Can We Really Exercise Free Will?
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I agree that the Corinthians were carnal because they were following men instead of following the Lord Jesus Christ.
However, Paul does not leave this carnality undefined.
He actually names the specific sins that produced the “I am of Paul” and “I am of Apollos” mentality.
Paul ties their behavior to three sins in the very same context.
1 Corinthians 3:3 KJV
“For ye are yet carnal, for whereas there is among you
envying,
and strife,
and divisions,
are ye not carnal, and walk as men”
This shows that their man centered slogans were not simply about personality preference. They were rooted in the sins Paul identifies here. Their faction minded behavior came from envying, strife, and divisions, all of which Paul directly connects to their carnality.
It is also important to see that two of the very sins Paul rebukes in Corinth, strife and envyings, are listed in Galatians 5 as works of the flesh that will keep a man from inheriting the Kingdom of God.
Galatians 5.19 to 21 KJV
“Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these
Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like, of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”
This shows that Paul was not merely calling the Corinthians immature. The sins behind their statements were spiritually dangerous, because strife and envyings are specifically named by Paul as sins that exclude a person from the Kingdom, unless of course they were to repent.
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Yes, Nick Sayers contacted him by email and asked his opinion on the Greek grammar for 1 John 5:7 in the KJV.
Georgios reply back to Nick was really eye-opening.
https://johanninecomma.blogspot.com/
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A will is inherent, when the Bible Speaks of Gods will living in you, this means his will is living in you.
And his will is also eternal and inherent, to every man for eternity.
Which has been set in place from the beginning to the end.
The First inherent will in everybody every person is they are unsaved until they get a new heart.
inherent will in everybody from the begining is once saved they get a new heart.
Romans 9:18
John 6:40
New International Version
40 For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”
The father will is mentioned here.
The fathers will also his inherent will from the begining to the end that lives in everyone whether saved or not. Which has value to the father.
Romans 9:18
Two wills here from the father both inherent wills from the beginning,
And both the fathers will.
His will and his inherent will to everyone that hold value to him in everyman
All hearts are hardened by is will all are unsaved until saved. And untill all show mercy and until all get a new heart
Romans 9:18
Two wills here in a nice way is the lord can also make you as hard as nails to not how down to the devil .
. And not to bow down to false idols or not to bow down to sin.
I want to respond in a clearer way because my goal is not to drag this into hostility. If I misread your intentions earlier, I am willing to acknowledge that. My concern was based on how strongly you were challenging the KJV wording, and that naturally raises the question of whether the KJV translators were in error. If that was not what you were suggesting, then I am glad to hear that clarified.
However, the core issue still stands. You appear to place your confidence in your own interpretation of the Greek rather than in any settled Bible that functions as your final authority. When I ask whether you believe any Bible today is the final Word of God, you do not answer directly. That is the real tension here. It is difficult to have a doctrinal discussion when one person treats Scripture as final and the other treats it as something flexible and open to correction through personal Greek interpretation.
I checked the interpretation of the verb form usage of déxomai with Ai’s, like Perplexity and ChatGPT, and your point still does not demonstrate anything conditional with this specific verb form (Which is not the actual word used in the two popular textual traditions used today). Regardless of whether it is the verb form or the actual word in the text, it doesn't prove your case. The simple fact that someone can receive something does not establish whether that person has genuine free will or not. A brainwashed individual can receive a package handed to him. That does not prove he is not under mind control. It only shows that an act of receiving took place.
The grammar of déxomai in 2 Thessalonians 2:10 is not making a theological statement about human ability or inability. It is simply describing what they refused to do. The force and meaning of the verse rests on the wording that follows. They did not receive the love of the truth, and because they rejected it, the salvation they might have had was forfeited. That is exactly what the purpose construction communicates, and the KJV captures that meaning faithfully with “that they might be saved.”
So yes, “received not” matters, but it is not the theological center of the verse in the way you are trying to make it. The real point is that salvation was genuinely available, yet they refused the love of the truth and therefore lost what they could have had. This is why I trust the KJV translators over modern individuals who rely on their own personal readings of the Greek. Their combined mastery and understanding of Greek far surpass anything being offered today in online debate.
