Ultimate Responsibility:
Man’s “Free” Will and God’s Absolute Sovereignty
The subject of man's "free" will in relation to God's absolute sovereignty has become quite a controversy in the Church over the past several hundred years. This seems to be a confusing paradox, and for many, a difficulty that can never fully be understood on this side of glory. But even though the two sides, seemingly, cannot be reconciled with each other, I believe we can, in the Spirit, rightly divide the Word of truth. Proverbs 25:2 says, It is the glory of God to conceal a thing, but the glory of kings to search out a thing. God has not made finding the deeper truths of His Word easy. We cannot understand them with the natural mind. Study tools and systematic approaches, as helpful as they may be, cannot, in and of themselves, unlock the key to God’s mysteries. In fact, many times this type of approach in interpreting the Scriptures often leads man down a path of intellectualism, and results in leading him further from the truth. The Word of God is a spiritual book and, as such, must be unlocked by the Spirit.
The key to understanding this great mystery will not come to us unless we see two very important truths: one, how big and awesome our God really is, and two, (and this is more difficult), how puny man really is (apart from God). Near the end of God's discourse to Job, we find out that no one compares to God--even though sometimes we would like to think we do. When Isaiah saw the greatness of the Lord in the temple (Is. 6), God’s magnificent glory exposed his own sinfulness; Isaiah cried out, “Woe is me, for I am undone….for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of Hosts (verse 5). It's in recognizing the awesome power and sovereignty of God that we realize how small we really are. And herein lies the key to unlocking the truth of God’s ultimate purpose for mankind.
The two predominant views dealing with this subject are Arminianism (God can’t) and Calvinism (God won’t). Both of these views have elements of truth, but both also contain falsehoods. We will look at both of these views, and see that not only (God can) do the impossible, but He will!
Dealing with this issue of God's sovereignty, Romans, Chapter 9 is the classic passage on the subject. Paul says that God has mercy on whom He will have mercy and harden whom he chooses to harden (verse 18). Paul is making the case that, ultimately, it is God who will fulfill His own purpose, and that puny man cannot frustrate it. Paul then asks the skeptic’s question, Why does he then find fault? For who has resisted His will? (verse 19) In other words, if God's choices are greater than ours, why does he then judge us? Why does He hold us accountable for the choices He makes? That's not fair! Paul uses two Old Testament examples to make his point. Pharaoh was chosen as a vessel of destruction to display God's power (verses 17, 22), and Jacob was chosen over Esau-not because of any good that Jacob had done, or any evil that Esau had done (verse 11). So then it is not of him that wills, nor of him that runs, but of God that shows mercy (verse 16). Neither Pharaoh nor the sons of Isaac had any choice in the matter-it was pre-determined by God Himself! This choice was made before either was born in order that God’s purposes would be fulfilled.
Paul's response to the skeptic is very simple. Who are we to argue against God (verse 20)? He then gives the analogy of the Potter and the clay saying, Does not the Potter have authority over the clay, out of the lump to make one vessel to honor, and one to dishonor? (verse 21) Paul's point is very clear. God is the Potter and He can do whatsoever He pleases with His creation (the clay).
God's sovereign choices are above the will of man. He doesn't do things in reaction to something that has gone wrong with His plan. It's not plan "B" with God. He has specific reasons for doing the things He does--and most of the time it goes against our fleshly thinking. God’s ultimate purpose is to be all in all (1 Cor. 15:28), and so everything He does accords with this purpose. Neither man nor Satan will ever be able to thwart God's purposes. Daniel 4:35 says, And He does according to His will among the army of Heaven, and among those living on earth. And no one is able to strike His hand or say to Him, What are You doing? Even Satan had to ask permission from God before he was allowed to touch righteous Job.
For what purpose does God move the hearts of men and of nations? Is it simply to save as many as He can before the end? Is God waiting helplessly in the shadows hoping and pleading with Christians to fulfill the “great commission”? Peter talks of the restoration of all things, and Paul about the reconciliation of all things. What do they mean? To help us understand God’s great purpose, we must look at His role as Owner and Creator.
If we want to understand where man is going, we have to go back to where he began-in the garden. For it is here that the principle of God’s ownership over all of heaven and earth-that which is seen and unseen-is revealed.
