It makes me nervous when people say, “God is in control.” I hear it a lot. I’m sure we’ve all said it. It makes me feel uneasy, because I believe it miscommunicates the nature of God and his sovereignty. God is not a control freak.
Take the example of the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve were given the opportunity to choose good from evil, to obey, or to do their own thing. They chose to disobey the one and only sovereign God. They signed their authority on the earth over to a serpent (Satan). God let them choose their own will over his, to operate outside of his will, outside of his control. God made himself vulnerable, by giving us dominion over his creation, with authority on the earth (Genesis 1:26).
Is God not in control of this world then? God is absolutely in charge and constantly active in this world. The book of Revelation helps us to see this, vividly showing us that God is on the throne, unrivalled in power, glory and authority (Rev 4). Jesus reveals in his visions to John that he was and is and will be in the process of taking back the world from the enemy. These sovereign acts of God will culminate in the return of Jesus. There is no doubt that God is in charge, ruling and reigning. However, is every single outcome that takes place in this world personally controlled by God?
Jesus has a very interesting conversation with God his Father in the Garden of Gethsemane, which throws some light on this issue (Luke 22:41-42). Jesus knows that he is about to go through the most torturous experience imaginable (check out Psalm 22 if you want the graphic version of what Jesus’s execution was like). These are Jesus’s words:
“My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”
If you were to look into the Greek words written in Luke’s telling of Jesus’s prayer, you would discover that there are two different Greek words used for the term “will.” They are: thelema and boulomai. So why is the same word not used both times when Jesus says, “not as I will, but as you will”? It is because it demonstrates two different aspects of the will of God.
First let’s look at Jesus’ will. The Greek word used by Luke here is thelema. It describes a wish, want, desire or intention, where Jesus is making known that his desires are lesser than the Father’s. Thelema describes Jesus’ desires, that he knows may not come to pass.
The second Greek word, boulomai is used “as you will”. In Jesus’s prayer, this expresses a decision come to after deliberation. It’s a decision of the will, officially ordered by a person in authority. It’s also a prevailing future outcome inexorably destined by God. It describes a previously decided plan, where God will not change his mind. Boule is present in Acts 2:23 and is used to describe the purposes of God, as God’s definite plan, sovereignly ordained. When we find boulomai concerning the intention or will of God, it shows that God will not change his mind.
Some people think that every macro and micro event in this world has been caused by a controlling God. Did you know that thelema is actually used in other places to describe God’s will? For example, in 1 Timothy 2:4, thelema reflects the intense wish and desire of God for “all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.” We know this is why God sent his Son into the world. However, we also know that humankind has free will and that many will not choose to accept his saving. Rather than an unchanging purpose that is set in stone, thelema reflects the desire of God, not his predetermined purpose. Luke 7:29 supports this, where “the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose (thelema) of God for themselves.”
So there is the boulomai, the set in stone purposes of God at work which cannot be thwarted by anyone. There are also the thelema desires of God, when God desires some things to take place, but they are not necessarily guaranteed. There are times where humans have failed to act, or acted in rebellion to God, exercised their own will, or have been influenced by Satan. Not all of these outcomes have been controlled by God. Ezekiel 22:30 bears this out, with God searching for someone to plead on the behalf of the people to avoid acts of judgement. However, with no one forthcoming, God does not relent as he wished. Thelema describes divine willing, rather than an unalterable destiny. We find thelema in the Lord’s Prayer “Your kingdom come, your will be done” (Matt 6:10). Why would we need to pray for God’s will to be done if it was already a done deal? Interestingly, Matthew in his report of Jesus’ prayer to his Father before his execution (Matt 26:42), sees Jesus returning to pray a second time “if it be your will.” This time Jesus uses the lesser term thelema for your will. It’s like Jesus recognises his need to surrender his heart fully to his Father’s changeable wishes too.
What can we learn from this? God, in his sovereignty, can and will step into our world to cause an outcome that no human or spiritual entity can resist. Some of his plans are destined ahead of time and are undeniably unalterable. The Messianic prophecies prove this, with even the stars in the sky at Christ’s birth appearing in perfect timing with Jesus’ birth, guiding the wise men. Jesus was meant to go to the cross and nothing could stop this from taking place. It is therefore also possible that some things have been divinely ordained in your life and mine that cannot be prevented from taking place (eg. Revelation 3:8). There are times when we look back on and see the hand of God working and we were unaware of it, even before we knew him. It’s like nothing could have prevented that series of events taking place.
However, there are some plans that God desires for our lives, which may not come to pass. With an element of uncertainty, such outcomes are only clarified by human choice or action. Some things will only take place when we (or others) partner with God. Take for example the action of the woman who touched the edge of Jesus’ coat and was healed, or the Centurion who didn’t need Jesus to be physically there for his servant to be healed. There are times when we are required to respond to God as faith rises in our hearts concerning a challenging situation we are facing.
Here’s one last thought… How did Luke know that Jesus said these words, since Jesus was alone with the Father and his disciples were all found sleeping? Who was listening in? Could it be that Jesus, in his appearances after his resurrection, had told them how he’d prayed and Luke recorded it just as he said it. Here Jesus reveals a twofold nature to God’s will, where he has both unalterable plans as well as purposes that depend on many things, including our own response to him. Like a good, loving parent, God does not want to control us. Instead he prefers to work through a relationship with him, giving us the freedom to partner with him in his divine purposes.
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Paul Martin is the author of "Inspire. A resource for busy youth workers" and has written a number of devotional books for young people. He has served as a Youth Pastor for 21 years in Baptist, Pentecostal and Anglican churches. Paul has a BA in Applied Theology form Moorlands College and an MA in The Bible and Ministry in the Contemporary World from Belfast Bible College (now Belfast School of Theology).
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