When the Scriptures speak of the will of God, there are two possibilities in view — either the sovereign, decreed will of God by which He governs all the affairs of creation, or the moral will of God by which He reveals the commands of which are incumbent on all men to follow.
And in relation to the moral will of God, while there are many different commands and purposes which are revealed by God, there are two fundamental and essential kinds of moral will. First, it is God’s (moral) will for all men to know Him:
“This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Tim. 2:3-4)
If someone is not a believer, it is God’s will and desire for that person to know Christ as Savior.
Secondly, it is God’s (moral) will for all those who are His to be sanctified and grow in maturity in Christ:
“For this is the will of God, your sanctification…” (1 Thess. 4:3)
“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren” (Rom. 8:28-29)
It is not only God’s desire for believers to be sanctified, but according to Romans 8, everything is caused by God so that His own will be changed and transformed into the image of Christ.
So in any circumstance, a believer can know the will of God by answering the question, “what can I do in this situation to be more like Jesus Christ?” A godly response to that question will reveal the will of God.
Kevin DeYoung, echoing Augustine’s words (“Love God and do what you will”) has summarized it well:
So the end of the matter is this: Live for God. Obey the Scriptures. Think of others before yourself. Be holy. Love Jesus. And as you do these things, do whatever else you like, with whomever you like, and you’ll be walking in the will of God.
Words of Grace 