The Bible speaks of the “will of God” in several different ways. The first is distinguishing between God’s sovereign will and his command will.
1. The Sovereign (predestined or decreed) will of God
The sovereign will of God is God’s eternal, predestined, foreordained plan and purpose. It refers to that aspect of God’s will that consists of things he has decided to bring about by his own sovereign rule. No creature (man or angel) can change it. It cannot be changed or thwarted. God’s sovereign will covers matters such as
- Salvation (Ephesians 1:3-6, etc.)
- His choice and calling of Israel (Romans 11:1-2, 29)
- God’s covenant promises in the Bible
Sometimes, God reveals some elements of his sovereign will to us. However, frequently, it remains a secret. God reveals to us only what he wants us to know.
2. The command or preceptive will of God
The command will of God includes the commandments or precepts found in the Bible. E.g. the ten commandments are God’s will, but we can break them (with consequences). God says you shall not murder, yet people can murder others. There are many other commandments or passages in the Bible in which God commands us to live a certain way, to do a certain thing, or not to do a certain thing. This group is also called the moral will of God.
Beyond the sovereign and moral wills of God, we can note the following descriptions of God’s will. I’m indebted to pastor Bob Deffinbaugh for some of the ideas shared below.
3. The preferential or desiderative will of God; also called God’s will of disposition
This describes God’s attitude or disposition towards something. It tells us what is pleasing to Him–what gives God pleasure and what does not. We know that God loves to show mercy, and yet He will execute judgment (Exodus 34:6-7). It is on this basis that Moses appeals to God to forgive Israel, not only here, but many times (see Numbers 14:17-19). Not only Moses but others prayed that God would show mercy (Nehemiah 9; Daniel 9). God takes pleasure in the salvation of sinners; He does not take pleasure in pouring out His eternal wrath on sinners (Matthew 18:14; 1 Timothy 2:3-4; 2 Peter 3:9; Ezekiel 18:32; 33:11). When we come to things which are not clearly prescribed as sin, or things which are commanded, our desire should be to do that which pleases God (Romans 12:1; Colossians 1:10; 2 Corinthians 5:9; Ephesians 5:10).
4. The directive will of God
This refers to the Holy Spirit’s persona and direct guidance in our lives. He speaks to our hearts or through a dream, vision, or other means. It does not violate any of the “wills” above. There are times when God wants us at a certain place, doing a certain thing. This will agree with the scriptures. However, you don’t get the directive will by following the direct instructions of the scriptures. The “Macedonian call” (Acts 16:6-10), the direct guidance of Philip (Acts 8:26), and of Peter and Ananias (Acts 10:1-23) are examples of the directive will of God. Note that even though it is undeniable that God guides us personally and directly, this is not the most common way that God uses. An example is 1 Timothy 4:14.
5. The discerned will of God
The discerned will of God refers to the guidance we arrive at through the application of biblical principles or precepts to situations that have no clear directives in the written word. John Piper writes, “Most of the decisions we make are not spelled out specifically in the Bible. Discernment is how we follow God’s leading through the process of spiritually sensitive application of biblical truth to the particularities of our situation. Romans 12:2 describes this: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” In this case, God does not declare a specific word about what to do. But his Spirit shapes the mind and heart through the word and prayer so that we have inclinations toward what would be most glorifying to him and helpful to others.”
The decision of who to marry, what city to live, what career to pursue, how many children to have, which school to attend, what kind of car to get, what kind of food to eat, what kind of shoes and clothes to wear, and how much money to give to charity, and more are not clearly written in the Bible. We use Biblical principles to discern God’s will on it.
Caution: Confusing categorization of the will of God
The permissive will of God. This classification, “permissive will of God,” is not found in the Bible. It is a confusing attempt by some people to contrast the sovereign will of God with another concept of the will of God, namely the so-called “permissive will of God.” While the attempt is noble, I think it should be avoided because the distinction is “fraught with peril and tends to generate untold confusion.” Read “Exposing the Permissive Will of God” by R. C. Sproul.
For more on this, read Pastor Pastor Bob Deffinbaugh’s article: https://bible.org/question/can-you-help-me-understand-gods-perfect-will-versus-his-permissive-will