Featured The will of God

also creates a situation where God Himself is fixed and stuck, bound by His future fully, and that he literally cannot exercise "free will"

 

How God's will is used in Scripture

Here is how we see God's will being spoken of in Scripture.

God's decretive will - This is always accomplished.
Job 23:13, "But He is unique and who can turn Him? And what His soul desires, that He does."
Psalm 33:11, "The counsel of the Lord stands forever. The plans of His heart from generation to generation."
Isaiah 14:24, "The Lord of hosts has sworn saying, 'Surely, just as I have intended so it has happened, and just as I have planned so it will stand.'"
Isaiah 46:10, "Declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things which have not been done, 'Saying, ‘My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure’".
Acts 17:24, "The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands."

God's preceptive will - This is not always accomplished.
Rom. 12:2, "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."
Eph. 6:6, "not by way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.".
1 Thess. 4:3-6, "For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, 5 not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6 and that no man transgress and defraud his brother in the matter because the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also told you before and solemnly warned you."

God in his sovereignty has allowed for men to disobey him. Nothing is down outside of His sovereignty. But God has allowed his preceptive will(What God's laws) to not always happen. So when we see passages like I Thess 4 where we know that there is sexual immorality happening all the time, we see God's will not being done. But "will" here is being used a little bit different from "will" when we speak of his decrees.

 

:thumbsup::applause::thumbsup:

 

You clearly have missed the passage ,and show no ability to pick up the context,as well as you misunderstand God's longsuffering...
21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?

22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:
23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,

Clearly I have shown what the context is,and have taught on this passage long before I knew James White...although he has the passage exactly correct as do all pastors who know the truth. I have offered some on the passage there is much more....but you do not really want an answer so I will leave it here for now:thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

I think Iconoclast has the better of his debate with Heir of Salvation. His interpretation of "us-ward" in II Peter 3:9 is correct, in my view. Usward points to a specific group of people.

A good word study would to check "all" in the scriptures. You'll find a lot of passages where "all" does not mean everybody without exception. Context is king.

Here is a good view of the context of "long-suffering."

 

I assume that the phrase "us-ward" was common at some time but is really confusing today so it would be helpful to come to concensus on a better understood word or phrase instead.

Someone is helping me understand the doctrine of election and people's choice so I am no scholar on this at all.

Who in 1 Peter is threatened with perishing? The elect? Who needs to "come to repentance"? The elect? Who is it that God is waiting on? It is the yet unrepentant (even these scoffers) for whom he delays.


This could be the elect. If God creates people knowing their eternal destination, then He could wait for the day that they believe. Until that time the elect are part of the unrepentant of course. I do not see a problem with that at all. Does anyone?