In the previous installments of this series, we showed that both the last revival of the Roman Empire [through the raising up of the ancient Chaldeans, and their subsequent defeat] and the preaching of the gospel are described as the Work of God. We then concentrated on God’s Work in these end times, as it relates to the preaching of the gospel and to the warning of the nations. In this final installment, we will talk about the connection between aspects of the Work of God and our salvation, as well as the marvelous Truth that the more we are involved in God’s Work of preaching the gospel, the more we will overcome our sins and our human nature… which is necessary to be able to enter the Kingdom and Family of God.
First, we need to understand that some aspects and tasks might have been referred to as the Work in the past, even though that may not necessarily have relevance for us today. But whenever God used people to do His Work, they had to do it with their whole heart, and in complete obedience to God’s instructions.
One of these aspects was the building of the tabernacle in the wilderness. When everything was done, we read in Exodus 40:16, 19, 21-27, 29, 32-34:
“Thus Moses did; according to all that the LORD had commanded him, so he did… And he spread out the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the tent on top of it, as the LORD had commanded Moses… And he brought the ark into the tabernacle, hung up the veil of the covering, and partitioned off the ark of the Testimony, as the LORD had commanded Moses… He put the table in the tabernacle of meeting, on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the veil; and he set the bread in order upon it before the LORD, as the LORD had commanded Moses. He put the lampstand in the tabernacle of meeting, across from the table, on the south side of the tabernacle; and he lit the lamps before the LORD, as the LORD had commanded Moses. He put the gold altar in the tabernacle of meeting in front of the veil; and he burned sweet incense on it, as the LORD had commanded Moses… And he put the altar of burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and offered upon it the burnt offering and the grain offering, as the LORD had commanded Moses… Whenever they went into the tabernacle of meeting, and when they came near the altar, they washed, as the LORD had commanded Moses. And he raised up the court all around the tabernacle and the altar, and hung up the screen of the court gate. So Moses finished the work. Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.”
When the people had completed the building of the tabernacle, under Moses’ direction, that aspect of the Work of God was finished.
When God had inspired David to prepare the building of the first temple, which would be accomplished through his son Solomon, we read David’s admonition in 1 Chronicles 29:1: “Furthermore King David said to all the assembly: ‘My son Solomon, whom alone God has chosen, is young and inexperienced; and the work is great, because the temple is not for man but for the LORD God…’”
The Israelites were willing to participate in the Work of the building of the temple. When David asked in verse 5, “Who then is willing to consecrate himself this day to the LORD?”, we read in verses 6-10:
“Then the leaders of the fathers’ houses, leaders of the tribes of Israel, the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with the officers over the king’s work, offered willingly. They gave for the work of the house of God five thousand talents and ten thousand darics of gold, ten thousand talents of silver, eighteen thousand talents of bronze, and one hundred thousand talents of iron. And whoever had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the LORD, into the hand of Jehiel the Gershonite. Then the people rejoiced, for they had offered willingly, because with a loyal heart they had offered willingly to the LORD; and King David also rejoiced greatly. Therefore David blessed the LORD before all the assembly; and David said: ‘Blessed are You, LORD God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever..’”
When the building of the temple was completed, THAT aspect of the Work of God was finished.
Jesus, the Son of God, became a Man to fulfill the great purpose of becoming Savior of Mankind. But that was not the only reason for His coming. We explain in our free booklet, “Do You Know the Jesus of the Bible?”, chapter 18, “The Purpose of Jesus’ Coming,” pages 87-92, the many aspects of the Work of God and the many purposes which He had to fulfill.
He said early on in His ministry, in John 4:34: “‘… My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.’”
He also said in John 5:36: “But I have a greater witness than John’s; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish—the very works that I do—bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me.”
In His prayer to the Father in the Garden of Gethsemane, He said, in John 17:4: “I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.”
When He died at the cross, He said at that moment: ”It is finished” (John 19:30). He finished that part of the Work which the Father had given Him to do as a human being.
And so, His disciples who were alive at that time were entrusted with the task of finishing that part of God’s Work that had been given to them.
We read what Christ said in a parable, in Mark 13:34-37:
“It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch. Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming—in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning—lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!”
The admonition to watch their spiritual condition applies to all Christians at all times, as nobody knows the time of their death and they need to be ready at every time, to meet their Maker in the resurrection, but Christ clearly referred foremost to the actual time of His Second Coming.
And so, God has given His end-time Church the WORK of preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God as a witness, which includes warning the nations of impending disaster.
That aspect of the Work had NOT been given to the Church in prior times, after the early apostles had died. Of course, God’s Church did warn people or nations at certain times (compare Christ’s and the disciples’ warning to the Jews that Jerusalem would be destroyed under Titus), and the Church did preach the gospel (compare 2 Corinthians 5:18-20) and warn that everyone will have to give account on the Day of Judgment (2 Corinthians 5:10), but the Work of preaching the gospel to the world as a witness and the warning message to the end-time nations was decisively given to God’s end-time Church, because it was to be THE sign of Christ’s speedy return, once that aspect of the Work was fulfilled (Matthew 24:14). Today, this preaching has been made possible through the invention of the internet and many other means of electronic communication.
