With all the chords we have learned, everything comes down to one thing, God's Will. He is the Orchestrator and His Words are the chords in which we choose to live. What would happen if we hold the same Definitions to the Words God uses?
We can be a part of God's Will. Being a part of God's Will is living in the middle of the symphony.
DOCTRINE #60: GOD'S WILL
God's Will is HOW God brings about His Plan.
God has three Plans:
1) Universal Plan: All enter into His Plan (Meaning of life: church and marriage).
2) Group Plan: Maximum long term profitability (growth), and
3) Individual Plan: Maximum long term profitability (growth).
God's Plan (church and marriage) occurs through people who have enough spiritual value. God's Will is God's Plan being brought about BY church and marriage, and people suffering injustice well.
God's Plan for the individual and for the group can grow. His original perfect Universal Plan (that all are saved) is always running down: He will never achieve His perfect Plan because people chose not to come to the knowledge of the truth. We affect whether (and how much of) the Individual and Group Plans occur. God's Universal Plan definitely occurs, but we determine when and at what cost.
HOW God brings about His Plan can be categorized at three levels:
-Perfect: This is when everything happens exactly the way God wanted.
-Pleasing/Acceptable: This is when it happens better than God expected.
-Good: This is when it happens in a way that meets God's minimum expectation, which is that something of value is created.
Question: Do you believe acting on God's Definitions to the words He uses will change the world?
Table of Contents
If you need it, here is the support from the Word of God...
SCRIPTURE
"1 And he showed me a river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb,
2 in the midst of the street thereof. And on this side of the river and on that was the tree of life, bearing twelve manner of fruits, yielding its fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
3 And there shall be no curse any more: and the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be therein: and his servants shall serve him;
4 and they shall see his face; and his name shall be on their foreheads.
5 And there shall be night no more; and they need no light of lamp, neither light of sun; for the Lord God shall give them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever." (Revelation 22:1-5)
(This is God's Plan: church and marriage. We were made to interact with each other in fellowship which is church, and we were made to be a Bride for Jesus which is marriage. This is known as His Universal Plan.)
"1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service.
2 And be not fashioned according to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, and ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
3 For I say, through the grace that was given me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think as to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to each man a measure of faith.
4 For even as we have many members in one body, and all the members have not the same office:
5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and severally members one of another." (Romans 12:1-5)
(The good, acceptable, and perfect Wills of God are three different levels of profitability. Perfect is EVERYTHING God wants: maximum profitability. Good is anything profitable: anything that creates. Acceptable can also be translated as "pleasing". We can exceed God's expectations of us and He will be pleased by us. We can make God happy! God's Will is that we would think as He Thinks, and in order to do that we must have faith. God's Will is that we would all be transformed by the renewing of our mind by His influence: grace. We ought to be humble and look contrastively at ourselves, because their are unique parts of the Body that serve different functions. God's Thinking, grace, humility, and community are all involved with God's Will for church.)
"1 I exhort therefore, first of all, that supplications, prayers, intercessions, thanksgivings, be made for all men;
2 for kings and all that are in high place; that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and gravity.
3 This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
4 who would have all men to be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth." (1 Timothy 2:1-4)
(If ALL people were saved, that would be God's perfect Will. Everything else is good and acceptable: tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and gravity. If our dispensation was perfect their would be no need for another dispensation.)
"1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, to the saints that are at Ephesus, and the faithful in Christ Jesus:
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ:
4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blemish before him in love:
5 having foreordained us unto adoption as sons through Jesus Christ unto himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
6 to the praise of the glory of his grace, which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved:
7 in whom we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,
8 which he made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence,
9 making known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he purposed in him
10 unto a dispensation of the fulness of the times, to sum up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens, and the things upon the earth; in him, I say,
11 in whom also we were made a heritage, having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his will;
12 to the end that we should be unto the praise of his glory, we who had before hoped in Christ:
13 in whom ye also, having heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation,-- in whom, having also believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,
14 which is an earnest of our inheritance, unto the redemption of God's own possession, unto the praise of his glory." (Ephesians 1:1-14)
(Paul's explanation of the meaning of life began by stating God's Will was a mystery God revealed to those who have grace, wisdom, prudence (understanding). The mystery has been revealed (The Trinity is making a Bride) and we have the Holy Spirit to guide us into more understanding. We have been chosen by God, but that did not mean that our salvation was God's responsibility. The gospel (Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection) showed that Jesus provided the value and the method via the Holy Spirit, which is our engagement ring. Here was the next chapter of Ephesians...)
