Be Honest With Yourself About Who is Doing the Willing

Another text easily mishandled by Calvinists is Philippians 2.13: “it is God who worketh in you both to will and to work, for his good pleasure” (ASV).

You must will and work. God just shows you His will and grace to do His will. We need to see the difference between God willing for us and our volition cooperating with God. Watchman Nee said, "He never wills or acts in place of man. He merely endeavors to bring man to the position of being disposed to will and to do His excellent will" (TSM, white cover, vol. 3, p. 107).

If He were to choose and decide in lieu of us we would have no real connection with the act or deed done because our hearts would not have been exercised towards it. This is why Calvinists don't really know if they are saved or not because it was never their choice as per their own claim. And when we come to ourselves afterwards we would know that it was not done by us but the evil spirit. But if we exercise our volition and actively cooperate with God, we undertake to do the thing ourselves in the divine power, provision, providence and sufficiency of His grace afforded to us all whosoever is willing.

A person under deception may consider himself the doer, speaker and thinker, but when enlightened by God he realizes he does not really want to so do, speak and think. He may even consider God having done it. If he is honest he sees it was not and realizes he was given no choice, but it was done to him irresistibly. He knows he has no connection with these acts because they were performed by the enemy. God never acts this way away upon souls, but Satan does. Most Calvinists don't want to accept this about their condition, but that's what's happened to them.

It's better to realize what is going on now so that one gives their lives to Christ now in actuality rather than a false Christ. Amen.