Stephen spoke on the subject of knowing God’s will last night. This can be difficult for us to discern at times; understanding the language of the Bible (since the Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew and the New Testament in Greek) makes this even harder to understand, since translation can cause issues of misunderstanding at times. There are two main Greek words translated by the noun ‘will’ in the New Testament: boulema & thelema. The former (used in Rom 9:19, for example) speaks of God’s plan or intention which cannot be thwarted. In Gen 1:3, God speaks His will into being and nothing can stop this! The perceptive will of God (thelema) can be resisted by people, however, for we have free will. It is God’s will that we do not sin, for example, but there are times when we do sin and are clearly not following God’s will on those occasions.
Sometimes we speak also of God’s general will and His specific will. His general will encompasses all that we know God wants: for us to do good (1 Pet 2:15), for us to give thanks (1 Thess 5:18), for example. Jesus is our perfect example of doing the Father’s will (John 4:34, John 6:38), demonstrating in the Garden of Gethsemane His complete humility and surrender to God’s will (Matt 26:39). Knowing God’s will for our own everyday lives is critical also, however. Col 1:9-14 records Paul’s prayer that the Colossians might be filled with the knowledge of God’s will so that they can live lives worthy of the Lord. Understanding God’s will (see Eph 5:10) is paramount for our lives; we need to be open and receptive to God’s will and ready to receive from him. As we make Ps 143:10 our prayer, we can be encouraged that God’s Spirit (who will lead us in all matters) dwells in us and will enable us to grow in patience, endurance and thanksgiving. Then we will be able to stand firm in the will of God, being mature and fully assured. (Col 4:12)