Before you begin your Bible study, as a believer
in the Lord Jesus Christ, be sure you have named your sins privately to God the
Father.
If we
confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (Known, Unknown and Forgotten sins) (1Jn 1:9)
You will then be in fellowship with God, Filled with the
Holy Spirit and ready to learn Truth from the Word of God.
God
is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and Truth. (Joh 4:24)
Divine
Guidance
INTRODUCTION
HE IS
THE ONE!
Before the Fall; man was a perfect creation, and that was all we could
ever be, because of the Fall-and then condemnation; Salvation was provided; so
we are able to be born into God's family. In order to live with God, we have to
be as perfect as God is, in righteousness and justice. This is His plan from
the beginning! Never has there ever been a different plan, angels and men have
free will, this is the reason for all the “trouble” but no trouble for God! (Isa 52:10; Isa
59:16) He did all the work Himself,
He created heaven and earth, (Col 1:15-19)
angels and man, He was the only perfectly born human, without a sin nature, and
perfect in body, soul and spirit, and He lived a perfect Spiritual life, grew
to Spiritual maturity, defeated Satan and all the demon's, was judged for ALL
our sins, will put unbelievers in the lake of fire, and believers in heaven,
and some in dark pits, He will rule forever! And never asked us for our
opinion, help or guidance! We either adjust to God's
plan, or it will adjust to us!
EVERY PERSON WHO HAS RECEIVED Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior is the
personal representative of the Son of God. He is called an ambassador for Christ, a witness, a priest, a
believer. But whatever the title, one Truth is clear; Just as Jesus Christ
represents every believer at the right hand of the Father, so every believer
represents the Son of God on earth! In order to represent
Him effectively, everyone who is born again must be guided by God. To this end
we have the Promise:
And
the Lord will continually guide you, And satisfy your
desire in scorched places, [War, beasts, famine, disease and disaster]
And give strength to your bones; And you will be like a watered
garden, [Mature Spiritual life]
And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail. [Communicating
Truth] (1Pe 4:11) Those from among you will rebuild the ancient
ruins; You will raise up the age-old foundations; And you will be called the
repairer of the breach, The restorer of the streets in which to dwell. [The
Completed Spiritual life] If because of the
Sabbath, [To reach Spiritual maturity]
you turn your foot From doing your own pleasure
on My holy day, (Heb 4:7-12) And call the Sabbath a
delight, [Staying in Spiritual maturity]
the holy day of the LORD honorable, [Everyday]
And honor it, desisting from
your own ways, From seeking your
own pleasure And speaking your
own word, Then you will take delight in the LORD, And
I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; [Free
from the control of the old sin nature and the false realities of Satan's kingdom]
And I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, [Mature
Truth] For the mouth of the LORD has spoken. (Isa 58:11-14)
Divine guidance is the Doctrine of determining the will of God for your
life, In the Bible the Greek word for “will”
is (Thelema) When thelema is used with reference to God’s “will” for the believer, (Rom 2:18, Eph 1:1) it refers to the purpose or plan He designed
for every believer in eternity past. One of the greatest dilemmas any believer
faces is: How can I know God’s will? How can I be guided by Him? What is God’s
will for me in some crisis or difficulty or problem in my life?
Throughout Scripture, believers are continually exhorted to know the
will of God.
So then do not be foolish, but understand
what the will of the Lord is. (Eph 5:17)
A Christian who trusts in himself instead of God
and His Wisdom: is declared to be a
fool. (Pro 28:26) One of the most
detrimental failures in the Christian life is lack of Spiritual Wisdom and
Understanding. (Pro 9:10)
Divine guidance is the Communication of Divine
will through Divine Revelation — the Word of God. (2Pe 1:20-21) Therefore, it is obvious that Divine guidance must be based upon
the Bible itself, for the Word of God is the Thinking of Christ.
For who has known the Mind [Thinking]
of the Lord, that he should instruct Him? But we have the Mind [Thinking]
of Christ. (1Co 2:16)
Today, the only way you can know what the will
of God is for your life is to hear and Understand the Word of Truth.
In (Rom 8:14) we are introduced to
God the Holy Spirit as the major factor in Divine guidance.
For all who are being led by the Spirit of
God, these are sons of God. (Rom 8:14)
There is no Divine guidance apart from knowing
the Word of God and being controlled by the ministry of God the Holy Spirit. (Joh 4:23-24)
Together, these basics of the Spiritual life form the cornerstone for the three
Mandates of Divine guidance
MANDATES
OF DIVINE GUIDANCE
Submit
to the Will of God
I urge you therefore, brethren, by the
mercies of God, to present [Paristemi] your bodies a living and holy sacrifice,
acceptable to God, which is your Spiritual service of worship. (Rom 12:1)
“Present” in this verse is the same
Greek word, paristemi, also found in,
(Rom 6:13) and means “to
place yourself under orders” to God, or to submit to the will of God. When
we understand this, we know that this is not a “one — shot” decision to submit
to God that guarantees submission forever after. Submission is an ongoing chain of decisions throughout the course
of our Christian life. We do not decide what the
will of God is for us; rather, He Decides His
will for us and leads us step by step when we are in fellowship. (Joh 15:15)
We must be in fellowship
with God to be guided by God. The
only way to be in fellowship is to be forgiven our sins and purified from all
wrongdoing through rebound;
the grace method by
which the believer in carnality regains fellowship and Spirituality by
admitting personal sins privately to God the Father.
