Lesson for November 29, 2020
The Will of God
Lesson 1
“If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or I speak of myself.” (John 7:16-17)
When we study the will of God, we must also consider the Doctrine of Divine Guidance since it is the means of discovering the will of God. The Scriptures declare in many passages that God will continually guide us. Jesus said that when He departed this earth that He would send a Comforter to teach and guide us. This Comforter is the Holy Spirit and He permanently indwells all believers in Jesus Christ. The Greek word for will is “thelema” and refers to the pre-designed plan of God for every believer. Therefore, the will, the plan and the purpose of God are all synonymous terms. Throughout the Word of God, we are commanded to know the will of God. Therefore, the questions are: “How can I know God’s will for my life?” and “What is His plan for me?” (John 14:16-17; Ephesians 1:1)
A Christian that does not know God’s will is said to be foolish according to Ephesians 5:17. The opposite of being foolish is being wise. Wisdom is application of the Word of God. Therefore, God’s will can be discovered by knowing and applying His Word. Knowledge and application of God’s Word can only be attained under the filling of the Holy Spirit since He is the teacher of absolute truth. (John 14:26, 16:13-14; Romans 8:14; I Corinthians 2:16)
As with everything in the Christian Way of Life, divine guidance from God the Holy Spirit is only a potential. We must make the choice to allow Him to guide us. We do this in three ways: grow in the Word of God, know the will of God and submit to the will of God,
Grow in the Word of God
“But grow in the grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (II Peter 3:18)
Grace is God’s plan for mankind. God’s plan is salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ as Savior. God’s plan after salvation is to grow in grace. Grace is all that God is free to do for mankind on the basis of what Christ did for us on the Cross. Grace is the undeserved mercy of God towards us. Being in the will of God is the same as being in His plan and being in His plan is the same as being in His will.
Spiritual growth is a grace process of learning the Word of God under the filling of the Holy Spirit. Application of what you learn brings wisdom, stability and spiritual maturity to your spiritual life. Once again, this is a process; “a little here and a little there, line upon line and precept upon precept.” (Isaiah 28:10; Titus 2:11-14; James 1:5-8, 22)
Study plus application plus time equals compliance with and advance in the will of God for your life. All of these principles must be in place in order to do God’s will. Control by the sin nature, failure to know God’s Word and lack of spiritual growth prevent a person from doing God’s will.
Know the Will of God
“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2)
We see from this verse that the way to discover God’s will is by knowing God’s Word (Bible doctrine). It takes the renewal of the mind, which means to change from Human Viewpoint Thinking to Divine Viewpoint Thinking. Since the Bible is the only source of the known will of God, whether by direct statement or by deduction from doctrine, knowledge of His will is based on our understanding of His Word. Therefore, God the Holy Spirit guides the believer based on the doctrine that he has learned, believed and stored in his soul. Through knowledge of doctrine we learn certain things in the Bible that we know are the will of God and certain things that are not the will of God for all believers. For everything else, we must use a combination of doctrine in our soul, divine norms and standards, spiritual common sense and the control of the Holy Spirit. If indeed the Holy Spirit is controlling our lives, He will guide us into all truth and will empower us to execute His will.
Submit to the Will of God
“Therefore, I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.” (Romans 12:1)
Presentation of the body means to place yourself under the authority of God and submit to His will. This is to be a life-long, constant, commitment not a one-time decision. The Christian life is made up of thousands of moment by moment decisions to obey God. Only by obeying God can the Holy Spirit guide us to His will. Therefore, the importance of spending a maximum amount of time in fellowship with God and under the control of the Holy Spirit. If you are out of fellowship with God, it is impossible to be guided by the Holy Spirit. This is the reason that we need to keep “short accounts” and “keep our sins confessed up.” (Ephesians 5:18; I John 1:6-10)
We also see that the only kind of sacrifice that is acceptable to God is one that is living and set apart (holy). As believers, we are spiritually alive and when we are advancing in our spiritual lives we are being set apart to God and dead to and separated from Satan’s world system. God views this as reasonable on our part. It should be the love for Christ that motivates us to submit ourselves to God and allow Him to guide our lives. The will of God should be our constant rule for life. It is impossible to know the will of God without knowing His Word. For this reason, it of utmost importance that every believer in Christ learn the Word of God. (Romans 6:13; II Corinthians 5:14-15)
Categories of God’s Will
What does God want me to think?
God wants us to think divine viewpoint. Divine viewpoint is found in God’s Word, the Bible. We have the completed Canon of Scripture in one book, the Bible. Contained in this book is everything that God wants us to know about Him. As we learn to think His way, life becomes meaningful and understandable. Our strength to live the Christian life comes from Divine Viewpoint Thinking under the enabling power of the Holy Spirit. However, we must have a spiritual vocabulary in order to think divine viewpoint. Therefore, the necessity of learning God’s Word.
What does God want me to do?
