The short answer is that God knew every single detail before He created the world. He wrote the script of this world before He created anything. Therein He ordained what will happen and what He will allow; all sinful and good activities. Everything works together to accomplish His plan foreknown by Him before He create anything. He is the author and creator of all good, but He also ordained all evil by allowing and preventing what He willed. Everything works together to accomplish His good purposes; good and evil. It is only and infinite wise and almighty God that can produce good out of all evil. He is the author of all good things and he willed all bad things by allowing it. There are evil deeds which He stops and there are those He does not stop, thereby wills it. Satan and man is the author of all evil, but that which God wills, He allows to happen to accomplish His good purposes. God could stop Satan, but He did not. In many other cases He did stop Satan. He could have stopped Adam and Eve, because many other evil activities He does prevent from happening. He could have stopped Cain from killing Abel, but He did not. He allowed him to fall into that sin. Cain was the author, but God allowed that activity to take place. Throughout history there are cases where God step in and prevent sin and many other cases He allows it. This shows His will. Some sins he willed to happen and others is outside of His decree and He prevents it from happening.
Not one molecule move a millimetre outside of the decree and will of God. No human will exists without God ordaining any decision made. There is not one millimetre in this universe that exist without the knowledge and will of God. Even the energy to commit a murder is given by God. He is not the author thereof but allows it. Man, under the control of Satan, is the author of all evil. All sinful activities that He has not ordained, He will stop. Those He ordained, He will allow to happen to accomplish His good purposes. If there was any molecule or activity outside the will and control of God, then there was no surety that Jesus would come and die for sin. The Bible would not be trustworthy, neither God. He would not be all wise, almighty, all knowing and all seeing. Mary could say no to the birth of Jesus, Joseph could refuse to marry Mary and Judas could chose not to betray Jesus and so the OT prophecies would be false. Even Pilate could release Jesus instead of Barabbas. But God ordained Pilate to follow a lie and murder Jesus by an evil plot by the Romans and the Jews. Who made sure they would choose according to God's plan. God did. What if Pilate chose to release Jesus and not crucify him. Then God had a problem because He could not control Pilate's will and choices. Then the most essential part of the Bible, the salvation plan, falls flat. But Pilate partook in a lie and an evil plan to commit a murder of an innocent Man. Who ordained that murder to take place and even made sure it would happen and that the evil choices will be made in order for Jesus to die? God did. Otherwise there was a chance that Jesus would not die and then God had a problem. Then His creation fails because the fall has already taken place and the whole creation would be lost forever. That whole evil plot was ordained by God to take place, but man committed the sin. God did not make the sinful decisions, but He ordained it to happen to make sure it would happen. If this is not true, the Bible would be lies, because who would ensure it would happen if God did not have control over the will of man, all actions, good and evil, in the entire universe.
If God did not ordained everything then there was a CHANCE that Adam and Eve would not fall. We cannot reason about God from a human perspective as if He is a man. God is infinitely more and above man. Not only was the fall know by God, but He ordained it to happen. Therefore it would happen. If we reason about God from a human perspective, it means God reacts on events as it plays out before Him. If God only foreknew about the fall but had no control over it, it means there MIGHT be a fall and as a backdoor God ordained His Son to die. That means there was a CHANCE that Adam and Eve would not fall and then God will have to cancel the death of Jesus. He just prepared for POSSIBILITIES. That means, the Bible as we have it today, which is God's ordained will, can be overruled by human decisions and actions.
We must also acknowledge there is a mystery here. It is clear that we cannot reason out this whole situation around sin, but we must accept the facts in the Bible. Some of it we would not be able to explain completely. But it remains a fact, God ordained all good and evil before He created the universe to accomplish His good purposes. This is what the Bible reveals.
What the Bible say can be summarised as follows:
What does it mean that God is sovereign?
The Sovereignty of God is the biblical teaching that all things are under God's rule and control, and that nothing happens without His direction or permission. God works not just some things but all things according to the counsel of His own will (see Eph. 1:11).
What are the decrees of God?
God from all eternity did, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely, and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass:(a) yet so, as thereby neither is God the author of sin,(b) nor is violence offered to the will of the creatures, nor is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established.
(a) Eph. 1:11; Rom. 11:33; Heb. 6:17; Rom. 9:15, 18. (b) Jam. 1:13, 17; I John 1:5. (c) Acts 2:23; Matt. 17:12; Acts 4:27, 28; John 19:11; Prov. 16:33.
Although God knows whatsoever may or can come to pass upon all supposed conditions,(d) yet hath He not decreed anything because He foresaw it as future, or as that which would come to pass upon such conditions.(e)
(d) Acts 15:18; I Sam. 23:11, 12; Matt. 11:21, 23. (e) Rom. 9:11, 13, 16, 18.
God's decrees are eternal.
Acts 15:18; Eph. 1:4; 3:11; 1 Pet. 1:20; 2 Thess. 2:13; 2 Tim. 1:9; 1 Cor. 2:7.
God's Decrees Concern Everything.
Dan. 4:34, 35; Acts 17:26; Eph 1:11; Prov. 16:33; Matt. 10:29, 30; Eph. 2:10, 11; Phil. 2:13; Acts 2:23; 4:27, 28; 13:29; 1 Pet. 2:8; Jude 4; Rev. 17:17; Gen. 37:28, with Gen. 45:7, 8, and Gen. 50:20. See also Ps. 17:13, 14; Isa. 10:5, 15.
They are Sovereign.
Isa. 40:13, 14; Dan. 4:35; Matt. 11:25, 26; Rom. 9:11, 15-18; Eph. 1:5, 11.
They are absolute and unconditional.
2 Thess. 2:13; Isa. 46:10; Eph. 1:11; Ps. 33:11; Prov. 19:21; Isa. 14:24, 27 ; 46:10; Rom. 9:11; Isa. 46:9.
They include the means.
