Sunday, October 30th, 2011
Romans 12:1-2
“Power Wash”
Background Information:
- In Rom 1:28 Paul has pointed out that people’s rejection of God has resulted in God’s giving them over to a “worthless” mind: one that is unqualified” (adokimos) in assessing the truth about God and the world he has made. Now, Paul asserts, the purpose of our being transformed by the renewing of the mind is that this state might be reversed; that we might be able to “approve” (dokimaz ) the will of God. “Approving” the will of God means to understand and agree with what God wants of us with a view to putting it into practice. That Paul means here by “the will of God” his moral direction is clear from the way Paul describes it: this will is that which is “good,” “acceptable [to God],” and “perfect.” (Douglas J. Moo, The New International Commentary on the NT: Romans, 757)
- Scripture generally conceives of the will of God in one or two senses. Sometimes, as in Eph 1:11, what is meant is the eternal purpose of God that determines history, and that we cannot know except by observing the outworking of history or through a special revelation (prophecy). This is often called by theologians the “decretive,” “hidden,” or “secret” will of God. Elsewhere, as here and in 5:18, what is meant is the duty God has announced through revelation, the “preceptive” or “revealed” will of God (Dt 29:29). (Luder Whitlock, Jr., New Geneva Study Bible, 1897)
The question to be answered is . . . What could be the possible reason the Apostle Paul talks about being able to “test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will” at this pivotal point in his letter to the church in Rome?
Answer: I believe the Apostle Paul wants us to recognize that by offering ourselves as living sacrifices, and refusing to be conformed to this world but transformed by the renewing of our minds, we will not only be able to discern (“test” – NIV) what God’s will is, but it will actually become the desire of our hearts to do it and perform it (“approve” – NIV). We need to have our hearts and minds “washed” by the Word and Spirit of God so we can discern and do God’s will.
Will of God. The biblical understanding of God as a person who created human persons in “His” image recognizes in God the characteristic of desiring, or delighting in, certain things or people, as well as the capacity to choose and initiate one course of action in preference to another. (Geoffrey W. Bromiley, The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, 1064)
Both in the OT and in the NT, Scripture teaches that God’s will is eternal, immutable, independent, and efficacious. This truth is not only expressed in a few passages, e.g., Ps 33:11; 115:3; Dan 4:25, 35; Is 36:10; Mt 11:26; Rom 9:18; Eph 1:4; Rv 4;11; etc., but is either expressed or implied everywhere in Scripture, is demanded by all God’s attributes, and is evidenced by the entire history of the church and of the world. Hence, the Christian church; especially since Augustine, taught that God’s will is single (simple), eternal and immutable, identical with his being. (Herman Bavinck, The Doctrine of God, 239)
Three Meanings of “God’s Will”
Sovereign Moral Individual
“God’s secret plan “God’s revealed “God’s ideal, de-
that determines commands in the tailed life-plan
everything that hap- Bible that teach how uniquely designed
pens in the universe.” men ought to be for each person.”
Daniel 4:35 Romans 2:18 Colossians 1:9; 4:12
Proverbs 21:1 1 Thessalonians 5:18 Romans 12:2
Revelation 4:11 1 Thessalonians 4:3 Eph 5:17; 6:6
Ephesians 1:11 2 Corinthians 6:14 Prv 3:5-6; 16:9
Prv 16:33 plus all other com- Ps 32:8
Rom 9:19; 11:33-36 mands in Scripture Genesis 24
Acts 2:23; 4:27-28
(Garry Griesen, Decision making & the Will of God, 35)
Comparing and Contrasting
God’s Individual and Sovereign Wills
God’s Individual Will God’s Sovereign Will
1. A detailed plan for all 1. A detailed plan for all
decisions in a believer’s life. events in the universe.
2. The believer is able to 2. It is hidden–the believer
find and know it. cannot find and know it.
3. Believers are expected to 3. Believers are not expected
find it as part of the to find it as part of the
Christian life. Christian life.
4. Believers can miss it by 4. Believers cannot miss it
failure to discover or obey it because it always comes to pass.
5. Includes only that which is 5. Includes both good and evil.
Good and ideal.
6. Must be discovered before 6. Can only be discovered after
a decision can be made. it happens.
7. Directly Ideal Plan: It is 7. Indirectly Ideal Plan: Though
in harmony with the Bible and it includes evil acts and foolish
is always the most ideal decision decisions, it will ultimately lead
and so brings glory to God. to God’s glory.
(Garry Griesen, Decision making & the Will of God, 38)
Comparing and Contrasting
God’s Individual and Moral Wills
God’s Individual Will God’s Moral Will
1. A detailed plan for all 1. A body of general commands
decisions in a believer’s life and principles for life.
2. Believers are expected to 2. Believers are expected to find
find and do it. and do it.
3. Believers can miss it by 3. Believers can miss it by failure
failure to discover or obey it. to discover or obey it.
4. It is being revealed to the 4. It was revealed to apostles and
hearts of believers and cannot prophets and can be found
be found at all in the Bible. completely in the Bible.
5. It is revealed by the Holy 5. It was revealed by the Holy
Spirit through inward impres- Spirit through supernatural
sions using many means. revelation.
6. Its directives are specific for 6. Its directives are general for
one specific believer (“Marry all believers (“Marry only a
Jane next month in Portland”). believer”).
(Garry Griesen, Decision making & the Will of God, 39)
Wisdom, in Scripture means choosing the best and noblest end at which to aim, along with the most appropriate and effective means of achieving that end. OT wisdom literature, including Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and certain of the Psalms (Ps 19: 37; 107; 107; 147; 148), dealt not only with the life of worship or religious exercise in the restricted sense, but also with everyday moral behavior in family, social, and business concerns. In the NT the letter of James might also be considered “wisdom literature” in its plain-spoken description of practical Christian living. In light of the wisdom literature of Scripture, Christian wisdom means making the “fear of God”–relevant worship and service of Him–the goal of life (Prv 1:7; 9:10; Eccl 12:13).
God’s wisdom is seen in His works of creation, preservation, and redemption: it is His choice of His own glory as His goal (Ps 46:10; Is 42:8; 48:11), and His decision to achieve it first by creating a marvelous variety of things and people (Ps 104:24; Prv 3:19, 20), second by kindly providences of all sorts (Ps 145:13-16; Acts 14:17), and third by the redemptive “wisdom” of “Christ crucified” (1 Cor 1:18-2:16) and the resulting Christian church in the world (Eph 3:10).
