Does God Have Free Will?

[Aussie Pete]

The Oxford dictionary defines free will as

"The power of acting without the constraint of necessity or fate; the ability to act at one's own discretion."

In a very real sense, there is no such thing as free will. God is constrained by His very nature. He is Love, He is Holy, He is Righteous, He cannot lie, He is just and all His ways are just. If we accept that God indeed has free will and the Oxford dictionary is wrong, I would argue that a sinner is no less the possessor of free will.

The sinner is unrighteous, unholy, and incapable of pleasing God in any way. If God were to lie, which is impossible, He would cease to be God. If man wants to change his evil ways, then he must receive a new nature that is righteous (right behaviour), holy (dedicated entirely to God's purpose) and good.

Does the sinner have free will? Just as God is bound by His nature, so the sinner is bound by his. If God has free will, so does the sinner.

The born again believer is in a unique position. He has a new nature, the consequence of the new birth. It is the spirit of man that is born again, not his soul. He is in the world but he no longer is of the world. He is dead to to his former life. He is alive to God.

The "BAC" has the indwelling Holy Spirit to be the Life of Christ to him. He is complete in Christ, he is blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. I gave up counting the NT declarations of who we are and what we have in Christ when I got up to 50. Since the promises of God are "yes" and "amen" in Christ, why do Christians struggle so much?

Unlike God, who cannot deny Himself, and the unbeliever, who cannot be righteous, the Christian has another choice. He can live according to his own thoughts, feelings, desires, passions and self will. This leads to failure, defeat, sin and despair for many. For others who are perhaps stronger characters it leads to self righteousness, arrogance, intolerance and dead works.

Alternatively, the Christian can choose to live according to the life of Christ motivating, guiding, teaching and empowering him. Such a man expresses Christ, not the natural ways of his own talents, abilities, upbringing and environment.

It is as if God puts the believer in the Garden of Eden. The two choices are still to live by the principle of right and wrong or to live in the Life of Christ. The former still leads to a dead, religious "Christianism". The latter leads to life, love, joy, peace, self control, wisdom, power and victory.

It's a stark choice. Romans 7 is the account of Paul's experience when he tried to be a good Christian. Romans 8 is the wonderful experience of the one who has given up on self and chooses Christ to live instead.

What will you choose? To be born again costs you nothing. To be a traveller on the narrow path costs you everything.

 

[GaveMeJoy]

The Oxford dictionary defines free will as

"The power of acting without the constraint of necessity or fate; the ability to act at one's own discretion."

In a very real sense, there is no such thing as free will. God is constrained by His very nature. He is Love, He is Holy, He is Righteous, He cannot lie, He is just and all His ways are just. If we accept that God indeed has free will and the Oxford dictionary is wrong, I would argue that a sinner is no less the possessor of free will.

The sinner is unrighteous, unholy, and incapable of pleasing God in any way. If God were to lie, which is impossible, He would cease to be God. If man wants to change his evil ways, then he must receive a new nature that is righteous (right behaviour), holy (dedicated entirely to God's purpose) and good.

Does the sinner have free will? Just as God is bound by His nature, so the sinner is bound by his. If God has free will, so does the sinner.

The born again believer is in a unique position. He has a new nature, the consequence of the new birth. It is the spirit of man that is born again, not his soul. He is in the world but he no longer is of the world. He is dead to to his former life. He is alive to God.

The "BAC" has the indwelling Holy Spirit to be the Life of Christ to him. He is complete in Christ, he is blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. I gave up counting the NT declarations of who we are and what we have in Christ when I got up to 50. Since the promises of God are "yes" and "amen" in Christ, why do Christians struggle so much?

Unlike God, who cannot deny Himself, and the unbeliever, who cannot be righteous, the Christian has another choice. He can live according to his own thoughts, feelings, desires, passions and self will. This leads to failure, defeat, sin and despair for many. For others who are perhaps stronger characters it leads to self righteousness, arrogance, intolerance and dead works.

Alternatively, the Christian can choose to live according to the life of Christ motivating, guiding, teaching and empowering him. Such a man expresses Christ, not the natural ways of his own talents, abilities, upbringing and environment.

It is as if God puts the believer in the Garden of Eden. The two choices are still to live by the principle of right and wrong or to live in the Life of Christ. The former still leads to a dead, religious "Christianism". The latter leads to life, love, joy, peace, self control, wisdom, power and victory.

It's a stark choice. Romans 7 is the account of Paul's experience when he tried to be a good Christian. Romans 8 is the wonderful experience of the one who has given up on self and chooses Christ to live instead.

What will you choose? To be born again costs you nothing. To be a traveller on the narrow path costs you everything.

Agree. God’s will is what is, and is confined to his attributes as described in the word, and as not described in the word (i.e. what we don’t know about God which is endless).

