Knowing God

One of the most common questions asked as a Christian is what is God’s will. Knowing God answers this inquiry. It’s easy for me to get bogged down with confusion concerning the Lord’s precepts. I’m good at complicating this significant part of a faithful follower.

However, I don’t have to look far to gain wisdom about His will because the Bible holds the key to His standards.

God’s Old Testament Commandments

God’s earliest commandment came from the Garden of Eden. After He created them, He unfolded the virtue of obedience (Genesis 2:17). But they failed to obey and discovered the penalty of rejecting His will (Genesis 3:1-19). Yet, God loved them unconditionally and uncovered a way back into His grace by showing a desire for them to repent (Genesis 3:22).

So obedience and repentance are evidence of His will. It’s obedience to His word that, when followed, provides the strength to turn away from temptation and remain on solid ground in His kingdom. And repentance reopens the door to His mercy.

The Old Testament fills itself with the knowledge of God’s will. For example, when Cain took his brother’s life, Abel, the Lord, stepped in and unearthed the evilness of murder (Genesis 4:10-12). Our Father shows us that His will is love, not hate. Jealousy is the opposite of God’s will.  

In Noah’s generation, humanity refused to obey, glorify, and repent (Genesis 6:5). As a result of their rebellion, God spared Noah and his family from the great flood (Genesis 7:23). This unbelievable act of His reprimand shows our Father’s unfavorable outlook on sin and unveils His will of glorification. It’s through glorifying God; He fills our hearts with the wisdom of His will.

Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac unearthed faith (Genesis 22:1-12). In this revelation, we understand God’s will is to be faithful regardless of the commandment He asks us to follow.

After Moses freed the Israelites from the Egyptian Pharaoh and led them into the wilderness, God supplied His Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17). These necessary ordinances are concrete manifestations of His will. They still hold reverence for His will today.

As noted above, these are a few highlights of God’s will. Each of the Prophets discloses His sovereignty and the requirements needed to live inside His kingdom.

God’s New Covenant

Because the Israelites were stubborn, He activated His New Covenant (Luke 22:20). A common denominator throughout the Old Testament is the inconsistency of the Jewish devotion to God. They found themselves in and out of the Lord’s acceptance of their behavior. However, He had a new and final plan.

When God delivered Christ into the world, it was His last revelation to humanity. From this point onward, the only way into His kingdom is Jesus (John 14:6). It’s God’s will for a believer to concede to his or her innermost self that Christ died for the forgiveness of sin and He raised Him from the dead (Romans 10:9). Anything short of this belief has eternal consequences.

Believers today are fortunate to have God’s complete truth. After Jesus’s ascension back into heaven, the New Testament emerged. This last piece of the Lord’s epiphany shows His entire will.

Christ’s ministry untangled the Pharisees, Sadducees, and scribe’s spiritual hypocrisy (Matthew 23:1-36). Jesus exposed their wicked deeds. Christ’s bold and unwavering display of God’s will separates the truth from their false teachings. This heightened our Father’s undeniable precepts.

Christ’s most extraordinary revelation of God’s will came during His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). In these three chapters, Jesus focused on God’s outlook on faith, marriage, divorce, adultery, selflessness, judging others, and prayers. Besides those attributes, He also showed the significance of reliance on God (Matthew 7:7-12), showing His eternal light (Matthew 5:13-16).  

We can agree that love is at the top of God’s will. Christ exposed this truth when He answered the question asked by a scribe.

Our Savior said:

Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40, NKJV)

In these four verses, Christ showed God’s absolute truth about love. Jesus also silenced them by responding to Moses’s teachings on those two scriptures (Deuteronomy 6:4, Leviticus 19:18). Because Christ used Moses’s scripture, they couldn’t deny this reality. This shows love as God’s will.

Besides the four Gospels, the Epistles of the New Testament are full of God’s will. Each of them brings forth fundamental knowledge of His will. They radiate the holiness of His kingdom and the Christian principles needed to live eternally.

My Experience

My experience of knowing God is engulfing my being with His word. It’s through prayer, meditation, and devotion to His truth that the Holy Spirit fills my soul with God’s will. My reliance on God provides me the insight into His will.

When I lived outside God’s kingdom, the spiritual darkness deadened my conscience. I had no measuring stick to differentiate between God’s will and Satan’s stronghold. My knowledge of His will was nil. Sin bonded me to the devil’s domain, and I couldn’t break the chains of transgression. This separation from His will brought me to spiritual bankruptcy. My divine brokenness gave birth to Christ’s redemption (John 3:5-8).

However, God reached down amid my disbelief and saved me from the death of inequity. Today I understand what God’s will is. The fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) is a prime example of His will. I’ve learned that the biggest room in the world is the room for improvement. And there is always room for me to improve on understanding His truth.

Conclusion

Given these points, knowing God’s will comes from our willingness to immerse our mind, body, and soul in His word. This means I must take time out of my agenda and, without reservation, give Him my undivided attention. I must exert my efforts in His word and live according to His truth. Christ must be my centerpiece, and the Holy Spirit has to be my guiding light. When I take this action, the knowledge of His will surfaces, and the power to carry it out transpires.

What are your thoughts on God’s will?