Sovereignty Without Subversion: Understanding God’s Plan and Man’s Choice

Written by Joey Arles O. Vergara (c) February 2026


Acts 2:23 presents a profound and necessary tension between the "predetermined plan" of God and the "wicked hands" of man. As Apostle Peter stood before the Jerusalem crowd—the very people who had witnessed the crucifixion just weeks earlier—he established a theological cornerstone for understanding how a holy God interacts with a fallen and rebellious world:

"This Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death." (NASB)

This verse brings the absolute sovereignty of God and the absolute accountability of man into sharp focus. It reveals the nature of the "Master Architect" who governs the universe not as a tyrant, but as a wise Father who respects the agency of His creation.

1. The Goal vs. The Method: The Predetermined Plan

The Greek word for "predetermined," horizō, suggests marking a boundary or a "horizon." God, in His infinite wisdom, marked out the boundaries of human history. He determined before the foundation of the world that the salvation of mankind would be achieved through the sacrifice of His Son.

However, we must distinguish between the divine goal and the human method. God’s predetermined goal was Salvation. He did not "need" men to be evil to succeed; rather, because He foreknew the fallen state of humanity and the rebellion in men's hearts, He wove their choices into His plan. If humanity had remained perfectly righteous, the problem of sin would not exist. But because we are fallen, a sacrifice was necessary. God didn't have to look for "another means" when men chose to be evil; He already knew exactly how their rebellion would provide the "cross" upon which the Savior would hang.

2. Foreknowledge Is Not Causation

The concept of foreknowledge (prognōsis) is often misunderstood as a form of "divine scripts" that we are forced to follow. In the Churches of Christ, we emphasize that knowing an outcome is fundamentally different from causing it. God exists outside the constraints of time; He sees the beginning and the end in one eternal "now."

Consider a viewer watching a recorded broadcast of a sports game. The viewer knows exactly when a player will make a critical mistake, yet that knowledge does not trip the player or miss the shot. Similarly, God sees our choices before we make them, but His seeing does not strip us of our agency. He observes the path we choose with our own free will and masterfully weaves those free choices into His greater, global design for the kingdom.

3. The Master Architect: Permission vs. Purpose

The imagery of the Master Architect clarifies the vital distinction between Providence and Fate. Fate is a cold, deterministic machine; it suggests we are mere puppets. This view would wrongly make God the source of sin—a concept the Scripture flatly denies in James 1:13 ("Let no one say when he is tempted, 'I am being tempted by God'; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.").

In providence, we see the distinction between permission and purpose. God "purposely let" men do evil only in the sense that He purposely gave us free will. He did not want the evil act, but He wanted a world where men were free to choose. He allowed ("permitted") the wicked hands of men to strike because He knew that His providence could take the "rubble" of their sin and use it as the building material for a divine temple of grace. He did not author the crime, but He permitted the criminals to act so He could provide the cure for the very crime they were committing.

4. The Reality of Accountability

The reality of human accountability is proven by the urgency of Apostle Peter's call to repentance. If these men were merely actors playing a forced role, they could not be held responsible. You cannot repent for a choice you did not make.

By calling them "godless men" and later commanding them to "repent and be baptized," the Apostle confirms that they were 100% accountable. We are what we are because of God’s providence—He provides the stage, the light, and the summons—but we are never what we are because of a forced fate. If an individual rejects the salvation God provides for the very evil He permitted them to commit, they do so by their own free will and bear the consequence of that choice.

Conclusion: The Gift of the Counselor

Acts 2:23 teaches us that God respects our free will while remaining sovereign enough to outwork even our failures for His holy ends. In summary: God's plan was the Salvation, evil man's choice was the Crucifixion, and God's power was using the latter to achieve the former.

But the Master Architect does not leave the obedient believer to navigate this world alone. Following the same sermon where Peter mentions God's predetermined plan, he promises the "gift of the Holy Spirit" to those who respond (Acts 2:38). God intends for this indwelling Spirit to serve as a Counselor, providing a direct connection to Him. This divine Helper empowers the Christian to make godly choices and provides a convicting voice when we drift toward "wrong choices." If God could use the "wicked hands" of men to bring about the resurrection of The Lord Jesus Christ, His providence and His Spirit can surely take the broken parts of our lives today and recharge them for His eternal glory.