God’s Good Work in You 8-5-06
Philippians 1:6 6Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
Here in Philip.1:6 is a wonderful truth that God has revealed that every Christian needs to understand.
If a person is a true Christian it is because God began and is continuing a mighty work in that persons life. That work is guaranteed to turn out successful, because it is God’s work not man’s. If a person has been born again by the Spirit of God, then there’s no need to be afraid that you will ever be lost, because God who called you will be faithful to complete the work he began in you.
In this verse Paul tells us four things about the good work that has begun in the life of a Christian:
· First of all, Paul speaks of…. THE AUTHOR OF THE WORK
Philippians 1:6 6Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
Who is the "he" of this verse? Of course it is God himself. Paul does not refer to the good work he had done in Philippi. Paul was the missionary who was sent by God to preach the Gospel in Philippi. Paul did do a great work there. He established the church and built it up.
But when he writes this letter he does not refer at all to the work he had done. It was God’s work -- through him.
In Acts 14:27 when Paul and Barnabas returned from their first missionary journey they gathered the church together in Antioch, not to give an account of what they had done but what God had done: 27And when they were come, and had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles.
It wasn’t Paul; it was God who began that good work in them! Salvation is a work of God.
Paul emphasizes that salvation is all of God and not of man.
This is one of the most comforting verses in the Bible for Christians. Our getting to heaven safely does not depend on us, or on our ability to hold on and to persevere faithfully to the end of our lives.
The Lord will see to it that we reach heaven safely in spite of our failures and shortcomings. Salvation is God’s work, not man’s
(Jon. 2:9 ---Salvation is of the LORD. As surely as He has already delivered us from the penalty of sin (Rom. 5:1), He will one day deliver us from the presence of sin (cf. Rom. 8:31-39).
Acts 16:verses 6 and 7 we are told that Paul did not intend to go to Philippi. He wanted to go somewhere else. He wanted to preach somewhere in Asia. That seemed to him the right thing to do. But it says, "the Spirit would not allow them to." Then Paul had a vision during the night. God gave him this vision. A man of Macedonia appeared to him and said, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." As a result of that vision Paul crossed the sea and landed in Europe.
When Paul arrived at Philippi, the capital of Macedonia, he spoke to some women gathered by the side of the river for prayer. As Paul preached, it says 14And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.
It doesn’t say Lydia was impressed with Christianity and decided to try it. No, the Lord who brought Paul to preach opened her heart and the hearts of her whole family and they all became believers.
· The second point is…II. THE NATURE OF THE WORK
Lets notice the word "in." Philippians 1:6 6Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: What Paul is talking about here is what the Bible calls being born from above or being born again.
A Christian is not someone who has simply changed his ways and decided to reform his life and be a little bit better and more religious. A Christian is someone in whom God has done a work as such that it can only be described as being born again.
Sometimes the Bible refers to this change as being raised from the dead, or being transformed into a new creation (Ephesians 2:4 4But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:).
(II Corinthians 5:17 17Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
Becoming a Christian is the most wonderful change that a person can ever know. It is not a superficial and temporary change. It is a powerful work of God in the very center of our being.
God performs a spiritual heart transplant. He removes our hard old heart and gives us a new heart -- a heart that loves Him and wants to follow His ways and obey His commandments.
What God begins he continues in us. - He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
Here are the ABCs of becoming a Christian: A- Admit you are a sinner. B- Believe God loves you and sent Jesus to be your Savior. C- Come to Him just as you are and trust in Him as the One who died on the cross to pay the penalty for your sin.
Did you know there are also ABCs of spiritual growth? A- ADVERSITY.
B- BUILDS. C- CHARACTER. “Adversity Builds Character!”
You can’t grow in Christ-likeness without struggle. You can’t come to spiritual maturity apart from being put through the fire. The fires of disappointment, heartaches, and trials are all part of the great process of God continuing the good work he began.
Paul in Hebs: 12: tells us that just as a Father disciplines the son he loves, the Lord disciplines us. For he is doing what any loving father does for his children. Whoever heard of a son who was never corrected? If God doesn’t punish us when we need it, as other fathers punish their sons, it means that you aren’t really God’s son at all -- that you don’t really belong in his family…
Our earthly fathers trained us for a few brief years, doing the best for us that they knew how, but God’s correction is always right and for our best good, that we may share his holiness. Being punished isn’t enjoyable while it is happening -- But afterwards we can see the result, a quiet growth in grace and character."
We may not be able to understand it now but in the future we will see how these things are all part of the great process of God continuing the good work he began. He has an ultimate purpose in the work he is doing. What is the purpose of this work?
· III. THE PURPOSE OF THE WORK
Paul gives the answer: "Being confident of this very thing that he who began a good work in you will perform it until the day of Christ Jesus."
We are being prepared for the Day of Jesus Christ. What is the Day of Christ Jesus? It is the great day when the Son of God will return to this earth in power and glory. This is the day of God’s final triumph over evil. And when Christ comes we will share in His glory!
Listen to how Paul describes this coming glory in Romans 8:18- 18For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
The picture Paul draws in Romans 8:18-19 is of the whole creation waiting with eager expectation for that glorious day when Christ returns and the sons of God are revealed.
We are the Bride of Christ! We are being prepared now for the Day of Jesus Christ, when He comes as the Bridegroom to claim his chosen bride. On that day the entire universe will stand in awe of what the grace of God has done.
In Ephesians 5:26 Paul says 26That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 27That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
Nothing God permits in our life is accidental or without design. He is shaping us and preparing us for the glorious future he has in mind for us when the whole universe will stand in awe at the workmanship of God.
· Finally…
IV. THE CERTAINTY OF THE WORK
Paul says There is no doubt about it, Philippians 1:6 6Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
His confidence is based on the character of God himself. God never starts a work and leaves it unfinished! That would be a contradiction of his character.
God is not like man. We start things but often we don’t finish them.
I’m glad that my hope in Christ does not rest upon my will power. It rests upon the fact that God would never have started the work in me if he had not decided to finish it.
Paul says the same thing in Romans 5:10: 10For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
In other words, if Christ died for you when you were an enemy how much more, then, will God keep and sustain you and finish the work he began. The character of God guarantees the completion of the work.
So as children of God Let us know for certain that this work is taking place in us.
