I Am Certain
“And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” (Philippians 1:6 NLT).
Just WHEN does God begin a “good work within you”?
I suspect that most Christians would assume it is when they get saved. But they would be wrong. God’s work in us begins when He decides to allow us to be conceived in the womb of our mother and be born a living human being.
“Before I was born the LORD called me; from my mother's womb he has spoken my name.” (Isaiah 49:1)
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you…" (Jeremiah 1:5)
“But even before I was born, God chose me and called me by His marvelous grace…This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--and I am the worst of them all.” (Galatians 1:15; 1 Timothy 1:15)
So God has set us apart, called us by name, and formed us in our mother’s womb. And He will complete that good work of salvation in the day of Jesus Christ when we are resurrected a spiritual, immortal, new creation.
“...let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever...and all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ…for as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive…that God may be All in all.” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52; 2 Corinthians 5:18; 1 Corinthians 15:22-28)
Just WHEN does God begin a “good work within you”?
I suspect that most Christians would assume it is when they get saved. But they would be wrong. God’s work in us begins when He decides to allow us to be conceived in the womb of our mother and be born a living human being.
“Before I was born the LORD called me; from my mother's womb he has spoken my name.” (Isaiah 49:1)
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you…" (Jeremiah 1:5)
“But even before I was born, God chose me and called me by His marvelous grace…This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--and I am the worst of them all.” (Galatians 1:15; 1 Timothy 1:15)
So God has set us apart, called us by name, and formed us in our mother’s womb. And He will complete that good work of salvation in the day of Jesus Christ when we are resurrected a spiritual, immortal, new creation.
“...let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever...and all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ…for as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive…that God may be All in all.” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52; 2 Corinthians 5:18; 1 Corinthians 15:22-28)
No one can stop God from finishing what He says He will do, certainly not the so called free will of sinful mankind.