If we confess [Admit, acknowledge] our [Known]
sins, He is faithful and righteous [Just] to forgive us our [Known] sins and to
cleanse [Purify] us from all unrighteousness. [Unknown or forgotten sins] (1Jn 1:9)
If
there is any sin in your life as a Christian, we are said to be “out
of fellowship — men of flesh.” We are in carnality, (1Co 3:1-4) and as long as we are carnal, it is impossible for us to be guided
by God the Holy Spirit. Therefore, one of the
first steps in Divine guidance is the use of (1Jn 1:9) to rebound. If we are going to do the will of God, we must
be controlled by the Spirit of God, for it is impossible to do the will of God
apart from the filling of God the Holy Spirit.
Submission to the will of God begins with the filling of God the Holy
Spirit — “...Be [Constantly]
filled with the Spirit.”
(Eph 5:18) When we acknowledge our sins to God, He forgives our known sins and
purifies us instantly and completely from our unknown sins. We are restored to fellowship, immediately our soul is controlled
again by God the Holy Spirit, and are Spiritual.
The only deterrent to the
Spirit’s control is sin; therefore, admitting
our sins to God, is the only requirement to receive the filling of God the Holy
Spirit. The Command of submission to the will of God is stated in. (Rom 6:13)
And do not go on presenting [Paristemi] the
members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but
present [Paristemi] yourselves
to God as those alive from the dead, and your members
[Eyes, ears, mind, mouth and body] as
instruments of righteousness to God. (Rom 6:13)
The
mechanics of submission to God’s will is to confess. (1Jn 1:9) These are simply two sides of the same coin.
Submission to the will of God is not demonstrated in one particular
moment or in one particular incident, but is, rather, having the will of God as the consistent rule
for your life! Submission is choosing God’s will to be final
even before you know what His will is! It is not a question of being willing to do one thing. It is a question of being willing to do
anything! It is impossible to submit to the will of God without the filling
of God the Holy Spirit and it impossible to know the will of God until you know
the Word of God!
KNOW
THE WILL OF GOD
And
do not think with the thinking of this world, [Satan's
thinking] but be transformed by
the renewing of your mind, [God's Thinking] (Pro 19:21) that you may prove what the will of God is, that
which is good, (Jer 29:11)
and acceptable [Well-pleasing] and perfect.
[Complete] (Rom 12:2)
Along with this verse, every Command from the negative standpoint, “Do
not be,” and from the positive
standpoint, “Do you not know,” is an encouragement to know the Word of God, the will of God, and
the plan of God; and is, therefore, essential in following the Commands of
God's guidance. Since the Bible is the source of the known
will of God, whether by direct statement or by implication from Truth,
knowledge of His will is based on the Understanding of the Word of God! Maximum perception of Truth, techniques, and
Promises results in the ability to be guided by God!
To
settle questions and problems not specified in the Bible, the believer must go
from the known to the unknown. We have a perfect illustration in algebra: X
equals the unknown factor, but X cannot be determined without known factors
around it. While X is unknown, as soon as we place known factors around it, we
can determine the meaning of X. For example, if 2X = 10, what is X? Answer: X =
5. The reason we know that X equals five is because we have known factors in
the picture. Known factors determine the meaning of X.
The known
factors as far as Divine guidance is concerned, are all found in the Scripture.
With the known factors in the Bible we can Understand the Mind and the will of
God in every Thought of our life. (1Sa 15:22; Pro 13:13;
Pro 16:20) For example, a known
factor is found in, (2Co 6:14) where you are told: “Do
not be bound together with unbelievers,” (As well as believers who
do not consistently stay in
fellowship) (Psa 26:1-5; 1Co 15:33; Pro 13:20)
this brings up the matter of guidance in marriage. If should you marry? When
should you marry? What kind of person should you marry? And there are many
other questions involved. But one thing is definitely known from (2Co 6:14) — you are not to marry an
unbeliever. This is directly stated to be against the will of
God. When, if and who should you marry? These
answers must be determined by a combination of known factors from the Bible,
together with the filling of God the Holy Spirit.
There are many things which the Bible directly Mandates to be God’s will
or, on the other hand, not to be God’s will. Other things not directly stated must be determined by a rational conclusion from Truth resident in
our soul. In this way we are able to determine at any
point and under every circumstance exactly what is God’s will. But remember the Principle: You cannot know the will of God apart from
having a complete Understanding of the Word of God! (Rom 10:2) Likewise, it
is impossible to do the will of God
without the power to execute it! (2Ti 3:5) This power is provided by the filling ministry of God the Holy
Spirit. This is some of the Reasons believers are exhorted to rebound, study
the Word of God daily, and expose themselves to Bible teaching as much as
possible.
