The Natural-minded non-Christian, the Holy Spirit & the Bible

1 Corinthians 2:15 But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.

Review from yesterday
In the wider context of 1 Corinthians 2:1-3:4, Paul is concerned with helping the Corinthians understand why it is they are dealing with so many divisions. In his discussion, Paul lays out three types of spiritual conditions: two of which characterize Christians (spiritual Christians - i.e Spirit-led Christians and compromising or carnally minded Christians) and one of which describes the unbelieving man (termed "natural man"). With that brief summary, we will now briefly outline the Holy Spirit's ministry of illuminating (making clear) the scriptures and how such ministry is rejected by the natural minded unbeliever who doesn't believe.  I would refer the reader to yesterday's post regarding the spiritual Christian in relationship to the Spirit and the scriptures. Since there are three men described in these two chapters, we will cover the carnally minded Christian in tomorrow's post.

The natural-minded unbeliever is a darkened soul, with a dead human spirit clothed in a dying body
As you look at 1 Corinthians 2:8-9 and 14, you get a completely different but illuminating picture as to why unbelievers unaided by grace regard the Gospel as foolishness.  Unlike the description of the spiritual Christian in yesterday's post, we see nothing said of the natural unbeliever's human spirit in this passage.  Why? Simply put, he is dead in his human spirit.  Ephesians 2:1-3 lays out the true spiritual and moral condition of natural, unbelieving man:

1. Dead human spirit. (Ephesians 2:1)
2. Darkened soul in mind, emotions, will & conscience. (Eph 2:2)
3. Dying human body.  The natural man is led totally by his soul and natural bodily drives.  He aims only to please himself and not God.  (Ephesians 2:3)

According to Paul, the unbelieving rulers of Jesus' day did what they did to Jesus due to the fact that they were spiritually dead.  If they  would had been operating with the illuminating work of the Holy Spirit in their human spirit, they would not had crucified our Lord. (1 Corinthians 2:9)  In 1 Corinthians 2:10, unbelieving natural man, operating as he does by his natural abilities from birth, cannot apart from saving grace understand nor grasp the Gospel with his mind, emotions, will and conscience (i.e his soul).  Think of some of the philosophies and world religions in our world today - none of them communicate the Gospel's main points: God the creator, man the sinner, God coming to earth as man, giving himself through death to be received by those who by His grace through faith believe. 

With the inability of natural man to receive the truth of scripture and the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:9-10) we see the inability of natural man to appreciate the things of God.  According to 1 Corinthians 2:14, natural unbelieving man cannot nor will not accept the Gospel on his own, since such things are "spiritually appraised". 

Appraising the value of jewelery - an illustration truth and relationship
Why is it that the natural-minded unbeliever sees the Gospel as a waste of time?  Quite frankly, they have never had a relationship with the Gospel's main subject - Jesus Christ.  A couple one time went to a jeweler with some old rings and two small diamonds.  They had hoped to receive a handsome sum, since gold and diamonds were valued quite highly.  When the couple walked into that jeweler, they confidently laid their "treasures" out on the counter.  The Jeweler put each one under her microscope and studied them.  The value she placed upon them was significantly less than the couple thought.  Her "appraisal" was by the appearance and substance only. Her life experience and reasoning made her conclude that the gems and gold were worth only pennies on the dollar.  As she told the couple about one diamond having a crack and another one being of poor quality, the couple politely thanked the jeweler and left.  It mattered not to them what was said, they saw the jewels differently. 

To the saddened couple, those gems  meant something, since each had a story and had been acquired through the years of the couple's marriage.  They had a relationship with those objects of their affections. As the scriptures says in 1 Peter 2:7 "This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, “THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE VERY CORNER stone.”  The Holy Spirit functions this way for the unbeliever, convicting them of sin, righteousness and judgment (John 16:8-11).  The only way an unbeliever can believe on God through Jesus Christ is by the convincing work of the Holy Spirit working in their human spirit. (Romans 8:1-11; Ephesians 2:5-6)  Only by the Spirit's working can the unbeliever be brought into relationship with the Supreme object of faith's affection - Jesus Christ.  Unlike the gemstones of our earlier illustration, Jesus Christ is inherently most precious, being that He is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being. (Hebrews 1:1-3)

