Topical Studies
What the Bible says about
Asking According to God's Will
(From Forerunner Commentary)
Joshua 9:3-15
Though in a subservient position, the Gibeonites could still influence God's people, and their gods eventually ensnared the Israelites. Through deception, Joshua's exception to God's command to drive out the Canaanites set a precedent that allowed other pagan peoples to co-exist within Israel, ultimately leading to her downfall. In all these events, a tension exists between God's sovereignty and man's choice, between God's will and "free will." Within the Christian zeitgeist floats an idea that because God is sovereign, everything that takes place must be His will—that if He wanted something different, He would have caused that other course instead. Indeed, God is sovereign over all, and He does guide events according to His purpose. However, not everything happens because God has willed it, especially where sin is involved. We must differentiate between what God allows—a great deal!—and what He truly intends, desires, and enjoys. He has allowed countless sins that He could have prevented, yet Scripture rarely shows Him preventing someone from sinning or acting foolishly. He clearly does not intend or take pleasure in sin, but He allows it. He says to choose life—that is His will—but allows us to choose death (Deuteronomy 30:15-20). The events relating to the Gibeonites show that God allows matters that do not please Him to play out. Though they are not what He intends, He will still bring about His purpose despite them. We must be careful about ascribing human behavior—especially human sin—to God, concluding that it must be God's will, or it would be different. As we know, the ends do not justify the means. When it comes to doing God's will, how we do things can be just as important as what we accomplish. Cain concluded that one offering was as good as another, but God rejected it. Nadab and Abihu thought any fire would work for God's altar, and they died instantly and shockingly. How we do things determines whether God accepts the result—whether it is truly what He desires and pleases Him or whether He forebears as He does with countless other acts. How we act affects what we produce.
David C. Grabbe
Joshua and the Gibeonites (Part Three)
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Matthew 6:9
A Christian's relationship with God is rightly analogous to that of a human child with his human father. The Bible describes a process of spiritual growth from birth to maturity (and ultimately glorification) that the Father begins through a summons to His Son (John 6:44). Christ then works to bring us to belief and repentance to the point that we accept Him as our Savior and commit to a life of submission to God. God then gives us His Spirit. When this occurs, regeneration happens (see Titus 3:5); it is a new birth—a new man is created (see Colossians 3:10), born spiritually into true life (Romans 6:4; I Peter 3:18). The recent convert begins to learn and grow—just like a human baby—striving to mature “to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13). The apostle John puts it slightly differently: “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and . . . whatever is born of God overcomes the world” (I John 5:1, 4; see John 16:33). Like a human father, God the Father cares for His children, providing them the benefits they need to thrive in their new life (Psalm 103:1-14; see I Peter 5:7, 10; II Peter 1:2-4). Jesus promises, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. . . . Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full” (John 16:23-24).
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
The Model Prayer (Part Two): Our Father in Heaven
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Matthew 8:26-27
Jesus' awestruck disciples receive newfound understanding of the power and glory of their Lord and Master. His power definitely impresses them, but His faithfulness, peace, and the rest of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) are what truly awed them. This miracle brings them in reverence, wonder, and godly fear before Him. Christ shows that the power of the earthly elements is dwarfed by the mighty word of the Lord, and it stirs them deeply. This reveals what the full measure of God's Spirit can accomplish through a faithful human being. Jesus explains to His disciples in Mark 11:23-24: For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, "Be removed and be cast into the sea," and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. We should understand that this promise stands firm for us too, if we ask according to the will of God (I John 5:14-15).
