Chapter 6

God’s Will for Man

God’s Will for All

The will of God for humanity can be expressed by the words birth, growth, and full maturity. It is the desire of God for all of humanity to be born into God’s family. As soon as that birth occurs, God desires all those in the family to grow. That growth is to be steady and continuous, leading toward full maturity and glorification.

We often think of salvation in terms far narrower than those of Scripture. Salvation encompasses God’s entire program for humanity, which includes entry into salvation (justification), growth in salvation (sanctification), and finally, full realization of all the blessings of salvation (glorification). Salvation is God’s program that begins the moment we become believers and continues on until body, soul, and spirit are “like Him” (I John 3:1-3).

God has a specific will with reference to each aspect of the plan of salvation. We begin with those who have not entered into phase one (justification) and then move to God’s will for the believer in phase two (sanctification).

God’s Will for the Unbeliever

The single issue for the unbeliever is the cross work of Jesus Christ. It is presented in what the New Testament calls the gospel, which is the first critical issue in life that man must face or refuse to face.

It states in the simplest terms that Jesus Christ, by His cross death, took the sins of humanity and made full payment for them in terms of their guilt and penalty. His death was a substitution for sinners. We are to respond to this work by putting our full confidence in what He has done (I Corinthians 15:1-8).

God, who is sovereign, has chosen to bless this faith response to the work of His Son with eternal life. This same God, on the other hand, has chosen to minister His wrath on those who register a “no” response to the work of the cross.

 I Timothy 2:4

The first passage that reveals God’s will for the unbeliever is I Timothy 2:4, which says, “Who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

In the Greek text, the words all men are placed toward the beginning of the verse to give them emphasis. Thus, Paul is stressing the concept of the entire human race. The words all men are spoken with a raised voice; they are underscored. There are no exceptions to the all.

The verb desires is a present tense, pointing to continuous action—thus, God’s abiding wish. It is the sincere desire of God that all humanity comes to salvation, and not only this, but to a full understanding of the will of God.

The words to be saved refer to entry into God’s salvation. The issue here is whether we have registered a “yes” volition to the cross work of Jesus Christ. God desires for us to do this right now. The rest of God’s plan is irrelevant until this step is taken. It involves knowledge of the gospel—namely, that Jesus Christ was our substitute on the cross, and He settled the sin question forever. We know this is true because He who died for our sins is now alive, and we believe and cease to rest in ourselves and put our confidence in Him.

This verse also tells the believer how to view unbelievers. As the believer looks at those who have not yet registered “yes” volition to the cross of Christ, he views them among those who need to hear the gospel because God desires their salvation. This is our responsibility to unbelievers. We must share the gospel with them. Why?  We should do so because our God desires their salvation.

 II Peter 3:9

The second passage that reveals God’s will with respect to the unbeliever is II Peter 3:9, which says, “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance.”

The words not wishing translate the participle boulomai, which refers to a willingness that comes from reason. God does not reflect the mentality that desires people to perish. The reference of this verse again is to phase one of salvation. God does not want people to perish; God wants every person to come to a saving knowledge of His Son, Jesus Christ.

If this is God’s desire, why are not all men saved? Because God has chosen to allow our “no” volition to run its full course all the way to hell, which is eternal separation from Him. An eternity separated from a relationship with our Creator is the ultimate demonstration of how negative volition toward the cross work of Jesus Christ ends.

Why does God allow this negative volition? It is certainly not because He is not able to prevent it since He is omnipotent. Omnipotence needs to be understood correctly, however. It does not mean that God can do anything. It does mean that God can do all things that are in harmony with His holy and perfect character. Scripture itself teaches that God cannot lie, which is not a limitation of His power but simply reveals that He always acts in line with His nature.

Not only does God act in line with His nature, but He acts in line with His sovereign will. Herein is the answer to why all humanity is not saved, even though God desires everyone’s salvation. God has, in His sovereign will, decreed that negative volition be allowed to proceed all the way to destruction. Thus, the concept seen in the Garden of Eden is part of God’s plan for humanity. He does not suppress volition because He desires the willing response of His creatures. God is personal and, as such, desires to sustain a relationship with us that respects our volition, our freedom to choose.

