The Divine/Human Synergy

“Well, abortion is God’s will or He wouldn’t allow it to happen,” said a 60-something white-haired woman in our Baptist Sunday school class. There were about 30 of us in that class, mixed ages; most were young married couples with children. We’d been attending long enough for folks to know me and my strong opinions. Everyone got quiet in our lopsided semi-round circle of folding chairs. I swallowed hard. I find in these types of situations it’s best to ask a few questions before letting my head completely explode.

Calmly, and still taking deep breaths, I asked, “How do you mean? When is abortion ever God’s will?”

Full of self-assurance, the visiting granny of three said, “Well, God is in control! He knew the moment that baby was conceived it would be aborted and that was His plan for that child. Some women just aren’t meant to have kids.”

No one corrected her. Not even the Sunday school teacher. No one said anything… so I began. It went something like this:

We must acknowledge a thing called DIVINE/HUMAN SYNERGY. By divine/human synergy, I mean that God is at work in the world, but He also calls human beings to respond: to choose, obey, pray, resist evil, and participate with Him in doing His will. God knowing that something will happen is not the same as God willing it to happen. And God allowing human beings the freedom to make sinful choices does not make Him the author of those choices.

Yes, God is working. And yes, God is a Redeemer. God is absolutely omnipotent. But God has also given humankind a free will. Because of FREE WILL, sin occurs every single day and sin is NEVER God’s will. By its very definition, sin is the opposite of God’s will. Every time a baby is aborted – God’s will is not being done; every time a woman is raped – God’s will is not being done; every time a child is sold into slavery – God’s will is not being done. Murder is not God’s will. Cheating on your spouse is not God’s will. Getting behind the wheel of a car while intoxicated – NOT GOD’S WILL!

So, please be careful saying, “God is in control,” because it begins sounding fatalistic like the Muslim Shahada, “Everything is predestined to happen.” As Christians, the Bible does not teach that. What the Bible does teach is that God gives us freedom to choose and that, if we run from horrible sinful choices, repent, and turn to Him, He will and does Redeem those choices. Redemption is wonderful, powerful, grace-filled mercy. Redemption turns horrible things in our lives into something for our good and for His purposes. When we surrender to Jesus, Romans 8:28 becomes a life-giving principle, “All things work to our good…according to His purposes.”

But don’t ever say sin is God’s will. It’s not. And until the Day when Jesus returns and rules and reigns over ALL the earth, we are still fighting a war with principalities and powers of wickedness in high places. That’s why Daniel had to wait three weeks for his answer to prayer (Daniel 10:12-14); that’s why Paul tells us to put on the whole armor of God; that’s why we are commanded to fight against evil, wrongdoing, and immorality. Don’t ever say to me, “Well…that must have been God’s will” when evil and sin are committed.

We are living in the Now and the Not Yet. Jesus rules His Church. Jesus controls our lives as long as we surrender them to Him, but there is still an enemy out there seeking whom he may devour and the human race, with its free will, is still being led away by that enemy. Jesus is coming, and when His Kingdom is established and He rules and reigns without hindrance, we will shout, “Our God is in control! Hallelujah! The enemy is banished! Our God reigns!!!” But until that time, we have to fight, stay faithful, declare His Word, obey, win souls, pray, and intercede. We must fight—for others and for ourselves. And the Bible says that when we’ve done all we can do, we stand, “Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand” (Ephesians 6:13, KJV). To Stand is an action verb. God calls us into action to participate with Him in the battle. To fight with Him against evil. This is Divine/Human Synergy.

There’s an insurrection going on and that’s why Jesus taught us to pray, “Thy Kingdom come; Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:9–13 KJV, the Lord’s Prayer).

If God’s will was being done around the globe, we wouldn’t need to pray that prayer. It’s a battle cry. It’s a plea. There are places all over this earth where God’s will is not being done.

It is true: God is in control of my life because I have committed my life to Him. I am His. He has written my name on the palm of His hand. He promises to turn all things for my good. But to those who have not surrendered to Him and those that live for evil, God’s will is not being done in their lives. Not yet. Their choices separate them from God. This is a common theme throughout Scripture. Choose this day whom you will serve (Deuteronomy 30:19; Joshua 24:15).

Please know my heart when I say that this fatalism of declaring everything as God’s will is not a biblical principle. God has called us to participate with Him in fulfilling His will here on earth. Why? I have no idea. But if Christians had taken a fatalistic approach to WWII, we would have said, “Don’t fight Hitler because the war is inevitable. God is in control.”

Thank God the UK, the Allied Forces, specifically the US, didn't take that approach. Here's the thing (and I like to keep the main thing, the main thing): SIN is NEVER God's will. By its very definition, sin is not God's will. I keep repeating that because it is important.

I’ve traveled around the globe and seen children’s faces from war-torn nations like Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Ukraine—if you could see the faces of these kids, you'd never try to convince anyone that their suffering and their sorrow were God's will.

The Body of Christ is to be salt and light. I preach the gospel—the Good News! I know the power it has to transform lives. And I do believe that Jesus alone has the cure for the cancer that ails the human soul. But I also know that God has made it clear, “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Whatever you believe about the return of Jesus—and it could be any day—Mark 13:32 (NIV) is clear, “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” And because of that, I will work until I die or until Jesus comes. I will work to protect the vulnerable, to stop evil men from pursuing evil deeds, to minister to the refugees and hate the war that put them there. I will participate with King Jesus to take territory for the Kingdom and to be active in setting the captives free by declaring His Name and preaching His Word. As the old gospel song says, “Rescue the perishing. Care for the dying.”    

It seems the Church worldwide has lost her theology of evil. When popular celebrity pastors tell us that everything is the will of God, it damages Believers. When celebrity preachers tell us that this is all in God's plan, how can we rightly, biblically, understand current events? Abortion, murder, warmongering, rape, stealing, human trafficking—these are never God's will. And to say they are is disgracing a Holy God who is a Redeemer and never ordains evil. There is no such thing as “spectacular sins” as one popular preacher likes to say. And Bible prophecy was on the hearts and minds of every follower of Jesus in the first century, and yet they worked to transform cultures and change governments. Thank God they did. Luke 19:13 (KJV), “And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, 'Occupy till I come.'” We occupy by declaring God’s Good News and helping those held in bondage to sin to be free in Jesus’ Name. And that, my friend, is God’s will. Peace.

— Teri