GROW
IN THE SPIRITUAL LIFE OF GOD
But
grow in the grace [Fellowship] and knowledge [Thinking]
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (2Pe 3:18)
“Grace” is the sum total of the plan of
God. If you are in the will of God, you are in the plan of God. When you are in
the plan of God, you should do the will of God. A full knowledge of and compliance with the will of God cannot be
acquired apart from the stability of Spiritual growth and maturity. Divine guidance involves one step at a time. Each step must be growth and advance in the Spiritual life.
Actually, the three Mandates of guidance cannot
be separated, for each is dependent upon the others. We must submit to the will of God through the
filling of God the Holy Spirit, we must know the will of God through the Word;
and we must have Spiritual maturity in order to do the will of God to the
maximum! Failure to accomplish
these three Mandates through carnality, ignorance, and or lack of Spiritual
growth prevents us from doing the will of God for our life.
CATEGORIES
OF GOD’S WILL FOR THE INDIVIDUAL BELIEVER
The
question of the will of God for each individual believer falls into three
categories: What does God want me
to Think? What does God want me to do? Where does God want me to go?
THE
VIEWPOINT — OPERATIONAL WILL OF GOD
What
does God want me to Think?
Obviously, He wants me to Think with Divine
Viewpoint. The Bible — the Word of Truth in the right lobe is Divine
Viewpoint. Hence, this corresponds
with the second Mandate of Divine guidance — know the will of God. (Isa 55:7-9; Pro 23:7; 2Co 10:5)
We are destroying speculations
[Satan's thoughts] and every lofty thing
[Arrogance] raised up against the knowledge
of God, [God's Thoughts] and we are taking every
thought [Of the old sin nature]
captive to the obedience of Christ. (2Co 10:5)
Our strength comes from the Word of God. In ourselves, we are weak. Bible Truth is the backbone of the soul that
supports our Spiritual life.
In order to Understand
the Viewpoint will of God we must store up Truth in the right lobe so that IT,
(God's
Thinking) guides ALL
of our decisions!
THE
FUNCTIONAL WILL OF GOD
What
does God want me to do?
The
functional will of God involves everything that a Christian should and should
not do to glorify God. The list of do’s and don'ts includes many wonderful
things found in the Word of God: rebound, the filling of God the Holy Spirit, learning Truth, the
Faith-rest technique, Occupation with Christ, prayer, witnessing, and many
others. The requirements for doing the will of God are
the first and second Commands of Divine guidance — submit to the will of
God and know the Word of God.
(Mar 4:20)
THE
GEOGRAPHICAL WILL OF GOD
Where
does God want me to be?
This
category has to do with location. The geographical will of God, however, is
never considered apart from the operational will of God. If believers are doing what God wants them to
do, then they will eventually wind up in the place where God wants them to be! We all understand that crossing an ocean or
going to a foreign country does not make one a missionary. The Operational — Thinking will of God
must come first. Christians become
missionaries by first witnessing in their own locale, in their own
circumstances. A believer who will not witness at home will never witness in
another country where conditions are much more difficult. The third Command of
Divine guidance — grow to Spiritual
maturity — is definitely related
with the geographical will of God.
An
excellent illustration of God’s geographical will is contained in the Book of
Jonah. The will of God for Jonah was to go to Nineveh, where he was to declare
the Gospel. But instead of going to
Nineveh, he took a ship going in the opposite direction. He was finally thrown overboard, swallowed by
a great fish, vomited onto dry land, and then reluctantly went to Nineveh.
Jonah's problem was his hatred of the Assyrians, which created an unwillingness
to execute the known geographical will of God.
Another dilemma of the geographical will of God was faced by Jacob when
he was to go down to Egypt. Jacob thought it was wrong for him to leave the
Land, so God said, in effect, “Do not be
afraid, Jacob. It is my will for you to go to Egypt at this time. But your
family will come back again.” (Gen 46:1-4)
Paul, in, (Act 16:7) longed to go to Bithynia; but God restrained
him because He wanted Paul in Philippi and Peter in Bithynia. David Livingston,
the great missionary explorer of the last century, planned to go to China but
was hindered by the war between England and China. Since it was God’s will for
David Livingston to be in Africa, not China, the war in China made it
impossible for him to be in that country. The geographical will of God for him
was accomplished through this providential
circumstance. Adoniram Judson started out for India, but
officials would not let him land in Bombay. You see, God wanted him in Burma.
What appeared to be a problem of immigration was actually a question of the
geographical will of God.
SEVEN
DIRECTIVES DECLARED TO BE THE GENERAL WILL OF GOD
A
key principle of Divine guidance is stated in. (1Jn 3:23)
And
this is His Commandment, [His will]
that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, [Reach
Spiritual maturity] just as He Commanded us. (1Jn 3:23)
This verse reduces the will of God to utmost
simplicity. The Verse is divided into two parts, First,
God’s will for the unbeliever is to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Second, His will for the believer is to acquire Spiritual maturity
— Virtue love, the Spiritual life.
SALVATION
It
is the will of God that every member of the human race be born again. We know
from (1Ti 2:4) that God made provision for eternal life
through Jesus Christ. There is only one issue for an unbeliever: What do you Think about Christ? Every human being begins to comply with the
will of God when he expresses faith alone in Christ alone.
