The terms free will and volition are NOT synonymous. The term free will means ultimate or absolute freedom, whereas volition simply implies the power of choice.
The will is always subject to the nature of one's being. For God, His will is not absolutely free, but reflects who He is, His attributes. For example, He cannot will to be dishonest or lie. For his creation however, free will is either a state of rebellion or state of obedience.
An awareness of the difference between these terms is necessary to correctly understanding Scriptures. If one substitutes the concept of free will when only volition is meant, the meaning of the verse, the chapter, or the entire Book is altered and that is why pseudo-Christianity results.
In Him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with purpose of His will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of His glory. Ephesians 1:11,12
The Biblical term for freedom of the will can only be understood by studying it from the beginning of the Bible. When you use a few isolated Scripture verses taken out of context you will teach things that do not harmonize with all the teaching of God's Word
Absolute freedom of the will can belong only to God. No law restrains God's will, because He is His own law. Since God is sovereign, no power can overcome His will. He is omnipotent. He "...worketh all things after the counsel of his own will" (Ephesians 1: 11). God's will is irresistible, fixed, and everlasting: "...For who hath resisted his will?" (Romans 9:19). It is everlasting because God does not change: "For I am the Lord, I change not..." (Mal. 3:6). The Lord Jesus Christ, the second Person of the Godhead, is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:![]()
. With God there "...is no variableness, neither shadow of turning" (James 1:17). God's will cannot be changed for the better because God cannot be better. It cannot be changed for the worse because God cannot be less than He is.
God's will is subject to no one, but the will of every man is subject to God. God did not determine to save men on the basis of their will to be saved. Had He so resolved, man's will would determine God's will. But that is impossible because God's freedom indicates that He is under no compulsion outside of Himself. He acts according to the law of His being. God is unable to sin.
" who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will" (Ephesians 1: 11). "For who hath resisted his will?" (Romans 9:19) God does not change: "For I am the Lord, I change not" (Mal. 3:6)
Jesus Christ, the second Person of the Godhead, is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:![]()
God's will is subject to no one, but the will of every man is subject to God.
God did not determine to save men on the basis of their will to be saved. That would mean man's will would determine God's will. But that is impossible as is under no compulsion outside of Himself. He acts according to the law of His being. God is unablke to sin. Jesus was God. He could not sin even though he was tempted. He is God and the Second Adam. (man in his pre fallen state)
Freedom of the will is an attribute of God alone. Every creature is responsible to Him. Aa a will self-determined will, God's will is the highest freedom. The truth is that freedom in God is immutable self-determination and the freedom of the will but not so with humanity.
Adam was created in a state of uprightness. Uprightness is a higher state than innocence. "...God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions" (Ecclesiastes 7:29) Adam's uprightness was righteousness and holiness in a sense, but it was not absolute. Adam's holiness, righteousness, or uprightness was mutable, because God cannot create God. Whatever God creates must be less than Himself.
Adam was created righteous, he had intellect,emotion and a will. However his will was subject to Gods will as he was not God. Adam had what is theologically called an inclined will.
Adam's will was a free will because it was self-determined but only to the extent that his will was subject to Gods will. That which is not forced from without is free but not absolutely. Adam was responsible to God. God's freedom however, is immutable, but Adam's freedom was a mutable self-determination.
Adam came into the world inclined toward God. Adam did not find himself in a position to choose either the Creator or the creature as an ultimate end. He was inclined toward the Creator. His very uprightness was God-given, and did not proceed from his own ability. In fact, Adam's mutable self-determination led to his fall, and after the fall his will was enslaved to sin.
After his fall, Adam passed from inclination toward God to inclination toward sin.He fell from a state of mutable uprightness.
Since Adam's fall, the will of every person is inclined toward sin by nature. It remains so until the Spirit of God regenerates him. Then, his will is inclined toward God by grace. The work of regeneration in an individual produces as radical a change as the fall caused in Adam. A regenerated man has been created anew in Jesus Christ: "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works..." (Ephesians 2:10). The new man "...is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him" (Colossians 3:10). "And you hath he quickened, who were dead..." (Ephesians 2:1). "...God ... worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13). God gives a new heart and a new spirit (Ezek. 36:25-27).
