Much zeal is shown for the freedom of man’s will; little jealousy seems to be left for the freedom of God’s will. Men insist that it is unjust and tyrannical in God to control their wills, yet see nothing unjust, nothing proud, nothing Satanic in attempting to fetter and direct the will of God. Man, it seems, cannot have his own foolish will gratified, unless the all-wise God will consent to relinquish His! Such are some of the steps in the march of Atheism. Such are the preparations making in these last days by the wily usurper for dethroning the Eternal Jehovah.
The Reign of Grace, Preface, 1844.
God will never allow any action against you that is not in accord with His will for you. And His will is always directed to our good.
Trusting God, 1988, p. 71. Used by permission of NavPress – www.navpress.com. All rights reserved. Get this book!
We do have a responsibility to make wise decisions or to discover the will of God, whichever term we may prefer to use. But God’s plan for us is not contingent upon our decisions. God’s plan is not contingent at all. God’s plan is sovereign. It includes our foolish decisions as well as our wise ones.
Trusting God, 1988, p. 170. Used by permission of NavPress – www.navpress.com. All rights reserved. Get this book!
There is no erratic power, or action, or motion in creatures, but that they are governed by God’s secret plan in such a way that nothing happens except what is knowingly and willingly decreed by Him.
Institutes of Christian Religion, Westminster Press, 1960, 1:201.
There is unquestionably a great mystery here as to how a holy God who cannot even look upon evil (Hab. 1:13) can work His will through evil, but that He does is the clear teaching of Scripture. If something could get outside the will of God, it would become a god unto itself and a rival to God. Such can never be the case. God alone is God; there is no other.
Evangelical Dictionary of the Bible, Baker, 1996, p. 653.
Evil is no giant staggering through the world at his own whim; somehow, it accomplishes God’s will for purifying and disciplining His chosen ones (Carroll Stuhlmueller).
Deutero-Isaiah, Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall, 1968, 1:373.
The evil Satan causes is only by the permission of God…It would be unbiblical and irrelevant to attribute to Satan (or sinful man) the power to frustrate the designs of God.
Desiring God, Bethlehem Baptist Church, 1996, p. 36, used by permission, www.desiringGod.org. Get this book!
God does not do many things that He can, but He does all things that He will.
This will of God is the first cause of all things. If we seek out the reason why things are, back to the original cause, we must find it in the decree, and determined by God’s will.
The Decrees of God, 1690.
