Matthew 7:21; 12:50
How are we to show the indispensable necessity of obedience to the
commands of Christ…by doing his Father’s will. The will of God the Father
is whatever He has decreed in His wisdom, knowledge, holiness, and grace.
The word of God is that righteous standard that we are to conform to. An
outward profession of religious conviction, however remarkable, will not bring
anyone to heaven, unless there is a correspondent conversation and
remonstrance. Belonging in God's kingdom is demonstrated not by good
intentions but by the actual execution of God's will. Obedience to the will of
God challenges and supersedes opinionated obedience which through
concretization, or abstract concentration on a detail believed to be all truth,
have become meaningless and even hinder the pursuit of a knowledge of
God. Ultimately, the readiness of an individual to acknowledge and then do
God's will determines whether that person will be able to apprehend the truth
of Jesus. Jesus Christ is the truth in power. All judgment is committed to our
Lord Jesus; he has power to prescribe new terms of life and death, and to
judge men according to them. And natural affection is the embedded power
of what Jesus says to us…love one another. When our regard to our relations
comes in contest with the service of God, and the improving of an opportunity
to do good, in such a case, we must say our duty to God must have the
preference. And we must not take offense of our friends, nor think it
wickedness, if they prefer to please God before the pleasing of us. We must
deny ourselves and our own satisfaction, rather than do that which may in
any way divert our friends from, or distract them in, their duty to God. God’s
people value spiritual kindred, before natural relations according to the flesh.
Doing the will of God is the best preparative for entering the kingdom. The
attention of all who are called and chosen is to do the will of God. Our life,
our spirit, and our soul should be on the center of His perfect will from the
very beginning when He created us. Understand how the mystery of
godliness so conjoins the Spirit of God to the flesh of Christ, as we are allowed
to peer between the folded leaves of the divine purposes.
John 6:38-40
Consider the extreme of God’s will. The truth is the comprehension of both
His Spirit and His flesh. We are not to take a part from this and a part from
that, toning down one and modulating the other, as is too much the custom,
but in believing and giving full expression to everything that God reveals
whether we can reconcile the things or not; opening our hearts as children
open their understandings to their father’s teaching, knowing that because
the gospel is such that we can make it into a complete system, we might be
quite sure it is the will of God.
Psalms 143:10
There are depths of truth into which we cannot now peer. So, it is by the Spirit
of God that we are shown what His will is, and are taught how to do it, how
to turn our heart, our mind, our feet, our hand dexterously to His service. It is
the desire and endeavor of all God's faithful servants to know and to do His
will, and to stand complete in it. Those that have the Lord for their God have
His Spirit for their guide; and it is both our character and our privilege that we
are led by the Spirit, that we might be enlivened to do His will.
We are to do as God counsels. To obey Him is our work, not to attempt to
know what He does not reveal. But let us understand that the bible is an
extract from the will of God, and such an extract that it contains the very
essence thereof of His will. There is no contrariness with God’s will and the
truth of the word. Among the unrevealed things, there cannot be anything in
conflict with the revealed things. None of the secrets can possibly contradict
those truths which He has seen fit to unfold. There can be no irreconcilable
truths in the word of God. We just need to open our hearts to receive them.
It was from the will of God that the very thought of salvation first arose. Had
we been left to our own wills, we would have been willing to wander further
and further from God. No man originated the idea of restoration for our race
- God Himself willed it. And it is from the purpose of His grace that all our
hopes begin, and the will which originated salvation, which shaped and
formed it. It was God’s will that ordained salvation by faith, salvation through
an atoning sacrifice, salvation by the way of the new birth, salvation by the
way of perseverance up to perfection. God cast in His own mold the way and
manner of salvation and it has been His will that has shaped it. His fingers
have made the form and fashion of it. According to His own will He made us,
that we might be a kind of first fruits of His creatures. It is His will that has
brought those of us who are chosen into the knowledge of the truth, by which
will, also, we are sanctified, and upon which will we rely, as the motive force
which shall bear us onward throughout the entirety of our walk in this world.
It will bear us over the regions of suffering, and being found in the likeness
of His Son, we are set forth in the divine side of salvation, and the human
side of salvation, when it is then that we shall see the face of God without
sin.
