When you use the term “the will of God,”
what do you mean? More than likely, you’ve used it in a number of
different ways. That’s OK, so does scripture, but it is necessary to
distinguish how we are using the term. Let’s start by looking at the
different ways scripture uses these terms.
I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart."
It
is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid
sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own
body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like
the heathen, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should
wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men
for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you.
For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men.
What these verses describe is what can be called God’s Moral Will. God’s Moral Will is his revealed commands. According to 2 Peter 1:3,
it has been completely revealed to us by God through His Word. None of
it is hidden. It doesn’t need to be discovered, but it does need to be
learned just as David said in Psalm 119:11.
Mankind has a responsibility to obey God’s Moral Will. It is possible
to be ignorant of God’s Moral Will, and it is possible (and common) to
willfully ignore it. The revelation of God’s Moral Will is a
fundamental purpose of scripture. However, that is not the only way
scripture uses the term.
Why,
you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You
are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead,
you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this
or that."
The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.
In
him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan
of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his
will,
Here we see what is called God’s Sovereign Will.
This is clearly a completely different concept than His Moral Will.
Unlike God’s Moral Will, His Sovereign Will is hidden from us as Paul
tells us in Romans 11:33-34.
The only exception to this principle is the prophetic word, where God
chooses for His own purposes to reveal His plan to someone. Just like
the manifestation of any of God’s miraculous gifts this is an
exceptional occurrence, not something to be expected regularly. The
second important characteristic of God’s Sovereign Will is that it is
unchangeable. It cannot be stopped, altered, or “missed.” As Daniel
wrote (Daniel 4:35) “He does as He pleases” and “no one can hold back His hand.”
So where is the “wonderful plan for my life?” Good question. Stay tuned…
The rest of the series: