The Will of God in Christ Jesus!

“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV

Three of the crucially important will of God is rejoicing, praying and thanking the Lord with all of our hearts and souls (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). This is because our sins have been forgiven by God, the Creator and our heavenly Father (1 John 1:9) and He gave us another chance to enter to the Garden of Eden, where we supposed to belong to (Genesis 1-2). The main reason for this is that we have been created to be part of God’s creation and images of Him (Genesis 1:27). “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” (Romans 8:29-30)

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3:16-17)

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. (1 John 4:9-10)

Rejoicing is one of the characteristic attributes that we must have (Philippians 4:4), especially when we are followers of Jesus Christ, even though following Him until the end of the age can be hard (Matthew 16:24-27). This is because once we are followers of Christ, we have been saved by the mercy and the grace of God (Ephesians 2:8-10), and the hope of God is available to us (1 Peter 1:3-9). Thus, we tend to serve (Colossians 3:23-24; Ephesians 6:7-8) and worship Him with all of our souls, hearts, minds and strengths (Romans 12:1-2; John 4:23-24).

At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone. (Titus 3:3-8)

Prayer is the most fundamental equipment that we ought to have as followers of Jesus Christ (Philippians 4:6-7). The main reason for this is that any kind of a biblical prayer opens up a healthy communication with our heavenly Father. Although He knows what we are going to pray for before we actually pray, He still wants us to pray before Him as prayers keep an intimate relationship with Him (Matthew 6:5-8). However, we must make it to be related to the will of God rather than ourselves. In addition to this, there is so much power of God in prayers except worldly ones. (John 15:7) Because of this, we often consider the prayer as “The Most Powerful Weapon of God.” Thus, for this reason, Jesus declares, “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” (Mark 11:24)

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. (1 John 5:14-15)

Thanking God is our primary thing that we should do all the time (Ephesians 5:20; Colossians 3:17). This is because our sins have been forgiven, due to the fact that Jesus Christ was crucified as an atonement of our sins (Colossians 2:13-15). In addition to this, we have been given another chance to the eternal kingdom of glory and heaven by becoming righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21) and doing God’s will until the age (Matthew 7:21). Because of this, God has given us His Word (2 Timothy 3:16-17) and has poured His Spirit (John 14:15-27; 2 Peter 1:3-11) into us to transform our lives from worldliness to godliness (Romans 12:1-2). “For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” (1 Timothy 4:8)

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. (Romans 8:1-13)

Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him. (Philippians 1:27-29)