Scriptural proof that God plans Disobedience to Accomplish His Purpose
False Free-will proof #1: The disobedience of man proves human free-will
Many people say that Adam and Eve made a free will choice in the garden. Why? Scripture does not say that God gave them or anyone a free-will. So, what leads a person to that conclusion?
The common answer: The proof that God gave Adam and Eve free-will is in the fact that they DISOBEYED God’s command to not eat of the tree. Okay, fair enough but does this prove human free-will?
What if I can find one instance in scripture where God intends for a human TO DO THE EXACT OPPOSITE of what He said He wants them to do? What if I could find multiple instances of this? If scripture shows that God plans and executes human disobedience in order for humans to go against what He instructs them to do or not to do, then what would that prove?
It would prove that human disobedience does not prove human free-will. Quite the opposite in fact.
For of a truth, in this city were gathered against Thy holy Boy Jesus, Whom Thou doest annoint, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, together with the nations and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Thy hand and Thy counsel designates beforehand to occur. – Concordant Literal
Herod, Pilate, those of the nations, people of Israel all had a hand in killing Jesus. Did these people disobey God in killing His Son?
Of Course! It’s the greatest act of disobedience of all time. They murdered God’s Son and not only does this break God’s stated commandment but it shows utter and complete hatred of God’s stated will.
These people obviously exercised their free-will to disobey God so greatly, right?
Not so fast! Look at verse 28 that says these people did this not because of their free-will choice to disobey God….no…doesn’t say that. It does say that they did what the counsel of God designates beforehand to occur. If God determined beforehand for this to occur, then Pilate, Herod, the gentiles, and the Jews were not free to do anything else.
These evil doers made a choice and they will be judged and eventually corrected. However, their choice was the necessary action that God chose to bring His own Son to the cross in order to save humanity.
Without this act of evil, Jesus would not have gone to the cross and therefore nobody would be saved. The disobedience of Pilate, Herod, the Jews, and gents was part of God’s plan as much as the cross. It was the necessary means to bring about the cross.
This disobedience was part of God’s plan and NOT an exercise of human free will. In fact, these evil doers did exactly what God had planned for them to do from the beginning.
You devised evil against me, yet Elohim, He devised it for good in order to accomplish, as at this day, to preserve many people alive.
Joseph’s older siblings sold their little brother into slavery after they plotting to kill him. Then, they lied to their father about it. The father of Joseph and his brothers was none other than Israel himself. I’ll get to why that is important in a moment.
Many of you know the story of Joseph, but I encourage you to read it in Genesis, if you have not.
Here is a very brief summary: Joseph’s brothers were jealous of him and conspired to kill him. At the last moment, they ended up selling their little brother to the Ishmaelites. Years past and Joseph became a very powerful man in Egypt as Pharaoh put him in charge of rationing food during a great famine. Israel sent his son’s to Egypt to get food because the whole family was starving. Remember I said I’d get back to how important Israel is…well, Joseph ended up saving the lives of Israel and that entire family, including his brothers which became the tribes of Israel. Israel is God’s chosen people and through whom our Savior would come. Joseph saved these people…without him, no Savior.
So…was it God’s plan to raise Joseph to power in order to save Israel? Absolutely it was as Joseph explicitly states in Genesis 50:20.
Now…the money question: Would Joseph had risen to power if his brothers didn’t sell him to the Ishmaelites after planning to kill him? If the brothers returned to Israel with Joseph on that day and life continued as normal, would Joseph have been in Egypt in position to save his brothers and all of Israel?
Of course not!
Now, we all know God can do what He wants in any way He wants. However, He chose to use the sin of the brothers in order to raise Joseph to power in order to save the very ones that sold him into slavery.
Here, we have another example of how disobedience was God’s intention in order to fulfill His purpose. Joseph’s brothers did not have a free will, they did exactly what God planned for them to do. Joseph’s own words:
“You devised evil against me, yet Elohim, He devised it for good in order to accomplish, as at this day, to preserve many people alive.”