The outworking of God’s wisdom involves the expression of His will in two different senses. In the first sense, God’s will is “His eternal purpose, according to the counsel of His will, whereby, for His own glory, He hath foreordained whatsoever comes to pass” (Westminster Shorter Catechism, Q. 7). This “eternal purpose” is God’s decreed will, referred to in Eph 1:11. In the second sense, the will of God is His command, that is, His instruction given in Scripture, concerning how people should believe and behave. This is sometimes called His “preceptive will,” and is spoken of in Rom 12:2; Eph 5:17; Col 1:9; 1 Thes 4:3-6. Some of its requirements are rooted in His holy character, which we are to imitate: such are the principles of the Decalogue, and the two great commandments (Ex 20:1-17; Mt 22:37-40; cf. Eph 4:32-5:2). Some of its requirements spring simply from the divine institution. Such were circumcision and the sacrificial and purity laws of the OT, and such are baptism and the Lord’s Supper today. But all, in their respective times, bind the conscience, and God’s plan of events (His “eternal purpose”) already includes the “good works” of obedience that those who believe will perform (Eph 2:10).
It is sometimes difficult, even impossible, for mortal humans to understand how obedience, putting us at a disadvantage in the world, is part of a predestined plan of furthering both God’s glory and our good (Rom 8:28). But we glorify God by believing that it is so, because He who cannot lie has said it. One day we will see it to be so, because His wisdom is perfect and never fails. (Luder Whitlock, Jr., New Geneva Study Bible, 1333)
In the Psalms David asks a question and then answers it in a way that shows God’s completeness and our nothingness. “What shall I give back to the Lord for all his benefits toward me?” (Ps 116:12). “What shall I give?” And the next verse replies, “I will take…” That is the only way in which a creature can give to the Creator. By trusting in Him, by understanding His goodness, His mercy, His loving-kindness, and His grace, we throw ourselves upon Him and recognize that we are nothing and can do nothing without Him, and that everything comes from Him. (Donald Grey Barnhouse, God’s Discipline, 30-31)
The Word for the Day is . . . will
Romans 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this world–this age, fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs. But be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind–by its new ideals and its new attitude–so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you].” (The Amplified Bible)
What did Paul understand and what must we understand about the will of God?
I. The Will of God is seen in the Word (Law) of God (Ps 19:7; 40:8; ch 119)
No man can understand what God’s will is and what pleases Him, but in His Word. (Martin Luther; Galatians, 255-256)
Do you want to know what the will of God is? You have to study the word of God. You have to think like God. You have to have a new mind. And if you want a new mind you have to study the Word of God more rigorously than you have ever studied anything in your life. There is no magical way to know the will of God, apart from knowing the Word of God. (RC Sproul, The Gospel of God: Romans, 197)
There is no greater proof of the fact that men and women have been converted–born again–than that they have changed their minds about the will of God. By nature, people always feel that God is against them and that His ways are bad for them; they dislike God’s law. To quote Rom 8:7 again: “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” The “natural man” hates the law of God. (D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Romans, Exposition of Chapter 12, 134)
God’s will initiates creation, redemption, and all that happens in heaven and on earth; and the people with whom God has made His covenant are called to live according to His will as this has been revealed to them in the law, wisdom teaching, and prophetic utterances. In the last analysis, to “delight” (Heb. hāpēs) in doing God’s will (rāsôn; LXX thélēma) is the same as having God’s law written in one’s heart (Ps 40:8 [MT 9]; cf. Jer 31:31-34), and such willing obedience takes precedence even over the sacrifices and burnt offerings prescribed in the tradition (cf. Ps 40:6 [MT 7]). (Geoffrey W. Bromiley, The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, 1064-65)
Earnest Christians seeking guidance often go about it wrongly. Why? Often their notion of the nature and method of divine guidance is distorted. They look for flashiness; they overlook the guidance that is close at hand and let themselves in for all sorts of delusions. Their basic mistake is to think of guidance as essentially inward prompting by the Holy Spirit apart from the written Word. (J. I. Packer, “Finding God’s Will”, 10)
The true way to honor the Holy Spirit as our guide is to honor the Holy Scriptures through which he guides us. The fundamental guidance that God gives to shape our lives–the instilling, that is, of the basic convictions, attitudes, ideals and value judgments by which we are to live–is not a matter of inward promptings apart from the Word. It is the pressure on our consciences of the portrayal in the Word of God’s character and will, which the Spirit enlightens us to understand and apply for ourselves.
The basic form of divine guidance, therefore, is the presentation to us of positive ideals as guidelines for all our living. “Be the kind of person that Jesus was.” “Seek this virtue, and this one, and this, and practice them to the limit.” “Know your responsibilities–husbands, to your wives; wives, to your husbands; parents, to your children; all of you, to all your fellow Christians and all your fellow men–and seek strength constantly to fulfill these responsibilities.” This is how God guides us through the Bible, as any student of the Psalms, the Proverbs, and Prophets, the Sermon on the mount and the ethical parts of the Epistles will soon discover. “Depart from evil, and do good” (Ps 34:14; 37:27). This is the highway along which the Bible is concerned to lead us, and all its admonitions are concerned to keep us on it. Note that the reference to being “led by the Spirit” in Rom 8:14 does not relate to inward voices or any such experience but to mortifying known sin and not living after the flesh. (J. I. Packer, “Finding God’s Will”, 15-17)
We never say that only what is in our judgment good is God’s will; or what we think is well-pleasing to him; or what we consider morally and spiritually complete. No; testing out what God wants is discovering the thing that is good for us, pleasing to him, complete in itself. And what God’s will is, namely this thing which he wills, we discover from his Word and from that alone, and we subject all our own conceptions of what is good, etc., wholly to that Word. Every test made without the Word is deceptive and wrong. (R.C.H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, 752-53)
II. The Will of God is seen in the purposes of God (Eph 1:11)
One of the most impressive qualities of a Christian visionary is his or her total abandonment of self in favor of complete subjugation to the purposes of God. This goes far beyond the commitment to Christ for salvation and reflects the absolute surrender to the will of God. Only then is the person truly usable by Him. (George Barna, Turning Vision, 36)
Let us learn that, in an ultimate sense, we can never be “outside of the will of God”. (John Flavel, The Mystery of Providence, 14)
Every man is to consider himself as a particular object of God’s providence, under the same care and protection of God as if the world had been made for him alone. It is not by chance that any man is born at such a time, of such parents, and in such place and condition…Every soul comes into the body at such a time and in such circumstances by the express designment of God, according to some purposes of His will and for some particular ends. (William Law, A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life, p. 322)
Our conformity to the will of God should extend to our natural defects, mental ones, included. We should not, for example, complain or feel grieved at not being so clever or so witty or not having such a good memory as other people. Why should we complain of the little that has fallen to our lot when we have deserved nothing of what God has given us? Is not all a free gift of His generosity for which we are greatly indebted to him? What services has He received from us that He should have made us a human being rather than some lower animal? Have we done anything to oblige him to give us existence itself?
