Can Free Will and Sovereignty Co-Exist?

When we have discussions about God and His omniscient power, we many times try to figure out how He knows everything.

We consider that if that is part of His nature, are we doomed to live out our lives as if Jesus is a puppet-master; where we are devoid of any control and must do everything as if we’re in a matrix?

A Theologian’s Debate

The concepts of free will and sovereignty are ideas that not only theologians debate but philosophers and psychologists as well. If we can figure this out, then we can maybe figure out about our meaning in life and our eventual destiny. If we can figure this out then maybe we can finally decide why humankind strays and does bad things all the time.

You see, the answer is fairly simple but it actually is a lot more difficult to explain.

Yes, God does know everything and is in control of everything but you also have your own responsibility to do what He requires. He does this because He does not want robots or automatons to control. You are free to worship and obey Him or not. The sad truth is that the opposite of doing what He expects usually leads to disaster.

...But not quite either - if you really understand how God works.

You Have A Destiny With A King

The Apostle Paul gives us a clue in Romans Chapter 8.

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.” Roman 8:28-30 (KJV)

Therefore all who are in God have a purpose. And even if we do some bad things, somehow they will eventually work out to cause some glory for God. The interesting thing is that since God created everything, He also controls the bad things too. Don’t believe me?

Check out what Isaiah says:

“Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy. No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.” Isaiah 54:16-17 (KJV)

Therefore every weapon that comes against you, is already known and expected by God. Why? Because He created them. In fact, it must eventually form since there is evil in the world but God promises that it cannot destroy you or prosper over you. You have a destiny with the King. And all things must come to His glory.

Loop Analogy

Imagine if you will that your life is on a tape loop. The cassette is your life and the tape inside is your journey in time.

God was the creator and manufacturer of you. In fact, He was the one who created the portions of you that encase your tape and the machine/player that encompasses it. The harder part for each individual is the passage through the time we have, and the eventual movement of that tape until the end.

But thankfully, because He’s God, then He knows that movement in time and can help you when the tape gets stuck and needs assistance along the loop’s turns. It’s almost as if you dubbed the music on it but everything else is ruled by God. You control the quality, but God

is in charge of the quantity.

The Death Dance

Imagine also if you will that we are in a daily dance with sin and death.

“I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.”

states Paul in Romans 7:15 (NIV).

So God is kindly asking us to use our knowledge of what He intends for us to make good decisions. This is our free will. It is what caused us to choose Christ in the first place. He sought us, but we have to make a choice eventually when we know about Him. Then when we know Him, we have to now choose to also obey His Word.

So Does Grace Mean We Can Do As We Please?

So does sovereignty and God’s grace give us a license to sin? Of course not. The Apostle Paul mentioned the subtle nature of our human mind and behaviour and our sinful predilection numerous times.

“What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.” Romans 6:15 (NIV)

“ ‘I have the right to do anything,’ you say—but not everything is beneficial. ‘I have the right to do anything’—but not everything is constructive.” 1 Corinthains 10:23 (repeated in 1 Corinthians 6:12)

The wonder of life is that we get to come to God and transform our mind and soul for Him. Now the death dance started as soon as we came out of our mother’s womb and will continue until we are buried in the grave, but there is always the ability for us to pause, twirl and turn back to God’s way.

In addition, the more people do God’s will, then the less of the sad, broken and evil suffered portions of the world will emerge. We have a choice to follow God and make the world so much better. The question is, will we?