1. Explain how God’s sovereignty and Man’s free will can coexist:
2. Reread Daniel 2:20-23 in light of this year’s presidential election. What do you learn?
3. Keeping in perspective the sovereignty of God, what is the difference between God’s “perfect” will and God’s “permissive” will?
4. This week we will focus on your memory verse: Psalm 57:2. Many of you have various different translations or paraphrases (King James, New Century Version, The Message, The Living Bible, etc.) of the Bible around your homes. You can also use online sources to find other translations of the Bible. Look up Psalm 57:2 and write it in your favorite translation below. What made you choose that particular wording as your favorite?
5. What has the study of El Elyon clarified for you this week?
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Lord, I Want to Know You: Week #3 Questions
Posted by Kathryn Maberry at 3:51 PM
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2 comments:
Kathy, I'll do like 2 weeks ago and identify that this is Sue, but I still haven't found out from you the best way to choose an identity for making comments.
I think that I link Question 1 & 3 together. God certainly has the ability-power and authority and superiority to be absolutely Sovereign about absolutely everything. I just think that He has sovereignly chosen to give us free will in our actions. Our lessons covers several scriptures that specify God's sovereignty. I checked out a few that talk about us choosing--free will. Dueteronomy 30:19, Joshua 24:15, Proverbs 1:29 & 3:31; Isaiah 7:15-16, 56:4, 65:12; Hebrews 11:25, Acts 6:5 & 15:40. These scriptures indicate that we do indeed make choices. So obviously Sovereignty & Free Will do co-exist. If there was only God's Sovereignty and no free will, I think it would destroy true relationship between Him and us. I think the Perfect Will of God is His plan for us referred to in scriptures like Ephesians 2:10 & in the Lord's prayer-Matthew 6:10. His permissive will is what He allows us by free choice that is not what His perfect plan for us would be. That is His will because He may not Sovereignly intervene as He certainly could if He chose to, but not perfect as it would be if we submitted to & obeyed Him in every choice every minute of our lives. His perfect will is His aim for us and He constantly works around our mistakes we make in His permissive will to try to bring us back around to His aim, His perfect will for us.
Question2. Daniel affirms to us that God is the one who establishes and removes rulers. I think that He usually is doing that based upon our behavior. We look at the period in Israel's history when they had judges and it was just a constant circle. Israel disobeyed God, Israel was oppressed (God established rulers of other nations to rule over Israel because Israel messed up), then Israel would cry out to God and He would raise up deliverers (Judges and men in Israel to deliver them as their rulers), then Israel would be delivered and at peace and then slide back into disobedience and the cycle was repeated again and again. So if as a nation the US is disobeying God in the way we are living, it is quite likely He will establish a President that will make things worse for us until we turn and cry out to God and repent at which time I would then expect that God would raise up a deliverer President or other deliverer for us. I think our best chance for the better presidential result right now in our history is for us to repent, and turn to God in obedience to His Word and commandments.
Sue, I like your thinking about God's sovereignty and our free will. I think, also, that you are right about the verses in Daniel.
God has a plan & a purpose. He allows me to make my choices. He knows beforehand what I will choose, but presents the options available & offers me my choice. If, & when, I am listening and seeking His will, I choose the best option to fulfill His purpose. It is always my choice and God's plan is not contingent on what I choose. His plan includes the choices He knows I will make. God's perfect will is that all should love, obey & fellowship with Him. His permissive will allows us to make that choice for ourselves. God does not want robots. Angels, too, have a free will--they choose to love, worship & obey God.
This week the study of El Elyon reminds me that God Most High is our Almighty God. He is in complete control of my life circumstances and the whole world. Nothing happens except He causes or allows it. Bad things happen because of Sin in the world. (not necessarily personal sins) God has a plan for the ages and in the end Sin & Satan will no longer trouble God's redeemed.
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