Many Christians believe that Adam was created in a perfect (complete) state-a state in which God was totally satisfied. In other words, they believe that if Adam had never sinned, God would have been happily content in keeping Adam and Eve in the garden with no higher purpose or goal in which to achieve. They would have continued in the same relationship as husband and wife, tending to the affairs of the garden, and fulfilling their role as propagators of the human race. This is not true! The name Adam literally means “the red earth.” Adam was a “man of the earth.” God’s ultimate purpose for man, however, is not earthly, but heavenly. When Jesus was asked about the resurrection, He said, The sons of this age are given in marriage-but they who are worthy to obtain that age, and the resurrection of the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage; for they cannot die any more, for they are equal to the angels, and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection (Luke 20:34-36). Paul prayed that we might be granted a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the full knowledge (epignosis) of Him….(Eph 1:17) It was never God’s original purpose to keep mankind in the state in which they were created, but to bring them to a deeper maturity-one beginning in the earthly (or soulish) realm, and progressing to a heavenly (or spiritual) one.
This thinking also assumes that Adam and Eve had a perfect knowledge of good and evil. If this were true, then why was it necessary for God to plant a tree that contained knowledge they already possessed? Not only did they not have an understanding of evil, but they didn’t really know what good was either. They were completely ignorant of these things. Simply put, we cannot truly know what obedience is, until we see the results of disobedience. We cannot know (in fullness) what good is, until we see the effects of evil. We cannot truly experience and know God’s great love for us, until we see the ravages and effects of hatred and selfishness in our lives and in the lives of those around us. All we need to do is look at our own experiences to see if this is true. Do we not appreciate the sweetness of His grace because the law first condemned us? Is not the Cross of Christ embraced by us because we were first separated from God by our own sin? We must experience the evil in order to appreciate the good!
Yes, Adam was created in the image of God, but that does not mean he was exactly like God. A child is created in the image of his or her parents, but that doesn’t mean they are exactly like them. They may look like them and have some of the same mannerisms, but they do not possess the same knowledge and wisdom that their parents do. Parents cannot pass those things onto their children at birth. Children inherit certain things from their parents, but the knowledge of good and evil is not one of them. This has to come through a long process whereby their offspring learn by their own trials and experiences. It was no different with Adam and Eve. God had a plan for Adam (man) that would involve a long process of struggle (good versus evil) in order for him (mankind) to be brought into full maturity.
God made a tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He made it pleasing to look at. He didn't place it in some remote place in the garden, but right in the center. He didn’t put a fence around it, nor did He place cherubs with a flaming sword to guard it (until after the “fall”). To make matters worse, He allowed a tempter in the garden, who had a desire to be like God. (It's interesting to note that Satan's spirit of self-exaltation was the basis of his lie to man--ye shall become like God). And then God tells man, “Do not eat of the tree!”
So God makes this beautiful tree, places it in the center of man’s reach, creates a tempter, and then tells man not to eat of it. Have you ever pointed to something and told a child not to touch it? What happens?
God’s Ownership and Man’s “Free” Will
God created man and as owner of man, He holds Himself ultimately responsible. God's own law (which He cannot contradict) proves this. In Exodus 21:33-34, God gives laws for landowners. If a landowner digs a pit on his own land and fails to cover it up, and an animal falls in (whether of its own stupidity or “free” choice) and dies, the owner of the land shall make restitution to the animal's owner. The landowner then gets the rights to the dead animal (all souls belong to Him-Ez. 18:4).
God made a pit in the garden (the tree). He failed to cover it up. And so man fell in by eating of the fruit (whether by his own choice or the tempter's lie). And so in accordance with God's own law, He was responsible to make it right-and make it right He did! He made the payment for Adam's sin with the price of His own dear Son. Why? Because all souls belong to Him as does the earth He created. And God, being the owner of all that is in the world, including us, did the only thing a responsible owner could do-take the responsibility of restoration upon His own shoulders. Praise the Lord that none of us have to take it upon ourselves to try to make it right. But when it comes right down to it, this is exactly what “free” will teaches. “Free” will must take matters in its own hands. It believes that God needs man’s help in getting the job done.