Natural man only operates from his natural soul and bodily understandings
Natural man is called "natural", since his reasons for living are rooted in this "natural world" and in his "natural, sinful soul and body".  Natural man is a sinful soul, with a dead human spirit living in a dying human body.  The problem with unbelievers' lack of appreciation for the Gospel is not an intellectual one.  Many intelligent unbelievers with Ph.D's flat-out ignore the cross and the scriptures. Furthermore, there are some unbeliever's who live morally good lives, however they will not surrender to the Gospel, since they prefer there own human effort.  What gives? The Holy Spirit must accompany the preaching of the Gospel if anyone is to believe and be saved. (John 16:8-11)  Only He can convince them of the thrill of knowing the One who desires to make a home in their hearts.  Unless the Holy Spirit makes alive their human spirits, as so explained in Ephesians 2:5-6, the unbeliever will willfully, mentally, emotionally and morally continue in a course opposite of God and the Gospel. 

Being that the Holy Spirit is not indwelling the natural unbeliever's spirit, all they can go on is what they understand in their soul with their minds, emotions, will and conscience.  Furthermore, the drives and information gained from the five senses is interpreted by them to be the only thing worth living for - hence leading them to disregard the Gospel as foolishness. (1 Corinthians 2:15)

More tomorrow.....

Spiritual Christians, the Holy Spirit & the Bible

1 Corinthians 2:12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God,

As the title of today's blog suggests, we are going to look at the Person of the Holy Spirit, the Bible and how He and the Bible are received by Spirit-led Christians or what 1 Corinthians 2:15 & 3:1 terms "spiritual".  As you consider 1 Corinthians 2:12 above, you will notice that Paul is concerned about reception of the truths of God, from the Spirit of God by those whom he wrote to at Corinth.  In the wider context of 1 Corinthians 2:1-3:4, Paul is concerned with helping the Corinthians understand why it is they are dealing with so many divisions.  In his discussion, Paul lays out three types of spiritual conditions: two of which characterize Christians (spiritual Christians - i.e Spirit-led Christians and compromising or carnally minded Christians) and one of which describes the unbelieving man (termed "natural man").  With that brief summary, we will now briefly outline the Holy Spirit's ministry of illuminating (making clear) the scriptures and how such ministry is received by those Christians who are submitting regularly to the Spirit's leading through the Word.  Due to the importance of these two chapters in 1 Corinthians and the sake of brevity, we will today cover the Holy Spirit's work of illuminating the scriptures to what is termed "the spiritual Christian" or what is elsewhere called "The Spirit-led Christian". (Romans 8:1-5; 16-17)

The Spirit-led Christian receives the Spirit's teaching
1 Corinthians 2:1-6 has Paul describing what it is he is communicating to us and the church at Corinth, namely "the testimony of God" (2:1); "Jesus Christ and Him crucified" (2:2); "message and preaching in the Spirit and power" (2:3); "the power of God" (2:4) and God's wisdom (2:5-6).  All of these various descriptive terms define the nature and content of the scriptures.  The Holy Spirit of course is the One who makes their beauty and power known and understood to the Christian who is in fellowship with Him.  We must hasten to add that the term "spiritual Christian" is not referring to a higher class of Christians.  Rather the term "spiritual" is speaking of the main source of the spiritual Christian's attitudes and behavior - namely the Holy Spirit in his human spirit.  1 Corinthians 2:10-13 outlines for us how the Spirit-led Christian receives the things of God from the scriptures.

The Holy Spirit makes clear the things of God. 1 Cor 2:10,12
The Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity, indwells the Christian's human spirit at salvation, making a permanent home. For the unsaved natural man the Spirit's work is required to lead him to salvation and spiritual understanding, since human reason and will power alone cannot produce a saving response. (1 Corinthians 2:9) In the remaining two men of our passage: the Spirit-led Christian and Compromising Christian of 1 Corinthians 3:1-4, the Spirit's working is necessary.  The Spirit alone knows the depths of God's mind, since He is One with the Father in nature and life. Jesus told His disciples in John 16:13 that the Holy Spirit would guide them into all truth, disclosing everything He hears from the Father and the Son.  Furthermore this ministry of the Holy Spirit to Christians, called "illumination", can be likened unto a little light bulb that lights up when you finally "get it" in terms of scripture's meaning and application for your life.  Passages such as Romans 8:16-17; Ephesians 1:16-18 and 1 John 2:20,27 explain how the Holy Spirit brings understanding to the Christian about the scriptures and the things of God. 

