Grace From Beginning to End

Philippians 1:6 "For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus."

How often do you find yourself at the beginning of a project with no intention of finishing it? Probably not very often. Yet how many projects have you started that, for one reason or another, are still left incomplete? It is rarely, if ever, our intention to set out to accomplish something and then never see it to the end. Life just has a way of shifting our plans and making it necessary to adjust our priorities and focus. Wouldn’t it be great to have a guarantee at the beginning of whatever we set out to do that it will be completed? Imagine the confidence such assurance would inspire in us, providing strength and endurance to keep going in the midst of difficulties, knowing with certainty that our labor is not in vain.

The context for today’s passage is Paul expressing his thankfulness to the church in Philippi for their financial generosity and support of his work. Keep in mind it is to believers that Paul is writing. He informs them of how his prayers for them are always offered with joy because of their active participation in the gospel. In verse six, Paul writes of his confidence on their behalf. What is he confident of? That the good work Christ began in them when they first believed, He will bring to completion, or perfection, until the day they stand face-to-face with their Savior. From the cross to the throne, beginning to end, it’s by the grace of God that the believer is saved, shaped, and brought to completion in Christ. The Lord’s work in us begins with His grace, is sustained by His grace, and is perfected by His grace.

Notice where Paul’s confidence is grounded: in Christ’s work. Paul’s confidence comes from knowing the character of the faithful and trustworthy Savior, who is all-powerful and able to finish what He begins. Notice also the lack of any “if/then” phrases in this verse; Christ’s accomplishing this good work in the believer is not based on the believer’s merit, performance, or perseverance, but on His work and magnificent grace. What He began in you, He will see to completion.

If it is God’s grace sustaining us from the beginning of our journey in Christ to the end of our time on this earth, we can rest in blessed assurance this side of heaven that what Christ has begun in us will be brought to completion. What He desires and asks of us is to remain close to Him, trust Him, and obey Him. We are invited into the journey, and through God’s grace, He will bring us to the end.