"1 And you did he make alive, when ye were dead through your trespasses and sins,
2 wherein ye once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the powers of the air, of the spirit that now worketh in the sons of disobedience;
3 among whom we also all once lived in the lust of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest:--
4 but God, being rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
5 even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace have ye been saved),
6 and raised us up with him, and made us to sit with him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus:
7 that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus:
8 for by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
9 not of works, that no man should glory.
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God afore prepared that we should walk in them.
11 Wherefore remember, that once ye, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called Circumcision, in the flesh, made by hands;
12 that ye were at that time separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
13 But now in Christ Jesus ye that once were far off are made nigh in the blood of Christ.
14 For he is our peace, who made both one, and brake down the middle wall of partition,
15 having abolished in the flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; that he might create in himself of the two one new man, so making peace;
16 and might reconcile them both in one body unto God through the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
17 and he came and preached peace to you that were far off, and peace to them that were nigh:
18 for through him we both have our access in one Spirit unto the Father.
19 So then ye are no more strangers and sojourners, but ye are fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God,
20 being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief corner stone;
21 in whom each several building, fitly framed together, groweth into a holy temple in the Lord;
22 in whom ye also are builded together for a habitation of God in the Spirit." (Ephesians 2:1-22)
(God's Will: We were sinners, but God's mercy gave us the time to choose (it was a decision of our free will) to operate by grace through faith. God set up works for each of us to do, in order that we would build value and become more profitable because God had a plan for each of us individuals. God also had a plan for us as a group (church). Ephesians constantly spoke of a will for the individual, a proper way to interact with others (group will), in order to achieve God's Universal Will: church and marriage.)
"9 After this manner therefore pray ye. Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth." (Matthew 6:9-10)
(We saw the way to bring about God's Will (His way of bringing about His Plan) was to pray, which meant we must have spiritual value...as a group and as individuals. Moses, Hezekiah, and others, were examples of people who used their spiritual value. How do we get this spiritual value?)
"1 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into the mountain: and when he had sat down, his disciples came unto him:
2 and he opened his mouth and taught them, saying,
3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called sons of God.
10 Blessed are they that have been persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 Blessed are ye when men shall reproach you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets that were before you." (Matthew 5:1-12)
(We saw that you can gain spiritual value by having profitable interactions with/loving others AND you can gain spiritual value through justice by handling injustice/persecution well. God's perfect Universal Will could have been achieved if everyone had chosen to have fellowship with God, which would have led to fellowship with each other: church. People would have gained by being moral. This would not require God to reward us because someone has taken from us (ethics), but we could create value based on love. We would have had enough reward to bring about the end of the dispensations and do God's Plan. However, when people chose not to come to the knowledge of the truth, then God could respond to the human race through justice to bring about His Universal Plan. So, either way, God is going to bring about His Universal Plan, we determine how long it will take and how many people will go to hell in the mean time. This means everyone is facilitating God's Will, either by allowing God to flow through them in grace or by helping God accumulate value at their expense by opposing God's Plan.)
SUMMARY SCRIPTURE
The best way to summarize these sixty Doctrines is to look at three key chapters from John.
JOHN 3
"1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
2 the same came unto him by night, and said to him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that thou doest, except God be with him.
3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except one be born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
(The Pharisees were Calvinists. They believed God controlled all things (omnipotent). One of them confided to Jesus that these Calvinists knew Jesus was from God. Jesus said that except a person be born anew ("born from above"), he could not see the kingdom of God. What did "born from above" mean? Definitions and words...)
"4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter a second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except one be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God!
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."
(Nicodemus wanted to know the definition of "born anew". Jesus stated this was a spiritual birth, not a physical birth. God's Thinking is spiritual and focused on causes. Man's thinking is physical, focused on effects and is contradictory.)
