What is Obedience?

SHORT DEFINITION:
Obedience is doing what we are directed by an authority greater than ourselves. To obey God is to do His Will expressed in His Word.

Luke 6:46
Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?

LONG DEFINITION:
Obedience is doing what we are commanded by God to do. It is to follow and obey His Word. The Word of God is the expression of God's thoughts and desires. The will of God is revealed to us by His Word. We know what God wants of us by His commandments. When we obey God, then we please God and do what is right. His will is done in our obedience.

God desires our willful obedience resulting from thanksgiving and love. God does not force obedience upon anyone by any devilish means such as oppression. If God wanted to force us to do anything, He certainly could. He could make us obey just like robots or oppress us like slaves. However, God doesn't want robots or slave, He wants children who obey in trust of His love. If we are oppressed or restrained by obedience, it is a result of sin. Our sinful nature has made us turn from God and seek our own way. As a result, we find God's ways oppressive. We need to be saved from sin to find joy in God's ways. When we are saved from sin, we experience a new birth and a new freedom to obey. God puts within us a desire to obey and a joy to do His will. (Psalms 119:167) We desire to obey as a result of our love for God. If we love, then we obey. This is the order as defined by Christ. First we love God, then we obey God out of love. (John 14:15)

Obedience should not need to be commanded as it should be natural for us to obey. Due to sin and the evil one, however, we struggle.
(Romans 7:14-25) If our inward nature were perfect, as it was with Christ, then we would obey naturally and not need the law. We would know what is pleasing to God for it would also be pleasing to us. However, as it is now, the commandments helps us to know clearly what is pleasing to God.

At the core of obedience is the issue of God's will and our will. When we obey, we do God's will. When we love God, we seek to do His will. As such, our will should be to do the will of God. We need to have our will transformed to match God's will. In this way, there is no conflict. We will the same as God and find joy when our will is fulfilled. Conflict arises when our will opposes God's will. Then we become depressed and oppressed by having a will contrary to God. Our will is transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:1-2), and the inworking of God (Philippians 2:13). This means we surrender our will to Jesus Christ so that He can transform it to match God's will.

We cannot in our human power do anything that is pleasing to God. (Romans 8:8 ) For this we need Christ. (John 15:5) The Son is pleasing to the Father, and when we remain in Him, we may be pleasing to the Father. As a result, we need to be Spirit led and this comes from offering ourselves in loving surrender to Christ. We obey, not by maintain self-control apart from God, but by abandoning ourselves to Christ in love so that He may work through us to produce fruit pleasing to the Father. In this way, we obey by choosing to make Christ our Lord and serving Him through willing surrender. This obedience comes by faith. (Romans 1:5)

1 John 2:3-4
We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.