It is, therefore, with utmost sincerity that we may beseech and encourage people everywhere to believe the gospel. This is done fully realizing the necessity of the convicting work of the Holy Spirit to bring people to salvation, while at the same time maintaining the fullest responsibility to respond with “yes” volition to the work of Jesus Christ. No valid excuse may ever be fabricated for not responding to the gospel in a faith manner. This is the first and foremost duty of everyone, and it is the desire of God on behalf of all. It is the first step in the direction of fulfillment as God’s creatures.

God’s Will for the Believer

Once we have rightly related to the will of God with respect to our entry into His salvation, we face the will of God in phase two. It is at this point that God begins to teach us as His children. He enlightens us to new values—a new sense of what is important in life and what is not. The success of this process depends on two things.

First, it is directly related to our exposure to His revealed will in the Word of God. His value system, His will, His program is found in the written Word of God. It is the book in which His curriculum is found.

Second, we must make choices with regard to our relationship to Scripture. No one is forced to pick up the Word of God and begin to learn it. Indeed, many believers never get serious about the Word of God. Every believer would do well to analyze his or her choices with respect to God’s word.

 The Quality of Our Choices

It is very important for a believer to engage in proper self-analysis. This does not mean that we are to become introverted; nor does it mean that we are to dwell on our weaknesses, a sure road to depression. We are, however, to analyze ourselves very carefully by the Word of God. James 1:22-24 tells us it is our “mirror.” Since God’s will is revealed in the Bible, we need to carefully evaluate the choices we have made, make daily, and will continue to make with regard to their place in the routine of life.

The problem with the majority of us as believers is not what we are doing but rather what we allow our daily activities to replace. We should carefully ask ourselves, beginning from the time we rise in the morning until we retire at night, what was the priority of each hour? What did we do from eight until nine, from nine until ten, ten until eleven, etc., throughout the day?

What place did serious contemplation and study of the Word of God have in the whole routine? This will reflect the quality of choices that we are making.

Becoming aware of what we choose to do in place of something else is revealing. Is our quality of decision ever so poor as to dedicate an entire evening to television or the internet and nothing to the Word of God? We are where we are in life due to our choices, conscious or not, and their quality is of extreme importance.

Much more needs to be said concerning our choices and our responsibility to make the right ones. This will be handled in further chapters of this study.

Before we look at several passages that express the will of God for the believer, let’s consider specific expressions of the will of God for the believer. In preparation for doing so, we need to commit ourselves to three concepts.

First, we must identify very carefully what the will of God is in these passages.

Second, we must identify what part of our present daily routine competes for these priorities. This will be subjective, since we all live in different sets of circumstances.

Third, we must commit ourselves to begin making decisions and choices that give God’s will absolute priority.

If we do these things consistently, we have nothing to look forward to except a constant maturing process in the Christian life, whereas neglect can only drive us from the will of God.

 God Desires the Believer to Have Knowledge

This truth can be examined by taking a further look at I Timothy 2:4. As just seen, the verse begins by telling us that God desires the salvation of the unbeliever. He “desires all men to be saved....” This, as was noted, refers to entry into phase one of salvation. It is very important to see, however, that God’s desire for us does not stop at phase one. The second part of the verse reads, “and come to the knowledge of the truth.”

God’s purpose is not satisfied by evangelism alone. Indeed, evangelism that stops with the birth of the child into God’s family is not true evangelism. God desires that divine viewpoint be instilled into the mentality of His children.

The word translated knowledge is epignosis, a word made of up gnosis, which means knowledge, and the preposition epi. The addition of the preposition does two things for the word knowledge. First, it intensifies it, indicating a full knowledge. Second, it gives it direction that points to accurate knowledge. God desires for His children to have full and precise knowledge. This is why He gave us His word.

This relates directly to the purpose of the local church—to help believers to maturity through the teaching of the Word of God, carefully, fully, and continually. It is to be our number one priority if we are to function in obedience to the will of God (Ephesians 4:11-14, II Timothy 3:16-17, 4:2).

A second passage that pertains to God’s desire for the believer to have knowledge is found in Ephesians 5:15-17. “Therefore, be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish but understand what the will of the Lord is.” Since this is an expression of the will of God, disobedience is obviously sin.

