The Perfect Will of God | Part 2

God’s will is that each one of us be perfect.  We do God’s will by simply doing the best and the right thing under the circumstances. Although what we do may vary, the intent is always the same – to do the things that would please the Father. That is the path to success:

“The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.”
– John 8:29

The will of God covers many aspects of earthly life and this explains why there are so many different ways God’s will is described in the Bible.  For example:

“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
– 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
– 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

“Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right.  For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people.”
– 1 Peter 2:13-15

“So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.”
– 1 Peter 4:19

“Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters.  Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.”
– James 1:16-18

In each instance, the will of God is expressed in a different way, but the common thread is that each one describes the best and right course under the  circumstances mentioned in the verse.  In all matters, we must choose God’s way of doing things over any and all alternatives.  It must be our conscious choice to partnership with God and make God’s will our will.  This is the ideal and successful way of life.  

It is a travesty that modern man does not know the will of God because it was revealed to man nearly 2,000 years ago by demonstration and by the written record that has been in existence, and feverishly studied, the entire time.  This evidences a lack of true appreciation for the Master’s life and teachings while on earth.  To this day, even those who claim to follow Jesus choose as their exemplar, not Jesus, but the prophets of old as if Jesus never came. They chose as their law the Law of Moses, and adopt the elementary view of God as wrathful, bloodthirsty and eager to find and punish fault. We have a lot of work to do as a people to bring heaven down. We’re 2,000 years behind!

Yes, we must do away with that primitive view of God and His will, including ideas of retribution and vengeance.  The true God does not respond ‘eye for eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ (Matthew 5:38-42) Those days are long gone:

“But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.”
– Romans 7:6

“For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.  Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.”
– Romans 10:2-4

“By setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.”
– Ephesians 2:15-16

Whatever occurred in generations past, Jesus of Nazareth brought a new revelation – a new wine that put an end to and superceded the old ways.

“In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.”
– Hebrews 1:1-2