Oh, the Irony!

Lately I’ve noticed that Scripture is full of unexpected reversals — moments where God works in ways that overturn human expectations. Then, after reflecting more deeply on the biblical narrative and listened to my son, Dr. Tim Stratton, teach on Molinism (see his new book, the second edition of Human Freedom, Divine Knowledge, and Mere Molinism), something came into focus for me in a new way.

It began with a simple realization: God is far more surprising than we often admit. The more I paid attention, the more I saw that God rarely acts in the ways people expect Him to. That sense of surprise — that “I didn’t see that coming” quality — drew my attention to a deeper pattern. I began to notice that Scripture is filled with irony, not in the humorous sense, but in the profound, theological sense. God consistently brings about His purposes in ways that reverse human expectations. And once I saw that, I realized something even more striking: the gospel itself is the ultimate irony.

This discovery opened a new way of understanding God’s interaction with humanity — and it illuminated Molinism in a way I had never considered before.

As I read through Scripture with this lens, I saw divine irony everywhere. The barren woman becomes the mother of nations — “Is anything too hard for the LORD?” (Genesis 18:14). The younger son receives the blessing, as with Jacob and Esau. The shepherd boy defeats the giant because “the battle is the LORD’s” (1 Samuel 17:47). The rejected stone becomes the cornerstone (Psalm 118:22). The persecutor becomes the apostle in Paul’s dramatic conversion (Acts 9). These are not just plot twists. They reveal a God whose wisdom confounds human expectations. As Paul writes, “God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise… what is weak to shame the strong” (1 Corinthians 1:27). This is divine irony — God’s way of showing that His ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8–9).

The greatest example of this pattern is the gospel itself. Everything about Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection is marked by reversal. The King arrives in humility (Philippians 2:6–8). The Messiah conquers by dying (Mark 10:45). The cross — a symbol of shame — becomes the instrument of salvation (Galatians 6:14). What looks like defeat becomes victory (Colossians 2:15). What appears to end the story actually begins it (Luke 24:5–7). The gospel is the ultimate divine surprise — the place where God’s wisdom overturns every human expectation.

As I reflected on these themes, I realized how naturally they align with Molinism. Molinism teaches that God accomplishes His purposes through the libertarian free choices of human beings. God’s sovereignty is not threatened by human freedom; it is expressed through it. God knows what every free creature would do in any circumstance, and He sovereignly created a world in which human freedom and divine purpose converge. This is precisely the pattern of biblical irony.

Consider Joseph’s story: “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good” (Genesis 50:20). His brothers freely chose evil. Yet God used their evil choices to save nations. Or consider the crucifixion. Judas acts freely. The religious leaders act freely. Pilate acts freely. The crowd acts freely. And yet Peter declares,

“This Jesus… you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. This was according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God” (Acts 2:23).

Human intentions move in one direction; God’s purposes move in another. And yet, through divine wisdom, the two intersect perfectly. This is Molinism in narrative form. This is biblical irony in theological form.

Seeing Scripture through this lens has deepened my understanding of God’s wisdom, God’s sovereignty, the dignity of human freedom, and the surprising nature of the kingdom of God. It has shown me that Molinism is not merely a philosophical model. It is a way of articulating what Scripture has been showing us all along — that God’s power is revealed not by overriding human freedom, but by weaving it into His eternal purpose and "endgame" in ways that astonish us. The God who brings life out of death, strength out of weakness, and victory out of defeat is the same God who works all things together through human free choices to accomplish His ultimate purpose.

I offer these thoughts not as a scholar, but as someone who loves Scripture, loves theology, and has spent a lifetime thinking about how God works in the world. And I’m grateful to my son for the way his work has stretched my understanding and helped me see this connection more clearly. If biblical irony is the shape of God’s interaction with humanity, then Molinism provides a framework for understanding how that irony is possible — how God’s sovereignty and human freedom can coexist in a story that continually surprises us with grace.

As Tim says, "stay reasonable" (Isaiah 1:18),

Suzanne Stratton