As for Georgios Babiniotis, I only referenced him because he has written multiple dictionaries in the Greek language, he lives in Greece, and he is truly fluent at both a native and scholarly level. I do not know him personally, and I certainly do not have his ear. I only know of him through Textus Receptus Bible believing Christians like Nick Sayers, and I am sure he is a very busy man. My point is simply that his fluency places him in a very different category from most modern scholars today. And to be candid, nobody here with even a basic understanding of Greek or English would ever think to contact him over your unusual interpretation of a Greek verb form. He is not sitting around waiting for people to run speculative grammar theories by him. He works at a level far above this kind of debate.
This is why I take his linguistic expertise seriously. He is not guessing or assembling definitions given to him by modern scholars today. He thinks, speaks, and writes within the Greek language itself, which gives his perspective real authority compared to private interpretations built on secondhand information.
Before I close, I want to mention something in a respectful way. Throughout our exchange, I have been trying to understand your view of final authority, and I have asked you directly whether you believe there is a Bible that is the settled and final Word of God today. I noticed a few things that make it difficult for me to understand where you stand.
- You have not once affirmed that the KJV is perfect, final, or your absolute authority.
- When I asked whether you have any Bible that you accept as the final Word of God, the question was not answered.
- Several times the discussion moved away from the text itself and toward comments about my tone or assumptions rather than addressing the actual issue.
- Your “are you” and “do you” questions seemed more like rhetorical deflections than sincere attempts to clarify the subject.
- The focus repeatedly shifted back to me instead of to Scripture or to your own stated position, which makes it hard to know what you personally believe.
I still hope the discussion can be profitable, but it needs to rest on the foundation that God’s Word exists today in a final form we can trust. Without that shared foundation, every verse becomes a matter of personal reconstruction based on individual Greek opinions rather than Scripture itself. If I misjudged your intent, I am willing to recognize that. But I hope you can understand why I press the issue of final authority so strongly.
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Strong’s at BlueLetterBible and BibleHub do not give you the exact word that appears in the actual Greek printed texts (which are based on Greek manuscripts), whether in the Beza 1598 underlying the KJV or in the ever changing Nestle and Aland Greek (which is now in its 28th edition) that underlies the Modern Bibles. Strong’s numbers direct you to the lemmatized form, meaning the base dictionary form of the Greek or Hebrew word, not the actual word (the inflected form) that actually appears in the Greek printed texts.
For example, when discussing verses that prove free will, the difference between a command to believe, a statement that someone is believing, or a description that someone will believe is found in the inflected form, not in the bare lemma listed by Strong’s. The actual form in the Greek printed text shows whether God is issuing a command to man, describing man’s responsibility, or presenting a conditional possibility. Without the real inflected form, someone can easily force a deterministic meaning into a verse that was never written that way.
In short, theology rests on the inspired wording as it appears in the text. The lemma can only tell you what family a word belongs to. The inflected form tells you what God actually said.
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For example, when discussing verses that prove free will, the difference between a command to believe, a statement that someone is believing, or a description that someone will believe is found in the inflected form, not in the bare lemma listed by Strong’s. The actual form in the Greek printed text shows whether God is issuing a command to man, describing man’s responsibility, or presenting a conditional possibility. Without the real inflected form, someone can easily force a deterministic meaning into a verse that was never written that way.
In short, theology rests on the inspired wording as it appears in the text. The lemma can only tell you what family a word belongs to. The inflected form tells you what God actually said.
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They get stuck in a maternity ward-mode... "No free will."
Or, if not that?
Something that is false, to make them feel like they were advancing.
Why?
What has gotten a hold of them so well?
I do not think the answer is to be found here for that one.
We wrestle not with flesh and blood, which hides itself in flesh and blood.
If it were not for the grace of God, I would not be asking that question.
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God our saviour desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of truth.
This means God lives for all people and loves all people.
God also loves people despite them having free will that lives in flesh, that is the law of sin, as cited in John 1 the will of man lives in the flesh and flesh is controlled by the law of sin, its corrupted,
And he even loves you untill you accept this truth.
