Bible Study with the Cincottis – Will Power – 04/19/2026
Today’s Bible Study, Authored by Arthur Cincotti.
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Will Power
“Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.” Mt. 6:10
Last week, I suggested that there are two culprits responsible for the chaos in creation: Satan and self. We focused on the workings and scheming of Satan and his demonic cohorts. We observed that Satan, though defeated at the cross, still has the capacity to wreak havoc in this present dispensation. This is the long season between Christ’s first coming and His second, which some call the “now and not yet.” There is a weight of heaviness and confusion on our souls presently because of this tension. We pine after the robust and abundant life that Jesus promised, while that adversary continues to stalk us and crush our hopes of that ever coming to pass. Paul was acquainted with this tension when he said, “But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Phl.1:23.
Today, we will look more particularly at our role in this chaos. As I said last week, I shudder to give Satan too much credit. Without an object for his anger and ugliness, what sway would he have to oppose God? We are the prize over which the battle rages, and at the same time, we are in the battle. Free will is both our weapon and our Achilles heel. The atmosphere of free will is the only environment in which love can persist. According to God’s majestic and brilliant design, He gave us the capacity to reject Him with the intent that we would long for the beauty of His holiness and all the satisfaction of His presence. Furthermore, the Holy Spirit steers us when He comes to dwell within us and governs our will.
We can only speculate as to what drove Adam and Eve to rebel. Perhaps they were bored. With nothing to compare the wonders of God’s perfect creation with, they became natural candidates and vulnerable to the deception that there was something better available that God was withholding. We, however, have no such excuse. We have both seen and experienced good and evil since that knowledge is now open to us. It seems as though the choice should be clear. Why do we still stumble? Because the evil of evil lies in that it disguises itself as good, just as the perpetrator of evil transforms and disguises himself into an angel of light. Since we are subject to the deceptions of these angelic creatures who are more powerful than we are, what hope do we have to cultivate our will toward God?
The truth is that we have sufficient information to make our choice. God has revealed Himself to us through His word and in the person of Jesus Christ. He has also exposed the counterfeit. Something internal, however, yet wars against our soul to sway our decision-making. Peter exposes this when he says, “Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul.” I Pet. 2:11. We can draw three truths from this short Scripture: First, as “beloved” God identifies us as the objects of His love. Paul says, “…the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Gal. 2:20. Second, we are, “pilgrims and sojourners”. We are only passing through this state of being. It is temporal; time-based. The power of its vexation lies in the attention we give it. Try asking the question, will this problem, or temptation have as much weight a year from now, or even a week, a day, or an hour from now? Every opportunity we have to step out of time and into eternity is a victory. Finally, Peter reveals that the flesh is the vulnerable component. Jesus said, “The spirit in deed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Mk. 14:38. We place so much importance upon the flesh, but Jesus says elsewhere, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. Jn. 6:63
We are identifying the problem area. Satan traffics in our soulish realm in order to tempt our will toward satisfying our flesh over our spirit. It’s important to put these three spheres of self: spirit, soul, and flesh under the microscope to gain some definition.
Our spirit man is the “new creation” man who comes alive when we bond with Jesus Christ through confession. The Holy Spirit reveals Christ and engages our will, for Jesus said, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him” Jn. 6:44
Only the spirit man can fellowship with God, for Paul writes, “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” I Co. 2:14. Our spirit man is seated with Christ in heavenly realms. Eph. 2:6. Our spirit man is “hidden with Christ in God.” Col. 3:3.
Our soul represents our mind, will, and emotions; sometimes called, “the heart.” Paul identifies the divisions when he says, “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” I Th. 5:23. And the writer of Hebrews goes further to say, “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Heb. 4:12
finally, we have the flesh, which is our earthly tent. Peter said in his letter, “Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you, knowing that shortly I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me.” II Pet. 1:14.
Our flesh is not incidental. Jesus said, speaking of marriage, “and the two shall become one flesh; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh.” Mk. 10:8. Paul really sorts it out, “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit…So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. Rm. 8:5&8
So, we notice that the will is nestled in the soulish realm. This is where the hard word of sanctification is done. The spirit man and the flesh are tugging at the will to make choices; the spirit toward eternity and the flesh toward the temporal. It’s our responsibility to choose wisely. We can’t blame Satan for forcing us to do anything. As we said last week, he only has access to our soul if we give him legal permission to govern there. In his book, Deliverance Defined, Don Dickerman says, “Doubt is a choice. Unbelief is something people decide to do. It not only opens doors for demons, but it also empowers demons who are already present. Pride generally is the prop that holds up doubt and unbelief.” He also quotes, “As some have said, we don’t really break God’s commandments; we break ourselves against His commandments.” There is plenty of responsibility for us to shoulder. We are without excuse. Paul writes, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so the they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in the thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” Rm. 1:20,21
Our will is designed to be conformed to God’s will that we may be one. Jesus prayed to the Father in the garden, while His soul was in turmoil, knowing that His flesh was soon to be crushed, “...not My will be done, but Yours, be done.” Lk. 22:42. Our capacity to agree with God lies within our will, and thus the will has power. Paul writes, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Rm. 12:2. Jesus said, “for whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.” Mt. 12:50; and, “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” Jn. 6:38
Free will is a gift to be laid at the foot of the cross out of love!
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