The Spiritual Christian's human spirit interracts with the soul and body to produce obedience. 1 Corinthians 2:1-7; 10-13; 15-16
1 Corinthians 2:10-13 could be summarized as describing the Spirit-led Christian as an illuminated soul, with the Holy Spirit actively communicating in their human spirit, clothed in a body surrendered to His leading.  When we speak of the soul of a man - that refers to the man himself -  thinking (mind), feeling (emotions), choosing (will) and making moral decisions (conscience).  Thus we see the remarkable order of how the Holy Spirit and the scriptures are received by the Spirit led Christian.  The scriptures in our text define such a Christian as "spiritual" since his life and efforts derive from the Holy Spirit's work in his human spirit (i.e spiritual). (1 Corinthians 2:15)  Thankfully Paul explains in three parts how the spiritual Christian digests spiritual truth.

First we see the human spirit, the center of God awareness in the Christian and the home of the Holy Spirit. (Proverbs 20:27).  The Holy Spirit speaks in my human spirit, equipping me to discern and to know with certainty what I cannot see nor hear with physical eyes and ears. (1 Corinthians 2:11; Hebrews 11:1)  Jesus for example in his humanity perceived the impending level of betrayal by Judas in his human spirit, even though the plot had not been told to him or the others.  How did he know? As much as Jesus Christ was God in human flesh, the text's emphasis is that as man, his spirit was in tune with God's plan and purposes. 

Next we see the soul of the Spirit-led Christian. (1 Corinthians 2:11-12)  The soul is the true me who thinks, feels, chooses and makes moral decisions.  The soul, being the area of my self awareness, interracts with the Holy Spirit in my human spirit.  As a Christian, I must hear and memorize scripture if I ever expect to know the will and leading of the Spirit.  The thinker of my soul, the mind, takes in the scriptures, positioning me to communicate with the Holy Spirit in my human spirit.  Being that He speaks through scripture, He sends guidance, warning or whatever the case may be.  As a Spirit-led Christian, you can sense the Spirit's call and movement as He engages you through the level you give yourself to His word.  1 Corinthians 14:15 reminds us of the crucial link between the thinker of the soul - the mind - and the Holy Spirit speaking forth in my human spirit.   

Then thirdly, as I engage the rest of my soul: (emotions, will and conscience) - I soon am comparing "spiritual things with spiritual". (1 Corinthians 2:11-12) As the Spirit-led Christian uses his mind to take in the scriptures, his ability to bring his body to act and obey leads to a more effective Christian walk. (Joshua 1:8; Psalm 119:130)  

More tomorrow.............

Knowing God's Will - P5 "Logos and Rhema"

Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. (6)In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths."
 
For the past several days we have been featuring blogs that have to do with the will of God.  We began by noting the necessary ingredients for knowing and following His will more effectively, namely: Word of God, Indwelling Holy Spirit, Living Obediently and Loving your fellow Christian.  We have also explored the necessary distinctions of God's will that help us to better understand how God's excercises His desires and purposes in our lives.  For instance, God has a Sovereign or ultimate will that includes unrevealed, revealed and permissive aspects.  Having spelled out some of the Biblical foundations for better understanding the will of God, I want us to explore how God enables us as Christians to practically discern His will in everyday decisions.

Two helpful concepts: Logos and Rhema
We now come to the point where we ask about God's will for your life? How does one know it?  Two words translated "word" in the New Testament, "Logos" and "Rhema", aid us in understanding how God's word in general in the scriptures is made specifially knowable and applicable in your life.1 

To see how "logos" (God's general word) and "rhema" (God's word brought to you) function further, consider how we see Paul describing the preaching of the scriptures in the book of Romans.  In Romans 9:6 Paul speaks of the "Word of God", the scriptures, having been delivered by God to the Jewish nation who failed to believe them.  The term for "word" in 9:6 is the Greek word "logos", meaning the scriptures or God's word to all people.  The Bible had not failed, rather the people had.  When you come to Romans 10:8 and 10:17, Paul speaks also of the "word of God", however the term translated "word" is a different Greek word, the word "rhema".  In those verses we see the Holy Spirit taking the objective "logos" or written word and bringing it to bear on the heart of the unbeliever so as to bring forth a response of saving faith.  This pattern, which results in saving faith, comes to characterize for the remainder of the Christian walk how you and I know God's will from His word.  When the Spirit accompanies the preaching of God's general word (logos), and I am able to see how that word specifically applies to me (rhema), I know what I know I need to do - and thus I have just heard God's will on a given matter.  Even when God gives you an insight (a rhema) throughout the day, that came as a result of your prior meditation and reading of the scripture (that is, the logos). 2
 

With these thoughts in mind, I want to lay out principles that I have found helpful in discerning God's will for my own life. The first principle acts as the reference point for the other three. My prayer is that you will find these principles to be helpful as well.

