Highways, Byways and Hedges

God’s Sovereignty, Predestination and Human Free Will, Part 2

Does your idea of predestination line up with the Bible?

When the topic of predestination comes up, where does your mind go? What s your initial reaction? In part 2 of God’s Sovereignty, Predestination and Human Free Will, let’s begin to unpack the subject, starting with what predestination is not.

Thanks to classic literature and the entertainment industry, most of us are likely familiar with some of the myths of history regarding the “gods” that were worshiped by the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. One set of these creatures from Greek mythology is the Three Fates, responsible for assigning each person their “destiny”. Like their peers, they’re capricious, arbitrary and whimsical in their exercise of will regarding people, and are completely untrustworthy. Their actions show how much they hate humanity, I think. When it comes to the idea of predestination, is this what you picture? It’s understandable, even though it’s a complete lie, straight from the pit of hell. Remember, Satan is a liar, always attempting to counterfeit everything the Lord does. This picture of predestination is what it is not.

On to what “predestined” is, according to the Word of God. It’s the polar opposite of what the above mentioned sources and culture, ancient or contemporary, would like you to believe. Scripture shows us that predestination, in God’s economy, is the expression of a deliberate, intentional and wise plan of God Himself, which purposes to redeem us, sinners all, whom He loves unconditionally. We are the objects of His mercy and grace. As with everything He does, God is intentional with His design for our lives, just like He is with His design and creation of each of us (see Eph 2:10). His plan for us include worthwhile purpose, which He also designed us for.

Let’s do a tiny bit of a word study. Predestined, in Greek, is proorizo (Strong’s #G4309), from 2 other Greek words: pro (Strong’s #G4253) meaning before and horizo (Strong’s # G3724) meaning to determine. Combined, they give us to determine or decree beforehand. The English word “predestined” occurs 5 times in the New Testament in Acts 4:28, Rom 8:29-29, Eph 1:5 and 11, and 1 Cor 2:7 (proorizo occurs 6 times but double check that for yourself). Here’s the goal of sharing this information: examine each of these scripture references yourself to see how the word is used. Perhaps you’ll notice what I noticed, that nothing happens apart from the intent and will of God. Nothing. No capricious, arbitrary, whimsical or mercurial behavior from the Lord. Predestination, scripturally speaking, is based on the purposes of God, starting with everyone being offered salvation, having rewarding purpose for their life, and being conformed to the image of Christ (Rom 8:29).

Will we always understand and like what the Lord has planned for us? No. Anyone who says that we will is either ignorant of what’s written in the bible or isn’t being totally honest, starting with themselves. Scripture records that not all of the Lord’s servants gleefully carried out what they were told to do by Him, when they were told to do it. And that takes us to the real issue, perhaps. Why do we sometimes bristle at the idea that God has predetermined what our life will be​?

The answer varies widely, I think. Perhaps there’s not a clear understanding that there’s nothing that God doesn’t know, nothing that He isn’t sovereign over. While He chooses to forget our sin when we ask Him for forgiveness, the Lord is omniscient, knowing every choice we’ll have to make, what we’ll choose, what the consequences will be, and so on. It’s something we know about Him but the magnitude of it doesn’t necessarily sink in.

Perhaps fear of not having control is the reason some might get their back up at the idea of God having complete control over their life, that His will is always going to be accomplished in us, whether we like it or not. Just because the Lord isn’t obnoxious about asserting Himself and His will in our lives doesn’t mean we’re the ones calling all of the shots. The bandage for that fear is the illusion of complete control over our life (more about that in part 3) and when that bandage is stripped away, the fear can be too much.

Ultimately, regardless of what the reason might be on the surface, deep down I believe it comes down to not trusting the Lord as deeply as one should. I’m guilty of this, too. Wanting to have control and have my way, instead of trusting that His plan is so much better than mine. I would love to say that once a person gives their life to Jesus Christ and commits to following Him, all their baggage disappears, all the bad habits are gone. But that’s not the case. The Lord doesn’t always immediately free us from the things that ultimately are bad for us, including any mistrust of Him (sometimes He does but for most of us, it’ll be a process). These days, finding anyone or anything that is trustworthy is practically a miracle so it’s unsurprising that a person could be suspicious of the One who is completely trustworthy.

Perhaps something that feeds one’s mistrust of the Lord is that at no point in time (or anywhere in the bible) are people promised or told that we have unfettered access to, or permission to pry into, God’s secret counsel. We are never told that it’s any of our business to try to find out who is predestined for what and why. Including (maybe especially) the details of our own lives. Throughout scripture, God calls us to trust Him and do what He says. Not once does He require we totally understand what He’s doing and why, prior to obeying Him. He’s not expecting obedience to Him based on our thorough, detailed comprehension of His plan and the why behind it. Instead, He’s desiring that we love Him and obey His commandments because of His character and His love for us, as a response reflecting our love for Him. I think it’s mistrusting the Lord, doubting Him, that contributes the most to any bristling at the idea of predestination.

What does one do if they find themselves in this boat of mistrusting God and rejecting the idea of predestination, that He has a plan for their life? Any solution starts with prayer, talking to Him honestly and directly. The Lord knows what the root issue is and how to resolve it. Of course, if you’re reading this and you’ve never given your life to Jesus Christ, that’s the first thing that needs to change (click here for help with that). Otherwise, He’ll continue to let you run your life within the parameters He’s set. While Jesus may not be your God, He’s still Sovereign over the universe and He still has ultimate control over His creation. My hope and prayer is that you will give your life to Him. It’s the best decision one can make! And that leads us to the final part of today’s blog entry: how does predestination (as outlined in the bible) fit with God’s sovereignty?

The latter is dependent on the former. If God wasn’t completely sovereign over all of creation, His predestined plan for our lives would be of no effect, I think. He wouldn’t have the power to be able to have anything planned for us. As He is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent and self-existent, Jesus’ plan for our lives is not only good (for those who love Him and are in relationship with Him), it’s the best life we could possibly have. He took great care with each of us when He created us in our mother’s womb so He’s not going to be sloppy or indifferent when it comes to what He created us for. We can trust Him and trust that what He started in our lives, He will absolutely accomplish.

February 4, 2026

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