Freewill, Determinism, and Divine Revelation

How John 7:17 conveys an important principle

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**The Secular Dead End: Veritasium, Newcomb’s Paradox, and Consecration**

In the realms of philosophy and the Bible, questions about freewill, determinism, and our ability to discern divine truth have long been matters of intense debate. Two seemingly unrelated concepts can offer surprising insights into these questions, challenging our traditional perspectives: Newcomb’s paradox and John 7:17.

John 7:17 If anyone resolves to do His will, he will know concerning the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from Myself.

John 7:17 speaks concerning someone who wishes to know God’s will. Specifically it speaks of someone who desires discernment to know if a specific teaching is from God or not. Jesus required his audience to first resolve to do God’s will. Then in response they would be granted discernment to know God’s will. He was requiring his audience to commit to a specific action prior to knowing what the outcome of that action would be.

Newcomb’s Paradox — What Would You Choose?

Newcomb’s paradox presents a thought experiment where a highly accurate predictor of future choices offers an agent two boxes. The contents of those boxes will be determined by the agent’s predicted choice. The rational choice based on causal decision theory would be to take both boxes. Yet the best outcome seems to require setting aside this rationalist logic and choosing only one box. This would require the agent to trust in the predictor’s past accuracy.

This paradox hints at a tension between our belief in freewill and our belief that the universe is governed by deterministic laws. The value of the paradox is that it forces us to construct careful arguments that further our understanding of freewill and the constraints placed upon us by deterministic laws of nature. Sometimes this might challenge our intuitive notions of choice and autonomy.

Turning to the Bible, John 7:17 offers a startling claim about the accessibility of divine truth, “If anyone resolves to do His will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I speak from Myself.” This verse suggests that discerning God’s will is not a matter of neutral intellectual inquiry, rather it is intimately tied to the posture of one’s heart before God.

The willful commitment to do God’s will comes before perception of divine truth.

Those who do not first love God and resolve to obey Him are unable to access the deep and hidden wisdom of God (1 Cor. 2:7–9), no matter how much they may seek it. This challenges the notion that divine truth is universally accessible to all sincere seekers. Instead, it presents a specific set of heart conditions as prerequisites for spiritual understanding.

The figure of Pilate in John 18 embodies someone who cannot discern truth. His pointed question, “What is truth?” was not genuine it was rhetorical. But even if it had been genuine Pilate would have been unable to recognize that Truth incarnate was standing before him. Even if his seeking was sincere, his heart was not oriented in loving submission to God. Because of this he was unable to discern the divine truth being revealed by Jesus’s speaking.

Hebrews 11:6 underscores this principle: “Without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing to God, for he who comes forward to God must believe that He is and that God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Faith and loving commitment are non-negotiable prerequisites for access to divine truth.

These scriptural truths challenge our assumptions about the neutrality and universality of spiritual knowledge. Just as the participant in Newcomb’s paradox must set aside causal decision theory to achieve the best outcome (see payoff matrix), the seeker of divine wisdom must set aside intellectual autonomy and humbly submit to God’s conditions for revelation.

This is a challenging message in our age of skepticism and self-determination. It requires a radical reorientation of our hearts and minds before God. Yet for those willing to embrace it John 7:17 offers access to a revelation of God’s will.

John 7:17 in the context of Newcomb’s paradox challenges us to consider freewill, determinism, and their relationship to divine revelation. We should have the courage to let God’s word reshape our understanding. May we be a people who love God deeply, resolve to do His will faithfully, and thereby open ourselves to the transforming power of His heavenly wisdom.