1. God's Will is Discovered from the scriptures.

-Psalm 119:105 "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."

-2 Timothy 3:16-17 "¹⁶All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: ¹⁷That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works."

2. God's Will is Clarified through Godly Counsel

-Proverbs 15:22 ^"Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellors they are established."

-Proverbs 24:6 "⁶For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counsellors there is safety."

3. God's Will is confirmed with peace by the Holy Spirit

-The Holy Spirit may say "no" as in Acts 16:6

-The Holy Spirit may say "yes" and give you confident assurance about a particular direction as in Acts 16:10

4. God's Will uses circumstances to steer in a certain direction

-Acts 17:16 ¹⁶Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry.

May God bless you dear reader, as you aim to not only know, but do His will. 

End Notes______________

1  The Old Testament illustrates these two ideas in Proverbs 22:17-18 states: "¹⁷Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thine heart unto my knowledge. ¹⁸For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee; they shall withal be fitted in thy lips." In these two verses we see two aspects of God's voice speaking to us from the scriptures: God's word in general, or logos (written word applicable to all people, at all places at all times) and God's specific word, or rhema (a specific insight from scripture that is applicable to a specific person, at a particular place at a particular time).

2 Remember, a true rhema never conflicts nor replaces the objective logos of the scriptures. When Jesus was speaking for to the disciples in Luke 24, He was giving them the Logos or general word of the law and prophets of things concerning Himself. By God's grace their eyes were opened, they heard what Jesus was saying and they were given a specific word (a rhema) that the one speaking to them was Christ. They saw that those words had immediate application to them. 

Knowing God's Will - P4

Ephesians 1:11 also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will
 How God's Will helps you understand the purpose and meaning of life

An Illustration - The Persian Rug
Think of an expensive Persian rug. If you flip it over on its back, the threads appear to be woven together in a hap-hazard manner. However, when you flip it over on its front, the rug has a beautiful and orderly design. God's permissive will, unrevealed will (will of decree) and revealed will (what He intented to make known) function in much the same way. Whenever we flip the rug of His Ultimate or Sovereign will to the front we see a beautiful design.

A Quick Review
We were concerned with the areas of responsibility we have in doing those things that He has revealed to us. We had begun this current series by noting the four essential elements necessary for knowing God's will: Word of God, Indwelling Holy Spirit, Living Obediently and Loving your fellow believer.  In today's blog we're going to briefly trace out the various distinctions that exist within God's will as God exercises His Sovereign will in the lives of people in general and Christians in particular.

Beginning with a further description of God's Ultimate Will
When we refer to God's Sovereignty, we are referring to - "His Comprehensive Reign over all people, places and events". Ephesians 1:11 gives us a very clear understanding of God's Sovereign Will: "In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will". It is by this Sovereign Will (or what we termed His "Ultimate Will") that God excercises His rule and reign in history and salvation. God's will is mentioned some 40 times in the scriptures, and it is a theme that is helpful in understanding life's purpose and meaning. 

With this big picture idea, how then does God work forth His will in your life? The Apostle Paul gives us the story of how God worked His will in his own life in Galatians 1:13-16. My prayer is that this will help you to understand how God's Ultimate Will typically will function in your own life. So how does the Rule of God's will work in your life? Please note the following distinctions:

1. God's Permissive Will,
Galatians 1:13-14 "For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews' religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it: 14And profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers."

Why was Paul, who was called before his conversion "Saul", able to persecute the church? Furthermore, how could he perpetrate such evil without being immediately destroyed? Was it God's will for him to do this? Clearly God permitted Paul to do this, for in Acts 8 we read that such persecutions caused the church to scatter throughout the world and spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. God permits what he hates in order to accomplish His own good purposes. Romans 8:28 tells us this: "28And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." God's Sovereignty does not preclude human responsibility - rather he includes the choices of his creatures. Truly what Paul (Saul) meant for evil, God was using for his ultimate good.

