# "The will of my Father" & "The work of God"



## InSlaveryToChrist (Feb 28, 2011)

Matthew 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth _the will of my Father_ which is in heaven.

John 6:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is _the work of God_, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

Is "the will of my Father" in Matthew 7:21 the same as "the work of God" in John 6:29?


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## Skyler (Feb 28, 2011)

I don't think so. In context the "will of my Father" in Matthew 7:21 seems to be referring to what preceded it--i.e., the Sermon on the Mount. Exegetically, I don't see how you could turn it into "believing on him whom he hath sent".

I could be wrong though.

---------- Post added at 08:03 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:55 AM ----------

Jesus' whole point through the Sermon on the Mount was to clear off and firmly establish exactly how high the standard for righteousness was. The Pharisees had essentially cut the heart out of the Law in order to come up with a construct they could adhere to in their own power; Jesus was restoring the Law to its original, impossible, fullness. Believing on Him doesn't seem to be the immediate focus of the section, though of course it's the implicit solution to the problem of following the Law perfectly.


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## dudley (Feb 28, 2011)

To me I interpret both to say that the will of the father is that we believe in Him and trust in Him who He sends. Of course we also know from scripture that it is only when we are bestowed with the gift of faith by the grace of God alone and we accept his election that we are able to have faith in his son Jesus Christ alone. However as Jonathan, said I could be wrong though. I could also be wrong…..I will be looking at this thread to see what others have to say....have a great day my friends.......


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## Skyler (Feb 28, 2011)

dudley said:


> To me I interpret both to say that the will of the father is that we believe in Him and trust in Him who He sends.



I agree with that, of course. I just don't think that's what Matthew 7 in particular is talking about.


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## moral necessity (Feb 28, 2011)

I tend to think that Matt.7:21 is referring to the doing of the law. The good news, however, is that Christ would be the one to do this for us, and he would impute his record to our account, so that we would have done it as well, through him. Therefore, the work of God is that we believe on him, who he has sent.

That's how I tend to see it.

Blessings!


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