But it is not enough just not to complain. We ought to be content with what we have been given and desire nothing more. What we have is sufficient because God has judged it so. Just as a workman uses the shape and size of tool best suited to the job in hand, so God gives us those qualities which are in accordance with the designs He has for us. The important thing is to use well what He has given us. It may be added that it is very fortunate for some people to have only mediocre qualities or limited talents. The measure of them that God has given will save them, while they might be ruined if they had more. Superiority of talent very often only serves to engender pride and vanity and so become a means of perdition. (Jean Baptiste; Trustful Surrender To Divine Providence, 65-66)
We ought to conform to the will of God in sickness and infirmity and wish for what He sends us, both at the time it comes and for the time it lasts and with all the circumstances attending it, without wishing for one of them to be changed; and at the same time do all that is reasonable in our power to get well again, because God wishes it so. “For my part” says St. Alphonsus,” I call illness the touchstone of the spirit, for it is then that the true virtue of a man is discovered.” If we feel ourselves becoming impatient or rebellious we should endeavor to repress such feelings and be deeply ashamed of any attempt at opposition to the just decrees of an all-wise God.
St. Bonaventure relates that St. Francis of Assisi was afflicted by an illness which caused him great pain. One of his followers said to him, “Ask Our Lord to treat you a little more gently, for it seems to me He lays His hand too heavily upon you.” Hearing this the saint gave a cry and addressed the man in these words: “If I did not think that what you have just said comes from the simplicity of your heart without any evil intention I would have no more to do with you, because you have been so rash as to find fault with what God does to me.”: Then, though he was very weak from the length and violence of his illness, he threw himself down from the rough bed he was lying on, at the risk of breaking his bones, and kissing the floor of his cell said “I thank you, O Lord, for all the sufferings you send me. I beg you to send me a hundred times more if you think it right. I shall rejoice if it pleases you to afflict me without sparing me in any way, for the accomplishments of your holy will is my greatest consolation.” (Jean Baptiste; Trustful Surrender To Divine Providence, 67-68)
III. The Will of God is seen in the acts of God (Ps 135:5-10; Acts 4:28; 1 Cor 12:11; Gal 1:3-4; Heb 2:4; Rv 4:11)
These words are overflowingly rich in consolation; for just then when afflictions come over us, we should be of good courage, because that is the good will of God. Therefore we should be greatly pleased when things happen to us which displease us. The “good” will of God creates good out of evil. The “acceptable” will of God moves us cheerfully to love such good. It makes this good acceptable to us, and causes us to agree with it, even if it is evil. The “perfect” will of God will eternally perfect and bring to a (blessed) end all who are glad (in Him). (Martin Luther, Commentary on Romans, 168-69)
Again and again Scripture makes mention of God’s sovereign will, hēpheç, raçôn, çebhû, Dan 4:35; 6:18; thelēma, boulema. That will is the final ground of all things and of their being what they are. Everything is derived from it: creation and preservation, Rv 4;11; government, Prv 21:1; Dan 4:35; Eph 1:11; Christ’s suffering, Lk 22:42; election and reprobation, Rom 9:15 ff.; regeneration, Jas 1:18; sanctification, Phil 2:13; the sufferings of believers, 1 Pt 3:17; our life and destiny, Jas 4:15; Acts 18:21; Rom 15:32; and even the smallest and least significant things, Mt 10:29; etc. (Herman Bavinck, The Doctrine of God, 223-24)
God’s will toward himself is called his necessary will; that toward the creature is called his free will. (Herman Bavinck, The Doctrine of God, 228)
God’s will in relation to his creatures is not necessary, however. In the most absolute terms Scripture declares that God does whatsoever he pleases, Ps 115:3; Prv 21:1; Dan 4:35. He does not need to give account to any one, Job 33:13. In his hand we are like clay in the hand of the potter, Job 10:9; 33:6; Is 29:16; 30:14; 64:8; Jer 8;1 ff.; “the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are accounted as the small dust of the balance, all the nations are as nothing before him,” Is 40;15 ff. (Herman Bavinck, The Doctrine of God, 228-29)
God has the right to do whatsoever he desires with his own, Mt 20:15. All things are absolutely dependent on God’s will for their very existence, and for their being what they are, Rv 4:11. God’s will is the final ground of everything. Both mercy and hardening have their origin in God’s will, Rom 9:15-18. In the church the Holy Spirit “divides to each one severally even as he will,” 1 Cor 12:11. Man has no right to offer the least objection to God’s free disposals, Mt 20;13 ff.; Rom 9:20, 21. (Herman Bavinck, The Doctrine of God, 229)
God has good reasons for willing as he does. We, however, can seldom determine why God wills one thing instead of another. Hence, for us the fact that God wills a thing should be the end of all argumentation. (Herman Bavinck, The Doctrine of God, 229)
IV. The will of God is always for the ultimate good of all His creatures (2 Sm 10:12; 1 Chr 16:34; 19:13; 2 Chr 30:18; Ezra 3:11; Ps 34:8; 54:6; 85:12; 100:5; 106:1; 107:1; 118:1, 29; 119:68; 135:3; 136:1; 145:9; Jer 33:11; Nah 1:7; Mt 19:17; Mk 10:18; Lk 18:19; Rom 8:28; 1 Tm 4:4; 1 Pt 2:1-3)
In the Greek text the three adjectives good, pleasing, and perfect are used as susbstantives (nouns). God’s will is what is good, what is pleasing (to God), and what is perfect for each believer. Believers who are being transformed, who know and do God’s will, also discover that what God plans for them is good, pleasing to God, and perfect for them. (Bruce B. Barton, Life Application Bible Commentary: Romans, 232)
Of the fashion of the world, it may be truly said that the more you try it, the less you find it to be satisfying. It looks well; it looks fair, at first. But who that has lived long has not found it to be vanity at last?
