(1) Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us,
But to Your name give glory,
Because of Your mercy,
Because of Your truth.
(2) Why should the Gentiles say,
“So where is their God?”
(3) But our God is in heaven;
He does whatever He pleases.
— Psalm 115:1-3
Throughout the scripture we clearly see that the almighty, transcendent and holy God “does whatever He pleases”. But has it ever occurred to you: What pleases God?
The answer may surprise you. Look at the following verses:
Luke 12:32 Jesus assures us that it is the Father’s good pleasure to give us the kingdom:
“Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”
Ephesians 1:3-8 says that all the rich spiritual blessings, the fact that God chose us, adopting us as sons, redeeming us in His blood and lavishing His gr
ace upon us is according to His good pleasure:
(3) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, (4) just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, (5) having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, (6) to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. (7) In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace (8) which He made to abound toward [lavished on] us in all wisdom and prudence, (9) having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself,
Philippians 2:12-13 declares that the very source of the working out of our salvation is God Himself working in us His good pleasure:
(12) Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; (13) for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
Hebrews 11:6 declares that the faith that pleases Him is that which believes that God is and God rewards:
But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 tells us that God called us so that all the good pleasure of His goodness would be fulfilled:
(11) Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power, (12) that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
So what doesn’t please God? Hebrews 10:6:
In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin
You had no pleasure.
The performance-based system known as The Law (the Old Covenant) gives God no pleasure. For all it does is prove man a rebel, a sinner, a renegade, a child of wrath. The law is powerless to change sinful man (Rom 8:3). To be sure, the law is “holy and just and good” (Rom 7:12) in its true purpose to expose the sinner’s sinfulness by provoking his sinful nature out of hiding (Rom 7:13 AMP).
So what pleases God? Jesus Himself declares in Hebrews 10:7-10:
(7) Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come—
In the volume of the book it is written of Me—
To do Your will, O God.'”°
(8) Previously saying, “Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the law), (9) then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.”° He takes away the first that He may establish the second. (10) By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
This is incredible. The things that give God pleasure are what He does for us in:
- Giving us His Kingdom (Luke 12:32)
- Giving us all the rich spiritual blessings (Eph 1:3)
- Chosing us (Eph 1:4)
- Adopting us as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself (Eph 1:5)
- Redeeming us through the Blood of His Son (Eph 1:7)
- Lavishing his grace upon us (Eph 1:7)
- Being the very source of the working out of our salvation by working in us His good pleasure (Phil 2:12-13)
- Being the God who is and who rewards (Heb 11:6)
- Fulfilling all the good pleasure of His goodness (2 Thess 1:11-12)
Ultimately, God Himself is infinitely pleased with the performance of His Son, Jesus Christ, when He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.” (Heb 10:9a). Do you realize that Jesus did all that for us?
By this decisive and complete action of the Son, God “takes away the first that He may establish the second” (Heb 10:9b). The weak and useless Old Covenant (Heb 7:18 ESV) is removed, precisely because Jesus Christ has accomplished ALL to establish the glorious New Covenant. Jesus fulfilled the law covenant, then set it aside (since it was obsolete, Heb 8:13) so that He could establish an everlasting New Covenant of grace (Heb 13:20).
And so in Hebrews 10:10 we see:
By that will [Jesus saying, “I have come to do Your will, O God”] we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all
Hebrews 2:10 is wonderful:
For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
Now do you see what truly pleases God? It seems too good to be true, yet it is true, because God is so good. God’s greatest pleasure is in lavishing His love and grace upon us through His Son, Jesus Christ. We, the blessed recipients of such wonderful grace, then joyfully, naturally and spontaneously overflow with praise and glory to God alone.
(1) Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us,
But to Your name give glory,
Because of Your mercy,
Because of Your truth.
(2) Why should the Gentiles say,”So where is their God?”
(3) But our God is in heaven;
He does whatever He pleases.
–Psalm 115:1-3
All scripture New King James Version (NKVJ) Copyright © 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved.