Post by pitbull on Nov 1, 2009 6:58:42 GMT -5
Will of God or Plan of God?
Over and over again, I have people tell me that they want to know the will of God. As I tell them, God wants them to know it too. That is why He wrote it down and has perfectly preserved it for us today. 23 times in the Bible, we find the literally phrase “will of God”. Jesus thought this doctrine was so important to say the following: “For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.” [Mark 3:35] Unfortunately, most people confuse the will of God [which is same for every believer] for the plan of God [which is unique for each saint].
We know the will of God is “good, and acceptable, and perfect”. [Romans 12:2] You will have joy and “be refreshed” [Romans 15:30]. The Holy Spirit, through intercession, reveals it to us. [Romans 8:27] Paul knew that his travels [Romans 1:10] and writings [1 Corinthians 1:1; 2 Corinthians 1:1; Ephesians 1:1; Colossians 1:1; 2 Timothy 1:1] were by the will of God since he was doing it in obedience with the right motives.
Here are some passages that directly talk about the will of God for us: Ephesians 6:6;1 Thessalonians 4:3; 1 Thessalonians 5:18; 1 Peter 3:17. And these are just a few of the passages that directly tell you the will of God. There are too many to list here.
How do you know you are in the will of God? I had someone accuse me of not living in the will of God and I point out to the person that God was blessing my family, I was seeing prayers answered, there were lost people getting saved, and I was being used to encourage/edify the saved. This accuser was not seeing the same. Wonder which of us was really living in the will of God?
First and foremost, God’s will for you is that He is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” [2 Peter 3:9] Have you done that? Have you repented of your sin? Have you trusted Christ as your Savior? Are you born again? This is the first step in obeying the will of God.
After you have done that, are you doing the other things according to the Word of God due to the right motives? [John 14:15, 21, 23-24; 1 John 5:3] Here are a few:
• believer’s baptism [Acts 2:38, 41; 8:36-37]
• local church membership [Heb. 10:24-25; Ps. 122:1; Acts 2:41, 47]
• prayer [1 Thess. 5:17; Luke 18:1]
• daily Bible study [2 Tim. 2:15; Acts 17:11]
• soul winning [Matt. 28:19-20; Mark 16:15]
• Biblical standards [1 Thess. 5:22; 1 Pet. 1:15-16]
Once you start doing these, God will start to reveal His plan for your life. Why should He give your more if you are not willing to do these simple commandments? If you are unwilling to obey the will of God, why should He reveal the plan of God for you?