And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
Everyone born of the Spirit is being conformed into the image of Jesus. This sanctification process starts at rebirth, when we are born of the Spirit, through faith in Christ. It is an ongoing process that will be brought to full completion and beautiful perfection in the day that Christ takes us to be with Himself; “for those who God justifies, He also glorifies.” God desires each of His children to be changed from one state of glory to the next. It is God’s will that each of us is transformed into the image and likeness of Christ, for God is perfect, and we are to be perfect as He is. But the work that needs to be carried out in the life of each believer is a work of God, not a work of our own flesh. God alone started the work in our life by faith when we were born again. Only God can continue His work of sanctification during our earthly life, and only He can finish the good work He started. A work of grace started in our life the moment we were saved. That work of grace is rooted in the divine goodness of the Father, Who sent His Son into the world to be the sacrifice for our sin. Only God can carry out the work of justification in the life of a believer. Only He can bring His work to its final conclusion when we will receive our glorified bodies, and only HE can continue the ongoing work of sanctification that brings a baby Christian to spiritual maturity. So, the question that is often asked…what am I to do to develop spiritually? How am I to grow in grace and become a mature believer? Well, I remind you that only God can carry out the good works He has prepared for us to do in a life that is submitted to Him. He can only produce spiritual fruit in us, as we abide in Him and walk in spirit and truth. However, we are not to be passive and inactive in our Christian walk. We are not puppets, no not at all! We are to be actively submitted to God. We are to be passively productive. We are to be actively dependent upon Him. We are to carry out the work He has prepared for us to do in His strength and for His glory. God will certainly perfect the good work He started in each of us, but may we live our lives in full cooperation with Him, as we present our bodies to Him as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to Him…so that we achieve spiritual maturity in this life, and in the ages to come, we will receive our glorified bodies and rich rewards!
Spiritual Steve 