"7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born anew.
8 The wind bloweth where it will, and thou hearest the voice thereof, but knowest not whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
9 Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?
10 Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou the teacher of Israel, and understandest not these things?
11 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that which we know, and bear witness of that which we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.
12 If I told you earthly things and ye believe not, how shall ye believe if I tell you heavenly things?"
(Jesus related everything to a physical example. When Nicodemus didn't understand the physical example, Jesus asked how Nicodemus would understand a more complicated answer. We must choose to think God's way in order to understand God. The spiritual realm is "supernatural"... not unnatural. The spiritual realm results in MORE natural benefits and a person needs to understand the natural in order to operate in the supernatural. Many people's definition of "supernatural" is "unnatural": less connected to the natural, less connected to logic. Jesus turned water into wine. He didn't snap His fingers and everyone was filled with wine. When Jesus fed the 5,000 He broke bread a fish, and people ate, and the food was multiplied... Jesus didn't snap his fingers and everyone was full!)
"13 And no one hath ascended into heaven, but he that descended out of heaven, even the Son of man, who is in heaven.
14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up;
15 that whosoever believeth may in him have eternal life."
(Whosoever meant it is up to us to choose to believe. It was a decision of our free will. God didn't limit who can believe. God didn't predestinate people not to believe.)
"16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life."
(God loved us by giving us His Son, and anyone who believes in Him (we cannot see Jesus) will be able to repair for all of eternity (eternal life). These are the causes of profitability.)
"17 For God sent not the Son into the world to judge the world; but that the world should be saved through him.
18 He that believeth on him is not judged: he that believeth not hath been judged already, because he hath not believed on the name of the only begotten Son of God."
(The cause of judgment was the person's choice to believe. There will be people who believe not; God is Right and Just to send them to the lake of fire.)
"19 And this is the judgment, that the light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their works were evil.
20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, and cometh not to the light, lest his works should be reproved.
21 But he that doeth the truth cometh to the light, that his works may be made manifest, that they have been wrought in God."
(Evil hates to be exposed. People who don't make progress towards God prove they are evil. If a man who is evil is exposed, he will justify himself. There are things that God cannot do. God cannot grow. God cannot lie or be unjust. He is light and in Him there is no darkness. People who make progress towards God are looking to expose the darkness in them, by being humble and contrastive, and allowing God's light to penetrate their heart, their HOW/WHY.)
"22 After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judea; and there he tarried with them, and baptized.
23 And John also was baptizing in Enon near to Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were baptized.
24 For John was not yet cast into prison.
25 There arose therefore a questioning on the part of John's disciples with a Jew about purifying.
26 And they came unto John, and said to him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond the Jordan, to whom thou hast borne witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him.
27 John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it have been given him from heaven.
28 Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but, that I am sent before him.
29 He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, that standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is made full.
30 He must increase, but I must decrease."
(John the Baptist is the best man. Jesus is the Groom. Jesus and John understood that only God can be Good, and anytime we do Righteousness it is God through us... grace.)
"31 He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is of the earth, and of the earth he speaketh: he that cometh from heaven is above all.
32 What he hath seen and heard, of that he beareth witness; and no man receiveth his witness.
33 He that hath received his witness hath set his seal to this, that God is true.
34 For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for he giveth not the Spirit by measure.
35 The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.
36 He that believeth on the Son hath eternal life; but he that obeyeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him." (John 3:1-36)
(The causes of Jesus being sent by God was the Words He spoke. God's Nature is Right and Just, and He was responsible for only one birth: Jesus. You can SAY that you obey the Son, but you will not have eternal life. Eternal life is based on your actions (DO) and decision to obey the Son. The effect of wisdom is eternal Life, and the way we obey God is by grace through faith.)
1 JOHN 1
"1 That which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we beheld, and our hands handled, concerning the Word of life
2 (and the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare unto you the life, the eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us);
3 that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you also, that ye also may have fellowship with us: yea, and our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ:
4 and these things we write, that our joy may be made full."
