Paul the apostle began his
letter to the church located in Philippi by greeting them with the
grace, peace and fellowship of God. He also commended their
“koinonia” with one another, and in chapter one and verse six
Paul tells them who initiated the work in them and who will perform
and complete it. He wrote:
Being confident of this
very thing, that he which has begun a good work in you will perform
it until the day of Jesus Christ:
The
verse begins, “Being confident of this very thing, that
he which has begun a good work in you...” Paul
enjoyed the “fellowship”
that he knew was among the people within the church at Philippi
because he was “confident”
which means “to be persuaded, to suffer one's self to be
persuaded; to be induced to believe: to have faith: in a thing” of
“this very thing” - that God had begun a good work in them.
Paul did not put his trust in man, man's beliefs or even man's energy
and effort to keep this relationship with God, but it was the Lord
who began the work in the church of Philippi, and this “good
work” in them had no other origin.
The
verse goes on to say, “...will perform it
until the day of Jesus Christ:” Not
only did Paul have confidence that the Lord began the work in the
church at Philippi, but he knew who would “perform” or
“to bring to an end, accomplish, perfect, execute, and
complete” it as well. “Until the day of Jesus Christ”
which refers to “the last day of this present age, the day Christ
will return from heaven, raise the dead, hold the final judgment, and
perfect his kingdom” God Almighty would continue and complete his
work in the people within the Philippian church. The knowledge of the
Lord beginning and completing a work in the church at Philippi was
sufficient stimulus to encourage Paul to continue making his requests
for them with a spirit of joy as he prayed to the Lord.
As we think about these
wonderful words of Paul the apostle, have we ever realized that the
initiation of our relationship with the Lord Jesus came from Him? It
was the Lord who created us, and it was the Lord who drew us to a
relationship with Him. Although He allowed us to respond to the
invitation of His gospel, it was the Holy Spirit who convicted our
hearts, led us to believe, and then saved us as we confessed our sins
and placed our trust in Him. The assurance that we gain from this
verse is that God is not through with us yet. He still has some work
to do, but even as He began the work, He will certainly complete it.
God is faithful not only to initiate a task, but also follow it
through until it is a finished work. In other words, He's still
working on us, and He will do so until we meet Him face to face
either through death or by the return of His Son Jesus. At this point
in this devotional, we should be shouting for joy because our Lord
Jesus loves us so much that He chose us to begin a work, and He will
execute whatever it takes to bring us to the end.
Next
time we will see how Paul has evidence that they have been in his
heart, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want
to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on
the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ;
www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore
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