Doing the will of God in this case is believing in the Lord Jesus
Christ.
For this is the will of My Father, that
everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him, may have eternal life, and I
Myself will raise him up on the last day. (Joh 6:40)
Whoever believes in Him should not perish,
but have eternal life. (Joh
3:16)
So
first of all, it is the will of God that every member of the human race be
saved. God Himself made this possible by sending His “only begotten [Uniquely born] Son” (Joh 3:16) to accomplish the work of Salvation.
But God demonstrates His own love toward us,
in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died [As a substitute] for us. (Rom 5:8)
When
the Lord Jesus Christ, the God-man and unique Person of the universe, hung on
the cross between heaven and earth, He bore our sins and took our place. We
were under the condemnation of death; (Joh 3:18) yet Jesus Christ was
judged for us.
He [The Father] made Him [Christ] who knew
no sin to be sin on our behalf, [As our substitute] that we might become the
righteousness of God in Him. (2Co 5:21)
Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes
has eternal life. (Joh
6:47)
It
is impossible to do the will of God until one begins at the cross. Jesus said
to a very religious man, “You must be
born again.” (Joh 3:7) To others He said:
I am the way, and the Truth, and the life,
no one comes to the Father, but through Me. (Joh 14:6)
I am
the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he
dies. (Joh 11:25)
The one who comes to Me I will certainly not
cast out. (Joh 6:37)
Come to Me, all who are weary and
heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. (Mat 11:28)
And there is Salvation in no one else, for
there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we
must be saved. (Act 4:12)
Over
and over again God declares in His Word that it is His will for all members of
the human race to believe in His Son; Jesus Christ bore the sins of every human
being. (1Jn 2:2) He paid the penalty for sin in full,
redeeming mankind from the slave market of sin. (Gal 3:13) When He cried out on the cross, “It is finished,” (Joh 19:30)
Salvation was accomplished. Appropriation by faith is the only condition for
doing the will of God in Salvation.
For by grace you have been saved through faith,
and that [Salvation] not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result
of works, that no one should boast. (Eph 2:8-9)
He who believes in the Son has eternal life;
but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life,
but the wrath of God abides on him. (Joh 3:36)
After the unbeliever enters into the will of
God through Salvation there are other general Directives of God’s will that
define the Spiritual life of every believer.
SANCTIFACTION
It is the will of God that all believers be
sanctified.
For this is the will of God, your
sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; [Mentally and
physically] (1Th 4:3)
“Sanctification” here means to be set apart unto God by being in fellowship with
the Lord, so that you will be
under His direction, ready to serve Him in any way, under any and every
circumstance! There are three
different kinds of sanctification in the Bible.
1. Positional sanctification signifies that every believer at the moment of Salvation acquires
the absolute status quo of being set apart in Christ Jesus. (1Co 1:2; Heb 10:10; Col 2:10) At the moment a
person believes in Christ as Savior, he is entered into union with Christ; he
shares all that Christ has and IS; he is a partaker of the Divine nature. (2Pe 1:4)
2. Experiential sanctification is the function of the Spiritual life after Salvation, that
involves the believer’s Spiritual growth by means of the filling of God the
Holy Spirit and Operation Z. (Eph 5:26) The key to being
sanctified in phase two is the proper use of, (1Jn 1:9) and learning Truth. This produces Spiritual maturity!
3. Ultimate sanctification is the absolute status quo of the mature believer in his
resurrection body, in the eternal state. (1Co 15:35-54;
Php 3:21; 1Jn 3:2) They will be set
apart unto God for all eternity. And are assured of living in God’s presence
forever. (Rev 3:12)
Since sanctification is used in three different ways, we must always ask
the question, How is sanctification used in the context of, (1Th 4:3) ? The answer is very
simple. Since the will of God
is the issue of phase two, it is God’s will for us while we are on earth, to be
in fellowship with the Lord and experientially
“set apart” unto Him.
For this is the will of God, your
sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each of
you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor. (1Th 4:3-4)
“That you abstain” introduces a purpose
clause that begins to amplify some of the Principles in connection with
sanctification. The “vessel” here is analogous to the body of a believer, (Act 9:15; 2Co 4:7; 2Ti 2:20-22)
that is permanently indwelt by God the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit makes the
believer’s body a temple for the indwelling Jesus Christ. Since the believer’s
body is the temple of God, he should glorify God, and this can only be done in
the power of the filling of God the Holy Spirit.
Or do you not know that your body is a
temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you
are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God
in your body. (1Co 6:19-20)
SPIRITUALITY
It is the will of God that we are to be
controlled--filled with God the Holy Spirit.
And do not get drunk with wine, for that is
dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit. (Eph 5:18)
The filling of God the Holy Spirit excludes
human morality (Carnality) and provides the basis
for producing Virtue. (Gal 5:22-23) No matter what Christian activity we may engage in — praying,
giving, attending church, witnessing — if we are out of fellowship, at best it is human morality. (Psa 39:5) It is not the will of God to operate in degeneracy and or human
morality, for both are obscene to Him (Pro 6:16-19;
Isa 64:6; Rom 8:8)
THANKSGIVING
It
is the will of God that we give thanks in everything.
