Thrust statement: God works through individuals to accomplish His objectives.

Scripture Reading: Philippians 1: 3-6;

            A consciousness of God’s work “in you” will alter one’s reaction to the good news of salvation made available through Christ. This awareness will not only affect our outlook toward evangelism, but it will also affect the way we react toward others. Are you conscious that God works through you to accomplish His objectives—the salvation of men and women? Are you sharing your faith in Christ with others? What do you do to promote unity among God’s people? Do you make allowances for other believers? Do you forgive others as you wish God to forgive you? Are you a professional faultfinder? What does it mean to you to be called a “servant” of the Lord Jesus? Are you aware of your calling into the service of God?  Do you love others as Christ has loved you (John 15:12)?

Do you live a life worthy of the calling you have received (Ephesians 4:1)? Are you humble, gentle, and patient with other believers (4:2)? Do you bear (make allowances) with other Christians in love (4:2)? Do you do everything in your power to keep the Spirit’s unity (4:3)? How can believers respond positively to their calling? The answer lies in a perception of God working through each individual to achieve his purpose.  This realization of God’s activities in His people should assist one in his or her behavior.

We are servants of God. We are saints of God. As “saints” in Christ Jesus, God calls everyone into His service.  For Paul, the whole Christian community, not just the Philippians, is called into mission and ministry. Perhaps, the key verse in the entire Philippian letter is found in verse 6 of the first chapter: “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” ^[1] Apparently, the Philippians were having second thoughts about their place in God’s kingdom, especially with the persecutions encountered because of their faith. Thus, Paul seeks to nip-in-the-bud any defection of disloyalty or misunderstanding as to the nature of their work:

Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel ^28 without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you (Philippians 1:27-28).

Prior to this statement, as noted above, Paul issues one of the most profound theological statements found in this short epistle: “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (1:6). This statement is still true today. God is still working in the lives of His saints. God has begun a work with the saints in the New Covenant Fellowship at the Ramada Inn in Montgomery, Alabama. Everyone who is a part of this community of believers must never forget that it is God working in each person in order to accomplish His objectives.

Just as the Philippians, we, too, have doubts, from time to time, about our Christian ministry, especially when Christians are too quick to criticize other believers. Not only do believers frequently disapprove of other believers, but also they often cease to work with the local body of believers in which they are associated because of their disapproval of someone else. Yet, in spite of what others do, we must remind ourselves that it is God who has begun a good work in us. Every Christian must keep his eyes upon Jesus, lest he or she becomes weary and discouraged. It is in this same vein that the author of Hebrews writes:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. ^2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ^3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart (Hebrews 12:1-3).

Paul, at the time of the writing of Philippians, was incarcerated in Rome. Yet, in spite of this set back, Paul was conscious that God was still accomplishing His goals through him. Paul mentions this concept in the beginning of this short Epistle (1:6) and again in (2:13). He did not want the believers to give up, in spite of troubles—persecution, haughtiness, and disunity.  In fact, he states: “continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling” (2:12). Paul is saying that Christians should “work out” their salvation, not “work for” their salvation.

A works type salvation is not taught. Listen to Paul once more as he calls attention to the role of God in one’s salvation: “For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose” (2:13). It is God working “in you,” not the reverse. God has a special purpose for each person to fulfill. God wants every Christian to “work out” his or her salvation; that is to say, one should put into practice the things of God in his or her daily walk. One must never forget that the ultimate ground and basis of one’s salvation is God.

A consciousness of God working in us should help to eliminate disunity and pride among God’s people. One also witnesses disunity and pride within the congregation at Philippi (2:1-11; 4:2). Sometimes we also experience disunity and pride within the local congregation that we assemble with on a weekly basis.  If God is working in each believer, and He is, one must eliminate disunity and pride, which will destroy one’s influence for the cause of Christ. What kind of attitude do we have toward God’s people? Do we have fellowship with the Spirit? Are we united with Christ? Do we have comfort from the love of Christ? Do we consider others better than ourselves? Do we look out for our own interest? Or do we look out for the interest of others?

