Acts 4:28

To do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel foreordained to come to pass.

Perhaps the profoundest question in theology appears in what is stated here. This is the same problem on a cosmic scale that appears in the more limited instance of Judas' fulfilling prophecy by his betrayal of Jesus. Did God's foreordaining such rebellion against his authority become, in any sense, the cause of it? There are mysteries here beyond any complete human understanding of them; but any solution of the problem must take account of the freedom of the human will, either to obey or disobey God. Any resolution of the question that denies such freedom must be rejected.

In the case in hand, God desired the salvation of men through the death of Christ; but it was the wickedness of evil men which became an instrument of the fulfillment. That fact stands in bold relief in this apostolic prayer. God "foreordained" the sufferings and death of the Saviour of the world. We may only bow the head and say with the incomparable Paul, "How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past tracing out" (Romans 11:33).