How Many Wills Does God Have?

 

How many “wills” does God have? Classical Latin theology spoke of voluntas decreti (will of decree), voluntas praecepti (will of precept), voluntas arcana (secret or hidden will), voluntas revelata (revealed will), voluntas beneplaciti (will of good pleasure), voluntas signi (will of sign), voluntas efficax (efficacious will), and voluntas permissiva (permissive will). These aren't necessarily eight separate categories, because several are overlapping ways of describing the same fundamental distinction and their precise meanings vary somewhat among theological traditions. But the multiplicity of distinctions potentially muddies the water and suggests multiple wills in God.

Reformation and post-Reformation systematic theology often made the distinction between God's “perfect will” and “permissive will.” Properly conceived this is fine, but it also potentially leads to the misconception that God has two competing wills. Earlier, that very charge had been leveled against John Duns Scotus (c. 1266–1308), after his account of formal distinctions within God's nature was criticized (perhaps unfairly) by Thomists on the grounds that it potentially if not actually compromised divine simplicity.

Simplicity means that God isn't composed of parts or competing faculties, so that His will is identical with His undivided divine essence. Because He is “simple,” God has one undivided divine will. But we can distinguish that single will according to how it operates. God can and does permit evil without morally approving it or becoming its author (Gen. 50:20; Acts 2:23). And His permission is never mere passive observation. The Lord is sovereignly governing even those events He doesn't morally approve. In all things that distinction needs to be preserved.

When discussing God's (single) will, I prefer the distinction between God's decretive or secret will (what He sovereignly ordains) and His preceptive or revealed will (what He commands and approves). God commands things that people routinely disobey, yet nothing ultimately falls outside His sovereign, providential governance (Eph. 1:11).

An early example of this distinction can be found in Augustine of Hippo (354–430), in his Enchiridion, chapters 95–100. Francis Turretin (1623–1687) provides a masterful discussion of this in his Institutes of Elenctic Theology, topic 3, question 15. More recently, James Petigru Boyce (1827–1888) did the same in his Abstract of Systematic Theology, chapter 12.

Joel R. Beeke and Paul M. Smalley put the matter this way:

"The Scriptures speak of God's will toward his creatures in two distinct senses: what they should do and what they will do. The first pertains to God's authoritative regulation and the second to his effective reign... We may also express this distinction, perhaps most accurately, as that between God's preceptive will and his decretive will. The first describes what God instructs us to do; the second what he has decreed to take place."

~ Joel R. Beeke and Paul M. Smalley, Reformed Systematic Theology, vol. 1, Revelation, Theology, and God (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2019), 764–765.

There are more than a few illustrations of this from Scripture (think of both Joseph and Judas), but arguably the crucifixion is probably our clearest example of the distinction between God's decretive will and His preceptive will.

God's preceptive or revealed will forbids murder and therefore condemns the unjust killing of the innocent (Exod 20:13; Prov 6:16–17). Yet Peter declares that Jesus (though completely innocent) was delivered over and crucified according to God's “predetermined plan and foreknowledge” (Acts 2:23). So within God's single will, the crucifixion (read: murder) of the Son of God was simultaneously both a violation of God's moral commands and the accomplishment of His sovereign redemptive purpose. God ordained the event, without approving the wicked intentions of those who carried it out.

Stephen J. Wellum makes this summary observation:

"In the same event, God was at work accomplishing his decreed good ends, while humans were doing precisely what God had decreed, yet in a free and responsible manner, and by evil actions. In one sense, those who crucified Christ should not have done so, and they will be held responsible for their actions. Yet, in another sense, those who crucified our Lord were doing exactly what God had ordained for them to do, but freely and responsibly!"

~ Stephen J. Wellum, Systematic Theology: From Canon to Concept, vol. 1 (Brentwood, TN: B&H Academic, 2024), 890.

Like all good theology, this doctrine isn't mere useless abstraction. The distinction between God’s decretive and preceptive will is both helpful and encouraging in everyday Christian life. It reminds us that God's sovereignty isn't threatened by human sin, suffering, unforeseen calamities, or circumstances we can't understand. Our responsibility is to obey what God has revealed, not try to decode what He's kept secret (Deut 29:29). And when life takes painful or bewildering turns (as it surely will), we can rest in the assurance that God hasn't lost control. Our God can and will sovereignly accomplish His good purposes even through things He doesn't morally approve.

So how do we determine God's will? That's a matter for another Note, but for now, Robert Letham offers some good guidance:

"In the end, we need to exercise wisdom to determine the best course of action for ourselves within the bounds of God's revealed will. Whom should I marry? What job should I accept? How should I spend my free time? There may be a wide variety of valid alternatives. We need to act within the bounds of Scripture, informed by a realistic assessment of the gifts God has given us and the circumstances in which he has placed us."

~ Robert Letham, Systematic Theology (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2019), 170–171.