12:2 What is God's will?
12:2 What is God's will?
God's will is His word, the Bible. The Bible is the revealed will of God. It contains everything we need to know for Christian living. The more we study the Bible the more we know god's will.
But knowing God's will is not enough; It has to be lived out in our everyday lives. That is what it means to "prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God." We prove it by practising it in our every-day lives (CP Psa 40:8; 119:1-6, 105-112, 129-130; Mt 7:21; Lu 6:47-49; Jas 1:21-25).
The phrase that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God does not teach as many in the church believe, that there are three levels of God's will. Good, acceptable, and perfect are merely adjectives that describe the same will of God. In the original Greek it simply reads,
"The will of God, the good and well-pleasing, and the complete will." Prove means test, approve. We are proving that God's will is good, acceptable and perfect when we do it. (CP Psa 25:8-10; Pr 3:32; Dan 12:10; Jn 7:17; Eph 1:9-14; Php 2:12-13; 1 Th 4:3-7).
The Holy Spirit will take away the desire for anything that is contrary to God's will for us as we surrender ourselves to the lordship of Jesus and the authority of His word. (CP Jn 16:7-15; Ro 8:1-16; 1 Cor 6:11; 2 Cor 5:14-17; Eph 4:20-24; 1 Pe 1:2; 1 Jn 2:20,27). The regenerating work of the Holy Spirit is a continuous work throughout the entirety of our Christian walk (CP Ro 1:16-17; 2 Cor 3:18; 4:13-16; Eph 5:25-27; Col 3:9-10; Tit 2:11-14; 3:5).
See also comments on Jn 3:3, 3:5, 3:8, 4:10; Ro 6:3-5, 6:16, 12:1 and Col 3:1-3, and author's studies What Being Born Again Means in his book Foundational Truths of the Christian Faith, The Work of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament Church and Regeneration and Sanctification Defined in his book Advanced Studies in the Christian Faith (Volume 2).