All of us inherited the result of Adam's sin, which was death-even those who did not sin after the likeness of Adam’s sin (Rom 5:14). And because we inherited mortality from Adam, we are in a constant state of dying-which quite naturally brings forth sin, resulting in separation from God. We did not have a choice of whether or not we wanted to be born in such a sorry condition. However, each of us commits sin because of the mortality we inherited from Adam. God indeed holds men accountable for the choices they make (Rom 1:20). We will be judged for our own individual works, and that judgment will be quite severe for many. But while God holds us accountable for the works of our own flesh, He does not hold men ultimately responsible for the mortality and death brought about by Adam’s disobedience. We had nothing to do with that. So the question we should be asking ourselves is, "Who is ultimately responsible to make things right? Who should fix what Adam did?” Is God not the owner of the whole earth? Is He not responsible for it? This is really at the heart of the matter. The issue of “free” will is simply a side issue.
You see, God's responsibility as landowner is ultimately greater than the choices of men. And because of this, God sent His only Son to reverse the damage that had been caused by Adam. As in Adam, all die, so in Christ, all live. (1 Cor. 15:22) This verse says it all. Adam brought death to all men. He was the cause of the “indwelling” sin problem that all men are cursed with. However, the good news is that because of what Christ has done, life will come to all men. This is what the verse says. The scope of the second all must be equal to the scope of the first all. He is the Savior of all men, but especially those who believe. (1 Tim. 4:10) It is not that Jesus wants to be the Savior of all men...He is the Savior of all men. That's what the Scriptures teach. He is the propitiation concerning our sins, and not concerning ours only, but also concerning those of the whole world. (1 John 2:2) As believers, we have already appropriated that Saviorship and are receiving the blessings of it right now. However, most people have not. But that doesn't change the fact that God did what He had to do in order to undo the consequences of Adam's sin. How can "where sin abounds, grace does much more abound" be true if most of God's creation suffers endless punishment? Is the first Adam's disobedience greater than the second Adam's obedience? Is the disease (sin) greater than the cure (the cross)? How can we say that Christ's work on the cross is greater than Adam's sin if most die and are lost forever? If God holds us personally responsible for Adam’s sin, then God is guilty of the biggest injustice in the history of the world.
First, He sets up a chess board that is impossible to overcome (the tree, the seductive beauty of it, and the tempter), and then He casts most of His offspring into endless hell. Does this make sense to you? This goes against the very nature of God as love, His power to save all, and His ultimate responsibility to fix (not just provide a way) for man’s confused and lost state. According to modern theology, Christ did not fix the problem caused by Adam’s sin. He simply paves a way so that if a man chooses Christ by His own “free” will, then his or her own sin problem is fixed. However, this clearly contradicts Paul’s universal thrust in Romans 5:12-18 (and frankly, the whole of Scripture). Evangelical theology cannot answer the Scripture that says that Jesus is the Savior of all men. They say that this simply means that Christ only died for all men. That is not what the Word says. It says that not only did Christ die for all men, but He is also their Savior. So instead of believing the Scriptures, they offer a weak substitute that, in the end, can only manage to save a small percentage of all of God’s offspring. They have made God weak and ultimately a failure. They have placed the whole destiny of mankind on his own “free” will instead of rejoicing that God has already accomplished the victory in Christ (the complete fulfillment of this victory is yet to come). If one person suffers in “eternal” torment, then that one person has defeated the love and the power of God.
Whether or not man really has "free" will is really not the issue (although we try and make it the issue). The real issue is who is ultimately responsible? Modern evangelicalism tries to do everything it can to take the responsibility off of God. If we really think about it, God is the one who has "set us up" to fall. For reasons beyond our comprehension, God created man and put him in a situation, as one would say in Poker, with a stack of cards against him. Adam really had no chance. Would we have acted any differently? Do we think that somehow we would have performed better than Adam? I think not!
