The Perfecting Work of Patience - He Who Began a Good Work

Is our salvation and sanctification our responsibility, or is it the work of God's Spirit within us? Some will say, "We are to work out our own salvation." (Philippians 2:12) Others will counter with, "It is the Holy Spirit who gives us both the desire and the power" to do that (Philippians 2:13).

Most people agree that salvation is through grace by faith; but believe that we have to work for sanctification (Ephesians 2:8). Yet, the foolish Galatians were reprimanded by Paul for attempting to perfect themselves through their own self-efforts (Galatians 3:1-3).

Paul was amazed that they actually believed they could sanctify their life by their works. Paul constantly reminds the early Saints that nothing in our Christian walk is by works, because then we could boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).

God is not interested in our ability, but in our availability to His Spirit. The works of the flesh can only be crucified by the work of the Spirit (Romans 8:14; Galatians 5:16). We live and walk only by the Spirit of God; otherwise, we spin our wheels and end up exhausted (Galatians 5:25).

We boldly claim that we can do all things through Christ (Philippians 4:13); but when we put the emphasis on "we" can do all things, we fail time and again. We pull our self up by our boot straps until they are totally worn off.

This verse is actually saying that we cannot do anything except "through Christ". When we completely capitulate to the Holy Spirit and allow Him to both save and perfect us, we enter God's rest (Hebrews 4:10).

It is the Spirit, not our self-effort, which transforms us from one stage of sanctification to the next (2 Corinthians 3:18). Even the armor of God, which Paul encourages us to wear, is the work of God's Spirit in our life (Ephesians 6:10-18).

God's Spirit transforms our mind to the mind of Christ (Romans 12:2). He also renews our character with the divine nature of Christ (2 Peter 1:4). He who began the work of salvation in us, will continue to perfect us through His work of sanctification (Philippians 1:6).

Prayer:

Father God, we humans do not want to admit that we are helpless without a Savior. We want to believe that even if we cannot save our self, we can attempt to perfect our self through our diligence and self-discipline by obeying Your Word.

Remind us that we can do good works only as we abide in the faith of Christ within us (James 2:17). We could not justify our self by keeping the law and we cannot sanctify our self through self-effort either. Keeping the law never gave us life prior to salvation and there is no way that walking in obedience to the law can perfect us after salvation. Without Your Spirit doing the sanctifying work, we are totally lost and undone.

Thought for the Day:

When we do choose to obey, the desire and ability is generated by God's Spirit within us; God has a perfect plan for our life, and we find it only when we walk in the Spirit each moment of the day. - Ephesians 2:8-10

Let the Weak Say, "I am strong."

Most of us feel totally inadequate to face the issues in our life. We pull our self up by our bootstraps every morning, put one foot in front of the other and move forward through the day, doing the best we can. Living in this stress-filled life with no spiritual basis for coping with its issues or making positive choices are more than most people can bear.

We struggle with inadequacy, shame, doubt, uncertainty, weakness and anxiety, which end up putting our body in the state of physical and psychosomatic illness. For many people, they have no support system. This is a travesty and drives them to use addictions of all kinds in order to cope with their feelings about life’s pressures (Galatians 5:19-21).

There are many paradoxes in the Bible and the one, which applies here, is that in order to be strong, we must first realize that we are weak. God uses the broken and foolish things in the world to confound the wise (1 Corinthians 1:27). Our flaws give us compassion for other people. We never stand in judgment, because we are just as defective as the next person. However, God is our only judge (James 4:12). 

 

God loves it when we come to the end of our self and look up into His waiting, loving face. The weaker and less competent we are, the more God can use us for His glory. Peace of mind and spiritual assurance of God's presence in our life affects our body, soul and spirit positively and gives us a new life and an eternal hope, which ignites our passion for God (Romans 8:11).  

The Creator of the Universe transforms us from the inside out by dwelling within us (2 Corinthians 5:17). He removes our wounded heart of stone and gives us a compassionate heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26). God uses our unique idiosyncrasies, formed in us by a lifetime of nature and nurture, for His glory (2 Corinthians 12:9). His Spirit gives us the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16). The weak can now say, “I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10).

Prayer:

Father God, as a natural, carnal person, we attempt to live independently of You and Your plan for our life (Jeremiah 29:11; Ephesians 2:10). We live out of harmony with You and reap a wind storm of consequences. Remind us not to depend on our human understanding, but to consult You in every moment of our day. Thank You for Your redemption in our life and for caring about every aspect of it that we face.

Thought for the Day:

God changes our life by giving us His new birth and eternal life in Jesus Christ. He takes us from our lowly state and exalts us as co-heirs with Christ of His entire Kingdom.

- Romans 8:17; 2 Corinthians 4:7