THIS
VERY THING
“Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good
work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” Philippians
1:6
“This very thing” is not just an important thing. It is the very heart,
the soul, the sum and substance of the Gospel of God our Saviour. This
one verse sums up the message of the whole Bible. Every context of the
scriptures declare the successful accomplishment of Jesus Christ, in
the flesh, in the eternal redemption of His elect unto their final glorification,
according to the sovereign will and purpose of the Triune God. This
very thing is; the Redeemer of Israel did not, cannot, will not, in
any way, shape, form or fashion fail in the performance of the everlasting
salvation of all those intended. To make reference to Christ as Redeemer
and conclude that He failed to redeem anyone that He intended to redeem
is a misnomer. It is a lie. Our text plainly, unequivocally, declares
that HE began it and he WILL PERFORM IT until its completion. Although
the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption by His vicarious death,
the effects of His work is effectual to finally and eternally present
all whom He redeemed “to Himself a glorious church, not having spot,
or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without
blemish” Ephesians 5:27. If this very thing is not the center
of the message that we preach and believe we are not preaching the gospel
of Christ and we have no reason for any confidence at all. Our text
says that “HE WILL”, not “WE WILL”. All false religions and false preachers
say the opposite. I say to you with confidence, “If Jehovah (God our
Saviour) has begun a good work in you, that work HE WILL complete!”
This is not just a matter of being doctrinally correct, this is a matter
of life and death, a matter of truth and error, a matter of the glory
of God or the exaltation of a maggot.