GOD'S WILL IS....
By Richard Burkard
"If only I could know the will of God!" How many times have people made this statement? And how many times have you made it personally?
The question can come up in all sorts of life choices. You may be a young woman "torn between two lovers," as an old pop song by Mary McGregor said. You may be entering college, considering several possible career paths. Or you may be an adult God-fearing Christian, wondering which church denomination or group to attend out of so many options.
There's nothing wrong in wanting to obey God's will. Jesus Christ showed that very desire on the night He was arrested, leading to the crucifixion. "O my Father," the Son prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, "if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as you will" (Matthew 26:39, KJV unless noted). Verses 42 and 44 indicate Jesus made the same appeal three times in a row - "thy will be done."
In fact, Jesus taught the disciples to seek the Father's will in prayer: "Our Father.... Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:9-10). So praying for God to reveal His will to you is always a proper thing. But have you taken time to review the Bible to see what it says that will is?
Searching for the will of God in the Word of God can be a daunting task. "Will" or a form of the word appears in the New International Version more than 10,000 times! Most often it is used as an action verb -- for instance, in Jeremiah 7:15: "I will cast you out of my sight...."
But we pulled out our old Strong's Exhaustive Concordance to pore over the verses under "will" and related words. It took some time - but understanding God takes time. In fact, it can take a lifetime and beyond.
His Vs. Yours
The first direct Biblical mention of someone seeking God's will involves King David. After his murderous affair with Bathsheba, their child became "very sick" - as the prophet Nathan promised as part of His punishment.
"David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth," says II Samuel 12:16 - yet verse 18 shows the child died after a week, anyway. Why did David make this appeal? He explains in verse 22: "While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, 'Who can tell whether God will be gracious to me, that the child may live?'"
The king asked for God's will to be gracious - yet God said no, and His punishment stood. Bible students probably can think of other occasions in the Old Testament where something similar occurred. One example is the dying Moses being allowed to look from afar at the promised land, but not enter it alive (Deuteronomy 34:4).
Yet look at what the apostle Paul adds to King David's record in the book of Acts. God declared the king "a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.... he had served his own generation by the will of God...." (Acts 13:22, 36) So God's will was accomplished in David, yet that will overrode David's will at times.
The Savior's Perspective
As God's "only begotten son," we can trust Jesus Christ to be in tune with what the Father's will is. And Jesus warned in Matthew 7:21, "Not every one that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven."
So believers clearly need to know that will - and Jesus makes a clear statement about it in John 6:39-40: "And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day."
Hmmmm -- there's nothing here about selecting a mate or a major. When Jesus speaks of God's will, it's in eternal terms more than current practical ones. The Lord added to this when He called a little child into a meeting of disciples. "Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish" (Matthew 18:14; see also II Peter 3:9).
Believe it or not, there's no other direct statement from Jesus in the gospels about what the "will of God" for us is! Yet the Lord also talked about it in terms of something believers do -- and He mentioned several benefits which come from doing God's will:
+ You are counted as Jesus's "brother.... sister.... mother" (Matthew 12:50/Mark 3:35)
+ You'll know God's doctrine (John 7:16-17)
+ You'll make just judgments (John 5:30)
A Three-Step Definition
So the main question remains: how does the Bible define the "will of God" which we're supposed to obey? The answer is revealed by two New Testament apostles - and the first part of the answer may be more obvious than you realize.
"In every thing give thanks," Paul writes in I Thessalonians 5:18, "for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."
Sounds simple, doesn't it? Maybe too simple?! But if we're all honest with ourselves, there are times when giving thanks is hard - in times of trial or loss, or in public situations where saying "Thank you, Lord" might be considered improper or even out-of-bounds. But believers need to develop a thankful attitude toward God toward all aspects of life.
We turn to Peter for the second part of the answer. "For so is the will of God," declares I Peter 2:15, "that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men."
The surrounding verses give an indication of the "doing" Peter wants us to do. Verse 12 mentions a conversation (or "behavior" in the original Greek) that's "honest among the Gentiles...." Verse 13 advises submission "to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake...." Verse 17 adds, "Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king."
