| The Christian Life | June 1941 |
The Perfect Will of God
It is vital that the Christian should have a working knowledge of the divine will for him, else he might put forth much effort in supposing that he were serving God only to discover later that he had been “beating the air.”
“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”—Romans 12:2
MUCH in St. Paul’s epistle to the Romans has to do with the manner in which a Christian may show himself approved unto God. Faith in the shed blood of the Redeemer is emphasized as one of the essentials of an acceptable walk with God. To walk with God in this age means to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, and those were steps of self-sacrifice. It is not enough that we merely receive of divine grace through Christ; in addition, we must give ourselves in sacrifice upon an altar made acceptable by the blood. It is this text that the apostle emphasizes in the verse just preceding our text, saying: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”—Rom. 12:1
But it is one thing to present ourselves in consecration to God, with the understanding that our lives are to be sacrificed in His service, yet quite another to faithfully fulfill the terms of that consecration even unto death. We cannot know at the time of our consecration all that may be involved in it, hence it is necessary always to maintain an attitude of full surrender to the will of God, and to resolutely and enthusiastically take each step as it is revealed to us through His Word and by His providences. We are not to make a consecration to do God’s will, and then merely continue the ordinary routine of life as though nothing had happened. After presenting our bodies living sacrifices to God, we should then earnestly seek to find out how He wants us to co-operate in consuming that sacrifice. Renouncing our former worldly ambitions and goals, we are to “prove,” that is, definitely determine, good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God,” and then endeavor to the best of our ability to do it.
One of the first things we should learn with respect to the divine will is that we are not to be “conformed to this world,” We are called out of the world and can no longer be conformed to its ways. Now, instead of drifting along in the stream of selfish, worldly pleasure and ambition, we are to face about and go against this stream. Instead of longer being “conformed” to the ways of the selfish world and the sinful flesh, we are to be “transformed” by the renewing of our minds; that is, by acquainting ourselves with the divine will and steadfastly endeavoring to do it. The world is made up of fallen human beings, hence its pursuits, its pleasures, its spirit, appeal to our fallen flesh. For this reason it is easy to be “conformed” to the world, but a genuine struggle to be “transformed” in mind and heart and action so that we become servants of God instead of servants of the world, the flesh and the devil.
PROPER ESTIMATE OF SELF ESSENTIAL
The apostle does not leave the subject of mind renewal and consequent transformation of character and effort in the realm of generality, for he proceeds to give us practical suggestions of how it should affect our lives and what it actually means to know and do the perfect will of God. In verse 3 he says: “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.”
That word “for,” places an important relationship between what precedes and what follows it. We are to be transformed in order that we may be enabled thus to know the will of God and, therefore, to do it; “for” we are not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think. At first it may seem as though there is no special connection between these two thoughts but actually there is a most important connection. By this sequence of argument the apostle is reminding us that we cannot make progress in proving God’s will until we recognize our own unworthiness. If we attempt to understand God’s will from the standpoint of how important we are in connection with His purposes and service, we will fail to be pleasing to Him.
This strikes right at one of the fundamental differences between the worldly spirit and the Christian spirit. From the worldly standpoint, an individual considers it necessary to advance himself and promote his interests and to have others work for him to that end. In order, therefore, to insure his advancement he, first of all, deceives himself into an exaggerated sense of his own importance, and does all he can to induce others to feel the same way about it. This is considered quite proper in the world, where the grace of humility is often considered an evidence of weakness.
From the worldly standpoint, it would appear essential to appraise one’s self rather highly lest he be considered a defeatist and possessed of a broken spirit. This philosophy assumes that a person must believe in himself and his ability, otherwise he can never succeed in this world of rivalry and competition. With such a philosophy it is only natural for a person to think of himself very highly, and, therefore, to do all he can to have others think of him in the same way. This philosophy and its spirit is prevalent among all classes in the world; but it should find no reception in any of those purporting to be the people of God.
Yes, the apostle knew that one of the most important evidences of transformation from the spirit of the world to the spirit of God should be the renouncing of one’s self-importance. And when we get the Lord’s viewpoint in this matter we will realize that if we think of ourselves in any sense as being worthy of God’s blessings, or worthy of promotion in His service, we are thinking of ourselves “more highly than we ought to think.” Paul suggests that what we need to do is to “think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.”
