Scriptures for Distinctions in God’s Will
Sovereign Will
God’s Sovereign will requested
James 4:15 – 15 Instead, you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and also do this or that." NASB
1 Corinthians 4:18-20 – 19 But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I shall find out, not the words of those who are arrogant, but their power. 20 For the kingdom of God does not consist in words, but in power. NASB
Acts 21:13 – 14 And since he would not be persuaded, we fell silent, remarking, "The will of the Lord be done!" NASB
Romans 1:10 – 10 always in my prayers making request, if perhaps now at last by the will of God I may succeed in coming to you. NASB
Romans 15:32-33 – 32 so that I may come to you in joy by the will of God and find refreshing rest in your company. 33 Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen. NASB
God’s Sovereign will in permitting Evil
Ephesians 1:11-12 – 11 also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, 12 to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. NASB
Genesis 50:20 – 20 "And as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive. NASB
Acts 2:23 – 23 this Man, delivered up by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. NASB
Acts 4:27-28 – 27 "For truly in this city there were gathered together against Thy holy servant Jesus, whom Thou didst anoint, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever Thy hand and Thy purpose predestined to occur. NASB
God’s Sovereign will in revealing the Gospel to some and not others
Matthew 11:25-26 – 25 At that time Jesus answered and said, "I praise Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that Thou didst hide these things from the wise and intelligent and didst reveal them to babes. 26 "Yes, Father, for thus it was well-pleasing in Thy sight. NASB
Romans 9:18 – 18 So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires. NASB
God’s Sovereign will in Christian Suffering
1 Peter 3:17 – 17 For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong. NASB
1 Peter 4:19 – 19 Therefore, let those also who suffer according to the will of God entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right. NASB
Moral Will
God’s general desire expressed in His Moral Will
Ephesians 5:17 – 17 So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. NASB
Romans 2:18 – 18 and know His will, and approve the things that are essential, being instructed out of the Law, NASB
1 John 5:14 – 14 And this is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. NASB
Matthew 6:10 – 10’Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. NASB
Matthew 7:21 – 21 "Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. NASB
Matthew 12:50 – 50 "For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother." NASB
Exodus 20:1-17 – 20:1 Then God spoke all these words, saying, 2 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3 "You shall have no other gods before Me. 4 "You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. 7 "You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain. 8 "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and made it holy. 12 "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you. 13 "You shall not murder. 14 "You shall not commit adultery. 15 "You shall not steal. 16 "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 17 "You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor." NASB
God’s Moral will in people being saved or not
Matthew 18:14 – 14 "Thus it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish. NASB
1 Timothy 2:4 – 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. NASB
2 Peter 3:9 – 9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. NASB
Ezekiel 33:11 – 11 "Say to them, ‘As I live!’ declares the Lord GOD, ‘I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel?’ NASB
Deuteronomy 28:63 – 63 And it shall come about that as the LORD delighted over you to prosper you, and multiply you, so the LORD will delight over you to make you perish and destroy you; and you shall be torn from the land where you are entering to possess it. NASB
