God’s Ultimate Will

God’s Ultimate Will

Pastor Terry Wilcox

Author Leslie Weatherhead in his book, The Will of God, presents  the subject from three perspectives:

1. God’s intentional will, God’s intended plan for His creation
2. The will of God as impacted by circumstances by human choice
3. God’s ultimate goal for His creation

Isaiah 55:8-9
I Corinthians 2:12
I Corinthians 2:14

Knowing God’s  and are critical to knowing his will.

Attributes (Character)

1. Sovereign
2. Eternal
3. Omniscient
4. Omnipresent
5. Omnipotent
6. Immutable
7. Righteous
8. Just
9. Love
10. Absolute truth

For centuries the debate seems to focus on the sovereignty of God vs the free will of humans

I believe the central issue is the  of God.

God reveals Himself as unconditionally and unequivocally good. This revelation does not exclude justice and retribution or punishment. It does exclude the possibility of God sinning, willing others to sin, or causing sin.

Genesis 50:20

My understanding of God’s character convinces me that rather than ordaining evil, God permits evil, and then brings good out of it.

Dr. Weatherhead, The Will of God, p. 50:

The omnipotence of God, you perceive, does not mean that by a sheer exhibition of his superior might God gets his own way. If he did, man’s freedom would be an illusion and man’s moral development would be made impossible. No “end” which God has in mind can be imposed from without; for his end, the at-one-ment of all souls with him, must come from man’s choice of God’s way, not the imposition of God’s will in irresistable might which leaves no room for choice. Power means ability to achieve purpose. Since the purpose is to win man’s volition, any activity of God’s which denied or suppressed man’s volition, in that it would not be a use of power but a confession of weakness and an acceptance of defeat.

When we say, then, that God is omnipotent, we do not mean that nothing can happen unless it is God’s will (=intention). We mean that nothing can happen which can finally defeat him.

Job 42:2

Example of Jesus’ crucifixion

Personal Notes