Stephen Jones — Doctrine of God
b8 — Free Will Versus Ownership
Sovereignty of God — God’s will vs free will
Passage 1 — The meaning of Greek helkuo (drag/draw):
“John 6:44 says: ‘No man can come to me, unless the Father who sent me draws him.’ Strong’s Concordance says that the Greek helkuo means ‘to drag.’ It is translated in the King James as ‘draw.’ John 6:44 says […] That same word is used in other parts of the Bible, such as John 21:6, and James 2:6. In James 2:6 it means ‘to drag’ — the rich and powerful drag you into court. Do the rich and powerful come knocking on your door and say, ‘You have a choice here. We would like you to come down to our court because we want to sue you’? I do not think they give anyone the ‘free will’ option to decline. They put the handcuffs on you and drag you into court. That is the theme in James 2 — it means ‘to drag.’ To drag implies that they do not have much free will in the matter.”
Source: Jones, Free Will Versus Ownership, ch. 1 (John 6:44, 21:6; James 2:6).
Passage 2 — John 12:32 and dragging all men:
“John 12:32 says: ‘And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw [helkuo] all men unto myself.’ Here, Jesus uses that same word helkuo, which means to drag. It does not sound like men have much to say in the matter. In other words, if the expression ‘to drag’ implies the rich and powerful are dragging you into court or the net is dragging fish into the boat, then the ones being dragged are having their ‘free will’ overruled by a higher will.”
Source: Jones, Free Will Versus Ownership, ch. 1 (John 12:32).
Passage 3 — Man’s will is subordinate to God’s will:
“The position of this book is that man has a will, but that will is not ‘free’ in the accepted sense. Its freedom is subordinate to God’s will. Man’s will has God-given authority, but not sovereignty. The sovereign will of God is more powerful than man’s will.”
Source: Jones, Free Will Versus Ownership, ch. 1.
Passage 4 — Ephesians 1:11 and God’s counsel of His own will:
“Ephesians 1:11 says: ‘In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.’ To absolve God of any responsibility for evil in the world, many Christian theologians today feel the need to take back most of God’s sovereignty. First they attribute the sovereignty to God, and then they take it all back and give most of it to the devil and to man.”
Source: Jones, Free Will Versus Ownership, ch. 1 (Eph. 1:11).
Passage 5 — John 1:13 — not of the will of man:
“John 1:13 says: ‘Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.’ It is not the will of the flesh; it is not the will of man; it is not blood lineage. It is done only by the will of God.”
Source: Jones, Free Will Versus Ownership, ch. 1 (John 1:13).
Ownership of God — Creation and liability
Passage 6 — Genesis 1:1 and God’s creative right:
“Genesis 1:1 says: ‘In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.’ […] The Greek New Testament uses two different words to describe sovereign power and authority. Dunamis is power (Acts 1:16). Exousia is authority (Matt. 8:9). These terms are relative. A man under authority looks up to a higher ‘power.’ But that same man may have people under him who look to him as a higher ‘power.’ Thus, a man may have ‘power’ over men, but at the same time is under ‘authority’ given by a higher power.”
Source: Jones, Free Will Versus Ownership, ch. 2 (Gen. 1:1; Acts 1:16; Matt. 8:9).
Passage 7 — Genesis 2:7 — man formed from the dust:
“Genesis 2:7 says: ‘And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.’ Note here that man was formed of the dust of the ground, material that God had created in Genesis 1:1. So, the devil did not create; God created the earth and then formed and shaped man out of this material that He had created.”
Source: Jones, Free Will Versus Ownership, ch. 2 (Gen. 2:7).
Passage 8 — Leviticus 25:23 — the earth is God’s:
“Leviticus 25:23-24 says: ‘The land shall not be sold for ever: for the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me.’ These are God’s land laws. […] God retains sovereignty; man was given authority that was subordinate to His sovereignty. Everyone needs to know that distinction. Authority is always limited by the will of the one who is sovereign.”
Source: Jones, Free Will Versus Ownership, ch. 2 (Lev. 25:23-24).
