Isaiah 53:6
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
I can't agree or disagree without you first qualifying what you mean by "his own free will". I can say with certainty we each have our own individual will just like Isaiah 53:6 shows above, but what is the will supposedly free from? We really need to qualify what the will is free from when we assert a free will, otherwise it's not a stable term to reason upon.
That's why I asked, Can I answer based on what you understand, because I wanted to see if you understood what you read in the OP. Evidently you don't.
I am wondering how I can make it any clearer. I realize it cannot be made any simpler, so, I'll have to point out what you need to pay attention to.
Starting with John 8:44, with God's heavenly children - the spirit creation, called angels, the Bible says of the one called Devil and Satan...
When he lies, he speaks out of his own character. That is... pertaining to self, or of his own
How can that be simplified? Of his own... Out of his own self....
Perhaps if you link what Jesus said to that. Matthew 15:19 For out of the heart come forth evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual immorality, thefts, false testimonies, slanders.
The heart pertains to the inner self... what a person is on the inside.
The angel that sinned... unlike Jesus, and the faithful angels, rebelled, even though he did not have sin... was not born in sin, but acted on his own - self - what is in him - his heart.
The disciple James uses this term in this way...
But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire
James 1:14
Jesus thus makes clear that the angel that became Satan the Devil, acts according to his own will, or desire.
What else can be meant by his own will, other than acting freely?
The Greek term, which you said is an adjective, and not a noun, is
hekousios - meaning free will - the neuter of a derivative from
hekon; voluntariness --
willingly, which is (an adjective, a primitive term) –
properly, willing; "unforced, of one's own will, voluntary" (J. Thayer), i.e. acting on one's own accord. The root (hek-) emphasizes intentional, deliberate action (choice), i.e. "of free-will" (J. Thayer).
This is not talking about someone's will, in the sense of my will, your will - the noun, but as it says willing; unforced; deliberate action; voluntary; acting on one's own accord. Which seals the point that free will refers to
something done freely.. without anyone or anything forcing it.
All intelligent beings have this ability to act freely
of their own.
So, going back to angels and men... how can this be made simpler?
Having the freedom to act on one's own accord, in harmony with one's own desires.
I referred to the scriptures which refer to man's free will, repeatedly.
Leviticus 1:3;
1 Corinthians 9:16-18 Deuteronomy 30:19;
2 Corinthians 9:7;
Philemon 1:14
Deuteronomy 30:19, 20, is a key scripture which very simply makes clear that man has freedom of choice. That is what free will is... The freedom to choose to act on one's own accord... voluntarily; willingly; unforced; deliberate... which is what Adam did, in accord with his desires.
Can this be made any simpler?
Despite sin, which Adam did not have before making a free choice, man still has this ability, which is why God requires man worship him willingly; unforced; voluntarily; acting on one's own accord.
We need to acknowledge that there is a carnal will that seeks one's own comfort and avoids discomfort. The flesh is hardwired to like pleasure and dislike pain.
We also have to acknowledge that the context of 1 Timothy 2:14 is not about a will. It's about whether the man should have authority over the woman.
It looks to me like Paul is expressing his opinion that the woman should not usurp authority over the man based upon the reasoning that the man was made first (woman was made from a piece of the man) and also that the man was not the one deceived (in the garden).
I don't think this scripture can be used to validate that Adam or Eve in a state of innocence/ignorance were capable of avoiding the events set in motion by the serpent who is markedly described as the craftiest creature. If I am to assume that Eve's actions are more excusable because she at least was beguiled, it would be contradictory for Paul to say that the man who has no such excuse, should be in charge over the woman because he knew exactly what he was doing when he counted God as untrustworthy.
Not only that, we know that God told Adam his mistake was listening to the woman, but since I don't believe God is disparaging the female as unworthy to ever listen to, I think God is saying Adam should have trusted to his own judgment and not been so malleable to the woman.
As for who should be in charge, elsewhere in scripture Paul states that there is no Jew or gentile or male or female, for we are all one in Jesus Christ. With the understanding that the greatest is the one who serves the rest, that sounds to me like it doesn't matter if you're a woman or man.
Finally, the assertion that mankind has a free will is often used to apply blameworthiness, or some measure of culpability for wickedness and sin. This type of freewill theology is based on the either-or question of who is to blame for sin, man or God?
From conversing with persons on this subject, I find that most do not understand free will, and either philosophize it, confuse it with perfection, or over think it.
It's not complicated at all.
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