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 1:6)
Did you know there are two types of confidence? One is self-confidence; the other is Savior-confidence. Which one is the confession of your life? Read on, and may you be greatly encouraged today!
Let’s take a moment to unpack a few things in our verse for today. First, Paul made it perfectly clear that the “good work” of our salvation and eternal life in Christ Jesus is all the work of God. It is God who began it, and Philippians 1:6 encourages us to be confident in the truth that what God began in us, He will one day bring to completion.
This completion will not take place on this side of the grave, however. Here we are very much a work in progress. But when we cross the Jordan and stand face to face before our God, we will be perfectly conformed to the image and likeness of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
I know that Christian growth is a challenge. You and I have days when we feel like we are not making progress. For every baby step forward, we often take two giant steps backward. Oh embattled believer, this was also the condition of the great apostle Paul, who freely confessed that “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do” (Romans 7:15).
Paul did not always do what God wanted him to do because he was still in the perfection process, just as you and I are. Nevertheless, we are called to be confident Christians, because of the promise we have been given that He who began this good work of sanctification in us is the One who will carry it on to completion. It is all by God’s amazing grace that we are saved, and it is also all by grace that we grow and mature in our faith.
Savior-confidence recognizes that no weapon formed against us can ultimately prevent us from being all God is calling us to be. When God said that He will bring His work in us to completion, He meant what He said! God never gives up and He never gives in. He has given us His Holy Spirit, which means we have the same supernatural power working in us that raised Jesus from death to life (Ephesians 1:18-20). What began in the Spirit is sustained in the Spirit, and it will be completed in the Spirit. You have His Word on it!
Christian, if that doesn’t light the fire of your faith, your wood is wet! Let us, with the fire of faith burning brightly within us, strive to live as Paul did: “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14). This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 