It is altogether otherwise with the will of God. That often looks worst at the beginning. It seems hard and dark. But on! On with you in the proving of it! Prove it patiently, perseveringly, with prayer and pains. And you will get growing clearness, light, enlargement, joy. You will more and more find that “the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.” For “wisdom’s ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.” “The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey, and the honeycomb. Moreover by them is thy servant warned; and in keeping of them there is great reward.” (Robert S. Candlish, Studies in Romans 12, 96-97)
Renew your minds, says Paul, and you will not only find and prove that the will of God is good, you will find it highly acceptable–no longer grievous. You will love it. You will delight in it and you will want to know it and to carry it out more and more. (D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Romans, Exposition of Chapter 12, 139)
V. The will of God is always pleasing to God and is seen in the desires of God (Eph 5:7-17; Heb 13:21; 1 Jn 2:15-17)
The Greek word is much stronger than the idea which usually comes to our minds when we say that a thing is acceptable. The revisions, and more modern translations, read “well pleasing,” or “agreeable.” Perhaps the difference may be made very clear by a simple illustration. A friend of mine bought a house for $11,000, and lived in it for about five years. Then he had to move to another city and wanted to sell his house. Knowing that prices had gone up, he hoped to get thirteen or fourteen thousand dollars for it. He advertised that the place was for sale and almost immediately, a prospective buyer came to see him. When asked the price the owner said, “Make me an offer.” Without batting an eye the visitor replied, “Seventeen thousand dollars.” Hiding his amazement, my friend replied, “Well, I would like to get twenty thousand for it.” The buyer pulled out a checkbook and said, “Let’s split the difference; I’ll pay you five thousand on account. I’ve got to catch a plane and get back home to get ready to move.” So the deal was concluded on that basis. Thirteen or fourteen thousand dollars would have been acceptable, but seventeen thousand dollars was well-pleasing and agreeable, while the final price of $18,500 was very well-pleasing. (Donald Grey Barnhouse, God’s Discipline, 31)
Here you have the purpose for which we must put on a new mind,–that bidding adieu to our own counsels and desires, and those of all men, we may be attentive to the only will of God, the knowledge of which is true wisdom. But if the renovation of our mind is necessary, in order that we may prove what is the will of God, it is hence evident how opposed it is to God.
The epithets which are added are intended for the purpose of recommending God’s will, that we may seek to know it with greater alacrity: and in order to constrain our perverseness, it is indeed necessary that the true glory of justice and perfection should be ascribed to the will of God. The world persuades itself that those works which it has devised are good; Paul exclaims, that what is good and right must be ascertained from God’s commandments. The world praises itself, and takes delight in its own inventions; but Paul affirms, that nothing pleases God except what he has commanded. The world, in order to find perfection, slides from the word of God into its own devices; Paul, by fixing perfection in the will of God, shows, that if any one passes over that mark he is deluded by a false imagination. (John Calvin, Commentary on the Epistle of Paul the Apostle to The Romans, 455)
When Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Calvin, etc., asserted that there was no “reason” for the divine will, they meant that the will of God, as being one with his essence, is not dependent upon a higher or deeper cause. But they certainly did not mean to say that the divine will is irrational; that, in the sense of Schopenhauer’s theory, the divine will would be blind, alogical. On the contrary, God’s will is identical with his being, his wisdom, his goodness, and with all his attributes. And it is for the will not of blind fate, incalculable fortune, or dark energy of nature, but of an omnipotent God and merciful Father. His sovereignty is a sovereignty of unlimited power, but it is also a sovereignty of wisdom and grace. He is King and Father at one and the same time. (Herman Bavinck, The Doctrine of God, 235)
VI. The will of God is perfect (2 Sm 22:31; Ps 18:30; 19:7; Mt 5:48)
“Some time ago, the staff of “The Bible Study Hour” prepared a brochure that compared the world’s thinking and the Bible’s teaching in six important areas: God, man, the Bible, money, sex and success. The differences were striking, but what impressed me most as I read the brochure is how right many of the world’s ideas seem if we are not thinking critically and in a biblical way. This is because we hear the world’s approach so often, so attractively, and so persuasively, especially on television.
Here are some of “the world’s” statements we printed:
“I matter most, and the world exists to serve me. Whatever satisfies me is what’s important.”
“If I earn enough money, I’ll be happy. I need money to provide security for myself and my family. Financial security will protect me from hardship.”
“Anything is acceptable as long as it doesn’t hurt another person.”
“Success is the path to fame, wealth, pleasure and power. Look out for number one.”
How about the Christian way? From the world’s perspective, the Christian way does not look attractive or even right. It says such things as: “God is in control of all things and has a purpose for everything that happens . . . Man exists to glorify God . . .Money cannot shield us against heartbreak, failure, sin, disease, or disaster. . . Success in God’s kingdom means humility and service to others. Because we are so much a part of the world and so little like Jesus Christ, even Christians find God’s way unappealing. Nevertheless, we are to press on in that way and prove by our lives that the will of God really is “good pleasing and perfect” in all things.” (James Montgomery Boice, Mind Renewal in a Mindless Age, 122)
When God bolts the door, don’t try to get in through the window. The will of God never will lead you where the grace of God cannot keep you.
VII. God’s will is best understood by obeying it (1 Sm 15:22; Mt 7:21-27; 12:50; 21:31; Mk 3:35; Jn 7:15-17; Acts 5:32; Eph 6:6; Heb 10:36; 1 Pt 3:17; 4:17; 1 Jn 5:1-3)
The inference is that when we do not present our bodies to God we are less than true men. We do not know what complete humanity is when we degrade the body to something that is animal-like. When we live in a clean fashion, speaking clean words from the abundance of a clean heart, looking clean looks from eyes that are the windows of a cleansed soul, doing honest actions from a mind and heart made clean by the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ, manifesting His love through our every gesture, then we can know that we are what He wants us to be –complete, mature, whole–holy. (Donald Grey Barnhouse, God’s Discipline, 19)
God’s will is the very definition of what is good, pleasing, and perfect. The good is the will of God. The pleasing is the will of God. The perfect is the will of God. The will of God is nothing less than his character, shaped into laws for our conduct. We can never change that. It is the summum bonum. But we can discover his will in its marvelous breadth and beauty. His commands are never burdensome (1 Jn 5:3). But they need to be practiced in order fully to demonstrate their liberating character. (Philip Graham Ryken, Give Praise to God A Vision for Reforming Worship, p. 349)
Joy is the natural outcome of the Christian’s obedience to the revealed will of God. (Simon J. Kistemaker, New Testament Commentary: Acts, 606)
Why do we want to know God’s will? Most Christians would feel that this was a strange question, for those whose lives are yielded to God have a real desire to know His plan for them in order that they may follow it in their lives. But is there not sometimes too great a lapse of time between knowledge and obedience? Dr. William L. Pettingill the well-known Bible teacher and author of many books, at a meeting of the Philadelphia Fundamentalists made a penetrating remark on this subject. “Most people,” he said, “don’t want to know the will of God in order to do it; they want to know it in order to consider it.” It often takes time to learn just what God wants us to do in any particular matter, but once we know His purpose we ought not to delay in at least beginning to carry it out by His grace. And when obedience is prompt, “when we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word, what a glory He sheds on our way!”——Sunday School Times.
