THE W ILL Many have been the attempts to define and describe the will of God. Perhaps the best explanation is that it means what the Lord de sires to have happen in your life. A primary example is man's salva tion. God wills that all may come to know Him (I Timothy 2:4). The Bible tells us very clearly what it takes to be saved. We know that there is one God, and one Media tor between God and man, the man Christ Jesus (I Timothy 2:5). Christ was the perfect Man who took upon Himself the sins of the world. By accepting Him as per sonal Saviour, we can have a prop er relationship with God. This, again, is God's will for every per son. If you are trusting anything else for your salvation — church membership, charitable works, good intentions, close relationships with other people or organizations —then you are out of the will of God. The second aspect of what God wants to happen in your life is expressed in I Thessalonians 4:3, “ For this is the will of God, even your sanctification.'' Paul has told the believers at Thessalonica how they should walk and please God (4:1). This all has to do with our spiritual growth in grace and in the Christian life. By illustration, we might use the concept of ath letics. To join the team is liken to being saved. To play the game is what sanctification is all about. The two aspects can never be reversed either. In a very real sense, the Christian life is a game. We might consider the huddle as the church. This is where the team gathers together apart from the line of scrimmage to evaluate the last play and to plan their future strategy. So be lievers should come together apart from the world, relating to each other in fellowship and study of
Page 46
Made with FlippingBook HTML5