What is the will of God?
Listen: 146.4
The ‘will of God’ simply means the ‘desire of God’. As we look through the scriptures, we see that there are many desires of the Lord. In Romans 12:2, the will of God is called, “good, and acceptable, and perfect.” All the desires of the Lord are perfect. He doesn’t have a sinful heart that would cause Him to desire something inappropriate or wrong. The ‘will of God’ is always right. We read in Genesis 18:25, “…Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” Everything the Lord desires, and everything He does is right and perfect.
So, what are some things that we know are the ‘will of God’? Let’s read Galatians 1:3-4, “Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father.” From this we know that it was the will of God that His son, Jesus, should give Himself a sacrifice to God so that we might be saved. In the Garden of Gethsemane, before going to the cross, the Lord Jesus prayed in Luke 22:42, “Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.” It was the will of God that His Son should die for us, so we read in Philippians 2:8that the Lord Jesus was, “…obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”
It is the will of God that you become saved. We read the Lord’s words in John 6:38-40, “For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. 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.” It is not the Lord’s will that anyone should go to Hell; He wants everyone to be saved. We read in 2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” The Lord sent His only begotten Son to die for the sins of every person and He wants every person to be saved. Salvation is a free gift that is offered to all. To refuse that gift is to reject the Lord Jesus and then there will be no other alternative except spending eternity suffering in Hell.
If you do know Christ as your savior, there are so many things that the Lord has for you to do. We can rest assured that everything the Lord requires of us, He gives us the strength to do. Philippians 2:13tells us, “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” Here are just a couple of things that we KNOW are the will of God:
1 Thessalonians 4:3says, “For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication.” Sexual sin is so prevalent. While the world may not think it is a big deal, the Lord’s desire is that we not commit fornication. In Ephesians 5:3we read, “But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints.”
1 Thessalonians 5:18says, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” The Lord wants us to have thankful hearts towards Him. Every good thing in life we have has come from the Lord. James 1:17says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights…” Even for the things that make us sad, we should be thankful. Romans 8:28gives us such assurance. It says, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
There are so many other things we could list here, but I’ll leave it up to you to search the Word of God to find God’s will for you. Ephesians 5:17exhorts us, “Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.” Read His Word. Meditate upon it, ask the Lord for understanding so that you might know and do the His will. (146.4)