Elsewhere we are told that “by grace” we are saved, “through faith.” If our sober, self-appraisal, is based upon what we are through faith, it means our recognition of the fact that apart from the grace of God we are nothing. This means that if we think of ourselves as being important and indispensable, we are, to that extent, blocking the transforming work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and lives. Whatever of favor God bestows upon us is by grace, and not because we merit it. God accepts our service to Him as an evidence of our appreciation of His love and grace, but we cannot merit that grace by our works.
MANY MEMBERS
Having reminded us that God doesn’t owe His people special favors, and that all the privileges we enjoy are by His grace, then the apostle proceeds to show that knowing and being faithful to the divine will involves a recognition of the fact that we cannot be isolationists in the divine arrangement, but that there are “many members,” and that among these God has determined a place for us. In the body of Christ we are all “members one of another.” It is God’s will that this should be, and for us to ignore it, or to go contrary to it, would mean that we are not being properly “transformed,” not properly proving what is that “good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.”—Rom. 12:4,5
A proper recognition of the fact that we are “members one of another” is largely dependent upon not “thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought to think.” The worldly viewpoint is one of self-interest, self-promotion, irrespective of the welfare and interests of others. The Christian viewpoint is that of interest in the “many members”—a concern for the welfare of the body, regardless of individual advantage. It is only, therefore, as we develop interest in and love for the brethren of Christ that we are glad to be nothing as individuals in order that the body as a whole may prosper.
This constitutes a real test of the measure to which our hearts and minds have been transformed from the ways and spirit of the world to the spirit of Christ. We sometimes sing, “O! to be nothing, nothing, only to lie at His feet”; but how do we feel when the Lord takes us at our word and permits us to lie at His feet for a while? Perhaps we are inclined to say that if the Lord invites us to lie at His feet and be nothing, of course, we will gladly do it; but if, through other causes, we are set aside we should fight for our rights.
As Christians, however, we should recognize that there are no secondary causes that can shape our experiences or our destiny. We are wholly in the Lord’s hand, and all that we have and are, are by His grace. Nothing can happen to us unless God permits it, and whatever He permits is for our highest spiritual welfare. We may have planned some service for God and the truth, and then became ill. The first inclination is to lay the blame on someone or something. Difficulties more complex than becoming ill may interfere with what we have planned to do for the Lord. We may feel like blaming individuals, even fellow members of the body, for standing in our way. But this should not be. If others are indeed to blame, we can safely leave them in God’s care; but, for ourselves, we should recognize that whatever our experiences may be, is all by divine permission, and whatever God permits is for our best interests and in the best interest of the body as a whole. Our ready and willing acquiescence in humiliation and our pleasure in promotion will be in proportion to the measure of our faith in God’s grace and in our genuine interest in the “many members” of which we are striving to be a part.
If we have made a proper appraisal of our own nothingness, and truly recognize that it is only by God’s grace that we are in the body at all, then our faith should accept without any mental reservations whatever experiences divine wisdom may permit. If we still have some of the worldly spirit of getting ahead and of being something in the eyes of others, naturally we will find it hard when everything doesn’t go our way. But if we have captured the true spirit of sacrifice, and recognize that we have agreed to die, we won’t mind what God’s providences permit now, just so long as they help us to prove what is His perfect will for us.
The entire earthly life of a Christian is one of preparation for future service in glory. It is a life of sacrifice and humiliation, together with the peace and joy of spiritual attainment. However, we are to serve even in our humiliation. It usually happens, though, that in the divine providence, we are permitted to experience special trials in order to be prepared for special service. God has dealt with many of His servants along this line. Moses, for example, whom God used so mightily, was permitted to go into obscurity for forty years prior to the time his service for God began.