It is at this point that we see most acutely the devastating effect of the fall. Over and above all that it leads to in practice and in detailed behavior, the most terrible thing of all is that it has led to a perverted view of the will of God. So that here the apostle is saying that you must pay great attention to this “renewing of the mind” because only as you do this and co-operate with the work of the Spirit within you, will you come to “prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” (D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Romans, Exposition of Chapter 12, 132)
Now our Lord Himself once put this very clearly in Jn 7:16-17. People were questioning Him about His doctrine, and we are told, “Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.” He says, in effect, “If you only do what I am telling you, then you will prove, you will know, whether my doctrine is only my own or whether it is, as I claim it to be, truly the doctrine of God.” But notice He says that you have got to do something about it. You cannot, as it were, look theoretically at the will of God and come to certain conclusions. You will never find out God’s will in that way. You must put it into practice and then you will know. (D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Romans, Exposition of Chapter 12, 133)
The apostle bids us “prove all things.” Still, to speak of proving God’s will does seem marvelous, and scarcely reverent. But it must be borne in mind that Paul speaks of that will, not so much as the action of the divine mind, as the Divine law of the human life, of that will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Now, it is one thing to look at the Divine will as something to be admired and reverenced, and another thing to regard it as something to be done. And by doing it, we, as Christians, prove it; we discover for ourselves what it is, what are its qualities. It is good. (Rev. Canon H. D. M. Spence, M.A., The Pulpit Commentary: Romans, 352)
The OT expects God’s people to do the will of God (e.g., Heb rāsôn in Ps 40:8 [MT 9]; 143:10; cf. Gk. thēlēma in 1 Esd. 9:9; 2 Macc. 1:3; 4 Macc. 18:16). This is also expected of God’s angelic hosts (Ps 103:21). Even foreign kings acknowledge that the Jews live “according to the will of your God” (1 Esd. 8:16). (Geoffrey W. Bromiley, The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, 1064)
Paul himself explicitly connects God’s will with sacrifice in Rom 12:1f. with its decisive appeal “to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable [euárestos] to God, which is your spiritual worship…be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the will [thélēma] of God, what is good and acceptable [euárestos] and perfect.” As in 1 Thessalonians, Paul is attempting to define God’s will, but here he is referring to God’s general will in all circumstances, and therefore it is defined less concretely. God’s will for His servants is always obedience, the giving of oneself to Him as an instrument for righteousness (cf. Rom 6:13, 19). What that means concretely must be discovered in the situation, but for Paul this is the only appropriate “sacrifice” for those who have accepted the gospel. Heb 10:5-10 draws out the contrast between offering sacrifices and doing the will of God. After quoting Ps 40:6-8, the author highlights two statements: “Thou hast neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings…” (Heb 10:8), and “Lo, I have come to do thy will” (v. 9). He then concludes, “He [Christ] abolishes the first [sacrifices] in order to establish the second [doing God’s will] (v. 9b), with the observation that “by [en] that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (v. 10). Sacrificial language appears even in the closing benediction of Hebrews: “Now may the God of peace..equip you with everything good that you may do His will [thélēma], working in you that which is pleasing [euárestos] in his sight…” (13:20f.). (Geoffrey W. Bromiley, The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, 1066)
In 1942, the last full year of Eric Liddell’s internment in a prison in China, he published a book called, “Prayers for Daily Use”. In it he wrote about obedience as the key to knowing God:
“OBEDIENCE to God’s will is the secret of spiritual knowledge and insight. It is not willingness to know, but willingness to DO (obey) God’s will that brings certainty.” (Foresee, Vol. 32, No. 4, July/August 1999)
CONCLUSION/APPLICATION:
How do we miss the Will of God in our lives?:
Romans 12:2 “Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed form the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. (The Message)
Do not hastily ascribe things to God. Do not easily suppose dreams, voices, impressions, visions or revelations to be from God. They may be from Him. They may be from nature. They may be from the Devil. (J.K. Johnston, John Wesley Why Christians Sin, 102)
A. We are unwilling to think (Dt 32:29; 1 Thes 5:21; 2 Tm 2:7)
Here is one of the great ironies and great dangers of loving God with your mind. You have to think and rethink, but you cannot overthink. And there is a fine line between rethinking and overthinking. But here is what I know for sure: overanalysis always results in spiritual paralysis. If you try to logically figure out the will of God, you’ll never take a step of faith. Why? Because the will of God is not logical. It’s theological. It adds God into the equation, and that’s why it doesn’t always add up on our human calculators. The promptings of the Holy Spirit won’t always make sense to your logical left brain. In fact, God’s ideas often seem like bad ideas. But that is when you need to allow the Holy Spirit to override your intellect. (Mark Batterson, Primal, A Quest for the Lost Soul of Christianity, pp. 139-40)
If we want God to guide us, our attitude needs to be right. Here are some guidelines as to how we can play our part in arriving at right decisions.
First, we must be willing to think. It is false piety, super-supernaturalism of an unhealthy pernicious sort that demands inward impressions with no rational base, and declines to heed the constant biblical summons to consider. God made us thinking beings, and he guides our minds as we think things out in his presence.
Second, we must be willing to think ahead and weigh the long-term consequences of alternative courses of action. Often we can only see what is wise and right, and what is foolish and wrong, as we dwell on the long-term issues.
Third, we must be willing to take advice. It is a sign of conceit and immaturity to dispense with taking advice in major decisions. There are always people who know the Bible, human nature, and our own gifts and limitations better than we do, and even if we cannot finally accept their advice, nothing but good will come to us from carefully weighing what they say.
Fourth, we must be willing to be ruthlessly honest with ourselves. We must suspect ourselves: ask ourselves why we feel a particular course of action will be right and make ourselves give reasons.
