Finding God’s Will

Date: April 7, 2002-A.M.
Speaker: John Phillis
Main Scripture: Romans 1:1-10

Romans, chapter 1, beginning with verse 1 [New King James version of the Bible]: “Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the Gospel of God which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, Who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His Name, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ; To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the Gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers,” and then verse 10, “making request if, by some means, now at last I may find a way in the Will of God to come to you.”

Did you note Paul’s last statement there in that text that we read? He had not yet been to Rome and he apparently desired in the worst kind of way to be able to make the journey to Rome so that he might meet these people to whom he is writing to, and of whom he has heard so much good. Thus, in verse 10, he makes a request through his prayers to God that somehow—someway, it may be in the Will of God that he may come to them.

Paul was a bondservant of Jesus Christ. He was called to be an apostle—he was separated to the Gospel of God. Thus, he was very well aware that his life was in God’s hands and, therefore, he was concerned about what the Will of God was for his life. And, moreover, he was quite intent on being sure that his life was in harmony with God’s Will.

What about you and me? Should we be so concerned, as was Paul, about God’s Will for our life? We are not, after all, called to be apostles as he was. But as Christians, we have been bought with a price. Our bodies are the temple of God, and we are no longer our own, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20. [“Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit Who is in you, Whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”] And as Paul will say later in this Roman epistle, “For if we live, we live to God. If we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or we die, we are the Lord’s,” Romans 14:8.

So then, once again, should we as Christians be concerned about the Will of God for our lives? Well the answer is obvious, isn’t it! Of course, we need to be concerned about the Will of God! And we, like Paul, need to be intent on living our lives in tune with—in harmony with—the Will of God. Each one of us should be constantly asking the question: “What is the Will of God for my life?” and—like Paul—seeking to find a way in the Will of God.

To do so, however, requires that we understand some things about the Will of God and how to discern it for our lives. So let’s begin first by reviewing the facets of God’s Will.

First of all, there is God’s “proclaimed Will.” You see, God has not left us wondering about what His Will is. He has made His Will known in many respects. For example, “…in everything give thanks; for this is the Will of God in Jesus Christ for you,” 1 Thessalonians 5:18. Peter writes in 1 Peter 2:15, “For this is the Will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men…” And God has made His Will known—He has proclaimed it to us through His revelation, first by sending prophets in the past, and then in the latter day sending His Own Son. As the Hebrew writer will say, “God, Who at various times and in various ways spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son…” Hebrews 1:1-2.

God has revealed—has proclaimed His Will to us by having the Holy Spirit guide His apostles, guide those who are the writers of His testament—His “new Testament”— His “new Will” for us. Just as Jesus had promised the apostles before He was crucified, He said, “when He, the Spirit of Truth, has come, He will guide you into all Truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak,” John 16:13. And thus, Paul could rightly say, “the things which I write to you are the commandments” (or “the Will”) “of the Lord,” 1 Corinthians 14:37.

Is this “proclaimed Will” of God what we must know, what we must understand, what we must do or obey in order to be saved? Just as Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the Will of My Father in heaven,” Matthew 7:21.

That which is essential for us to know has been proclaimed to us, that we might know, that we might fully understand and appreciate God’s Will for us. And He has provided all that we need to know. As Paul declares to Timothy, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work,” 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

And so we have the “proclaimed Will” of God.