Salvation: the capacity to do the will of God!

Matthew 7 (Jesus’ word)
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.

Matthew 21 (Parable of Two Sons)
28 “But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go work today in the vineyard.’
29 “And he answered, ‘I will not’; but afterward he regretted it and went.
30 “The man came to the second and said the same thing; and he answered, ‘I will, sir’; but he did not go.
31 “Which of the two did the will of his father?” They *said, “The first.” Jesus *said to them, “Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you.

Mat 7:21 is best seen in the light of Mat 21:28-31, we understand that the Lordship of Jesus Christ requires the Christian to do the will of ‘God the Father’. If one calls upon the Lord Jesus while his life bears testament only to rebellion against the will of ‘God the Father’, this person remains among those the Gospel has invited but not among those God has chosen (Mat 22:1-14).

Having said this, it must be stated that the will of God is always carried out in the world to its nth degree precision and accuracy. Every man that has ever existed will either glorify God’s mercy & grace OR His wrath & justice. We know from the Bible that God being righteous and good does not delight in the punishment of the wicked (Ezek 18:23,32). So when the Lord Jesus teaches His Church concerning doing the will of His Father, He is teaching us to abide in His will of grace and mercy. This is precisely what we pray in the Lord’s Prayer, which Jesus taught in Matthew 6.

Mat 6
10 Let your kingdom come. Let your will be done on earth as it is done in heaven.

In understanding ‘His will be done on earth as it is in heaven’, we ought to know that we are asking God to grant us the capacity to act according to His will and good pleasure, espoused in His mercy and grace. It surely does not mean that His will is done lesser on earth as it is in heaven. To take you deeper into the subject and bring out an explanation, let us consider that when Satan fell, 1/3rd of the angels fell with him, these have been cast into this fallen world. So, in heaven the angels (2/3rd) who serve God are holy to the extent that they are slaves to righteousness. So when we pray that God let His will be done on earth as it is in heaven, what we are really saying is: Dear GOD, let Your will on earth be not mixed with wrath & justice because You do not delight in it but let Your will here on earth be of grace and mercy just as it is in heaven that we may be granted the capacity to serve as your holy angels. This precisely is the will of God for those who are His people, who yearn for holiness, being susceptible to sin only up to the point of death, when they are released from the final bondage of the flesh and made holy as the angels – slaves unto righteousness.

Luke 20
36 for they cannot even die anymore, because they are like angels, and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.

Now for those who have the question, as too what is the will of God! The answer is: obeying God’s Moral Law. This requires the believer to:
1. Love God foremost with all his strength even beyond the believer himself
2. Love his neighbour, whoever that may be (even his enemy Lk 10:26-37) just as the believer loves himself.

Psalms 40 (Old Testament)
8 I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your Law is within my heart.”

Romans 2 (New Testament)
13 for it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified.

It is important to note that God is sovereign to the extent that neither man nor angel can do His will, unless that man/angel is given the capacity to act according to the will of God. We see that in man, when Adam was created, God breathed life into him… meaning God granted him a living spirit of ‘God the Holy Spirit’… the giver of life (Nicene Creed). So Adam remained righteous until he took upon himself his own standard of righteousness which was separate from God and so Adam died in the spirit, thus losing his capacity to obey God perfectly. This is precisely why James 2:10, says that he who keeps all the law but yet remains disobedient to one, is considered guilty of all because even one sin is telling of a dead spirit, thanks to Adam. In Christ, the believer has more to rejoice over than the sorrowful onslaught of Adam. This happens for the reason that Christ’ perfect sacrifice purchased for the believer: Salvation, which even encompassed the grant of a living spirit unto the believer from ‘God the Holy Spirit’ (John 15:26). Unlike unfallen Adam, a believer’s salvation is not merited from himself but by Jesus Christ who paid the price in blood (Rev 5:9). From this transcends not only the obedience purchased for the believer through a living spirit but also substituting the believer in the fatal wages paid out for imperfect righteousness, which arises from the believer’s susceptibility to sin.

John 20
19 So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and *said to them, “Peace be with you.”
20 And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”
22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them and *said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.

Since I have spoken to you about the Holy Spirit, I might as well caution you against the Charismatic movement. Please understand, that up to the time the Bible was compiled: miracles, prophesies and healings bore testament that the Church is from God. However from the time, the Bible has been compiled, congregations are recognized as His Church only from the manner they adhere to His teachings in the Bible.

John 10
25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of Me.

2 Timothy 3
16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;
17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

Today we have ministries like Benny Hinn, which claim to be connected with many miracles and though some may indeed be miracles; today, we cannot let these miracles testify that that ministry is genuine! According to Benny Hinn, he knows he is doing the right thing ONLY BECAUSE of the miracles he is witnessing in his ministry and so his doctrine on the Holy Trinity being three persons in three persons i.e. totally nine persons, should be right. Similarly, Benny Hinn’s divorce and money laundering is also seen as the right thing because charismatics like him think that as long as God presents miracles in the ministry through healing, prophesies and testimonies, they feel surely God approves of all they do and whatever they believe.

Mat 7 (Jesus’ word)
22 “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’
23 “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’

John 3 (Nicodemus to Jesus)
2 this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”

What I am meaning to say through all this is that… YES, in the time of His Old Testament Saints, the Lord Jesus Christ and His Apostles, during this time God performed such great miracles that people who witnessed them approved that the Church is from God. However, this does not apply today. What today certifies an institution as Godly is how much it is governed by the moral (religious) teachings of the Bible.

Mat 5 (Jesus’ word)
17 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.
18 “For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.
19 “Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
20 “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

So, I conclude asking you to remember and reflect on the Law of God in all your dealings with God and all your dealings with your every neighbour. May doing the will of ‘God the Father’ be your life’s priority unto the capacity the Lord Jesus Christ has given you in Salvation!