Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
Philippians 2:12-13
Every good man and woman enjoys the work of their hands. It feels good to be creative, to exercise our creative powers and make something beautiful. How much more to God, who has the capacity of infinite pleasure because of His capacity to love infinitely? God loves His works. Ephesians 2 says that we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works. That is what grace is: God working in us and us working in God. It is a fellowship of good works and God rejoices in our good works because He is the author of all good things. He is working out His good pleasure in us as we obey Him. This is what we see in Philippians 2. Paul says to work out your own salvation with fear in trembling, so that God can work in you of His good pleasure. It is a holy cooperation between us and God. God giving His holy commandments and us fearing God and keeping His commandments. What a beautiful marriage of synergy, that is, God working in us by His Spirit and us responding to His Spirit with good works. We are of one Spirit with God, if we have been baptized with the Holy Spirit and are walking in the good fruits of God.
Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power: That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Thessalonians 1:11-12
God takes great pleasure in His goodness. God takes great pleasure in us, who are the instruments of His goodness. When God puts something good to do in your heart and you obey it, you are working the works of God by His Spirit. It’s just that simple. God wants to multiply Himself in the earth through us, the church, His people, His called out ones. 1 John says that God is love. James teaches us that faith which works by love has to do good works. It simply must manifest the love that is in his heart. We cannot say we have faith, we cannot say we have love, we cannot say we have the Spirit of God within us and then NOT do the works of God. This is what Jesus was doing when He sent forth the 12 and the 70. He was multiplying the good works of God by giving commandments to heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out demons and preach the gospel. Jesus lived to bring the Father pleasure, for God said of Jesus, “This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.” And why was God pleased in Jesus? It’s because He was the perfect obedient Son. It’s because Jesus did the works of the Father at all times. Jesus allowed the grace of God to flow through His life resulting in God’s works being manifest. Each of us are made in that same image of God and have the capability of Jesus to turn the world upside down through doing good. Those of us in the body of Christ are being conformed to Christ’s image. That is, the image of a God pleaser. This is the message of the gospel: please God by doing His works and don’t please yourself with your own selfish works. In so doing, you will find the pleasure of God filling your heart and life as you co-labor with God in the harvest field of souls. Bring your offerings into the storehouse and bless the Lord by allowing His works to flow in and through you.
The grace of God leads to Christ being glorified in us and us in Christ. God always honors those that do His works by faith in Christ. It remains the holy cooperation between God and man. God doing the work of His goodness by having us choose to walk in faith after which God supplies the POWER of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Faith and grace enable us to do what we can’t do ourselves. This is the Word from God, that we should fear not and trust Him for He it is who will help us. The Lord is our helper. He enables us to do His good works in the earth. He enables His will to be done on earth through the church as it is in heaven. Jesus said in John 6 that “this is the work of God, that you believe on He whom He has sent”. Faith in us is God’s holy work. No man could believe on God without the illumination of the truth that the Holy Spirit brings. Yet, God rewards us for having faith because God is simply influencing us to have faith, not forcing or coercing us to have faith. Faith pleases God, says Hebrews 11:6. Believing His Word above what we feel or see pleases Him. So let’s give God what He wants! He wants the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ to be resident in our hearts. Let Him start this work of power in your lives and then allow Him to finish it by YOU having faith in all the revealed Word of God. This is the work God desires to work in you. You are God’s building, you are God’s fruitful field. Go forth and multiply in the name of Jesus, amen!