2. God's Will of Decree (His Unrevealed Will), Galatians 1:15 "But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace"

Did Paul choose Christ, or did God have His purposes set on calling Paul? Paul reveals here that God had decreed to call Paul to His service. If you will recall, we noted God having an unrevealed aspect to His will, meaning that there are things that are known only to God that He chooses not to reveal.  Obviously when He does reveal His will, it then becomes His revealed will, as expressed in scripture. (compare Deuteronomy 29:29) God had Paul picked out before He was born, a fact that at least for Paul was unrevealed until the time of his conversion. God desired for the Gospel to be spread among the Gentiles, and Paul was to be his chief instrument. We know from passages such as Jeremiah 1:5, 2 Timothy 1:9 and Titus 1:2 that God's will of decree extends all the way back before creation. Despite Paul's sinfulness, God had chosen to set His affection and purpose on calling this persecutor of the church to be the church's great apostle.  As God called Paul to himself, with Paul then responding by faith, it was clear that what was previously decreed or unrevealed had become revealed.

3. God's Intentional Will (His Revealed Will) Galatians 1:16a "To reveal his Son in me..."

That word "to" speaks of intention on God's part. God had intended a particular purpose, namely to reveal Christ in Paul's life. Again you may recall how we talked yesterday of God's revealed will.  God's intentions, desires or wishes are at the center of His will: whether we are speaking of His permissive, unrevealed or revealed will.  The reason I chose to include this term "intentional" to describe the revealed aspect of His will is because God has "intended" to make His heart known to His people. Whenever we speak of God's intentional will, we must make sure we include the other aspects of His will. God had intended to reveal Christ in Paul, but He also permitted Paul to first persecute the church, and He had decreed to ultimately call Paul prior to his birth. These first three aspects of God's permissive, unrevealed and revealed wills interrelate with one another. Many times in your own life, you'll will not always see how they relate.

4. God's Ultimate Will, Galatians 1:16b .."that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:"

Did God have an ultimate purpose in putting Paul through the trials and triumphs that accompany Christian life and ministry? Notice the underlined word "that". "That" is a word which speaks of purpose. God indeed has an ultimate will. At times we may see what His ultimate will is for a given situation in this life. Then there are those situations where the purpose is not realized until after we have passed off the scene. Joseph was able to testify of god's ultimate will in His life in Genesis 50:20 - "20But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive." However, God's ultimate will for Abraham was not realized until after his death, as we see in Hebrews 11:13 "13These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth."

Concluding thoughts
Dear friend, whatever your situation is in life, remember, God's rule is at work. He has an ultimate will, which includes some unrevealed aspects, some revealed aspects and then those things He was willed to permit in your life.  God has ordained whatsoever comes to pass but he has also at the same time included your responses and choice in the fulfillment of His purposes.  Let me close with these words from Jeremiah 29:11 "11For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." That is the joy of God's rule in your life.

Knowing God's Will - P3

Deuteronomy 29:29 “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law.

 

For the past couple of days we have been noting what is necessary for effectively knowing and folloing the will of God.  In the past two blogs we used the acrostic "WILL" to understand these necessary components:

 

1. Word of God

2. Indwelling Holy Spirit

3. Living in Obedience

4. Loving your fellow believer

 

With the necessary elements in place, I want today's blog and the next couple of blogs to deal with related issues that Christians commonly deal with when trying to do and follow God's will for their lives.  At times mis-conceptions can arise, as well as not realizing that within God's will there are certain distinctions that exist.  Understanding some of the practical issues associated with knowing the will of God can relieve a lot of confusion and doubt that Christians battle in their faith-walk.  My prayer is that you will find these blogs helpful to your own life, since loving God and living out His will for His glory is your chief purpose as a believer.   

 

God's will is not a game of "hot and cold"

Do you remember the game you used to play as a kid called: "Hot and Cold"? It was a game where you would have to find a person or an object in a room. Depending upon your proximity to that hidden person or object, another individual would cry out the words "hot" or "cold" or the in-between phrases: "you're getting hotter" or "you're getting warmer".

Unfortunately many Christians conceive of God's will in this fashion. Many operate under the assumption that God is playing a cruel game of "hot and cold" with Christians, and that the will of God is a lost item, needing to be found. In today's blog, and over the course of the next few blogs, we will be aiming to encourage you as a Christian that it is not only possible, but certain that you can operate knowing what God's will is for your life.

