Ephesians | Whose Will Wins?

Whose will is winning in your life? Every day, competing choices, intentions, and purposes influence how we think, respond, and live. We may confess Jesus as Lord, but does His will actually govern our decisions? Understanding God’s will for your life requires more than knowing what Scripture says. It requires surrendering our own desires and choosing obedience to Him.

In this message from the Ephesians sermon series, Chad Everett takes us deeper into five powerful words in Ephesians 1:1: “by the will of God.” These words confront us with a question we cannot afford to ignore. Whose choices, intentions, and purposes are directing our lives?

Four Wills That Impact Our Lives

Paul identifies himself as an apostle of Jesus Christ “by the will of God.” His calling came through God’s choices, intentions, and purposes, not his own ambition or the approval of others.

Four wills can impact our lives: God’s will, our own will, Satan’s will, and the will of others. Each carries intentions and purposes that can influence our circumstances and decisions. However, we have a responsibility to determine which will governs our response.

Consider the decisions you make every day. Are you seeking God’s direction, or are you allowing personal preferences, pressure from others, and fear of opposition to influence your obedience? Walking in God’s will for your life means refusing to give another will the authority that belongs to Him.

God’s Will Is Greater Than the Will Against Us

In Luke 22:31–32, Jesus tells Peter that Satan desires to sift him like wheat. Yet Jesus has already prayed that Peter’s faith will not fail. Rather than allowing Satan’s intentions to determine Peter’s future, Jesus speaks of Peter returning and strengthening his brothers.

Opposition may be real, but it does not have the final authority over God’s purposes. Therefore, we must stop measuring God’s faithfulness by the absence of trouble. When circumstances become difficult, will we magnify the opposition or trust the One whose purposes are greater? Our confidence must rest in Jesus and His Word, not in whether everything around us appears to be going according to plan.

Persecution Cannot Stop God’s Purposes

Before Paul became an apostle, he was Saul, a determined persecutor of the Church. He approved of Stephen’s death, entered believers’ homes, and dragged men and women into prison. However, Acts 8 reveals something remarkable. As persecution scattered believers throughout Judea and Samaria, they continued preaching God’s Word wherever they went.

Saul intended to destroy the Church, but the Gospel continued spreading into new regions. What the enemy scattered to destroy, God was sowing to multiply. As the Body of Christ, we must examine our perspective. Do we see opposition as evidence of defeat, or do we recognize opportunities for God’s Kingdom to advance?

Are we allowing difficult circumstances to silence our witness, or will we continue proclaiming Jesus wherever He places us? God’s will for your life is not dependent on the absence of opposition. We are called to remain faithful to His purposes even when obedience becomes costly.

One Encounter With Jesus Can Change Everything

Saul’s determination to destroy the Church eventually took him toward Damascus. His intentions were clear, but God’s purposes were greater. As Saul approached the city, a light suddenly shone from heaven. Jesus confronted the very man who had dedicated himself to persecuting His followers.

In that moment, Saul encountered a will greater than his own. His response revealed a dramatic change in direction: “Lord, what do You want me to do?” The man who once persecuted the Church would become an apostle of Jesus Christ.

What circumstances have convinced you that change is impossible? Who have you stopped believing God can reach? Where have you allowed what you see happening around you to become greater in your thinking than what God is capable of accomplishing? We serve a God who can intervene suddenly. Consequently, we must refuse to let present circumstances limit our faith in His purposes. One encounter with Jesus can change everything.

Surrender Your Will and Trust God’s Plan

Jesus demonstrated complete surrender to the Father when He prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, “Not as I will, but as You will” (Matthew 26:39). That same surrender must shape our lives as followers of Christ. We cannot claim Jesus as Lord while continually allowing our own preferences, the approval of others, or fear of opposition to determine our choices.

Furthermore, surrender does not require knowing every detail of God’s plan. When Saul encountered Jesus, he received instructions for his next step, not a complete explanation of his future. Obedience began with responding to what Jesus told him to do. As we pursue God’s will for our lives, we must be willing to take that next step, even when we cannot see the entire path ahead.

“We have the opportunity to decide which one of these wills will have the final say in our lives.” — Chad Everett

God’s will for your life is greater than your own plans and every opposing intention. Yet knowing that truth is not the same as living surrendered to it. As the Body of Christ, we must examine whether God’s will truly governs our decisions, relationships, priorities, and Kingdom assignments. Are we allowing His Word to direct our lives, or are we still trying to follow Jesus on our own terms?

Whose will wins? Don’t simply answer with what you believe. Examine how you live, surrender what competes with His will, and obey what God is asking you to do now.

Scripture References

Ephesians 1:1, Luke 22:31–32, Acts 7:54–60, Acts 8:1–4, Acts 9:1–6