The Will of God?
It is so easy to speak glibly about the will of God. However, knowing and doing the will of God can be costly, even deadly.
Isaiah prophesied about the Messiah hundreds of years before his birth:
Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. (53.10-11 ESV)
Consider the implications! It was the will of the Father to crush the Messiah...to hand him over as an offering of atonement for sin. It was God's will that his sinless Messiah suffer as a sin offering for the forgiveness of sinful mankind. Further, Isaiah prophesies that the Christ will be resurrected from the dead and see spiritual children--the Christians--able to be the recipients of grace because their Iniquity-Bearer suffered in their stead.
This, of course, was accomplished in Jesus of Nazareth, the God-Man, the Son, who died on the cross and was raised from the dead. The will of God wasn't trivial to Jesus. It cost him his life.
To do the will of God costs us our lives, too: we must die to self and live for Christ. Consider these words of Jesus:
Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (Mat 10.37-39 ESV)
The will of God is wonderful but it is not easy.
Isaiah prophesied about the Messiah hundreds of years before his birth:
Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. (53.10-11 ESV)
Consider the implications! It was the will of the Father to crush the Messiah...to hand him over as an offering of atonement for sin. It was God's will that his sinless Messiah suffer as a sin offering for the forgiveness of sinful mankind. Further, Isaiah prophesies that the Christ will be resurrected from the dead and see spiritual children--the Christians--able to be the recipients of grace because their Iniquity-Bearer suffered in their stead.
This, of course, was accomplished in Jesus of Nazareth, the God-Man, the Son, who died on the cross and was raised from the dead. The will of God wasn't trivial to Jesus. It cost him his life.
To do the will of God costs us our lives, too: we must die to self and live for Christ. Consider these words of Jesus:
Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (Mat 10.37-39 ESV)
The will of God is wonderful but it is not easy.
Labels: Theology
By Larry McCallister
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