Christ paid with His life. He made our salvation certain with predestination.
Eph 1:5 “having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will. And He did all this by His grace. Eph 1:6 “to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved.
So, God’s election is not to salvation. It is to perfection because we are in Christ. It is for our eternal security. We who trust in Christ as our Savior have this security. This is a spiritual blessing for the body of Christ alone.
Now, in verse 5, what is God’s will? I believe we can break God’s will down into 3 scriptural categories. His intentional will (thelayma), His circumstantial will (thelayma), and His ultimate, or determinate will or counsel (boulay).
When we look at His intentional will, the first thing we should see is this. We were created for His will (pleasure). The question we must keep in mind here, is: do we ever thwart God’s intentional will?
Rev 4:11 “You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created.”
Next, as part of this, He wants us all to love Him.
Mk 12:30,31 “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment. 31 And the second, like it, is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.”
1 Co 16:22 “If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed. O Lord, come! Then, He wants us all to love one another.”
John 13:34 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.”
1 Th 4:9,10 “But concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another; 10 and indeed you do so toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brethren, that you increase more and more.
Remember the question we must keep in mind here: do we ever thwart God’s intentional will? In answer, we see that He wills all to be saved. 1 Tim 2:4 “who wills all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” But, because man totally rebelled against God, in order to receive salvation, man must believe God and do what He says for salvation.
Mat 7:21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.”
Mat 12:50 “For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”
Heb 10:36 “For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise.”
For us in this Dispensation of Grace, His will is found in Acts 16:31, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.”
In Christ,
Bob Hill