A Precious Promise of God's Completing Work
God's precious promise to complete the work He has begun in us is a source of confidence and assurance, encouraging us to trust in Him alone and look to Him for guidance and strength.
Bob Hoekstra preaches about the assurance and confidence believers can have in God's work of salvation in their lives. He emphasizes that God, who has begun a good work in us, will continue to complete it until the day of Jesus Christ, bringing us into a deeper understanding of our identity in Christ and transforming our character to reflect Him. This saving work is not based on self-confidence but on trusting in the Lord's ability to fulfill His promises and make us complete in every good work. Believers are encouraged to walk worthy of their calling, knowing that God is the one who works in them to accomplish His will.
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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)
Now, we return to the category we are calling "precious promises." (2 Peter 1:4). Here we have a priceless one concerning God's commitment to complete the wonderful work of salvation that He began at our new birth.
If our faith is in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, God has started a tremendous saving work on our behalf: " He who has begun a good work in you."
He has made us new creatures in His Son. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17). He has supplied us with immeasurable heavenly resources. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ" (Ephesians 1:3). What a grand work has been started in us. Yet, God's saving work is "so great a salvation" (Hebrews 2:3). Thus, whatever He has already been accomplished with us is only a part of the whole. Wherever we are in this glorious process, there is some completing work that God desires to do. He wants to bring into our understanding, our character, and our daily experience more of that which is fully ours in Christ.
Furthermore, our God wants us to be confident concerning this matter: "Being confident of this very thing." As noted in our previous meditation, God does not want people living in self-confidence. That misplaced trust is just another form of pride. This does not mean that we Christians are to be without confidence in our lives. It does mean that all of our confidence is to be placed in the Lord. "And we have such trust [confidence] through Christ toward God" (2 Corinthians 3:4). Our Lord wants us to have strong assurance in Him that He will complete this work in us.
Also remember, this saving work of God is done within our lives: "He who has begun a good work in you will complete it." The Lord has established an eternal position for us with Him in heavenly places: "and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:6). Yet, He wants to effect a godly walk for us here on earth. "Walk worthy of the calling with which you were called" (Ephesians 4:1). This walk is not based upon human theories of behavior modification. Our Lord Himself develops this in and through our hearts. "Now may the God of peace . . . make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight" (Hebrews 13:20-21).
Dear Lord, I long to walk in more of the reality of that which is mine in Christ. Thank You for these words that build my confidence in You. I humbly repent of my self-confident attempts to do what only You can do. I look to You anew and alone!
Sermon Outline
- I. God's Precious Promise to Complete the Work He Has Begun
- 'A. The Work He Has Begun: Salvation and New Creation'
- 'B. The Resources He Has Supplied: Spiritual Blessings in Christ'
- II. God's Desire to Complete the Work in Us
- A. Bringing Understanding, Character, and Experience of Christ
- III. The Basis of Our Confidence in God's Completing Work
- A. Placing Confidence in the Lord, Not Self
- IV. The Scope of God's Completing Work
- A. In Our Lives, Establishing an Eternal Position with Him
- B. Effecting a Godly Walk on Earth
Key Quotes
“He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” — Bob Hoekstra
“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.” — Bob Hoekstra
“Now may the God of peace . . . make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight.” — Bob Hoekstra
Application Points
- We must humbly repent of our self-confident attempts to do what only God can do and look to Him anew and alone for guidance and strength.
- We must place our confidence in the Lord, not self, and trust in Him alone for the completion of His work in us.
- We must seek to understand, experience, and live out the reality of what is ours in Christ, making us complete in every good work to do His will.