Moses, by natural qualifications and education was well prepared for the Lord’s work forty years before the Lord called him to enter it; but there was a further preparation necessary which was accomplished in exile and obscurity. A humble position, indeed, tending his father-in-law’s flock, but the Lord didn’t forget where he was, and when the time came he was brought forth into prominence as the leader of God’s people. There is no occasion to fear that the Lord will forget our address when the time comes for Him to use us. We may, in our weaknesses, forget each other, but the Lord will never forget. We all long to serve the Lord more than we do, and we fret, perhaps, at the restraints that hold us back, but let us rather make sure that we are properly using the little opportunities of service that are before us, meanwhile leaving larger opportunities in the Lord’s hands, to give us when His wisdom deems best.
GIFTS OF GOD’S GRACE
In verse 6 the apostle explains that the “many members” have “gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us.” Then he enumerates some of these gifts, such as: prophesying; ministering; teaching; exhorting; ruling; giving; and showing mercy. It is important to note that these gifts are all manifestations of God’s grace. It must be assumed, therefore, that not only the gifts, but the opportunities of using the gifts in the divine service, are also by God’s grace.
Furthermore, it is quite possible to overlook opportunities of service through a failure to give heed to the instruction not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think. A failure along this line may cause us to overlook the smaller opportunities of service while looking for and seeking after the larger opportunities. God’s dealings with His people are based on the principle that one who is faithful in that which is least will also be faithful in that which is much. This being true, it may be that the larger opportunities we crave are being held back until we have proved faithful in the little things.
Paul’s list of the many ways in which God’s people are able to serve Him, and his admonition to faithfulness in the use of all these gifts of divine grace, indicate that it is God’s will that all of His people serve. The Christian life is therefore not merely one of passive humility in the Lord’s hands. It is that indeed, but it is also a life of active service in the divine cause. It is a life of activity, however, that must be based upon a proper humility before God and a recognition of our own nothingness. There can be no acceptable service to God apart from this. It is impossible, though to exercise true humility before God without being actively engaged in laying down our lives in His service, because this is what He has bidden us to do. To refuse to do what He has asked us to do would prove that we are not humble. It would prove that we think more highly of ourselves and of our own opinions than we ought to think.
THE DAY OF SMALL THINGS
No matter what “gifts” of service divine grace may give tows, we should seek to use them faithfully. Faithfulness in the use of a gift is the true test of our appreciation of it. But right along this line is where the spirit of the world may tend to creep in, in that we will ignore the little services as being of no consequence, while our hearts are set on doing something big for the Lord. The widow’s mite did not accomplish anything great for the Lord, but her faithfulness in doing all she could, when that all was so very little, did much for her in that it brought her the Lord’s commendation which maketh rich.
We should not despise the day of small things. If we have the gift of prophecy (oral witnessing), let us be faithful in its use. But let us be as happy to witness to one, unnoticed and unknown, as we would be to a thousand or ten thousand. One of the greatest sermons the Lord preached was to the woman of Samaria at the well. Jesus could preach to the multitude, but He was also happy to comfort the ones and twos. If we are following in Jesus’ footsteps we will be more concerned with the degree of our faithfulness in service than we are in the size of our opportunity to serve.
We recall the case of a sister who had spent a number of years in the colporteur service, and while in that service received injuries that finally led to her death. She was an invalid for some time before finishing her course in death, and during that time, through her physician, she made the acquaintance of a lady who, after a time, became somewhat interested in the truth. Just a few days before the sister finished her course, she received a telephone message that this friend was coming to see her. The sister decided that she would make one last effort to help this friend to a better understanding and appreciation of the truth. She asked the nurse to bring her two Bibles and two hymn books. When the friend arrived the sister held a “meeting” with her, in which they both joined in reading the Scriptures, singing and praying.
Now this wasn’t any great service for the Lord. It did not compare in size with the sister’s former life of active service when she was used to point out the way of truth to many, but it did represent the faithful use of the “mite” of strength and opportunity that God’s grace still permitted her to enjoy. How the Lord must have looked down with joy upon that sister, who, although her body was frail and racked with pain, yet was keeping it on the altar of sacrifice, and with it praising God until the offering was consumed.
There is, of course, growth in the Christian way. The very thought of transformation indicates a gradual change. It follows, then, that at the beginning of the Christian way we will be somewhat influenced by the worldly viewpoint in connection with all our endeavors to know and do God’s will. But as we “grow in grace” we should be able to recognize more clearly that being nothing before God and being faithful in the little and obscure opportunities, are the things that really count.
