Puppets or People? Calvin on Free Will Under Divine Election

However, Calvin is also clear in affirming that man possesses will. Man is not an automatan devoid of the capacity to choose. When Calvin speaks of election, he is not saying that God manipulates men like puppets. Rather, he is affirming that God eternally knows how men in the exercise of their will will act and that he has already determined that this action would occur. Calvin’s solution to this paradox rests on the distinction between God’s necessary will and man’s free will. God determines necessarily, man chooses freely. These two truths are not contradictory because they exist in different dimensions. God’s determination is not coercion but an ordering of events in such a way that human freedom is respected and at the same time divine purposes are realized. Calvin uses the illustration of a prince who knows the character of his subjects. The prince can determine with certainty that a subject of honorable character will act honestly in given circumstances. The prince’s knowledge and even the ordering of circumstances do not strip the subject of freedom. He still acts voluntarily in accordance with his character. So also God determines that certain events will happen. Knowing and directing how the free wills of men will act. This understanding is fundamental to understanding predestination.