Jesus told a personified Jerusalem that he would have gathered her under his wings had she been receptive (Mt 23:37).
  • Some interpreters have also taken passages such as 1 Timothy 2:4 and 2 Peter 3:17 as expressions of God’s desiderative will.
  • It is possible to know much about the desiderative will of God; it is revealed in his emotions, actions, instructions and providence.
  • We may learn from his character and precepts what God desires of and for us.
  • When we discern God’s desires in these ways we should be moved to grateful and sincere service.

This entry was posted on March 29, 2009 at 2:40 pm and is filed under Will - God's . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.