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The Living Code: A New Look At the Bible14

Free Will

Young Oon KimSpeaker
The Living Code: A New Look At the BibleBook
Chapter 14 of 40
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The Living Code: A New Look At the Bible14
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Free will is the highest gift God gave to humans.

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Free will is the highest gift God gave to humans. If we did not have free will and were simply forced to serve God, there would be no beauty or life in ourselves, and no joy or glory for God (2 Cor. 3:17-18).

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It is most beautiful and precious when we serve God voluntarily and love Him wholeheartedly, in free will. Because of our free will, man and woman are supreme in all creation.

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Some believe that Adam and Eve fell because they had free will. Of course, their free will made it possible for them to choose to fall. If they had fallen because of their free will, however, there would always be the danger of falling, even after they had become perfect. Insecurity would exist even in the heavenly kingdom, where we are to have complete freedom.

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Such insecurity would then exist forever, and the promised attainment of perfection would be impossible. If God's creation cannot become as perfect as He is, then God Himself is not perfect or Almighty.

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Though free will did not cause the Fall, Adam and Eve lost their freedom because of their Fall and became subject to Satan's dominion.

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Hence, man and woman spiritually do not have complete freedom to do what is right and good in God's eyes; instead, we have the freedom to do what is wrong and evil. On this point, St. Paul lamented and said:

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We know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. I do not understand my actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. ... Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? (Rom. 7:14-15, 24)
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Hence, we must restore our lost freedom before we can restore our original nature and the Garden of Eden. One of the signs that a New Age has come is that now people all over the world are seeking freedom at all costs, on the individual level as well as national levels.

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Connections

Where this book chapter is cited, and what it cites
CITED IN · 22 REFERS TO · 3 Let Us Not Weaken…, 1958Divine Providence…, 1971Let's Establish T…, 1971To Be in the Pres…, 1992 Thisbook chapter Adam And EveThe Physical FallFreedom
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Cited in22

