Thy Will be Done in Earth, as it is in Heaven
The Lord’s Prayer is given to us in the Word of God in two passages, Luke 11, and Matthew 6
Matt 6:9-13 “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 11Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.”
Luke 11:2-4 “And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. 3Give us day by day our daily bread. 4And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.”
- God and His Kingdom are Holy and Not of This World – God’s kingdom is as holy as God Himself is holy and is spiritual in nature. Thus, all true believers are also not of this world because they are part of God’s kingdom. The disciples in Jesus day were looking for a political Messiah whom they hoped would free them from Roman rule. Many in our day have fallen into the same trap by mistakenly seeking political freedom, financial prosperity, or physical well-being from the Bible – this is the kingdom they are looking for. The Lord Jesus plainly taught in John 18 that His Kingdom is altogether spiritual in character. The mission of the Lord Jesus Christ is encapsulated in Matthew 1.
John 18:36 “Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.”
John 17:6,14 “I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word… I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.”
Mat 1:21 “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.”
1 Pet 3:18 “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:”
- “Thy kingdom come” – We read about the kingdom of God in John 3. Jesus is talking about the kingdom that God has established through the Lord Jesus Christ, which we enter into when we are saved. The kingdom of God consists of all who will become saved and live with Christ forever in the new heavens and the new earth. When we pray, “thy kingdom come,” we are saying, “Oh, God, I want to be part of your kingdom; I want to be saved. Thy kingdom come in my life.” We are also saying, “Oh, Lord, we want thy kingdom to go out into the world and encompass all who are to be saved. We pray that the program of salvation which you designed from before the foundations of the earth will come to fruition.”
John 3:3,5 “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannotsee the kingdom of God. 5Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”
Matt 8:11-12 “And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west [ God’s Elect from both Jews and Gentiles, through Faith], and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. 12But the children of the kingdom [blood descendants of Abraham] shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Matt 21:42-44 “Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? 43Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you [Nation of Israel], and given to a nation [new testament Church] bringing forth the fruits thereof. 44And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.”
Col 1:12-13 “Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: 13Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:”
- God’s Will in Heaven – God’s will was established in heaven. The will of God is expressed, for example, in Matthew 16. The will of God is that He will redeem a people for Himself and provide Salvation to the World through His Son. The Lord Jesus Christ was in perfect obedience to the Father’s will. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus in flesh, on earth, desired that the cup would pass away and yet Christ said, “not what I will, but what thou wilt” (Mark 14:36). Christ in His perfect obedience illustrates the perfect will of God. We ought to pray as He prayed so that in our life we might be obedient to God.
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Heb 10:7-10 “Then said I [Lord Jesus Christ], Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. 8Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; 9Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. 10By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”
Luke 22:42 “Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.”
Eph 1:3-5 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: 4According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 5Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,”
Matt 16:18 “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock [that rock is Christ] I will build my church [eternal, invisible church consisting of all born again believers starting from Abel]; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
2 Pet 3:9 “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
- ” Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” – The will of God is to bring salvation to this world, and that relates personally to each of us, i.e., “Thy will be done” in my life. God’s will will be done in my life only if I am saved, if I have become a child of God. If you are unsaved, God’s will is not part of your life; if you are unsaved, you are going to live with your own will and not care about God’s will. “Thy will be done,” prayed from the heart means, “O God, make me obedient to thee; help me to abandon myself to thee. I want you to be my Savior.” The will of God also includes the damnation of the unsaved. God’s justice will be completed. When the day comes, He will finish vengeance upon the unsaved; that is God’s business, and yet that is implied in the phrase, “thy will be done.
Matt 12:48-50 “But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? 49And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! 50For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.”
1 Thess 4:3 “For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:”
Rom 7:18-19 “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will [mans Will] is present with me; but how to perform that which is good [God’s Will] I find not. 19For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.”
Rom 8:1-5 “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. 3For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 4That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 5For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.”
John 9:31 “Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth.”
1 John 5:14 “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:”
Rom 8:26-28 “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. 28And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
Jam 4:13-15 “Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: 14Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. 15For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.