Galatians 3:11 “But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for "the just shall live by faith.”
This brings us to the second part of God’s will as revealed to us in His word, which is His perfect will for our conduct. There are two main areas of conduct that the saints of the new covenant are required to observe i.e. we are to walk by faith and love. The first of the two which we will discuss is faith. The Christian walk is an impossible walk outside of Jesus. If it were not impossible then we could do it without Jesus. But because it is impossible we can only do it in Jesus, for all things are possible with God and all things are possible to him who believes (Mark 9:23). This is why the scripture quoted above plainly tells the new covenant saint to live by faith, for it is only when we believe God that He can enable us to walk in a manner that is worthy of our calling. And it is only by faith that we can experience all of God’s blessings in our lives, as revealed in the scriptures mentioned earlier. All believers are well able to live by faith, for God has given all of us the gift of faith (Ephesians 2:8).
John 13:34 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.”
The second of the two areas of conduct which we will discuss, is love. Under the old covenant the saints received the Ten Commandments through Moses. Under the new covenant however, the saints have received just one commandment. In the scripture quoted above the Lord Jesus has given His church the new commandment to love one another. Someone said so does that mean that the Ten Commandments have been done away with? Not at all, for the scripture teaches us that to walk in love is a fulfilment of the law, which includes the Ten Commandments (Romans 13:10). When believers walk in love there is no cause for stumbling in them, and therefore there is no hindrance to them experiencing God’s perfect will for their lives, as revealed in the scriptures mentioned earlier. Again, all believers are well able to walk in love, for God has poured out His love in our hearts (Romans 5:5). And so we see that believers who walk in faith and love can be assured that they are walking in God’s perfect will for their lives, as revealed through His written word.
Acts 16:6-10 “Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. (7) After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them. (8) So, passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. (9) And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." (10) Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them.”
And so we come to the second part of how the Lord reveals His perfect will for our lives, which is by the leading of His Spirit. The word of God reveals God’s perfect will for our lives in general terms, but it cannot do so in specific terms. This is where it becomes essential for the believer to be led by the Holy Spirit. Let me explain what I mean by means of a biblical example. In the passage of scripture quoted above we read the account of how the Apostle Paul and his ministry team were led by the Holy Spirit to preach the gospel in Macedonia. Through the word of God all believers have received the instruction from the Lord to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15). And so based on God’s revealed will through His word, Paul and his team could have gone anywhere to preach the gospel. However, the apostle Paul had learnt the lesson of seeking God’s perfect will, both through the word of God and being led by the Spirit of God. And so when they sought God’s specific will through prayer, He prevented them from preaching the gospel in Asia and Bithynia, but rather sent them to Macedonia. So why did the Holy Spirit do that? God knows everything, including who is receptive to hearing the gospel and who isn’t. God knew that the gospel message would not be accepted in Asia and Bithynia at that time, and so He sent Paul to Macedonia where there were people who would be receptive to the gospel. You will recall when our Lord appeared to Paul in the city of Corinth that He told Paul to go ahead and preach in that city, for the Lord had many people there (Acts 18:9-10). Jesus revealed to Paul that He had many people in the city before anyone had been saved under Paul’s ministry. And so we see that it certainly pays to be led by the Holy Spirit, for He is able to lead us in a specific way that the word of God cannot.
Colossians 1:9-10 “For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; (10) that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.”
With regards to the leading of the Holy Spirit, the Lord reveals His perfect will for our lives through prayer. In the above quoted passage of scripture the apostle Paul petitioned the Lord Jesus on behalf of the believers at Colossi, that the Lord would reveal His will for their lives to them. Because this prayer is recorded for us in scripture it is a prayer that is sanctioned by the Holy Spirit. And so if you will pray this prayer over your own life, then God our Father will hear that prayer and answer it by revealing His will to you. Notice that only as a result of the saints at Colossi knowing the will of the Lord for their lives, would they then be able to walk worthy of Him and be fully pleasing to Him.
John 8:29 “And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him.”
The above quoted passage of scripture reveals to us that our Lord Jesus always did that which pleased our heavenly Father. In other words He walked in our Father’s perfect will for His life. And so we see that once the Lord reveals His will to us, it is then up to us as an act of our free will to be obedient to His will.
Michael E.B. Maher
Comments