THE WILL OF GOD
You may not have investigated
postmodernism, but it unquestionably constitutes a great threat to New
Testament Christianity. In his outstanding book, Becoming Conversant with
the Emerging Church Movement (
As a sign of what is occurring in
postmodern theology, Brian McLaren, the leading light in the Emerging Church
movement, has authored a book with the utterly foolish title, A
Generous Orthodoxy (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004). McLaren admits
he may be wrong about many things, but he is not sure what he is wrong about
(pp. 19-20). He wants to be "provocative, mischievous and unclear,
reflecting" his "belief that clarity is sometimes overrated" (p.
23). I wonder if McLaren ever read the plea of Christ's Jewish contemporaries.
They said to Jesus: "How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ,
tell us plainly" (John 10:24). Is that an unreasonable request? On another
occasion, Jesus said to his disciples: "These things have I spoken unto
you in proverbs: but the time comes, when I shall no more speak in proverbs,
but I shall tell you plainly about the Father" (John 16:25). Our lesson
today will focus on "The Will of God."
I shall address this very vital topic
with a series of questions. The first question is: Has God given a will for
man? The Greek word thelema is always translated "will"
in the King James Version except in two verses. The word appears 64 times in
the Greek. The word also appears thirty-seven times in the Greek version of the
Old Testament. Please listen to a few verses from the New Testament where the
word "will" is used. Jesus Christ taught his disciples to pray:
"Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven"
(Mt. 6:10). Jesus told his disciples: "My meat is to do the will of him
who sent me, and to finish his work" (John 4:34). Paul commanded the Roman
Christians: "Be not conformed to this world: but be transformed by the
renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable,
and perfect, will of God" (Rom. 12:2). In several of Paul's epistles, he
says he is an apostle "by the will of God" (Eph. 1:1, for example).
Jesus Christ confessed to God the Father: "Then said I, Lo, I come (in the
volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, 0 God.... Then said
he, Lo, I come to do thy will, 0 God. He takes away the first, that he may
establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering
of the body of Jesus Christ once for all" (Heb. 10:7,9-10). Finally, the
Apostle John wrote: "The world passes away, and the lust thereof: but he
who does the will of God abides forever" (1 John 2:17).
It should be plain that God does have
a will for mankind. But can we know what the will of God is? This question is
probably very troubling to people who are not aware of what is occurring in the
academic world and to some extent in the religious world. I can almost hear you
say: "Of course, we can know the will of God. God gave us minds so we can
understand his will." I wholeheartedly agree, but there are many in our
colleges and universities and in some churches who think human beings are so
weak, so sinful and so finite that we know anything. There is no more
unreasonable position than that. God must have thought we could know his will
or he would not have given us a book that contains his will.
If we cannot know the will of God, why
did Jesus say: "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you
free" (John 8:32)? Some form of the word "know" appears over 900
times in the Greek New Testament. Paul assured Timothy: "I know whom I
have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have
committed unto him against that day" (2 Tim. 1:12). The tense of the verb
"know" means I have come to know and I still know. I have sure
knowledge. In his first epistle, the Apostle John continually stresses our need
to know and our ability to know. He affirms: "Hereby we do know that we
know him, if we keep his commandments. He who says, I know him, and does not
keep his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keeps
his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we
are in him" (l John 2:3-5). John further affirms: "We know that
whosoever is born of God does not sin; but he who is begotten of God keeps
himself, and that wicked one touches him not. And we know that we are of God,
and the whole world lies in wickedness. And we know that the Son of God has
come, and has given us an understanding, that we may know him who is true, even
in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life" (l John
5:18-20). These verses argue very forcefully that we have come to know and
still know.
If men cannot know, whose fault would
it be? Would it not be God's fault? Either he did not make us capable of
knowing his will or he did not make the Bible plain enough that we can
understand it. In either case, that is not being complimentary of God. N. B.
Hardeman loved to say: The Bible is adapted to man as God made man. God knew
what we could understand. Had the Bible been written in highly technical
language, the average person could not understand it. But we can know the plan
of salvation, how Christians must live and what God demands of us in
worshipping him.
Since we can know the will of God,
how do we go about learning it? In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul speaks of
"the mystery." Tragically, that has led some people to say: "The
Bible is a mystery. We must have someone who is especially trained in
interpretation to explain the Bible to us." That is not what the word
"mystery" means. The word simply means a secret. God had his will for
the Christian in his mind long before the foundation of the world. It was a
secret until he decided to open his mind, figuratively speaking, and allow us
to know what he had on his mind (l Cor. 2:6-13). Please listen to Paul.
"For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, if
you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given to me for
you: how that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote
before in few words, whereby, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in
the mystery of Christ) which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of
men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;
that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and partakers
of his promise in Christ by the gospel" (Eph. 3:1-6).
The mystery, according to Paul, was
"that the Gentiles would be fellow heirs and of the same body and
partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel." That truth had been
veiled under the Jewish covenant, but has been unveiled in the New Testament.
The word "revealed" in verse 5 means to uncover, to unveil or to make
known. What was concealed under the Jewish covenant has been revealed in the
new covenant. We can understand that revelation. God made known his will to
Paul. Paul wrote it for our learning. When we read it, we can understand Paul's
knowledge in the mystery of Christ. If we do not know the will of God, it is
our fault-not God's. And how absolutely ridiculous it is for liberal
theologians and for postmodernists to doubt man's ability to know the will of
God!
