Is God sovereign or do we have free will?

Quick answer

God is sovereign, and we have free will. This is one of the great mysteries of the Christian faith.

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?

God is sovereign, meaning He is in control over all things and His will is ultimately accomplished. At the same time, God created us to have free will, allowing us to make real choices that influence our lives and the world around us. Our free will is constrained by our sinful nature, making us prone to choose sin. Yet through Christ, we are set free to live as God intended. The interaction between God's sovereignty and our free will, especially regarding salvation, remains a mystery of faith. Rather than attempt to sort out every detail and reconcile the two in our limited human capacity, believers can respond with gratitude to God both for the ability He gave us to choose and for His sovereign control over all things. He made the way for us to be free from sin and alive to Him. He is fully trustworthy, and we can thus rest in Him as well as respond to His truth with intentionality. As we respond to salvation and live our lives, we are called to recognize both God's sovereign control and our responsibility to choose Him and to follow His ways.

FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT

God's will is ultimately accomplished (1 Chronicles 29:11; 2 Chronicles 20:6; Psalm 115:3).
He is in control over all things (Proverbs 19:21; Isaiah 45:7; Nehemiah 9:6).
God created Adam and Eve placed them in the garden of Eden. He gave them all of the garden to tend and enjoy and commanded them not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (Genesis 2:16–17). This command provided them with a clear choice: to obey God and trust His wisdom or to disobey and pursue their own desires.
Adam and Eve exercised their free will when Eve, having been tempted and deceived by the serpent, chose to eat the forbidden fruit. Adam was with her and also chose to eat the fruit when Eve gave it to him (Genesis 3:1–6). Their decision to disobey God’s command, despite knowing the consequences, reveals their capacity to make independent choices.
Adam and Eve’s choice to disobey led to significant consequences, including spiritual death, separation from God, and the introduction of sin and death into the world (Genesis 3:7–19).

FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT

The New Testament confirms that God’s will is ultimately accomplished Romans 8:28; Ephesians 1:11; Revelation 15:4).
It also confirms that He is over all things (Colossians 1:16).
At the same time, we are also free to make choices that actually influence our worlds (Acts 2:37–38; 2 Peter 3:9). We do not merely have the illusion of a choice; we have an actual choice.
We are slaves to our sinful natures (see Romans 6). So while we do have free will, we are constrained because we have a tendency toward sin. In that sense, we are not completely free.
Apart from God, we are incapable of choosing to live rightly. We are "dead in [our] trespasses and sins" (Ephesians 2:1; cf. Colossians 2:13)
When we trust in Christ’s sacrifice on the cross and His resurrection for the forgiveness of sins, we are made alive (Ephesians 2:1–10). We are set free (Galatians 5:1).
As a result of being made free, Paul calls us to count ourselves dead to sin but “alive to God in Christ Jesus … having been set free from sin, [you] have become slaves of righteousness.… But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life" (Romans 6:11, 18, 22). We are no longer bound to sin and are therefore free to live in the way God intended. We are no longer slaves to sin, but we are alive to God and can choose to do what is right because of Him.
On the matter of how God's sovereignty and our free will interact regarding salvation, however, things become a bit more complex. We know that God knows all who will come to Him (Ephesians 1:4–14). We also know that human volition is involved in coming to Christ (we accept Him) (Acts 16:31). How this interacts remains a mystery of the faith.

IMPLICATIONS FOR TODAY

Our choices carry weight, and we must take them seriously, recognizing that each decision we make has consequences. Just as Adam and Eve’s choice to disobey God in the garden of Eden brought sin and death into the world, our own choices can lead to outcomes that impact our lives and the lives of others. We cannot blame anyone else for the decisions we make, as God has given us the freedom to choose. However, in our fallen nature, we are often drawn toward sin, unable to fully break free on our own. The greatest choice we can make is to follow Christ, who offers freedom from the bondage of sin through His sacrifice on the cross and His resurrection. By trusting in Him, we are made alive and set free to live as God intended, no longer slaves to sin but slaves to righteousness. This is great news! Without God’s sovereignty and goodness, we would be left with the consequences of our sin, without hope. But because God so loves us, He made the way for us to be forgiven of our sins and alive to Him. While we continue to sin on this side of eternity and while sin still has consequences, we are freed from the bondage of continuing in sin. Instead, God promises that He will work everything for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). Ultimately, while God’s will is accomplished, and He is in control over all things, the responsibility of choosing to follow Him lies with us. This decision leads to the promise of eternal life with Him and the ability to experience the joy of living life according to His ways.

UNDERSTAND

The Bible clearly teaches that God is in control of all things, that His will is ultimately accomplished, and that He is sovereign over all things.
God created humans with free will, allowing us to make real choices that have consequences, both good and bad.
How God's sovereignty and our free will coexist is a mystery, but both are true according to the Bible.

REFLECT

How does knowing that God is sovereign influence the way you approach decisions in your daily life?
In what areas of your life do you struggle to trust God’s control, and how can you surrender those areas to Him?
How do you balance your responsibility to make choices with the belief that God is ultimately in control?

ENGAGE

How can we reconcile the concept of God’s sovereignty with our ability to make free choices?
How does understanding that our choices have real consequences, and that they are our responsibility with no one else to blame, affect the way we view our actions and responsibilities?
Why are both God’s sovereignty and human responsibility (or free will) significant in understanding our decisions and life in general?