Why Christians are so concerned about "God's will for their lives"
Whenever we engage in discussions about the will of God, people immediately sense that there are areas of responsibility. At what points am I responsible to God for certain areas and what areas does God not hold me responsible? So many Christians approach the will of God with more fear than faith. God is the only One whom I'm to fear. Whenever we are operating with God's will, we are to fear Him, that is, we are to live our lives in such a way as to not have broken fellowship and intimacy with Him. It is in the midst of our circumstances that we are to proceed in faith (2 Corinthians 5:7).

God's Unrevealed and Revealed Will
If I were to point a believer to one passage in God's word which speaks to guiding them in the area of God's will, and their level of responsibility, I would refer them to Deuteronomy 29:29. Moses writes there: "The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law."

Two of the most fundamental aspects of God's will are described here: namely His Unrevealed and Revealed will. Clearly His revealed will entails areas that only man can know form the Bible. His unrevealed will cannot be ever discovered by human beings. The revealed will of God is that which is meant to be known, discovered and lived. Notice where the revealed will of God is discovered here in this passage: "that we may do all the words of this law."

So then whatever God has revealed to me in His word, that is what I am responsible to do. Proverbs 25:2 states: "It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter." According to Ephesians 2:6, the Christian is seated positionally with Christ in the heavenly realms, thus making him or her a person that operates with delegated authority from Jesus Christ. It is within the realm of God's revealed will that I operate and proceed.

This we know - there is no conflict within God's will
Even though there are aspects of God will that may be unrevealed, we do know this: that if God can be trusted in the areas He has revealed (the scriptures, illumination from the scriptures), then He can also be trusted in the areas He has not revealed (details about the future for example). The Bible tells us in passages such as Psalm 136:1- "O Give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good: for His mercy endureth forever." Because God is a Good God, I can trust Him, in both the areas I know, as well as the unknown.

Therefore this gives us an absolute foundation for the Christian's journey of operating in God's will. More lessons will follow as we begin to understand the distinctions that exist within His will that will aid us in attaining greater confidence towards knowing and doing His will.

Knowing God's Will - P2

1 Thessalonians 4:2-3 "For you know what commandments we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality"

How you and I can know and follow God's W.I.L.L.
When we talk about the believer knowing the will of God, we understand this to be a central truth of scripture.  Great Bible teacher and theologian J.I. Packer wrote a little book years ago entitled: "Finding God's Will".  In that little book he writes: "Belief that divine guidance is real rests on two facts: first, the reality of God's plan for us; second, the ability of God to communicate with us. On both, the Bible has much to say." Another great thinker, Sinclair B. Furgunson, notes in his book: "Discovering God's Will" - "So, when we come to Christ and ask: 'Will you be my shepherd and my Guide through life?' he asks in return: 'Will you take up the cross daily, and follow me?' The two things can never be separated: Christ-likeness then, in glory, must be preceeded by Christ-likeness now, under the cross."  With those thoughts in mind, let us consider what God's Word has to say regarding how you and I as Christians can effectively know and follow God's will.  Yesterday we noted two of the four thoughts based upon the acrostic W.I.L.L from Deuteronomy 13-15 and 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12:

Word of God. Deuteronomy 13:4,18; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-3
Indwelling Holy Spirit. Deuteronomy 13:4,18; 1 Thessalonians 4:8, 5:18

Today we want to consider two other necessary ingredients that are vital for Christians who want to know and follow the will of God:

Live in obedience. Deuteronomy 14:1-29; 1 Thessalonians 4:9-10
Love fellow Christians. Deuteronomy 15:7-8; 1 Thessalonians 4:9-12

Live in Obedience.  Deuteronomy 14:1-29; 1 Thessalonians 4:9-10
Deuteronomy 14:1 starts out reminding the Israelites - "you are the sons of the Lord..."  That title indicates the level of relationship God was wanting to have with His people.  He had given them His Word to know His will and the Spirit to guide them, however He was calling them also to Live in obedience to Him.  As you explore the remainder of Deuteronomy 14, you will find the necessity of the people to not be worldly like the surrounding nations (Deuteronomy 14:1-21).  Furthermore, Moses writes on the subject of tithing and stewardship, an area which is often used to demonstrate obedience of the believer in the scriptures. (Deuteronomy 14:22-29)

When you and I are purposefully living in obedience, we are positionaing ourselves to better know and follow the will of God.  Obedience is the Christian's way of opening the door of their life to God's power and purposes and presence in their life.  When God sees an obedient heart of faith, He will guide and direct by His Word and Spirit.  1 Thessalonians 4:9-10 states - "Now as to the love of the brethren, you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another; 10 for indeed you do practice it toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brethren, to excel still more".  The Thessalonains were reminded to be obedient in the area of loving their brothers by both their affection and giving.  We know that Thessalonica, along with the other Macedonian churches, were involved in a missions giving effort for the church at Jerusalem. (2 Corinthians 8:1-2) Obedience in the realm of stewardship will enable the believer to know God's will when it comes to finances.

