By Jeffery M. Leonard, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Biblical Studies, Samford University
God’s Will and My Will
Ephesians 1:4–6; Romans 11:33–12:2
As time sifts through our memories leaving us with a handful of moments from the past there are some memories we treasure and some we would rather forget. Like many other people many of my most treasured memories are those related to my children.
One that I hold onto particularly tightly was a time when my older son, still just 5 or 6 years old, tugged at my sleeve to ask me a particularly challenging theological question.
I did the best I could in answering the question but I had clearly not resolved the issue for him entirely. He mused, “Hmm. That’s really difficult. I guess when I get to heaven, I’ll just have to ask God about it.”
Agreeing that the issue was really difficult, I replied, “Well, you know, I am a lot older than you so I’ll probably make it to heaven before you. And when I do I think I’ll have to ask God the same question.”
In a priceless moment Samuel replied, “Well when I get there and see you two talking I’ll just come over and listen in.”
Though he had no way of knowing so at the time, my son’s response to this tough theological issue — his willingness to wait until that day when he would finally get to ask God directly — is one that is thoroughly biblical.
The authors of Scripture regularly admit there are issues that are just too difficult for us to understand on this side of the veil. Though our hearts might wish to know all the mysteries of life for now there are difficult ideas we just cannot fully comprehend.
We are chosen by God’s will. (Eph. 1:4–6)
One of the most difficult of these mysterious issues is understanding the will of God. Almost all Christians would acknowledge, as well they should, that God is sovereign over the affairs of His creation and over the hearts of His creatures.
A passage like Ephesians 1 certainly affirms this understanding.
The language in this passage is that of God’s choosing believers before the foundation of the world, of His predestining us for adoption, of the purposes of His will and so forth.
There is little doubt the God described in this passage is one who sovereignly ordains the affairs of the world and its people.
A full understanding of God’s sovereign will is a mystery to us. (Rom. 11:33–36)
Scripture is also clear that things happen in the world which are not what God truly desires and God’s creatures make meaningful choices. How can we adjudicate between these seemingly contradictory notions? One option — an option followed by various large and influential denominations — is to resolve the contradiction by simply giving preference to one side (sovereignty) or the other (free will) and forcing every Scripture passage to fall in line with that preference.
The Bible appears to point us in a different direction, however. This passage, for example, emphasizes the mysterious aspect of the divine will. Here Paul insists that none of us has truly plumbed the depths of God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge.
At least in the here and now God’s ways remain inscrutable to us. In other words, as the Apostle Paul famously tells us in 1 Corinthians 13:12: “Now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face.”
God reveals what we need to know as we surrender to Him. (Rom. 12:1–2)
Understanding God’s will in part does not mean we fail to understand it altogether. God reveals to us what we need to know as we surrender our lives and our wills to Him. Under normal circumstances we want to know what we are getting into before we make a commitment.
Counterintuitively God asks us to surrender to Him first and let understanding follow. As Paul says, we are to be transformed first; only then can we understand the will of God that is working in us.
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