Ephesians 6:5-6 expands this thought to include servants submitting to masters, "doing the will of God from the heart." And Hebrews 13:20-21 adds the important reminder that it's actually Jesus Christ who will "make you perfect in every good work to do his will...."
There's one piece of advice from I Peter 2 which connects to the third and final part of our answer about what God's will is. "Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul" (verse 11; see also 4:2).
Paul spells out details of that in another part of his letter to Thessalonica. "For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; not in the lust of concupiscence.... That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter...." (I Thessalonians 4:3-6)
In other words, God's will is for us to avoid lusting after ungodly sexual desires and items which might lead to oppressing or taking advantage of others (as other translations render "defraud"). Jesus put it this way: "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me" (Luke 9:23).
A List Beyond Lust
Those are the only three passages I found where the Bible specifically says what God's will for you is. We can sum them up as: be thankful, do things well (especially in honesty, honor and love) and avoid lusts of the flesh.
Other verses don't say exactly "God's will for you is...." but they add to the Father's advice for how to live. For example....
+ Pay vows you make to God, because "God will surely require it...." (Deuteronomy 23:21)
+ "Consider the poor," so that God will deliver you in troublesome times (Psalm 41:1).
+ Remember God's law, or else God "will forget thy children" (Hosea 4:6).
+ Don't marry the "daughter of a strange god," or God will "cut [you] off" (Malachi 2:11-12; see also Psalm 81:8-9).
+ Forgive others' trespasses -- else God won't forgive yours (Matthew 6:15/Mark 11:26).
+ Serve Jesus, to be honored by the Father (John 12:26).
+ Come out from idolatry and "touch not the unclean thing," so God "will receive you" (II Corinthians 6:16-17).
Now That You Know....
If you've read this far, I must offer a warning at this point. You're now responsible for acting on these points of God's will. Jesus expressed it this way in a parable: "And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes" (Luke 12:47). By comparison, verse 48 says those who don't understand God's will are destined for "few stripes."
Yet Romans 12:2 encourages believers to "prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." How is that done? The first part of that verse explains it's "by the renewing of your mind...."
Not What You Wanted?
If you came here looking for something more specific and detailed in determining your path in life - sorry. I searched and I searched. My best advice to you is to ask God to reveal His will in prayer. Ask Him to open "the mystery of his will," as Ephesians 1:9 describes it, so you're "understanding what the will of the Lord is" (5:17).
"The Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will," Romans 8:27 tells us in the New International Version (see also I John 5:14). The Contemporary English Version of this verse adds God "can understand what is in the mind of the Spirit...."
After you've prayed, trust God to provide an answer about His will in His good time. It may not be as immediate as David's conversations with the Lord during battle (I Chronicles 14:10), but we must have faith the answer will come.
And when the answer comes, heed it. Follow the advice of Jeremiah 7:23: "Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you."
The Will to Win
Paul begins five New Testament books by declaring he was called to be an apostle "by [or through] the will of God." He goes on to tell Timothy it's God will to "have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth" (I Timothy 2:4).
If you live by the three main points of God's will we mentioned, the Bible says God's will in response is to provide blessings. "....After ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise" (Hebrews 10:36). What does that promise involve?
+ Being begotten as children of God "not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (John 1:13).
+ Receiving gifts of the Spirit, divided "severally as He will...." (I Corinthians 12:11)
+ Receiving "signs and wonders.... with divers miracles.... according to his own will...." (Hebrews 2:4)
+ Church groups will be able to do great things by giving themselves to leaders by the will of God (II Corinthians 8:5).
The ultimate blessing is found in I Corinthians 6:14: "And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power." Galatians 1:4 calls it a deliverance "from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father" -- a deliverance II Corinthians 1:10 says is from death, to eternal life.
At that point, the prayers of a New Testament servant named Epaphras truly will be fulfilled: "....that ye may stand perfect and complete [KJV margin "filled"] in all the will of God" (Colossians 4:12). May you accomplish the will of God, as He reveals it to you know - so you can gain the final promise mentioned in I John 2:17: "He that doeth the will of God abideth for ever."
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© 2010 Richard Burkard, All Rights Reserved.