It is because Jesus was in and did fully the will of his Father that none of
those given him will be lost. That is the divine side of salvation according to
the will of God. How sovereign is the character of that announcement of
Jesus. Majestic words…this is the Father’s will. No “if.” No “but.” No asking
and requesting of us; no bending the knee to our impulse; no asking us if we
are pleased to have it so, but because it is the Father’s will. That is the will
which is altogether absolute and independent, revolving on its own axis, the
will that called creation out of nothing, the will which cannot be prevented,
for it is omnipotent, which none may stand against, for it proceeds ever on
its eternal course. It is a determined will. Not subject to change. There can
be no better thing than God taking on human flesh that His will should be
done. God’s unchangeable will should be such goodwill! So full of
benevolence, so full of love! And we see the obedient servant of that will
which was sent not to do his own will. What revelation is gifted us in the
mystery of those words. That Jesus was not intent to accomplish or bring
about any private purposes of his own, distinct or different from those of His
Father.
Psalms 40:7, 8
All that God requires, Jesus is ready to perform. It was to this end, for this
cause, that Jesus did verily take on him the form of a servant, being God’s
elect. He is the accomplishment of the will of his Father. It is by this truth that
the will of God may be taken for His purpose, His decree, and His good
pleasure to fulfill which Christ came into the world. It is accordingly, little by
little, that the full sense of the words break on our minds. As we turn that over
in our mind, not to do our own will, but the will of Him that made us, we might
ought to reflect, it is for us to lay down our will at God’s feet. It is but fit and
right for all of us to do so. For every one of us is to say, “I came not to do my
own will,” seems proper as we follow Christ. Christ, our beloved, his will is
perfect; his will is as complete as the will of God, Himself. It is, in fact,
coincident, and must be coincident, with the will of God. But Jesus speaks
as God-man, and he puts it so that he may be to us the pattern of complete
resignation and perfect obedience. This is Jesus, the Son of God, who has
no difference with God, who am God, who wills as God wills. Christ is no
incompetent Savior come into the world to save without a commission and
without authority. He has come here willingly enough, but still, the reason of
his coming is His Father’s will. When Christ forgives a sinner, it is His Father’s
will. When Christ receives a rebel to his bosom, it is His Father’s will. He
does not do for us covertly or in any manner inconsiderate of or contrary to
the divine purposes. I like to consider the wonder of it, that God, in His divine
will, was pleased to give to Jesus, His obedient servant, a number of us out
of mankind who are to be His. A number that no man can number. But He
did give a certain number whom He had chosen from before the foundation
of the world, and these became the prayer of the Lord Jesus Christ. They
were put under a different government, being placed under the mediatorials
way of the Son of God. Some became disciples, some apostles, some the
elect, and some the very elect. None by their own natural inclination, but by
His gracious calling. In due time these are to be Christ’s bride as even they
are to be Christ’s brethren. This is a great transaction full of sublimity. Let us
not forget it or slight it. This is that human side of salvation.
There was once “no before”, but singularity postulates God, and then
“before” was caused. And there was an instigate before anything as there
was no cause but the Ancient of Days, and then the Ancient of Days, in His
eternal wisdom, transferred a number whom He had chosen into the hands
of the One with Him. It is of no use equivocating at it. It is true! It was so, and
it is so, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it. God’s eternal and electing
purpose severed from all the creation a people who are to belong to Jesus.
Let us say “Amen” to the record. This is a very remarkable expression
denoting this One God. It is the articulate of truth that is both undeniably
present and foundational in our coming to understand the will of God. How
God Himself had to come into human history after the creation of all the
worlds to manifest His Son and His Spirit. Jesus' life and teaching as
recorded in the bible bear witness to the importance of the concept of the will
of God for his understanding of his own place and that of his followers in
redemptive history. Historical events are seen to have saving significance as
they develop out of the determined will of God. He is one in essence, but
three in person. Father, Son, and Spirit exist eternally as distinct persons
sharing essential sameness. They are simultaneously and eternally three in
one working in triunity in one will. Whether creating, ruling, saving, judging,
or perfecting, He is always one and always three.
Ephesians 1:11
God’s will is the first cause of everything that exists. God’s will is powerful
and perfect. The will of God is crucial to understanding that God is sovereign
over all things. God wills some events in one sense that He does not will in
another sense. God never wills sin. But God willed that His Son, whom He
loved, had to die. All sinned, in fulfilling God’s will, that His Son be crucified.
