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-29-
The God Who Is
Volition
God has the ability to make decisions. Therefore, in Genesis chapter 3, in verse 15, we find the "protevangelium," or the first promise of a saviour: "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." Note here that God the Father said, "I will" do this thing.
The Son of God declares in John chapter 6, "I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day" (John 6:38-40).
Note, first, that if the Son of God "came not to do (His) own will," then He Himself has a will.
Note, second, that if the Son of God came not to do His own will, "but the will of Him that sent (Him)," then God the Father has a will.
Note, third, what the will of the Father is that the Son came to accomplish: it is "that of all which he (God the Father) hath given me (God the Son) I should lose nothing" —no thing—"but should raise it up again at the last day." Jesus did not come to do the best He could "to save His people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21); He came to effect their salvation and to bring it to fruition.
In Isaiah chapter 53, in verse 10, Isaiah wrote, "...when thou (God the Father) shalt make his soul (God the Son) an offering for sin, he shall see his seed...." John ("Rabbi") Duncan preached—
I. "He shall see His seed" born and brought in. II. "He shall see His seed" educated and brought up. III. "He shall see His seed" tested and brought through. IV. "He shall see His seed" glorified and brought home.
We serve an all-mighty and an all-wise God, yet, some preach a Christ who is incapable of saving everyone He intends to save. In an old copy of the Sword and Trowel, edited by Pastor John Reisinger, I clipped an article that quoted a sermon by Rev. Noel Smith which was printed in 1957. Pastor Smith was editor of the Baptist Bible Tribune which unofficially represented the Baptist Bible Fellowship.
Pastor Noel Smith wrote, "Knowing God as I do through the revelation He has given me of Himself in His Word, when I am told that God is `not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance,' I know it means that the Triune God has done, is doing, always will do, all that the Triune God can do to save every man, woman, and child on this earth.
"If it doesn't mean that, then tell me I pray you, what does it mean?"
Pastor Smith went on to say, "What is hell? It is an infinite negation. It is infinite chaos. And it is more than that. I tell you, and I say it with profound reverence, hell is a ghastly monument to the failure of the Triune God to save the multitudes who are there. I say it reverently, I say it with every nerve in my body tense; sinners go to hell because God Almighty Himself cannot save them! He did all He could. He failed."
What an abominable view of God! What a contradiction it is to claim that God is Almighty, but that He has failed! The God of the Bible is a conquering, an all-conquering, a more-than-conquering, an unconquerable Lord. "Is anything too hard for the LORD?" (Genesis 18:14).
The Holy Spirit has a will. In I Corinthians chapter 12, in verse 11, we are told that the Holy Spirit divides gifts to believers. All have not the same gifts, but the Spirit divides to every man "as he will." What abilities have we that we have not received? How then can we think we are better than others since we have been given our abilities? And, Scripture warns that "unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required" (Luke 12:48).
Self-Conscious—God is a person. He is self-conscious; for when Moses asked Him His name, "God said unto Moses, `I AM THAT I AM:' and he said, `Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you'" (Exodus 3:14).
This brings us to the fact that the use of personal pronouns indicates God is a person.