.“For by grace you are saved through faith; and not of yourself it is the gift of God. 9. Not of works lest any man should boast. 10. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them.”
You have probably heard the chorus entitled, “He’s still working on me to make me what I ought to be.” That is a children’s chorus, but it has a profound message. According to our text, when we are saved God begins his work on, and in us. God is working on you if you have trusted Christ as your Savior. God works within our hearts and minds. I have never heard the Lord’s voice, but I have certainly felt the Holy Spirit’s tug on my heart and mind. The Holy Spirit is always at work within us to lead us to do the will of God and to do the work that God wants us to do. This is what Paul meant when he wrote 2 Corinthians 2:3: “Forasmuch as much as you are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God.” Because of the Spirit’s work within our hearts and minds, we are witnesses for Christ. We are what of Christ and the Bible the world sees until they know Him. That is a real responsibility, and seemingly impossible, but that is what the Spirit’s work within us is about. He doesn’t make us religious; rather He makes us witnesses. God works within our lives through gifts of service. Not all of us have the same gifts of service. For example, my gifts of service have been teaching, preaching and encouraging. I have discovered over the years that my main gift has been encouragement. As I look back over my ministry I can see that this is what the Spirit has used me to do. Of course, I have witnessed to people and have seen them accept Christ into their lives, but I have mainly been used to encourage people in their Christian walk. Please do not see this as boasting on my part. In fact, I have been tempted to envy some of my friends who have the gift of evangelism, but I know that this is their main gift. The Spirit uses us to do what we are supposed to be, not what we wish we were. I am just glad that He is at work in my life to “make me what I ought to be.” (I’m not there yet, but I’m working on it. Lol) Discover your spiritual gifts and let the Lord use you to do His work. God works within us to lead us to do good works: “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” When we follow the leadership of the Spirit, we do the will of God, and do the good works that God called us to do, and intended for us to do. None of us do God’s good work perfectly, since we are imperfect human beings, but in spite of our imperfections we are still led to do God’s good works. You are probably doing more good than you think you are if you are following the leadership of the Holy Spirit. YOU ARE GOD’S WORKMANSHIP! REJOICE! (I just did...) Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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