And he said, Abba, Father, all things are
possible unto thee; take away this cup
from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt. (Mark 14:36
KJV. Cf. also, Matt. 26:39; Luke 22:42)
COMMON GRACE ARGUMENT:
Some take this text to mean that Jesus “wished”
not to die on the cross, but that nevertheless He “wanted” to die on the cross
for the sake of His divine mission; that in a real sense, Christ’s will was
sometimes contrary to the will of His Father.
This supposed interpretation is then used as
a basis to support the notion that God has two desires or wills: one
will/desire to save all men, and
another will/desire not to save all
men [but to save only the elect].
(I)
Prof. David J. Engelsma
The
prayer, “Let this cup pass from me,” was not whatsoever rebellion against the
will of the Father. That it was not is evident from the conditional phrase
attached, “If it be possible,” that is, if and only if it can be in accord with
and subject to the will of the Father concerning the salvation of the church.
As a man, Christ did not know that there was no other way to fulfil the will of
the Father than the cross. Rather than expressing any contradiction of the will
of the Father, the petition expresses the dreadful agony of the cross and the
obedience of Christ to the will of the Father at all cost: not my will but
thine be done. In the petition, Christ did not will something different than
what the Father willed. Rather, if the Father could will another way than the
cross, that would be the will of the Son in human nature.
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(II)
More
to come! (DV)
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