Eph. 1:4; 2 Thess. 2:13; 1 Pet. 1:2.
They preserve human responsibility.
Gen. 50:20; Acts 2:23; 3:18; 4:27, 28.Not one molecule move a millimetre outside of the decree and will of God. No human will exists without God ordaining any decision made. There is not one millimetre in this universe that exist without the knowledge and will of God. Even the energy to commit a murder is given by God. He is not the author thereof but allows it. Man, under the control of Satan, is the author of all evil. All sinful activities that He has not ordained, He will stop. Those He ordained, He will allow to happen to accomplish His good purposes. If there was any molecule or activity outside the will and control of God, then there was no surety that Jesus would come and die for sin. The Bible would not be trustworthy, neither God. He would not be all wise, almighty, all knowing and all seeing. Mary could say no to the birth of Jesus, Joseph could refuse to marry Mary and Judas could chose not to betray Jesus and so the OT prophecies would be false. Even Pilate could release Jesus instead of Barabbas. But God ordained Pilate to follow a lie and murder Jesus by an evil plot by the Romans and the Jews. Who made sure they would choose according to God's plan. God did. What if Pilate chose to release Jesus and not crucify him. Then God had a problem because He could not control Pilate's will and choices. Then the most essential part of the Bible, the salvation plan, falls flat. But Pilate partook in a lie and an evil plan to commit a murder of an innocent Man. Who ordained that murder to take place and even made sure it would happen and that the evil choices will be made in order for Jesus to die? God did. Otherwise there was a chance that Jesus would not die and then God had a problem. Then His creation fails because the fall has already taken place and the whole creation would be lost forever. That whole evil plot was ordained by God to take place, but man committed the sin. God did not make the sinful decisions, but He ordained it to happen to make sure it would happen. If this is not true, the Bible would be lies, because who would ensure it would happen if God did not have control over the will of man, all actions, good and evil, in the entire universe.
If God did not ordained everything then there was a CHANCE that Adam and Eve would not fall. We cannot reason about God from a human perspective as if He is a man. God is infinitely more and above man. Not only was the fall know by God, but He ordained it to happen. Therefore it would happen. If we reason about God from a human perspective, it means God reacts on events as it plays out before Him. If God only foreknew about the fall but had no control over it, it means there MIGHT be a fall and as a backdoor God ordained His Son to die. That means there was a CHANCE that Adam and Eve would not fall and then God will have to cancel the death of Jesus. He just prepared for POSSIBILITIES. That means, the Bible as we have it today, which is God's ordained will, can be overruled by human decisions and actions.
We must also acknowledge there is a mystery here. It is clear that we cannot reason out this whole situation around sin, but we must accept the facts in the Bible. Some of it we would not be able to explain completely. But it remains a fact, God ordained all good and evil before He created the universe to accomplish His good purposes. This is what the Bible reveals.
What the Bible say can be summarised as follows:
What does it mean that God is sovereign?
The Sovereignty of God is the biblical teaching that all things are under God's rule and control, and that nothing happens without His direction or permission. God works not just some things but all things according to the counsel of His own will (see Eph. 1:11).
What are the decrees of God?
God from all eternity did, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely, and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass:(a) yet so, as thereby neither is God the author of sin,(b) nor is violence offered to the will of the creatures, nor is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established.
(a) Eph. 1:11; Rom. 11:33; Heb. 6:17; Rom. 9:15, 18. (b) Jam. 1:13, 17; I John 1:5. (c) Acts 2:23; Matt. 17:12; Acts 4:27, 28; John 19:11; Prov. 16:33.
Although God knows whatsoever may or can come to pass upon all supposed conditions,(d) yet hath He not decreed anything because He foresaw it as future, or as that which would come to pass upon such conditions.(e)
(d) Acts 15:18; I Sam. 23:11, 12; Matt. 11:21, 23. (e) Rom. 9:11, 13, 16, 18.
God's decrees are eternal.
Acts 15:18; Eph. 1:4; 3:11; 1 Pet. 1:20; 2 Thess. 2:13; 2 Tim. 1:9; 1 Cor. 2:7.
God's Decrees Concern Everything.
Dan. 4:34, 35; Acts 17:26; Eph 1:11; Prov. 16:33; Matt. 10:29, 30; Eph. 2:10, 11; Phil. 2:13; Acts 2:23; 4:27, 28; 13:29; 1 Pet. 2:8; Jude 4; Rev. 17:17; Gen. 37:28, with Gen. 45:7, 8, and Gen. 50:20. See also Ps. 17:13, 14; Isa. 10:5, 15.
They are Sovereign.
Isa. 40:13, 14; Dan. 4:35; Matt. 11:25, 26; Rom. 9:11, 15-18; Eph. 1:5, 11.
They are absolute and unconditional.
2 Thess. 2:13; Isa. 46:10; Eph. 1:11; Ps. 33:11; Prov. 19:21; Isa. 14:24, 27 ; 46:10; Rom. 9:11; Isa. 46:9.
They include the means.
Eph. 1:4; 2 Thess. 2:13; 1 Pet. 1:2.
They preserve human responsibility.
They determine the free actions of men.
Acts 4:27, 28 ; Eph. 2:10.
They secure conversion and the conditions for final salvation.
Eph. 2:8 ; Phil. 2:13; 2 Tim. 2:25.
They render events certain.
Matt. 16:21; Luke 18:31-33; 24:46; Acts 2:23; 13:29; 1 Cor. 11:19.
Thanks brother. These are real truths which I love to read about, understand and believe (or believe, understand and love to read about...). Thank you for searching for these truths and for making it easy for me and others like me to easily reference. You are a great encouragement to me. Soli Deo Gloria!
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