Passage 9 — Ownership as basis for liability (Exodus 21:33-34):
“Exodus 21:33-34 says: ‘And if a man shall open a pit, or if a man shall dig a pit, and not cover it, and an ox or an ass fall therein; the owner of the pit shall make it good, and give money unto the owner of them; and the dead beast shall be his.’ The liability here is based upon ownership. […] The owner of the pit is liable just because he owns the pit. The issue is not whether the ox (that is, Adam) fell by his own free will. This law does not address the responsibility of the ox to stay out of the pit. This law asks only: Who owns the pit? Who was responsible to cover it to prevent the ox from falling into it?”
Source: Jones, Free Will Versus Ownership, ch. 2 (Ex. 21:33-34).
Interpretation: Jones argues God’s liability laws are based on ownership, not free will. God dug the “pit” (tree of knowledge) and left it uncovered — therefore He is liable.
Passage 10 — Romans 5:18-19 — all justified through Christ:
“Romans 5:18-19 says: ‘So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. For as through one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.‘”
Source: Jones, Free Will Versus Ownership, ch. 2 (Rom. 5:18-19).
Passage 11 — 1 Corinthians 15:22 — all made alive in Christ:
“1 Corinthians 15:22-23 says: ‘For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive. But each in his own order.’ […] His blood was sufficient and worth enough to pay for the sin of the whole world. 1 John 2:2 says: ‘And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.‘”
Source: Jones, Free Will Versus Ownership, ch. 2 (1 Cor. 15:22-23; 1 John 2:2).
Passage 12 — Revelation 5:13 — all creation worships God:
“Revelation 5:13-14 says: ‘And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, “To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion for the ages of the ages.” And the four living creatures kept saying, “Amen.” And the elders fell down and worshiped.’ […] The twenty-four elders knew that their authority was subordinate to the sovereignty of God and to His will. Why? Because He was the Creator, and they owed their very existence to His will, not to their own will or power.”
Source: Jones, Free Will Versus Ownership, ch. 2 (Rev. 5:13-14; 4:11).
Knowledge of God — revelation and human understanding
Passage 13 — God reveals Himself to some, not to all:
“John 6:37 says: ‘All that the Father gives Me shall come to me, and the one who comes to me I will certainly not cast out.’ […] Whoever the Father has given to Christ will come to Him. How do we know this? Because the will of God is backed up by His power. He is able to do His will in the earth. He is not helpless in the face of man’s will. […] Why does He not reveal Himself to all men in this present age? His reasons for not revealing Himself to all men in this present age are beyond the scope of this book, but the fact remains that His sovereign will is not at all hampered or hindered by the will of man — not even in the matter of his personal salvation.”
Source: Jones, Free Will Versus Ownership, ch. 1 (John 6:37).
Passage 14 — Saul/Paul as example of God’s intervention:
“If God could change the heart of Saul by an act of His sovereign will, then why does He not do so with all men? Could He not convert all men to Himself by such a revelation process? […] He could have done so only within the parameters of time. The biblical laws on which this truth is based are discussed in my booklet If God Could Save Everyone—Would He?”
Source: Jones, Free Will Versus Ownership, ch. 1 (Acts 9).
Passage 15 — Jeremiah 31:18 — God turns, man responds:
“Jeremiah 31:18 says: ‘I have surely heard Ephraim moaning over himself, saying, “You have chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bull not broken in. Turn me, and I shall be turned, for You are Jehovah my God.“’ By the Spirit, Jeremiah compares Ephraim to a bullock plowing a field, as if praying to his master to turn him in another direction. To turn means to repent, to go in another direction. But the bull cannot turn unless the master turns him. In other words, the farmer is the one responsible to turn the bull in the right direction as it is plowing the field.”
Source: Jones, Free Will Versus Ownership, ch. 1 (Jer. 31:18; 17:14).
Boulema vs Thelema — Distinction in God’s will
Passage 16 — Two Greek words for “will”:
“The New Testament uses two different words that are translated ‘will.’ They are not the same, but because the translators did not understand their difference, they have obscured a vital truth in understanding the relationship between man’s will and God’s sovereignty. The will of God is that we do not sin. It is primarily expressed in the law that says, ‘Thou shalt not…’ The best verse illustrating His WILL [thelema] is found in Romans 2:17-18. […] The second Greek word usually translated ‘will’ is boulema. Paul uses this word in Romans 9, where he discusses the case of Pharaoh […] Verse 19 says: ‘You will say to me then, Why does He still find fault? For who resists His WILL [Greek: boulema, “plan, or higher intention”]?‘”
Source: Jones, Free Will Versus Ownership, ch. 3 (Rom. 2:17-18; Rom. 9:19).