(That which was from the beginning was the First Cause, which was God. Jesus was called the Word of life. If you want to follow God you would learn His Words, to think as He Thinks. This message was given to others, again through words, so that people could be in fellowship with God, and as an effect they would become believers, and have Fellowship with the Apostles.)
"5 And this is the message which we have heard from him and announce unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all."
(God does not have any causes that would lead to evil: Right and Just. The Calvinists, gnostics, and mystics who believe God can do anything are wrong.)
"6 If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in the darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
7 but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanseth us from all sin."
(If we SAY we believe but we DO progress towards evil, then we lie and do NOT the truth. A SAY is a Right WHAT, it is knowledge. If we make progress in God (First Command) we will have fellowship with each other (church) and Jesus' blood repairs us from all sin. All this growth can be achieved without SAYING.)
"8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us."
(If we SAY we have no sin, then we are deceiving ourselves, the truth is not in us because our DO (even one sin) proves we are sinful. If we SAY we have no sin, we do not have any understanding, nor wisdom. If we SAY we have no sin, we are in pride, and God opposes the proud.)
"9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
(Confession of sins and making progress towards Him (repentance, DO) will cause God to forgive us because He is Faithful and Righteous. God gives us mercy to repent, and does not take justice out immediately, like He did in the Dispensation of the Law.)
"10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." (1 John 1:1-10)
(If we justify ourselves (SAY), we are calling God a liar, but He has no darkness, so we are wrong and His WORD is not in us.)
JOHN 1
"1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
2 The same was in the beginning with God."
(Jesus was the WORD and was a First Cause. Have you realized the importance of words yet?)
"3 All things were made through him; and without him was not anything made that hath been made."
(Things were made by speaking: WORDS. The revelatory word of God that brings wisdom was rhema. Wisdom is actions and decisions.)
"4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men."
(Life is the ability to repair. The ability we have as believers is what OUGHT to draw others to us.)
"5 And the light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness apprehended it not."
(Darkness is a choice. We choose to have darkness or light be preeminent in our life.)
"6 There came a man, sent from God, whose name was John.
7 The same came for witness, that he might bear witness of the light, that all might believe through him."
(John was the best man pointing everyone to Jesus so that God's perfect Will: ALL might believe through Him, that ALL might be part of the Bride and the church.)
"8 He was not the light, but came that he might bear witness of the light.
9 There was the true light, even the light which lighteth every man, coming into the world.
10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world knew him not.
11 He came unto his own, and they that were his own received him not."
(The True Light had a Right HOW/WHY, yet the world didn't KNOW Him. People who ought to have received Him chose not to receive Him. It was a decision of their free will.)
"12 But as many as received him, to them gave he the right to become children of God, even to them that believe on his name:
13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."
(Choosing spiritual birth leading to God's Thinking made these people children of God not by animal thinking or man's thinking. God's Thinking is not limited to certain people, it is available to everyone who is humble.)
"14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father), full of grace and truth."
(The WORD became flesh and was full of grace and truth. If we are filled with grace and truth we have the ability to create.)
"15 John beareth witness of him, and crieth, saying, This was he of whom I said, He that cometh after me is become before me: for he was before me.
16 For of his fulness we all received, and grace for grace.
17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ."
(The Law was given to show what the people were NOT to do. It helped the children of Israel and people who followed the Law on the line of Holiness. Jesus came so that we could live by the principles of grace and truth so that He could show us a benefit for pursuing growth regardless if we were a Jew or not. Jesus brought us MORE in the Sixth Dispensation by being the ultimate covenant.)
"18 No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him." (John 1:1-18)
(Jesus has done EVERYTHING to make God's perfect Will possible. Belief in something that you can't see is faith. This Faith comes down to the way we value our WORDS!)
If you value words and God's Definitions of the words we use, may your light continue to shine.
The purpose of these Doctrine are to help grow your fellowship with God and with others by taking you to The Deeper Why: where God's Word can be applied to our lives.
Now, it is up to you if you are going to let these words affect your actions and decisions. If you are constantly looking to prove God is Right, you are actively going to be looking to see where you can be wrong.
There are no finish lines, only more music.