Do we have the mind of Christ in our relationship with the members here at the New Covenant Fellowship? Between the two statements of Paul about God working “in you” (1:6; 2:13), he sandwiches in his remarks about one’s attitude toward other Christians by calling on the attitude of Christ to be emulated among each saint.  If God is working “in you,” then your focus about relationships with other believers should be high on your agenda. Pay attention to Paul as he centers in on the motives behind his admonition about humility and acceptance of others:

If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, ^2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. ^3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. ^4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. ^5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: ^6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, ^7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. ^8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross! ^9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, ^10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ^11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (2:1-11).

            Even though Paul addresses pride and disunity within this Epistle, it appears, so it seems, that his primary purpose is to encourage the Philippians in the face of persecution to keep on working to carry out an evangelistic ministry of reaching out to the lost. Paul is aware that God is going forward through the members of the church in Philippi. When one understands God’s plan of salvation, one will be able to maintain courage and confidence—it is God working “in you.” Why do Christians falter in their ministry? Is it not because of failure to grasp this central doctrine of “God working in you”? Failure to understand this teaching results in discord among God’s people. One cannot build up the body of Christ without recognition of this magnificent statement—“God working in you.” In every believer the work of God is being done. How did Paul view the work at Philippi? How does God view the work of this congregation—New Covenant Fellowship?

            Paul founded this congregation (Philippi) on his second missionary journey. This second missionary journey of Paul and Barnabas began as they traveled through the province of Galatia in order to give the churches assistance that they established on the first missionary journey. Once again, one witnesses the work of God in their missionary activities. Paul and his companions decided to go south to Asia Minor, but the Spirit of God did not allow them to go (Acts 16:6). After this rejection by the Holy Spirit, Paul decided to go North, but again the Holy Spirit interfered (16:8). Thus, they went East and stopped at Troas (16:8). While waiting at Troas, Paul received a vision in which he was told to go to Europe (16:9-10).

Upon their arrival in Europe, Paul and Silas and Timothy (16:1-3) visited Philippi (16:12). His first convert was a woman named Lydia (16:11-15). His second convert, as far as we know, was a girl whom Paul cast out a demon (16:16-18). His third convert was a Philippian jailor (16:19-34).  One cannot read these various accounts of Paul’s ministry without recognition that God worked through Paul and his companions to bring about these conversions. God worked through Paul, Silas, and Timothy to accomplish His mission. God worked through these men to lead women and men to Christ.

Sometime earlier, following Paul’s first missionary journey, Paul was in Jerusalem. As he related the missionary activities of himself and Barnabas to the assembled body, he attributed all of their activities to God. For example, in relating the story of the work that he and Barnabas had accomplished throughout the province of Galatia, he emphasized that in this work of conversions that God worked through them. Listen to Luke as he recounts this work: “On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles” (14:27). God worked through them and God opened the door of faith.

They were instruments of God. We, too, are instruments of God to accomplish His work of conversion. Is it any wonder that Paul wrote to the Philippians that God works “in you”? Paul did not initiate the work, God did; Paul did not create the vision, God did; Paul did not open Lydia’s heart, God did—“the Lord opened her heart” (16:14). Even as one reflects upon the conversion of the Philippian jailor, one cannot help but observe that the earthquake that jarred opened the doors to the jail was not the work of Paul, but rather it was the work of God (16:25-29). In another prison epistle, Paul again stresses the role of God in the salvation of men and women:

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ^9 not by works, so that no one can boast. ^10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:8-10).

            For Paul, God does not just initiate the work, but rather, God continues to work in the lives of men and women for the furtherance of His Gospel. Christianity is the result of God’s action and activity. The church is the place where God is working in the hearts of men and women. The Trinity brings about salvation. God the Father initiates, God the Son performs; and God the Holy Spirit applies. It is, no doubt, in this same vein that Jesus speaks of the Trinity in His baptism: “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15).  The pronoun “us” appears from the context to refer to the Trinity, not to Jesus and John the Baptist. John is not included in the “us.”