Fifth, we must be willing to wait. “Wait on the Lord” is a constant refrain in the Psalms and it is a necessary word, for the Lord often keeps us waiting. When in doubt, do nothing, but continue to wait on God. (James Packer, Your Father Loves You, 13)
The ultimate object of the new mind is to enable us to understand and to appreciate the will of God in a way that was impossible before. (D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Romans, Exposition of Chapter 12, 128)
By means of the “signs” of prohibition, warning, admonition, chastisement, punishment, etc., God reveals himself to us, and tells us what he requires of us. Because man is a rational, moral being, God does not treat him as if he were a stone or a log but deals with him and addresses him in accordance with his nature. Just as a father forbids his child to touch a sharp knife though he himself uses it without injury or damage, so God forbids us to sin though he himself is able to use and does use sin as a means of self-glorification. (Herman Bavinck, The Doctrine of God, 240)
B. We are unwilling to allow God’s Word and Spirit to wash our hearts and minds (Ps 51:2, 7; Jn 13:1-14; 15:3; 1 Cor 6:11; Eph 5:25-27; Tit 3:4-7; Heb 10:22; Jas 4:8)
God’s Will – exactly what I would choose if I knew all the facts. — Psalm 143:10
God’s Way – exactly the opposite of my natural inclinations. — Proverbs 14:12
The meaning of Rom 12:1-2 is important for believers to understand. Christians are urged to surrender themselves wholly to God as a living sacrifice. They are to work this self-dedication out through resistance to worldly conformity and conscious involvement in a divine process of transformation. The process of transformation is carried out as the mind is renewed by the Word of God, thereby enabling the believer to prove what God’s moral will is. Thus the believer knows that God’s moral will is good, acceptable, and perfect for his life. Rom 12:1-2 does not summarize a process for discovering detailed guidance for specific decisions, but rather urges a basic approach to the entirety of one’s Christian life–an approach in which the moral will of God plays a central and transforming role. (Garry Griesen, Decision making & the Will of God, 108)
C. We are unwilling to take advice (Prv 12:15; Eph 5:15-21; Jas 1:5)
We will never again make a major decision alone. Certainly God’s will can be more clearly perceived when many hearts are attuned to the Holy Spirit. One of my major goals in seeking to strengthen the Christian community is to bring back to other denominations this gift of mutual decision making and mutual searching for God’s will–so that we may discover the Hilarity of testing and approving it together. (Marva J. Dawn, Truly the Community: Romans 12, 54)
D. We are unwilling to suspect our own intentions/desires (Jer 17:9; Ps 139:23-24; Rom 3:8-20)
The heart of the matter is clearly the work of God’s Spirit changing the way we think from within. But because we still live in a world hostile to God and are still prone to interpret God’s Spirit for our own selfish advantage, we need commandments to indicate when we misunderstood the Spirit or failed to internalize his values. (Douglas J. Moo, The NIV Application Commentary: Romans, 400)
Either we conform the truth to our desires or we conform our desires to the truth. (Os Guinness, Time for Truth, 110)
It is that men and women, having renewed their minds, not only find that God’s will is good, they even begin to like it; they approve of it in the sense that they really desire it and rejoice in it. When the psalmist said, “O how love I thy law!” (Ps 119:97), he was expressing his approval. (D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Romans, Exposition of Chapter 12, 137)
States of feeling that have an ego-boosting, escapist, self-indulging or self-aggrandizing base must be detected and discredited, not mistaken for guidance. This is particularly true of sexual or sexually conditioned feelings. As a biologist-theologian has written: “The joy and general sense of well-being that often (but not always) goes with being ‘in love’ can easily silence conscience and inhibit critical thinking. How often people say that they ‘feel led’ to get married (and probably they will say ‘the Lord has so clearly guided’), when all they are really describing is a particularly novel state of endocrine balance which makes them feel extremely sanguine and happy” (O. R. Barclay, Guidance, 29-30) (J. I. Packer, “Finding God’s Will”, 19-20)
E. We are unwilling to recognize our own blindness (1 Thes 5:21)
“Being conformed to the image of Christ has more to do with our honesty than our purity.” (Steve Brown, Steve’s Letter, June 2000)
People think that God’s will is bad because they have a wrong view of themselves. They believe that they are animals, and therefore they want plenty of food and drink and sex, plenty of money, plenty of enjoyment. That is what they are glorying in, is it not? “Isn’t life wonderful?” they say. And all because they have such a deplorable view of themselves and think the will of God militates against their best interests. (D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Romans, Exposition of Chapter 12, 134)
Has God a plan for individuals? Indeed he has. He has formed an “eternal purpose” (literally, a “plan of the ages”), “a plan for the fullness of time” in accordance with which he “accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will” (Eph 3:11; 1:10-11). (J. I. Packer, “Finding God’s Will”, 5)
Paul spent years in prison because he followed God’s guidance to Jerusalem, whereas he might otherwise have been evangelizing Europe the whole time. Nor does God always tell us the whys and wherefores of the frustrations and losses that are part and parcel of the guided life.
The early experience of Elisabeth Elliot, widow and biographer of a martyred missionary husband, strikingly illustrates this. Confident of God’s guidance, she went to a tribe in Ecuador to reduce their language to writing so that the Bible might be translated for them. The only person who could or would help her was a Spanish-speaking Christian who lived with the tribe, but within a month he was shot dead in an argument. She struggled on with virtually no help for eight months more. Then she moved to another field, leaving her complete file of linguistic material with her colleagues so that they could carry on where she had left off. Within two weeks the file had been stolen. No copy existed; all her work was wasted. That, humanly speaking, was the end of the story. She comments: “I simply had to bow in the knowledge that God was his own interpreter…We must allow God to do what he wants to do. And if you are thinking that you know the will of God for your life and you are anxious to do that, you are probably in for a very rude awakening because nobody knows the will of God for his entire life” (quoted in Eternity, January 1969, 18). (J. I. Packer, “Finding God’s Will”, 25-26)
F. We are unwilling to wait on God (Ps 27:14; 33:20; 37:7, 34; 38:15; 119:166; 130:5-6; Isa 8:17; 30:18; Acts 1:4; Rom 8:23-25; 1 Cor 4:5; Ti 2:13)
Bob Mumford compares discovering God’s will with a sea captain’s docking procedure: A certain harbor in Italy can be reached only by sailing up a narrow channel between dangerous rocks and shoals. Over the years, many ships have been wrecked, and navigation is hazardous. To guide the ships safely into port, three lights have been mounted on three huge poles in the harbor. When the three lights are perfectly lined up and seen as one, the ship can safely proceed up the narrow channel. If the pilot sees two or three lights, he knows he’s off course and in danger. God has also provided three beacons to guide us. The same rules of navigation apply—the three lights must be lined up before it is safe for us to proceed. The three harbor lights of guidance are:
1. The Word of God (objective standard).
2. The Holy Spirit (subjective witness).
3. Circumstances (divine providence). Together they assure us that the directions we’ve received are from God and will lead us safely along his way. (Bob Mumford, Take Another Look At Guidance)
G. We fail to realize that God has provided us with everything to know and follow His will (Ps 19:7; 25; 143:10; Prv 2:1-8; Rom 14:5-12; Col 1:9; 2 Tm 3:15-17; Heb 13:20-21)
Just as a wise father trains his children toward maturity by granting increased freedom and responsibility throughout their development, so God has progressively prepared His people to live responsibly within the relatively greater freedom of apostolic revelation (Gal 4:1-7). (Garry Griesen, Decision making & the Will of God, 169)
When an opportunity is presented to give money to some aspect of the Lord’s work, or when a Christian brother is in financial need, how should the believer determine how much money to contribute to the offering that is being received? Should he go to the Lord in prayer and request a divine impression indicating a specific amount?
