The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Philippians 1:4-6,
"In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of
your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 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."
Paul had a confidence for the Philippian believers, that the "good
work" begun by the Lord in their hearts would be carried through to
completion till the day of the Lord.
What was the basis for Paul's confidence in this? Certainly he was
proud of this group of believers who had shared in the work he did. He
reminded these believers that when he left Macedonia to continue his
mission of evangelizing, they were the only ones who contributed to
his support, 4:15, and when he was in Thessalonica they had sent him
aid repeatedly, 4:16. As we see in 1:5, he thanked God for their
partnership with him in his gospel ministry.
Paul also reflects on the consistent obedience of this group of
believers, 2:12, but I don't think his confidence lay in the believers
themselves. Despite the wonderful hearts of these believers and their
participation and contribution to Paul's ministry, Paul's confidence
was grounded in something he mentions to another group of believers,
the folks in Corinth.
In what we have as Paul's first letter to the church in Corinth he
says, "Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly
wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will keep you strong
to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus
Christ. God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus
Christ our Lord, is faithful." 1 Corinthians 1:7-9. Here Paul
recognizes it is God himself who keeps believers strong to the end, a
work born of his faithfulness.
The question of whether someone can lose their salvation misses the
point of to whom believers belong and the Lord's ability to care for
his own. Those who have embraced the Lord in faith belong to God and
God himself resides within them through his Holy Spirit. The Spirit
brings about changes in the hearts of believers that manifest his
presence there, "You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature
but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone
does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ."
Romans 8:9. It is this work of the Holy Spirit that keeps us strong,
bringing to completion what he has started in our lives when we first
embraced him in faith.
I think all believers from time to time question their standing with
God. It happens when we take our eyes off him and focus on ourselves.
In doing so we violate the admonition: "When they measure themselves
by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not
wise." 2 Corinthians 10:12b. The truth is that no true believer can
say that knowing Jesus Christ has had no impact on their lives. Each
of us are indwelt with God's Spirit and he brings change within. It is
God's faithfulness in his activity in our lives that provided Paul
confidence that believers will be brought to the appointed completion
God has for each one of us.
We may not all be at the same point in our walk with the Lord... it
might even be that I make you look pretty good. Although we may not
see the wonderful work God did in the believers in Philippi or Corinth
at this point in our lives, we can all certainly share in Paul's
confidence that it is the Lord who is faithful and he will continue
his wonderful work within us.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment