He Will Work in You

“Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” Phil. 1:6

That which the apostle was confident was this: that God (who is the object of Paul’s thanksgiving in the larger context, see verse 3) who began a good work in the hearts and lives of the Philippian believers, would “perform it until” or “bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”  This good work was the good work of gospel grace in them, a work of grace that caused them to join the apostle in his gospel work, which he calls “your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now” (5).  They were “partakers of [Paul’s] grace” and were so “both in my bonds, and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel” (7).

This “good work” is the work of obedience and faith, a working out of their own salvation in fear and trembling because it is God who was at work in them both to will and to do of His good pleasure (2:12-13).  These are the good works of grace, of God’s wonderful workmanship which He before ordained that they should walk in them (Eph. 2:10).

God sovereignly and graciously and powerfully began this work, and did so in their effectual calling, in which they were regenerated by the Spirit and converted to Christ (2 Thess. 2:12-13).  It had to be God’s work, since before they were dead in trespasses and in sins (Eph. 2:1-3).  But God raised them up (4), not to go on as if they were still dead, but to walk in newness of life (Rom. 6:4).  If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation: the old has passed and the new has come (2 Cor. 5:17).

It is a progressive work of sanctification throughout the life, of becoming more and more like Christ.  Hence, the apostle prays for them, “that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; that ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ; being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God” (Phil. 1:9-11).  Paul will encourage them to be like him, and to take his attitude: “Not as though I had already attained [the resurrection], either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.  Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things where are before, I press toward the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (3:12-14).

It is this work the apostle praises God for, and for which he expresses his confidence.  But what was this confidence?  It was that God would bring this work to completion at the day of Jesus Christ, that He would perform it until the day of Christ.  What God begins he completes, for He is the Alpha and the Omega.  The confidence of Paul was therefore that God would not give up on the Philippian Christians as it respected the work of grace in their hearts.  He would not allow them to perish spiritually or eternally; He would not allow the devil to overthrow their faith or erase the gains of grace in their hearts.  If Satan would tempt them and sift them as wheat, Christ prays for them that their faith fail not (Luke 22:31-32).  He will keep his sheep, and no one can take them out of His hand or His Father’s hand (Jn. 10:27-29).

The “day of Christ” is the day of His appearing; it is the Second Coming of our Lord when He returns visibly and personally and gloriously, to destroy His and His people’s enemies, to raise the dead, to judge the world, and to establish His kingdom.  The apostle is saying that nothing will stop God’s work in them until that day when they are safe in the eternal harbor of heaven and enjoying the eternal inheritance for which they themselves wait eagerly with patience and hope.

But what was the basis of this hope and confidence?  Well, we should recognize this verse as a promise of God, shouldn’t we?  And this promise comes from God’s apostle who gives it to us.  He is the emissary of Christ to us, His messenger to give us His words, so that those who hear him hear Christ (1 Jn. 4:6).  So this is a promise of God to us, and as such it is supported by all the artillery of heaven.

Surely it is the faithfulness of God that gives us confidence in such a promise, who does not lie and who does not repent of his gifts and calling (Tit. 1:2; Rom. 11:29).  Surely it is the power of God that gives us confidence in such a promise, against whom all the enemies of the believer are but wisps of air blowing against the steel plates of God’s promise.  Surely it is the love of God for His elect that gives us confidence in such a promise, who will not allow the enemies of His people to overthrow their faith, but who will make them more than conquerors through Him that loved us (Rom. 8:37).  Surely it is the wisdom of God that gives us confidence in such a promise, for God would not do something in us that ends up being defective or that fails of its end.  Surely it is the glory of God that gives us confidence in such a promise, for the triumph of His church is His own triumph and in our preservation and perseverance God will have His glory.

Now, how should we then live?  What should be our response to this reality?  We should not respond to this with spiritual lethargy or with passivity, for as Phil. 2:12-13 shows, what God works in us, we work out.  Rather, against all discouragements and disappointments that make us want to quit, let us remember this precious promise.  Believer, you are not alone in your task and in your toil.  God is at work in you.  And because of that, your labor cannot be in vain.  Your enemy is great, yes.  Your weakness and limitations are real, yes.  Yet greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world (1 Jn. 4:4).  Be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might (Eph. 6:10).  And though we stumble and fall and sin, let the grace of God raise you up again, so that your path may be the path of the righteous which “is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day” (Prov. 4:18).

When you sin, remember that God will not stop applying the blood of Christ to His people and that Christ will not stop advocating for us (1 Jn. 1:7-2:1).  Remember that “He has perfected forever them that are sanctified” (Heb. 10:14), and that “He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them” (Heb. 7:25).

When you are afraid and fear to take the next step, remember that God has not stopped working in you and for you.  It is precisely when we are afraid that we can put our trust in Him (Ps. 56:3).  He is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble, and so we need not fear (Ps. 46:1-2).

When the difficulties mount and it seems impossible to go on, remember that God will perform His work in you till the day of Jesus Christ.  The God who raised his Son from the dead is at work in you.  Dear believer, know, not your own power, but know “the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe” (Eph. 1:19).

When you find success in life or when you find that there has been genuine spiritual progress in your life, don’t let it cause you to boast, for remember that it was God working in you, and that apart from Christ we could do nothing that honors Him or serves His kingdom (Jn. 15:5).

But above all, remember that embedded in this promise is the most precious promise of all, the balm for every trial, the support for every weakness, the medicine for every disease: that Christ our Lord is with us, and will be with us to the end (Mt. 28:20).  God is at work in you, and that means He is present with you.  What a promise!  What a blessing!  “The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deut. 33:27).