That whom ever will believe will have eternal life.
And he would love for you to be free of demonic influence, but as scripture says the battle is until the end.
What this means is, your free will of the flesh is a receptor for temptation and the spiritual wicked forces of the world.
Only by his will living in you can you stand firm to all battles.
Why because he loves you.
There fixed it for why people have a hold on them to Gods will and not your free will
Our father lives for the living and he also lives for those who are perishing, for God so loved the world he gave his only begotten son that whom ever shall believe shall not perish.
God our saviour desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of truth.
This means God lives for all people and loves all people.
God also loves people despite them having free will that lives in flesh, that is the law of sin, as cited in John 1 the will of man lives in the flesh and flesh is controlled by the law of sin, its corrupted,
And he even loves you untill you accept this truth.
That whom ever will believe will have eternal life.
And he would love for you to be free of demonic influence, but as scripture says the battle is until the end.
What this means is, your free will of the flesh is a receptor for temptation and the spiritual wicked forces of the world.
Only by his will living in you can you stand firm to all battles.
Why because he loves you.
There fixed it for why people have a hold on them to Gods will and not your free will
I pray by out of the riches of his glorious riches that he may strengthen you with power through his spirit in your inner being.
i wonder in this very good inviting scripture you may not determine the outcome for yourself
Or perhaps you could stop being the worst determinist here and see, It is God who determines his power in people.
There is not a Calvinist on the board who rightly understands WHY this scenario was intentionally codified. Twice.
Do you?
How about you @Jordon ? @Magenta ? @Cameron143 ? Anybody?
As I said before, you could not drag me into a Reformed Church with a 20 mule team.....God did not predestine sin into the world.
He knew it would happen but he never predestined it, as preached by the true Christian reformed church of north America, also know to be Calvin affiliates.
Too risky.....
[Act 7:57 KJV]
Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord,
******************************************************
Here you go @Jordon free of charge....
[Zec 7:11 KJV]
But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear.
Incorrect. You stopped reading too soon. 2:13 - 14 directly explains and completes 2:10: those who receive the love of the truth (and consequently) a belief of the truth, are those who were so chosen for it by God from the beginning. It therefore does not include everyone. Only by God's mercy and grace is love of the truth given and the truth received by someone.
[2Th 2:10, 13 -14 KJV
10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. ...
13 But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:
[2Th 2:14 KJV] 14 Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
So what your saying then is God did predestine sin, well your wrongAs I said before, you could not drag me into a Reformed Church with a 20 mule team.....
Too risky.....
[Act 7:57 KJV]
Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord,
******************************************************
Here you go @Jordon free of charge....
[Zec 7:11 KJV]
But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear.
Psalms 5:4
That's right. Those who firstly and rightly and wisely RECEIVE the love of the "Truth" (Personified!) are by consequence them that the Father gives to the Son, the Bride. According to the plan of God that He prepared from the beginning.
This is yet another Jewish wedding ritual reference BTW. Nothing that the Calvinists understand. This I also understand.
God never acts outside of his will. I totally agree. But all things that occur in life is not God's sovereign will. God has given man responsibility to act.
Yes, God has ultimate rule over all things, but he does not always act upon all things. In Calvin's theology, everything that occurs is an act of God's ordained will. That's not bible.
Do you not think God is sovereign? That was what your original post was about.
wrong completely.
The true Calvies teach God did not predestine sin
Not wrong, have you ever read the writings of Calvin?
Calvin states, “The first man fell because the Lord deemed it meet that he should: why he deemed it meet, we know not… Man therefore falls, divine providence so ordaining but he falls by his own fault.”
Calvinist theologian James White, in a debate with Hank Hannegraaf and George Bryson, was asked, “When a child is raped, is God responsible and did He decree that rape?” To which Mr. White replied: “Yes, because if not then it’s meaningless and purposeless and though God knew it was going to happen he created it without a purpose… and God is responsible for the creation of despair… If He didn‟t [decree child rape] then that rape is an element of meaningless evil that has no purpose.”