Question: What is the will of God?

    Answer: The scriptures refer to the "will of the Gentiles (I Pet. 4:3), and the devil’s will (2 Tim. 2:26) God’s will (implied) is placed in contrast with man’s will (I Pet.4: 2). God’s will, then, is his desire for man and/or his sovereign arrangement (see Prov. 21:1).

    God’s will is perfect. Paul called God’s will "good," "acceptable," and "perfect" (Rom. 12:2). Beloved, God’s will can be broken down into two divisions: God’s will in the personal life of the Christian and his will in the sense of his expressed teaching. In matters of life, the Christian must trust in God’s sovereign arrangements. This is why the Christian is to say, "if the Lord will" (Jas. 4:15). As far as God’s expressed will is concerned, it can be established (Matt. 21:31). In fact, we are required to know it (Eph. 5:17).

    The Lord’s will contains requirements. It is the Lord’s will that "…in every thing give thanks" (I Thess. 4:18). It is the will of the Lord that his people "abstain from fornication" (I Thess. 4:3). The will of God involves suffering for the Christian (I Pet. 4:19, cf. 2 Tim. 3:12).

    Performing God’s will is a condition. Doing God’s will is a condition to "receiving the promise" (eternal life, Heb. 10:36, cf. Tit. 1:2), abiding forever (I Jn. 2:17), answered prayer (I Jn. 5:14), and entering the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 7:21). We are to be "perfect and complete in all the will of God," wrote Paul (Col. 4:12). We must do the will of God "from the heart" (Eph. 6:6).

    Let us emulate the attitude of Jesus regarding the Father’s will: "…I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me" Jn. 5:30). And, "…My meat is to do the will of him that sent me…" (Jn. 4:34).