GODLY LOVE: UNDERSTANDING WHAT GOD LOVES
Rom 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
One of the most remarkable features of our sonship education begins in Romans chapter 12, and it is at this point that we come to understand the love, trust, responsibility, wisdom, and design given unto us by our Father. And right at the outset we see these truths within the first two verses alone. The Apostle Paul through the Father ‘beseeches’ the saints by the “mercies of God;” in other words, by all the goodness and graciousness that He has done for us explained in the prior eleven chapters of the book of Romans, it should provoke and change our outlook on how we viewed life, and even God Himself. And he wants the saint to build an understanding and an appreciation for this fact so that they can have a mind and heart of gratitude built within them, so that within their thinking will be a willingness to want to ‘give back’ so-to-speak to Someone who has been so gracious unto them. And our ‘giving back’ is what should be the only “reasonable” thing that we should want to do because of what we have been first given.
Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
This is what Paul asks of the saints when he says “that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice,” see, a “sacrifice” gives up of themselves; either willingly, or unwillingly. And this is what we are asked to do, we are ‘beseeched’ by all the “mercies” revealed unto us in the first 11 chapters, this is where we find one of the first “mercies” revealed unto us in that Jesus Christ was made a “sacrifice” for us, and this should provoke us to think differently because of this example, and by our expected gratitude by this selfless act for us as well. And here in verse two we learn how we are able to fully to present our bodies “a living sacrifice” unto God, and the rest of “what” is “good, and acceptable, and perfect,” things that God would have you to think, act, and labor with Him in, and what the “will of God” actually is all about to begin with. We must understand that understanding what God loves, and understanding how God loves, is one of the major components to understanding the will of God for us today.
Rom 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
Rom 8:27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Rom 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Rom 8:30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
However, when we don’t fully understand and appreciate ‘what’ God loves and ‘how’ God loves, we in turn can work against the will of God as saints whether we fully understand this to be the case or not. Furthermore, in our vain attempt to please Him our way we can end up cooperating with Satan in his plan of evil against the will of the Father. But we are to learn what the true will of God is by what is taught to us in His word for us, and it is this “wisdom” that we are to be established upon, the simple truth is that we must sacrifice our ‘will,’ wants, desires, and ways for the “purpose” and will of God in all that we do. This is what being not “conformed to this world” is all about; we are to want and desire to be “conformed to the image of his Son” instead.
Eph 1:8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;
Eph 1:9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
Eph 1:10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
Eph 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
And it is our education given by our Father with His word, that enables us to have “all wisdom and prudence” in His thinking, ways, and His will. And it is by His “good pleasure” that He has “made known” the hidden wisdom of His will, and His purpose. However, many are ignorant concerning what the will of the Lord is all about today, and many are in a quest to try to ‘please’ Him in their own way, with their own ‘will,’ and ‘purpose’ in view at all times; this is because they believe God has a plan and purpose centered around their lives based upon His love for them because of their ‘good works,’ but see this not how our sonship relationship is supposed to work at all. It is the son’s understanding and appreciation for his Father’s word and his actions and his renewing of his mind in his Father’s will that causes “good pleasure” within the Father. And when we come to understand that the Father’s goal is that we be ‘like Father-like son,’ then, and only then will we understand ‘what’ He truly loves, and how to please Him as we ought.
Eph 5:15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,
Eph 5:16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
Eph 5:17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.
Eph 5:18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
Hence, the only way we can truly be “conformed to the image of his Son” is by having the proper understanding of “what the will of the Lord is” despite what we see around us in theses “evil” days, we are to transform our thinking to what the “Spirit” teaches us concerning what God loves/dislikes. And our understanding of how we view the things that we used to love around us ought to change as sons who now fully understand what things are “evil,” and what things are “that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. And so, we should also want to “walk” as “wise” sons instead of “unwise” in our Father’s ways, and will. You see, our understanding that these are “evil” days comes from our ‘renewing’ our minds with the doctrine of the “Spirit” which we now have circulating within us (this is how we are filled with the Spirit; it is our inward man being filled with the doctrine that is written to us through the Holy Spirit, and given to us in our bibles), and we are able to “prove” what this world has to offer us (which has no value to us, and our heavenly vocation, nor can it bring honor and glory unto the Lord), we see what our Father teaches us whereby we can now be utilized by Him as we ‘redeem the time.’
Col 1:8 Who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit.
Col 1:9 For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;
Col 1:10 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;
So then, as we look at the above verses we that the mature Colossians saint understands and appreciates what the “love in the Spirit” is all about, these saints loved to be educated by our father, and had a “desire” just as Paul had to be “filled” with more “knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.” These saints desired to be “filled with the Spirit” and they knew how to “walk worthy,” and what was “all pleasing” unto the Father; in other words: they knew ‘what’ He loves and what ‘pleases’ Him. This ought to be the case with us today also; we should not think that being “filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding” is a ‘far-fetched’ idea, or a hard to reach goal at all. Instead, our focus ought to be upon how we can obtain this type of godly thinking within us so that we can not only do things that please the Lord; but that it will be “all pleasing” unto Him in what we do.
Mat 3:16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
Mat 3:17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
Finally, God the Father, and Paul knew that we are fully equipped and able to understand and appreciate “what the will of the Lord is” in all that we do. And so, our understanding of this important doctrine ‘is’ what understanding what God loves is all about. Notice the words used to describe how the Father’s emotions are ‘changed’ by the son’s actions? Words like: “desires,” “good, acceptable,” “good pleasure,” “all pleasing,” “well pleased,” are used in the above verses to describe what type of impact we can make as sons unto the Father before the angelic host. And it is our understanding and appreciation of the Father’s will that would have us to understand what He dislikes also, whereby we too will also view these things that we loved the same way the Father views them. This is how we become “transformed” as a “son” that has learned how to become a “living sacrifice” by the doctrine given unto him. This is how we achieve the ultimate objective for the son; which is to be “conformed to the image of his Son,” whereas our Father can also say about us: “this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Rod Jones