One of the questions I am asked all the time is the question, “What is the will of God?”

                    Now when I hear that, I find that an easy and a difficult question to answer.

                    The reason that the question is difficult is because when a person asks, “What is the will of God?”  They are often asking, “What does God want me to do in this situation?  Should I date or marry this person or not?  Should I go to this school or that school?  Should I go to the mission field or stay home?”  What makes this difficult for me is that God does not give me the answers to those questions.  It’s like I can tell a person when they are outside of God’s boundaries as given in the Bible, a person should not marry a non-Christian, whatever we do in life should be done for God, but answering for another person in great detail is not information that is given to me.

                    The part that makes this question easy is that if, but the will of God, we want to know what God is doing so that we can become a part of it, then we can help one another, because God has told us his will, he has told us what He is doing.  When we know what God is doing, then we can look at our other decisions and see if they fit in with God’s plan.

                    For example, if I enter a construction site, I might ask, what tools do I need?  Tough question.  But if I know that the owner is constructing a link fence, then I can narrow down the tools that are needed.

                    So often the emphasis is on “me.”  In this passage, the emphasis is on God and what he is doing.

                    This brings me to my first point, then.  The will of God is a mystery.   Because God is invisible, whatever he is doing is invisible.  If we cannot walk into God’s temple and talk to him face to face, then what he wants, his plan, his will is a mystery.

                    This leads to my second point.  The will of God is not only a mystery, but it is a privilege to know it. 

And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ

                    When we come to Christ, one of the greatest blessings we receive is a doorway into the mind and heart of God.  I read an article recently where the author said that in our time, we spend a lot of time trying to show how Jesus is God.  We look at the characteristics of God and say, see, God is eternal, Jesus is eternal, and so Jesus is God.  But in the New Testament, the argument often goes the other way.  “See what Jesus is like?  That is what God is like.  See Jesus?  Now you can see God.”

                    “18 No-one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.” John 1:18, NIV.

                    “6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” 8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” 9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” John 14:6-9.

                    This is the blessing.  When we see Jesus, we see God.  When we know Jesus, we know God.  He is the door, that when opened, shows us who God is and what he wants to do.

                    This is a privilege.  It is a privilege extended to those who trust Christ.  If you believe what Jesus said about himself, if you trust Christ when he speaks, then you will believe him in whatever he says about God.

I have never been to Disneyworld.  But if I wanted to find out what it was like, I would ask those of you who have been there.  But I would only know what Disney world is like if I believed that you had been there and were giving me a clear picture.

So Paul is saying this.  To those of you who trust Christ, who are in Christ, God has made known the mystery of his will which he purposed in Christ Jesus.

God is showing us the bigger picture.  Why?  Because he wants to.  It is out of the riches of his grace, it is out of his own good pleasure, that he reveals this to us.

What a privilege to know this information.  What a privilege to see the bigger picture.  This is one of the blessings Paul talks about in verse 3.

So what is God’s will?  What has he purposed in Christ Jesus?

                    10 to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfilment--to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.”

                    When it all shakes out, when the times will have reached their fulfillment, God’s will is to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.

                    Think of the present condition.  There are people following Muhammad, people following Buddah, people following other religious teachers.  There are approximately 193 countries in the world, each under a different leader.  One day all the nations will be gathered under one head, Jesus Christ.

                    We often debate over who is the head of the house, who will control local government, who will do this or that.  But it is the will of God that when everything is done, that everything in heaven and earth will be brought together under one head, Jesus Christ.

                    Right now there is a spiritual battle going on.  I don’t fully understand it, all I know is that spiritual beings are at war with God.  They are not submitting to Jesus Christ.  But one day, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

                    God’s will is already being accomplished. 

                    I read in my Bible about Peter, one of the greatest failures in history.  At the crucial time when Jesus most needed support and help,  Peter denied him, not once, but three times.  But later, Peter stands up in front of a large crowd of people and tells them that “God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Judge.”

I read in my Bible about a man named Saul.  He persecuted Christians and made it his mission in life to stamp out the name of Christ.  But Jesus met Saul on the Damascus Road and Saul said, “Jesus is my head, he is my Lord.  I follow Him.”

One day around 1957,as a young child, I met Jesus.  On that day, God’s will was accomplished in me.  I trusted Christ and he became my head. 

And many of you would give the same testimony today.  You would say, “If the will of God is for everything in heaven and earth to be brought together in Christ,  I would stand and declare that I am one of those brought together in Christ.  God’s will is accomplished in me.”

Now think of this for a moment.  If it is God’s will that we be brought together in Christ, don’t you think it is God’s will for us to be together?  Ephesians is ultimately a book about the church.  God wants us to learn together, work together, worship together and be together under the authority of Christ.  If it is God’s will for us to be together, then when we are together, we are doing the will of God.

What about the person you choose to marry?  If God’s will is for us to be together under the headship of Christ, don’t you think it is God’s will that you marry someone who is also under the headship of Jesus?

Where should you work?  You should work in a place where you can use your tools to accomplish God’s purposes.  So many of us use money as the first criteria for making life’s important decisions.  But if we know God’s will, what He is doing, then the first question is, “Will this job position me to reach people who might otherwise be unreached for the kingdom of God?”

When we understand the will of God, then we align ourselves with it.

Some of you may have come in here, wondering about the will of God.  The will of God is for you to trust Jesus.  Jesus is Lord.  We cannot make him Lord, all we can do is acknowledge it and then submit to Him.  If you want to do the will of God, let Christ be your head, your leader, your ruler.  Trust him.

Jesus calls those who trust him to be baptized.  Baptism takes place after we put faith in Jesus.  It is a visible way to say, “I am a believer.”  It unifies the body of Christ as it now becomes a common experience.  It submits to the headship of Jesus, who gave this command. 

Easter Sunday we are having a baptismal service.  We invite any of you who say, “I trust Christ.  I want to obey him and be baptized” the opportunity to do so. 

Some of you have made a commitment to come on board and to become a seed spreader.  When opportunity arises you will speak the truth as you understand it from the Bible.  When you have the chance you will share the gospel, offer prayer, do what you can to raise the awareness of Jesus Christ in our community.  I would tell you that when you do these things, you are working in harmony with the will of God.

And what a blessing to know and to participate in this awesome task.