I do think it’s more semantics, because the idea of a “will” as understood by humans isn’t really even applicable to a sovereign, omniscient, eternal spirit being. So I think you will get weird flack for this post due to conflicting definitions. But i like your vibe

 

[sportsfan]

Interesting discussion if God has free will.

 

[Mark Quayle]

In a very real sense, there is no such thing as free will. God is constrained by His very nature. He is Love, He is Holy, He is Righteous, He cannot lie, He is just and all His ways are just. If we accept that God indeed has free will and the Oxford dictionary is wrong, I would argue that a sinner is no less the possessor of free will.

Since God is the very essence of his own attributes, being altogether sovereign, to try to say he is constrained by his attributes, though there is plenty of logic in saying so, the words turn on themselves. Our understanding of his nature can only go so far. The farthest I've seen anyone go with it is to deduce that these are what they are because he is those things; that is to say, for example, that existence, truth, justice etc, are what they are because he exists, he is the truth, he is just, etc. They depend on him, he simply IS.

 

[St_Worm2]

This may prove to be useful (though it is about free will in general, not God's will specifically). You'll find both a short lecture on various views/definitions of what free will is (by Dr. R C Sproul), as well the text to the video so that you can watch it, listen to it, and/or read it.

What Is Free Will? by R.C. Sproul - audio only

What Is Free Will? by R.C. Sproul - watch

 

[Rick Otto]

The Oxford dictionary defines free will as

"The power of acting without the constraint of necessity or fate; the ability to act at one's own discretion."

In a very real sense, there is no such thing as free will. God is constrained by His very nature. He is Love, He is Holy, He is Righteous, He cannot lie, He is just and all His ways are just. If we accept that God indeed has free will and the Oxford dictionary is wrong, I would argue that a sinner is no less the possessor of free will.

The sinner is unrighteous, unholy, and incapable of pleasing God in any way. If God were to lie, which is impossible, He would cease to be God. If man wants to change his evil ways, then he must receive a new nature that is righteous (right behaviour), holy (dedicated entirely to God's purpose) and good.

Does the sinner have free will? Just as God is bound by His nature, so the sinner is bound by his. If God has free will, so does the sinner.

The born again believer is in a unique position. He has a new nature, the consequence of the new birth. It is the spirit of man that is born again, not his soul. He is in the world but he no longer is of the world. He is dead to to his former life. He is alive to God.

The "BAC" has the indwelling Holy Spirit to be the Life of Christ to him. He is complete in Christ, he is blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. I gave up counting the NT declarations of who we are and what we have in Christ when I got up to 50. Since the promises of God are "yes" and "amen" in Christ, why do Christians struggle so much?

Unlike God, who cannot deny Himself, and the unbeliever, who cannot be righteous, the Christian has another choice. He can live according to his own thoughts, feelings, desires, passions and self will. This leads to failure, defeat, sin and despair for many. For others who are perhaps stronger characters it leads to self righteousness, arrogance, intolerance and dead works.

Alternatively, the Christian can choose to live according to the life of Christ motivating, guiding, teaching and empowering him. Such a man expresses Christ, not the natural ways of his own talents, abilities, upbringing and environment.

It is as if God puts the believer in the Garden of Eden. The two choices are still to live by the principle of right and wrong or to live in the Life of Christ. The former still leads to a dead, religious "Christianism". The latter leads to life, love, joy, peace, self control, wisdom, power and victory.

It's a stark choice. Romans 7 is the account of Paul's experience when he tried to be a good Christian. Romans 8 is the wonderful experience of the one who has given up on self and chooses Christ to live instead.

What will you choose? To be born again costs you nothing. To be a traveller on the narrow path costs you everything.

I quibble with Oxford.
Will is not the power of acting.
Will powers action, but the action may be weaker than the will.
This is why if you look upon bacon & eggs with lust in your heart, you have already committed breakfast, to paraphrase a bit.
I would assume God to be "free" , but respectful of boundaries He creates.
Had Adam not acted on his lower instincts, they and death would not rule now.

So "free" is always going to be colored by context, pretext, & subtext.

I think there's just enough wiggle room for rewards and penalties, but only within the predestined framework of a sovereign creator's hand. It's a little bit of a walk thru scripture, but worth the trip.

 

[com7fy8]

If God has truly free will, then He can not be limited by our wills . . . I would think.

And it does say >

"God resists the proud" (in James 4:6 and also in 1 Peter 5:5).

So, if He resists proud people, He is not honoring their wills, to some extent.

And I find this can be very good, for me. Because if I am acting in pride I am missing out on how I could be with God in His peace and loving as He has us loving and sharing as family and reaching lost people. So, if He resists me, my ego can start acting up with nasty angry reacting and frustration, and this exposes the fact that I am acting in what is not love. So, then I can trust God to correct me and tune me with Him, then discover what He has me doing

 

[com7fy8]

Had Adam not acted on his lower instincts, they and death would not rule now.

