Bill Johnson Says God Is NOT In Control!

Bill Johnson’s Claim That God Is “In Charge” but Not “In Control”

Hey guys, Colin here, and welcome back to Fight for Truth, the channel where we bring you Christian commentary about the things that matter. In today's video, we're going to be talking about a clip from Bill Johnson.

Now Bill is the pastor of Bethel Church, which is a charismatic church located in Redding, California. As you're about to see, Bill Johnson believes that God is not fully in control of everything that happens.

In other words, some actions and events lie outside of His authoritative decree and will. Now, before we start the video, let me establish what this video is not. This video is not a definitive and complete refutation of Bill Johnson's view of God's sovereignty.

This video is not a complete and total debunking of every Arminian position on God's will. There will be hundreds of Biblical passages admittedly relevant to this discussion which are not dealt with in this video.

Because this topic is extraordinarily dense and tons of scholarly work has been done on it over the years. In order to make this video exhaustive to any degree on the topic of God's sovereignty, it would probably need to be dozens of hours long, if not more.

But now that we understand what this video is not, let's talk about what this video is. Bill Johnson makes specific claims about his position in the clips we're about to watch, and I do not believe those claims are compelling, nor do I believe they best reflect the Biblical narrative.

Thus, this video is not an ultimate slam-dunk against the opposing viewpoint, rather, it is meant to offer several reasons why Bill's view here is not particularly convincing. So with all of that out of the way, let's get right into it.

Watch this.

Bill Johnson’s Distinction Between God Being in Charge and in Control

About God's sovereignty and how we understand God's sovereignty, does He control everything? Is He in charge of everything but doesn't control everything? What are some of the ways you think about that and understand Scripture?

Probably my understanding in this area creates the greatest challenges for me in the body of Christ among friends, and I have dear friends that we have wonderful conversations again. But my approach is that God doesn't control everything, He's in charge of everything.

Now this clip constitutes the first major claim made by Bill, and that claim is that God is, quote, in charge of everything, but not, quote, in control of everything. Let's flesh this out a bit. The idea of God being in charge means that He is a very real authority over all things.

But the idea of God being in control means that His sovereign decree and will is behind all things that happen. Being in charge points to a sort of general sovereignty. Being in control points to an exhaustive and specific sovereignty.

So here's a good question. Why is it that anyone would believe that God controls all things in the first place? Where are we getting this idea in Scripture? Well, here are just a few examples. Ephesians 111 says, quote, In Him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will.

There is an excellent article over at Desiring God defending this passage and using it in particular to demonstrate that God is fully in control of all things. That article will be linked in the description.

The text speaks of all things working together according to the counsel of God's will. In other words, God's will controls all things that happen. Another passage is Proverbs 16, 33, which says, quote, The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.

So even with something small, seemingly random and chance-oriented, like throwing dice, the outcome is from the Lord. Psalm 115, verse 3 says, quote, Our God is in the heavens, He does all that He pleases.

This too points to the sovereignty of the Lord. James 4, 13 talks about those who say things like, quote, Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town, and spend a year there, and trade, and make a profit.

He corrects them in verse 14, for they, quote, do not know what tomorrow will bring. As a result, quote, Instead, you ought to say, if the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that. The implication here is really staggering.

When someone is asking the question of what will happen, or why would this event happen and not the other event, the deciding factor of what will happen and what won't is, quote, if the Lord wills. In other words, it seems that God's will is the ultimate decisive factor in everything that occurs.

These passages, and many others, are why people believe in God not just being in charge, but also completely in control. But with all of that being said, and all of those passages offered, there is still a reason why Bill Johnson would disagree.

Here's what he says next, and you may recognize this line of reasoning because it's very, very popular. Watch this.

Bill Johnson’s Objection to Attributing Calamity and Evil to God

They just happen because you have a household of free will. So that's my approach, is that God is absolutely sovereign, and that He's in charge of everything. But I don't credit Him with Hitler. I don't credit Him with the disasters that take place in the earth.

I don't look at these and go, well, this is the plan of God who's devised wickedness so that His glory could be seen. For me, that's absolute nonsense. And so I look at it as...

