The Will of God – and its
practical application to our lives

This is a brief evaluation of the importance and seriousness of being governed by the will of God – in the various relationships of life – for all who profess to be believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.

• Some believers are perpetually seeking guidance, by various means, as to what the will of God is for them in the numerous details of their lives.

• Many are sincere, if misguided, in their approach while some are merely seeking a way to do their own will.

• Others, make no excuse at all, and brazenly seek the fulfilment of their own will without any regard for the will of God. That any who profess to be believers in the Lord Jesus should be so characterized is a monstrous shame.

The first consideration should be how the Lord Jesus viewed the will of God. The prophetic declaration in Psalm 40: 7-8 is confirmed in the New Testament as the vital principle involved in the Incarnation:

• "Then I said, Lo, I come … to do, O God, Thy will … then He said, Lo, I come to do Thy will", Heb. 10: 7,9.

When the disciples were occupied with material food, Jesus revealed to them the grand motivation of His life:

• "Jesus says to them, My food is that I should do the will of Him that has sent Me, and that I should finish His work", John 4: 34.

  He affirmed it time and again.

• "I do not seek My will, but the will of Him that has sent Me", John 5: 30.

• "For I am come down from heaven, not that I should do My will, but the will of Him that has sent Me", John 6: 38.

• In facing the ultimate test, He prayed, "Abba, Father, all things are possible to Thee: take away this cup from Me; but not what I will, but what Thou wilt", Mark 14: 36.

It should be no surprise to us then that He should require this same commitment in those He is pleased to call His brethren, "for whosoever shall do the will of God, he is My brother, and sister, and mother", Mark 3: 35.

Clearly, He will not own any as His brethren who do not characteristically do the will of God. Some one may say then, But what about my salvation? ' That is His business; your business is to do the will of God!

In this day when every segment of the population is claiming its 'rights' – what are our rights? – what options do we have?

• "And one of the scribes who had come up, and had heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, demanded of Him, Which is the first commandment of all?

• "And Jesus answered him, The first commandment of all is, Hear, Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord; and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thine understanding, and with all thy strength. This is the first commandment.

• "And a second like it is this: Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is not another commandment greater than these", Mark 12: 28-31.

God must come first in our lives and then the good of our neighbour.

• "Do ye not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which ye have of God; and ye are not your own? for ye have been bought with a price: glorify now then God in your body", 1 Corinthians 6: 19-20.

• "Thou art worthy, O our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honour and power; for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy will they were, and they have been created", Revelation 4: 11.

• Just as the bondman has no rights of his own, his only concern being to do his master's will, so the believer's only concern is to be to do the will of God.

We are exhorted:

• "Let us hold fast the confession of the hope unwavering, (for He is faithful who has promised;) … not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the custom is with some; but encouraging one another, and by so much the more as ye see the day drawing near", Hebrews 10: 23, 25.

This exhortation covers all the assemblings of the saints, but it particularly applies to the Lord's Supper, the prime gathering from which all else flows.

After stern warnings and strong encouragements, the passage ends:

• "For ye have need of endurance in order that, having done the will of God, ye may receive the promise.

• "But the just shall live by faith; and, if he draw back, My soul does not take pleasure in him.

• "But we are not drawers back to perdition, but of faith to saving the soul", Hebrews 10: 36, 38-39.

There are some who think and speak of the Lord's Supper as being only a request. This is only half the truth and some use it as licence to be present only when they please or, on the flimsiest of excuses, to absent themselves altogether.

The Lord's Supper is more than a mere request, it is not optional but a commandment which is not to be ignored by any who are called to do the will of God. Paul said,

• "For I received from the Lord, that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, in the night in which He was delivered up, took bread,

• "and having given thanks broke it, and said, This is My body, which is for you: this do in remembrance of Me.

• "In like manner also the cup, after having supped, say-ing, This cup is the new covenant in My blood: this do, as often as ye shall drink it, in remembrance of Me.

• "For as often as ye shall eat this bread, and drink the cup, ye announce the death of the Lord, until He come", 1 Corinthians 11: 23-26.

The Lord's Supper, as other matters in 1 Corinthians, is governed by the apostle's word:

• "If any one thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him recognize the things that I write to you, that it is the Lord's commandment", 1 Corinthians 14: 37.