The moment Adam and Eve sinned, God took the initiative and promised the Messiah who would take away the sin of the world (Genesis 3:15; see also Ephesians 1:3-14).  As one reads the story of Adam and Eve, one quickly discovers that the moment man and woman fell that God began the process of salvation. God did not stop with His interaction with Adam and Eve. Later, He chose one man—Abraham—through whom the Messiah would come and redeem humanity. God created a nation out of Abraham—the nation of Israel. Paul, in writing to the Galatians, expresses it this way: “But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, ^5 to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons” (Galatians 4:4-5). God’s actions are ever present in the scheme of redemption.

            Since God works in each of us, then one should remember that actions are to be actions that bring glory to God.  Paul writes: “Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near” (Philippians 4:5). Are you gentle? Are you argumentative? Are you factious? Do you love?  Are you concerned about the things of God? Paul bemoaned the conditions of some:

For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. ^19 Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things (3:18-19).

How do you treat other Christians in your daily walk with God?  Do you mind earthly or heavenly things? Do you live as an enemy of the cross of Christ? Are you an enemy of the cross of Christ? Are you pressing toward the mark of the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus (3:14)? Do you proclaim to be a Christian and yet refuse to submit your life to God? Are you fully committed to God and Christ and the Holy Spirit? Do you have an appetite for the things of God? Do you meet with God’s people on Sundays?  How do you measure up to the words of Paul in his final admonition to the Philippians? Listen to him as he pleads:

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. ^9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you (4:8-9).

            Paul is saying that if you have experienced the new birth, then Christ should be all-absorbing in your thinking. You are no longer to just live for self; your talents and your possessions belong to God. Your life must be one of commitment. James, our Lord’s brother, expresses it this way:

In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. ^18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do (James 2:17-18).

If your life does not issue in good works, you are an “enemy of the cross of Christ.” If your life is not devoted to Christ, you are an “enemy of the cross of Christ.” If you do not love your brothers and sisters in Christ, you are an “enemy of the cross of Christ.” The world will judge one’s faith by his or her works. Christians must remember that “faith” alone saves, but the “faith” that saves is not alone. True faith will work itself out so that those around us will be able to tell that we are different. When one is saved by grace, he or she does not just sit around and twiddle his or her thumbs. Biblical faith produces good works (Philippians 4:8-9). What motivates Christians to devotion to Christ in their everyday lives? It is faith in Christ that motivates Christians on to good works (Titus 2:11-12).

CONCLUSION

Are we allowing God to work in us? Why are there doubts about our Christian ministry? Perhaps, it is a failure to grasp this great theological doctrine of Paul’s Epistle: “That he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6).  How does Paul view his work among the Philippians? It is God working through Paul. How does Paul view the Philippians’ work? It is God working “in you.” For Paul, the Philippians did not start the work, God did. What is Christianity? It is God in the lives of men and women “in and through” Christ. We are God’s theater. We are God’s actors. We are God’s workmanship. It is God who began this work.

Do you hate sin? Do you want to serve God? Are you willing to defend the Gospel?  If so, then this is a good sign that God is working “in you.” The Philippians desired to meet with God’s people in order to discuss the things of God and to evangelize the lost more than anything else in the world. Does the church mean anything to you? Are you aware of the fact that the church is the community of those who have been forgiven of their sins? Are you conscious of the Scripture in which God exhorts His disciples not to abandon the assembling of themselves together (Hebrews 10:25)? Remember, we were chosen in Him (Christ) before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless (Ephesians 1:4).  The philosophy of the Philippians can be summed up in the words of Jesus:

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ ^38 This is the first and greatest commandment. ^39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ^40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:37-40).