What Does the Bible Say about Possibility | Henri Blocher

The Henry Center Archive

2015 Kantzer Lecture #4 - "Possibility" in Biblical Perspective Blocher’s fourth of six lectures is an attempt to discern through Scripture the contours of possibility. Blocher first analyzes possibility with respect to God. He argues that Scripture associates various notions of possibility with God. For example, things can be possible without actually happening. There is a legitimate notion of divine possibility, but it lies on the grain of God’s relationship to creation, not in God’s own essence. Concerning possibility in God Blocher concludes, “mystery, not mastery, is the object.” Blocher then considers possibility and humanity, submitting that humans have received active power from God, but that this power is limited. The power of human beings is allows for a variety of possibilities. This power, while being completely dependent on God, contains a certain passivity not present in God. However, created possibilities cannot run against God’s plan. Although it may be asked whether human possibilities so surrounded still deserve the name, Blocher contends that self-determination and the use of motives to make decisions demonstrate human involvement in willing. Henri A. G. Blocher (DD Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary) is Professor Emeritus at Faculte Libre de Theologie Evangelique. He is author of In the Beginning: The Opening Chapters of Genesis (IVP Academic, 1984) and Original Sin: Illuminating the Riddle (IVP Academic, 2000). Blocher was a member of the Lausanne Committee on World Evangelization (1975-1980), served the World Evangelical Fellowship/Alliance in a number of capacities, and taught in schools in Europe, Australia, Africa, Canada, and the US.

The Henry Center for Theological Understanding provides theological resources that help bridge the gap between the academy and the church. It houses a cluster of initiatives, each of which is aimed at applying practical Christian wisdom to important kingdom issues—for the good of the church, for the soul of the theological academy, for the sake of the world, and ultimately for the glory of God. The HCTU seeks to ground each of these initiatives in Scripture, and it pursues these goals collaboratively, in order to train a new generation of wise interpreters of the Word—lay persons and scholars alike—for the sake of tomorrow’s church, academy, and world.

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