Thanksgiving is an expression of worship
toward God that increases in capacity with the believer’s advance to Spiritual
maturity. Gratitude is expressed
through a moment-by-moment mental attitude arising from Truth in the right lobe
of the soul, (Psa 138:1-2) and through prayer. (Eph 5:20; Php 4:6; Col 4:2)
In everything give thanks; for this is God’s
will for you in Christ Jesus. (1Th 5:18)
You are to be thankful, no matter what happens
in your life! This can be quite a
problem since everything that comes into your life is not pleasant. In fact, there is going to be a great deal of
suffering, temptation, heartache, testing, adversity, trial, and tribulation.
But you need not be concerned, for there is a specific Promise for the
suffering of believers in Spiritual maturity or on the road to Spiritual maturity.
And we know that God causes all things to work together for
good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. (Rom 8:28)
If
you are positive to the Word of God and taking in Truth consistently, on a
daily basis, suffering can only be a
blessing for you! All things are not
good, far from it. But for the Spiritual believer, “God causes all things to work together for
good.” (Even our failures)
All things in your life are not pleasant, but all things still work together
for good; and since they do, it is God’s will that you thank the Lord for
everything that comes into your life — the suffering, the adversities, the trials and heartaches; as well
as the blessings, the successes and victories. Remember, suffering is designed to bless the Spiritual believer. (Rom 8:17-18)
Even the suffering of discipline is a blessing, for it is God’s warning that
you are not in His will; and He is reminding you to rebound and keep advancing.
If you are to do the will of God, and if you are to be guided by the Lord, you
must acquire knowledge of Truth to provide capacity for suffering. Only the believer with Truth in his soul can
truly appreciate suffering as a form of blessing from the Lord. Do you,
as a Christian, have the mature capacity to thank the Lord for every
disagreeable thing that happened to you today? Do you have the capacity to
thank the Lord for the heartaches, the problems, the difficulties? Capacity for this phase of Christian living comes only from
positive volition to Truth and then learning and applying that Truth. Only then
will you have capacity for all the suffering, as well as for the blessings, the
victories, and the successes in your life.
SUFFERING
It is the will of God that we suffer.
For it is better, if God should will it so,
that you suffer for doing what is right [For blessing]
rather than for doing what is wrong. [For discipline or
punishment] (1Pe 3:17)
Although there are many factors in this particular Concept, when you
understand that the purpose of suffering is blessing, then
you begin to realize that God has a reason for it all.
If it is God’s will for
you to suffer, then ultimately you will be blessed
in suffering.
Therefore, let those also who suffer
according to the will of God [Suffering for blessing in Spiritual maturity]
entrust their souls to a faithful Creator [The Lord Jesus Christ] in doing what
is right. (1Pe 4:19)
God
is always faithful to us even through suffering. Undeserved suffering is one
way of directing our attention to the things that are important in life — fellowship with God, learning the Word, growing
in grace, etc. Suffering honors Christ
by proving the Reality of our faith,
(Spiritual life) (1Pe 1:7) by developing
obedience to His will (Heb
5:8-9) and perseverance and
confidence in the Spiritual life, (Rom 5:3) and by restraining
arrogance. (2Co 12:6-10)
TRUSTING
It is the will of God for every believer to
trust the Lord.
Trust
in the Lord with all your heart, [Right lobe of the soul]
And do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways [Thoughts] acknowledge
Him, And He will make your Paths [Thinking]
straight.
(Pro 3:5-6)
Do not depend on the human thinking of life, but rather on the Divine or Biblical Viewpoint, (God's Thinking)
trusting the Lord and His Thoughts in every situation! Do you want God to guide you? Do you want Him
to direct your path, to lead you along the way? Then here is how: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart!” The pure Thoughts of Truth, not the deceptive thoughts of man, are the basis for Divine guidance. Do not depend on your own
understanding; do not depend on human viewpoint; do not depend on the thinking
of other people. (Isa 65:2; Jer 16:12; Jer 18:12;
Jer 23:17; Joh 2:24-25)
Think with Divine
Viewpoint in everything and He will direct your life. He will always guide you. There will never be a time when He will let you down — not even once!
GOOD
WORKS
It is the will of God for every believer
to produce Divine good. (Virtue) (Gal 5:22-23)
For such is the will of God that by doing
right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. (1Pe 2:15)
Here
we see that “doing right,” or
producing Divine good, is the will of God. Believers are left on this earth to
represent and glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. Part of representing Him is to be effective in the realm of
production, which is the natural by-product of Spiritual maturity, Just as there is no place for human morality in Salvation, (Eph 2:8-9)
there is no place for human morality in the Spiritual life! (2Ti 3:5)
After Salvation, God provides the assets
whereby we can glorify and serve Him, whereby we can represent Him effectively
as ambassadors for Christ.
Therefore, it is the
will of God for the believer to produce Virtue. However, all such production
must be in the power and filling of God the Holy Spirit.
TYPES
OF THE WILL OF GOD
Three classifications of will
exist in history. First, Divine will or the sovereignty of God; which exists eternally, apart from the will of any creature.