Interpretation: Jones makes a sharp distinction between thelema (God’s immediate will/command) and boulema (God’s sovereign plan/purpose). Man can resist God’s thelema, but cannot resist His boulema.
Passage 17 — Exodus 7:3 — God hardens Pharaoh’s heart:
“Exodus 7:2-5 says: ‘I will harden Pharaoh’s heart that I may multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt. When Pharaoh will not listen to you, then I will lay My hand on Egypt…’ Here God lays out the plan before Moses, so that he would know ahead of time what God intended to do. There is no indication by the wording that God merely ‘knew’ ahead of time what Pharaoh would do, and that God was merely taking that into account. The statement, ‘But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart,’ leaves no room for leaving God out of the equation.”
Source: Jones, Free Will Versus Ownership, ch. 3 (Ex. 7:2-5).
Passage 18 — Pharaoh’s heart hardened: God vs. Pharaoh:
“In the first few plagues it appears that Pharaoh hardened his own heart, but once again, we are led to believe that Pharaoh’s will was only a reaction to God’s work in hardening his heart. […] Pharaoh did it on his own level, but God did it on a higher level. Each is therefore responsible in his own way and on his own level. […] Pharaoh’s heart was in the Lord’s hands to do as He wished. Pharaoh did not realize this, of course, because he did not know God.”
Source: Jones, Free Will Versus Ownership, ch. 3 (Ex. 7:13-14; 8:15; 9:12, 34-35; 10:1; Prov. 21:1).
Passage 19 — 1 Timothy 2:4 — God wills all to be saved:
“1 Timothy 2:4 says: ‘who desires [Greek verb: thelei, “wills”] all men to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth.’ But it is God’s ‘plan’ [boulema] that most of them would be saved through divine judgment and correction. Egypt represents the world of unbelievers; Israel represents the believers. It is a parable of history that portrays the mind of God as He brings all of creation into subjection under the feet of Christ (1 Cor. 15:27).”
Source: Jones, Free Will Versus Ownership, ch. 3 (1 Tim. 2:4; 1 Cor. 15:27).
Passage 20 — Romans 11:32-36 — God shuts all up:
“Romans 11:32-36 says: ‘For God has shut up all in disobedience that He might show mercy to all. Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to Him again? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.’ […] God’s Will + Time = The Plan. The relationship between God’s will and God’s plan is this: God’s will is always going to be fulfilled — but not until certain things have happened.”
Source: Jones, Free Will Versus Ownership, ch. 3 (Rom. 11:32-36).
Aseity — God’s self-sufficiency and liability
Passage 21 — God as Creator bears final responsibility:
“God created man out of the dust of the ground. If God owns all the land by right of creation, and we are made of the dust of the ground, God owns you and God owns me. It is not a question of whether or not you have a free will; it is a question of whether or not God has a free will. Who owns you?”
Source: Jones, Free Will Versus Ownership, ch. 3 (Num. 14:20-21; Isa. 45:23-25).
Passage 22 — The servant and the fire (Isaiah 45:23):
“Isaiah 45:23-25 says: ‘I have sworn by Myself; the word has gone from My mouth in righteousness and will not turn back, that to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance. […] In the Lord will all the offspring of Israel be justified and will glory.’ Yes, God has sworn by His own sovereign ability that He will bring all men to the place where they will confess Him to be righteous.”
Source: Jones, Free Will Versus Ownership, ch. 3 (Isa. 45:23-25; Rev. 4:11).
Passage 23 — Job 1:12 — Satan needs God’s permission:
“Job 1:12 says: ‘Then the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power, only do not put forth your hand on him.”’ […] The book of Job shows us that Satan is subject to the sovereignty of God as much as man is. God is pictured as bragging to Satan about Job. Satan counters that Job was a follower of God only because God had been so good to him. […] The book of Job makes it clear that Satan is bound by the word and law of God. If the will of God stands above Satan’s will, then we should see biblical evidence that God takes the credit for the ‘evil’ things that happen.”
Source: Jones, Free Will Versus Ownership, ch. 3 (Job 1:12).