The gospel message is also a message of repentance (Luke 24:47), which includes the realization of what sin is—the transgression of the Law of the Ten Commandments (1 John 3:4). God had originally written the Ten Commandments on tablets of stone; today He is writing them in and on our hearts. Both are aspects of the Work of God. We read in Exodus 32:15-16:
“And Moses turned and went down from the mountain, and the two tablets of the Testimony were in his hand. The tablets were written on both sides; on the one side and on the other they were written. Now the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God engraved on the tablets.”
Today, the law must be written in our hearts. In Isaiah 51:7, we read: “Listen to Me, you who know righteousness, You people in whose heart is My law: Do not fear the reproach of men, Nor be afraid of their insults.” Compare also Psalm 37:30-31; 40:8.
Jeremiah 31:33 says: “But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”
This, God has already done to those spiritual Israelites whom He has called and converted in this age to become born-again members in His Family. In 2 Corinthians 3:2-3, Paul says to the Church members at Corinth: “You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.”
When the early apostles began to do God’s Work of preaching the gospel in Jerusalem, they encountered opposition from the religious establishment. But let’s notice what one of the wise men in the Sanhedrin advised his colleagues in Acts 5:38-39—an advice which is relevant for our times as well:
“And now I say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing; but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it—lest you even be found to fight against God.”
We are called co-workers with Christ. We read that God the Father works, and Jesus Christ works (John 5:17), and we must be working with them. Regarding our labor, God says in Isaiah 61:8: “I will direct their work in truth.”
But those whom God has called to fulfill the end-time commission of His Work are also to become more and more holy, as God is holy. Isaiah 52:11 says about our challenge to leave the philosophies and customs of this world behind and become different: “Depart! Depart! Go out from there, Touch no unclean thing; Go out from the midst of her, Be clean, You who bear the vessels of the LORD.”
We also read in Deuteronomy 6:24-25 what God, through Moses, told the Israelites of old; and what He tells us today:
“And the LORD commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that He might preserve us alive, as it is this day. Then it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to observe all these commandments before the LORD our God, as He has commanded us.”
In doing the Work wholeheartedly, and being involved in the Work, be it through prayer and financial support, or be it in actively helping the Work, wherever we can and whenever an opportunity presents itself, the more we will be growing in Christ’s grace or favor and His knowledge (2 Peter 3:18), and the more we will be able to overcome sin and to become more and more righteous.
This connection becomes clear when considering John 6:26-29:
“Jesus answered them and said, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.’ Then they said to Him, ‘What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?’ Jesus answered and said to them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.’”
The Work of God is to believe in Christ. That’s the starting point. But it does not stop there. Our belief in Christ will motivate us to DO something. Christ also said above: “Labor… for the food which endures to everlasting life.” Believing in Christ is just the beginning. We must then also believe Christ (believe what He tells us), repent, accept His Sacrifice for us, become properly baptized and receive thereby the gift of the Holy Spirit, being led by the faith of Christ—Christ’s faith living in us—and in the end, after constantly overcoming, we will receive eternal life in God’s Kingdom and Family.
Our faith is shown by our works, as we read in the letter of James. He admonishes us in James 1:22-25:
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.”
What Work are James and Christ talking about? Why is believing in Christ, as the starting point, the Work of God? Again, what IS the Work of God Christ makes reference to?
We read in Philippians 1:3-6:
“I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ…”
Here, Paul is saying that God has begun a good work IN us. And so, we read in Ephesians 2:10: “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” The New Jerusalem Bible states: “We are God’s work of art…”
We can see that Christ’s statement that this is the Work of God that we believe in Him describes our road to salvation. We are God’s Work which He wants to bring to completion.
We read God’s assessment of the people of this age in Isaiah 29:13-16:
“Therefore the LORD said: ‘Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths And honor Me with their lips, But have removed their hearts far from Me, And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men, Therefore, behold, I will again do a marvelous work Among this people, A marvelous work and a wonder; For the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, And the understanding of their prudent men shall be hidden.’ Woe to those who seek deep to hide their counsel far from the LORD, And their works are in the dark; They say, ‘Who sees us?’ and, ‘Who knows us?’ Surely you have things turned around! Shall the potter be esteemed as the clay; For shall the thing made say of him who made it, ‘He did not make me’? (The Authorized Version says: “… shall the work say to him that made it, He made me not?”). Or shall the thing formed say of him who formed it, ‘He has no understanding’?”
The marvelous Work which God is doing is two-fold: Whatever wisdom and understanding the wise of this age—including their religious and political leaders—might have had will completely vanish. But God adds another remarkable prophecy, in verse 23:
“But when he sees his children, The work of My hands, in his midst, They will hallow My name, And hallow the Holy One of Jacob, And fear the God of Israel.”