When the Corinthian Christians were gathering funds to send to their impoverished brethren in Judea, the instruction they received from the apostle Paul was: “Let each one do just as he has purposed in his heart; not grudgingly or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor 9:7). Here is freedom of choice within the moral will of God. In this case, the emphasis of the moral will was not so much on the act of giving as it was on the attitude. Consequently, the amount, which is left totally up to the individual to determine, is not as significant as the spirit of the giver. What is God’s will for our giving? Generosity, enthusiasm, and faith are imperative; a reluctant spirit that forks over money only under pressure is forbidden. The actual amount is a personal decision, freely made. (Garry Griesen, Decision making & the Will of God, 177)
For God’s children, all things within the moral will of God are lawful (1 Cor 6:12; 10:23), clean (Mk 7:19; Lk 11:41; Rom 14:14, 20), and pure (Ti 1:15). In decisions that are made within that moral will, the Christian should not feel guilty about his choice; neither should he fear that his decision is unacceptable to God. God has made it clear what He wants: His plan for His children is for them to enjoy the freedom that He has granted. It is a freedom that is clearly established in Scripture from the nature of laws, the nature of sin, and direct statements of the Bible. (Garry Griesen, Decision making & the Will of God, 179)
In this instance, however, Israel’s King, Saul, was “out of fellowship” with God. By contrast, his son Jonathan loved and obeyed the Lord. In view of his father’s disobedience, Jonathan went out with only his armor bearer to secretly fight for God. In doing this, Jonathan was cut off from the “normal” sources of supernatural guidance. For he had no prophet with him, and the Urim and Thummim in the ephod were with Saul (1 Sam. 14:3). And if God revealed a plan to Saul through a dream, Jonathan had no way of learning it.
Though cut off from the usual channels of divine guidance, Jonathan nevertheless thought that “perhaps” the Lord would lead him through circumstantial signs (14:6). And, in contrast to Gideon, the motivation of Jonathan was that of courage, faith, and the desire to preserve God’s honor. That the Lord consented to go along with Jonathan’s unorthodox approach is evident from the miraculous victory that was accomplished through Jonathan’s initiative.
Finally, it might be argued that the casting of lots was a form of guidance through a circumstantial “fleece.” It should be noted, first of all, that the traditional view does not recommend the flipping of a coin or the rolling of dice as a valid method of decision making. There were situations in which God communicated specified facts through the casting of lots in the OT. But that approach is not viewed as being appropriate to the Church Age.
The only NT example occurs in Acts 1, when the disciples cast lots in the selection of Judas’ replacement–Matthias (Acts 1:24-26). Commentators correctly note that that episode took place prior to the inception of the Church Age, so it cannot be considered normative for the present economy. There is considerable doubt as to whether the action taken on that occasion was recognized by God or the Church as being valid. Jesus had declared that in the Kingdom, the apostles would judge from “twelve thrones” (Mt 19:28). While Matthias is never mentioned again as carrying out the apostolic office, Paul’s claim to apostleship is well established. (Garry Griesen, Decision making & the Will of God, 227)
“Fred Smith, who is given to the shock value of words, often says, ‘God loves you, but He doesn’t have a wonderful plan for your life.’ So many Christians are simply ego-centered. They actually think that they must determine what God’s will is for the color of the house in which they live! The Bible teaches that there are certain things you should never do–like murder, commit adultery, lie, cheat and steal. The Bible also teaches that there are certain things you should always do–like show love and compassion, forgive and be honest. Outside of those, you are free.” (Steve Brown; Living Free, 175)
Wesleyan Quadrilateral:
1- Scripture
2- Tradition
3- Reason
4- Experience
Why is Jesus so important in regard to God’s Will?:
1- Jesus followed God’s will perfectly (2 Cor 5:21; Heb 2:10; 4:15; 5:8-9; 7:28; 1 Pt 1:18-19; 2:21-25; 1 Jn 3:5)
Matthew’s version of the Lord’s Prayer accents a link between the theme of God’s will and that of God as Father–whether of Jesus or of His disciples. The Sermon on the Mount closes with the warning that “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Mt 7:21). The context suggests that the one who does God’s will is the same as the one “who hears these words of mine and does them…like a wise man who built his house upon the rock” (v. 24). Jesus’ teaching is the decisive embodiment of God’s will for His hearers precisely because God is His Father. In Mark, Jesus says, “whoever does the will of God is my brother, and sister, and mother” (Mk 3:35), but in Matthew the phrase becomes “whoever does the will of my Father in heaven” (Mt 12:50). The same idea is expressed in a parable (21:31) in which Jesus asks which of two sons “did the will of his father” (referring in the parable to their own father, but in Jesus’ application to God the Father; cf. Luke’s play on the phrase, “the will of his lord” [RSV “his master’s will”], in a different parable, Lk 12:47).
These examples show that the distinctly Matthaean form of the Lord’s Prayer (particularly the words “Our Father who art in heaven…Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”) stands close to the heart of that Gospel’s understanding of Jesus as the one who both teaches and does the will of God. Surprisingly, the Gospel that most nearly approaches Matthew’s perspective on this point is John. The principal difference is that John roots the “will of God” more emphatically in the mission of Jesus. If the keynote of Matthew’s Gospel is the “will of the Father” (i.e., of God as Father to both Jesus and the disciples), the keynote of John’s is “the will of him who sent me” (i.e., God in relation to Jesus in particular). In Samaria, Jesus tells His disciples, “my food is to do the will of him who sent me,” i.e., “to accomplish his work” (Jn 4:34). Later, in language reminiscent of the Synoptic Gethsemane accounts, Jesus defends His judgment as being just, “because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me” (5:30). He presents Himself to the crowds as the bread of life, who has “come down from heaven not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me” (6:38); He then correctly defines the “will of him who sent me” (v. 39), or “the will of the Father” (v. 40), as the realization of corporate and individual salvation for all who believe in Him: “that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up at the last day” (v. 38; cf. V. 40). In John’s Gospel the will of God is nothing less than the entire work of Jesus, the Son of God sent from heaven to secure eternal life for all whom the Father has given Him (cf. the summary of how Jesus “accomplished the work” of the Father in 17:1-8; see esp. v. 3). (Geoffrey W. Bromiley, The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, 1065)
2- We have not obeyed God’s will perfectly (Rom 3:9-20, 23; Jas 3:2; 1 Jn 1:8)
3- It is God’s will to set us apart and make us perfect (Mt 5:48; Col 1:25-28; 4:12; 1 Thes 4:3; 5:23)
People like to think, “I’m not comfortable . . . so God can’t want me there.” — Fred Saunders
In the will of God, holiness is the criterion, not happiness. (D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Romans, Exposition of Chapter 12, 135)
The ultimate objective of the whole of the Christian life is to bring us into conformity with the will of God. We are once more reminded that this is always to be our view of salvation. (D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Romans, Exposition of Chapter 12, 129)
Jesus demanded, not a reformation of behavior, but a transformation of character. (D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Romans, Exposition of Chapter 12, 103)
There are people who misrepresent Christianity like that. They say, “Now that you are converted, you do or do not do this, that and the other.” I think that is terribly wrong. To me, that is not Christianity, that is legalism, putting people back under a new kind of law. No, what you say to the new Christian is this: “You are now a new man, a new woman, and, because of this, therefore…” You do not give out a list of rules and regulations, but you do say, “Now remember what you are and who you are.” (D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Romans, Exposition of Chapter 12, 109)
It is a perfect will because it is the will of God, but it is perfect in another sense, also, in that all it proposes with respect to us is perfect. What is God’s plan to men and women? Perfection! God cannot plan anything less for us than that. God’s will for us is not just that we should not go to hell, or that we should stop committing certain sins. No, no! He is bringing us to perfection’s height; nothing less. (D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Romans, Exposition of Chapter 12, 139)
As the apostle elsewhere says, “this is the will of God, even your sanctification.” Walking as children of the light, we “prove what is acceptable unto the Lord.” It is only thus that we show ourselves to “understand what the will of the Lord is.” To understand it as a mere matter of theory is valueless and vain. (Rev. Canon H. D. M. Spence, M.A., The
Pulpit Commentary: Romans, 352)
“He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness”–but not anywhere else. (J. I. Packer, “Finding God’s Will”, 17)
4- God’s will is that all of us might come to faith and have Jesus’ work credited to us (Jn 6:40; Acts 2:23; Gal 1:3-4; Eph 1:5-11; Col 1:22-23, 28; Heb 10:1-10, 14; 11:40; 1 Pt 2:5)
Oh! If only men and women could be brought to see how much God hates everything that man has touched until man has passed through Jesus Christ. “Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Eph 2:9). (Donald Grey Barnhouse, God’s Discipline, 19)
The conduct of Christian men and women is not something that they add on to their lives, it is not like putting on a suit. As we have seen, it is the outward expression of something that is within. This can be illustrated by something which we see at Christmastime. Before Christmas, people buy their Christmas trees and on the branches they often hang silver or gold apples and pears. They tie this artificial fruit on to the tree with thin pieces of string or wire. The artificial is that which is put on to the tree. When you go into an orchard you also see apples and pears, but they are real, they have grown from the inner life of the tree–now that is Christianity.
