The answer will depend on one’s view of God. The correct view can only be determined from Scripture.
Scripture makes statements about God that explain God’s greatness, but which so highly value God’s insight, knowledge, wisdom, and power that it is not possible for man to comprehend it.
David writes of God’s perfect knowledge of David’s ways and means:
You understand my thought afar off…..
Even before there is a word on my tongue, behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.
You have enclosed me behind and before…. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is too high, I cannot attain to it.. (Ps 139: 2-6) (New American Standard , New King James translations and Concordant Version used throughout this article, unless otherwise indicated )
God is God. He is sovereign. No one and nothing can and will stop Him from carrying out His plan and purposes.
… I am God, and there is no other…
Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done; saying, ‘My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure… (Isa. 46:9-10)
All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing; But He does according to His will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and no one can ward off His hand or say to Him, ‘What have you done?’ (Dan 4:35)
The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD. (Prov 16:33)
God is working all things in accordance with His will.
…who works all things according to the counsel of His will (Eph 1:11)
Everything that exists came from God’s essence. Everything that exists, is by His doing. All that exists is destined to be for Him and in harmony with Him.
For out of Him and through Him and for Him are all things. (Romans 11:36)
Yet for us there is but one God, the Father, out of whom all things are, and we for Him… (1 Corinthians 8:6)
And when all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, that God may be all in all. (1 Corinthians 15:28)
… by the exertion of the power that enables Him even to subject all things to Himself. (Phil. 3:21)
God has determined the limits of the oceans and, throughout human history, laid down the boundaries of nations.
They [the waters that covered the earth – verses 6-7] ascended over the mountains; they descended to the valleys, to the place you had founded for them. You placed a boundary that they would never pass … (Psalm 104:8-9).
…and He made from one, every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times, and the boundaries of their habitation. (Acts 17:26)
God is omniscient. He knows everything about everything. From the farthest reaches of the universw to the smallest microscopic particles -to the smallest detail. Nothing escapes His knowledge.
…God …knows all things (1 Joh 3:20)
Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet none of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. (Mat 10:30-31)
He counts the number of the stars, He gives names to them all…. His understanding is infinite. (Psalm 147:4-5)
Before the foundation [correct translation is “disruption”] of the earth, God determined certain things. For example, that a Savior would appear to mankind and conquer evil by His death – like a lamb slain; those who would be chosen to be holy and blameless before God in Christ as His Son (1 Peter 1:19-20; Revelation 13:8; Ephesians 1:4; 2 Timothy 1:9)
..,chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father (1 Pet. 1:2)
From the foundation of the earth, God decreed that there would be a kingdom on earth that could be inherited by nations that were kind to His people. (Mat 25:34); that certain peoples’ names will appear in the Book of Life (Rev 17:8).
There are good works that believers have done and are still doing and will do, which God has already prepared.
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10).
Known to God from of old are all His works (Acts 15:17-18)
God knew about every person before he or she was conceived. He forms the person in the womb and determines what that person’s temperament and personality will be, even before his or her birth. That person’s days are prerecorded in God’s planning and thoughts.
This sounds too unrealistic – too outrageous to most people. Objections to that view come to mind. The usual objections I will address below.
Yet look at what Scripture says:
For You formed my inward parts. You covered me in my mother’s womb… My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book, they were all written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them. (Psalm 139:13-16)
Now the word of the LORD came to me saying: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you. And before you were born I consecrated you. I have appointed you a prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1:4-5).
And now says the Lord, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant … (Isaiah 49:5)
A priest named Zacharias and his wife, Elizabeth, were childless. One day while Zechariah was serving in the temple, an angel appeared to him. Following are the angel’s words to him:
“Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John. And you will have joy and gladness and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord… and be filled with the Holy Spirit, while yet in his mother’s womb… He who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah…” (Luke 1:13-17).
It may be argued that David, Isaiah, Jeremiah and John the Baptist were special people with a particular calling and that what is recorded of their calling before birth does not necessarily apply to all people.
It is certainly not impossible for God to determine each person’s life path and fate in advance. He loves everyone—even those who consider themselves enemies of God and act that way.
Scripture teaches that those who have been called by God are generally not the smartest and most influential people—rather the weaker ones, and they are known by God beforehand—even before the foundation of the world.
For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised, God has chosen … (1 Corinthians 1:26-28)
For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son…. and whom He predestined, them He also called…. (Romans 8:29-30)
…just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world…. (Ephesians 1:4)
There are numerous examples in Scripture where it is evident that certain events that appear to be trivial, or even unjust or cruel, were orchestrated by God.