A thing is that when you make a choice of your will > how much might you find you do not control the outcome? You made a choice, but what comes might not be at all like what you chose!!

So, from this perspective, may be there really is no such thing as free will, if we can't control if we get what we chose.

 

[Maria Billingsley]

God is constrained by His very nature.

Who are we to know God? Do you know the number of hairs on your head? God is not constrained, He is Omniscient.He does not work in the realm of man, He works in His perfect and just realm. We should be thankful for His Grace.
Blessings

 

[Aussie Pete]

Who are we to know God? Do you know the number of hairs on your head? God is not constrained, He is Omniscient.He does not work in the realm of man, He works in His perfect and just realm. We should be thankful for His Grace.
Blessings

God has chosen to reveal Himself, that's why. Of course He works in the realm of man. That's what salvation is about. It's the definition of eternal life (John 17:3). If you do not know God, you have my sympathy. I do and it's the greatest possible knowing that there is.

 

[Aussie Pete]

I quibble with Oxford.
Will is not the power of acting.
Will powers action, but the action may be weaker than the will.
This is why if you look upon bacon & eggs with lust in your heart, you have already committed breakfast, to paraphrase a bit.
I would assume God to be "free" , but respectful of boundaries He creates.
Had Adam not acted on his lower instincts, they and death would not rule now.

So "free" is always going to be colored by context, pretext, & subtext.

I think there's just enough wiggle room for rewards and penalties, but only within the predestined framework of a sovereign creator's hand. It's a little bit of a walk thru scripture, but worth the trip.

The greatest problem with the question is the definition of free will. Some would turn us into robots, with a deterministic and fatalistic outlook that is simply wrong. We are absolutely responsible for our choices. That God can work in our lives to bring about His will may be the greatest miracle of all. That's why we are commanded to pray "God's will be done". It enables God to move heaven and earth so that indeed His will can be done. When a born again believer adds "in my life" then God can again bring His wisdom and power to bear on that individual's life. We are the sum total of our choices. For better or for worse.

 

[Maria Billingsley]

God has chosen to reveal Himself, that's why. Of course He works in the realm of man. That's what salvation is about. It's the definition of eternal life (John 17:3). If you do not know God, you have my sympathy. I do and it's the greatest possible knowing that there is.

You have completely missed my point.

 

[Aussie Pete]

Agree. God’s will is what is, and is confined to his attributes as described in the word, and as not described in the word (i.e. what we don’t know about God which is endless).

I do think it’s more semantics, because the idea of a “will” as understood by humans isn’t really even applicable to a sovereign, omniscient, eternal spirit being. So I think you will get weird flack for this post due to conflicting definitions. But i like your vibe

Thanks for the comment. The fact that we have the faculty of volition is because we are made in God's image. Volition (avoiding the word "will" because it has dual meaning) sets us apart from animals. God does not violate man's volition. Nowhere in God's word will you find that God rescinded our ability, right and responsibility to choose.

 

[Aussie Pete]

You have completely missed my point.

Which was?

 

[GaveMeJoy]

Thanks for the comment. The fact that we have the faculty of volition is because we are made in God's image. Volition (avoiding the word "will" because it has dual meaning) sets us apart from animals. God does not violate man's volition. Nowhere in God's word will you find that God rescinded our ability, right and responsibility to choose.

What are your thoughts on these:

Psalm 65:4
Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple.


Romans 8:28-30
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.


Romans 9:11
For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth
Romans 9:15-16
For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.

Romans 11:5-7
Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more* grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more* grace: otherwise work is no more work. What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded

 

[Maria Billingsley]

Which was?

God is not constrained in other words, He is not limited,restricted or controlled.

 

[ICONO'CLAST]

Free will does not exist.
It is a philosophical speculation from Satan and carnal man.

 

[Aussie Pete]

Free will does not exist.
It is a philosophical speculation from Satan and carnal man.

What do you mean by free will?

 

[Aussie Pete]

God is not constrained in other words, He is not limited,restricted or controlled.

"in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago, ..."

 

[JAL]

Free will does not exist.
It is a philosophical speculation from Satan and carnal man.

Then you shouldn't mind throwing away your Bible, right? Isn't it useless on that assumption? Isn't it incoherent? The biblically depicted battle between good and evil is, in your view, a lie, a farce, facade, illusion, delusion, etc? That's really what you want me to believe? If I believed that notion, I'd have thrown my copy out a long time ago. I just don't see why you're holding on to your copy.

I'm not saying free will is perfectly lucid - but at least it attempts to offer a modicum of coherence to the biblical statements concerning goodness, justice, retribution, reward, merit, righteousness, mercy, etc. It's the only somewhat-coherent anthropology available to us.

And I'm not talking about whether fallen man has free will. I'm just concerned with whether Adam and the angels ever had any free will.