Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.
Many Christians have struggled with finding out what God’s will for them is in this life. In order to find this out we have to read God’s Word to us, rightly divided. When we see that the Apostle Paul is the apostle to the gentiles, we come to realize that the Holy Spirit through Paul’s pen explains to us what the will of God is for us. Our directions or instructions are exclusively outlined for us in the apostle Paul’s epistles, while the examples and spiritual applications of these instructions are found throughout God’s Word. The instructions pertaining to God’s will for us are given as concerning our standing as members of the body of Christ, where there is no difference between male or female, slave or free; and, concerning our current state on this earth, where there are differences between male and female, slaves (workers) and masters (bosses), and children and parents.
Colossians 1:9-14
For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God: Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.
This is one of many scriptures in the apostle Paul’s epistles where we see the will of God outlined for every member of the body of Christ. Regardless of who we are or the positions of rank and authority we hold, we have the same truth of our Lord Jesus Christ’s saving us eternally through His death, burial, and resurrection, and His saving us in this life through the increase of the knowledge of God and His power and working in our lives, and how we should bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit through His working. We also see in God’s will in 1st Timothy 2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto a knowledge of the truth. Since we know from Philippians 2:13 that it is God who works in us, both to will and to do of His good pleasure, we see that we should also endeavor to preach the gospel of grace so that others may be saved and also edify others to come to a more perfect understanding of the truth and the mystery.
As pertaining to God’s will concerning our specific state here on earth, the apostle Paul’s epistles are very specific to our various roles in the family, at work, and in our local assembly. The instructions pertaining to our specific roles as husbands, wives, parents, children, workers, bosses, bishops, elders, and any other role, are given for us to individually read and heed in the Lord, and not for us to bash other people for not following their roles. In our specific state or role here on earth, true joy in the Lord is found when we respect the role he has given us and work within that role as if working for Him. The adversary is actively trying to denigrate or destroy these roles or positions of rank and authority especially in the lives of believers to hinder the gospel of the grace of God. He does this in the world by promoting a false version of equality. We see this exemplified in the subject of women and men. The world calls for equality of the sexes, but this is impossible, for man and woman were created differently and have different strengths and weaknesses which complement each other and when appropriately applied by the Lord’s working, establish a peace in the home.
We see examples of like but different things all throughout God’s creation. Take the orange and the banana if you will. They are both fruit, but when we zero in on them, we see that the orange is rich in vitamin C and makes a great juice. When we examine the banana we see a fruit rich in potassium, that can be made into a wonderful bread. These two pieces of fruit can never be equal, because they are different, and it would be ridiculous to ever try to make them equal. The adversary’s tactic is not new, we see him in the beginning using the perversion of God’s established roles to bring ruination to man through the emotion-based appeal of a false equality and better things to come. We read his lie when he tempted Eve to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the garden of Eden…
Genesis 3:4-5
And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
Here then we see the devil promising Eve equality with God. If she and Adam had never partaken of that fruit they would have had unimaginable joy, but by partaking we see sin enter the world and the corruption and destruction that have followed. We also see this in this present life in type, when the adversary successfully sells an individual on rejecting the role that God has given, usually ruination of a sort follows.
As we close this post, we touch on another part of God’s will for us, that is mentioned over and over again in His Word. We read
1 Thessalonians 5:18
In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Godliness with contentment is great gain, thanksgiving springsforth from contentment.
May we pray that the Lord’s will would be done in our lives, and we would be content with the roles and responsibilities He has given us and be ever-abounding with thanksgiving for all He has given us in Christ Jesus our Lord.
In the Lord Jesus Christ,
Derrick
A study of the Sword 