The word careful means accurately, paying close attention to something. The believer is to practice careful self-examination by looking at oneself in the light of the Word of God. Here is that concept; we are to conduct ourselves, paying close attention to our walk. This is scriptural self-analysis.

Paul gives a positive and negative concept by using two similar-sounding words, “not as asophos, but as sophos (not as unwise men, but as wise).” An unwise person is simply anyone devoid of divine viewpoint. It refers to a person who looks at things through the eyes of people. It is a person who knows and applies little of God’s word.

God does not want His children to be this way. Notice, however, that it is possible to be in this condition. In fact, this is where every new believer starts. It is the will of God for us to move from this condition to that of a wise believer, one who is oriented toward divine viewpoint.

Notice that the will of God is not something to agonize over; it is not a hand-wringing matter. It is a matter of getting into the Word of God so we may gain an intelligent viewpoint on life and thus develop the ability to make proper choices.

The word for understand means enlighten. It is a compound word made up of a verb meaning to put or place and a preposition meaning together. Believers are to “get it together.” Notice that we do not “get it together” on the basis of emotion but rather on the basis of an enlightened mentality.

 God Desires the Believer to Be Sanctified

Our passage here is I Thessalonians 4:3, which reads, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification….” The word sanctification carries the idea of setting apart for a purpose. It is the desire of God that each of us becomes increasingly set apart for His honor and glory. When we think of sanctification, we should think of its three aspects.

First of all, we are sanctified in a positional sense. Every believer is placed “in Christ,” and because of this identification, we are sanctified or set apart from the world. Second, when the life of Christ begins to manifest itself in actual conduct, we have experiential sanctification. Finally, we will someday be made like Him, which we call ultimate sanctification or glorification.

I Thessalonians 4:3 is talking about the second aspect of sanctification. It is the will of God that we live lives that are functioning under His will at all times. From this general concept, Paul moves into some specific areas where our lives are to be lived in obedience to God’s will.

We are to abstain from fornication. Here is a broad term for sexual abuse. It takes in bestiality, incest, adultery, homosexuality, etc. God desires His children to abstain from sexual looseness.

 Making Application

Does the environment we live in affirm these divine viewpoint values? Does it affirm sexual morality? Does it encourage us to opt for the will of God? Does our favorite TV show reaffirm I Thessalonians 4:3?

Why, then, do we not begin to make some better choices in the use of our time? Why do we not reject values that are part of this age and begin to affirm the will of God? All of this involves the use of man’s volition—the capacity to choose. This involves choices of what we listen to, what we see, what we think, how we feel. This should not be confused with legalism, which is the mental attitude that we can do something to merit the blessing of God. Making choices and rejecting human viewpoint systems is part of the obedience program of every believer and should be pursued with genuine zeal all of the time.

God Desires the Thanks of the Believer

“In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (I Thessalonians 5:18). God’s will for us to have a thankful heart in response to His provision permeates Scripture (II Corinthians 4:15, 9:11, Philippians 4:6, Colossians 2:7, 4:2, I Timothy 4:4). This is a concept that requires massive application of various biblical doctrines. Among these is an understanding of the various reasons why God brings pressures into our lives. There is much in the Word of God concerning this, but it lies outside the scope of this study.

 God Desires the Growth of the Believer Through Suffering

This is stated in an extended passage in I Peter 4:12-19. It concludes with the words, “Therefore, let those also who suffer according to the will of God entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.” I Peter 3:14-17 includes the words, “For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong.” In Hebrews 5:8 we are told that Jesus learned obedience through suffering. If Jesus learned obedience in this way, why would we think we would be any different?

Suffering is often the will of God for His children. It is God’s tool to drive us to Himself and bring us to maturity. This is why Paul, Peter, and James all refer to rejoicing in pressures. Man’s viewpoint looks at suffering only as a punishment for sin, whereas God’s word says it is to be a great source of blessing.

Making the Choice

 Which viewpoint do we choose to adopt into our mentality? God’s will is clearly revealed in the Word of God. What we do with it depends on our volition—our capacity to choose.