In this same chapter of 1 Thessalonians, Paul writes how abstaining from worldy lusts is the will of God for Christians. (1 Thessalonians 4:3)  Obedience in these areas, like we saw in Deuteronomy 14, are just two examples of how we see obedience being a necessary requirement for knowing and following God's will.  Think about it: what two areas do you and I find people often confused and bewildered? Moral issues and financial decisions.  Our culture needs people who know God's mind on such matters.  If you and I will be but obedient in not only those areas, but in every area, we will know God's will.  As one preacher has noted: "Without God, we can't.  And without us, God won't."  Romans 12:1-2 states - "Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."

Love fellow Christians. Deuteronomy 15:7-8; 1 Thess 4:9-12
Deuteronomy 15 is concerned with how the Israelites were to treat, honor and love their fellow Israelites whether they were slave or poor.  In Deuteronomy 15:7-8 we read - "If there is a poor man with you, one of your brothers, in any of your towns in your land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart, nor close your hand from your poor brother; 8but you shall freely open your hand to him, and shall generously lend him sufficient for his need in whatever he lacks."  This verse is a specific example of what Jesus called one of the greatest commandments, namely "loving your neighbor as yourself". (Mark 12:30-31)  How we love our fellow believers says a lot of how much we are operating in the will of God.  1 Thessalonians 4:9 tells us - "Now as to the love of the brethren, you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another."  Whenever I am aiming to love my neighbor or my fellow believer, I will find myself doing and knowing the will of God.

Jesus lays out this principle of the relationship between my love for my brother and my loving and knowing God.  In Matthew 5:23-24 “Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering."  When you and I harbor bitterness or resentment, we will find our ability to know and follow God's will greatly hindered.  A bitter heart greatly hinders your ability to digest biblical truth (1 Peter 2:1-2) and hearing the Spirit of God, since a bitter heart grieves and quenches Him. (Ephesians 4:30-32; 1 Thessalonians 5:19)  Furthermore, a heart that stops loving a fellow believer will find itself inconsistent in obedience. (James 1:8)  It is critical that if we are to have a greater effectiveness in knowing and doing God's will, we clear our hearts of resentment, and have the love of God flow through unhindered. (1 John 2:10-11)

Conclusion - Knowing God's W.I.L.L.
We have seen in these past two blogs that in order for you and I to effectively know and follow God's will, we need the following necessary elements:  1. The Word of God 2. The Indwelling Holy Spirit. 3. Living in Obedience. 4. Loving our fellow believer.  With these four essential ingredients, we as Christians can operate and know that we know that we know God's will for our lives. 

Knowing God's Will - P1

Deuteronomy 13:4 “You shall follow the LORD your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him.

Created to hear God and to know His will, lost the ability to hear God and know His will and recreated to hear God and know His will
What is the will of God? Simply put, God's will is His desire, His wish, His decree to bring to pass whatsoever he desires.  The whole message of scripture can be summarized through this concept of knowing God's will or hearing His voice. 

1. Creation - Man was created to hear God and know His will. 
In Genesis 1:26-28 we read of how God stated to Himself that he wanted to make man in His image and likeness.  The Triune God created man with the capacity to hear His voice and to know His will.  Genesis 2:16 "The LORD God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely".  God originally created Adam and his wife to walk with Him and he with them.  However the fall changed all of that.

2. Sin - Man lost his ability to hear God and know His will.
When we come to Genesis 3, we find Adam and his wife exchanging the glory and truth of God for created things, heeding the voice of the serpent rather than God's voice.  Genesis 3:8-9 has God coming down in the cool of the day.  God knew what man had done.  He was searching out the man and his wife, for they were lost and hiding from him.  At that point God was not under any further obligation to reconnect with man.  The original covenant of works He had made with man had been broken by man.  Despite that, God issued forth a covenant of grace, whereby through faith and the shed blood of an innocent substitute, man could be re-created in his innermost part (his spirit) to hear and known God's will.

