Whose Will Is It

2nd Timothy 2:26 … "And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will."

At first when you read this verse, it seems as though the Apostle Paul is saying that Satan has taken men captive … "at his will." At least that is the translation rendered in the King James Version.

To that I say … "Really?"

I didn't know God gave the devil that much power. Think about that for just a moment. If this was true, wouldn't Satan take everyone captive? Isn't it "his will" to steal, kill and destroy lives; to make all mankind slaves to sin?

The way this sentence is structured, has left it open for two different interpretations of the last three words … "at his will." So, let's look at just "whose will it is" really … Satan's will or God's will.

John Gill's Bible commentary broke this verse down this way …

"'And that they may recover themselves' … or 'awake' and come to themselves, to be sober, and in their right mind. The metaphor is taken from drunken men, who are not in their senses, and being stupefied fall asleep; who when their minds are enlightened, repent of them, come to themselves, and acknowledge the truth, and so escape …

'out of the snare of the devil' … for as carnal lusts and pleasures are the snares and nets, in which Satan, who may be compared to a fowler, catches some; so also errors and heresies are those with which he ensnares others … 'who are taken captive' or 'alive' …

'by him at his will' … taken in his nets and snares and they are held fast, become his captives, his slaves, to do his will, being led by him to whatsoever he pleases … and they readily comply with him, and obey his lusts.

Some understand this phrase, 'at his will,' not to be … of the will of the devil … but of the will of God.

The sense is … that such persons are held captive by Satan, as long as it is the will of God, and no longer; then the prey is taken from the fowler and the lawful captive is then delivered.

This scripture is given as an encouragement to Timothy to go on in instructing, hoping this may be the case.

Others connect this phrase, 'at his will' or 'according to his will' as they differently render it, with the word, 'recover' … meaning, that such, repenting of their errors, might escape out of the snare of Satan, in which they were taken alive; that so they might do the will of God … believing that their repentance, recovery and escape out of Satan's snare and captivity are according to the sovereign will and good pleasure of God."

The Amplified Bible must agree with this second interpretation John Gill speaks about as it reads …

2nd Timothy 2:26 … "And that they may come to their senses [and] escape out of the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him, [henceforth] to do His [God's] will."

Can Satan take people captive … "at his will?"

No, I don't think so.

Man has been given a "free will" to choose for themselves. It's obvious, and history proves that Satan has taken or has been given control of some men's lives. But it must always be through choice. Because man's soul has "free will"… it must possess this power of choice.

And because it is free will, it is impossible to force it to sin. Even Satan himself cannot do this; and before he can get it to sin, he must gain its consent. This is the only reason for the (spirit vs. flesh) battle within your soul … the control of your "will."

God will not violate this principle or spiritual law, nor will He allow Satan to take away your "choice" and remove … "your" … free will, otherwise it wouldn't be "yours."

What Satan is allowed to do though, is to … solicit or persuade … the "will" through the temptation of the flesh until it consents to sin and then he can snare and take captive over time a willing participant, at least willing in the flesh. Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden is proof of this.

The flesh falls first … the heart follows later.

Therefore … "Keep and guard your heart …" Proverbs 4:23 (Amplified)


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