I Have Come to Do Your Will, Oh God
Gustave Doré, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
A Deeper Obedience
An age-old question for people is, "What does God want from me?" Throughout human history, people have offered sacrifices and observed various rituals in attempts to please God or other deities. Some of these efforts are extreme, and others are more philosophical or theological.
Religion—including Christianity—is mostly comprised of efforts to please God or lead a life that pleases God. This might range from attempting to appease God’s wrath to viewing God as a benevolent and distant ruler of heaven.
Jesus answered this question once and for all, yet many of us misunderstand it. Christian believers who are well-versed in what the Bible says understand Jesus died to abolish the power and penalty of sin once and for all.
However, many Christians continue to strive for some form of obedience to God through learned efforts at goodness. The obedience God is looking for isn’t accomplished through external acts of goodness. It goes deeper than that.
Scripture Text
For this reason, when Christ came into the world, he said, “‘You did not want sacrifices and offerings, but you prepared a body for me. You did not approve of burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin.’
Then I said, ‘I have come! (It is written about me in the scroll of the book.) I have come to do what you want, my God.’ ” [vss 5-7]
In this passage Christ first said, “You did not want sacrifices, offerings, burnt offerings, and sacrifices for sin. You did not approve of them.” (These are the sacrifices that Moses’ Teachings require people to offer.)
Then Christ says, “I have come to do what you want.” He did away with sacrifices in order to establish the obedience that God wants. [vss 8-9] (Hebrews 10:5-9 GW)
[Context– Hebrews 10]
Key Phrase —
I have come to do what you want, my God.
Dig Deeper Into the Text—
Why do you think we’re told that what is said in Psalm 40:6-8 was from Christ?
What are we told in this text is the purpose of Christ's coming?
Where is this illustrated in the Gospels by Jesus? [hint– look towards the end]
Why did the sacrifices need to be set aside to "establish... obedience..." that God wants?
Things to Consider—
What type of obedience is God looking for? His Son Jesus, the Messiah (Christ), the Savior of the world, showed the answer. Jesus came to do the Father’s will, not His own. As it says, “I have come to do what you want, my God.”
This is made clear by the Lord's struggle in prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36-46), where Jesus asks three times if "this cup" of suffering could be set aside. Each time, Jesus submitted His will to the Father.
This is our illustration, our example of the obedience God wants. Not external acts of goodness, but the surrender of our lives to Him.
Jesus' once-and-for-all sacrifice on the cross brings freedom from the impossible burden of perfect obedience required under the Law. God is not requiring acts of obedience we can do for Him, but calling us into a relationship of trust (faith).
This relationship of trust is an ongoing internal and spiritual work enabled by God's Spirit dwelling in us as believers. This is what Jesus meant about denying yourself and taking up your cross in order to follow Him (Matthew 16:24).
The obedience that pleases God most is when we deny our selfish will to pursue His will for our lives. Just as Jesus surrendered His will to the Father in the Garden of Gethsemane, God asks us to surrender our will and life to Him daily (Luke 9:23).
Answer These Questions to Apply God’s Word in Your Life—
Do you have the same heart attitude of Jesus as His in the garden of Gethsemane?
Are you willing to lay down your wants and desires to do what God desires of you?
Are you willing to trust in Jesus' once-and-for-all sacrifice to be sufficient for your sin?
How are you learning to trust the Lord and surrender your will to Him?
Here’s a link to a free study guide for the book of Hebrews— Study Guide and Study Questions for Hebrews
