Doing God’s Will – A Cooperative Process
Doing God’s Will – A Cooperative Process.
“Now, may the God of peace… prepare you for God’s service by equipping (“katartiasai”) you with every good (“agathos”) thing you need to do what God wants, becoming fully mature in order to do God’s will (“thelema) in every good deed. May God produce in you only those things that give Him the most pleasure, through your life-union with Jesus the Messiah, who is to receive all glory forever and always! Amen! (Hebrews 13:21).
“Katartiasai” = A Greek term that means to equip in order to serve; to make whole and complete; to bring to full maturity; to perfect by joining together; literally, to repair, restore, and precisely mend something, such as a fishing net that is being prepared for its intended use by mending it together and making it whole.
“Thelema” = A Greek term which means the preferred choice, the intended will that has a deep purpose behind it; the desired preference for action.
“Agathos” = A Greek term that implies qualities inside a person that are spiritually and morally excellent; intrinsically good; deeds that are done which reflect God’s character and align with His will; describes what originates from God and is empowered by Him in one’s life through faith.
A Divine Process. Doing God’s will requires cooperating with God and participating with Christ in His goodness. We can only accomplish God’s will by submitting to God’s work in us, enabling us to demonstrate His agathos, His goodness. Agathos is the inner goodness produced by the Holy Spirit in our hearts as we are transformed by God, and it finds expression in a demonstrated goodness toward others through deed and word. The Lord produces a goodness in each of us who are believers that overflows its banks in us and spills over to others in a way that accomplishes God’s will, is of service to them and beneficial to those in need. Agathos are honorable works of goodness that God offers to others through us for their benefit. We cannot do God’s will on our own steam, with our natural abilities, under our own power. God Himself makes us capable of doing what God wants, of accomplishing those things in our lives which give God pleasure. Our good works, then, are not what saves us or makes us acceptable to God. We do God’s will because it reveals His presence in us, because obedience pleases him, and our accomplishing God’s will is actually the way for us as His followers to show that we love Him.