¶ There is only one uninhibited freewill in the universe. Many were created with a freewill but failed the test. They exercise an encumbered freewill. This clarifies the idea that a man’s freedom exists only to the point that it interferes with another’s freedom, or his freewill is limited by the freewill of another person.
¶ Is man a free moral agent? Does man have freedom of choice? Does man have a freewill? If man is free, he is a free moral agent exercising freedom of choice with a free will to do as he desires. Having a freewill is the ultimate expression of freedom. The title of this essay could be a “cosmic experiment with freedom” or with “freewill.” When the essence of mankind is freedom, freewill is the logical expression of that freedom. To act as a free moral agent typifies his behavior. These three concepts are inextricably intertwined. What is the nature, then, of freewill?
¶ If man is truly free, freewill can be exercised within a prison. But to be truly free, there can be no limitations. At best, freewill for human beings exists within acceptable boundaries. Freewill may be for a man to spread his arms, flap them furiously, and fly to the moon. Physical boundaries prohibit man from achieving what he wills. God does not have boundaries. He is free to chose whatever is true to his character. His is an uninhibited freewill.
¶ Almighty, Omniscient, Omnipresent God has an uninhibited freewill. There is nothing impossible with God when his desire is to do it. God’s desire cannot be thwarted. He acts true to his character and, his character determines what he will do. He will not do or say anything contrary to who he is.
¶ Therefore, it is important to know God, to know his character, his values, and his expectations. The better God is known the more confidence, faith, we can have in him. For instance, to know that God is good assures us that when God acts it will be for good. To know that God is love assures us that God acts will reveal mercy, compassion and, justice, all elements of love. To know that God has an uninhibited freewill assures us that he will do whatever he desires governed by his goodness and his love.
¶ Satan was evidently a very powerful, beautiful, and influential angel according to the description in Ezekiel 28:11-19. In the first part of that chapter Ezekiel addresses the ruler of Tyre, a city along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. In verse 11 the Lord instructs Ezekiel to lament and give this message to the king of Tyre. What follows is a comparison of the king of Tyre to a mysterious event which took place in Eden, the garden of God. It reaches back to an earlier creation when one who was “the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty” was created and anointed as a guardian cherub. This departure from the earthly events to what happened in another place and time is commonly accepted as a description of Satan’s origin and rebellion. Satan aspired to be greater than God.
¶ In a similar situation in Isaiah 14 there is more information about the rebellion of Satan. In Isaiah 14:12 he is referred to as “the morning star, son of the dawn.” The previous message was to the king of Babylon. Suddenly the king of Babylon provides a picture of what happened in heaven. He is behaving like Satan did when he rebelled against God. “I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” The same fate of the “king of Tyre” in Ezekiel is described for the “king of Babylon” in Isaiah.
¶ A similar fate is described in Revelation 12:7-14. Satan evidently has access to heaven until the end times. In the book of Job, Satan and the Lord have a conversation about Job which takes place in heaven. But, during the time described in Revelation, Satan is thrown out of heaven, away from the presence of God and eventually cast into the lake of burning sulphur. (Revelation 20:1-10)
¶ Revelation 12:7 & 9 associates angels with “the great dragon, that ancient serpent called the devil or Satan” who was thrown out of heaven. When Satan tried to exalt himself above God, he had a following of angels. From Revelation 12 and Matthew 25:41 we see that these “fallen angels” suffer the same fate as Satan.
¶ God, the Creator, gave to Satan and the angels the ability to be loyal or rebel. Satan and a host of angels exercised their freewill and chose to rebel. However, the Most High would not, could not, be surpassed in greatness by his creation. (He created all that is.) Satan and his kind are doomed for the lake of fire, albeit at present they seek to lead astray the whole world. Satan’s freewill was limited by ultimate authority of the Creator.
¶ Man’s fate is a repetition of the fall of Satan and his angels. Adam and Eve challenged the authority of God by disobeying the command not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Satan deceived them into thinking that God was good and would not destroy them. They were not immediately destroyed. However, man’s days were limited until he “return(s) to the ground. . .since from it (he was) taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.” (Genesis 3:19)
¶ Freewill varies among these three. The Most High exercises true freedom of the will. There are no boundaries limiting his actions and choices. Satan and the angels have exercised their freewill either in loyalty or rebellion to the Most High. They were limited by the Creator. Their choice is irrevocable. Satan coaxed Adam and Eve into choosing to challenge the authority of their Creator. However, God played a trump card. He made it possible for man to repent. For those who turn away from their rebellion and commit to loyalty to God there is the gift of eternal life, not that they won’t return to the dust, but an eternal presence and communion with God. In all of this God freely exercises his will. For those who chose loyalty, some angels and repentant man, there is an eternal fellowship. For those who chose to rebel Satan, some angels and unrepentant man, there is eternal separation from God and the lake of fire.
¶ This cosmic display of the freewill helps us understand the meaning of “Your freedom extends only so far as to not interfere with my freedom.” And likewise for me. It is also said about the extent of a person’s rights.
¶ Only the Most High has an uninhibited freewill. Whoever else that has a freewill can only exercise it within boundaries prohibiting them from usurping the throne of God. There are dire consequences when man or angels become proud and exalt themselves above God or lives as God does not exist trying to become the ultimate authority. On earth wars rage when one ruler seeks to impose his will upon another dictatorial ruler. Battles in the home result when two people try to impose their freewill upon each other. It all started eons ago when a beautiful, wise angel challenged his Creator, the Most High God. Creation continues to challenge his authority today.
