At first it might seem that if God created all things, then evil must have been created by God. However, evil is not a “thing” like a rock or electricity. You cannot have a jar of evil. Evil has no existence of its own; it is really the absence of good. For example, holes are real but they only exist in something else. We call the absence of dirt a hole, but it cannot be separated from the dirt. So when God created, it is true that all He created was good. One of the good things God made was creatures who had the freedom to choose good. In order to have a real choice, God had to allow there to be something besides good to choose. So, God allowed these angels and humans to choose good or reject good (evil). When a bad relationship exists between two good things we call that evil, but it does not become a “thing” that required God to create it.
Perhaps a further illustration will help. If a person is asked, “Does cold exist?” the answer would likely be “yes.” However, this is incorrect. Cold does not exist. Cold is the absence of heat. Similarly, darkness does not exist; it is the absence of light. Evil is the absence of good, or better, evil is the absence of God. God did not have to create evil, but rather only allow for the absence of good.
God did not create evil, but He does allow evil. If God had not allowed for the possibility of evil, both mankind and angels would be serving God out of obligation, not choice like robots. He did not want “robots” that simply did what He wanted them to do because of their “programming.” God allowed for the possibility of evil so that we could genuinely have a free will and choose whether or not we wanted to serve Him.
As finite human beings, we can never fully understand an infinite God (Romans 11:33-34). Sometimes we think we understand why God is doing something, only to find out later that it was for a different purpose than we originally thought. God looks at things from a holy, eternal perspective. We look at things from a sinful, earthly, and temporal perspective. Why did God put man on earth knowing that Adam and Eve would sin and therefore bring evil, death, and suffering on all mankind? Why didn’t He just create us all and leave us in heaven where we would be perfect and without suffering? These questions cannot be adequately answered this side of eternity. What we can know is whatever God does is holy and perfect and ultimately will glorify Him. God allowed for the possibility of evil in order to give us a true choice in regards to whether we worship Him. God did not create evil, but He allowed it. If He had not allowed evil, we would be worshiping Him out of obligation, not by a choice of our own will.
Now, we ay ask, does God cause and decree create moral evil? If everything God created was good (Genesis 1:31; 1 Timothy 4:4; James 1:17), why does Isaiah 45:7 say God created evil? The Hebrew word translated as “evil” (ra‘) in the King James Version of Isaiah 45:7 has two applications in the Bible. The term can be used in the sense of moral evil, such as wickedness and sin (Matthew 12:35; Judges 3:12; Proverbs 8:13; 3 John 1:11), or it can refer to harmful natural events, calamity, misfortune, adversity, affliction, or disaster. It is in this second sense that Isaiah speaks, and his meaning is reflected in most modern Bible translations of Isaiah 45:7 (emphasis added): “I make success and create disaster” (HCSB); “I make well-being and create calamity” (ESV); “I send good times and bad times” (NLT).
God does not create moral evil. For one thing, moral evil is not a “thing” to be made but a choice or intent contrary to God’s good purposes, His holy character, and His law. Moral evil does not conform to God and His will. God is good (Psalm 34:8), holy (Leviticus 11:44; Isaiah 6:3; 1 Peter 1:16), and loving (1 John 4:8); therefore, His plans and purposes are good, holy, and loving.
As Ruler of the universe, God sometimes did creates calamity to accomplish His will. He brought disaster to discipline His people when they turned their backs on Him and refused to repent (Jeremiah 18:17).
As the Sovereign King over all earthly kings, God can make light or darkness and create peace or calamity.
God’s sovereign rule over all things good and bad—over success and calamity for His people Israel—is cause for hope in the lives of believers today. We can trust and “know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them” (Romans 8:28, NLT).
God’s purpose is to bring us to spiritual maturity (Romans 8:29; Ephesians 1:4; 5:27; Colossians 1:22; 1 Thessalonians 4:3; Jude 1:24). Our experiences may seem bright or dark, peaceful or disastrous, but God promises to craft them all together, even adversity, affliction, and “evil,” for our ultimate spiritual maturity benefit.
Key
God's decrees:
The stability of the universe
Human free will acts
The circumstances of nations
The length of human life
The manner of death
The salvation of believers
The establishment of Christ's kingdom
However
God DID NOT create evil BUT only ALLOWING it. All suffering is purposely mean to mature our faith in Triune God.
Tags
Theology