Broadlands Bible Church
September 13, 2023
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Thesis: "Will" as volitional capacity is making a choice between options as to what one will pursue.
Introduction: In our initial study, last week, we considered a definition of "the will" as an inherent attribute of God as well as created persons: our "definition" is, "the ability to make decisions that, when acted upon determine a 'new' future reality". Because we live in a cause-and-effect universe that has, at its roots, the declared fact that if we sow, we shall reap what we have sown (
Galatians 6:7), the exercise of the "will" as the making of a decision that is typically followed by the actions taken by the choice made brings the cause-and-effect reality into play. In that study, we also considered the amount of "slop in the gears" that exists because of the infinity of God in respect to which of His "options" He decides to act upon: His infinite knowledge and wisdom make "infinite options" available to Him. We used the enormous number of "quarks" that exist in every created, material entity as our illustration: it is possible to destroy trillions of "quarks" without substantially altering the created entity.
This evening we are going to pursue our study of "the will". What we are going to consider is the essential characteristic that always attends the exercise of will.
- I. The "Always Attending" Characteristic To The Exercise Of The "Will": The Presence Of Options.
- A. If we begin at a level that most people accept, we start with the observable fact that created persons make choices and act upon them all through their days.
- 1. That men make choices on an extremely high level of activities means that "options" are never absent: there is no "choice" where there are no alternatives.
- 2. Additionally, the number of options available is often unmanageable so that we can train both our minds and our muscles to "react" to many of the options we have in the same way each time: this eliminates the need for "consideration of the options" as we simply do what we typically do (this reality is at the heart of all "training").
- B. In the Biblical Text regarding our created condition, Genesis 1:26, we read that God's intention for the creation of man was to create "rulers" who mimic God's rule as His "images".
- 1. According to this text, these "rulers" were to "have dominion over" all non-person actors in the creation.
- 2. Possessing "dominion" inherently means that not only does mankind have the ability to make decisions, but their decisions, when pursued, have a significant impact upon the creation order.
- 3. Additionally, this created capacity to "rule" was buttressed by Genesis 9:2 where we are told that it is God Who makes man's "rule" possible.
- a. However, the subsequent reality of Genesis 3's record of man's "fall" into antagonism toward God also had an impact upon man's abilities to "rule" over the created non-persons: the non-person's response to man was weakened and altered (so that later, man being killed by beasts, was evidence that the "dominion" thesis now has significantly weakened boundaries; Deuteronomy 7:22).
- b. This brings into play the reality that some "options" are off the table simply because the "ruler" is no longer the master over all of his options.
- C. This "dominion" thesis inherently means that "options" exist, and that the "rulers" are the ones who "select from among the options".
- II. The Downline Impact Of "Options" Selected And Acted Upon.
- A. As we have already seen, the Genesis 3 record of man's acting upon his "option" to disobey God's clear instruction, significantly altered his ability to even be given certain "options" that would be in play were it not that God has established the Galatians 6:8 principle (for example, God's blocking man's access to the Tree of Life).
- B. By the same token, choices almost always open up sets of "options" that were not in play before a previous "choice of will" was acted upon.
- C. Additionally, once man makes a decision and acts upon it, there comes into play another reality: the law of unintended consequences.
- 1. This "law" is unarguable as it is established by man's surprise at what comes along because he made a choice and acted upon it.
- 2. One of the biblical examples of this "law" is revealed by Romans 6:16 where we are told that there are certain "options" no longer available because of choices we have made.
- 3. This "unintended consequences" issue is simply the outcome of man's significant level of ignorance.
- III. Thus We Conclude That "Will", When Acted Upon By God Or Man Or Angel, Has An Impact That Carries The Actor Down A Determined Path That Was, Initially, Only An Option.
