Prayer: Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory in the heavens. Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them (Psalm 8:1-4).
Thank you, God, for including us in your plan for salvation and the ultimate purpose of serving you. Give us the wisdom, understanding, strength, and courage to be a defender of the faith as we grow in the knowledge of your truth and disciple others to do the same. – Amen.
Main Scripture: Reread Philippians 1:6.
Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6, NKJV).
Associated Scriptures:
Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary (Galatians 6:9, NASB).
And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased (Hebrews 13:16, NASB).
For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong (1 Peter 3:17, NASB).
Correlative Quotes:
While the standing of the Christian in Christ is perfect his present state is no more perfect than his experience in daily life. There is therefore a progressive sanctification wherein the Christian is to "grow in grace" and to "be changed" by the unhindered power of the Spirit[1] – J. Vernon McGee
Theologians have pointed to three phases of the one process of sanctification: the initial act of setting apart at salvation (positional); the ongoing process of becoming more and more set apart and Christlike (progressive); and the final setting apart from sin when believers are made perfect at the coming of Christ (perfected). First Thessalonians 3 and 4 include these three aspects:
(1) Positional Sanctification: I was sanctified— “For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness” (4:7).
(2) Progressive Sanctification: I am being sanctified— “For this is the will of God, your sanctification” (4:3).
(3) Perfected Sanctification: I will be sanctified— “So that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all the saints” (3:13).[2] – David Jeremiah
Study:
God is not finished with us at the point of salvation. At salvation we are justified by the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That justification is secured for eternity. However, our calling extends far beyond our own redemption and justification.
There is an expectation that we will not only become His disciple, but that we will continue the good work that He initiated while He was here on earth using us as His servants. This is accomplished in the action of progressive sanctification. Through progressive sanctification God is not only working in us to create a disciple worthy of His calling, He also desires to work through us to make more disciples (Matthew 28:18-20).
Three facets of life as a Christian sum up the total reason for our existence and contribute to the growth and understand of joy. They are, growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (Ephesians 3:18) leading others to do the same (1Corinthians 11:1, Acts 1:8) and doing good works in His name (Ephesians 2:10).
Paul, directed by the Holy Spirit, makes this statement, in Thessalonians 1:11, to the Christians at Thessalonica, “With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith.”
Both the “desire for goodness”, our progressive sanctification, and our good deeds, prompted by faith, are works of God within us. They are due to our new relationship with him. They are also the key factors in maintaining a close fellowship with God. He supplies the power for growth in our lives and God is the one who works in us to do good deeds (Philippians 2:13).
Therefore, salvation is just the beginning of our relationship with God and not an end in itself. When we understand that we are not good people, (Mark 10:18, “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good except God alone.” When we are reminded that we are not holy. (Romans 3:10, “As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one.”) When we grasp the truth that we are not worthy of holiness (Romans 3:10-12, “There is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”). We must accept the fact that Jesus has done it all for us. He has completed all the requirements for our redemption on the cross. He died that we might have a path to forgiveness from sin, to growth in Him, and through His power and position can serve others.
We did nothing in our own power during the process. God supplied us with the savior to pay the price for sin, the truth in His word, the conviction that we are unworthy, the call to repent, and the faith to accept it. He has done it all for us. The completed work of the Gospel signed, sealed, and delivered by God for us.
Now that God has given us eternal life as a free gift, we have a responsibility to do His will for our lives. His will is for us to grow in His grace and knowledge (1 Peter 3:18), to lead others to Christ and disciple them, and to do good works that honor and glorify Him. He deserves our lives, he paid for them.
God urges us, through His Spirit, to be active disciples. However, He does not force us or do it for us. When we are in fellowship with God, He “leads me” (Psalm 23:2-3). As we grow, we have a deeper and deeper appreciation for our own incompetence and inadequacy as compared to His all competent sufficiency. (2 Corinthians 3:5)
The steps to allowing God to work in our lives all involve His power and presence.
Study God’s word
Be aware that God is going to use circumstances in your life to direct you and probably not use supernatural visons for direction. The fact that we want to learn, and we see a need that should be filled is an indicator that God is speaking to us.
The old chorus says, “Let go and let God have his wonderful way, let go and let God have his way.”[3] When we sense an opportunity for us to grow, we need to step forward so that God can direct us. He will lead a willing servant. God will open doors and he will close them. Let him.
When we realize that God has initiated our action, He has guided us through the process, and He has used us to complete the action, it is time to give Him all the praise and glory.
Summary Statement:
We then can be “confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6, KJV). Everything I have done, am doing, and will do that advances the Kingdom of God has be done by Him, to His honor, and to His Glory. My gift, from God, for that work while on this earth is joy.
Lesson within the Lesson:
Why did mankind need Jesus to die for us?
Why don’t we have part to play in the process of salvation?
What is our responsibility to God now that He has freed us from sin?
What are the steps to following God’s lead and how do you see them working in your life?
[1] J. Vernon McGee, Doctrinal Statement: Progressive Sanctification, Through The Bible, copyright 2012, http://www.ttb.org/contentpages/21718/468a2140-bff2-4084-91cb-37b8a26bed20/DoctrinalStatement.aspx
[2] David Jeremiah, David Jeremiah Study Bible. Nashville, TN.: Worthy, 2013, p. 1687.
[3] youtube.com/watch?v=KXP5HcKgfRw
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