It is not the committing of a sin that makes one a sinner. He is already a sinner before the act is committed. The Lord Jesus Christ identified sin as that which proceeds from the heart "...whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart" (Matthew 5:2![]()
.
The desire that precedes the volition is sin.
A volition can change a volition, but it can never change an inclination. One choice can change another, but it cannot change the original desire. A person may choose to commit murder, and before pulling the trigger of the gun, change his mind. He has made a choice. His second choice has counteracted the first, but it did not erase the evil inclination of murder that was in his heart. The inclination can be removed only by God's grace. The power of God alone can overcome and do what man cannot do for himself.
Therefore, the potential to reverse a sinful inclination is not necessary to make a person responsible for the inclination. The only thing necessary is that he originate it. Adam originated his sinful self-inclination. Before the fall, power to self-determine evil was unnecessary to Adam's self-determining holiness, right standing with God.
In his fall, Adam did not choose between God and the creature. Adam's sin in the garden of Eden was not committed in a state of indifference, as though God was on his right and evil desire on his left. He was in a state of uprightness, inclined toward God, but by self-determination he turned from God to evil. That was not a choice between the Creator and the creature. He went from an inclination toward God to an inclination toward evil, and that was his fall.
After the fall, Adam's will was enslaved to sin and had lost its natural liberty. Moral liberty is not essential to natural liberty. A man may choose his wife, profession, home, and so forth, but he does not have the power to choose that which is spiritual. It is not necessary for a man to have spiritual ability in order for his will to act naturally.
Man's acts of will (volition) are two kinds. Actions of the soul that are manifested in physical acts. When one decides to do something and makes movement in that direction. Many follow an act of the soul when they walk the aisle, or stand before a church congregation asserting that they are following Jesus. (2) Actions of soul that occur within the soul itself. This happens when one wills to love God. It cannot be accomplished by the natural man who hates God (Romans 3:8-18; John 3:19-21).
If a person's desire to know the Lord is genuinely motivated by the Spirit of God, he does not seek the Lord in vain (Matthew 7![]()
). He who sincerely seeks the Lord gives evidence of the inworking of God's grace and God does not begin anything He cannot bring to completion.
Since the fall, man by nature can do only evil. When a person is born again, however, he has the potential to do good. Although he is strongly inclined to good, he is still tempted and sometimes does evil. In a state of glory this will no longer be the case and man will be inclined only toward good.
The will is always subject to the nature of one's being. For God, His will is not absolutely free, but reflects who He is, His attributes. For example, He cannot will to be dishonest or lie. For his creation however, free will is either a state of rebellion or state of obedience.
An awareness of the difference between these terms is necessary to correctly understanding Scriptures. If one substitutes the concept of free will when only volition is meant, the meaning of the verse, the chapter, or the entire Book is altered and that is why pseudo-Christianity results.
In Him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with purpose of His will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of His glory. Ephesians 1:11,12
The Biblical term for freedom of the will can only be understood by studying it from the beginning of the Bible. When you use a few isolated Scripture verses taken out of context you will teach things that do not harmonize with all the teaching of God's Word
Absolute freedom of the will can belong only to God. No law restrains God's will, because He is His own law. Since God is sovereign, no power can overcome His will. He is omnipotent. He "...worketh all things after the counsel of his own will" (Ephesians 1: 11). God's will is irresistible, fixed, and everlasting: "...For who hath resisted his will?" (Romans 9:19). It is everlasting because God does not change: "For I am the Lord, I change not..." (Mal. 3:6). The Lord Jesus Christ, the second Person of the Godhead, is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:
God's will is subject to no one, but the will of every man is subject to God. God did not determine to save men on the basis of their will to be saved. Had He so resolved, man's will would determine God's will. But that is impossible because God's freedom indicates that He is under no compulsion outside of Himself. He acts according to the law of His being. God is unable to sin.
" who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will" (Ephesians 1: 11). "For who hath resisted his will?" (Romans 9:19) God does not change: "For I am the Lord, I change not" (Mal. 3:6)
Jesus Christ, the second Person of the Godhead, is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:
God's will is subject to no one, but the will of every man is subject to God.
