I know the formula, but what precisely does this mean?
It means that our sovereign and omnipotent God ALWAYS gets what He wants. :) It means that God did not transfer the power to humans to thwart His will. God the creator always gets what He wants, and we humans always get what God wants. It's a balance. :)
Yes God's will is that we have free will. How is He trumped?
My understanding is that an Apostolic tenet is that God's will is for all men to be saved. By free will, man's will trumps God's will because not all men are saved.
Given these three truth statements: Man has free will; God wishes all to be saved; all are not saved; can we not arrive at the simple logical conclusion? Without the need to derive an obvious untruth about free will?
OK, I'm all ears. :)
Mankind can be saved only through love for God, not by some hocu pocus magic. Those who have no love for God will not come to Him. Love cannot be forced.
It is God's desire (becase He so loveth the world) that all men be saved. It is not His will; it is His desire. I think there is a world of difference there. He offerend salvation to all. His saving grace is for anyone who is willing to follow Him. It is not pre-prgammed "love" or some brain-washing tractor beam attached to the foreheads of the "elect."
He calls us and we have to come to Him on our own. His sacrifice made that choice possible.