God's Will Part 9
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Herman Bavinck gives the Biblical position: “God’s will is identical with his being, his wisdom, his goodness, and with all his attributes. And it is for this reason that man’s heart and mind can rest in that will, for it is the will not of blind fate, incalculable fortune, or dark energy of nature, but of an omnipotent God and merciful Father” (Doctrine of God, 235).
This session we will continue to look at at the Greek word “thélēma,” with one of the three persons of the Trinity as the direct object or the subject in the Gospels.
Mark 3:31-35 is the first occurence we will look at this evening.
31 And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him.
32 And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you.”
33 And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?”
34 And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers!
35 For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”
We looked at the parallel passage in Matthew last week. So just as a reminder, Jesus, here, is establishing the precedent for belonging to the family of God, which supersedes our earthly identities and ties. This bond is expressed through doing God’s will, which we learned from 1 John is to believe in Jesus and love each other. All other obedience flows from these relationally formative commands.
Luke 22:39-42 is the second occurence we will look at this evening.
39 And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him.
40 And when he came to the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.”
41 And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed,
42 saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”
We looked at the parallel passage in Matthew last week. So just as a reminder, here we see Jesus modeling a will submitted to God’s will. There are two observation I would like to make concerning this.
First, submitting one’s will to God is not easy, and can be quite emotional.
Second, submitting one’s will to God is a choice and not dependent on our emotions, though it is often an emotional process.
John 1:9-13 is the third occurence we will look at this evening .
9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.
10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.
11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.
12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,
13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
By whose will are we born again?
We are born again by the will of God.
John 4:31-38 is the fourth occurence we will look at this evening.
31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.”
32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.”
33 So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?”
34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.
35 Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.
36 Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together.
37 For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’
38 I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”
Who does Jesus live to please?
He lives to please his Father.
Who should we then live to please?
We should live to please our Father, rather than spending energy in trying to figure out what others think or don’t think. God’s will is the one that matters.
Here Jesus speaks of living in God’s will as sustenance.
How is acting in God’s will sustenance for us?
There is definitely shalom that comes with walking in the will of God, a life of satisfaction and contentment found nowhere else.
John 5:30-36 is the fifth occurence we will look at this evening.
30 “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.
31 If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true.
32 There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true.
33 You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth.
34 Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved.
35 He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.
36 But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me.
We continue in the theme of Jesus doing the Father’s will. Jesus doing signs and miracles fulfilled the Fathers will. These confirmed that the Father had sent Jesus to be the Savior of the world.
John 6:37-40 is the sixth occurence we will look at this evening.
37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.
38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.
39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.
40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
Whose will is Jesus doing?
He is doing the Father’s will.
What is God’s will?
First, that Jesus should lose none whom God has give him.
Second, that Jesus raise them from the dead at his second coming.
Third, that everyone who looks at Jesus and believes will have eternal life.
Amen, Praise the Lord! I am so glad that this is the will of God.