God did not determine to save men on the basis of their will to be saved. That would mean man's will would determine God's will. But that is impossible as is under no compulsion outside of Himself. He acts according to the law of His being. God is unablke to sin. Jesus was God. He could not sin even though he was tempted. He is God and the Second Adam. (man in his pre fallen state)
Freedom of the will is an attribute of God alone. Every creature is responsible to Him. Aa a will self-determined will, God's will is the highest freedom. The truth is that freedom in God is immutable self-determination and the freedom of the will but not so with humanity.
Adam was created in a state of uprightness. Uprightness is a higher state than innocence. "...God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions" (Ecclesiastes 7:29) Adam's uprightness was righteousness and holiness in a sense, but it was not absolute. Adam's holiness, righteousness, or uprightness was mutable, because God cannot create God. Whatever God creates must be less than Himself.
Adam was created righteous, he had intellect,emotion and a will. However his will was subject to Gods will as he was not God. Adam had what is theologically called an inclined will.
Adam's will was a free will because it was self-determined but only to the extent that his will was subject to Gods will. That which is not forced from without is free but not absolutely. Adam was responsible to God. God's freedom however, is immutable, but Adam's freedom was a mutable self-determination.
Adam came into the world inclined toward God. Adam did not find himself in a position to choose either the Creator or the creature as an ultimate end. He was inclined toward the Creator. His very uprightness was God-given, and did not proceed from his own ability. In fact, Adam's mutable self-determination led to his fall, and after the fall his will was enslaved to sin.
After his fall, Adam passed from inclination toward God to inclination toward sin.He fell from a state of mutable uprightness.
Since Adam's fall, the will of every person is inclined toward sin by nature. It remains so until the Spirit of God regenerates him. Then, his will is inclined toward God by grace. The work of regeneration in an individual produces as radical a change as the fall caused in Adam. A regenerated man has been created anew in Jesus Christ: "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works..." (Ephesians 2:10). The new man "...is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him" (Colossians 3:10). "And you hath he quickened, who were dead..." (Ephesians 2:1). "...God ... worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13). God gives a new heart and a new spirit (Ezek. 36:25-27).
It is not the committing of a sin that makes one a sinner. He is already a sinner before the act is committed. The Lord Jesus Christ identified sin as that which proceeds from the heart "...whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart" (Matthew 5:2
The desire that precedes the volition is sin.
A volition can change a volition, but it can never change an inclination. One choice can change another, but it cannot change the original desire. A person may choose to commit murder, and before pulling the trigger of the gun, change his mind. He has made a choice. His second choice has counteracted the first, but it did not erase the evil inclination of murder that was in his heart. The inclination can be removed only by God's grace. The power of God alone can overcome and do what man cannot do for himself.
Therefore, the potential to reverse a sinful inclination is not necessary to make a person responsible for the inclination. The only thing necessary is that he originate it. Adam originated his sinful self-inclination. Before the fall, power to self-determine evil was unnecessary to Adam's self-determining holiness, right standing with God.
In his fall, Adam did not choose between God and the creature. Adam's sin in the garden of Eden was not committed in a state of indifference, as though God was on his right and evil desire on his left. He was in a state of uprightness, inclined toward God, but by self-determination he turned from God to evil. That was not a choice between the Creator and the creature. He went from an inclination toward God to an inclination toward evil, and that was his fall.
After the fall, Adam's will was enslaved to sin and had lost its natural liberty. Moral liberty is not essential to natural liberty. A man may choose his wife, profession, home, and so forth, but he does not have the power to choose that which is spiritual. It is not necessary for a man to have spiritual ability in order for his will to act naturally.
Man's acts of will (volition) are two kinds. Actions of the soul that are manifested in physical acts. When one decides to do something and makes movement in that direction. Many follow an act of the soul when they walk the aisle, or stand before a church congregation asserting that they are following Jesus. (2) Actions of soul that occur within the soul itself. This happens when one wills to love God. It cannot be accomplished by the natural man who hates God (Romans 3:8-18; John 3:19-21).
If a person's desire to know the Lord is genuinely motivated by the Spirit of God, he does not seek the Lord in vain (Matthew 7
Since the fall, man by nature can do only evil. When a person is born again, however, he has the potential to do good. Although he is strongly inclined to good, he is still tempted and sometimes does evil. In a state of glory this will no longer be the case and man will be inclined only toward good.