Second, demonic will is the basis for the angelic conflict. Demonic
will seeks to interfere with human history in an attempt to hinder Divine will.
To that purpose, Satan
seeks to influence and undermine the Salvation of unbelievers and to entice believers to ignore God’s Word, (Gen 3:4) thereby preventing their advance to Spiritual
maturity. Satan is also in the business of keeping believers from reaching the
correct geographical location.
(1Th 2:18)
Third, human will was created to resolve the angelic conflict. God has given free will to mankind and He does
not violate that free will. That
is why some people are never saved. God permits unbelievers and believers to
make decisions, whether or not they are compatible with His desire for them.
The story of Balaam reveals three types of Divine will and how His will
interacts with human will and neutralizes satanic will.
DIRECTIVE
WILL OF GOD
The
directive will of God is the same as the desire of God. His Directives are
Commands and prohibitions: “Do this! Don’t do this!”
And God said to Balaam, Do not go with them;
you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed. (Num 22:12)
Balak, King of Moab, wanted to hire Balaam to curse the Jews so the
Moabites could defeat them. God’s will for Balaam was to refuse to go with the
messengers from Balak: “Do not go with
them, you shall not curse the people.” Hence, God’s directive will
prohibited Balaam from accompanying them.
PERMISSIVE
WILL OF GOD
The
permissive will of God means that God allows man to make decisions and allows
certain things to happen even though they are not His desire. God does not
coerce human volition. Balaam had decided to go contrary to God’s directive
will. Balaam was operating on
materialism lust from his old sin nature; since Balaam was determined to become
rich, he desperately wanted the fee from Balak for cursing the Jews. Wealth was more important to Balaam than submitting to the will of
God. Therefore, he used his negative volition to disobey the will of God.
And God came to Balaam at night and said to
him, If the men have come to call you, rise up and go with them; but only the
word which I Speak to you shall you do. (Num 22:20)
The
fact that God permitted Balaam to go indicates Divine recognition of free will.
If God had violated the free will of Balaam, then God would not be glorified by
such forcing. In grace, God sought to discourage Balaam’s abstinence. But once
Balaam went on negative signals, God stood aside and permitted him to go. However, God will be glorified and His plan
for human history is always accomplished in spite of the hostile decisions of
man. (Psa 76:10)
God disciplines for disobedience, but He does not force obedience. While the righteousness
of God did not violate Balaam’s human volition, the justice of God disciplined
Balaam. God’s discipline was a demonstration of His love for Balaam to motivate
him to get back into God’s will (Pro 3:12; Heb 12:6)
OVERRULING
WILL OF GOD
The overruling will of God means that Jesus
Christ controls history.
But God was angry because he [Balaam] was
going, and the angel of the LORD took his stand in the way as an adversary
against him. Then the LORD put a word in Balaam’s mouth and said, Return to
Balak, and you shall speak thus. Then Balak said to Balaam, What have you done
to me? I took you to curse my enemies, but behold, you have actually blessed
them! And he [Balaam] answered and said, Must I not be careful to speak what
the LORD puts in my mouth? Then Balak said to Balaam, Do not curse them at all nor
bless them at all But Balaam answered and said to Balak, Did I not tell you, Whatever the LORD speaks,
that I must do? (Num 22:22; Num 23:5-26)
Balaam was not permitted to curse the Jews for several reasons. First of
all, the discipline and judgment of Israel is always a Divine prerogative. Second, Balaam’s curse would have been equivalent
to anti-Semitism, (Gen 12:1-3) which involves Satan and
demons as well as negative human volition. Under God’s overruling will, in keeping with His Promise of, (Gen 12:2) He exercises His Divine sovereignty to protect His people from
satanic action. Consequently, Balaam was hindered from cursing the Jews.
The directive will of God is the exercise of
His sovereignty, which would not allow Israel to be cursed.
The permissive will of God involves the negative
volition of a human being, in this case, Balaam.
The overruling will of God involves Divine
frustration of satanic will. Satan desired to curse Israel, but God would not
permit it.
However, Balaam will pay the highest price that
a believer can pay for his disobedience; by returning for the money, and
showing Balak how to stop Israel. (Num 31:16; Num 31:8; Jude 1:11-13;
Rev 2:14)
THE
MECHANICS OF DIVINE GUIDANCE
(Act 11:5-16)
How does God actually go about guiding people? The story of Peter and Cornelius emphasizes eight mechanics of
Divine guidance. By way of background, in, (Act 11:1-4)
the Jewish believers in Jerusalem had received news that Peter had preached the
Gospel to the Gentiles. (v. 1) When Peter returned to Jerusalem from the house
of Cornelius in Caesarea, they questioned him about the gentile Pentecost. (v.
2) These legalistic believers opposed and criticized Peter for eating with
uncircumcised Gentiles who did not observe Jewish dietary Laws. (v. 3) Peter
explained the situation by describing retrospectively (Thinking back) what had
happened in Caesarea and Joppa. (v. 4) As he recounts these events, factors in
God’s guidance become apparent.
