“God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
-II Peter 3:9
The natural question arises: if God is all-powerful, why does not every soul repent?
The answer is not found in human freedom, but in divine sovereignty. God’s will is not fragmented or frustrated by human will. Rather, He has willed to reveal the fullness of His glory through both mercy and judgment. His patience allows rebellion to run its course, not because He is powerless to prevent it, but because in doing so, He magnifies His holiness, His justice, and His mercy in perfect harmony.
If God had willed only universal salvation, it would surely be so. But His purpose is greater: to display the entirety of His nature. Were all saved, His justice would remain hidden; were all condemned, His mercy would never be seen. Instead, He orders reality in such a way that both attributes are revealed, not as contradictions, but as complementary facets of His divine majesty. And here Scripture shows us the hierarchy within God’s will: His will to glorify His justice stands above His will that all be saved. The former governs the latter, ensuring that nothing in creation obscures the radiance of His holiness.
Paul writes:
“What if God, desiring to show His wrath and to make known His power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of His glory for vessels of mercy, which He has prepared beforehand for glory.” (Romans 9:22–23)
Here the emphasis is unmistakable: God’s sovereign purpose governs all things. Those who are objects of wrath serve to magnify His justice; those who are objects of mercy serve to magnify His love. The unregenerate receive justice, the regenerate receive mercy. None receive injustice. Every outcome flows from His wisdom, justice, and His will.
In this light, salvation and judgment are not competing ends, but a single tapestry woven by the sovereign hand of God. His decree is never thwarted; His glory is never diminished. And because His justice is the brighter flame, His will to display it is greater than His will that all be saved. Justice and mercy alike resound to His praise, and in the end, all creation will bear witness that the Lord reigns.