God's will is the overriding purpose He is working out, and our responsibility is to submit to what He has revealed in Scripture, since failing to submit is sin and sin's wage is death. God hates sin and never commands it, yet His will permits sin, as with Adam and Eve, who freely chose to sin though Christ was already ordained as the slain Lamb before the foundation of the world. Nothing happens outside His knowledge or will. Not all of His will is revealed. Some things remain secret, as in Deuteronomy 29:29, and He discloses His will progressively. He selectively gives understanding of the "secrets" of the kingdom to some (Matthew 13; Romans 9) apart from any merit of theirs, so that they can see and obey what others dismiss, such as the Sabbath, holy days, and tithing. Israel's exodus and wilderness journey illustrate that God leads by paths He does not explain beforehand, requiring patient, faithful following. Likewise, His will for each believer may differ from what is imagined, with unexpected twists and trials that prepare us for the Kingdom without requiring sin and are never too hard. The believer's duty is to live by faith, keeping the commandments already revealed even amid painful turns, and this can be done because God has willed it.

Submitting to God's will begins with walking as children of light, which means obeying what He commands even before understanding why. Ephesians 5:10 says to walk "finding out what is acceptable to the Lord," so no great wisdom or education is needed to know His will; the walking itself proves it. Psalm 111:10 supports this: those who do His commandments gain understanding. Herbert W. Armstrong kept the holy days for about seven years before God revealed their meaning. Commands such as forgiving seventy times seven, being swift to hear and slow to speak, and submitting to one another show the same pattern. Their real meaning emerges through the experience of obeying. This is an act of faith, which is difficult and may look foolish to others, and God may test loyalty by withholding understanding for a time. Yet obedience yields growth in faith, righteousness, and godly character. Where Scripture gives no explicit answer, God's will can be discerned by knowing His character and imitating Him and Christ, since children copy their parents (John 8; I John 2:6; I Peter 2:21). Mature Christians should apply this rather than crying out for intervention in every situation. The right answer often requires submitting, humbling oneself, or biting one's tongue. God's holiness, expressed as moral purity and mercy, eliminates many wrong options, as David's eating the showbread illustrates.

The third petition of the Model Prayer, "may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven," contrasts the prompt, thorough obedience of God's angels with the hostility of fallen humanity, whose carnal mind is not subject to God's law, nor can be (Romans 8:7; Psalm 14:2-3). The petition asks not only for help in obeying Him but for a sea-change in humanity's attitude toward God and His instruction. God's plan will bring all humanity into subjection to the Father, when every knee bows and every tongue confesses to Him (I Corinthians 15:23-28; Romans 14:11). Meanwhile, the Christian must imitate the angels by carrying out God's will with enthusiasm and devotion. God's will is what He wants to occur, both in His overarching purpose and in individual lives. It is good, acceptable, and perfect, and it will prevail. Servants of Christ are transformed from carnal minds to godly ones, dedicating their lives to discerning His will, conforming to its demands, and coming to share the mind and character of God. Jesus says that whoever wills to do God's will shall know the truth of the doctrine (John 7:17). God's will is revealed in the sealed canon of Scripture, which contains all that is needed for salvation. It cannot be understood beyond the most basic level without God's Holy Spirit, given through the laying on of hands, which gives the mind of Christ. This gift obligates God's people to seek His will in everything and practice it with understanding and diligence, putting on the new man day by day.

Submitting to God's will is a vital choice in the life of a believer. Fully accepting God's sovereignty provides the proper perspective to make wise decisions, as it reveals our littleness compared to His greatness. This awareness gradually creates a childlike attitude of dependency, opening our minds to how much we need contact with Him. Without submission to Him and His purpose, there is no salvation, and we must give our whole-hearted submission to His will. The exercise of humility in daily life is a deliberate choice. Once we know God's will, we must still choose to submit to it, humbling ourselves before Him each time we follow His instruction. As God calls us and our understanding of His sovereignty grows, submitting in obedience becomes less difficult because His Word emerges as the only standard that truly meets our approval. This process, though not immediate, is supported by the addition of humility to our character, gradually overcoming our proud resistance and enabling us to submit to His will with greater ease.

Jesus came down from heaven specifically to do the will of the Father who sent Him and to finish His work, finding His sustenance in that obedience. He repeatedly declared that He always does the will of the Father with no exceptions, laying down His life at the Father's command as the highest expression of love and voluntary submission. In the garden He prayed that the Father's will be done rather than His own, even under great duress, thereby modeling how true sonship rests on love and obedience rather than personal preference. This pattern of perfect submission reveals that doing the Father's will, rather than one's own, is the defining mark of a genuine son of the Father. Jesus taught that love for God consists in keeping His commandments and directed His disciples to pray that the Father's will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Through this example believers are shown how to pursue perfection by humbly yielding their will to the Father's, allowing God to work through them. The entire relationship between the Father and the Son demonstrates coordinated purpose in the plan of salvation, and the same submission enables disciples to enter that same family relationship of love and obedience.