A classic example is the disgusting manner, in which Joseph’s brothers treated him. Years later when Joseph saw his brothers again and had a chance to identify himself, he said,
…you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive. (Genesis 50:20).
Joseph had wonderful insight. But the implications extend far beyond what he thought. Because, a consequence from the events, is that Jacob and his sons went to Egypt to settle there (Genesis 45:25-46:7). This, in turn, was fulfillment of God’s plan that He had revealed to Abram long before:
And God said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years….. and afterward they will come out with many possessions… (Genesis 15:13-14)
The table was set by God to make the exodus happen. About 400 years later: Pharaoh’s daughter is at the right moment by the river to take a bath and to spot baby Moses in the basket on the waters among the reeds. Her maids were also present.
Coincidental? That of the hundreds of thousands of inhabitants of Egypt, it must be Pharaoh’s daughter whose paths cross with Moses in a basket on the Nile River?
The rest of the story is well known. And it all apparently began when Joseph had strange dreams which he shared with his brothers and the dreams annoyed them and made them dislike him.
No! That was not the beginning! It began when God decreed it that way!
David’s father requests him to take food supplies to his brothers.
Coincidental?
What does it culminate in? David versus Goliath! And from that time David was a hero figure in Israel. And it paved the way for his later kingship. And that in turn opened the way for his future kingship over Israel in the millennial reign of peace (Jeremiah 30:9).
OBJECTIONS
Let us look at the objections that are often raised:
If what you are stating is correct, then man does not have free will! Then all are robots – or like puppets -controlled from Above.
For many years I believed that God was a “gentleman” and would not force anyone to do anything. Where in Scripture does it say that? I don’t believe it anymore.
It is correct that every human being has a will. But how free is that will? A free will means one’s own will that cannot be exercised under duress or outside influence or enactment of circumstances.
Every thought of every human being is the result of influence and circumstances. Every human being is born with a particular temperament and personality. Every person is influenced by his or her parents or those who played the role of parent in his or her life. God already had knowledge and insight into this before the birth of the person. In fact, He is the Creator and Author of everyone’s life story.
The only one who has an absolute free will is God Himself. Anyone who propagates the free will of man denies God’s divinity. If there is a God, and there is only one God, then there cannot be others who have a free will. If creatures have free will, then the creature is equal to or greater than the Creator. There can only be One with absolute free will.
No creature is like a robot or puppet. Put a piece of grilled steak in front of a dog – he will devour it. Is the dog a robot or a puppet? No. Is the dog forced to eat the meat? No. It is his innate taste (which comes from God) that makes him consume the meat.
One of the few (perhaps the only?) commands that God gave to man at the beginning, and which man obeyed, was to multiply. Remember, at that time there were no contraceptives. Man has multiplied. Was it under duress? Were the humans robots? No, God has put strong sex drives in men and women. There was no way mankind would frustrate God’s will.
How much free will did Pharaoh have when he so stubbornly refused Israel’s requests, if God hardened his heart? (See Exodus 4:21, 7:3, 10:1, Romans 9:17)
How much free will did Cyrus, king of Persia, have when God put it in his heart to rebuild His house in Jerusalem? (See Ezra 1:3, 2 Chronicles 36:27)
How much free will did John the Baptist have when he opened the way for Jesus’ ministry, in fulfillment of a prophecy from Isaiah? (See Isaiah 40:3-5, Luke 3:3-6)
How much free will did Judas Iscariot have when, in fulfillment of Psalm 41:9 and Zechariah 11:12, he betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver? (See Mat 26:14-15, Luke 22:47-48))
How much free will did Peter have when Jesus foretold him that he would deny Him thrice and he truly did so? (Luke 22:34, 54-62)
And the cock that crowed at exactly the right moment? (Luke 22:60)
How much free will do people have if God hardens their hearts or blinds them to the truth? (See John 14:20, Romans 9:18, Galatians 3:22))
A further objection people make when they hear God is or was hardening people hearts is, how can God blame people who reject the truth?
Paul answers thus:
You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?” On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, “Why have you made me like this?” Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable, and another for common use? (Romans 9:19-21)
Later, Paul explains that the hardening is only temporary anyway (see Romans 11:25-27).
God has shut up all in disobedience that He might show mercy to all. (Rom. 11:32)
And finally, how much free will did Paul have, who was bent on wiping out believing Christians, when he met with Jesus in blinding light and then made a total turnaround? (Acts 9).
