Week 2 “Knowing and Doing the will of God”
To All, So what is the will of God that we should be doing?
Paul’s charge to the Thessalonians gives us a primary goal:
3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, 5 not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6 that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. 7 For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. 8 Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you. (1 Th 4:3–8)
So it is His expectation that we be sanctified. We already know from previous memory work that we are sanctified by the truth, His Word is truth (John 17:17).
We’ve already memorized Romans 12:1-2: Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
There is a pattern here that I think we need to understand before we can apply ‘the will of God is that you be sanctified’. The Israelites got this in the “Shema” Deut 6:4-5 “4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” They understood that to say you love the Lord with you heart and soul was always revealed in what you do. So to understand Paul’s charge to fulfill God’s will of being sanctified (1Thes 4:3-8) is always revealed in what you do with your body (Rom 12:1-2), in this case with your body. Not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God but in holiness and honor. So his direction to 11 chapters of theology and doctrine in Romans was revealed in loving God by presenting our bodies a living and holy sacrifice…this is our spiritual service of worship.
So are we being sanctified? Do our actions line up with what we say, or more importantly what He says. This is very convicting. I’d love to say they always do but then that would be lying and we know where God stands on that (remember the top 10, number 9 You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.)
I hope you know that it is God’s will that you be sanctified. So what is keeping us from being sanctified? Sin! Are you constantly in God’s Word having your heart’s thoughts and intentions exposed?
I hope you are convinced that it is for God’s glory in your best interests (your good) that you be sanctified.
