Perfect Work

God’s Perfecting Work

Philippians 1:6  ‘Being confident of this very thing, that He Who has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.’

Over the course of a lifetime, the majority of people, if not all, can look back and reflect on projects or activities which they started but never got to finish.  It may have been something as important as a career pursuit or as trivial as a weekend carpentry project, but we often begin things which don’t get finished.  This is in direct contrast with the way God works.  When Jesus came to earth, He came for the purpose of dying for our sins, and nothing was going to prevent Him from accomplishing His Father’s will.  In Luke 9:51 we are told that He ‘steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem’ where He would lay down His life for the redemption of the world.  Nothing could deter Him from finishing the work He came to earth to do.  In today’s verse, we have another example of God’s faithfulness in completing the work He has begun – this time in the life of an individual believer.  When a person is saved, s/he is a babe in Christ and has to grow spiritually to become a mature Christian who is prepared for eternal life in heaven.  While the believer has a role in spiritual development, the ‘heavy lifting’ is the work that was begun and will be completed by the Holy Spirit.

At times we may feel that we are not winning the battle, or making progress toward the goal of becoming more like Christ.  But, as the verse says, we can be confident that He Who began the good work will perform it, even until that day when Jesus Christ returns.  This work began with salvation and sanctification, and will be completed with our glorification.  Only the perfect work of a perfect God will perfect an imperfect person for a perfect heaven.

Are you confident that God will perform the work necessary to prepare you for heaven?

How do you feel you have to help God in that work?

What do you understand to be the ‘day of Jesus Christ?

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