GUIDANCE
THROUGH PRAYER
Peter relates his experience:
I was in the city of Joppa praying;
and in a trance I saw a vision. (Act 11:5)
The
believer has a legitimate right to ask God for guidance, for clarification in
prayer. Guidance through prayer is authentic only when a believer is confronted
with a situation which is not specified by some direct statement of the Bible.
For example, it is not necessary for a believer to pray for guidance in regard
to marrying an unbeliever because the Bible specifically forbids this. (2Co 6:14) However, we certainly may seek God’s guidance through prayer in
the matter of: if, when, who, and what believer we should marry if any. (1Co 7:28-35) There are many times when we as believers may go to the throne
of grace “that we may receive mercy, and
may find grace to help in time of need.” (Heb 4:16) Often this is a time
when we need guidance in a particular matter, and God provides that guidance as
we seek it through prayer. (Mat
21:22)
How
are we guided through prayer? Through
the Divine Thoughts, and circumstances we have accumulated in our lives; and by
God the Holy Spirit bringing them to our remembrance. (Joh 14:26) They are not direct answers from the outward voice of God. But He
also may answer in unexpected ways. He may answer the desire of our request but
not our specific petition. But
if we trust that an answer will be supplied and apply Truth from our souls, we
will discover His guidance in the matter. A “door” will either open wide or shut; we will either get a bump
on our head as the door slams, or have a smile on our face as we walk through
the door.
GUIDANCE
THROUGH THE HUMAN SPIRIT OF THE SOUL
And when I had fixed my gaze upon it and was
observing it. [Katanoeo] (Act 11:6)
Katanoeo, “observing,” in the imperfect active indicative means “to
ponder something very carefully in your MIND!” God always leads in compliance with His Word, never contrary to
His Word. Guidance comes through the Word of God, which must be assimilated;
for the teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit is operative only through
knowledge of Truth. The two are related by: (Rom 8:14) “For
all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”
[Spiritually Mature sons] The more we know about the Word of God, the
more we Understand the Thought's of God.
Were it not for Truth in Peter’s human spirit,
he would not have gone to Caesarea. In Caesarea he Pondered on the things that he saw, and he recognized God’s will through associating the situation
with his knowledge of the Word. Peter observed and evaluated from Divine Viewpoint that Church Age
believers were no longer governed by the dietary Laws of the Mosaic Law. (Act 11:6-10) Therefore, he ate with the Gentiles. Under the Concept of Divine guidance, God
intends for the believer to use the mentality of the right lobe of the soul to
discern His will; in any and every
situation in life.
GUIDANCE
THROUGH REPETITION
This happened three times, and everything was
drawn back up into the sky. (Act 11:10)
GUIDANCE
THROUGH GOD'S WORD
I
also heard a voice saying to me... (Act 11:7)
Before the canon of Scripture was completed, there were several ways in
which God communicated with believers. There was direct communication, known as
the Spoken Word, “Thus says the Lord;”
dreams, trances, visions, Old Testament preaching, and Old Testament Scripture
were other ways in which God guided His people. Peter was guided through Divine
Revelation, which in this case, during the unique pre-canon period of the
Church Age; was a trance in which Instructions were given directly by God. (Act 11:5) But now we receive our
Instructions through the completed canon of Scripture! (1Co 13:10)
GUIDANCE
THROUGH PROVIDENTIAL CIRCUMSTANCES
And behold, at that moment
three men appeared before the house in which we were staying, having been sent
to me from Caesarea. (Act 11:11)
Three men had made the day’s journey from Caesarea to the house in Joppa
where Peter was “staying.” Their arrival established a providential
circumstance. The work of God is
often called providence by which He molds all events into the fulfillment of
His eternal purpose! (Deut 32:39) But we must be careful in interpreting these circumstances; they
can be deceptive. Sometimes circumstances are to test us with regard to knowing
the Word of God. (Luk 4:10-12) If a door opens that is contrary to God’s Word and we walk
through, it demonstrates that we do not
believe and Think with the Thoughts of His Word. However, there are many cases where God opens
doors and guides believers through providential circumstances, and this is a
bona fide type of guidance.
GUIDANCE
THROUGH THE FILLING OF GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT
And
the Spirit told me to go with them [To Caesarea] without
doubtfulness... (Act 11:12)
This
was direct Revelation from God the Holy Spirit in a “vision” that led Peter to Caesarea. But today, the Holy
Spirit never guides the believer apart from His filling ministry and the
written Revelation of the Bible. The Holy Spirit cannot
guide the believer when he grieves or quenches Him. (1Th 5:19; Eph 4:30) Again we have the
necessity for the filling of God the Holy Spirit. We must understand that the will of God is
that we be habitually filled with God the Holy Spirit. (Eph 5:17-18)
Then, we can begin to
Understand His plan for each of us individually.
GUIDANCE
THROUGH COMPARISON OF EVENTS
Cornelius held the key to Peter’s vision. When Peter arrived at the
house of Cornelius, an event occurred that led to Peter’s further guidance. We
have a verification of the situation in, (Act 11:15).
The Holy Spirit fell upon them, [Cornelius
and his gentile friends] just as He did upon us [The Jews] at the beginning?