Martin G. Collins
The Miracles of Jesus Christ: Stilling a Storm
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Matthew 9:28
In Matthew 9:28, Jesus asks the two blind men seeking healing, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" Christ's challenge concerns their faith. If faith is present, miraculous healing will occur according to God's will. If it is absent, God will grant no healing. A person of faith receives preferential treatment, and in fact, faith is so important to God that His Word declares, "Without faith it is impossible to please Him" (Hebrews 11:6). The blind men answer Christ's challenge with outstanding, genuine faith, saying, "Yes, Lord." In the Greek, this is a strong affirmation, carrying a tone of certainty. The men had no doubt that Christ could heal them, unlike many people today. They believed Jesus was the son of David, indicating that, though they were blind, God had begun to open their minds. These men faced many disadvantages that worked against producing faith, but they still trusted Christ in impressive ways. Those who—unjustifiably—excuse their lack of faith because of life's difficulties hinder their spiritual growth. Many with handicaps and weaknesses have come to have faithful relationships with Christ.
Martin G. Collins
The Miracles of Jesus Christ: Healing Two Blind Men (Part Two)
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Matthew 16:1-4
Who asked for a sign? Who asked for a miracle? Those whose hearts were farthest from Him, the unbelieving, the hecklers, the critics. These people cared nothing for the real Jesus, so they occasionally became the objects of His scathing denunciations. He calls them "hypocrites" for asking for a sign. Those who ask for signs or seek miracles, who put out the fleece like Gideon did (showing a glaring lack of faith), are actually casting insults on the Word of God. They are calling it into question. They are profaning His name, calling Him a liar because, if He says He will do something, and it is impossible for Him to lie, He will do it! This can be very sobering. It brings to mind an advertisement that used to appear on television every once in awhile featuring a stern-looking woman dressed in a gown, who said, "It's not nice to fool Mother Nature!" and then thunder pealed! God, surely, takes our immaturity into account, but it is not nice to call Him into question. That is tempting Him. If He says He will do something, He will do it, according to His will. Therefore, calling for a miracle often characterizes carnality, not spirituality. The next question, then, has to be, "Will not God work a miracle in answer to a prayer?" He makes a great many promises, such as healing, which is indeed a miracle. Will He perform a miracle for us? Yes, He will. But if we search His Word, we find more than a dozen qualifications for answered prayer, not just a couple. Some of them are of major importance, some of lesser importance, and He does not require that every qualification be met perfectly. Even so, divine healing in response to answered prayer is not automatic. Whether or not God grants our request seems to boil down to three broad areas—four, actually, but three of them fall on us. One is the way we are living. A second is the understanding involved in the request. The third is the attitude in which the request is made. When those three are combined with God's will, the answer becomes clear: He will do it. However, He will do it in His time and in a way that will give credence to His Word, to His truth, to His purpose.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Is God a Magician?
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Matthew 21:21-22
The miracle of Christ's withering of the fig tree reveals His divine and human natures. As God, He withered the tree in judgment. As Man, He needed the sleep His friends' home in Bethany provided as well as the tree's food to sustain Him, as “He was hungry.” Although He could have satisfied His hunger with a miracle, He showed self-restraint in the use of His supernatural power to teach a valuable lesson to His disciples. He would not use it to provide for His personal wants or for those of His disciples. Nor would He work a miracle just to impress others. He would not do so to increase His earthly influence or power or to terrorize people into accepting His teaching. If a need could be fulfilled by human effort, or if lessons would be useful, Jesus would do no miracle. Self-restraint requires faith. Jesus withered the fig tree to teach His disciples a lesson in faith because, if they had genuine faith in God, they would not only be able to affect nature miraculously as Jesus did with the tree, but also move mountains (Matthew 17:20). If they truly believed and asked according to God's will, they would receive whatever they prayed for.
