The Will of God (Part 1)

By Bob Myhan

Can one know the will of God? Can the will of God be defeated? Are tragic accidents, natural disasters and birth defects the will of God? How one an­swers these questions depends on what is meant by the phrase, "will of God." One might, for example, mean (1) that which God desires man to do, (2) that which God purposes to do or, simply, (3) that which God is willing to occur without purposing or desiring it.

First, there is the ideal will of God. This is what God desires man to be and/or do as the ideal. He desires that all men believe in, love and obey Him always. It is implied, therefore, that God desires that no human being ever sin, even one time.

To deny that this is the ideal will of God is to repudiate the holiness of God.

When God created Adam, He ex­pressed, in the form of a command, His ideal will that the man not eat of a certain tree that God had planted in the garden.

¹⁵ Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. ¹⁶ And the Lord God com­manded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; ¹⁷ but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." (Gen. 2:15-17)

Man, of all physical creatures, is unique, in that he alone was created “in the image of God.”

²⁷ So God created man in His own im­age; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. ²⁸ Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth." ²⁹ And God said, "See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. ³⁰ Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food"; and it was so. ³¹ Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day. (Gen. 1:27-31)

Thus, man is the only physical being with the capacity to willingly obey God. He was made “upright” but has “sought out many inventions.” (Eccl. 7:29) His “all” is to “fear God and keep His commandments.” (Eccl. 12:13)

Also, it is the ideal will of God that none of His spiritual children ever sin. In the first of his three epistles, John wrote,

¹ My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. (1 John 2:1a)

Man can—and does—defeat the ideal will of God.

²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23).

 However, God’s sovereignty remains in­tact, because of other aspects of His will.

Second, there is the incidental will of God, what God is willing to occur, as incidental to His ideal will. By giving man free will (the ability to think and act contrary to His ideal will), God made it possible for man to sin. Thus, God is willing for man to sin, though He does not desire man to sin. In fact, it grieves God when man persists in sinning.

Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. (Gen. 6:5-6)

Man is free to sin or not, as he chooses, but God does not want man to sin and com­mands man not to sin. (Ex. 20:1-17; Rom. 13:9)

To deny that man is free to sin—in this sense—is to deny the free moral agency of man. And to deny the free moral agency of man is to imply that God created a being that cannot help but sin. And, if God created a being that cannot help but sin, He is un­just in holding that being account­able for sin and His ideal will is unrealistic. If this is not the case, why is it not?

God also allows—but does not neces­sarily cause—man to suffer physically, psychologically and emotionally. He per­mits such for man's benefit.

⁷¹ It is good for me that I have been af­flicted, That I may learn Your statutes. (Psalm 119:71)

Though certain instances of suffering may be prevented, man cannot defeat the incidental will of God, because what­ever occurs—even the prevention of certain instances of suffering—is allowed by God to occur as incidental to His ideal will. &

The Power of Simplicity

By Bill Hall

Jesus Christ had a deep appreciation for .simple things. His teaching was profound, but always simple. He reached the hearts of His hearers, not with high-sounding philosophical jargon, but with illustrations and "to the point" teaching. He could see in a farmer sowing his seed, or a lily showing forth its beauty, or a shepherd leaving his flock to seek one lost sheep, or a loving father welcoming a wayward son, a lesson that could teach some spiritual truth.

His apostles were chosen from the hum­ble class. He could appreciate people, not for what they possessed, but for what they were; and, in some cases, not for what they were, but for what they could become. He recognized true quality, and true quality is often found in the simple and humble.

The worship He ordained was simple in nature. "Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul... spoke to them ..." (Acts 20:7). Even the poorest could worship, for all that was required of a material nature was a lit­tle bread and fruit of the vine. Those of lit­tle talent could worship, for God was listen­ing in view of the heart rather than the beauty of the voice.

He authorized a simple organization for His church, with each congregation appoint­ing its own bishops and deacons (Philippians 1:1). There were no denomina­tional associations, conferences, or synods. There were no inter-church organizations or societies. Yet, through the simple organiza­tion given the church by the Lord, the world of the first century was thoroughly evangel­ized and the needy among them provided for. The Lord knew that success in His work would not be brought about through com­plexity of organization, but through dedica­tion, faith, and commitment on the part of His followers. We make a terrible mistake when we try to substitute the former for the latter.

Why this simplicity? "That no flesh should glory in His presence" (1 Corinthians 1:29). The complex systems which men devise tend to bring glory to themselves rather than to God.

To return to the simplicity which our Lord ordained might not be impressive to the worldly-minded, but, then, Jesus Himself is not very impressive to the worldly-minded. Besides, our purpose is not to impress the worldly-minded, but to please God and bow in submission to His will. Let us do away with our super projects and complex systems. Let us learn to appreciate simple teaching and simple ways. Above all, let us learn to appreciate Bible teaching and Bible ways.

We like the following quote from Ed Harrell: "How foolish we are to think that God will be impressed with our voices when we sing; after all, He hears the angels sing! How foolish to think He will be impressed with our cathedrals; remember, He made the Grand Canyon!" What He is seeking for is a heart that is pure, loving, and obedient to His will. And that's simple. &

Retraction

If the article, Things We Owe to Young Preachers, by John Waddey, which appeared in the Faith Builder of April 19, had been more closely read by yours truly the following material would have been edited out.

* Send them to "future preachers train­ing camps." A number of these pro­grams are conducted throughout the nation. Let the church provide the scholarship or travel ex­pense and send your interested young men. There they will associate with other fine young Christians and successful preachers who can further inspired them.

* If a young man indicates that he wants to attend a Christian School for the purpose of preparing himself for preaching, encourage him. If he needs financial assistance, help him. Supply him with a nice study Bible or other im­portant reference books. When he is home for breaks, invite him to speak or to teach a class.

* If the prospect is older, encourage him to consider attending a good school of preaching. If he has a family, offer to help with his support. Let the preacher or an elder go with him to in­terview and check out the school. Your interest will go a long way in encourag­ing him.

Both he and the congregation will be benefited if he is allowed to participate in campaigns and mission trips.