The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe
"To Will and To Do"
The will of God must be recognized and affirmed by born again believers in the Lord Jesus Christ as the deepest desire of our innermost being, wrought in our redeemed hearts by the indwelling Holy Spirit.
"I delight in the law of God after the inward man… So then with the mind, I myself serve the law of God" (Romans 7:22; 25).
"It is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13).
Find the most wayward believer on the planet in any given moment. The Holy Spirit works in that brother or sister in Christ "both to will and to do" no less than in the most godly Christian. Indeed, our Lord's working ever proceeds based on His faithfulness rather than our own. He does what He does, regardless of whether we do what God calls us to do. This constitutes unbelief and disobedience as a far more serious matter than we often consider. We oppose the delight of our Christ-inhabited hearts when we walk after the desires of the flesh. This constitutes "the most wayward believer" in terms of epic tragedy when exultant triumph ever lies at hand, and even more, in heart.
"God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying Abba Father" (Galatians 4:6).
Paul's affirmation of delight in his "inward man" regarding the will of God did not originate in his own dedication and devotion. The dedication and devotion of the indwelling Spirit of the Lord Jesus rather formed within Paul his joy in the will of God. Indeed, the Christ devoted to His Father's will lives within believers as the Life of our lives. He infuses His delight for obedience in us, meaning that if we walk in the truth and reality of our redeemed "new man, created in righteousness and true holiness," we walk in faith and faithfulness (Ephesians 4:24).
So much seems to counter this plainly stated truth of Scripture. The flesh screams and whispers that nothing could be further from reality. "The flesh lusteth against the spirit" (Galatians 5:17). Our experience often seems to belie the presence and working of the Holy Spirit in us "both to will and to do." Thus, we must determine who and what we will believe. The Word of God? Or anything and anyone else? From the most wayward to the most worshipful, the Spirit of the Lord Jesus abides as the greatest presence and influence of the innermost temple of our being. How could it be otherwise in light of the grace that came to us in the new birth, based on a sacrifice so costly that we will never know its full extent? "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" He promises. "My God, My God why hast Thou forsaken Me?" was the price He paid to secure His eternally abiding presence and working within us (Hebrews 13:5; Matthew 27:46).
Let us settle it once and for all as a matter of faith-formed conviction: the will of God is our deepest and truest delight. We may not and will not always walk accordingly. Nothing, however, changes the truth because nothing can stop the Holy Spirit from His faithful working in believers "both to will and to do." Yes, wherever we may be along the path of righteousness, a faithful Lord moves within the depths of our hearts to reveal Christ's devotion to His Father's will, which by faith can and must be realized as our devotion. Such grace and truth will give hope to the wayward, humble the worshipful, and most of all, glorify the Savior whose faithful presence and working on the cross made possible His faithful presence and working in our hearts.
"Make me to go in the path of Thy commandments, for therein do I delight."
(Psalm 119:35)
"He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him."
(II Corinthians 5:21)
Weekly Memory Verse
Be strong in the Lord and the power of His might.
(Ephesians 6:10)
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