Most of us can't handle the thought that we were set up by God. So we blame Satan. But mostly we blame man. We do not want to think that ultimate responsibility lies with God. If we say that all of the world's suffering is because of man's choice or Satan's deception, and we fail to attribute all things as coming from God, even evil (Is. 45:7, Rom. 11:36), then God is not totally sovereign. In other words, something happened beyond God's control. He knew what would happen in the garden, but could not (or would not) prevent it. And if, as a result of man's choice, most men suffer endless torment, then God has failed-in particular, the cross has failed. Either he can't make it right (Arminianism) or He won't make it right (Calvinism). Each view maligns the nature and character of God. The first says God is weak and limited by Satan and man. The second says that God is cruel, unjust, and unloving.
The Truth of universal reconciliation is the only doctrine that puts ultimate responsibility back on God (where it should be). If good overcomes evil, and love never fails, universal reconciliation is the only view that philosophically (and more importantly, Biblically) makes sense. For if God throws most people in hell forever, then he has not overcome evil with good. Man's ways are through the strong arm of the flesh (which leads to death). God's ways are foolishness to the world (which leads to life). Christians can say all they want that "hell is fair" and "hell perfectly demonstrates God's justice," or as Jonathon Edwards said, "Hell is perfect hatred without love" (this statement denies the Scripture that "God is love"). This is neither fair nor justice. If God is love and at the same time powerful enough to save all men, but does not do so, what does this say about Him? If He can't save all men because of their “free” will, what does this say about His sovereignty? If He won't save all men because of His own choices, what does this say about His love and mercy?
God is going to reconcile all things (Col. 1:20) and restore all things to Himself (Acts 3:21). He will make all things new (Rev. 21:5), sum up all things in Christ (Eph. 1:10), fill all things with Christ (Eph. 4:10), and become "all in all" (1 Cor. 15:28) How is He going to do this? Will He accomplish His restoration by forcing most of His creation to bow and confess Jesus as Lord, and then throw them into eternal torment?? What does this say about His love? Men claim pre-eminence by force. Will God follow the ways of man? And more pertinent to the topic of this essay, what does this say about God's responsible ownership of the world He has created? Will He violate His own law in failing to take responsibility as Landowner of the universe? What does it say about the sovereignty and power of a god who reconciles and restores most things by brute force? Which brings more glory to God-forcing most of His creation to bow to Him OR winning each and every one of us by the power of His love. The good news is that the Scriptures do not paint God as One who either cannot or will not save men. God will destroy all His enemies by making them friends!
As we have mentioned, man does make choices…however,…Man devises his way, but the Lord directs his steps. (Prov. 16:9) Man's goings are of the Lord. (Prov. 20:24), and the King's heart is in the hands of the Lord, he turns it wherever He desires. (Prov. 21:1) Jesus said, If I be lifted up, I will drag all men to Myself. (John 12:32) And yes, the word is actually "drag." What does this say about man's "free" will?
In Isaiah 10, the King of Assyria is bragging about how he had ransacked Jerusalem himself. He says, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I am prudent; and I have removed the bounds of the people, and I have robbed their treasures, and I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man. (verse 13) This sounds like someone very familiar, doesn't it? Remember, Nebuchadnezzar? We all remember how God dealt with his arrogance. But it is clear that God not only chose this pagan nation to judge His people, but He turned the heart of the king to accomplish the job. The Lord says, Shall the axe glorify itself over him chopping with it? Or shall the saw magnify itself over him moving it? As if a rod could wave those who lift it. As if a staff could raise what is not wood! (verse 15) The king thought he had "free" will, but he was nothing more than an axe. It was God's arm doing the chopping!
It is God who moves the steps and hearts of men and will works all things out according to the counsel of His own will. And what is His will? Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. (1 Tim. 2:4, KJV) God is moving toward His purpose of "summing up all things in Christ" (Eph 1:10) and having His will done on earth as it is in Heaven.
Man’s Enemy - His Carnal Nature
I think the biggest problem, from our perspective, is our lack of understanding concerning our carnal nature. For if we really understood the depths of the evil in our “members”, we would know that none of us have any capacity to seek God in and of ourselves. All we like sheep have gone astray. Every man has turned to his own way. There is none that seek God, no not one. The doctrine of man's sovereignty (“free” will) demonstrates how very little we know about the depths of our own depravity. Man always tries to come up with a way to help God or worse, become like God (Gen 3). The doctrine of man's sovereignty, ultimately, is the same old lie that was told in the very beginning--that we can become as God.
