The Will of God the Father

Few questions weigh more heavily on the hearts of believers than this: What is the will of God? Scripture does not leave us uncertain or confused. While God’s will is one, unified, and perfect, the Bible speaks of it in distinct categories, depending on how God relates to human responsibility, obedience, and history.

Understanding these categories does not diminish God’s sovereignty—it magnifies it. It steadies the soul, guards against error, and teaches us how to live faithfully before Him.

God’s Revealed (Moral) Will

What God Commands and Makes Known in Scripture

God’s revealed will is the aspect of His will that He has clearly disclosed in His Word. This is the will that tells us how to live, what pleases Him, and what He commands His creatures to obey. God has not hidden this will. He has spoken plainly.

Scripture Defines God’s Revealed Will

1 Thessalonians 4:3  For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality,

God’s will for believers is sanctification—progressive growth in holiness through obedience.

Micah 6:8  He has told you, O man, what is good;And what does Yahweh require of youBut to do justice, to love lovingkindness,And to walk humbly with your God?

God has told mankind what He requires. There is no ambiguity here.

Matthew 7:21  Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.

Doing God’s revealed will is the distinguishing mark of genuine faith.

James 1:22  But become doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.

Hearing without obedience is self-deception.

Can God’s Revealed Will Be Resisted?

Yes. Scripture assumes real human responsibility. People are not robots. They can—and do—disobey God’s commands. This resistance to God’s revealed will is called sin.

For believers, such disobedience brings divine discipline, not the loss of salvation. For unbelievers, persistent rejection results in judgment. God has made His will known; refusal to obey it is culpable rebellion.

God’s Permissive Will

What God Allows While Remaining Fully Sovereign

Scripture also speaks of God’s will in terms of what He permits. God’s permissive will refers to what He allows to happen, even while He remains completely sovereign over every outcome. Permission does not mean approval. God never loses control.

Scripture Demonstrates God’s Permissive Will

Acts 14:16  In the generations gone by He permitted all the nations to go their own ways;

God allowed nations to walk in rebellion for a time, without forfeiting His sovereignty.

Romans 1:24  Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them.

Romans 1:28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them over to an unfit mind, to do those things which are not proper,

God’s judgment sometimes takes the form of permission—allowing sinners to pursue their desires to their own ruin.

Psalm 81:12  So I released them over to the stubbornness of their heart,That they would walk in their own devices.

God permits stubborn rebellion, yet He remains righteous and just in doing so.

God Uses Permitted Evil for Good

Genesis 50:20  As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to do what has happened on this day, to keep many people alive.

Human intent does not override divine purpose. God sovereignly uses even evil actions to accomplish good.

God Permits Moral Discernment in the Renewed Mind

Romans 12:2  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may approve what the will of God is, that which is good and pleasing and perfect.

God does not force obedience mechanically. He permits believers to think, discern, approve, and choose what pleases Him.

God Directs Without Preventing Every Fall

Psalm 37:23–24  23 The footsteps of a man are established by Yahweh,And He delights in his way.24 When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong,Because Yahweh is the One who sustains his hand. God does not promise the absence of failure—but He does promise sustaining grace.

God Provides Light for the Path

Psalm 119:105  Your word is a lamp to my feetAnd a light to my path.

God permits uncertainty, dependence, and step-by-step faith. He does not reveal the entire road—only what is necessary to walk faithfully.

Can God’s Permissive Will Be Resisted?

Yes. People can make wise or foolish choices. Believers can wander in thought and practice. God allows this, not because He approves of sin, but because He patiently governs His people and draws them back to Himself.

This should be a comfort to believers. God permitted us to live in sin before salvation. What patience. What grace.

God’s Sovereign (Decretive) Will

What God Has Eternally Determined Will Happen

Scripture also reveals a third category of God’s will—one that cannot be resisted, altered, delayed, or overturned. God’s sovereign will is His eternal decree.

Scripture Declares God’s Sovereign Will

Ephesians 1:11  In Him, we also have been made an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,

God works all things according to His will—without exception.

Daniel 4:35  And all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing,But He does according to His will in the host of heavenAnd among the inhabitants of earth;And no one can strike against His handOr say to Him, ‘What have You done?’

No one can restrain God or call Him to account.

Isaiah 46:9–10  9 Remember the former things long past,For I am God, and there is no other;I am God, and there is no one like Me,10 Declaring the end from the beginning,And from ancient times things which have not been done,Saying, “My counsel will be established,And I will accomplish all My good pleasure”;

God declares the end from the beginning. Nothing escapes His decree.

God Orchestrates All Things for His Purposes

Romans 8:28  And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.

Even the Cross Was Decreed

Acts 2:23–24  23 this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of lawless men and put Him to death.24 But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.

The most evil act in history occurred according to God’s predetermined plan—and resulted in salvation. God’s sovereign will cannot be resisted.

Resting in the Will of God

Scripture presents a complete picture:

• God reveals how we are to live

• God permits real human decisions

• God sovereignly accomplishes His eternal purposes

Nothing escapes His rule.

Proverbs 3:5–6  5 Trust in Yahweh with all your heartAnd do not lean on your own understanding.6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,And He will make your paths straight.

He may not give you health.He may not give you wealth.He may not give you what this world values.

But He will give you Himself.

Psalm 73:25–26  25 Whom have I in heaven but You?And besides You, I desire nothing on earth.26 My flesh and my heart may fail,But God is the rock of my heart and my portion forever.

It is only Him. Only Him.

Let us rest in His will.