One often misunderstood phrase is the simple statement \u00a0\u2018I want to please God.\u2019\u00a0 Is this ok? Should I have this desire? Is God not pleased with me already? Do I go in and out of acceptability? Confusion!<\/p>\n
In English we can look at \u201cplease\u201d in two ways \u2013 either from the perspective of an agent, or from the one receiving the action. If my aim is to please God, then the issue could be my attitude (desiring to please) or the issue could be the receiver\u2019s attitude (God\u2019s pleased-ness). This is a huge distinction. Let\u2019s look at these two options in light of Paul\u2019s statements.<\/p>\n
Option 1: It is about God\u2019s attitude. <\/strong>If Paul was\u00a0saying that he is worried that God will not be pleased with him, and is concerned about God\u2019s displeasure, that would mean that God\u2019s pleasure is based on whatever Paul did in any particular situation. Depending on things like how much Bible reading you did, or whether you avoided sin today, God might be displeased with you or pleased with you\u2026 if this is what Paul is referring to, then \u201cI want to please God\u201d would have an implied question: \u201cdid I?\u201d<\/p>\n Option 2: It is about Paul\u2019s attitude. <\/strong>On the other hand, if Paul is focused on his own heart\u2019s desire, then it is regardless of what God\u2019s state is. Paul could be saying — I am so excited by what God has done for me, I now have this incredible desire inside to please God. (God might be already pleased\u2026 God might not be pleased\u2026 Paul in this sense is talking about himself, not about God\u2019s pleasedness).<\/p>\n Do you see the difference? In reality, option 1 goes pretty strongly against the Gospel. The proclamation of the good news is that there has been a great exchange: my sin on Christ, Christ\u2019s righteousness on me. I get the attitude of God in Matthew 3:17\u2014\u201cthis is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased\u201d \u2013 and Jesus gets the wrath on sin that was rightly due me (that\u2019s called propitiation).<\/p>\n So\u2026 Option 2 is the best way to think about these verses. And if that is true, we would expect that the believer would never be said to be in God\u2019s displeasure<\/em>. That\u2019s the case\u2026 and further, there are statements about unbelievers not pleasing God. Romans 8:8, for example, says that \u201cthose who are in the flesh cannot please God.\u201d \u00a01 Corinthians 10:5 says of unbelieving Israelites that \u201cGod was not pleased\u201d with them.\u00a0 That makes great sense\u2026 because you have to be in Jesus <\/em>to please God, and then you please him all the time (in a God-oriented sense).<\/p>\n But what about the actual verses in Paul? Good question, let\u2019s take a look:<\/p>\n 1 Thessalonians 2:4: \u201cWe speak, not to please man, but to please God\u201d<\/p>\n Colossians 1:9-10 \u201c\u2026 we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will\u2026 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully desiring to please him\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n 1 Corinthians 7:32 \u201cThe unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord.\u201d<\/p>\n 2 Corinthians 5:9 \u201cwe make it our aim to please him.\u201d<\/p>\n Galatians 1:10 \u201cFor am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God?\u201d<\/p>\n These (and a few others) all refer to man\u2019s heart\u2026 the believer\u2019s desire to please. This desire to please God is often contrasted with the desire to please man. It is all about the changed motivation of the believer, from self to God.<\/p>\n In Paul\u2019s heart was a desire to please God, and he wanted his fellow believers to have that desire too. His actions were guided by a desire to be a God-pleaser, not a man-pleaser. This is a wonderful desire that I pray, in the Spirit, we all have.<\/p>\n But may we never think that God who has clothed us with the alien righteousness of Christ and united us through death into the life of Jesus might ever look with displeasure on us. Paul\u2019s statements about his attitude and his prayers for others to have a similar attitude do not reflect an uncertainty about his acceptability before God. Rather he reflects the transformation that the Holy Spirit brings, where our hearts desire to do the things that are pleasing to God\u2026 just as we are already pleasing to him in Christ.<\/p>\n So\u2026 may you increasingly find in your heart a desire to please God, which is a fruit of the Spirit within you, and is aimed at a God who is already hugely pleased and has accepted you in Christ.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" One often misunderstood phrase is the simple statement \u00a0\u2018I want to please God.\u2019\u00a0 Is this ok? Should I have this desire? Is God not pleased with me already? Do I go in and out of acceptability? Confusion! In English we can look at \u201cplease\u201d in two ways \u2013 either from the perspective of an agent, … Continue reading My Desire to Please an Already-Accepting, Loving God<\/span>