So according to Bill, God is not in control of all things. And one compelling reason for this is that Bill is not willing to attribute atrocities and or calamities to the will of God. In other words, if you say that God is in control of all things, you're implying that God is in control of even bad things, dare I say, the worst things.

And first off, let's recognize that, logically, Bill is technically correct here for the most part. If God is in control of all things, then He is in control of bad things also. That's true. That's fair enough.

And we ought to grapple with that seriously. But this brings us to a second observation. Bill Johnson is assuming that God would never decree or willfully implement terrible calamities or disasters or catastrophes.

But there are several passages which, at the very least, seem to disagree with that. Amos 3 .6 says, quote,. Is a trumpet blown in a city, and the people are not afraid? Does disaster come to a city, unless the Lord has done it?

This passage seems to imply that God does indeed willfully cause disaster to come to a city. Now, to be clear, this passage is speaking in a context of judgment from God. But still, there is a burden of proof on Bill Johnson to demonstrate why it is that God cannot, as a general principle, cause disaster.

And also, if God's will is not the decisive factor, then who is sovereign over these events? That question still remains. Isaiah 45, verse 7 says, quote,. I form light and create darkness. I make well-being and create calamity.

I am the Lord who does all these things. Again, we see the same dynamic. Not only does the Lord create well-being, but also calamity. In the book of Job, Satan is allowed by God to take things away from Job, including his money, family, livestock, even his health.

Yet even while it is true that Satan did these things, in response, Job 2 .10 asks the question, quote,. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil? You see, Satan played a very real role in this situation.

Yet Job still said that he received evil, meaning disaster, from God. And it is said in Job 2 .10, the very same verse, that, quote,. In all of this Job did not sin with his lips. So Job cannot be attributing this disaster falsely to God, for that would be a sin.

Psalm 135, verses 6 -7 say, quote, Whatever the Lord pleases He does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and in all deeps. He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth, who makes lightning for the rain, and brings forth the wind from His storehouses, end quote.

So here's a question. When lightning strikes a field and causes a fire, or when lightning strikes someone injuring them, or when lightning strikes and damages someone's property, who sent that lightning?

God created lightning, says the passage. So did the lightning escape His control at some point? Did God accidentally strike it where He didn't mean to? Or does this mean that lightning is operating independently of God?

And if so, how does that work? You see, God created it in the first place, and it seems that He's maintaining it at this very moment. If not, then who is? Also, the passage additionally says that God, quote, brings forth wind from His storehouses.

This implies sort of an ongoing thing. So does God create and control the wind? It seems that way. But does this mean that He controls hurricane-level winds that knock down houses? Or does He just control a nice cool summer breeze?

And why would we make that distinction? Where do we find it in Scripture? Again, these are very important questions. And by the way, if we're going to make the case that God doesn't cause calamity, then we have to answer the obvious question.

Why are we told the exact opposite message in Scripture? And finally, the problem with Bill's argument here is that his own perspective has to deal with a very similar issue. Bill believes that God is all-powerful, that He could stop a hurricane if He wanted to, that He could stop any war or political atrocity if He wanted to.

If He has the power to do this, then why doesn't He? Why would God allow these disastrous events that Bill is objecting to, to take place? Thus, in Bill's view, God doesn't cause these terrible events, but He simply does nothing to stop them.

And it's unclear how that makes the situation any better. At the very least, Bill's position is seriously problematic in a similar way. But the point here is this. Bill Johnson's teaching here with regard to God's will is simply not convincing.

Respectfully, it's just not that persuasive. And we hope we've given you good reasons for that in this video. Again, this isn't an exhaustive be-all, end-all refutation of the opposing viewpoint. There are still many good arguments that have not been refuted.

But hopefully this video has been a good introduction and is a good start to your research on this topic. With regards to God's will, I would highly recommend the extensive and solid work that James White has done on the subject.

And please go subscribe to his channel, Alpha and Omega Ministries, which will be linked in the description. I pray that this has been a blessing to you, and please know that this video isn't meant as a sinful attack, but rather as a biblical critique.

And let's pray for clarity on this topic moving forward by God's grace and seek the truth of God's Word. Thank you so much for watching that video. Please give us a like and subscribe so that you don't miss any content.

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