3. Recreation - Man is born again by grace through faith to believe, hear and know God's will
2 Corinthians 5:17 states - "If any man be in Christ, He is a new creation, old things have passed away and behold, all things become new."  Salvation in the Bible is about God reconnecting with man, and man in turn responding in that grace through faith to reconnect with God.  Jesus said concerning His reason for coming in John 10:3-4  “To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4“When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice."

How you and I can know and follow God's W.I.L.L.
When we talk about the believer knowing the will of God, we understand this to be a central truth of scripture.  Great Bible teacher and theologian J.I. Packer wrote a little book years ago entitled: "Finding God's Will".  In that little book he writes: "Belief that divine guidance is real rests on two facts: first, the reality of God's plan for us; second, the ability of God to communicate with us. On both, the Bible has much to say." With that thought in mind, let us consider what God's Word has to say regarding how you and I as Christians can know and follow God's will.  Consider four thoughts, based upon the acrostic W.I.L.L from Deuteronomy 13-15 and 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12:

Word of God. Deuteronomy 13:4,18; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-3
Indwelling Holy Spirit. Deuteronomy 13:4,18; 1 Thessalonians 4:8, 5:18
Live in obedience. Deuteronomy 14:1-29; 1 Thessalonians 4:9-10
Love fellow Christians. Deuteronomy 15:7-8; 1 Thess 4:9-12

For the sake of space we will consider the first two thoughts today...

Word of God
As Moses is preaching to a new generation of God's people, he warns them of not heeding the voice of false prophets.  The reason being is because He is training them for how to discern true from false prophets.  To heed the voice of a false prophet is to follow the will of man.  To heed the voice of God's Word from God's man meant they would follow and know God's will.  Deuteronomy 13:4 states -  “You shall follow the LORD your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him."  In Deuteronomy 29:29, the same author Moses writes -  “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law."  Those revealed things are God's Words - His revealed will, His known will. 

 In 1 Thessalonians 4:1-3a "Finally then, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God (just as you actually do walk), that you excel still more. 2For you know what commandments we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. 3For this is the will of God..."  To know God's word is to know God will, since the scriptures are the mind of Christ. (1 Corinthians 2:16)  Quite literally the scriptures are the written mind of God.  The people to whom Moses was preaching had to know God's will, since they were going to be entering into the promised land under Joshua's leadership within a span of two months.  That is why God had raised up Moses, the greatest prophet of that era and most faithful to God in that capacity. (Numbers 12:6; Hebrews 3:5) 

So if you and I are going to effectively know God's will, we must first begin in the scriptures themselves, which are the known will of God for both us and out children. (Deuteronomy 29:29)  However there is a second thing necessary for you and I to effectively know and do the will of God....

Indwelling Holy Spirit
As Moses writes onward, he states in Deuteronomy 13:18 "if you will listen to the voice of the LORD your God, keeping all His commandments which I am commanding you today, and doing what is right in the sight of the LORD your God." The voice of God, being the will of God, is no doubt equated with the scriptures.  However we also know that the voice of God is transmitted by the person of the Holy Spirit.  Was it not God the Father who spoke in the creation, with the Spirit of God hovering and taking those words and transforming them into sounds of life? (Genesis 1:1-2)  As God spoke to Moses and these people, scripture tells us in Hebrews 3:7 - "Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says,“TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE."  In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit spoke to Moses and to His people, however something took place when God the Son came in human flesh in the New Testament.  Jesus Himself promised that when He raised from the dead and ascended into Heaven, the Father would send in His name the Holy Spirit, who would speak and guide believers from within their heart or human spirit. (John 14:17)

In Moses day, the Holy Spirit spoke to his people by the scriptures, as we have seen already in Deuteronomy 13:18.  However in 1 Thessalonians 4:8 we see the Holy Spirit guiding and speaking in His people  "So, he who rejects this is not rejecting man but the God who gives His Holy Spirit to you."  The Holy Spirit is given to New Testament saints to indwell and guide the child of God to know God's will through the scriptures. (1 Corinthians 6:19,20)  

As you and I dear Christian give ourselves to the scriptures, the Holy Spirit indwelling our human spirit will begin to speak to us. As a Christian is led more and more by the Holy Spirit in his human spirit, the scriptures that are taken into the human mind will equip him to know God's will.  1 Corinthians 2:10-13 "For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. 11For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. 12Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, 13which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words."  Romans 8:16 tells us - "The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God".

More tomorrow as we consider two more elements necessary to effectively know and follow God's will........

 

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