How Can We Know What God Wills?

If it is our goal to please God, then it is imperative that we learn what pleases Him, from Him: “For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.” (Gal. 1.10)

Authority is “the power or right to give orders, make decisions, and enforce obedience”, and to do this communication is necessary. This is true of the most basic levels of authority (parental, governmental, etc.) as well as the highest level: God’s sovereign authority over mankind. So then, how does one communicate one’s will (or any other information) to another?

1. We tell others what we want them to do.

Suppose you have a child at home: What is the simplest way to communicate to them that you want the trash to be taken out? You tell them, either by statement or direct order, to take out the trash.

Commands are probably the most common way we think of God communicating His will. How did God inform the Israelites that He did not want them to murder, commit adultery, or steal? He told them: “You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal.” (Ex. 20.15-17). Jesus described those who love Him and were His friends as those who kept His commandments (John 14.15; 15.14).

And yet, commands aren’t the only way God communicates His will to us, just like we use other means of communication with one another.

1. We show others what we want and how to do it.

What other ways could you inform your child that they should take out the trash? You could employ an illustration, an example, or a model to do so. Perhaps another sibling takes out the trash, and you indicate to the first that this is what was pleasing to you!

Examples are found throughout scripture which describe things that God likes, and does not like. In Acts 20.7 we find an approved example of Jesus’ disciples gathered on the first day of week to partake of the Lord’s supper. Hebrews 11 gives us many examples of faithful men and women we can imitate.

Disapproved examples exist as well: 1 Cor. 10 describes failures of Israel in the wilderness, and in v.6 we’re told: “Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did.”

So, how else could you communicate to your child that you desire the trash to be taken out? My father had a third way he would communicate this: “Son, the garbage is full.” That statement is neither command nor example, yet I understood (eventually) what he meant. This brings us to #3: Inference.

1. We imply what we expect others to get by what we say or show.

Sometimes we are expected to use our reasoning skills to infer (or draw conclusions) from what God has implied in His statement and examples. Gal. 5.19-21 is a great example of necessary inference. After giving 15 examples of “works of the flesh”, Paul writes in v.21: “...and things like these.” This list of fleshly works is not exhaustive, so Christians are expected to discern other things that are like this, and avoid them.

This process of reading God’s word and considering what He has told us, shown us, or implied to us is not a special method of interpretation. Rather, it is the means upon which all communication depends. In other words, there are no other means by which God could communicate His will to us in His word.

Think this is too simplistic? If you don’t believe this is how God’s word communicates with us, email us and let us know without 1. Telling us directly, 2. Showing us by illustration or example, or 3. Implying to us that we’re wrong.