¹² “While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.”

God’s ways are higher than our ways—and that perplexes us. How could God, who is not the author of evil, use evil to accomplish His purpose, without diminishing His goodness and righteousness? While we will never solve this dilemma fully, it should not overly concern us, if we truly believe we are finite creatures trying to understand the infinite. Our understanding of absolute holiness is limited by our limited holiness. Faith is all about accepting and embracing the difference, and living with the seeming anomalies.

That God can and does use evil is full established in Scripture in many places. Here of course, the psalmist prophesies the event of Judas’ betrayal (Ps 41:9). His treachery was completely and unequivocally wrong. Yet, he was instrumental in Jesus going to the cross. One could say God used Judas, but didn’t “cause” him to actually do the betrayal. But that makes it seem like God’s whole plan of redemption was dependent or contingent upon Judas messing up. This carries a great amount of tension in itself. If God simply “knew” Judas would mess up, then effectively, Judas could have done nothing else. That doesn’t sound like “free will.”

An instructive example is found in the story of Joseph’s brothers pleading with him for forgiveness (with the ruse that their recently deceased father wanted them to pass on to Joseph the request to spare them). Joseph responds, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive” (Gen 50:20). One act, but two different intentions, two different wills. The brothers were fully responsible for their devious actions toward Joseph, but God had a higher purpose in the same activity. So we see that two wills can be working at the same time, in the same event. Both take responsibility for the event, but in the one case evil is assigned, and in the other righteous sovereignty.

Another example is found in Peter’s Pentecostal sermon, “This Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death” (Acts 2:23). God planned it, humans willfully acted out their role. One act, two different intentions. God is glorified, man is guilty. The same holds true with Judas, he meant it for evil, but God meant it for good, the salvation of souls.

Lord, help me to align my will with Yours, so that You may be glorified in and through me, not in spite of me.