  • TEXT
    Let Us Not Weaken Our Determination Toward HeavenSermon · 23 Feb 1958 · ¶ 59Because they were acting according to their whim in an environment of free will and freedom, they destroyed the ideal garden of the creation. Even in the last days, if one promotes freedom…
  • TEXT
    Divine Providence And The Turning Point Of HistorySermon · 23 Dec 1971 · ¶ 114And when these two countries, one is the United Force and the other is run by free will United Force and donation (which is backed by free will and love), then that nation becomes stronger than…
  • TEXT
    Let's Establish The Foundation For UnificationSermon · 1 Jan 1971 · ¶ 50…and life into North Korea, in Cain's position. The most precious thing is for the enemy to submit of their own free will to Abel, just as directly as Jacob brought Esau to his knees.
  • TEXT
    To Be in the Presence of GodSermon · 1 Jun 1992 · ¶ 51…wasn’t blueprinted. I wasn’t programmed. Out of my will and ability, based on my reasoning because I have free will and creativity, and based upon my ability, I have given a reason to myself to unite with You and deny…
  • TEXT
    The Key to Restoring the World Lies Within UsSermon · 21 Apr 1991 · ¶ 13However, based on his free will, man could have chosen God’s way. Through his reasoning, he could have given himself the answer to unite…
  • TEXT
    The Selfless OfferingOther · ¶ 69…volition is the most important element in the creation process of man’s perfection. Through his own free will, he must choose what God has commanded him. But the commandment Adam received from Heavenly Father was…
  • TEXT
    Proclamation of the Day of All - transcendence, Omnipresence, Full Authority and OmnipotenceSermon · 17 Aug 1999 · ¶ 99Seen from the viewpoint of people who live only according to their own free will, they are living as they would be in the spirit world. The place where these devoted people live is like the…
  • TEXT
    Absolute Values and a Reassessment of the Contemporary WorldBook chapter · ¶ 21For example, the Creator has endowed human beings with free will so that we may experience the highest levels of joy and love for God and our fellow human beings. Thus, if…
  • TEXT
    The Appearance of True Parents and the Ideal FamilyBook chapter · ¶ 69…which has endured for so long, trying through true love to make human beings do what is right of their own free will. From the point of view of fallen men and women, the Messiah is the Savior, but from God’s standpoint, he is…
  • TEXT
    Fighting on behalf of the weakBook chapter · ¶ 2I assumed responsibility for other people’s problems, and I fought for them. Of my own free will, I said, “I’ll teach you a lesson!” You need that kind of quality when you are young. I want to help create…
  • TEXT
    The Beginning of the Public MissionBook chapter · ¶ 38…he was doing. He didn’t ask me one word about me, and I was unable to volunteer the information on my own free will.
  • TEXT
    The Doctrine of GodOther · ¶ 119Second, God's power is also restricted by man's free will. So long as men have freedom of choice, God's purpose can be temporarily frustrated.
  • TEXT
    The Doctrine of ManOther · ¶ 15…and women is found in their distinctive combination of reason and affections, and not in their reason and free will, as other views claim.
  • TEXT
    God and the WorldOther · ¶ 122Process theologians employ a sophisticated analysis of God's nature, which shows how, if man is to have free will, God cannot make everything happen by necessity.
  • TEXT
    HamartiologyOther · ¶ 18…disease of an evil heart. Hence, the worst sins result from man's highest gifts, in his heart, mind, and free will. Augustine was the first to give an elaborate treatment of original sin.
  • TEXT
    Conversion and New LifeOther · ¶ 8…free to be what they want to be. God has given each of us the capacity to do good; we can turn to God by our own free will. So conversion, for Pelagius, was defined as a moral act, a conscious decision to live according to Christ's…
  • TEXT
    The Reality And Nature Of GodOther · ¶ 169Nor is God completely all-knowing. His omniscience, like His omnipotence, has to be qualified by man's free will. God does not know everything that will happen because even though He wills some result, it cannot take…
  • TEXT
    Unification Theology On The FallOther · ¶ 141Original sin did not deprive him of his free will, reason, or natural gifts. What needs to be restored is the direction of man's will and his love. Hence, a…
  • TEXT
    The Person And Work Of JesusOther · ¶ 27…doctrine of universal salvation. God does not have to save all mankind, for that, to,o would restrict His free will.
  • TEXT
    Biblical Clues to The History Of RestorationOther · ¶ 2…will take place tomorrow. Everything is in flux. We make or destroy our future because we are endowed with free will. There is no set plan, no sure direction to the course of human events.
Show 2 more
  • TEXT
    Could God Prevent the Fall?Book chapter · ¶ 3…Formation to Perfection. God does not intervene directly in the affairs of His children. He has given them free will.
  • TEXT
    The Succession of MissionsBook chapter · ¶ 28…shown in the lives of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, etc. People are not machines, but have freedom of will and action.

This book chapter refers to3

Also in The Living Code: A New Look At the Bible

All chapters →
  1. 12The Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge1 min
  2. 13The Effects of the Fall2 min
  3. 14Free Will1 min
  4. 15The Cause of the Deviation from the Principle1 min
  5. 16The Motivation of the Fall of Lucifer1 min
  6. 17Could God Prevent the Fall?7 min

Cite this book chapter

APA 7

Kim, Y. O. (n.d.). Free Will [Book chapter]. True Parents Legacy Archive (J. Auror, Ed.). https://n2t.net/ark:/68749/free-will

MLA 9

Kim, Young Oon. “Free Will.” True Parents Legacy Archive, https://n2t.net/ark:/68749/free-will.

Chicago 17

Kim, Young Oon. “Free Will.” Book chapter, n.d. True Parents Legacy Archive. https://n2t.net/ark:/68749/free-will.

BibTeX

@misc{kim,
  author = {Young Oon Kim},
  title = {Free Will},
  howpublished = {True Parents Legacy Archive},
  url = {https://n2t.net/ark:/68749/free-will},
  note = {Book chapter}
}
.ris.bib
Text byYoung Oon Kim, Professor of religion at Ewha University in Seoul, South Korea. Theologian of the Unification Church. Professor of Systematic Theology a…
TranslationWorking translation from the Korean. Official editions are reproduced verbatim.
Editorial scopeTexts are not abridged or paraphrased. Paragraph numbers are stable for citation. Report an error