My next question: What is the will of
God? In a comprehensive sense, it is the entire New Testament. Do you
remember what I read to you a few minutes ago? Jesus Christ said to God the
Father: "Lo, I come to do thy will, 0 God. He takes away the first, that
he may establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through the
offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all" (Heb. 10:9-10). The
books of Romans, Galatians and Hebrews deny man's ability to be justified by
the Law of Moses (Rom. 3:20). The gospel of Christ-not the Law of Moses or any
other law is the power of God unto salvation (Rom. 1: 16).
Before I examine the will of God for
various individuals, I must examine some of the general statements about the
will of God. In his great Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told his disciples:
"Not everyone who says unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom
of heaven; but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven" (Mt.
7:21). Our Lord addressed some of his fellow Jews: "My doctrine is not
mine, but his who 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' (John 7:16-17).
Paul uses the word "will"
over and over in his epistles. He told the Thessalonians: "This is the
will of God, even your sanctification, that you should abstain from fornication"
(1 Thess. 4:3). Paul also told the Thessalonians: "In everything give
thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you" (1
Thess. 5:18). The apostle Peter urged his readers to "submit to every
ordinance of man for the Lord's sake." He then affirmed: "For so is
the will of God, that with well doing you may put to silence the ignorance of
foolish men" (1 Pet. 2:13, 15). Peter encouraged his readers to live by
the will of God (1 Pet. 4:2).
Now let us examine the will of God for
various individuals. What is the will of God for unbelievers? The Apostle Peter
provides some insight. "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as
some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us, not willing that any
should perish, but that all should come to repentance" (2 Pet. 3:9). The
Apostle Paul echoes the same truth. "For this is good and acceptable in
the sight of God our Savior; who will have all men to be saved, and to come to
the knowledge of the truth" (1 Tim. 2:3-4). And did not Paul insist that
the gospel is for all-Jew and Gentile alike (Rom. 1:16)?
Do these passages teach universal
salvation? They teach that all men can believe and obey the gospel, but they do
not teach that all will. Paul expressed concern that "all have not obeyed
the gospel" (Rom. 10: 16). He knew that penitent believers had to be
baptized to be saved from their alien sins. Let us take a brief look at one
example of conversion. Paul and Silas met with some Jewish women who were
having a prayer meeting. One of the women named
The record of this conversion is so
simple and so powerful. Paul and Silas preached the word of the Lord to those
women.
Once a person has obeyed the gospel,
what is God's will for his life? I have already indicated that reading and
studying the word of God is the only way of discovering God's will for our
lives. I need to suggest a few of the responsibilities God demands of his
children. In our Lord's Sermon on the Mount, Jesus instructed his disciples:
"Seek first the
God's will for Christians includes
meeting every Lord's day to worship with God's people. The author of Hebrews
emphasizes that truth. "And let us consider one another unto love and good
works: not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some
is; but exhorting one another: and so much more as you see the day
approaching" (Heb. 10: 24-25). As important as worship is, it does replace
the duty of helping those who are in need. The author of Hebrews has written:
"Let brotherly love continue. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for
thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember those who are in bonds,
as bound with them; and those who suffer adversity, as being yourselves in the
body. Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled; but whoremongers and
adulterers God will judge. Let your conversation be without covetousness; and
be content with such things as you have: for he says, 1 will never leave you,
nor forsake you" (Heb. 13:1-5).
There is much more about the will of
God for Christians in general I will like to discuss with you, but time will
not allow it today. What about God's will for preachers? Does the word of God
give us insight into what preachers ought to teach and how they ought to teach
it? There are three New Testament books that were written primarily for
preachers: 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus. I shall choose a few excerpts from these
three books to outline the work of preachers. Paul charged Timothy: "Until
I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Neglect not the
gift that is in you, which was given you by the laying of the hands of the
eldership. Meditate upon these things; give yourself wholly to them: ... for in
doing this you shall both save yourself, and them who hear you" (1 Tim.
4:13-16).
2 Timothy 4:1-8 probably is the
best-known passage in the New Testament on preaching. Some commentators call it
"the preacher's manifesto." I know this: If every preacher in the
world would follow this powerful message, there would be fewer divisions in the
religious world and more faithful followers of Jesus Christ. Please listen to
these words. "I charge you therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus
Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his
kingdom; preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke,
and exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when men
will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to
themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears
from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch in all things,
endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of your
ministry. For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at
hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the
faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the
Lord, the righteous judge shall give me in that day: and not to me only, but
unto all them also who love his appearing" (2 Tim. 4:1-8).
Finally, what is the will of God for
elders of the Lord's church? There are no greater responsibilities on earth
than those God has given to elders of the church. God demands that they lead
his people into paths of righteousness and protect them from false teachers.
There is no more powerful expression of this truth than Paul's farewell address
to the elders of the church in
I close our discussion today with
this prayer for every one of us. "Now the God of peace, that brought again
from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the
blood of the covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will,
working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ;
to whom be glory for ever and ever" (Heb. 13:20-21).
Winford
Claiborne
The International Gospel Hour