THE WORK OF GOD

"Then said they unto Him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?  Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent." (John 6:28,29).

 

The works of the flesh should be quite evident to most Christians.  In fact, the apostle Paul tells us as much in Galatians 5:19.  He says the works of the flesh are manifest, openly known, or apparent.  He even lists many of them such as adultery, fornication, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, jealousies, selfish ambitions, envy, murders, and drunkenness.  The Christian, however, must also be concerned about the less apparent things that are just as clearly the works of the flesh.  We know we should avoid the very bad things, but it is the seemingly good things that we plunge headlong into.  We call them good deeds, Christian ministry, and godly service; but in many cases they are self-directed and the result of self-righteousness and self-effort.

 

When the crowd asked Jesus what they needed to do in order to work the works of God, He told them that the work of God was to believe on Him, Christ.  Man is all about doing.  God, however, wants us to be all about believing what the Son has already done.  We can add nothing to what Christ has already accomplished.  All our best efforts are nothing more than works of the flesh if they are merely the products of our intellect, our will, or our emotions, and are not subject to the leading of the Holy Spirit.  Even the apostle Paul readily acknowledged that "in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not." (Romans 7:18).  This is why we cannot trust our fleshly or carnal nature.  It is self-serving in ways that we can't even discern for ourselves.  Therefore we need the Word of God to be a sharp sword able to dissect the soul (that part of our self that is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts and is referred to as the old man) from the spirit (that part of us that has been reawakened by the new birth and is connected to God through His Spirit, referred to as the new man).  The Word is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of our hearts and can reveal what truly motivates us (Hebrews 4:12,13).

 

Christ is the beginning and end of God's purpose and plan for mankind.  When He was crucified, and cried out, "It is finished!" He knew that His works were done.  He ascended to the right hand of the throne of God, "from henceforth expecting till His enemies be made His footstool."  Our sole responsibility now is to believe on Christ's finished work and then allow the Holy Spirit to lead us as He fulfills it in us.  "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure." (Philippians 2:13).  Colossians 2:6 tells us that as we have received Christ Jesus, so also we must walk in Him.  Many Christians have not yet learned this.  Most of us are still learning this lesson day-by-day as we place our faith in the Savior and not in ourselves.  We are still quite self-dependent in terms of trusting our own wisdom, strength, and will to get things done or sort things out.  We struggle to trust in Christ, and have difficulty in hearing what He is speaking to us at times.   

 

Mary and Martha were sisters, but they had very different approaches to their service for the Lord.  Martha was the take-command sort of person.  When Jesus visited their home, she busied herself with all the concerns of a good hostess.  Drinks needed filling, food needed prepared and served, and basins of water needed to be set out with towels so that her guests could wash their feet.  Mary, on the other hand, sat at Jesus’ feet and drank in His teaching.  Jesus said of Martha that she was "careful and troubled about many things." (Luke 10:41).  Our carefulness is something that we often view as a virtue - even a source of pride; but Jesus saw it as a barrier to Martha's spirituality.  We want the Lord to deal with others in our life who don't do what we think needs done.  "Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me." (v 40).  It is because we are so full of cares that we are often so troubled.  We need to learn to do the necessary things first in our lives, and then the details will work out.  Jesus commended Mary because she had chosen the "needful thing" which He said would not be taken from her.  What she received at Jesus' feet would serve her for the rest of her life, whereas what Martha did only filled a fleeting need.  Later, it was Mary who entered the house of Simon the leper as Jesus sat eating, and with an alabaster box of precious ointment, she anointed Jesus head.  To those who ridiculed her act, Jesus said, "Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her." (Matthew 14:9).

 

This story illustrates the essentials of true Christian ministry.  First, it must be born out of time spent at the feet of Jesus.  The focus of our devotion must always be the Son of God.  What we then hear in secret, we can shout from the rooftops. 

 

Second, it must cost us something.  The ointment that Mary poured out was very costly.  She was undoubtedly saving it for something very special in her life; but she realized that, to save her life, she would have to lose it ultimately.  So this box represents the flesh - the old man - which must be broken in order for the ointment to flow.  The ointment itself is the spiritual life inside of us that we must be willing to pour at the feet of Jesus.  The box is very beautiful to us, and it is tempting to want to keep it intact; but it does no good sitting on the shelf collecting dust.  Jesus said that unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the ground and dies, it will always remain just one kernel of wheat; but if it dies, it will produce many more kernels. (John 12:24).  By the way, the word "ministry" is from a Greek word meaning "to assume an office which must be administered at one's own expense." 

 

Third, our ministry is always to the Lord first and foremost.  "As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them." (Acts 13:2).  Barnabas' and Saul's work was a result of these men's ministry to the Lord. 

 

Fourth, what we do in the Lord will be forever.  Mary's ministry became a memorial forever.  Much Christian work today is ineffectual and soon forgotten because it is born of the flesh and not of the Spirit.  We truly need to learn to walk in the Spirit so that we will not always be satisfying the desires of our fleshly mind. 

 

Fifth and finally, it must be by faith.  If we do not believe in the work of Christ, we will not be able to do any of the first four things.

 

Oh, how we need to place all our confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ and not in the flesh.  Those things that we think we are most capable of doing for ourselves are the very things that are crippling our spiritual progress.  It is time that we learn to spend time at Jesus' feet.  It is time that we learn what it means to work the works of God, and not our own works. 

 

"Mine eyes fail for thy salvation, and for the word of thy righteousness.  Deal with thy servant according unto thy mercy, and teach me thy statutes.  I am thy servant; give me understanding, that I may know thy testimonies.  It is time for thee, LORD, to work: for they have made void thy law." (Psalm 119:123-126).