The Will of God Pt.2

The Will of God, Pt. 2

What is the will of God? The thing that you should have been praying for in the beginning of your Christian walk? It is simple; God wants you to be saved, spirit-filled, being sanctified, submissive, suffering and thankful:

1 Timothy 2:3-4,
“This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”

Ephesians 5:17-18,
“Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.”

1 Peter 4:1-2,
“Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.”

1 Peter 2:13-15,
“ Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men.”

1 Peter 4:19,
“So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.”

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18,
“Be joyful always;  pray continually;  give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

The best verse in the Bible that shows perfectly what the will of God is, Colossians 1:9-17,

“For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and long suffering with joyfulness; Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.”

Even though Paul didn’t write with semi-colons, make notice that Paul is telling the Colossians that he prays that they are filled with the knowledge of His will, with wisdom and spiritual understanding. Everything from verses 9-17 are connected, as if they are all bound together by Paul to show them what the will of God actually is. If you are praying for the will of God, I wonder if God scratches his head and thinks, “Why don’t they just open up the Word I gave them and look it up!”

This is now your burden, the weight on your back that will break you and bring you to your knees. This is the will that will cut deep into your heart, which will open up wounds that you thought were once sealed; this is the will that will cause the most pain in your life and is something that is a burden that you alone cannot carry. The will of God is the most beautiful thing that we could hope for. The will of God is the only thing that will make other people see Christ when we walk into their lives. The will of God is what our souls cry for each day. The will of God is the only thing that can save us from judgment, but most of all, the will of God is our only chance at being truly saved.

We may confess with our mouths we belong to the Lord, we may prophesy in his name and cast out demons, but this does not mean that we are saved. Miracles and empty words are not what will save us, but following the will of God for our lives is what makes us sanctified.

2 Thessalonians 2:13, “But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.”

The will of the Lord is for our sanctification purposes. Christ’s death saves those who are his flock, those who know his voice. (Matthew 25:32-33, John 10:11) The blood that Christ shed is the only justification we have to stand before God and be accepted. We cannot work our way to be justified, but to be sanctified is what we are called to do. If we do not strive for sanctification and make every effort to be sanctified, we do not have the spirit of God within us and we were never saved. We cannot take the gift of salvation and then not change who we are.  If we do, then we never had salvation in the first place.  Sanctification is the process in which we become set apart, holy and more like Christ.  We are justified and saved by the blood of Christ, but that is only proven when we sanctify ourselves by the work of the Spirit.

There may be tough choices, where things seem overwhelming and all you want to do is what would please God. This is a great thing for you to have: a heart of God, for God. But if you are saved, spirit-filled, being sanctified, submissive, suffering and thankful, and as long as it does not go against the word of God, then it does not matter what you do. God certainly cares about your choices, but if you are being led by His will, it doesn’t concern Him that much. You will not have revelations from God everyday concerning what you are to do, but in His time, He will reveal His plan for you when needed. God’s will for your life is only seen when looking back, to see that He was always there for you.

Look ahead towards what God wants to do in your life, to make you more like Him. If you neglect His moral will, why would he show you your personal will? Stop looking as if He has hidden something he doesn’t want you to know, for he will reveal it in his own time. God has already given us His will in the Word, so may we live according to that. When we live according to this will, He will reveal his plans to us.

“To know that which God conceals seems to be one of the depraved desires of the human heart. This presumptuous inquiry is both foolish and sinful. What have you to do, O man, with God’s councils? To obey Him is your work, not to attempt to know what He does not please to reveal.”
– Charles Spurgeon

Here are some sources and references regarding this topic. This is not the ordinary view on the will of God, so it might be hard to agree with it but there are very reputable people who hold this view:

John MacArthur
http://www.gty.org/Resources/Sermons/1217
http://www.gty.org/Shop/Booklets/451004

James MacDonalad
http://store.walkintheword.com/p-1120-the-way-of-wisdom.aspx
http://store.walkintheword.com/p-1110-way-of-wisdom-a-biblical-alternative-to-the-traditional-view-of-gods-will.aspx

Gary Friesen
http://www.amazon.com/Decision-Making-Will-God-Alternative/dp/1576737411

-Joseph