Worship involves an attitude of total and unconditional surrender to God as Master and Lord, which manifests as seeking to do His will in every situation by asking what Jesus would do and ensuring all actions bring glory to Him. This submission arises from recognizing God as the Supreme Commander of one's life, leading to complete humility where a bowed-down heart and head permeate daily conduct so that everything becomes either an act of worship or desecration. True worshippers submit by approaching God with a poor spirit, mourning their spiritual bankruptcy, and crying out for mercy and His attitudes, resulting in comfort and filling. The material connects this submission to the broader call for constant yieldedness and humility before God, extending beyond specific times of worship to a relationship of reverence that honors His presence whether in formal services or private encounters, as illustrated by biblical figures who prostrated themselves upon meeting Him. Without such surrender, worship remains vain, consisting only of lip service rather than heartfelt obedience.

Submitting involves arranging oneself systematically under authority, as conveyed by the Greek term hupotasso, a military concept of ordering ranks beneath higher command that extends to every area of life. This principle appears in varied contexts such as a child's conduct toward parents, the carnal mind's refusal to align with God's law, wives' relation to husbands, the church's relation to Christ, and all things being placed under divine control. True submission differs from mere obedience because it engages the will, requiring thoughtful recognition that the direction chosen is right, good, and true rather than unthinking compliance. God desires this form of submission because it develops character and aligns with His purposes. Difficulties arise from two sources: miseducation through layered cultural traditions received from family, neighborhood, region, and nation, which conflict with the traditions God teaches through His Word, and perverted attitudes driven by the desire to gratify self, producing constant clashes. Liberty without submission to guidelines such as law, principle, or divinely constituted authority descends into chaos, whereas genuine freedom arises only through submission to truth. Even under oppressive or corrupt human authority, submission remains necessary when it does not require sin, because all authority ultimately derives from God. Jesus Christ exemplified this by submitting to unjust treatment at the hands of Pilate, declaring that no power existed except what had been permitted from above, and committing Himself to the One who judges righteously. Biblical submission is therefore defined as respecting divinely appointed authority out of respect for Christ, an act of faith independent of the character or justice of the one in authority. This principle fosters unity within the church, prevents endless cycles of retaliation, and advances the process of conversion from worldly traditions to God's. When every person submits to God's will, conflict ceases and peace results, for two wrongs never produce righteousness and vengeance belongs to God alone.

Submitting to God's will emerges as the central answer to a culture that increasingly reorients itself around individual desire rather than divine authority. Contemporary observations about expanding personal freedom and the loss of absolute truth illustrate how, when individuals reject traditional authorities, they construct private value systems in which good becomes merely what is pleasant or useful to themselves. James 4:1-3 diagnoses the result: wars and conflicts arise because people pursue their own desires rather than asking God, and since everyone's desires differ, collision and strife inevitably follow. The divine solution is that each person must govern himself by faith within the framework of God's laws, since truth only liberates when it is actually submitted to and obeyed. Romans 12-13 establishes the foundational principle that all authority—civil, familial, or ecclesiastical—originates from God, who rules over His creation even when the ungodly fail to perceive it. Submission to authority is therefore not weakness or an admission of equality but an act of trust in God's governance. Christians consciously choose to suffer evil rather than commit evil, recognizing that two wrongs cannot produce right. Even when authority is abused, submission remains required unless obedience would force disobedience to God Himself, in which case believers may refuse to comply, appeal for relief, or flee persecution as Jesus instructed. Ephesians 5:21 extends this principle into the church, where believers submit to one another out of reverence for Christ, since true equality does not exist among people—only submission to divinely sanctioned order prevents anarchic conflict. Old Testament examples, such as Israel's murmuring against Moses and Korah's rebellion, demonstrate that resistance to appointed authority is actually resistance to God, since believers are part of Christ's body and any attack on fellow members is an attack on Him, as Matthew 25:40 affirms. Peter's instructions to submit to every institution of man, even hostile Roman authorities, reinforce that such submission is rooted in reverence for God rather than fear of men, representing true Christian liberty. Christ Himself is the supreme example: sinless, He did not retaliate when reviled but entrusted Himself to God's righteous judgment, enduring suffering patiently all the way to death. Paul's teaching in 1 Corinthians 6 extends this to disputes among believers, urging Christians to accept wrong rather than seek worldly judgment, trusting Christ's authority to judge rightly. Jesus' teaching to turn the other cheek and go the extra mile reveals that submission trains believers to prioritize duty to God over personal rights, preparing them for future rule with restraint and establishing them as peacemakers. Philippians 2 shows that Christ's submission was also an act of love, as He relinquished divine privilege to become a servant, contrasting sharply with the prideful grasping exhibited by Helel and by Adam and Eve. Ultimately, submission to God's will is both an act of faith in His active governance and an act of sacrificial love for others, the combination of which alone prevents conflict and reflects the character required for the coming Kingdom.