In Vincent Cheung’s article, Healing the Will of Man[1]:

The Bible writers often identify God’s ability and God’s will. They do not make such a sharp distinction between the two that they always need to say both in order to indicate that something would occur. In many contexts, to state either is to affirm both. They do not refer to God’s ability in a way that the discussion makes no progress until they also refer to God’s will. To affirm that God is able is to affirm confidence in the outcome. Because he is able, it is assumed that the desired result is guaranteed.

Vincent then mentions these verses, with the additional Jude 1:24 that also came to my mind.[2]

“Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.” (Hebrews 7:25 NIV)

“Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” (Hebrews 2:18 NIV)

“Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.” (Romans 14:4 NIV)

“To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy.” (Jude 1:24. NIV).

The “Trinity” is the only intelligent and rational definition of monotheism, because no other knowledge exists for man except for God’s revelation, so to, with the scripture’s definition of God’s goodness and love. If God is good and God is able, then the specific request of help being asked by a Christian, will be done. God’s revelation is the only knowledge that exist. Thus, there is no other intellectual and rational definition for what it means for God to love and be good to His elect.

Sadly, many Christians interact with God’s sovereign ability and power in a fatalistic relationship, rather than, in a biblical divine decree relationship. Many say, “I will pray, but since God is in control, then what will happen will happen by God’s control.” This might fool simpletons and spiritual perverts, but this is a demonic doctrine of fatalism. God’s order of His decrees teaches us the doctrine of determinism; that is, sovereign decrees by an intellectual mind, that wants to acquire His own ends and purposes. The difference in application is so simple a 1^st grade child can grasp it.

1.) To know what is the outcome of one’s prayer in fatalism, then one relates to a nubilous unknown outcome that cannot be stop.

2.) To know the outcome of God’s divine decrees, then one relates to God with the specific definitions and specific commandments about the specific aspect of reality they are asking God for help in, knowing God will do specifically what He said He would do.

To act like God might or might not do what He promised to do, because He is in control, is to negate the sovereignty of God’s absolute decrees, and transform it into eastern fatalism.

God is not pantheism. God is an intelligent mind that has revealed a substantial body of knowledge about reality and His own goals. To transform this detailed and substantial knowledge into a nubilous, unknown fatalism is demonic.

James says in 5:15 that if you ask in faith to be healed, “you will be healed.” This is what the intelligent and rational mind of God sovereignly decreed about this aspect of reality. To take this and say, “I can pray for healing, but since God is in control, He will do what He wants.” This is both stupid and spiritual perversion. It takes God’s personal sovereign choices (the Bible’s definition of what sovereign control means), and negates this, and then replaces it with a fatalism.

Not only does this invalidate the Bible’s teaching on God’s sovereign decrees, but it invalidates God’s good character and atonement of Jesus Christ, among other things.

God, for example, in the sermon on the Mount, defines Himself as “good” and loving by giving us the very things we ask for, not something else. No amount of empiricism or observation is able to change that, because human speculation as an epistemology does not exist.

Whether it is God’s promise of blessing, fame, healing, and prosperity to Abraham (which we have in Christ-Gal. 3) or promises of safety from the terror that stalks at night (Psalm 91), or safety in sanctification (Jude 1:24), or delivered from sickness (James 5:15), God’s policy is rudimentary: if He is able, then He will do it.

The context that makes this work is that God loves/favors us. As Christians, God has revealed He loves us with a HUGE love. He has promised to never stop from doing good to us, in both spiritual and material blessings.

Think about a marriage. Imagine a marriage of 40 years of faithfulness, love and joy. Now imagine the wife calling her husband at 2 am at night, waking him up from sleep and says, “Honey, my car just broke down on the side of the road, I’m afraid.” What do you think the husband will say? Will he give a 10-minute speech about his love for her? Most likely not. Why? Because in the context of this faithful marriage, they already know that. Rather, the husband will likely respond with, “Where are you, I’ll pick you up.” Because he loves/favors her, he will help his wife, because he is able.

This is what God is doing, when He says in our passages, “I am able, I’ll do it.” He shouldn’t have to repeat with every interaction with a 50 page essay that He loves us. He has already proven that with His Son’s atonement, and covenant. Unlike faithful marriages where they trust each other, Christians seem to have a hard time believing in God’s love, which was given to then in the blood contract of His Son. Thus, because of weakness to believe in His love, God will often give long discourses of His love in the Bible and to individuals in the Bible, and then repeat it. God is patient with our slow to believe immaturity, but this patience does not negate the accountability that we are commanded to be mature in faith.  And so, when we call up God in prayer, so to speak, rather than sometimes saying, “where are you, I’ll pick you up,” God will dive into a 10 minute speech about His love for us, so as to help us believe.

Jesus was excessive about healing people and then saying over and over in the gospels, “if you ask in faith, you will get it.” Or that is, “If you are stranded on the road, and call me (this calling is faith), I will be there; I will pick you up just like you asked of me.” Jesus made answers to prayers to be anything you need, whether spiritual or material, with a special emphasis on healing.

Therefore, for those who are mature, for you God is to the point about the width, length, depth and height of His favor. They can cry out to God for help, who sits on His throne of unmerited favor, and they can hear, through faith in His decrees and commands, “My dear child, where are you? I will pick you up.”

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[1] Vincent Cheung. 2020 December. Article. www.vincentcheung.com.

[2] I am not affiliated with Vincent Cheung. These are my own thoughts about the doctrine.