“I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” (John 15:5)
All who are the righteousness of God in Christ realize that our lives are solely dependent on the will of the Almighty for our lives, not only the continuation of it until He decides it is time for us to die, but in everything that arrives in our life while we remain here. Few though care to contemplate at length the amount of free will we who have been born-again still have, and the Sovereignty of the Living God to direct our steps.
This is not so much the validation of the truth of Romans 8:28 in our daily walk with Him, that “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” for no matter what it is, how wonderful or terrible the circumstances or situation is, we recognize, even if we cannot see it at the moment, that it is without question for good.
“But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.” (Gen. 50:20)
The “for without me ye can do nothing” means those things that brings glory to the Lord Jesus Christ, that are profitable for the Kingdom of heaven, that exalt the name of the Most High above the heavens. Those things can only be done through us by the Holy Spirit, and then only with our cooperation, our agreement in those things.
Our free will to serve my friends, or not to serve, has never and will never be removed from us, if even one small portion of it was, then Romans 14:12 could not be a truth.
“So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.”
Rewards and crowns are given to those in heaven who with a sincere heart, by the decision of their own free will, have submitted themselves to the will of God and solely for His glory. No one who has been born-again, who has been saved by grace through faith, has ever in complete totality ever completely died to self, save for the Lord Jesus Christ, and in a way that none of us can fully understand, even He said, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.” (Matt. 26:39b)
The question is then what part of our free will do we not offer up in complete submission to the will of God and why? Does the mind that serve Christ ever fear to serve, or is it only the flesh that still serves the law of sin that fears? Will our sincere heart desire to serve more when we know without a doubt that there will never again be pain, suffering or sorrow?
In heaven, will we serve Him greater, with more fervency and love because the fears of the flesh are removed? What part of our free will hinders us from realizing the truth of Philippians 1:21 today?
“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
We have been blessed with faith, we know the promises are true, and so we have hope, we love Him who first loved us with a sincere heart, and we obey Him because we have been blessed with the knowledge that He alone is Sovereign.
“I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:” (Isaiah 45:5)
“For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” (1st Cor. 13:12)
I do not believe any of these questions can be answered to our complete satisfaction in this life, we have free will today and we will have free will throughout eternity, if any choices are removed from us, we would no longer have free will, and so it always has been and always will be our free will through a sincere heart that the Lord looks upon.
“For man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.” (1st Sam. 16:7b)
The flesh, our old nature, along with the temptations of our adversary will be a continuous battle for us until we take our last breath here, after that, and for all eternity, we will do the same that we do each day here, serve Him by our own free will and a sincere heart.