So be very clear on this: God wills to come to pass some things that He
hates. Not all do the will of the Father. Jesus says, “not everyone will enter
the kingdom of heaven.” Why? Because not all do the will of God. God has
a will of decree, or His sovereign will, and the will of command. His will of
decree always comes to pass whether we believe in it or not. His will of
command can be broken, and is, every day. Both wills correspond to man’s
deep need. We need the assurance that God is in control and therefore is
able to work out all things together for our good and the good of all who love
Him. On the other hand, we need to know that God empathizes with us and
does not delight in sin. The will of God empowers us above the trappings of
deception of giving any recognition to the adversary. For example, if you
were abused in some way as a child, as an adult, and someone asks you,
“do you think that was the will of God,” you now have a way to give an
answer. You, by reason, reply, “no it was not God’s will; because He
commands that we whom He created not be abusive, but love each other.
The abuse broke His commandment and therefore moved His heart with
anger and grief. And yet, in another sense, yes, it was God’s will, His
sovereign will, because there are untold ways He could have stopped it. But
for reasons I don’t yet fully understand, but can, He didn’t.”
God does not intend for us to know all of His sovereign will ahead of time.
Deuteronomy 29:29
Yet, in our reasoning with the word of God, discerning implies that we should
approve of the will of God and then obediently do it. We need not to search
out the secret will of God that He plans to do, but discerning the revealed will
of God that we ought to do. With this we require the renewed mind with its
Holy Spirit-given discernment. With this, we will not distort the word of God.
And with spiritual discernment we can apply bible truth to every situation
thereby having the choice to be obedient to God’s command. We discern all
relevant factors with the mind of Christ, and discern what God is calling us
to do. We must be about our Father’s business, placing our will on the side
of God’s will.
Wonderful scenes are opening before us; and at this time a living testimony
is to be borne in the lives of God's professed people so that the world may
see that in this age, when evil reigns on every side, there is yet a people who
are laying aside their will and are seeking to do God's will--a people in whose
hearts and lives God's law is written. {AH 519.4}
The law is the articulation of the ethical requirements of God's will. This
pattern is taken up in the "new covenant" as doing God's law is the essence
of the appropriate life of response to God's will. And God's will is as vast as
His entire plan for creation, and from the standpoint of objective content, it is
expressed in specific terms throughout the scriptures. God's will concerning
the Messiah's death was specific. So specific, that it was God’s will that all
be saved. This is the expansiveness of the salvation plan.
I Timothy 2:3, 4
II Peter 3:9
Those who obtain a knowledge of God’s will pratice the teaching of His word.
Whoever is with singleness of purpose seeking to do God's will, earnestlyheeding the light already given, will receive greater light; to that soul some
star of heavenly radiance will be sent, to guide him into all truth. {GC88
312.1}
To come to a knowledge of the truth is a formula that means to make a sound
decision about the word of God. Not all will be saved regardless of their
disposition toward the word if the whole of the truth is not received. There
must be a faith response to the word of God. The will of God must be taught
and understood and chosen by Christ’s followers. The Holy Spirit will equip
the believer to be able to execute the divine will in appropriate behavior.
Human inability continues to coexist alongside divine sovereignty. This
means that the Holy Spirit must give the enlightenment necessary for the
believer to perceive what the will of God is and to carry it out to completion.
We are to seek God with our questions. He will direct us through the wisdom
of His chosen, as well as through circumstances brought about by His
sovereign will. Do not think that the reality of God's will relieves us of the
responsibility of decision making. We are to reason wisely in assessing every
option before us. The will of God consists of things that are in line with His
plan and purpose. We are to understand the pattern of this will. God’s truth
is presented to us. He reveals His intentional pursuit. We are to reason unto
belief and adjust our lives to Him in obeying Him. And we experience God
doing His will through us.
It is clear that by seeking God and choosing to live according to His Word,
we can not only do His will, but we will be rewarded as heirs with Christ
because of it. Christ says, whoever does God’s will is my family. We can
weed out subtle lies and learn the will of God when we hold nothing back
from God, allowing God to have full control of our minds. And we can know
God’s will by testing and approving it with a mind renewed by God, the mind
of Christ.
Our relationship with God is intimate. It must be so that our faith may be
strengthened, and our heart deeply rooted in the truth that is only found in
Christ, and that our mind would be fully renewed by His love and mercy. He
asks that we would stand firm, fully trusting in and faithfully following Him,
even when we cannot see beyond the next step. We are to live out love,
justice, and humility in all of our relationships, and in so doing are made
ready to live out God’s good and perfect will. With the strength of wisdom,
grace, and faith let us bend our every doing in the direction of God’s will.
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