The "perfect will" of God is what you find in Romans 12:2

Do not be conformed to this present world, but be transformed by the renewing of your
mind, so that you may test and approve what is the will of God-what is good and wellpleasing and perfect (Romans 12:2).
Notice that here turning one's back on the world, and having one's mind renewed (by
God) enables one to discern and experience God's will for you, a will (or we might say
purpose or plan) which is good, which is a delight to us and to God, and which has no
flaws, no missing pieces -- complete.
Because God is omniscient, He knows what He will accomplish in us. He knows what we
will do, and what we would do, in any given circumstance. Thus, His plans for us will
never fail; they will never be flawed by some missing piece of information, some
unknown detail. God's plan and purpose for each and every believer is for our good, and
for His glory (see Romans 8:28).
This includes all the suffering and tragedy that comes to us in life (see 2 Corinthians
1:3-7; 12:7-10).
Having said that there is a "perfect will" let us not conclude that there is an imperfect
will of God, so that we might fear we will miss His "perfect will" and be forever doomed
to live out a life of misery and failure and frustration. His perfect will takes into account
our ignorance, our weakness, or sins, and even the sins of others against us (Genesis
50:20).
The Bible speaks of the "will of God" in several different ways, and it is important to
understand the differences.
(1) The decreed will of God. This is God's eternal, foreordained plan and purpose, which
will not change and cannot be thwarted. It includes our salvation (Ephesians 1:3-6,
etc.) and His choice and calling of Israel (Romans 11:1-2, 29). God's covenant
purposes and promises are a part of His decree, and He will not and cannot "change His
mind" about these things (see Exodus 32:13). (If you look at verse 14 of Exodus 32,

you might say, "But, look, God did change His mind!" No He didn't. The text says that
God "changed His mind" about destroying Israel, and making a new nation of Moses.
Moses' whole argument is that God made a covenant, and He cannot change His mind,
because He is God. God's "changing His mind about destroying Israel" is really His not
changing His mind, about saving this nation and bringing them into the land, in
fulfillment of His covenant with Abraham.)
(2) There is what we might call the "perceptive will" of God. This is God's will, expressed
in the form of principles or precepts given to men. The command not to murder lets us
know it is God's will for us not to murder others. The command not to steal makes it
clear that God's will for us is not to steal. If I say, "I have discerned that it is God's will
for me to rob banks, and to kill those who get in my way", we can confidently say that is
not God's will His written Word is the expression of His will. In this sense, many people
are seeking God's will when it is already obvious. You don't have to pray about living
with your boyfriend; God has spoken (Hebrews 13:4; 1 Corinthians 6:9-20).
(3) There is also God's preferential (desiderative) will. This has to do with what gives
God pleasure, and what does not. We know that God loves to show mercy, and yet He
will execute judgment (Exodus 34:6-7). It is on this basis that Moses appeals to God to
forgive Israel, not only here, but many times (see Numbers 14:17-19). Not only
Moses, but others prayed that God would show mercy (Nehemiah 9; Daniel 9). God
takes pleasure in the salvation of sinners; He does not take pleasure in pouring out His
eternal wrath on sinners (Matthew 18:14; 1 Timothy 2:3-4; 2 Peter 3:9; Ezekiel
18:32; 33:11). When we come to things which are not clearly prescribed as sin, or
things which are commanded, our desire should be to do that which pleases God
(Romans 12:1; Colossians 1:10; 2 Corinthians 5:9; Ephesians 5:10).
(4) There is what we might call God's "permissive will." This is what God allows, even
though it is sin. God allowed Joseph's brothers to betray him, and to deceive their
father, so that He might bring the Israelites (few in number) to Egypt, where God would
spare them, and they would greatly multiply (Genesis 50:20). God allows man to
reject the gospel, to willfully disobey His laws, to persecute the righteous, and so on. But
in all of this, God is still in control, and His purposes are being accomplished. His
"decretive will" often allows or permits (His permissive will) men to violate His
preferential will (what gives Him pleasure) and His prescriptive will (His Word). God's
permissive will is never outside His decretive will. God "permits" those things which will
lead to the accomplishment of His decretive will.

(5) There is also God's "directive will." This is God's personal guidance in our lives. It
does not violate any of the "wills" above. There are times when God wants us at a certain
place, doing a certain thing. The Bible most often will not provide us with this direct and
personal revelation of His will. I can think of God's directive will being revealed in the
"Macedonian call" (Acts 16:6-10). I can see it in the direct guidance of Philip (Acts
8:26) and of Peter and Ananias (Acts 10:1-23). God does guide us personally and
directly, but it seems that this is not as common as some would like. This seems to be
required at certain points of our life, when specific guidance is needed (see also 1
Timothy 4:14?).
(6) There may be yet another category, that I might call the "discerned" will of God. This
is my perception of God's will for my life, which comes through wisdom. You may wish
to look at the lesson I've done on this inProverbs.

