FIRST QUARTER 2026
SABBATH SCHOOL INSIGHT #13
MARCH 28, 2026
"STANDING IN ALL THE WILL OF GOD".

 

As we close this quarter, what have we learned from Paul’s letters to the churches in Philippi and Colossae as relating to “standing in ALL the will of God”? It appears that Paul wanted to drive home a single theme. He states in Colossians 2:9-10a (NKJV unless otherwise specified), “For in Him [Christ] dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and you are complete in Him….” The “in Christ” motif was a favorite of Paul, and why not? For if in Christ the fullness of the Godhead dwells and is manifested, then man and all things must also find completeness only in Him! No wonder “it pleased the Father that in Him [Christ] ALL the fullness should dwell…whether things on earth, or things in heaven,” for it was“through the blood of His cross” that “ALL things” were reconciled back to God. (see Col. 1:19-20). This is how heaven and earth were united.  

To be in Christ, then, must be "all the will of God." It is not that we are in Christ over here, and we stand in or do God’s will over there. No! All the will of God, whatever it may be, is only fulfilled in Christ! God’s will is that we keep His commandments. But how? In Christ! And 1 John 5:3 identifies the necessary motivation: a heart response of love towards God Who first loved us! Otherwise, it is what Hebrews 9:14 calls “dead works.” Good works are only found in Christ, and “you [are] in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption”(1 Cor. 1:30). Hence, Jesus declares in John 15:5, “He who abides in me, and I in him, bears much fruit: for without me you can do nothing.” We read in 1 John 4:6, “He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.” In fact, Jesus said of Himself, “I can of Myself do nothing…. I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me” (John 5:30). Unless one is “standing” in Christ, therefore, one would only stumble and fall.                

We see, then, why Paul would say in Philippians 2:13, “For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” His good pleasure is that you are in Christ, and since neither you nor I could put ourselves there, Paul notes in Ephesians 1:4a that “He [the Father] chose us in Him [Christ] before the foundation of the world…” (emphasis supplied). A man wills to live in a nicer house, so he finds a better job and starts working towards that goal. He works hard, does overtime if necessary, saves his money, and ultimately has enough for his down payment. The Father has a bigger, selfless, eternal will than that of gaining earthly goods! A man may waste precious time working himself out of Christ with “dead works,” but God, without violating the man’s free will, works to bring that man to safety “in Christ.” 

Jesus would say in John 6:29, “This is the work of God, that ye believe in Him whom He sent.” Once God has worked out belief in you, He then works to grow you into the fullness of Christ. Here is how Paul puts it in Philippians 1:6, “Being confident of this very thing, that he which has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.”  You see, then, that it is all God’s initiative! He starts the work, He continues the work, and He completes the work! And when He is done, it will be a perfect work! We read in Ephesians 1:11 (NET): “In Christ we too have been claimed as God's own possession, since we were predestined according to the one purpose of Him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will.” E. J. Waggoner puts it like this in chapter 2 of Living By Faith, “Christ will dwell in His completeness in everyone who will let Him. This is the mystery of the Gospel.”

“In Christ” connectivity means unity, a wholeness and oneness in Him. Therefore, no matter the physical distance between believers, we are held together by a bond that cannot be broken, and we share the same hope that is steadfast and sure. From time to time, we must, however, remind and encourage each other of the blessed hope, especially as we see the day appearing. Whether in physical bonds or free to labor in different fields, Paul was a joyful captive of Christ and a prisoner of hope.  He was always praying for opportunities to “proclaim the mystery of Christ” (Col. 4:3). He would say in Philippians 3:7-9 (KJV), “But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith” (emphasis supplied). Though Paul was writing in Greek and used the word “gnosis” which is translated as “knowledge” in verse 8, Paul, being a “Hebrew of Hebrews” was thinking “yada,” the Hebrew word for a deeply rooted, intimate, experiential knowledge of God such as exists between a husband and wife. He was “determined not to know anything among you, save [a knowledge of] Jesus Christ, and him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2). He traveled approximately 13,000 miles throughout His ministry to make this known. When restrained by chains, he dispatched fellow prisoners-of-hope like Timothy, Tychicus, Artemas, Onesimus, Justus, Marcus, and Epaphras to the churches to ensure that all were bound together by the message of “abiding in Christ.” These brethren, Jews and Gentiles, united in Christ, were a clear demonstration that Christ had broken down the “middle wall of separation!” (Eph. 2:14) 

The gospel is the only remedy for disunity, sham unity, disconnectedness, and self-righteousness. It carries within itself the very thought and will of God. 

