In the prayer Jesus taught us as his disciples to pray (Matt. 6:9-13), two of the six petitions concern the will of God. In the first: “May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” we ask God to subdue everyone and everything on earth to His will and plan, to overrule the plans of people and his enemy, the devil, and fulfil His purposes on earth.
In the second: “Don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one”, we ask God to help us choose to live in His will by protecting us from the designs of Satan and “sin that so easily ensnares us” (Hebr. 12:1 NLT).
- GOD’S ETERNAL PURPOSES WORKED OUT ON EARTH AS IN HEAVEN
In Ephesians 1: 3-14, Paul praises God for fulfilling His eternal purpose IN CHRIST – for uniting us with Christ (the ANOINTED ONE – Messiah) (v.3) and for bringing us into His family THROUGH CHRIST (v.5).
This is what he writes: “All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. We praise God for the glorious grace He has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that He purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.
God has now revealed to us his mysterious will regarding Christ – which is to fulfil his own good plan. And this is the plan: At the right time He will bring everything together under the authority of Christ – everything in heaven and on earth. Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for He chose us in advance, and He makes everything work out according to his plan.
The Spirit is God’s guarantee that He will give us the inheritance He promised and that He has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.”
The only one who could make this eternal purpose of God a reality on earth (as it is in heaven) was God himself, through the Son of God.
In Hebrews 10:8-10 we read: Christ said, “You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings or burnt offerings or other offerings for sin, nor were you pleased with them”. Then He said: “Look, I have come to do your will.” He cancels the first covenant in order to put the second into effect. For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.”
God’s eternal purpose is:
(1) to express His being – love; to fill his dwelling place with a counterpart who loves as He loves; to love and be loved – freely, selflessly, totally, eternally; to live in perfect communion with His beloved; and
(2) to be praised and glorified, worshipped and adored in love.
To us, living in the will of God means loving Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and loving all the people in our lives with his love – the love He poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He gave to us when we became his own (Rom. 5:5)
Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been fathered by God and knows God (1 John 4:7)
Elzeth Malherbe