Reference: https://bible.org/question/can-you-help-me-understand-gods-perfect-willversus-his-permissive-will

Permissive Will
Because God is sovereign, nothing happens that is outside his will. But there is a difference
between what he causes and what he allows. By the Permissive Will of God things happen
which God does not cause, things which are not his will because they are not in accordance with
his Law. It is by God's permissive will that sin is allowed to occur. God allows man to rebel
against him, and he permits people to do such things as lie, steal, etc.

Jer. 19:5, "and have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as burnt
offerings to Baal, a thing which I never commanded or spoke of, nor did it ever enter My
mind."

Luke 8:32, "Now there was a herd of many swine feeding there on the mountain; and the
demons entreated Him to permit them to enter the swine. And He gave them permission."

Rom. 1:21-23, "For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God, or give
thanks; but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the
incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and fourfooted animals and crawling creatures."

Reference: https://carm.org/dictionary-permissive-will

What is the difference between God's

sovereign will and God's perfect will?

Subscribe to our Question of the Week:

Question: "What is the difference between God's sovereign will and

God's perfect will?"
Answer: When speaking of Gods will, many people see three different aspects of it in the
Bible. The first aspect is known as Gods decretive, sovereign, or hidden will. This is Gods
"ultimate" will. This facet of Gods will comes out of the recognition of Gods sovereignty and
the other aspects of Gods nature. This expression of Gods will focuses on the fact that
God sovereignly ordains everything that comes to pass. In other words, there is nothing that
happens that is outside of Gods sovereign will. This aspect of Gods will is seen in verses
like Ephesians 1:11, where we learn that God is the one who works all things according
to the counsel of His will, and Job 42:2, "I know that You can do everything, And that no
purpose of Yours can be withheld from You. This view of Gods will is based on the fact
that, because God is sovereign, His will can never be frustrated. Nothing happens that is
beyond His control.
This understanding of His sovereign will does not imply that God causes everything to
happen. Rather, it acknowledges that, because He is sovereign, He must at least permit or
allow whatever happens to happen. This aspect of Gods will acknowledges that, even when
God passively permits things to happen, He must choose to permit them, because He

always has the power and right to intervene. God can always decide to either permit or stop
the actions and events of this world. Therefore, as He allows things to happen, He has
willed them in this sense of the word.
While Gods sovereign will is often hidden from us until after it comes to pass, there is
another aspect of His will that is plain to us: His preceptive or revealed will. As the name
implies, this facet of Gods will means that God has chosen to reveal some of His will in the
Bible. The preceptive will of God is Gods declared will concerning what we should or should
not do. For example, because of the revealed will of God, we can know that it is Gods will
that we do not steal, that we love our enemies, that we repent of our sins, and that we be
holy as He is holy. This expression of Gods will is revealed both in His Word and in our
conscience, through which God has written His moral law upon the hearts of all men. The
laws of God, whether found in Scripture or in our hearts, are binding upon us. We are
accountable when we disobey them.
Understanding this aspect of Gods will acknowledges that while we have the power and
ability to disobey Gods commands, we do not have the right to do so. Therefore, there is no
excuse for our sin, and we cannot claim that by choosing to sin we are simply fulfilling Gods
sovereign decree or will. Judas was fulfilling Gods sovereign will in betraying Christ, just as
the Romans who crucified Him were. That does not justify their sins. They were no less evil
or treacherous, and they were held accountable for their rejection of Christ (Acts 4:27-28).
Even though in His sovereign will God allows or permits sin to happen, we are still
accountable to Him for that sin.
The third aspect of Gods will that we see in the Bible is Gods permissive or perfect will.
This facet of Gods will describes Gods attitude and defines what is pleasing to Him. For
example, while it is clear that God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, it is also
clear that He wills or decrees their death. This expression of Gods will is revealed in the
many verses of Scripture which indicate what God does and does not take pleasure in. For
example, in 1 Timothy 2:4 we see that God desires all men to be saved and to come to
the knowledge of the truth, yet we know that Gods sovereign will is that no one can come
to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day
(John 6:44).
If we are not careful, we can easily become preoccupied or even obsessed with finding the
will of God for our lives. However, if the will we are seeking is His secret, hidden, or
decretive will, we are on a foolish quest. God has not chosen to reveal that aspect of His will
to us. What we should seek to know is the perceptive or revealed will of God. The true mark
of spirituality is when we desire to know and live according to the will of God as revealed in
Scripture, and that can be summarized as be holy for I am Holy (1 Peter 1:15-16). Our
responsibility is to obey the revealed will of God and not to speculate on what His hidden
will for us might be. While we should seek to be led by the Holy Spirit, we must never

forget that the Holy Spirit is primarily leading us to righteousness and to being conformed
into the image of Christ so that our lives will glorify God. God calls us to live our lives by
every word that proceeds from His mouth.
Living according to His revealed will should be the chief aim or purpose of our
lives. Romans 12:1-2 summarizes this truth, as we are called to present our bodies a
living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be
conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may
prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. To know the will of God, we
should immerse ourselves in the written Word of God, saturating our minds with it, and
praying that the Holy Spirit will transform us through the renewing of our minds, so that the
result is what is good, acceptable and perfectthe will of God.