The will of God

For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day (John 6:38-39)

It is truly important that we do not abuse the phrase “the will of God” in our daily casual talks. The will of God is the ground and crown of what Jesus has done. Let us find out more of the will of God as exemplified by Jesus.

For I have come down…the will of him who sent me      

1. The purpose of Jesus’ coming into the world is to do what God wants
2. Doing the will of God is integral to the mission of Jesus (“him who sent me”)
3. Being committed to doing the will of God, Jesus denies his own will
   1. No wonder Jesus taught us to deny ourselves so as to follow him
   2. Therefore, our way of life must be simply how Jesus wants us to live
4. With the consciousness of being sent, Jesus lives up to the will of God

And this is the will of him…that I should lose nothing of all…

1. Jesus is not only conscious of the will of God but also committed to doing it
2. More than that, he is fully aware of what that will of God is (“this is the will of him…that I should lose nothing of all”)
3. God’s will, for Jesus, is to lose none of us God has given him (John 10:28)
4. Jesus seeks to do everything to reconcile us to God (Colossians 1:20)

But raise it up on the last day

1. The doctrine of resurrection was inchoate in the Old Testament
   1. The story of Abraham and Isaac (Genesis 22:5)
   2. The future hope of all the saints (Daniel 12:1-3)
2. Jesus claimed that he is the resurrection and life (John 11:25)
3. Jesus has proven to us that he has risen and lives beyond the grave
   1. As the Scriptures foretold (1 Cor.15:3-4)
   2. As God endorsed Jesus by signs and wonders (Hebrews 2:1-4)
   3. As the eye-witnesses proved to us by miracles (Heb.2:1-4)
   4. As the gifts of the Holy Spirit testify (Heb.2:1-4)
4. This is how ‘Jesus the Christ who is in us is the hope of glory’ (Col.1:27)
5. That we will be raised up for eternal blessedness is part and parcel of the will of God (see also John 6:40)
6. The same thing is true of ‘those believing in Jesus’ as in John 6:40.

CHALLENGES TO TAKE UP

Let us direct ourselves to the will of God following the example of the psalmist (Psalm 119:5). Let us seek to take the will of God revealed in the Bible as our way of life!