God's Good Work

Philippians 1:6 “… being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

 

            As believers in Christ, we can be confident in our future. God isn’t going anywhere. That which has begun within us shall continue until the 2nd Coming of Christ. This should be encouraging to us. God isn’t going to give up on us. No matter what silly mistakes we make or how many times we ignore His instruction. His patience is shown throughout scripture. Patience is a characteristic born out of love. If we truly love someone, we will give them a lot of latitude when it comes to their conduct. God is no different. His good work in us is representative of the sanctification process that began once we accepted Christ into our hearts. Notice I said process. 

Sanctification* is both instantaneous and progressive. Instantaneous because at the moment we are forgiven we are seen by God through the blood of Christ making us, in His eyes, totally sanctified. Progressive because in reality the process of being made holy and set apart takes our whole lives. God has a purpose and plan to use each one of us in some form or fashion. Just as the High Priest sanctifies that which is used to make an offering suitable to present to God, so God sanctifies us that we might be used for His glory. So based on this verse in Philippians, we could say that we are a work in progress. Until Jesus appears in the clouds to take us home with Him, we are to be seeking instruction and serving our Heavenly Father; but we buck at that. We don’t want to miss out on anything perceived to be fun. Christians are not to be sitting in a darkened room with a lone candle burning studying scripture all day long. We are to get out and mingle with the masses. Rub elbows with those the world has cast aside. We are being set apart for God’s use. It’s a serious responsibility we have, yet a small price to pay for a clean slate. It is a price we can ill afford to pay. We owe our lives to the payer of our debt, Jesus Christ, who will continue to sharpen us as we allow. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

* sanc•ti•fi•ca•tion 1: to set apart to a sacred purpose or to religious use. Consecration is also a word that can be used  

    for this process; a setting apart for God’s use.