The Wonder of His Will

“When Christ came into the world, he said,

“’Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired,
    but a body have you prepared for me;
in burnt offerings and sin offerings
    you have taken no pleasure.’
Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God,
    as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’

“When he said above, ‘You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings…’ he added, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will.’ He does away with the first in order to establish the second. By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

“Every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God…For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

“And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying,

“’This is the covenant that I will make with them..,
declares the Lord:
I will put my laws on their hearts,
    and write them on their minds,’

“he adds,

“’I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.’

“Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.” Hebrews 10:5-12,14-18

Jesus, fully God, came to earth a man to do God’s wondrous will. Efficiently, perfectly, effectively, He executed all God intended for the eternal good and blessing of His people. Once for all, the work was done, with ongoing glorious consequence, freedom and fulfillment, for the children of God. Strangers now belong, the uncertain have confidence, the desperate have hope, the purposeless have meaning. Sufferers can serve, and stumblers can soar. How magnificent is the Holy One’s divine will for those who live this side of the cross! (Hebrews 9:14; 10:19-25)

If God’s will for salvation has been accomplished in Christ, and He ‘has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified,’ how does it intersect with our day-to-day? How do we understand and effectuate God’s will for us? What is the believer’s part in working out His salvation and sanctification with fear, trembling, and faithfulness? (Romans 12:1-2; Ephesians 2:8-10; Philippians 2:12-13)

What God in Christ has accomplished, we appropriate by faith. A believer’s process of sanctification is an ongoing cooperation with the Spirit Who indwells and empowers us. We keep running the race, we fight the good fight, we put to practice the ‘all things that pertain to life and godliness.’ (1 Timothy 6:12; Hebrews 12:1-3; 2 Peter 1:3-7)

Do we recognize the wonders of God’s will won for us in Christ? Are we all in, looking to and standing with Jesus to share in His divine nature? How well do we know His will, and what steps are we taking to fulfill it?

“Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” Hebrews 13:20-21

And amen.