God's Will

In yesterday's sermon, I briefly mentioned the two wills of God. This can be a confusing topic, and for some, it might seem to unhelpfully complicate matters. However, I would argue that seeking to understand this (as best we can) will help us grow in our knowledge of God and will help us make better sense of the Bible. Ultimately, what we're trying to do is make sense of the various texts in the Bible that speak of God's will and desires.

Two Wills in the Will of God

In my sermon, I mentioned the sovereign (or decretive) will of God and His preceptive (or revealed) will. The former is found in texts that speak of God's absolute sovereignty over all that is made. What God has decreed will most certainly come to pass:

"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 4:35). 

This sovereign will cannot be thwarted by anyone as God "works all things according to the counsel of his will" (Eph 1:11). 

God's preceptive will (or will of command) is what He has revealed in his commands. Thou shall not murder," "thou shall not steal," and "repent and believe the gospel" are all examples of this aspect of God's will. And, clearly, this will is violated every day.

Sometimes we see quite explicitly that the preceptive will of God is violated while the sovereign will of God is established all at the same time. For example, when Christ was crucified, men violated the preceptive will of God by murdering an innocent man (indeed, the innocent man). And yet, Acts 4:27-28 makes it clear that Herod, Pilate, and the others had gathered to do "whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place." In some way, then, God's will (of precept) was violated while his sovereign will (of decree) was established. And we see this throughout the Bible (consider Gen 50:20).

The Infinite God

This is indeed a great mystery for us and raises many questions. I will not attempt to answer all of them here, however, I think John Calvin gives us an important starting place:

If it be objected, that it is absurd to suppose the existence of two wills in God, I reply, we fully believe that his will is simple and one; but as our minds do not fathom the deep abyss of secret election, in accommodation to the capacity of our weakness, the will of God is exhibited to us in two ways.

What Calvin is getting at is that the reason we're left speaking of God's will in this way is that our minds are finite and limited in our ability to understand the deep things of God. It is important to realize that our minds will simply fall short of grasping God entirely because we are creatures and God is Creator. He is so unlike (and greater than) anything in creation. So, it is proper that, while we know true things about God, we will still fall short in fully grasping Him. Does it not make sense that the God who created all things from nothing, and now rules and sustains that creation, would possess a will that looks very complicated from the vantage point of his creatures? Of course! So then, there is really only one divine will, as Calvin says, but from our limited perspective, we must make distinctions and speak of "multiple wills in the will of God." Indeed this is how God exhibits His will to us in Scripture.

How quickly we lose sight of the greatness of God and expect Him (and His ways) to mirror our own.  But such a god would not be God. Once again, we find ourselves needing to bow before the revelation of God's Word, receiving what it says, attempting to put the pieces together as best we can, and not going further than what it reveals! 

Further Study

Here is a six-minute clip of RC Sproul discussing this topic. He also mentions some further ways we might make distinctions in God's will.

For a longer presentation about the relationship between God's sovereignty and man's freedom, here's another video by Dr. Sproul.

Finally, if you want to do some more reading, I find this article by John Piper to be helpful, though it is a long read.