Welcome to this Come to Jesus Daily Devotional and the last week in our Summer Inspiration series. Today, we reflect on how God will complete the good work of salvation that He began in us.
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‘To all God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God every time I remember you. 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.’ (Philippians 1:1-6)
Many of us start things but fail to finish them: a course, a project, a book, a film, writing a book, a piece of art, tidying up… Maybe we lose interest, become interested and excited by something else, life’s pressures build, we fear failure… there are many reasons why people fail to complete things. However, God always finishes what He starts. Of His faithful character, we are told:
‘God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfil?’ (Numbers 23:19)
God does not lie or change his mind! in fact, He will act on His promise that: ‘…He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion…’ Those whom He has redeemed through the blood of Christ, will be with Him in glory and be glorified; the image of God that was marred in The Fall, will be fully restored in the end. In Romans, we are assured of God finishing His work of salvation in us:
‘And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?’ (Romans 8:28-32)
We know that in all things God works for our good
We are being encouraged to say, ‘And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him…’ Do ‘we know’ this? Are we confident that God is using all things for our good? Do we know that ‘the good’ he’s speaking about is our growth in likeness to Christ? Do we know that the highs and lows of life are God ‘carrying on’ His ‘good work’ in us?
Called according to his purpose
We are told that we have been, ‘called according to his purpose.’ This speaks of the beginning and end of our salvation; He ‘called’ us or, as we read in our text, ‘began a good work in us’; this phrase also speaks of the end and ‘purpose’ of our salvation, which is glory!
Predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son
We read that, ‘those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.’ Again, this takes us back into eternity and when God ‘foreknew’ and ‘predestined’ us for salvation and that we ‘be conformed to the image of his Son’ - the ultimate purpose and end of salvation.
The predefined will be glorified
We read of the ‘golden chain’ that, again, reinforces the teaching that the beginning and end of our salvation are the work of God and cannot be stopped: ‘And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.’ Do we see that if we have faith in Christ and can say that ‘I’m justified through faith’, then we can just as confidently say that, “I know that I will be glorified and like Christ!”
Paid for by the blood of Christ
Finally, we are encourage to reason and say, “What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?’ We are to reason that if we know that ‘God is for us’ - that it’s God Almighty who has began the good work, we can be certain that He will complete the good work; We are to reason that if we know if God paid paid such a price for our redemption - the death of ‘His own Son - how can we be in any doubt that He might lose such a costly treasure as we have become?
Response
In response, are we ‘confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion’ Do we know that our destination is glory? Not on the basis of your weakness and ability to hold on! No, but on the basis that God Almighty has chosen you, paid for you with the blood of His Son, and He will never let you go!
Community group notes and study
Groups will begin again in the week beginning 16th September. If you do meet with your group, feel free to use any of the devotionals as a basis for your study.
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