You see, the evil that the brothers committed was devised by God in order to fulfill the Almighty’s purpose of saving Israel. God planned Joseph’s brothers to do what they did and it was good because it fulfilled His purpose. It was still an evil choice committed by the siblings but it was not a free choice. God planned it on purpose.
Disobedience does not prove ‘human free-will.’
Another example in scripture of God planning man’s disobedience is Judas Iscariot. Can we all agree that it was God’s intention for His Son to die on the cross to save humanity? Well then, Judas was necessary in accomplishing that purpose.
Was Judas using his ‘free-will’ to betray Jesus or was he acting out what was purposed in order to fulfill scripture?
Jesus Christ Himself said in the upper room during the Last Supper, “He who is masticating bread with Me lifts up his heel against me.” –John 13:18
Jesus was quoting Psalm 41:9 when referring to Judas and said that “I am aware whom I choose, but that the scripture may be fulfilled.”
Judas disobeyed God and God’s Son. Yet, the book of Psalms was written years before Judas was even born. So, scripture must be fulfilled as Jesus said and scripture says that Judas would do what he did. Therefore, this disobedience was planned to happen by God before Judas was even born in order for Christ to get to the cross. God planned it, Jesus knew, Judas had no free will to do otherwise.
In fact, Jesus said to Judas, “What you are doing, do more quickly.” Judas had to betray Jesus because it was written in scripture, therefore planned by God. In addition to this, Satan entered Judas to make him commit this act. How can a man be free if Satan is influencing him?
Once again, God planned disobedience in order to fulfill His purpose. God makes decisions beforehand and then works out all the circumstances of the life of Judas in order for him to make the decision when the time was right.
Disobedience does not prove ‘human free will.’ Quite the opposite. It fulfills God’s purpose.
God wrote the Law for Israel on stone tablets and demanded that it be followed. We all know that Israel failed miserably at following this law and nobody could do it perfectly. In addition, the law of Israel extended in much more detail than just the 10 commandments. Law was a part of everything they did.
So, even though God wrote out the law and demanded it to be followed…was it the Almighty’s intention for it to actually be followed?
NO! The apostle Paul says that it is impossible for humans to follow the law to free us (Romans 3:20, Romans 8:3).
Even though the law is righteous, God never intended for Israel to do it. Even though God said to do it, He planned from the beginning that they would fall short. God did this in order to show Israel that they needed a Messiah, to show us that we need a Savior.
The just verdict of God, because, by works of law, no flesh at all should be justified in His sight, for through law is the recognition of sin. – Romans 3:20
The law is still God’s standard and He can demand it but the purpose of law gives the recognition of sin so that we see the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. The law WAS NOT given for man to fulfill in order to prove their own righteousness.
God instructed man to follow the law but intended that they fall short. He did this in order to prepare man for the only One that could fulfill the law, Christ Jesus.
So that the law has become our escort to Christ, that we may be justified by faith. – Galatians 3:24
Thus, God commanded Israel to follow a law He knew they couldn’t in order to show them the Savior. God still demands righteousness, however, this righteousness comes through Jesus Christ. Something Israel and humanity wouldn’t understand unless they failed at law and committed sin.
If we or Israel could have fulfilled the law like God demanded, then there would be no need for Jesus. God planned for disobedience in order to bring the Savior, the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.
God planned this long before Israel was even born because Revelation 13:8 says Jesus was slain from the disruption of the world. Human disobedience allows God to display the righteousness and love of Christ to the world.
Human disobedience is planned by God and not an act of ‘human free will.’
Romans, chapter 9 reviews in detail that though a man can disobey God’s stated will, no one can ever go against God’s intention. Not one human can do something outside of what God has planned for them to do. I will review Romans 9 in my next ‘free-will’ article.
Grace and peace to all.
Saved ignoble 
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