Isaiah, when He saw the greatness of God said, "Woe is me. I am a man undone…." Job, when confronted with the glory of God said, "I abhor myself…." And Peter, when He saw the miracle of Jesus said, "Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man." God is trying to get us to see the same thing. He wants us to see the futility of doing anything, and I mean anything, in our own strength. God is (if I can say this) a "selfish" God (I speak as a man). He wants all the glory for Himself. God will not allow any man to usurp or steal the glory from Him. Oh, He may let man think so for awhile, but just as Isaiah and Job, when we finally see Him as He is, we will see how little we really are. Isaiah 40:15,22 says, that the nations are as a drop in the bucket, and the inhabitants of the earth are as grasshoppers. The problem is, most of us haven't really seen the Lord (with spiritual eyes that is). The Lord is working His nature in all of His creation for the purpose of showing us what life would be like apart from His government upon us.
We have seen with our own eyes what man is like when he lives his life apart from God. We have seen it in the religious, the power-hungry, the political and the greedy merchants. Some of us have seen it in ourselves. Many are still blind to the wickedness that is in their hearts. We still think that we are better than most others. God will eventually show all of us what abominations really hide there--things that many of us are unwilling to look at.
And when we get to the point (through the fire of trials) where we see God's great and ultimate purpose, that is, to become "all in all" (1 Cor. 15:28), then we will see how man is in no position to dictate to God who is going to be saved and who is not. We then begin to understand how we really are nothing apart from God and if left to ourselves, we would wander forever in a state of confusion and lostness. Calvinism is wrong when it says that God only picks a few to be saved and suffers the rest to endless torments. Arminianism is wrong when it says that man picks, through free will, who will be saved and who won't. Can't we see that without God's intervention, we would all be lost??
One day, God will humble all of us and show us that none of us had any part, whatsoever, in our salvation (or our own sanctification for that matter). Oh, I know it's hard, but for some reason it's difficult for men to accept God's free gift. We feel like we have to work for it or play some part in the obtaining (and keeping) of it. But taking God's free gift means we have to admit how bad we really are, and that's hard for all of us. But on that day, we will realize the great truth of who the author of our salvation really is, and the only part we played was to simply respond to God's dragging us to the cross. When we stand before Him, none of us will accuse God of creating us to be robots. We won't argue that it was unfair that we didn't have "free" will. We won't accuse Him of manipulating our choices to conform to His will, crying out to Him that this wasn't right. (Shall the clay say to the Potter, "Why have you made me thus?") Oh, no, no, no! We will be filled with eternal gratitude and praise for how great and mighty and loving our Lord is, and not just to a chosen few, but to all men. And most of us will be terribly ashamed when we think of how we have trampled on the cross of Christ by diluting its scope and effectiveness and exalting this so-called “free” will of man. No, on that day we will not boast or glory in ourselves. We will not take credit for anything that we have done in any way. We will be in awe of His great plan, purpose, and wisdom and we will be able to say, like Paul, O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? (Rom. 11:33-34)
For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen. (Rom. 11:36)
NOTE: The word "free" will has been placed in quotes throughout this essay because this phrase, as it is taught by the Church today, cannot be found in Scripture. The author does not deny that the Bible speaks of men's choices and the will of men (self-will). But nowhere in Scripture does it say that man was given a "free" will that allows him to choose his own eternal destination. This contradicts God's ultimate purpose of being "all in all." The viewpoint this author holds is that man is free to choose only in the direction of the strongest influence, and that ultimately, God is in sovereign control over all influences (Acts 17:28). Each person is being fitted into God's plan in God's own special way for them. Each person responds to his or her own unique set of "strongest influences." And ultimately, when the time period of the ages has ended, God will have transformed the consequences of everyone's choices into something glorifying to Himself, and beneficial to the chooser. So in light of the hundreds of passages that speak of God's ultimate sovereignty and responsibility over all His creation, this author's conclusion is that the Bible clearly teaches that man cannot usurp God's plan and purpose by his own "free" will.
Ken Eckerty
http://www.savior-of-all.com/
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