Job knew that he was God’s Work, and that God was working in and with him. We read in Job 14:14-15: “If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait, Till my change comes. You shall call, and I will answer You; You shall desire the work of Your hands.”
Even though all of mankind are the Work of God’s hands (Job 34:19; Isaiah 19:25), many do not recognize this fact at this time and the responsibility which that entails, but some do. Many will come to that understanding later.
Isaiah 60:20-22 says: “Your sun shall no longer go down, Nor shall your moon withdraw itself; For the LORD will be your everlasting light, And the days of your mourning shall be ended. Also your people shall all be righteous; They shall inherit the land [better: the earth] forever, The branch of My planting, The work of My hands, That I may be glorified. A little one shall become a thousand, And a small one a strong nation. I, the LORD, will hasten it in its time.”
Isaiah 64:7-8 adds: “And there is no one who calls on Your name, Who stirs himself up to take hold of You; For You have hidden Your face from us, And have consumed us because of our iniquities. But now, O LORD, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; And all we are the work of Your hand.”
Isaiah 62:11 confirms that especially those who turn to God ARE the Work of God: “Indeed the LORD has proclaimed To the end of the world: ‘Say to the daughter of Zion, “Surely your salvation is coming; Behold, His reward is with Him, And His work before Him.”’”
God grants us salvation as a gift; we are not saved through our works; we cannot earn it through our works. But God expects of us to labor, to work—even working out our own salvation with fear and trembling—thereby showing that we are serious about God’s calling and our potential, but it is still God who does His Work in us, as Philippians 2:12-13 tells us:
“… work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”
Isaiah 26:12 confirms this: “LORD, You will establish peace for us, For You have also done all our works in us.”
We read in Romans 14:17, 20: “… for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are pure, but it is evil for the man who eats with offense.”
The Work of God is equated here with the Kingdom of God. We are warned not to do anything which causes a stumbling block for others which will prevent them from entering the Kingdom, as they, too, are part of the Work of God.
In 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12, we read: “Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill 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 you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Paul tells the Church members that God counts them worthy and fulfills in them the Work of faith with power so that the name of Jesus is glorified in them.
The Work of God will be short in these end times, and God says that He will finish the Work and cut it short in righteousness (compare Romans 9:28). This is also a reference to us—God’s Work—as we have only been given a short time, comparatively speaking, to qualify for God’s Kingdom.
God’s Work which we must be concerned about deals with the creation of man and man’s ultimate potential. God wants that every man be saved (1 Timothy 2:3-4). Some will reject salvation, but that is not God’s desire. God’s Work is to enlarge His Family, and then, to rule with His enlarged Family for all eternity.
And so, we must do whatever God has given to us to do within His marvelous end-time Work to support and assist in this process. And we need to watch ourselves, to be counted worthy to stand before the Son of Man when He returns (Luke 21:36; 1 Timothy 4:7-8; but compare also 1 John 2:28).
Christ said that this is the Work of God that we believe in Him; in other words, that we are God’s Work, and the first step to reach our destiny is to believe in Jesus. And that we must keep laboring for the food which leads to eternal life, while remembering that believing in Christ is the Work of God because He gives us that belief. That is how the Work of God begins in us. It is God who accomplishes all of this. God leads us and gives us the strength to persevere, but we have to follow His lead and accept what He offers us. All glory belongs to God, for without Him, we can’t do anything (John 15:5).
Today, we are just the firstfruits of God’s Work—the forerunners or pioneers. God will give the opportunity to all of mankind to be a part of His Work—to enter His Kingdom and Family as born-again God beings.
In conclusion, God’s Church—God’s Work—is commissioned today to proclaim the warning message of the final rise of the European Empire and what it will set in motion, and to preach the gospel of the Kingdom of God to the world as a witness, and then Christ will return. As John the Baptist prepared the people for Christ’s First Coming, so God’s Church is to prepare the world for Christ’s Second Coming. As we are involved in faithfully and zealously fulfilling our commission, we are growing and maturing in our Christian Way of Life and to qualify abundantly for entrance into the Kingdom of God (2 Peter 1:10-11).
Malachi 3:2 asks the pertinent question: “… who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears?”
Psalm 24:3-5 tells us:
“Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive blessing from the LORD, And righteousness from the God of his salvation.”
And Psalm 15:1-5 adds:
“A Psalm of David. LORD, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill? He who walks uprightly, And works righteousness, And speaks the truth in his heart; He who does not backbite with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor does he take up a reproach against his friend; In whose eyes a vile person is despised, But he honors those who fear the LORD; He who swears to his own hurt and does not change; He who does not put out his money at usury, Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved.”
Let’s do this, and we will live (compare Luke 10:25-28)—as the Work of God.
Lead Writer: Norbert Link