The saying “man proposes, but God disposes” is scriptural.
The mind of man plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps. (Prov 16:9)
I know, O Lord, that a man’s way is not in himself; nor is it in a man who walks to direct his steps. (Jeremiah 10:23)
What about Satan and all the evil and iniquity in the world? You make God responsible for it!
Few realize that God has the right to create evil… and indeed He does. And yes, He takes full responsibility for it! It would be against God’s nature to sin. To sin means to miss the mark. God does not miss His mark, but He can and has already created evil for His ultimate purposes.
The One forming light and creating darkness, causing well-being and creating calamity. I, am the LORD, who does all these. (Isaiah 45:7).
Yet He also is wise, and will bring disaster… (Isaiah 31:2a)
If a calamity occurs in a city has not the LORD done it? (Amos 3:6b)
Satan was created by God. Do not bring Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 in here, for those chapters are not about Satan, but about the kings of Babylon and Tyre, respectively. Satan was not an angel who was initially good and just and then later became an adversary of God.
… for the devil has sinned from the beginning (1 John 3:8).
Satan was created by God and God uses Satan so that, for a certain time period, creation can experience and taste good and evil, so that in the consummation when death as the last enemy is conquered, there will be absolute appreciation of God and Jesus Christ, without any opposition for what they stand for. (See 1 Corinthians 15:25-28; Philippians 2:9-11).
What about prayer? What is the use of prayer if you cannot move God to intervene?
The main purpose of prayer is communication between man and God. Any relationship requires communication. Prayer need not be limited by utterance of words — it can include groanings and thoughts directed to God (Rom. 8:26-27). And the dominant theme should be praise and expression of thanks—not a shopping list of requests (1 Thes 5:17-18; Ephesians 5:20).
God knows better than we do, what is good for us and what is not. “Name it and claim it” is not scriptural. No man can bend God’s will.
And this is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us (1 John 5:14).
And remember, God can put the thought of asking something in prayer in a person, and then, for the glory of His name, answer that prayer that is in any case in accordance with His will.
How about Ecclesiastes 9:11 which says “… time and chance happen to them all “?
Most translations translate the Hebrew pega as “chance”. It does not seem to be a good translation. The only other place in Scripture where pega occurs is 1 Kings 5:4 where the New King James translation translates it as “evil occurrence” the New American Standard translation as “misfortune” and the Concordant version as “oncoming evil”. So, it has to do with setbacks or adversity. The Companion Bible also states that a better translation than “chance” is “misfortune”. And that is indeed what the verse tells us: everyone at times experience misfortune or evil. It is not that everything happens just by chance, because if that were the case, it would contradict all the texts that describe God’s sovereignty and involvement.
What about Genesis 6:6 which says that God was sorry or repented that He had made man?…..
In Scripture, it sometimes happens that God is described in human terms so that we can better relate to Him. This is especially so before Jesus came to make God known as Father (John 1:18). In this regard, there is a form of imagery known as “condescension” where God, who is spirit, and is invisible, is described as if He has a face, or arms and so on.
Also, the texts that say God tested someone should be seen as figure of speech. God already knew how that person would react.
Thus, in Genesis 12:12 where God, manifested as an angel, says to Abraham, “For now I know that you are in awe of God; You have not withheld your son, your only one, from me,” is the meaning “Now I have demonstrated by way of an experiment, that which I already knew.”
The same can be said of God’s question to Adam, “Where have you been?” while God knew perfectly well where Adam and Eve were hiding—compare Psalm 139:7-9.
Fact is – God is Omniscient. And he declares the end from the beginning. Nothing happens that is not according to his absolute will (See the texts above).
God knew in advance, even before He created Adam, that sin would come into the world. And He, in his plan, slaughtered the Lamb “before the foundation of the world” and set the table to conquer evil.
Genesis 6:6 depicts God’s grief over the sinful state of mankind, but it does not take away from the fact that He planned it that way. Perhaps a good comparison is a parent who chastises his or her child with a heavy heart, but also knows it is good for the child.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
We tend to underestimate God. If we speak of intellect and wisdom: the gap between God and man (even the most brilliant genius) is larger than the gap between man and an ant.
God says,
“Yes, my plans are not your plans, and your paths are not my paths…. For as heaven is higher than earth, so are my paths higher than your paths, and my plans as your plans.. so shall my word go forth from my mouth: It will… do what I want, and accomplish the purpose for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:811).
God is God. He is totally in control of everything. Rest in it… Rejoice in it… For He knows what He is doing, and where all things are heading for…
***