Striving to do the Perfect Will of God
February 2023
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“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
— Romans 12:1-2
THE APOSTLE PAUL WAS CONFUSED AT TROAS
In Acts 15:40, in about AD 50 or 51, the apostle Paul and Silas leave their home church at Antioch of Syria to revisit the churches in Asia Minor. While on this tour of missionary work, Paul desires to travel north to preach in Asia, but Luke writes in Acts 16:6, “they were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia.” Then Paul makes plans to go to Bithynia, and Luke writes, “but the Spirit suffered them not” (Acts 16:7). They arrive at Troas with a certain amount of confusion. Here they are, Paul, Silas, Timothy, and Luke in Troas—a city located hundreds of miles from their home church, in northwest Asia Minor (Turkey), right on the Aegean Sea—and the apostle Paul does not know where to go.
That night, a vision appears to Paul, and he sees a Macedonian man saying, “Come over into Macedonia and help us.”
Luke writes, “assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them. Therefore loosing from Troas, we came with a straight course to Samothracia” (Acts 16:10-11).
Immediately, they traveled to Philippi where they preached the gospel and built the church. On this same tour, they preached and established churches in Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, and Corinth. From these cities in Greece, the great gospel of Jesus Christ spread throughout Europe.
KNOWING AND DOING THE WILL OF GOD IS SO IMPORTANT
The apostle Paul wrote out or dictated the phrase “will of God” three times in his inspired epistles. In Romans 12:2, he admonishes believers to do that “good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.”
And in Romans 8:27, he teaches that the Holy Spirit can pray the will of God through us Spirit-filled believers in respect to a specific prayer request or problem.
In Colossians 4:12, Paul writes, “that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.”
When a true believer in Christ strives to live in the will of God, that believer will come under divine favor and even specific blessings from our heavenly Father. To support this truth, take a moment to read Deuteronomy 28:1-15. God’s favor and blessing is set in motion by our obedience to His will. I want to share four very important biblical principles to follow in knowing and doing God’s will.
FOUR BIBLICAL PRINCIPLES CONCERNING THE WILL OF GOD
1. The Word of God, rightly divided and rightly interpreted, is always the will of God for our lives. Psalm 119:105 reads, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” John 17:17 reads, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” James 1:22 says, “But be ye doers of the word.” II Timothy 2:15 says, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
2. One must not neglect godly counsel in discerning the perfect will of God. The concept of counseling is mentioned 137 times in the Bible. Proverbs 11:14 says, “Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.” Proverbs 19:20 says, “Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end.” Psalm 1:1-2 tells us to be careful where we get our counsel: “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.” In Acts 5:38-39, Jewish theologian Gamaliel gave godly counsel to the Jewish Sanhedrin, and it saved the lives of Peter and John. When possible, ask for godly counsel from more than one elder or pastor. Consult I Peter 5:5.
3. Be very careful about using some “sign” or physical manifestation to cause you to make a decision in respect to the perfect will of God. In Judges 6, we read the story of Gideon “fleecing” the Lord to determine the reality of God’s call upon his life to deliver the children of Israel from the Midianites. Gideon questions the will of God in respect to him leading a battle to fight the Midianites. God did reveal His will to Gideon by the dew and the fleece. However, sometimes, we can finagle or manipulate circumstances to get the result our flesh desires. The true witness of The Holy Spirit will help us to discern the will of God (Heb. 5:14, I Cor. 12:10). In seeking God about a new job or new ministry, the “open door” is not always the will of God for your life.
4. Let me underscore the importance of patience in respect to knowing and doing the perfect will of God. Hebrews 10:36 admonishes us: “For you have need of patience, that, after you have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.” Also, in Hebrews 12:1-2 we read, “and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.”
Friend, there is no substitute for taking time to hear the voice of the Spirit and to know the perfect will of God. Times of prayer are very important.
Years ago, when he was trying to make a decision about something, I would hear my dad say, “I need to sleep on it.” I finally learned what he was saying: “I need to give God some time to speak to me.” You must not try to hurry God. He will show you what to do.
In Romans 12:1- 2, Paul teaches that we must do four things to live in the will of God:
1. Submit our lives to God constantly—body, soul, and Spirit. Our lives must be sanctified daily.
2. Keep ourselves separated from worldly pleasures, activities, and influences
3. Keep our mind constantly “renewed” on Christ; Paul emphasized the importance of doing this.
4. Stay full of the Spirit so that we can prove accurately and discern what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Jesus said, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father” (Matt. 7:21). John the Beloved wrote years ago, “And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever” (I John 2:17).
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