9.41 God’s will under the New Covenant

Today, let us continue with the book of Hebrews. The next verse that we will cover talks about God’s will. If you asked an average Christian, “What is God’s will?” they will probably tell you that it has to do with obeying God and keeping His laws. Would you agree?

Now that would be true under the Old Covenant. God gave the law to Israel and asked them to keep it. Their success would be measured against their ability to keep those laws. But something has changed for us in the New Covenant because of what Jesus has done.

Jesus came into this world to do God’s will. He came to take away the First Covenant of Law that He may establish the New Covenant of Grace.

(Hebrews 10:5-9)
Therefore, when He came into the world, He said:
“Sacrifice and offering You did not desire,
But a body You have prepared for Me.
In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin
You had no pleasure.
Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come—
In the volume of the book it is written of Me—
To DO YOUR WILL, O God.’ ”

Previously saying, “Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the law), then He said, “Behold, I have come to DO YOUR WILL, O God.” He TAKES AWAY THE FIRST THAT HE MAY ESTABLISH THE SECOND.

He came to take away the first system where we had to keep the law as the basis to approach God. This is because no one succeeded in approaching God on the basis of his own obedience or law-keeping. Everyone failed. So Jesus removed that system by fulfilling it.

Then He came to establish a new system for us. We don’t live on the basis of our obedience. We live on the basis of His obedience. When we are weak, He is strong in us. We don’t live on the basis of keeping God’s laws. Jesus who kept God’s laws now lives in us and through us. We live on the basis of depending on Him who empowers us.

This is God’s will under the New Covenant – to live on the basis of His grace alone. Success is now based upon how much we draw from Jesus through His finished work on the cross. John 1:17 says, the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. Jesus has come to us, and we are to abide in Him. We are in Christ and Christ is in us.