John was "the disciple whom Jesus loved", John 21: 20. But he understood that keeping the Lord's commandments is the definitive test of love to Him.

• "He that has My commandments and keeps them, he it is that loves Me", John 15: 10.

And he tells us how serious it is to disobey or disregard the Lord's commandments:

• "And hereby we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He that says, I know Him, and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him", 1 John 2: 3-4.

Does marriage, and the claims of husband or wife, set aside the requirement to do the will of God?

• No – it certainly does not!

• Zacharias and Elizabeth afford a pattern for all married couples for "they were both just before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless", Luke 1: 6.

• Paul commended "Prisca and Aquila, my fellow-workmen in Christ Jesus, (who for my life staked their own neck; to whom not I only am thankful, but also all the assemblies of the nations,)", Romans 16: 3-4.
  • Notice, they had one "neck"; they were fully together in their service. Such couples, unitedly and joyfully committed to the will of God, are models to us all.

• is not only contemptible and despicable, but will surely incur the displeasure and discipline of God.

Deuteronomy 13: 6-11 spells out the extreme gravity of anyone even attempting to draw away one close to him or her from the worship of the true God.

• While this is the day of grace, can it be any less serious today for a husband or wife to bring such an evil influence to bear on one whom they profess to love? Surely not.

Nowadays, travel is inexpensive and easy. Many believers take trips, change residences on a seasonal basis, move from one city or country to another or change jobs

• with little, if any, concern as to being subject to the will of God in their movements.

Listen to James:

• "Go to now, ye who say, Today or tomorrow will we go into such a city and spend a year there, and traffic and make gain,

• "ye who do not know what will be on the morrow, (for what is your life? It is even a vapour, appearing for a little while, and then disappearing,)

• "instead of your saying, If the Lord should so will and we should live, we will also do this or that.

• "But now ye glory in your vauntings: all such glorying is evil.

• "To him therefore who knows how to do good, and does it not, to him it is sin", James 4: 13-17.

Even the apostle Paul did not go anywhere at his own charges for he says, "always beseeching at my prayers, if any way now at least I may be prospered by the will of God to come to you", Romans 1: 10.

We rightly give thanks for "our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins",

• but He did it "so that He should deliver us out of the present evil world, according to the will of our God and Father", Galatians 1: 3-4.

• "Christ, then, having suffered for us in the flesh, do ye also arm yourselves with the same mind; for he that has suffered in the flesh has done with sin, no longer to live the rest of his time in the flesh to men's lusts, but to God's will. For the time past is sufficient for us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles", 1 Peter 4: 1-3.

  The Gentiles did whatever they pleased – just as

• "in the days of Noah … they ate, they drank, they married, they were given in marriage" and "in the days of Lot: they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded", Luke 17: 26-28.

There was no consideration for the will of God or the claims of God. The time for that is past for the believer. We are to devote the rest of our time to doing the will of God for

• "the world is passing, and its lust, but he that does the will of God abides for eternity", 1 John 2: 17.

It is good that you and L— were able to have time to go over the Scriptures together on her recent visit.

In Christian marriage the spiritual link should always come first. In the Song of Songs the woman is referred to as "my sister, my spouse", 5: 1.

• For us, the word sister involves what is spiritual. 1 Corinthians 9: 5. The spiritual relationship should precede and govern the natural relationship,
  • just as it was imperative that Sarah, Rebecca, Leah and Rachel should be of the same family stock as their husbands.

You and L— have much in common and have been preserved in your commitment to each other.

• As you contemplate marriage it is of the utmost importance, for your own future welfare and your united usefulness in the Lord's service, that you be of one mind.

There is an outstanding example of this oneness that you might want to trace out. Aquila and Priscilla, a husband and wife, are mentioned together six times in the Acts and in Paul's epistles.

• Each is mentioned first three times suggesting spiritual equality. They were used together to help Apollos, and Paul speaks of them as having staked their neck (singular) for him.

As a result of your encouragement, L– has had the opportunity to experience the working out of the collective side of the truth in worship and service with the brethren here, and I know she values this.

• You now have the opportunity to learn from her as she shares her experiences with you, and this can only be for your mutual blessing.

Affectionately in the Lord Jesus, Gordon
February 21, 1986.