Martin G. Collins
The Miracles of Jesus Christ: The Withering of a Fig Tree
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Matthew 26:39
A number of years ago, bumper stickers proudly bearing the motto, "God is my co-pilot," became popular. A short time later, astute individuals began promoting an answer to this pithy saying: "If God is your co-pilot, switch seats!" This vignette shows two sides of the same coin. On the one hand, we are most comfortable leading the way in whatever charge captures our fancy at the time, trusting—often erroneously—that God is right there with us. On the other hand is the unassailable truth that, if God is not leading the charge, we are in the wrong role—and dabbling with disaster. Allowing God to direct our lives, without continually advising, complaining, recommending, suggesting, and giving input on the details, goes against the natural inclination within us. Yet, experience has taught us that it is only when we finally give up, ceding sovereignty to the Almighty—who really had it all along—that things begin moving. Ultimately, matters work out far better with God in control than anything we could accomplish with our limited vision. Truly, the crucial first step on the journey—surrendering—is most often the hardest. A man can be nominally obedient to God's instructions, yet still not be surrendered to the rule of God. The story of Jonah is about such a man, a prophet who grudgingly complies but never truly surrenders to God's will. Just three verses into the book, he is fleeing from God's presence rather than yielding to His instructions. God sends a mighty tempest to create a crisis, a point of decision on the part of Jonah and the sailors (Jonah 1:4-16). To a degree, Jonah surrenders when he instructs the sailors to cast him overboard, yet it appears to be the capitulation of a man giving up on life rather than giving his life in obedience (Jonah 1:12). When God commands Jonah a second time, he complies, preaching the message God gave him for the Ninevites (Jonah 3:1-4). However, he becomes angry when God's Word—through him—accomplishes its purpose, and Nineveh repents (see Isaiah 55:11). Jonah is obedient in terms of following orders, but he does not surrender to God's will when things turn out differently than he expects. As when he was on the ship, he would have rather died than live with circumstances that were not to his liking (Jonah 4:3, 8-9). Up to the abrupt ending of the book, we see a nominally obedient Jonah, yet a man never fully surrendered to the rule of God. The last we see of him, he is in despair over a life that is not according to his terms. In stark contrast to Jonah is Jesus Christ. He did not seek His own will, but that of the Father (John 5:30). He always did what pleased the Father (John 8:29)—not merely obeying, but surrendering to His Sovereign. He taught His followers to pray, "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Luke 11:2). The night before He surrendered His life for us, He plaintively told His Father, "Not as I will, but as You will" (Matthew 26:39; Mark 14:36); "Your will be done" (Matthew 26:42); and ". . . nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done" (Luke 22:42). "I do not want to go through this," He said in essence, "but, Father, I surrender." The outcome of this supreme surrender to God's rule is without parallel. Not only have all things been put under Jesus Christ, but the way was opened for the blotting out of sin and the beginning of the restoration of the relationship between God and man that was fractured in the Garden of Eden. When a man cedes sovereignty to the Almighty, things begin moving and ultimately work out far better than anything that could be accomplished with limited human vision. The apostle Paul teaches in Ephesians 5:24 that "the church is subject to Christ." An ancillary meaning of this is that the church is composed of those who are subject to Christ. The church—the Body of Christ—consists of those who are subject to the rule of God in all of its implications and not merely grudgingly obedient. Those who are regenerated by the Father are those who, like their Elder Brother, regularly and continually come to the place in their lives where they say, "Father, I surrender. Not my will, but Yours, be done." When we truly give up, we tell God that we are finally ready for Him to act.
David C. Grabbe
Surrender
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Romans 12:2
Technically, discussion of personal will involves an individual's volition: the ability to make conscious choices and decisions, including communicating intentions (wishes, desires, plans) and issuing commands to make his will known. God created human beings in His image and likeness, and since men and women have personal wills, we can be sure that God does as well. As He is the Supreme Being, His will prevails in the universe. He has revealed His will throughout His Word, the Bible, and it will be done (Isaiah 55:11; Matthew 5:18; Hebrews 6:17). His will, then, is what God wants to occur both in His overarching purpose (see Ephesians 1:11; Revelation 21:1-7) as well as in individual lives (see Jeremiah 28:11; I Timothy 2:4). The apostle Paul assures Christians that God's will is “good and acceptable and perfect.” In one sense, our lives as servants of Christ, through a process of transformation of the mind from carnal to godly, are dedicated to discerning His will, realizing its wonders and benefits, and conforming to its demands until we share the mind and character of God (Hebrews 13:20-21). As Jesus says in John 7:17, “If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.”
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
The Model Prayer (Part Five): Your Will Be Done
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