Wesley-View of God

What we’re talking about here is God’s very character. Traditional Calvinism teaches God more as a sovereign monarch with minimal emphasis on God in the character of a father. I couldn’t disagree more. Wesley also greatly disagreed.

To be frank, I’m not sure how anyone, sincerely reading the Bible, can walk away not understanding that God is indeed the sole sovereign monarch of all that exists either visible or invisible. I believe it equally illogical that the same can walk away not envisioning God as a loving father.

From Genesis to Revelation, this story of redemption is about how God, the Father, carries out His redemptive work following the fall of Adam and Eve. Every aspect of the Biblical story overflows in showing how the nature of God as revealed by God Himself is the love of a father for his children.

Wesley, throughout his writings, uses the term “God the Father,” profusely, (See God’s Love to Fallen Men, Sermon #59 for example. wesley.nnu.edu). It is easy to learn quickly where Wesley stands on the nature of God. Nowhere does Wesley ignore God’s sovereignty. But while this is made clear to him–to us–Wesley believes His nature that He Himself has revealed to us is the way God wants us to understand Him.

From the very beginning, God acted, as we now understand relationally, as a good loving father to Adam and Eve. God never acted in the manner of a dictator, nor even as a Monarch, though His sovereignty was even then very evident. We may not be able to say that God provided an atmosphere of democracy, as we would understand it. What did God give creation that we can understand? God gave it freedom. Even after the fall, God did not abandon His children. Did He discipline Adam and Eve? Absolutely. What father would not discipline his child for breaking a rule of a parent? That said, God still took care of them. He provided for them.

What difference does the starting point make? How one views God, I think, naturally leads to their view of His Word (Bible), and Christ. I know people that while they do not necessarily reject belief in God in general, they imagine the Bible to be a book of rules, “do this,” or “do that,” etc. And in a certain context can one be faulted for that, until that is, they are able to hear and understand that context and understand that we do because we love God–because we love Jesus. Don’t most children want to please their parents? Don’t most children want their parents to be proud of them?

I think Wesley sees it simply as 1) truth, and 2) attitude. To put it even more plainly, would you rather work for a “Boss” or for a “leader”?

©2023 Clayton Moore for Mission in the Western World essay.

(As was previously submitted towards the requirement for MA. Min.)

Pedlar, J. (2012) John Wesley on the Character of God. James Pedlar. Retrieved from

John Wesley on the Character of God

Pedlar, J. (2013) Predestination and God’s Sovereignty. Seedbed. Retrieved from

Predestination and God’s Sovereignty