Matthew 19:17 - “‘Why do you ask me about what is good?’ Jesus replied. ‘There is only
One who is good’”
Romans 12:2 -“Then you will able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good,
pleasing and perfect will.”
God is good. Always. The word good in these verses is the Greek word agathos which means “intrinsically good.”[1] In Matthew 19:17 Jesus says, “There is only One who is [intrinsically good].” Romans 12:2 we learn that God’s will is intrinsically good. Intrinsic is defined; “belonging to a thing by its very nature”[2] These verses tell us that God in His very nature is good, and that His will is by its very nature good.
In Matthew 12:25 Jesus teaches that, “every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.” Since God is in His very nature good, if He was to act in a way against that nature, His kingdom would be divided against itself and be ruined. So if God is always good, and His will is intrinsically good, we need to know what God’s will is so that we know what good is in God’s perspective.
In our culture we often call things good that are not intrinsically good. We often base what is good by how it makes us feel. Feelings however do not have any bearing on whether something is true or not. Everyone feels differently, but the truth remains the same. If we believe that “what true to me is truth for me, and what’s true for you is truth for you, then what happens when my truth says your truth is a lie, is it still true?”[3] There is only one truth. Jesus is “the way, the truth, and the life.” God is Truth. God is good. We need to find God’s perspective of what is good. For what He calls good, is truly good.
How do we find God’s perspective of what is good? We can look at His will, which is intrinsically good, to know what God’s view is of what is truly good. We look at His will because the will or actions of a person reveal their heart. So to know Him, we need to know what He wants done. So what is the will of God? Can we even know it?
God actually shows us right in His word what His will is. In the Lord’s prayer Jesus prays, “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Jesus is showing us how to pray. Jesus is God. God’s will for the earth is that His will be done on it, as it is in Heaven. If something is not His will in heaven, then it is not His will on this earth. This is God’s perspective of what is good. If it’s something you wouldn’t see in heaven, then it’s not good from God’s perspective. God is always good. He can’t work against Himself. He does not give gifts that are not good (Luke 11:10-13). Things that you receive that are not good are not from God, and they are not His will for your life.
[1] Strong’s Concordance from Esword
[2] http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/intrinsically
[3] Lecrae- Album Rebel, Song Truth
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Renewing of the Mind
Romans 12:2 “… be transformed by the renewing of your mind. THEN you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is.” NIV
“… be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” NKJV
If we want to pray for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in Heaven, we need to know what God’s will is so that we can declare His will when we see something that contradicts it. This verse shows us that only when we are transformed by the renewing of mind can we “test and approve what God’s will is,” or in the NKJV “prove” the will of God. I like the picture proving the will of God gives me. It is a picture of declaring the Word of the Lord, watching the Lord heal, deliver, save, you name it, for the entire world to see, proving the Word of God true. The word for “prove” in the Greek is dokimazō which means, “to test (literally or figuratively); by implication to approve: - allow, discern, examine, X like, (ap-) prove, try.”[1] To be able to do this we need a renewed mind. Only then will we be able to test, approve, prove, and know His will. The only way to have faith in the Lord’s will being done is to know that what you are declaring is God’s will. That is the first hurdle to get over. Once we know something is God’s will, from our renewed minds, we can then be confident in asking for it to be done. “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it (John 14:13-14).” The renewing of the mind is the key to being able to pray “In His name,” because we can only pray for something in His name if it’s in His will, for God cannot do anything outside of His good nature. He is always good and cannot work against Himself. The Bible says God will do anything you ask for in his will, we need to wash our brains with this truth, renewing our minds, and believing God to be true, and every man a liar. (Romans 3:4)
[1] Strong Concordence from ESword
“… be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” NKJV
If we want to pray for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in Heaven, we need to know what God’s will is so that we can declare His will when we see something that contradicts it. This verse shows us that only when we are transformed by the renewing of mind can we “test and approve what God’s will is,” or in the NKJV “prove” the will of God. I like the picture proving the will of God gives me. It is a picture of declaring the Word of the Lord, watching the Lord heal, deliver, save, you name it, for the entire world to see, proving the Word of God true. The word for “prove” in the Greek is dokimazō which means, “to test (literally or figuratively); by implication to approve: - allow, discern, examine, X like, (ap-) prove, try.”[1] To be able to do this we need a renewed mind. Only then will we be able to test, approve, prove, and know His will. The only way to have faith in the Lord’s will being done is to know that what you are declaring is God’s will. That is the first hurdle to get over. Once we know something is God’s will, from our renewed minds, we can then be confident in asking for it to be done. “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it (John 14:13-14).” The renewing of the mind is the key to being able to pray “In His name,” because we can only pray for something in His name if it’s in His will, for God cannot do anything outside of His good nature. He is always good and cannot work against Himself. The Bible says God will do anything you ask for in his will, we need to wash our brains with this truth, renewing our minds, and believing God to be true, and every man a liar. (Romans 3:4)
[1] Strong Concordence from ESword
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