There are certain do’s and don’ts in the Bible for all of us. It is God’s will for every believer to name their sins to God, to be filled (controlled by) the Holy Spirit and to study and apply Bible doctrine. It is also His will for the believer to claim the promises of God, to pray, to share your faith with others, to be occupied with Christ, to stop worrying, to stop feeling guilty, to stop being afraid, to share God’s happiness and many other things found throughout the Word of God. In many cases, we already know what God wants us to do or not do. When God has a specific task that He wants you to accomplish He will put you in a certain place and give you the tools necessary to accomplish that task.
Where does God want me to be?
If you are doing what God has commanded you to do, eventually you will end up where God wants you to be. This is a matter of spiritual growth. No one does the will of God perfectly all the time. The important thing is to continue to advance. If we aren’t advancing, we’re retreating. Many of us are like Jonah, we have to be swallowed by a whale before God can get our attention! The key to being where God wants you to be is doing what God wants you to do where you are right now. For example, simply going to a foreign country does not make a person a missionary. God uses believers that are willing to do missionary work, like sharing the Gospel, in their own town. It’s pretty certain that if you won’t share the Gospel in your own town, you’re not going to share it abroad where conditions are much more difficult. When we learn what God wants us to think, and what He wants us to do, and begin doing both consistently, He will guide us to where He wants us to be.
The General Will of God
Salvation
“The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” (II Peter 3:9)
It is the will of God for every member of the human race to come to know Jesus Christ as personal Savior. God gave mankind free will, but also made provision for him to have the choice of eternal life through Jesus Christ. Therefore, the first step for all of us in doing God’s will is believing in Jesus Christ. God demonstrated His love for all mankind by sending Jesus Christ as our substitute. He bore the penalty for the sins of the entire human race, past, present and future. On the Cross, God poured out the sins of the world upon Christ and judged them. Therefore, sin is no longer an issue in salvation. The issue is: will a person accept Christ’s payment for his or her sins by faith alone in Christ alone? (II Peter 3:9; I John 2:2,17; John 3:16; 6:40, 47; Romans 5:8: II Corinthians 5:21) No one can do the will of God until he has first done the will of God by believing in God’s Son, Jesus Christ. We all start at the same place. This is true equality. What you do after salvation is another matter. But we all start with faith in Christ. (John 6:47; 11:25; 14:6; Acts 4:12) Salvation is a grace function from God. We neither earn nor deserve salvation. Salvation is a free gift to those who believe. Jesus did all the work therefore we do not have to do any work for salvation. But salvation is only a potential: a person can choose to accept it or reject it. (Ephesians 2:8-9; John 3:36)
Sanctification
“For this is the will of God, your sanctification.” (I Thessalonians 4:3)
Sanctification means to be set apart to God. We are set apart at salvation by being placed into union with Jesus Christ. We call this Positional Sanctification, and it is permanent. This means that we share all that Christ has and is, and we are partakers of His divine nature (His righteousness) (I Corinthians 1:2; II Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 10:10; Colossians 2:10)
We are set apart in our Christian life when we are in fellowship with God and filled with the Holy Spirit. We call this Experiential Sanctification, and it is temporary. We stay in fellowship with God and under the control of God the Holy Spirit a maximum amount of time by using the Rebound Technique, which is naming, acknowledging or admitting our sins to God. (Ephesians 5:26; I John 1:9)
We will be set apart unto God in a glorified body. We call this Ultimate Sanctification, and it is permanent. Every believer will receive a resurrection body like that of Christ’s in the eternal state.
(I Corinthians 15:35-54; Philippians 3:21; I John 3:2)
Spirituality
“Stop being intoxicated with wine, which is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit.” (Ephesians 5:18)
It is the will of God that all believers be filled with (controlled by) the Holy Spirit. We call this spirituality or being spiritual. Spirituality is an absolute; either you are 100% controlled by the Holy Spirit or you are 100% controlled by the sin nature. Every believer produces either divine good or human good at any given moment. Divine good is Christian service done by the believer under the control of the Holy Spirit and is acceptable to God and is rewardable in Heaven. Human good is benevolence or other good deeds done by the believer apart from the filling of the Holy Spirit and has no spiritual or eternal value. (Proverbs 6:16-19; Isaiah 64:6; Romans 8:8)
Thanksgiving
“In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.” (I Thessalonians 5:18)
It is God’s will for believers to give thanks in everything. Thanksgiving is a way to express our worship towards God under the control of the Holy Spirit. As we grow spiritually, our mental attitude should reflect gratefulness and should be expressed to God in prayer. Being thankful in all situations can only be accomplished by application of the Bible doctrine that you have stored in your soul. All Christians are going to suffer during their lifetime. In order to be thankful in adversity, we must understand and then apply the principle that God is working all things together for our good (even the bad). This means that we must increase our capacity to receive both suffering and blessing by consistent intake of God’s Word. Being content with what God has already given you is a sign of a spiritually maturing believer. (Romans 8:28; Philippians 4:11-13)