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Although God has a will for everything, He does not act independently; rather, He wants the human will on earth to echo His will before He does anything—Matt. 6:10; 1 John 5:14-15:
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In the universe there are three wills: the divine will, the satanic will, and the human will; God wants man's will to be joined to Him and be one with Him so that man may express and echo His will back to Him in prayer for the good pleasure of His will—Eph. 1:5, 11; Isa. 14:12-15; Matt. 6:10; 7:21; 26:39; Phil. 2:13.
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God will not act independently, and He will not accomplish His will alone; instead, He will accomplish His will only when His people agree with Him and are one with Him—Col. 1:9; 4:12:
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If there is only a will in heaven, God will not move; the will in heaven is accomplished on earth only when we, His people, want the will in heaven to be done on earth—Matt. 6:10.
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Because God acts according to laws established by Him, He will not annul man's will on earth by His own will; He will not usurp man's will and act independently— Josh. 24:15, 22.
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Everything related to God's move and work on earth can be accomplished only when there is a will on earth that cooperates with Him— John 7:17.
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God cannot do what He wants by Himself; He does it only with the cooperation of the church; He accomplishes His will through the church.
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Whenever God's people place their will in harmony with God's will, the will of God will be done on earth as in heaven—Matt. 6:10.
Morning Nourishment
Col. 1:9 Therefore we also, since the day we heard of it, do not cease praying and asking on your behalf that you may be filled with the full knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.4:12 Epaphras…[is] always struggling on your behalf in his prayers that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God.
In eternity future, although man’s will is free, it will be in conformity to God’s will, and there will be no will that is not subordinate to God’s authority. However, in time, God is limited by man….God may want something to be big, yet man may want it to be small. Or God may want something to be small, yet man may want it to be big. God has no freedom at all! God’s move is controlled by man in time. This speaking is in reference to the church. All of God’s moves are limited by the church in time because the church represents man in eternity future. The church is standing on the earth today for God’s will. If the church comes up to the standard of God’s will, He will not be limited. But if it does not come up to the standard of His will, God will be limited. God is doing what He wants to do through the church. (CWWN, vol. 22, “The Prayer Ministry of the Church,” pp. 141-142)
Today’s Reading
Today the church is taking the position that man will take in eternity. Then, even though man’s will is free, it will stand completely on the side of God’s eternal will. The church is taking that position ahead of time. Just as God will express Himself in eternity through the New Jerusalem, the Lamb’s wife, He also is expressing Himself today through the Body of Christ. Although the church has a free will, it submits this will to God’s authority as if no other will existed. This allows God to do whatever He wants to do. When the church places its will under God’s will today, He will move in the same way that He will in eternity; He will move as if no other will were opposing Him. This is a glory to God!Now we can see the church’s position before God. We cannot make the church so low by suggesting that it is merely a meeting. No, the church is a group of people who have been redeemed by the blood, who have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit, who have committed themselves to God’s hand, and who are willing to take God’s will, do His will, and stand for God on earth for the sake of maintaining His testimony.
We have to see that God works according to a law. Since there is free will on earth, God will not annul man by His own will. Brothers and sisters, do not think that this is a strange thing. This is a fact. God is in heaven. Yet all His works on earth can be accomplished only when there is a will on earth that agrees with and decides to do the works. He will not put aside man’s will on earth. He will not usurp man’s will on earth and act independently. Everything related to Him can be accomplished only when there is a will on earth that cooperates with Him. When the earth works, God works. When the earth decides, God acts. God must have man’s will in harmony with His will. This harmony in will is a great glory to God!
We have said that God has a will for everything. Yet God does not act independently; He will not do anything by Himself. Even though God has a will, He wants the free will on earth to echo His will before He does anything. If there is only a will in heaven, God will not move. The heavenly move is accomplished on earth only when the earth wants the same thing as heaven. Today this is called the ministry of the church. Brothers and sisters, the ministry of the church is not only the preaching of the gospel. This does not mean that we should not preach the gospel; it means that the ministry of the church is not merely the preaching of the gospel. The ministry of the church is to bring the will in heaven to earth. (CWWN, vol. 22, “The Prayer Ministry of the Church,” pp. 142-143)
Further Reading: CWWN, vol. 22, “The Prayer Ministry of the Church,” ch. 1