Sabbath School Summary

By Elder Dr Masimba Mavaza

Free Will, Love, and Divine Providence

Lesson 8

Memory Text: “ ‘These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world’ ” (John 16:33, NKJV).

Introduction

Providence is the term used to describe God’s action in the world. How we think about God’s providence makes a huge difference in how we relate to God, how we relate to others, and how we think about the problem of evil. Christians hold various understandings of divine providence. Some believe that God exercises His power in a way that determines all events to happen just as they do. He even chooses who will be saved and who will be lost! In this view, people are not free to choose other than what God decrees. In fact, people who believe this way argue that even human desires are determined by God.


In contrast, strong biblical evidence shows that God does not determine everything that happens. Instead, He grants humans free will, even to the point where they (and angels) can choose to act directly against His will. The history of the Fall, of sin, and of evil is a dramatic and tragic expression of the results of abusing this free will. The plan of salvation was instituted in order to remedy the tragedy caused by the misuse of free will.

SABBATH:
A concept that has caused a big lasting controversy in Christianity is “Divine providence”. It simply refers to God’s action in the world. A correct view of providence is key. It determines how a person relates to God, others, & think about the problem of evil. Some think that God has predestined all things even those who’ll be lost & saved, & also the desires of humans. But the Bible tells us that God gave humans & angels free will & that the abuse of free will led to sin.

Our Sovereign God

SUNDAY:
A young pastor teaching that “God is sovereign” to middle schoolers was asked by one if God killed his dog. He replied that God at times allows sad times to prepare us for sadder days. He cited how his dog’s death prepared him to deal with that of his grandma. But the pupil wasn’t convinced. The Bible gives us cases where God’s desires weren’t fulfilled. This is against the belief that He always get what He wants (Ps. 81:11, 13, 14, Isa. 30:15, 18; 66:4; Luke 13:34).

Pantokrator

MONDAY.
God is all- powerful. The Bible affirms it (Rev. 11:17, Jer. 32:17-20, Luke 1:37). But there are things He cannot do such as denying Himself (2 Tim. 2:13). That’s, God is Almighty (omnipotent) but He’ll not do anything that’s against His nature (Rev. 11:17; 2 Cor. 6:18, Rev. 1:8, 16:14, 19:15, 21:22). For example, He could deliver Jesus on the cross but Jesus added that may His will (to save sinners) be done (Matt. 19:26; 26:39).

To Love God

TUESDAY:
God’s future action is morally limited to what He commits Himself or promises. That’s, if God has committed to give His creatures free will, humans have the power to choose in a way that may go against God’s ideal desires. The greatest commandment is to love God & He wants everyone to love Him. But He does not force it. Why doesn’t He make everyone love Him? Love can only exist when there’s free will (Matt. 22:37, Heb. 6:17, 18, Titus 1:2). Love can’t be forced.

God’s Ideal and Remedial Wills

WEDNESDAY:
God knows ahead. The past, present, & future are alike known to Him; nothing surprises Him. Hence, He plans for the future. He providentially guides history to His desired good ends for all while respecting the choices of others needed for true love relationship. This is predestination (in Greek it means to decide beforehand). Of course, one can decide a thing earlier in a way that respects people’s choices (Eph. 1:9-11, Luke 7:30, 13:34, Ps. 81:11-14). There’s God’s “ideal will” & God’s “remedial will”.

Christ Has Overcome the World

THURSDAY:
If everything occurred as per God’s ideal will, there’d never have been evil but only perfect love & unity. In the end, the universe will be restored. For now, God’s workings consider our free decisions. Imagine a baking contest where bakers are to use exact elements but can add extras to make any cake they want. Similarly, free will means that many ingredients that shape history are not chosen by God but contradict His will. Jesus tells us that there’ll be woes, but there’s hope in Him (John 16:33).

Further Thought

FRIDAY:
The plan of salvation was not an afterthought. Knowing that sin would be a personal attack against His will, authority & character, He made plans to demonstrate His love & fairness even before the creation of Adam & Eve. God & Christ knew the apostasy of Satan & the fall of man from the beginning. God did not ordain that sin should exist.

—Ellen G. White, “ ‘God With Us,’ ” pp. 19–26, in The Desire of Ages.

Keywords

“God is sovereign”- This is the belief that God is all-powerful and has complete control over the universe and everything that happens in it.

“God’s ideal will” & “God’s remedial will”- God’s “ideal will” is what God actually prefers to occur and which would occur if everyone always did exactly what God desires. God’s “remedial will,” on the other hand, is God’s will that has already taken into account every other factor, including the free decisions of creatures, which sometimes depart from what God prefers.

Predestination- The Greek term (prohorizo) simply means “to decide beforehand.” See Rom. 8:29, 30 for Wednesday’s lesson.

Discussion Questions

📌 If God does not always get what He wants, how does this fact impact the way you think about what occurs in this world? What are the practical implications of understanding that God has unfulfilled desires?

📌 If we go back to the cake analogy in Thursday’s study, we can understand why, even though “God and Christ knew of the apostasy of Satan,” they went ahead and created us anyway. Love had to be in the mix, and love meant freedom. Rather than not create us as beings able to love, God created us so that we could love, but He did so knowing that, ultimately, it would lead Jesus to the cross. What should it tell us about how sacred, how fundamental, love was to God’s government that Christ would suffer on the cross rather than deny us the freedom inherent in love?

📌 Often we lament the evil and suffering in this world, but how often do you take time to ponder that God Himself laments and is grieved by suffering and evil? What difference does it make to your understanding of evil and suffering when you recognize that God Himself suffers because of evil?

📌 How does this truth—that many things happen in this world that God does not will—help you deal with your own suffering, especially when it doesn’t make sense and seems to lead to no good at all?

For February 15–21. Happy Sabbath!