Man’s Will in Creation—Truly Free Yet Mutable (Chapter 9, Paragraph 1)

“God hath endued the will of man with that natural liberty and power of acting upon choice…”

Man is not a machine or puppet. From creation, man possessed a will capable of real decisions. This freedom is “natural,” meaning it belongs to man’s design as an image-bearer (Gen. 1:26–27).

“…so that it is neither forced, nor by any necessity of nature determined to do good or evil.”

There was no external coercion or internal compulsion to sin. Adam was not predestined to fall in the sense of being forced—he chose to disobey. He was capable of genuine obedience but also capable of falling. His liberty was real, yet fragile.

This paragraph teaches a crucial theological truth: liberty is not the same as ability. While Adam had liberty and ability before the fall, post-fall man retains liberty but loses moral ability to do spiritual good (as the next paragraphs will explain).

This first paragraph upholds a high view of God’s justice: Adam was fully capable of obeying God’s command. He sinned of his own free will, not by compulsion. Thus, the guilt of sin rests squarely on man, not on God.

It also helps us understand the contrast between pre-fall and post-fall conditions. Adam’s will was free and upright. After the fall, man’s will becomes enslaved to sin. That does not remove freedom in terms of choice—but it removes the desire and ability to choose righteousness apart from grace.

Application for the Believer:

Reflect on the dignity with which God created man—and the ruin that followed the Fall. Adam’s liberty was a gift meant for joyful obedience, but it became the avenue of rebellion. Recognize that you are not naturally born in Adam’s pre-fall state. Your will, apart from Christ, is bound to sin. Praise God, then, that in Jesus, the bondage is broken. If you are in Christ, you have been set free—not to sin, but to obey from the heart. Walk in that liberty. Use your restored will to serve Christ in joyful obedience. This is freedom indeed (John 8:36).