God At Work

God at Work

Read: John 14:9-14

“It is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.”

John 14:10

“God never made a promise that was too good to be true.”

—Dwight L. Moody

IN WORD Philip asks to see the Father, and Jesus answers that Philip has, in fact, been seeing the Father in Himself. Once again, we have an affirmation of the divinity of the Christ. That’s good to know, but what does that mean to us practically?

As followers of Christ, we may have trouble separating the attributes He is modeling for us from the ones that are unique to Him. This attribute—the work of God in Him—is an example for us to learn from. Jesus clearly says so: “Anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing” (v. 12). He promises that the Holy Spirit will be in them (v. 17).

We gratefully accept this wonderful promise in principle, but we know that we continue to sin. We are still feeble in faith and in service. We persist in our own agendas and follies. We sometimes see a huge discrepancy between the glory of the promise and the reality of our experience.

IN DEED On one hand, we should be wonderfully encouraged by this verse. God, the Architect of incomprehensibly vast expanses and of amazingly intricate complexities, intends to dwell within us in the same power with which He indwelt Christ. Think about that. Let it sink in. It is a glorious truth of which Paul was well aware: “It is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose” (Philippians 2:13).

On the other hand, this verse should greatly unsettle us. We know, deep in our hearts, that we do not experience it as often and as fully as we should. Let it do its unsettling work. Be bothered. Be persistent in prayer toward this end. Ask God to satisfy this truth in you, and do not rest until He does. His promises are not false advertising; they are there to be fulfilled.