(John 5:19-20) – Knowing and Doing the Will of God

John 5:19-20 – 19 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel.

“the Son can do nothing of His own accord.”

Jesus was unable to do anything on His own. This is the exact opposite of us. We are unable to do anything other than our own thing. Just as Jesus would only do God’s agenda, we are wholehearted servants to ourselves and slaves to our own agenda. We need a miracle from God to change this reality. Only God can free us from being slaves to ourselves.

Why is doing our own thing so bad? It’s because of who and what we are. Here’s how the Bible describes us:

Romans 3:10b-12 – None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”

Jeremiah 17:9 – The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? ………(Amplified Version) – The heart is deceitful above all things, and it is exceedingly perverse and corrupt and severely, mortally sick! Who can know it [perceive, understand, be acquainted with his own heart and mind]?

Because of who and what we are, we are incapable of doing God’s will. We are incapable of truly seeking God and knowing His will, because all that is in us is corrupt and we are brainwashed by the world’s way of thinking and chained to our own mind, will, and emotions. Only God can change us and here’s how it happens: when we put our faith in Jesus, two miracles take place. The first is instantaneous, and the second is continual and will take the rest of our lives. The first miracle is the new birth where God opens our eyes to Him:

John 3:3 – …unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.

2 Corinthians 5:17 – Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Without this miracle, we are incapable of seeing God, or understanding anything about His reality and His Kingdom. When God opens our eyes to Him through the new birth, a door is opened to a world that we’ve never known before, the world of the Kingdom of God. Only then are we able to start living in such a way as to honor God and to experience true life.

The kingdom of God was always there all around us, but we were unable to see it. Without being born again, something only God can do, we would never see or understand the reality of God. Paul was clear that unbelievers—the lost—are incapable of seeing God and His truth:

2 Corinthians 4:3-6 – And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. 4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Until God shines His light into our darkness, we will be blind to the truth. God speaks “Let light shine out of darkness,” and then we are able to see. This is the new birth, and it opens the door to experiencing God and learning to live according to His will and purpose for us. We were unable, but He makes us able.

“…but only what He sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.”

The best way to illustrate this truth is found in the Old Testament, and it centers on how God led the Israelites in the wilderness. He led them by a pillar of cloud in the day, and fire by night (Exodus 13:21-22). Whenever the cloud or fire moved, the people moved. They never knew when it would move or how long it would stay in one place. Here’s the Bible’s description of this:

Numbers 9:15-23 – On the day that the tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the testimony. And at evening it was over the tabernacle like the appearance of fire until morning. 16 So it was always: the cloud covered it by day and the appearance of fire by night. 17 And whenever the cloud lifted from over the tent, after that the people of Israel set out, and in the place where the cloud settled down, there the people of Israel camped. 18 At the command of the Lord the people of Israel set out, and at the command of the Lord they camped. As long as the cloud rested over the tabernacle, they remained in camp. 19 Even when the cloud continued over the tabernacle many days, the people of Israel kept the charge of the Lord and did not set out. 20 Sometimes the cloud was a few days over the tabernacle, and according to the command of the Lord they remained in camp; then according to the command of the Lord they set out. 21 And sometimes the cloud remained from evening until morning. And when the cloud lifted in the morning, they set out, or if it continued for a day and a night, when the cloud lifted they set out. 22 Whether it was two days, or a month, or a longer time, that the cloud continued over the tabernacle, abiding there, the people of Israel remained in camp and did not set out, but when it lifted they set out. 23 At the command of the Lord they camped, and at the command of the Lord they set out. They kept the charge of the Lord, at the command of the Lord by Moses.

The way God’s people knew God’s desire for them was by the cloud & fire. If the cloud stayed, they stayed. If the cloud moved, they moved. Sometimes it would stay for weeks or months or years. Sometimes it would stay one day. The people never knew how long they would be in any one place. All they could know is that right now God wanted them where they were.

For people who desire to follow God wholeheartedly, walking in full obedience, and who equally desire to be used in a special way for God’s glory, this passage of scripture detailing how God led the Israelites is of utmost importance. There’s no better example in scripture of what it looks like to follow God with your life. The key for wherever you are or what you’re doing in life is whether or not God has led you there. How long you stay is up to God, not you. He doesn’t share that with us. He only expects us to move when He moves, and to stay when He stays.

Jesus operated according to this principle. He only moved when He saw the Father move. He might be on his way to heal someone but have someone else call for Him needing help. He would stop and help, and then move on to heal the other person. He might be trying to be alone in order to mourn the loss of a friend, but find a crowd of people looking for Him. Instead of being alone and mourning, He would minister to the people.

The Bible doesn’t state whether Jesus’ liked or disliked these interruptions. We only see that He was very flexible and willing to adapt His schedule to meet the needs of people. When Jesus saw that the Father was bringing a person into His path, Jesus was faithful to be obedient and minister to them. It doesn’t matter whether we like or dislike interruptions either, all that matters is whether we are obedient when God interrupts our plan. When we are going about our daily routine, it’s easy to be bothered when God puts a quick change of plans or an interruption in the schedule. Most of the time we are planning our days according to what will make us happy or accomplish what we’re trying to accomplish, and we usually are oblivious to what God is aiming to accomplish during our day. I’m sure it would be nice if He could shoot us a memo or something giving us the run down, but that’s not the way He works. He wants us to be ready to move at a moments notice. We must follow the cloud & fire. When we sense the Holy Spirit is moving in something, we must be obedient to follow. When we sense the Holy Spirit is not moving in something, we need to pray and ask God if we’re wrong and if we’ve missed Him somehow.

Whatever is not done in faith is a sin (Romans 14:23). If we’re not following the cloud, we’re out of the will of God and it is sin. When you take a job or choose a career, you better do it because you are convinced this is where the Holy Spirit is leading. If you’re going to marry someone, you better do it because it’s God’s choice for you, not because the person matches your “29 dimensions of compatibility.”

God wants to be Lord of every area of our lives, having us fully submitted to only doing what we see Him doing, only going where we see Him going, only moving when we see Him moving.

“For the Father loves the Son and shows Him all that He Himself is doing.”

To follow the example set by Jesus, God has to break us from our way of thinking, and to free us from being slaves to our own mind, will, and emotions and God wants to do this. He wants to show us His will and He wants to lead us in every area of our lives—every little step.

God gives us His Word. The Word of God is a tool to free us from being a slave to ourselves. It reveals what is from us and what is from God:

Hebrews 4:12 – For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

It’s our spirit that communicates with God’s Spirit. God gives us the Holy Spirit to lead us into wisdom, direction, and understanding as we pray and study His Word and as we go through life. Jesus said that part of the Holy Spirit’s mission is to lead us into the truth,

John 14:26 - “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you”

John 16:12-15 - “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

Reading the Bible without the Holy Spirit’s help won’t be any benefit to us. We need the Holy Spirit to, not only reveal to us the heart of God as we read, but also to bring it to our memory when we need it.

The key point is this, God wants to show you His will. He wants to let you in on His plan for your life and His purpose that He has for you. He’s not going to hide if from you if you’re truly seeking to know. That doesn’t mean He is going to tell you the future, it means He’s going to lead you in the now—to keep your foot from stumbling and to keep you in His perfect will.