Ellen White describes it like this: “The Lord in His great mercy sent a most precious message to His people through Elders Waggoner and Jones. This message was to bring more prominently before the world the uplifted Saviour, the sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. It presented justification through faith in the Surety; it invited the people to receive the righteousness of Christ, which is made manifest in obedience to all the commandments of God. Many had lost sight of Jesus. They needed to have their eyes directed to His divine person, His merits, and His changeless love for the human family. All power is given into His hands, that He may dispense rich gifts unto men, imparting the priceless gift of His own righteousness to the helpless human agent. This is the message that God commanded to be given to the world. It is the third angel’s message, which is to be proclaimed with a loud voice, and attended with the outpouring of His Spirit in a large measure (emphasis supplied).” —1888 Materials, p. 1336, par. 2.

Did you catch it? The enduring theme of being “in Christ,” the Source of righteousness? To lose sight of this is to be outside of “ALL the will of God?” The message to the early church, with all its unique nuances, is no different from the message to the last church, Laodicea. Union with Christ cultivates a deeper unity among believers and fosters a love for the gospel that the world so urgently needs! It produces the dying to self and an overcoming in Christ that Laodicea so badly needs! Christ prayed in John 17: 15, 23 & 26, “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil….I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me….that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them (emphasis supplied).” You can't miss it! Christ in you is you in Christ, and there you have the fullness of God dwelling in you. There you have the love of God dwelling in you, and shining through you, and the world will know that God is love! (see Eph. 3:17-19) 

 Nowadays, some in the church are running away from being made perfect, but no one who is in Christ can avoid experiencing transformation and the perfection of character. This is the work of sanctification. God justifies the ungodly; He sanctifies those who, by believing, are thus justified by faith, so that Christ will be formed in them, making them ready for glorification. This is “All the Will of God,” and it is all transacted in Christ, “for ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God”(Col. 3:2).    

In Testimonies to Ministers we read the healing message to God’s last day church, “The uplifted Saviour is to appear in His efficacious work as the Lamb slain, sitting upon the throne, to dispense the priceless covenant blessings, the benefits He died to purchase for every soul who should believe on Him. John could not express that love in words; it was too deep, too broad; he calls upon the human family to behold it. Christ is pleading for the church in the heavenly courts above, pleading for those for whom He paid the redemption price of His own lifeblood. Centuries, ages, can never diminish the efficacy of this atoning sacrifice. The message of the gospel of His grace was to be given to the church in clear and distinct lines, that the world should no longer say that Seventh-day Adventists talk the law, the law, but do not teach or believe Christ." —p. 92.

In Chapter 12 of the Consecrated Way to Christian Perfection, A.T. Jones makes this observation: “Therefore, since the will of God is the sanctification and the perfection of the worshipers; since the will of God is that His worshipers shall be so cleansed that they shall have no more conscience of sin; and since the service and the offerings in that earthly sanctuary could not do this; He took it all away that He may establish the will of God. ‘By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.’ The will of God is ‘even your sanctification.’ Sanctification is the true keeping of all the commandments of God. In other words, this is to say that the will of God concerning man is that His will shall be perfectly fulfilled in man. His will is expressed in His law of ten commandments, which is "the whole duty of man." This law is perfect, and perfection of character is the perfect expression of this law in the life of the worshiper of God. By this law is the knowledge of sin. And all have sinned and have come short of the glory of God—have come short of this perfection of character…. In His coming in the flesh—having been made in all things like unto us and having been tempted in all points like as we are—He has identified Himself with every human soul just where that soul is. And from the place where every human soul is, He has consecrated for that soul a new and living way through all the vicissitudes and experiences of a whole lifetime, and even through death and the tomb, into the holiest of all at the right hand of God forevermore.... Perfection, perfection of character, is the Christian goal—perfection attained in human flesh in this world. Christ attained it in human flesh in this world and thus made and consecrated a way by which, in Him, every believer can attain it. He, having attained it, has become our great High Priest, by His priestly ministry in the true sanctuary, to enable us to attain (emphasis supplied).”  

When properly understood through a heart appreciation of what it cost the Godhead to redeem fallen man from sin, this truth results in a heart surrender to the will of God, producing faithful obedience to all the commandments of God. It takes one from a simple profession of standing for Christ to standing always in Christ!

On Wednesday, the author asks a couple of thought-provoking questions: What specifics might Jesus be asking you to repent of in your life? What part of His prescriptions are you in need of most?  I would like to suggest that full repentance, surrender, and acceptance of God’s Gift of Christ are necessary. My daily prayer should be, “Lord, forgive me for acting like I can stand in ALL your will or any of your will in my own strength. I bring nothing but my 'wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked’ self! Grant me such a heart to receive your gold tried in the fire, your white raiment to cover my nakedness, your eye salve that I may truly see. ‘Abide with me and let all my work be wrought in Thine!’” (See Rev. 3:17-18 and Steps To Christ, p.70). Then, no matter what betides, I can confidently say, “In everything [I will] give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for [me]” (1 Thess. 3:18)

So as we end this first quarter, it is only fitting that we continue into the rest of the year “Standing in ALL the Will of God.” I will conclude with Paul’s admonition in Romans 12:1-2 (CSB), “Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship. Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.”

Amen!

 

— Reynald Forde