by Darrel Cline (darrelcline biblical-thinking.org)
Chapter # 1 Paragraph # 2 Study # 11 April 24, 2024 Broadlands, Louisiana (Download Audio)
I. The Overall Paragraph In Terms Of Its Focus.
A. Paul's prayers because of the response the Thessalonians gave to the message of the Gospel.
B. The general biblical concept of the "will" and its place of function within the "personalities" of those created to interact with God as persons in the same type of "person" that God is.
1. The general "definition" of "person" by "theologians".
a. There are three "fundamentals" of personhood.
1) First is "intellect"; the ability to reason, not merely to "learn by repetition".
2) Second is "emotion"; the reality of the ability to experience positive and negative "feelings" in the flow of existence we often call "life".
3) Third is "volitional capacity"; the ability to make decisions about which of the "paths" before us we will take.
b. Biblically, all "persons" are created by God and are not subject to "the cessation of existence".
2. The question before us is this: to what degree does a person's "volitional capacity" determine his/her "choices".
a. To discover an answer, we have to look at biblical texts that address this question.
b. In respect to "God" we have three major considerations.
1) Romans 9:19 makes God's "will" impossible for a "created personality" to overrule when it is God's declared purpose to accomplish a "particular end".
2) 1 Timothy 2:4 makes the "will of God" subject to several attendant other "wills": this involves the "order of priorities" to which the "will" is subject (not even God can have "values" that are simultaneously "in competition with each other").
3) Hebrews 6:18 introduces a "limiter" to the reach of the "will".
a) This "limiter" is identified as "that which binds the will to the actual "attributes of God" which introduce "limits" to the "will".
b) This "limiter" explains the reality of "desires" in God which will never be fulfilled because of other, "more important desires".
c. In respect to "man", we have several texts that identify the "reach" of man in terms of the dominion of the "will", both in terms of "desire" as well as "determination".
1) First, we have Paul's declarations in Romans 7:5-24.
a) He presents himself as a "slave" to his "sinful passions" so that he cannot "do anything that frustrates them".
b) He explains his predicament in 7:16.
2) Second, we have the issue of the weakness of 'determination' of men in Acts 23:13
3) Third, we have the same issue that exists in God when we have competing "wills" in the same circumstance so that one "has to go", but we have not the wisdom to know which "will" we need to follow for a good outcome (James 4:1-3).
3. In summary, then, we find the "will" to only be "free" when it is to be exercised according to the condition of the person in view regarding his/her value system.