Interpretation: Jones teaches that God is sovereign over Satan and views the devil as “middle management” — subordinate to God’s sovereignty.
Justice of God — judgment as correction
Passage 24 — Luke 12:47-48 — liability according to knowledge and authority:
“Luke 12:47-48 says: ‘And that slave who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, shall receive many lashes. But the one who did not know it and committed deeds worthy of a flogging, will receive but few.’ […] Because God has both omnipotence and omniscience, He requires the most of Himself. Is He capable of rising to the occasion? We believe that He is well able. Man’s will cannot stop God’s plan.”
Source: Jones, Free Will Versus Ownership, ch. 2 (Luke 12:47-48).
Passage 25 — The lake of fire as corrective:
“One of the primary purposes of resurrection is to bring men into judgment and accountability to His ‘fiery law’ (Deut. 33:2), that they might ‘learn righteousness’ (Isaiah 26:9). In other words, the purpose of divine judgment in the ‘lake of fire’ is to correct them, not to destroy them. It is to teach them the character of God, who is like ‘a consuming fire’ (Deut. 4:24; Heb. 12:29). It consumes ‘the flesh.‘”
Source: Jones, Free Will Versus Ownership, ch. 2 (Isa. 26:9; Deut. 33:2; Deut. 4:24; Heb. 12:29).
Passage 26 — The Jubilee ends all debt:
“There is a year of Jubilee that limits all liability for debt. This is God’s law. We do not have the authority or the sovereignty that would allow us to sell ourselves into debt so far that the year of Jubilee could not free us. We do not have that right; we have never had that right or authority, because we do not own us.”
Source: Jones, Free Will Versus Ownership, ch. 1 (Lev. 25:54; Matt. 18:23-25).
Love of God — God’s goodness despite evil
Passage 27 — Romans 8:28 — all things work together for good:
“We know that all things work together for good to those who love God (Rom. 8:28). He has created this whole situation, and for whatever reason, it was His will to create vessels of honor and vessels of dishonor. We may not understand this, and if we do not understand, then, as Paul says in Romans 9:20, we are not to question God. […] I have faith that God knows what He is doing, and I have faith that God is a good God. Every injustice that is in the world, He will rectify.”
Source: Jones, Free Will Versus Ownership, ch. 2 (Rom. 8:28; 9:20).
Passage 28 — Genesis 50:20 — Joseph, you meant evil, God meant good:
“Genesis 50:19-21 says: ‘But Joseph said to them, Do not be afraid, for am I in God’s place? And as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.’ Joseph recognized that events had occurred on two levels — by man’s authority and by God’s sovereignty. The brothers acted according to their will, thinking it was their own idea to sell Joseph as a slave. […] Yet the brothers were responsible only as far as they had authority. Joseph also clearly showed that God was ultimately responsible for it.”
Source: Jones, Free Will Versus Ownership, ch. 3 (Gen. 50:19-21).
Justice of God — judgment and time periods
Passage 29 — Aionian judgments (age-bound):
“The term ‘eternal’ in the Bible is aionian, which means ‘pertaining to an eon, or an age.’ Judgment is age-abiding, not ‘eternal’ as such, and this is verified by checking Young’s Literal Translation of the Bible, by Dr. Robert Young, the author of Young’s Concordance.”
Source: Jones, Free Will Versus Ownership, ch. 2 (references The Judgments of the Divine Law and Creation’s Jubilee).
Passage 30 — 2 Samuel 24:1 vs. 1 Chronicles 21:1 — God vs. Satan:
“2 Samuel 24:1 says: ‘Now again the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and it incited David against them to say, “Go, number Israel and Judah.“’ In 1 Chronicles 21:1, which records the same story, it says: ‘Then Satan stood up against Israel and moved David to number Israel.’ Well, who did it, God or Satan? Both. This is not a contradiction. Joseph’s brothers sold him as a slave to Egypt, but Joseph gave the credit to God. This is not a contradiction. Both are true on different levels.”
Source: Jones, Free Will Versus Ownership, ch. 3 (2 Sam. 24:1; 1 Chron. 21:1; Ex. 30:12).
Interpretation: Jones teaches that events occur on two levels: the human level (authority/responsibility) and God’s level (sovereignty/plan). Man is accountable within his authority; God is accountable on His sovereign level.