4:3 the will of God, your sanctification. Scripture generally conceives of the will of God in one of two senses. Sometimes, as in Eph. 1:11, what is meant is the eternal purpose of God that determines history, and that we cannot know except by observing the outworking of history or through a special revelation (prophecy). This is often called by theologians the “decretive,” “hidden,” or “secret” will of God. Elsewhere, as here and in 5:18, what is meant is the duty God has announced through revelation, the “preceptive” or “revealed” will of God (Deut. 29:29).