… for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
Summary: Faith is not merely believing in God, but allowing Him to work in and through us for His greater purpose.
In our last meditation, we looked to Abraham as an example of faith lived out in action (See “Philippians 2:12b – Faith and Action”). Now, Paul has us examining how God worked in Abraham’s life and why action is such an integral part of faith.
“[F]or it is God who works in you …”
When Abraham packed up everything he owned and headed out for a strange land (Genesis 12:1-5), he wasn’t doing that on his own. Think of all the unknowns a traveler in Abraham’s day would face. No maps, no roads, no Triple “A” Roadside Service. If robbers attacked, there was no one to call for help. If somebody got sick, they were on their own. No pharmacies, hospitals, or urgent care facilities existed in those days.
The world looks at Abraham heading off into the sunset and says, “Adios Amigos — You are on your own!” The believer, on the other hand, looks at Abraham and sees God working through him (Hebrews 11:8).
The same is true for circumcision.
No uncircumcised man wakes up one morning when he is ninety-nine years old and says, “You know what? Today I think I’ll circumcise myself with a stone knife.” That just doesn’t happen! Yet, Abraham did just that (Genesis 17).
Circumcision, in turn, became the distinguishing mark of all Abraham’s descendants. God’s work in Abraham that day was to set him and his descendants apart for all generations. Is that something man came up with, or is it God’s “good purpose?”
The third example is more challenging. When God told Abraham to go and sacrifice his son, Isaac (Genesis 22:1-19), how did that serve God’s good purposes?
On its surface, the premise of the story is terrifying. A man who waited one hundred years to have a son was told by his God to kill the boy. What kind of God does that?
To Abraham’s eternal credit, he didn’t stop to question God. In his letter to Rome, Paul writes, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness” (Romans 4:3).
And isn’t that the point of the story? Abraham lived it, and we live it vicariously through him. Who does the most horrible thing imaginable just because God asks them to?
In Abraham’s case, God let him get to the point of putting a knife to his son’s throat before he stopped him. In Jesus’ case, God asked him to do the most horrible thing imaginable and then watched him do it. In both cases, God’s power and love overcame the horror and turned what seemed to be certain destruction into a symbol of redemption and new life.
The question before us now is the same one Paul presented to the Philippians: Does God still work in us in order to fulfill his good purpose? Thankfully, the answer is “Yes!”
Application: Acting in faith is the key to opening the door for God to fulfill his good purpose in our lives.
Food for Thought: What kinds of things does God ask us to do today?
Acts 1: 8: But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Matthew 28: 19 – 20: Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Matthew 22: 37 – 40: Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ c 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ d 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
2 Timothy 2: 2: And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.
All of Matthew chapters 5 – 7
John 14: 23: Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.
2 Timothy 4; 1 – 3: In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.
2 Corinthians 5; 18 – 20: All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.
These are a few samples. I feel like I should put in all of Scripture.
Great Scriptures, Rich!
Thank you!
Yes, I agree that “all of Scripture” is the answer. 🙂
What kinds of things does God ask us to do today?
Become more like Jesus:
2 Corinthians 3:18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Read the Bible so that God may equip us for His work:
2 Timothy 3:16-17 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
Seek friendships with Christ-followers:
Hebrews 10:25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near
Forgive others:
Luke 6:37 Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven
Rejoice, pray, live in thankfulness:
1 Thessalonians 5:17 Rejoice at all times. Pray without ceasing. Give thanks in every circumstance, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus
Love others:
1 Corinthians 13:4-8 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails
Help others and to not be corrupted by the world:
James 1:27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world
Chris,
Excellent list! I appreciate that you began with Jesus and God’s Word and built from there.
Well done! Thank you!
What kinds of things does God ask us to do today?
God has a full list of things for each of us to do each day. We can begin by greeting Him in prayer and thanking Him for another day to feel His presence as we serve Him according to His purpose, His will on this earth.
It’s a new day, seek, listen obey His voice. Check the garden He has given us to tend as we find peace, pulling weeds, trimming and watering as required, and help others get rid of junk. Listen as He calls our attention to areas requiring harvesting or planting, Take time to marvel at the vastness of creation which He has blessed us with, and listen to His voice as He directs our path.
At the end of the day, we can thank Him, praise Him for all He has given us, and rest up for what He may have planned for tomorrow.
Ron,
What a beautiful description of our life in Christ!
Thank you!!
What kinds of things does God ask us to do today?
Stand in a hole or go shopping in the Gap?
Ezekiel 22:30.
Love and be an encouragement to others.