As a follow-up to last week’s post, we will continue our discussion of God’s will. Beyond His sovereign will, we explore His will of command.
None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
1 Corinthians 2:8 NIV
God’s sovereign will is predetermined and cannot be stopped. From the day man fell, God had provided a way of salvation. When the appointed time for man to be saved came, nothing could stop it. All the people and powers that thought they had succeeded in silencing Jesus didn’t know that they were acting according to script. They did not know that their game plan to bring Jesus down would ultimately exalt Him as Messiah.
This doesn’t mean God causes all things to happen. The decisions Judas and the Pharisees made regarding Jesus’ crucifixion were purely their own choices. In the flow of God’s will, the role any man plays is still his choice. God doesn’t take away our choices to fulfill His purposes. Rather, He works with our choices.
God’s will of command
This is the one many of us are familiar with. It gives us a picture of what God considers right and wrong. The commandments give us at least ten of God’s will of command. The thing about this type of will is that you can choose not to obey it. There is absolutely no compulsion to conform. What there is is a punishment for disobedience.
In Matthew 7:21 Jesus says that not everyone who cries “Lord Lord” will enter the kingdom of God. Christianity is not about putting on a show. It is not by crying during worship or kneeling a bit when the name of Jesus is mentioned. It is about trust (faith) and obedience (Jn. 14:15; 2 Cor. 5:7). Jesus says those who do the will of His Father are the ones who will enter the kingdom. Obedience to the commandments–all summed up in love–is what puts us at the epicenter of God’s will.
Another danger of disobedience to God’s will is that sometimes, a person may disobey God’s will of command and end up being used to achieve God’s grand and sovereign will. A good example is Pharaoh. God had given an instruction through Moses for Pharaoh to let the people of Israel go. It was just the right thing to do after many, many years of tormenting and torturing innocent people. Pharaoh chose to disobey and even added more to the torment. He hardened his heart against God’s will (Ex. 8:15, 32). Eventually, God “helped” his cause and used him in His grand plan to save His people, and Pharaoh was destroyed. (Ex. 3 -14)
God’s will of command is never forceful. You can choose to disobey, but at what cost?
The space between God’s will of command and His sovereign will, is where you will find God’s will as it relates to your purpose. When God called the prophet Jeremiah, He made it known to him what He had called him to be and why. To be fair, Jeremiah had the choice of saying no or telling God he wasn’t interested in that type of work. I mean, we see the back-and-forth that went on for quite some time (Jer. 1). But if a person eventually chooses not to go in line with the purpose for why God has called them, they will find themselves getting frustrated too often, too quickly.
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.
Jeremiah 1:5 NIV
When Jesus came to earth, He called Peter out of his work as a fisherman into the ministry of becoming a fisher of men–an Apostle. After Jesus died, because of fear and worry, Peter went back to fishing, and just like the day he met Jesus, he caught nothing (Jn. 21:3). His life as a fisherman was frustrated because he was going against his purpose on earth.
When it comes to purpose, as much as God is sovereign in deciding what it is for each person, He still gives us the choice of going with the vision or not. However, every cause has its effect. The effect of leaving God’s purpose for you and forging your own path is, in the long run, not convenient.
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Jeremiah 29:11 NIV
There is another part of God’s will that I would like to touch on since we’re on the topic.
I’ve heard some people say “If God is so good, why does He cause all this evil in the world to happen?” or “If God is so loving, why did He create hell and send people there” I’ll start with this. Correct me if I’m wrong, but, there are two things I have realized about God’s sovereign will. It is either about delivering justice or about salvation–or things that generally make a person’s life better. Nowhere in scripture have I seen God irreversibly ordain it that evil befall a person.
God doesn’t do evil. But He may allow it in some cases, as mentioned above. Joseph had to endure some evil things done to him, to get to his destiny (Gen. 50:20). Pharaoh and his men met with some evil because, on the justice scale, they had been weighed to be very guilty.
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28 NIV
Regardless, the evil that occurs in this world is still a reflection of choices. A man who kills his child or countries that go to war are not compelled by God to do that. They are making choices–and those choices have effects.
Hell was never created for human beings. It was created for the devil and his demons. Humans who end up in hell are the ones who made the choice to follow the devil. It was–and still isn’t God’s will for us to end up in hell.
This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.
1 Timothy 2:3-4 NIV
God’s will is that all men be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. Salvation is by Jesus. If you would like to experience that salvation and begin to walk in God’s will, say this prayer: Dear Jesus, I thank you for dying for me. Thank you for loving me. I accept you as my Lord and Savior and I receive grace to walk in your will. Amen.
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