Not As I Will, But As You Will
(Mt 26:36-46)
God has a will.
For His will He made all things, sent the Son and the Holy Spirit.
He dwells eternally with those who live according to His will.
Faith is knowing His will and honoring it, and
The life of this faith is doing according to His will whether you live or die.
Different from animals,
Man has person, which includes free will.
Thus, he overcomes challenges and adversity to achieve his will.
How much more, then, for the will of God who is from everlasting to everlasting?
When the will of God was in His bosom, it is called will.
When His will was made into an image, institutionalized, it is called righteousness.
The will of God fulfills from will to righteousness.
Satan, the devil, who misunderstood the will of God, is
The origin of sin (1Jn 3:8) who attempted to ascend
The throne in heaven prepared for the Son (Is 14:12-15), and
He caused Adam to sin in the Garden of Eden, leading him to death (Ge 2:17, Ge 3:4).
Hence, he was thrown into Hades until the great day of judgment (2Pe 2:4; Jude 1:6).
God gave the Law to the Israelites.
Though the Law is righteous, since the flesh is weak
It was impossible for them to keep (Rm 3:20, Rm 8:3).
Rather, it led all to confess that they are sinners (Rm 3:19).
The Tablets inside the Ark of
The sanctuary reminded them of God's righteousness.
Jesus said, "Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days (Jn 2:19), because
Through the death and the resurrection of the temple of His body,
He would fulfill the Father's will for
He is the incarnate Word who was with the Father in the beginning (Jn 1:1, Jn 1:14),
Sent to do according to the Father's will, according to what is written in the scrolls (Ps 40:7-8; Jn 6:38).
As He died, Jesus said, "It is finished (Jn 19:30), declaring that He:
- Totally denied Himself on the cross and gave glory to the Father (Jn 10:17-18; Php 2:6-11);
- Condemned the devil (Jn 16:11); and
- With His blood redeemed men (Mt 20:28).
Jesus rose and ascended to heaven.
His resurrection proved His righteousness.
The Holy Spirit came to
Those who believe Jesus and are called righteous and
Have received the right to go to heaven (Rm 3:21-26).
He lets them do all things according to the Father's will.
The man of the Spirit knows that
The blood of Jesus is the only righteousness.
Therefore, to win and wear the crown of righteousness and enter eternal life,
He puts effort to deny himself and
Takes up his cross to follow Jesus (Mt 16:24; Lk 9:21-23) for
The cross is the form of ultimate self-denial,
Its completion and the deed of righteousness (Rm 5:19).
O Lord,
The cross is total self-denial where
We cannot eat all we want, sleep all we want, do all we want, have all we want...
For there is the crown after the cross
Let us all face it.
Let us all carry it and die!
Amen.