Journal: Journal of Dispensational Theology
Volume: JODT 28:76 (Spring 2024)
Article: Editorial
Author: Anonymous

Editorial

How does a person know the will of God for his or her life? When there are two options, how does one know which is the will of God? God certainly is interested in such decisions because He has a plan for everyone’s life; therefore, He has a preference regarding one’s decisions. Discerning the Lord’s will, however, can be challenging sometimes. As one reads Scripture – both the Old Testament and New Testament – one learns that God is always more interested in revealing himself than simply giving details concerning his will. God does not want to function simply as an information source. He wants to be involved in the lives of his people by means of the most intimate relationship of faith and trust. In times of pressure and questioning when seeking his will, God has the intention of creating a more intimate relationship with Him. Through that experience, as opposed merely to receiving more information concerning his will, there is a greater awareness of who He is and his loving concern.

Being able to discern God’s will occurs in the context of a relationship. He has revealed himself in Scripture because He wants faith to be ever increasing and for the believer’s relationship with Him to be more intimate. What God has done through his Word is to give one aids that when biblically aligned, allow one confidence to know his will. As opposed to some mystery, God has designed an incredibly practical means to discern his will. The aids He has given include his moral will for He will never lead a person to do anything in conflict with it. Another aid comes from principles, such as that of sowing and reaping. Another means of guidance is to understand that clinging to what is temporal always results in loss, while resources given and shared are multiplied and returned. Proverbs 11:24 says, “There is one who scatters, and yet increases all the more, and there is one who withholds what is justly due, and yet it results only in want.” The Bible contains many principles. There is no possibility for anyone to encounter any decision and not engage the principles of God’s Word. God has given his principles so that there is synergy in the decision-making process.

As reflected in his title, Steven Cook’s article directly addresses how the believer can be “knowing and doing the will of God.” ‘The clearest revelation of God’s will” is, of course, “the written Word of God” (p. 33). Scripture alone is “the final authority for the Christian in all matters” (p. 15) and why Robert Bell has stressed the urgency for those believers who have drifted from it to “return to the Word of God.” What is God’s will for the future? While not advocating “a particular eschatological view” (p. 13), Gary Gilley did explain the various perspectives and how such an understanding influe...