Articles
“Seeking God's Will”
…When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me. And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.
John 8:28-29
As a fully human being, Jesus possessed his own will, the power of choice to either do what he wanted or to submit to God. Part of the good news is that he sought his Father’s will not his own (Jn. 4:34; 5:19, 30; 12:44-50, etc.). He never spoke or acted on his own initiative but submitted to the Father’s authority. When Christ came into the world, he said, “Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.” (Heb. 10:7)
Jesus came not only to do the will of God but to announce the good news of God’s reign (Mt. 4:23; Isa. 52:7). The kingdom is about God’s rule and his will being done (Mt. 6:10). God’s rule and his will are inseparable. To say, “Not as I will, but as you will,” (Mt. 26:39) is to submit to God’s authority as King. Knowing God’s will is vital if we are to carry it out. God has revealed his will in Scripture and Jesus has shown us what seeking God’s will looks like. The question, “Whose will am I seeking?” is the same as asking, “Who am I trying to please?” or “Who is enthroned as King in my life?”
Jesus sought his Father’s will (Jn. 4:34), sought to please his Father (Jn. 8:29) and, though being equal with God, divested himself of his divine prerogatives and voluntarily submitted himself to his Father’s authority (Phil. 2:3-11). In doing so, Jesus showed us the way of righteousness and blessing (Psa. 1). Disciples can and do please God by living under his authority and seeking his will like Jesus (1 Cor. 6:19-20; 2 Cor. 5:9; Col. 1:10; 2 Tim. 2:4).
However, seeking someone else’s will other than our own, even God’s perfect will, is difficult. Paul urges Christians to set their mind on the Spirit because “the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” (Rom. 8:5-8) And again, the “desires of the flesh are against the Spirit.” (Gal. 5:16-17)
When Paul speaks of walking “according to the flesh” or being “in the flesh” he is speaking about living in opposition to God. The “flesh” is Paul’s shorthand for the part of us that still struggles in rebellion against God. Therefore, to live “according to the flesh” is to live according to our will and our desires instead of God’s will and God’s desires. This has been the human condition since Genesis 3.
The battle between the flesh and the Spirit (Gal. 5) is ongoing for the Christian. Which will win out as the dominating influence, the ruling power that calls the shots, is up to us. However, it is a battle that, without Jesus, we are bound to lose (Rom. 7:24-25). Jesus has freed us from our slavery to the flesh. In him, we can now live by God’s Spirit (Rom. 8). Whereas the “flesh” was controlled by sin and rebelled against God, living by God’s “Spirit” means being free to live in obedience to God’s good will which the Spirit revealed.
Jesus won the battle by submitting to his Father’s will and going to the cross to give himself for us. Through his self-sacrifice we can be completely cleansed of sin and given new hearts that desire to obey God (Ezek. 36:26-27). We hope in Jesus, who overcame temptation and lived by the Spirit as a human (Heb. 2:17-18; 4:15-16), who lived a life fully pleasing to God by completely surrendering his will to the Father. As his disciples, we are to emulate his example so that we can overcome sin and live a blessed life (1 Pet. 2:21).
Who are you trying to please in life? Whose will are you seeking? Who is ruling as your king? In Christ, we are free from “the flesh.” That is, we are free from being led by our corrupt desires, obeying our every impulse and taking our cues from our morally confused culture. Instead, in Jesus, we can walk by the Spirit.
