For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. For it is only right for me to feel this way about you all, because I have you in my heart, since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers of grace with me (Philippians 1:6-7 NAS95).
What God begins, God completes. This is a good thing. Left to our own strength, we would never remain faithful. Thankfully, we have a helper, the Holy Spirit.
Jesus said to Nicodemus, The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit (John 3:8 NAS95).
Paul’s confident assertion about the Philippians was based on two things: God’s character and the effects of the Holy Spirit.
Concerning His character the Book of Hebrews says: For men swear by one greater than themselves, and with them an oath given as confirmation is an end of every dispute. In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us (Hebrews 6:16-18 NAS95).
Concerning the Holy Spirit: Paul saw His effects upon the Philippians by their involvement in his ministry. The Wind blew and the Philippians were stirred to service.
A believer can and should have faith that Christ will raise him up on the last day. Primarily because God promised to do so. God cannot lie and He does not change His mind (James 1:17). Also, if he sees the fruit of the Spirit in his life he can take some comfort. Be careful, however, of grounding your faith upon your faith and not upon the work of Christ.
We can have confidence that He who began a good work in you will perfect it!
Comments
Post a Comment