what is the will of god according to the bible

Whatever God would have to be—whatever is His good pleasure—is His will. We find this abundantly expressed in the inspired writings. “Thy good pleasure” (Ps. 40:8, N.Tr.) is cited by the Spirit as “Thy will” in Hebrews 10:7. More often than otherwise will is spoken of in ordinary parlance as something which wills—something in a person similar to his spirit or soul which is called a will—but Scripture speaks of it more as that which the person himself would have come to pass; and when we have the definite expression, “This is the will of God,” are immediately told what He Himself would have. Two verses may suffice to show this fact: (1) “This is the will of God even your sanctification” (1 Thess. 4:3); (2) “This is the will of Him that sent Me, that everyone which seeth the Son, and believes on Him, may have everlasting life” (John 6:40). When this is grasped we shall better understand the Scriptures which speak of God’s will in different ways, in different times, and in different relations, for no one thing can be said to be the will of God to the exclusion of all others, whatever may be said as to the mystery of that will.

What, then, is God’s will? Is that revealed to us in Scripture? Ephesians 1:9-10, gives us the answer: “Having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He has purposed in Himself: that in the dispensation of the fulness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are in earth; even in Him,” or as another translation words it, “to head up all things in the Christ, the things in the heavens and the things upon the earth” (N.Tr.).

Saints of Old Testament times had some knowledge of God’s will, but it was not until the Son of God came, completed redemption, took His seat at God’s right hand, and sent the Holy Spirit, that there came to light the full knowledge of God’s will. It was given to the Apostle Paul “to complete the word of God” (Col. 1:25), and this gives us in the Holy Scriptures the full knowledge of all that God has done, all He is doing, and all that He will do. God’s will centres in Christ, His well-Beloved Son, and even with regard to what He wills for us, all is viewed in relation to Christ. God’s will for us now is to represent Christ in this world, and to be occupied with Christ where He is at His right hand.

As the Apostle is about to present the Son of God’s love in a wonderful cluster of His glories, he prays for the saints at Colosse desiring that they “might be filled with the full knowledge of His will, in all wisdom and spiritual understanding” (Col. 1:9). It is a blessed thing for the saint of God to be filled with the knowledge of God’s will, for it displaces from his thoughts all relating to his own will and the will of any other man. There is no room in the heart and mind for the will of man when we are filled with the knowledge of God’s will. The full knowledge of God’s will is that which God has made known of His will in Christianity, and we can only obtain this knowledge through reading God’s word in communion with Him. The Spirit of God will bring this full knowledge into the heart as we commune with God in relation to the divine revelations of Christianity.

But we have all Scripture to guide us: Paul's epistles; the Old Testament writings; the Gospels and the other New Testament writings. All these have been given by divine inspiration, and all is "profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness" (2 Tim. 3:16). In the inspired writings, the Old and New Testaments, God has set forth His mind and will; that which makes known His thoughts regarding Himself, that which tells us of His ways with men, that which unfolds His purposes and counsels, and which presents His Son as the One in Whom there has been the perfect and full revelation of Himself; and that which marks out the path for the saints of God at all times. We need the Spirit of God to give us understanding in relation to these things, but we have not the mind and will of God for us apart from "All Scripture" which is "given by inspiration of God." When upon earth, the Lord Jesus met the enemy with "It is written;" He used the Scriptures. We need no other words to guide us, for through the Scriptures "The man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works" (2 Tim. 3:17).

From the earliest days of man's sojourn on earth, the will of God has been set before him; and it has been his privilege and responsibility to order his life according to that will. When man obeyed God, blessing resulted: but disobedience brought its own recompense of reward. God has been pleased, not only to reveal His will for us individually, but has enlightened us with His thoughts and desires regarding the associations into which His calling has brought us. Moreover, He has unfolded to us, in the riches of His grace, the great secret of His will regarding the display of His glory in the fulness of times. How deeply solemn is the history of man, as viewed in the light of Gods will! From Adam down, it has been a long sorrowful record of great failure, with man turning from and rebelling against the will of God. Against this dark background, however, we are permitted to view God's well-beloved Son, coming into Manhood, and going into death, because of His devotion to His Father's will.

If we think of the great matter of salvation, we are told He has no pleasure in the death of the wicked; neither is it His will than any little children should perish (Matt. 18:14), for the Son of Man came to save them. Indeed, it is said, He is “not willing that any should perish” (2 Peter 3:9); and, again, He “desires that all men should be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:4). This salvation is in Christ Jesus, and is according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself before time began; and if it be written, “By grace ye are saved” (Eph. 2:8), we are also told in 2 Timothy 1:9, He “has saved us, and has called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace.” It is the same in regard to the wonderful relationship of sons into which the saved are brought by redemption—He “marked us out beforehand for adoption (or sonship) through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will” (Eph. 1:5, N.Tr.); and verse 9 tells us that the mystery of His will to centre up all things in Christ is also “according to His good pleasure.” From the start to the finish—from the first moment when this was purposed right on to the moment of its full accomplishment in glory—this has been kept always in view; and between the time when the design was divinely conceived and the time when its glorious attainment shall be universally seen, God has been ordering all after the counsel of His own will for the praise of His glory.

"This is the will of God, even your sanctification," is what Paul wrote to the Thessalonians (1 Thess. 4:3), showing that it is not something that is optional for the Christian, something to be pursued or avoided as fancy dictates. Moreover God Himself works it out for His saints, and it is all-embracing in its scope, for Paul went on to pray for them, "The very God of peace sanctify you wholly" (1 Thess. 5:23). Everything about us is to come under the sanctifying touch of the God of peace.

HIS WILL AS TO OUR CONDUCT

On the other hand, God has expressed His will in His Word as to many things that have to do with our practical, daily lives. Do we rejoice in His expressed will as to what our conduct should be? These things we may know absolutely also, as for instance, "This is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality." Many other scriptures show us clearly what kind of conduct is right and becoming. Let us be well acquainted with these through reading and meditation.

Certainly in all of these we may know what the will of God is, for God has declared it.

His Will as to Our Conduct

On the other hand, God has expressed His will in His Word as to many things that have to do with our practical daily lives. Do we rejoice in His expressed will as to what our conduct should be? We may know these things absolutely also, as for instance, “this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication” (1 Thess 4:3). Many other Scriptures show us clearly what kind of conduct is right and becoming. Let us be well acquainted with these portions through reading and meditation. Certainly in all of these things we may know what the will of God is, for God has declared it.

Yet it was perfectly right and in keeping with the claims of His throne that His will should be made known. God had to tell men what His will for them was; they had turned their backs on Him and were doing their own will, and that was a challenge to God's majesty. The world belonged to God, "The earth is the Lord's," and men in it are His responsible creatures, and He had, in justice and for the maintenance of His throne of government, to make known His will, and so we have the ten commandments, God's will for men here on the earth, summed up in these two sentences, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and thy neighbour as thyself." Men broke that law, and all through the generations to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ they broke it, and that which was ordained for a blessing became a curse.