And this is true irrespective of the nature of the gifts God’s grace may have imparted to us. Take the gift of exhortation, for example. We should all possess and use this faithfully. We can all exhort one another to faithfulness, even if it is only by the example of our own faithfulness. There as very few of us who do not have an occasional opportunity to speak a word of exhortation to a fellow traveler in the narrow way. Are we faithfully using these opportunities, even if, at times, it may be out of season for us to do so? Or, are we overlooking the privileges that daily may be ours, while waiting for a spectacular opportunity that may never come?
The same may be said of any or all of the gifts of God’s grace. Faithfulness in their use should be concentrated on the little things. Take the matter of “giving,” as mentioned by the apostle. The whole Christian life is one of giving. We are to give our time, our strength, our talents, our money, our everything. Our giving starts when we respond to the Lord’s invitation, “Give Me thine heart.” When we give our hearts, our affections to the Lord, we become His, to serve Him with our whole being, forever.
Having given all to the Lord, He instructs us, through His Word, how the transfer is to be made. We are told that we are to provide for our own, for example, and this we must do. But we should not use this as an excuse to hold back from the Lord that which should be given directly to Him. It may, and frequently does require considerable of our time to take care of the obligations which the Lord’s will imposes upon us with respect to our earthly obligations, hence there is often very little time left to give directly in the service of the Lord. In view of this there is often a temptation not to give the little that may be possible.
What is true with respect to the giving of time, may also be true along other lines. We sometimes hear a brother or sister say, “I wish I had a million dollars to put into the work.” But would we put the million dollars into the work if we had it? The answer is found in the measure of faithfulness we display in giving the “mite” that is within our power to give. When examining our own hearts to determine how faithful we would be in the use of large opportunities, let us be sure we are faithful in the small things. If we wish that we could give all our time and strength to the Lord, the Lord will determine the depth and sincerity of that wish by the measure of zeal with which we give to Him the little time and strength that is our privilege to give. If we hold back from rendering even the smallest service to Him because it is small, we may not be entrusted with the use of the larger gifts.
SINCERE IN LOVE
In verse 9 the apostle says, “Let love be without dissimulation.” The Greek word here used has the thought of sincerity, without hypocrisy. The love mentioned is primarily for God, and automatically should embrace all of God’s people, the “many members” in the body. The emphasis thus placed upon the sincerity of our love is another reminder of the transformation that should be going on in our hearts and lives. There is a great deal of veneer in the world which feigns an interest in others, but often the motive is a selfish one.
But the motive back of Christian endeavor and activity should be sincere and whole-hearted, influencing all that we do. That motive, moreover, should be one of genuine love for God and for His people. It should not be mixed with any degree of selfishness, or self-interest. With this fact the apostle couples the admonition, “Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.” One of the greatest evils in God’s sight is the evil of hypocrisy, and one of the principal elements of what God considers “good,” is sincerity. The robe of Christ’s righteousness covers our unwilling imperfections, but no provision is made to cover the sin of insincerity.
The apostle continues throughout the remainder of chapter 12, and on through chapters 13, 14, and much of 15, mentioning one. Detail after another of that which is involved in proving what is the perfect will of God. Those details explain the Christian’s proper attitude toward both brethren and enemies. They point out our proper attitude toward the world and toward earthly governments. They cover, in fact, practically every phase of the Christian life. To acquaint ourselves with these instructions, and to have our lives molded by them, should be our earnest desire and effort.
It is in doing this that we are separated more and more from the world and its spirit, and are transformed by the renewing of our minds, thus having worked out in our lives the will of God as it pertains to the manner in which we are to continue presenting our bodies a living sacrifice to Him. It is interesting, and important, to note that in all the details of God’s will for the sacrificing Christian, there is little said about protecting self-interests; but much said about sacrificing self in the interests of others, and for the glory of God.
It is this, the denial of self, the blessing of others, and the glory of God, that constitutes His “good, and acceptable, and perfect will” for us who have presented ourselves in sacrifice to Him. May we be faithful to this calling, and may the richness of our lives be in the realization of His grace, and in the hope of partaking of His glory.—Rom. 5:2