What Does The Phrase Mean?
“The will of God,” and the related phrases “the Lord’s will,” “the Lord willing,” or “Thy will” occur 34 times in the New Testament. In 19 of them the sovereign plan of God to accomplish a distinct purpose is in view. There are four references to the will of God being done or that it shall be done, and seven references to believers doing God’s will. Scripture further declares that the expressed will of God should be understood, and three times it is specifically declared for all believers to know.

The term relates to a sovereign God accomplishing His purposes in time, whether through a specific event, or in conforming the behavior and attitudes of believers to be like those of His Son. Several times in Scripture “the will of God” refers to the overall holy behavior that all believers should exhibit. For those aspects of God’s will which are not fully revealed, the believer learns to trust God’s guiding hand. In this way, God works on our attitudes and motives, and refines the quality of our faith. As an example, God is “long-suffering towards us, not willing that any should perish” (2 Pet. 3:9). How can God desire something, yet not force it to happen? It is a mysterious unfolding of His foreknowledge and predestined blessings in Christ which are guaranteed to benefit those who repent and receive His Word.

Thankfully, we don’t have to completely understand the mind of God to obtain His blessing; God simply wants us to trust Him for what cannot be fully understood and obey what He has revealed to us. For those aspects of God’s will which are clearly revealed the believers learn to yield to the Lord, bringing our conduct into alignment with His will. This pleases God and promotes Christ-likeness, the ultimate goal of our salvation (Rom. 8:29).

Knowing God’s Revealed Will
Paul instructed believers to “be ye not unwise but understanding what the will of the Lord is” (Eph. 5:17 KJV) in order to “prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Rom. 12:2). Consequently, Paul exhorted the Colossians to “stand perfect and complete in all the will of God” (Col. 4:12). Knowing, yielding to and demonstrating God’s will is the goal of the Christian life. We are to learn His revealed will (Ps. 143:10) and delight in doing it (Ps. 40:8). This was the example of Jesus: “Then said I, ‘Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of Me,) to do Thy will, O God’” (Heb. 10:7-9).

Doing God’s Revealed Will
Following the Lord’s example of doing God’s will is not easy, in fact, it is impossible without relying on God’s grace. Doing the will of God does not come natural to us, in fact our nature opposes God’s will (Gal. 5:17). In his book My Utmost For His Highest, Oswald Chambers reminds us that, “we cannot train ourselves to be Christians; we cannot discipline ourselves to be saints; we cannot bend ourselves to the will of God: we have to be broken to the will of God.” Any selfish motive or action to abide in the will of God will fail miserably. The only way to remain in fellowship with the Lord is to yield to His will – to do that which delights Him.

As to the revealed will of God, what does God expect of Christians? The following behaviors are His expressed will. Before reviewing the list ask yourself, “Do I really want to do God’s will?” If the answer is “yes,” read on. If the answer is “no,” ponder the Lord’s words: “Why call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not the things which I say” (Lk. 6:46). In other words, “Don’t call Me Lord if you are not going to do what I say!” Though the whole of Scripture declares God’s will, the following are specific statements pertaining to His will for all Christians:

1. Serve and please the Lord instead of men (Eph. 6:6).
2. Do not be conformed to the world (Rom. 12:2).
3. By doing well put to silence the ignorance of foolish men (1 Pet. 2:15).
4. Abstain from fornication (1 Th. 4:3).
5. In everything give thanks (1 Th. 5:18).
6. Suffer for well doing, rather than for evil doing (1 Pet. 3:17).
7. Do not be controlled by the lusts of the flesh (1 Pet. 4:2).

A true believer will long to know the will of God and then do it. Love for the Lord Jesus Christ prompts obedience: “If you love Me keep My commandments” (Jn. 14:15). The believer is challenged to live for and invest in eternity. John wrote, “The world passes away, and the lust thereof; but he that doeth the will of God abides forever” (1 Jn. 2:17). All that is of this world is going to vanish someday ?– only what is done for Christ has lasting value. May each of us know and yield to the revealed will of God, and trust God’s leading hand for that part of His will which has not been revealed to us. Let us obey what is known and trust the Lord to lead us through the unknown.

The Benefit Of Doing God’s Will
Long ago an artist drew a picture of a solitary man rowing a skiff across a lake at night; the wind was high and the white-capped waters raged around him; only one star shined through the dark, angry sky. But upon that lone star the voyager fixed his eye, and kept rowing through the storm. Written beneath the picture were these words, “If I lose that I’m lost!” May God give us grace to fix our eyes on our Morning Star, the Lord Jesus, lest we shipwreck our lives.

C. S. Lewis said: “To walk out of God’s will is to walk into nowhere.” Corrie Ten Boom’s sister, Betsie, put it this way: “The center of God’s will is our only safety.” To do God’s will is our safeguard against a wasted life and the means by which God’s blessings freely flow to us.

By Warren Henderson