How many of you know someone who starts a project, only to leave it half finished, never completing what they began? Perhaps that is something you are prone to do, as well. Paul points out in our Scripture passage today that this is not something God will ever do, and we shall see that this is something that should be comforting to us.
Our passage today is the opening verses of Paul’s letter to the church in the Greek city of Philippi. The Philippian church was one of the very first churches that Paul established in Greece, and actually on the continent of Europe. Philippi was an ancient city in the northern part of Greece. That part of Greece was called Macedonia in Paul’s day. Alexander the Great’s father, Philip of Macedon, had captured the city from the ancient kingdom of Thrace (now a part of Bulgaria) in 357 BC and named it for himself. Philippi was one of the very first stops on Paul’s second missionary journey.
When Paul wrote this letter to the church in Philippi, he was in prison for preaching the Gospel. As he thought about these believers, it brought joy to his heart (vs. 3-5). The Philippians had sent help to Paul in his times of need, and he remembered them in prayer with joy and thanksgiving. These believers were willing to be used by God for whatever He wanted them to do. When the Philippians sent financial help to Paul, they were being partners with him in spreading the Gospel. They had helped support him with practical help while he was preaching in their own city, and helped him with prayer and gifts when he was preaching elsewhere. Now when Paul was in prison they continued to financially help him, which was a blessing. The conditions of prisons in those days were such that if one did not have someone financially provide for them, the best they got was bread and water, and a threadbare blanket. Paul was thankful for the Philippians.
Next Paul shares a truth that should be comforting to all believers (vs. 6). God is always faithful to finish what He begins. God began a good work in us when we were saved, He will continue it throughout our lifetime, and will finish it when we reach heaven. Do you ever feel like you are a rather lousy believer? That you just don’t measure up to some of the superstar Christians you hear or read about? Do you ever feel as though you may have even lost your salvation, and perhaps that God has just tossed you aside? Paul is saying here that God won’t give up on us! He promises to finish the work He began in us. This verse points to the eternal security of the believer. God began a good work in us when we were saved. He will complete it. We cannot lose it! There will always be enemies who try to thwart God’s work in us, but God is in control. He will complete His good work in all of us. And He will do it in a way that is above and beyond what we can ask or imagine. Never underestimate what God can do through our faithfulness, even long afterwards.
Paul continues his letter to the Philippian church, telling them to have heart, no matter where he is, whether free or in prison, he is faithfully preaching the Gospel (vs. 7). That should be an example to us, whether in good times or bad, our light and testimony for the Lord should always be shining strong.
As he concludes this passage, Paul urges the Philippian believers to grow in love one for another, and to discern what is right and what is wrong (vs. 9-11). After we were saved, God began His work of sanctification in us, transforming us into the image of Jesus. This is a lifetime work, and won’t be completed until we are with Him. The Holy Spirit, which we received when we were saved, helps us to make the right choices in life, choices and behavior that “are excellent” (vs. 10), living in a manner that brings God glory. The more we yield to God, the more Jesus’s nature increases in us, and the more our old, carnal nature decreases (John 3:30).
Paul prayed that these believers would have discernment to know and do what is best, to differentiate between what is right and what is wrong, between good and bad, between what is important and what is trivial. We all need to have moral discernment. As we grow in our Christian life, remember that God will always complete the work He has begun in us, and that work is to transform us into the image of His Son.
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