“Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created” (Revelation 4:11).

To the age-long question as to why God created all things, this great hymn of praise at God’s throne gives us all that we really need to know: It was simply His pleasure to do so!

Actually the word “pleasure” in this verse is usually translated “will” (Greek, thelema), and this is the last time it is used in the Bible. It is very appropriate that the majestic theme of the will of God, which pervades all Scripture, is thus brought to its climax and conclusion by this grand testimony that the entire creation is an expression of the will of its Creator.

Compare this with the first occurrence of thelema, in the New Testament. It is found in Matthew 6:10, where the Lord was instructing His disciples to pray: “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” The first reference to the subject of “will,” like the last, thus deals with the will of God, rather than the will of man. This is most significant, teaching us that man’s will is always encompassed and limited by God’s will. Even Christ prayed, in His humanity: “Not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42), and this must also be our prayer (I John 5:14; James 4:15).

Note also the beautiful pattern divinely implanted here in the very structure of Scripture. The first occurrence of “will” is in a prayer directing us forward to the consummation of all things; the last occurrence is in a prayer that directs us backward to the creation of all things. Both the beginning and the ending accomplish the will of God. How foolish and wrong it is, therefore, for anyone to seek to reject or thwart the will of God. His will is always best, and right, and sure, and we need to conform our wills to His will. Then it is that we can truly ascribe glory, and honor, and power to Him. HMM