Philippians 2:13, "for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure."
This verse says that God works in people so that they "will" (ie. want/desire) according to "His good pleasure".
By this means, God can get people to do whatever He ordains without violating their "freewill" because He DETERMINES their "will" which they, in turn, FREELY act upon.
The question is then, "If God is the ultimate determiner of what we will/want/desire, would we be able to perceive that it is He who is at work in us"?
Can we identify the source of our will/want/desire?
2006-11-30 00:09:38 · 14 answers · asked by 5solas 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
that is a very good point,, i have always thought, if i "feel/think/see" things a certain way,,, that i was made to be this way,,,, and how can i be faulted for being made the way i am,,,, by a creator, so yes, if God works within us, to determine our will,,, then is it really free will? how would we even know? maybe God works with us,, in helping develop our will,,,,, in that if we desire something,, we find the things we need, the resources, but where did that desire come from in the first place, even if its something we feel we thought up,, most likely we were influenced by our life/our contacts in life,,, what caused us to come across those certain expeirences? and why did we react in the way we did??
2006-11-30 00:23:14 · answer #1 · answered by dlin333 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Reminds me of the verse (2 Thesselonians I think?) "Therefore God sent them strong delusion, that they would believe a lie."
And you get into a real conundrum of... "if GOD determines peoples "will" - how can they FREELY act on anything?" It becomes a game of semantics. If GOD himself has ordained that a human is going to be this way or that, then humans, by definition, can't change that - it's not "free will." (Or if it is "free will" then that term has just become meaningless)
2006-11-30 08:14:13 · answer #2 · answered by Laptop Jesus 4 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Paul wrote that to Christians is Phillipi, as well as Christians everywhere for all time.
When we are a Christian we diligently seek to know God's will so we can do it. The Spirit within us is willed by God, because we have yielded our spirit to His spirit.
We do this yielding stuff on a daily and ongoing basis. It's a continual process, because our minds like to reassert our own will. That is the "free will" part over which we have control
2006-11-30 08:19:58 · answer #3 · answered by nancy jo 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
God's will is for us to live, because he wants us to live he gives us the freewill to choose between life and death but of course he urges us to choose life.
This is the same with predestination....God although he knows all, does not mean he cannot control his ability to do so. He let us choose which path we may go...'free will' but free will is bounded by the laws of the universe.
If you are a man with great powers, you are not obliged to lift up every heavy object in sight.
2006-11-30 08:15:04 · answer #4 · answered by Tomoyo K 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
It is my will and desire to do God's will. I still have free choice and I know when I don't do it. But if God really controlled us, there wouldn't be any need of His living as a man and dying for our sin.
2006-11-30 08:16:02 · answer #5 · answered by RB 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
We live with predestined rules, like gravity, need for oxygen, etc. We have the choice to or will if you may to operate and choose within our limitations. God will guide our will if we grow daily in him and surrender to his will. God is still in control of everything that is why we are still alive and the world is still spinning. We have to option to operate how and when we want within the confines of our limitations which amounts to free will still.
2006-11-30 08:13:23 · answer #6 · answered by Damian 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
You mean whenever I feel like dancing, it is the will of God or whenever I feel like eating, it is the will of God? I wonder then as to the reason God created us, did He created us for his own good pleasure?
God is God, and Man is Man and that is that!
2006-11-30 08:15:46 · answer #7 · answered by markos m 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Yes, I am an Atheist, because god made me that way. I shut down the folly of the theist because god guides me to and I'm going to go eat something and that to is because god wants me to...
God is a made up being, so as with any other made up being he can have and hold all the power you wish him to, and others can give him the powers they want him to have....
A God who knows the future is powerless to change it. An omniscient God who is all-powerful and freewilled is impossible.
unless you want to change the meaning of the words.
2006-11-30 08:18:44 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋
Free will is an irrevocable gift of God Himself.Ultimately the choice is ours .
2006-11-30 08:13:18 · answer #9 · answered by samssculptures 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
That is something you have to pray about. You'll have to pray to do God's will and not you're own and the wisdom to know the difference.
2006-11-30 08:20:42 · answer #10 · answered by tracy211968 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