God Works for His Glory – Philippians 1:6

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work among you will complete it by the day of Christ Jesus.

In this context, the Apostle Paul is encouraging the church of Philippi and his confidence stems from being convinced himself. He had every reason to be confident in his own righteousness; however, his confidence and trust is in the Lord Jesus Christ as a result of the righteousness of God given to him on the basis of faith (Phil. 3:4-6). Paul met the risen Lord Jesus and personally knows him. Therefore, the worldly things he was formerly confident in was but mere rubbish in comparison to the things of Christ.

The Almighty God who is the only one able to save and give the gift of faith. Not only is God able, He also follows through in keeping all His promises (Joshua 21:43-45). The most significant promise God has made and kept is sending Christ Jesus to be the Savior of sinners (Genesis 3:15).

God, who begins a good work, is good because it is within His domain. Thus, we can be confident that God will see it through as He does not fail in completing His work and will (Isaiah 55:11). It is His very nature that enables Him to complete any work He begins as He is the Alpha and Omega (Revelation 1:8). Paul emphasizes who God is to remove any doubt. And the work Paul is specifically addressing in this passage is the work of salvation.

“For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified” (Rom. 8:29-30).

There is no greater work than salvation as it is the highlight of what God has done (Rom. 5:8). God forgiving us of our sins is not as easy as we often make it out to be (Matt. 9:5-7). A price had to be paid to be forgiven of our sins. That price was for Jesus to become man and die for our sins on the cross. As the work of salvation was costly, the work of sanctification is also costly for the Christian. For this reason, it is important to be confident in the Lord for our sanctification that will lead to our glorification in heaven, which God will bring to fruition. Moreover, we will be like Christ and see Him just as He is in our glorified state in heaven as well (1 Jn. 3:2).

Another aspect of God completing the good work of salvation is the Christian’s current suffering versus future glory (Phil. 2:12-13). Whatever temporary suffering we might face on this side of glory is incomparable to the future glory we will receive from God. However, we must be honest and ask ourselves if the sufferings we experience is for God or something we put ourselves in. If our suffering is for the sake of Christ, it is guaranteed that our future glory is worth every single suffering – however difficult it might be.

Our glorification is tied to God’s glory. God’s glory is the perfection of His attributes that is perfectly right manifested in all His majesty. God does not give His glory to another (Isaiah 42:8). As God’s glory is sure, our glorification is sure.

Having confidence in the Lord’s work have several benefits. Our attitude does not necessarily change outcomes, but it changes how we live. Thus, having a confident attitude in the Lord will change the way we live to the glory of God. Confidence gives us strength to press on and fight the good fight through many sufferings. Confidence results in courage and victory. In addition, having confidence gives internal spiritual peace because the great struggle we face is against the flesh (Rom. 7:24-25). This struggle does not end in despair or failure as God will complete the work of our salvation in our glorification in heaven. Furthermore, this confidence helps the church to grow. Rather than having confidence in men as the Corinthian church did, the church’s confidence must remain in the Lord as He is the one that causes the growth (1 Cor. 3:7). Churches grow as she trusts in the Lord.

Confidence gives us fuel in the work of sanctification. The goal Christians have is to purify themselves when the end goal is clear (1 Jn. 3:2-3). When we know what awaits us in heaven, the future glory and reward is also God’s grace that will provide us confidence in Him to pursue sanctification.

The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever (Westminster Shorter Catechism). Giving glory to God allows us to enjoy this truth and to truly find joy in Him. Enjoy God and His work demonstrates our faithfulness to Him.

In conclusion, we must not live our life with regret. Even though we might have lots of regret in this life, we will never regret giving all of ourselves to the Lord. Investment in the things of this world will always end in misery, but investment in the work of the Lord will bring glory to God and will not end in regret.