God does keep working . . .

 

 

My dad often made fun of government workers claiming that one would dig a hole and the other three would lean on their shovels and watch. This tied with those who say, “I love work; I could watch it all day.” For me, work is generally a good thing, but I do love to watch it — when God is doing the WORK!

In the lives of people, God’s work begins with conviction of sin and the work of redemption. He says our works cannot make that happen because salvation is by grace through faith and faith is His gift to us. When Jesus was asked, “What must we do to be doing the works of God?” He said, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”

The Laws of God were not given to save us but to show us we need saving. Romans 3:20 says, “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin” and Romans 4:5 completes the idea: “And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.” This is stated again in Ephesians 2:8–9: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

But this marvelous saving work by God does not end there. After that, verse 10 says, “We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Any goodness and power in His people are the result of His work in our hearts and lives. Even though the Bible tells us to, “Work out your salvation” it adds, “For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13)

His workmanship includes many activities. For instance, 2 Timothy 3:16–17 tells how, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

Because He equips us, we need to read and study His Word so we can, “Do our best to present ourselves to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” We are His workers, yet He is behind all the work done. For example, Acts 13:2 tells how the early believers “were worshiping the Lord and fasting” the Holy Spirit said to them, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

With that, the Lord also says, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” Part of that reward is His comfort and grace that “comforts our hearts and establishes them in every good work and word” (2 Thessalonians 2:16–17, also see Hebrews 13:20-21) and the promise that “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

GAZE INTO HIS GLORY. In our church, we often say, “Only God” because God does the work and there is no room for boasting, only to give Him glory. Yet as Paul wrote in Romans 15:17, “In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God” and in 1 Corinthians 15:10, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.” At the same time, he also called himself the “chief of sinners.” He knew where his power to work came from.

I do too. He works in my life so I can work to benefit the lives of others. He “works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed.”  I also know that “for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” I can seek the good of others and do even the hard stuff as He gives the energy and the zeal for each task. He moves me to devote myself to doing good so I can “help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful.” As James 2 says, the work of God is to enable His servants to demonstrate our faith with the good works that He gives us to do . . . and to be joyful as we watch Him work out the results.