I often have people come to me as a pastor seeking to know God’s will for their lives. For many, God’s will is like some mysterious and spiritual entity that keeps escaping them. Unfortunately, there is a lot of lousy teaching surrounding what is or what is not God’s will. In our text today, the Holy Spirit talks about God’s will for believers. Finding God’s will is not complicated. In fact, God’s Word makes plain God’s will for every person.
Note what 1 Thessalonians 4:2-3 says.
“For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:” (1 Thessalonians 4:2–3)
KJV Bible
The word “will” in our text is “thelēma” in Greek. It simply means “an attitude of mind, especially one that favors one alternative over others.” In our English Bible, it is sometimes translated as “will” as it is in our text and at other times as “desire” or “pleasure.” When we speak of God’s will, we speak of His inclination or desire for our lives versus what the world or self has to offer.
Christ often spoke about God the Father’s will in the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). Much of what Christ said about God’s will was related to His own will. He constantly stated that He was here on earth to do all that the Father willed. He was not here to do His will. Christ was the example of how each of us is to live our lives. We must set aside our will, desires, and pleasures and follow God’s direction and instruction daily.
“For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:38–40)
KJV Bible
As you can see, the Father’s will for the Lord Jesus Christ was quite clear. Christ understood that He would die upon Calvary’s hill and be resurrected. All was done so we might believe in Him and have everlasting life.
God’s Will Clarified!
I contend that God’s will for our lives is also quite clear.
Salvation is God’s will for your life, my life, and the life of all born into this world. This fact is made evident by Christ’s words in John 6 and many other passages, such as John 3:16, Romans 5:8, and Romans 6:23, just to name a few. He desires that every person come to a saving knowledge of His Son and accept Him as their personal Savior.
Our text highlights the second part of God’s will for every individual. Not only does He desire our salvation, but He also desires our sanctification.
In Greek, the word “sanctification” speaks to the act of becoming more personally dedicated to God. Sanctification focuses on becoming more distinct from the world, devoted to God in all areas of our life, and being morally pure before Him. Many theologians use the term “progressive sanctification.” In a nutshell, progressive sanctification simply means spiritual growth. God desires that we grow spiritually once we accept Him as our personal Savior. The Holy Spirit reinforces this by saying, “this is the will of God, even your sanctification.” In other words, God desires that you grow spiritually.
Growing spiritually is multi-dimensional.
Sanctification (spiritual growth) involves separation from the world. Once you are saved, you must progressively become different than the world. In other words, we are learning to act and speak the way God wants us to act and speak. God’s way of living and communicating is quite distinct from the world’s. The Lord Jesus Christ put it this way.
“Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” (Matthew 5:43–45)
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Sanctification (spiritual growth) also involves submission to God. Each day, we are to grow in our love and devotion to Him. We must decrease, and He must increase.
“And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.” (1 John 4:16–17)
KJV Bible
Last but not least, sanctification involves moral purity. We see this in our text as the Holy Spirit says,
“For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:” (1 Thessalonians 4:3)
KJV Bible
We will dive more into as study of moral purity next week. For now, the emphasis is on God’s will. And as such, God’s will for every person is salvation followed by sanctification. God desires that all come to a saving knowledge of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Then, He wants believers to grow in their daily walk with Him. A walk that increasingly sets them apart from unbelievers as they daily submit to His authority so they might win the victory over spiritual impurity. Such is the will of God. It is not complicated, and it is relatively straightforward. For us, as believers, our biggest problem is not knowing God’s will as much as it is obeying God’s will for our lives.
I love having conversations about the Lord and the things of the Lord. It might be that someone reading this article is struggling with God’s will for their life. Perhaps you have questions regarding salvation or even sanctification. Please know that I am here to help. Leave a comment in the comment section below or contact my using this link – https://thebibleworkshop.blog/contact/.