The difference between Christianity and morality is also the difference between true Christianity and hypocrisy. The hypocrite pretends and is not what he pretends; the true Christian truly is what he appears to be. So Christian conduct grows from the renewing of the mind. (D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Romans, Exposition of Chapter 12, 109-10)
The idea that all you have to do is to go to the statesmen of the world and tell them, “Now this is what Christianity teaches, put it into practice,” is a denial of the whole teaching of the NT. So when popes and others address the United Nations they should not appeal to them to put Christian principles into practice. They should tell them that they must be “born again,” because the people will never do it until they are, and apart from anything else, you are wasting your breath. (D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Romans, Exposition of Chapter 12, 113)
Do with me whatever it shall please thee. For it can not be anything but good, whatever thou shalt do with me. If it be thy will I should be in darkness, be thou blessed; and if it be thy will I should be in light, be thou again blessed. If thou grant me comfort, be thou blessed; and if thou will have me afflicted, be thou still equally blessed. My son, such as this ought to be thy state, if thou desire to walk with Me. Thou must be as ready to suffer as to rejoice. Thou must cheerfully be as destitute and poor, as full and rich. (Thomas A Kempis, The Imitation of Christ, III:17:1-2)
Bible Memory Verse for the Week: Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. — Ephesians 5:15-17
Worship point: When you understand the good, pleasing and perfect will of God; how far short you have fallen from God’s will; and then begin to understand that Jesus lived out God’s will perfectly for you; and that by trusting in Him, his good, and pleasing and perfect life will be credited to you by faith . . . . do you really need to be told how to worship Him?
Spiritual Challenge: Learn to employ the Wesleyan Quadrilateral in your decision making process so that you might be able to live your life less conformed to the pattern of this world and more transformed into the image of Jesus. Then discerning God’s will for your life will become increasingly easier, and your heart’s desire will be more devoted to God’s will. But, never forget it is the work of the Spirit of God that assists us to be able to know and do the work of God.
Quotes to Note:
To choose to suffer means that there is something wrong; to choose God’s will even if it means suffering is a very different thing. No healthy saint ever chooses suffering; he chooses God’s will, as Jesus did, whether it means suffering or not. Be merciful to God’s reputation. It is easy to blacken God’s character because God never answers back, He never vindicates Himself. Beware of the thought that Jesus needed sympathy in His earthly life; He refused sympathy from others because He knew far too wisely that no one on earth understood what He was going through. Notice God’s ‘waste’ of saints, according to the judgment of the world. God plants His saints in some of the most useless places. We say, ‘God intends me to be here because I am so useful.’ Jesus never estimated His life along the line of the greatest use. God puts His saints where they will glorify Him most, and we are no judges at all of where that is. — Oswald Chambers.
God’s plan is a mystery, or something contrary to human expectations. Nowhere is this point more clearly made than in Mt 11:25f. Par. Lk 10:21, where Jesus gives thanks to God for having “hidden these things [i.e., the kingdom of God at work in His ministry] from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes; yea, Father, for such was thy gracious will” (eudokia, lit. “well pleasing before thee”).
Twice in 1 Thessalonians Paul defines God’s will concretely. In 4:3 he states, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from immorality”; in 5:18 he identifies the “will of God” with the command to “rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances” (vv. 17f.). Similarly, in 1 Pt 2:15 God’s will is defined concretely as “doing right,” so as to “put to silence the ignorance of foolish men.” The precise definition of God’s will depends on the specific situation. To some extent, however, it seems to be related to the ancient concept of sacrifice, i.e., the offering to God of something holy: the “sanctification” of oneself rather than ceremonial offerings in 1 Thes 4:3, “thanksgiving” (perhaps already regarded as a bloodless Christian sacrifice) in 5:18, and good deeds (possibly regarded in a similar way) in 1 Pt 2:15 (cf. The sacrificial imagery in vv. 5, 9). In any case, the notion that praise to God and good deeds to fellow human beings are “sacrifices…pleasing [euarestéō] to God” is explicit in Heb 13:15f. (Geoffrey W. Bromiley, The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, 1066)
“So that you keep testing out (durative) what the will of God is,” as men test out coins or metal by accepting the genuine and rejecting and throwing out the spurious. The renewed mind is ever bent on finding out and following God’s will, what God wants of us; it has utterly ceased its old disregard of God’s will, its old folly of contenting itself with its own will. (R.C.H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, 752)
These two value systems (this world and God’s will) are incompatible, even in direct collision with one another. Whether we are thinking about the purpose of life or the meaning of life, about how to measure greatness or how to respond to evil, about ambition, sex, honesty, money, community, religion or anything else, the two sets of standards diverge so completely that there is no possibility of compromise. (John Stott, Romans, God’s Good News for the World, 323-24)
Anxiety is the natural result when our hopes are centered on anything short of God and His will for us. — Dr. Billy Graham
The will of God, nothing more, nothing less, nothing else.
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