God’s Purpose for Evil is the Revealing of His Great Glory

Where the Free Will defense frames God as dependent on the free will choices of man, the Greater-Good and Greater-Glory theodicies present him as sovereignly decreeing evil for the express purpose of accomplishing a specific good. As Welty explains, the Greater-Good theodicy reveals, “That the pain and suffering in God’s world play a necessary role in bringing about greater goods that could not be brought about except for the presence of that pain and suffering.”[1] This argument finds biblical support in passages such as James 1:2–3, which states, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.” Unlike the Free Will defense, which prevents God from acting with regard to evil, the Greater-Good argues that he purposely decrees evil to accomplish a specific good that could not come about if that evil did not occur. This argument directly challenges Mackie’s premise that if God were all-good and all-powerful, he would seek to completely eliminate evil because it argues that God has a specific reason for evil to exist.

The question arises, if God is good, then how can he decree evil to exist and yet be free from being the author of that evil? Christensen argues that “If God has sufficiently good and excellent reasons for the evil he decrees that outweigh any adverse effects that the evil might produce…then God cannot be charged as blameworthy for the evil.”[2] As God in his essence is pure light and goodness, having no darkness in him at all (1 John 1:5), all of his divine intentions are always good. In explaining the Greater-Good argument, Jonathan Moreno writes, “Not only does good often come out of evil, but many goods are dependent upon evil for their expression. For example, man would never experience courage without conflict, compassion without distress, mercy without offense, or perseverance without hardship. In light of this, God remains good in permitting evil because he uses it for good.”[3] Therefore, God’s purposes in ordaining evil always have a good end.

While God’s good intentions may explain his purpose for ordaining evil, it does not fully answer the question of how he cannot be held responsible for evil. This is found in understanding the doctrine of compatibilism. According to the Westminster Confession of Faith:

GOD from all eternity did, by the most wise and holy counsel of his own will, freely and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass: yet so, as thereby neither is God the author of sin, nor is violence offered to the will of the creatures, nor is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established (3.1).[4]

In other words, “God does not act on behalf of the choosing agent,” as he is the primary cause of evil since he decrees that evil occur; however, man is the secondary cause as he “deliberately, willingly, voluntarily acts without any divine coercion.”[5] God purposely decrees the existence of evil for his purposes. Man willfully carries out evil to satisfy his own wicked plans, therefore bearing the full weight of moral responsibility. This is demonstrated in Isaiah 10:5–11 where God ordains that Assyria attack Israel in his wrath for Israel’s sins against him. Yet, he also pronounces woe against Assyria because the nation’s motivations are borne out of evil desire. God is shown to be the primary cause of Israel’s suffering, yet he judges the secondary cause, Assyria, for her evil. It is through this understanding of primary and secondary causation that it can be shown that God is not the author of evil.

While the Greater-Good theodicy addresses both God’s goodness and omnipotence, there is, in a sense, a mystery to what good God intends to accomplish by ordaining evil. Welty argues that a sound theodicy must address the fact that God aims to achieve goods that are only obtained through evil and that those goods must be worth pursuing.[6] However, he later admits that the, “Greater-Good theodicy presented in these biblical passages doesn’t seem to satisfy the very definition of theodicy that was earlier endorsed!”[7] This is because the theodicy is not always able to determine just what good is obtained and why it would be necessary why a specific evil was needed to obtain that good. It is then appropriate to look at the Greater-Glory theodicy, which expands on the Greater-Good by turning to the ultimate good that God obtains, his glorification through the redemption of fallen mankind through Jesus Christ. Christensen explains that God is most glorified through the redemptive work of Christ on the cross:

More specifically, God’s glory shines supremely in the Son’s supremely manifested weakness exemplified in the incarnation and his bloody death (Phil. 2:6–8). The resurrection, exaltation, and return of Christ…find their glory in the risen Lamb that was slain—whose precious blood purchased a people for God (Rev. 5:6–14).[8]

If evil had not entered into God’s creation, there would be no need for the cross and the atoning work of Christ. God would still be glorified if no evil existed in the world, but that would not be the resplendent glory of the God who entered into creation and redeemed it from the fall. Therefore, for God to maximize his glory and to show his love for his creation, the fall, the entrance of evil into creation, was necessary for God to accomplish this greatest good.[9]

It is because God chose to reveal his glory in this manner that people can experience his love and mercy. Jesus Christ manifests God’s fullness to all creation, pouring out the riches of his divine grace on undeserving people.[10] When God decreed the existence of evil, it ensured that his good and perfect creation would be totally and completely devastated by sin. His divine purpose in permitting this destruction then sets the stage where, “The remarkable work of Christ in redeeming the good that seemed irreparably ruined gives that good a sweetness in the final paradisiacal state (i.e., the new creation) that would be unrealized if it had never been ruined in the first place.”[11] In other words, humanity would never have been able to experience the mercy of God had he not allowed them to fall into sin and redeem them through Christ. God’s perfect glory would not have been fully revealed if creation had not been ruined so that it might be restored. It is through this Greater-Glory theodicy that God’s goodness and omnipotence are exemplified because he purposed evil specifically from eternity past that he might enter into creation and redeem fallen humanity for his own glory.

Conclusion

Christians face multiple challenges from anti-theist proponents to the existence of God. Some of those challenges attempt to use biblical truth and principles against the Christian argument. By seeking to redefine the nature of God’s goodness and omnipotence, such proponents attempt to use God’s categories against him. Christians may feel the need to exempt God from evil by appealing to man’s free will. However, such efforts reduce God to a being who is unable to create a world of his own choosing and who cannot interfere in the choices of man. Therefore, Christians must examine the Scriptures closely, whereby they will understand that God is not only fully omnipotent but that he sovereignly decreed evil exists that he may reveal the fullness of his glory. Through his decree, God achieved the greatest good imaginable, the redemption of fallen man and creation through the atoning work of Jesus Christ. Only through this Greater-Glory argument can Christians rightly address the problem of evil and demonstrate the hope that comes by looking to God alone.

Read here for Part 1 and Part 2.

Note: This article was also published at X.com.

[1] Welty, Why Is There Evil in the World, 47.

[2] Christensen, What about Evil?, 212.

[3] Jonathan Moreno, “A Good God in a Wicked World: Considering the Problem of Evil,” Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal, Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal, 22 (2017): 85.

[4] Westminster Assembly, The Westminster Confession of Faith: Edinburgh Edition (Philadephia: William S. Young, 1851).

[5] Christensen, What about Evil?, 213.

[6] Welty, Why Is There Evil in the World, 43–45.

[7] Welty, 71.

[8] Christensen, What about Evil?, 283.

[9] Christensen, 285.

[10] Christensen, 297.

[11] Christensen, 299.