[Day of Pentecost] (Act
11:15)
By
connecting the development of Pentecost in Jerusalem to the phenomenon that Peter witnessed
in the “house” of Cornelius, (v. 13) this similarity confirmed to him that gentile believers were just as much in the
Church as Jewish believers. God’s plan was for both Jew and Gentile to share an
identical position in Christ in the new dispensation called the New Covenant
Church Age. This is further substantiated by, (Rom 1:16; Col 3:10-11).
GUIDANCE
THROUGH RECALLING SCRIPTURE
And
I remembered the Word of the Lord. (Act 11:16)
Peter did not review the sermons he spoke in Caesarea with the people in
Jerusalem. He did not go into great detail in reciting the events; but he did make it very clear that he remembered
the Words which Jesus spoke in:
(Act 1:4-5) “For
John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not
many days from now.” [On Pentecost]
As Peter recalled this, it contributed
considerably to his guidance from God — to his Understanding
that both Jewish and gentile believers had received the power to live the
unique Spiritual life of the New Covenant Church Age. (Act 1:8) Again Peter was guided because he had Scripture
in his right lobe, and God the Holy Spirit reminded him at the proper time.
CONCLUSION
Let us go back to some basic Principles: It is the will of God
that all members of the human race be saved. He is “...not wishing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance.”
[A change of mind] (2Pe 3:9) “And this is His
Commandment,
that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, [Reach
Spiritual maturity] just as He Commanded
us.” (1Jn 3:23)
Perhaps at this very moment you are trying to decide for yourself: Am I
in a position to do the will of God? If you have not received Christ as your
Savior, then that question must have a negative answer. Can you do the will of
God? No person on the face of this earth can do the will of God until he
believes in Jesus Christ. The very first time in your life when you accomplish
God’s will, is that moment when you personally believe in the Lord Jesus
Christ, receiving Him as your Savior.
But as many as received Him, to them He gave
the right [Power, ability] to become children of God, even to those who believe
in His name. (Joh 1:12)
Jesus Christ did all of the work in Salvation. There is nothing we can do. There is no
energy-of-the-flesh activity; there is no human deed or work which can be added
to this “how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?” (Heb 2:3) God the Father is the
author of the plan of Salvation, and God the Father is perfect. Since God the
Father is perfect, His plan is perfect, but if in any point of the plan man and his energy-of-the-flesh
works enter into the picture, then it is no longer the perfect plan of God.
Therefore, man’s deeds cannot in any way be involved in Salvation, or Spiritual
maturity! All of the work has already been accomplished
by Jesus Christ on the Cross. He was judged for our sins. He took our place.
And He Himself bore our sins in His body on
the Cross. so that we might die to sin [The old sin nature]
and live to righteousness; [The Divine nature]
for by His wounds you were healed. (1Pe 2:24)
As far as the east is from the west, So far
has He removed our transgressions from us. (Psa 103:12)
There is nothing we can add, there is nothing we can take from this
incomparable Salvation. Since it was accomplished two thousand years ago, there
is nothing left for us today but to enter into the plan by faith alone. Jesus
says, “I am the door; if any one enters
through Me, he shall be saved...” (Joh 10:9) You can enter only
through the Lord Jesus Christ. Entering this door is a simple matter. It means
simply to believe in Jesus Christ as your Savior.
But These [Thoughts] have been written that
you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing
you may have life in His name. (Joh 20:31)
If you desire eternal Salvation, if you want the
forgiveness and purification of pre-Salvation sins — all the sins committed
before Salvation — and the Promise of
forgiveness and purification of post-Salvation sins through rebound. (1Jn 1:9) If you want Divine guidance to do the will of
God, you must begin at this point:
Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you shall be
saved... (Act 16:31)
As a
believer in Jesus Christ, you are free to pursue the individual plan of God for
your life as you are guided by Him. To summarize the Principles of Divine
guidance, first and foremost, we must have the power to execute the will of
God; God’s will cannot be executed in the energy of the flesh. (Rom 8:8) This is humanly
impossible. The only way to do the will of God is through
the power of the filling of God the Holy Spirit. “All who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”
(Rom 8:14) This is the Concept of
submission to the will of God. As
a result of being filled with God the Holy Spirit, through the Principle of, (1Jn 1:9) we can submit to God’s will, not just when we know it but even
before we know it. In other words, we are
here to do His will and, therefore, we are willing to do His will. (Joh 7:17) Second, the will of God is contained in one
book, the Word of God. We must know the Word of God to do the will of God. Finally,
Spiritual growth and Spiritual maturity are essential in Understanding and accomplishing the will of
God. Add to this the
Mandates, categories, and mechanics of Divine guidance, and we have the
fundamentals for executing the will of God.
This
study constitutes the general Biblical Concept of guidance and gives an overall
appreciation of the subject; but it does not tell you what to do in each
specific case. This must be determined from your individual application of
Truth, and Principles in the Word of God. Divine guidance is a matter of Understanding the Biblical Commands
that impart God’s will, growing to Spiritual maturity, and depending on the
Lord to Reveal the details of His will for your life.
For such is God, Our
God forever and ever; He will guide us until death. (Psa 48:14)
END
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