The Apostle Paul’s Opus

May 16, 2016

The Apostle Paul’s Opus

“God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”

Philippians 1: 6

Recently I was pondering the idea of writing a book about Paul’s letter to the Philippians. The title of my book would be, The Apostle Paul’s Opus. (If you remember the 1995 movie, Mr. Holland’s Opus, you will get my suggested title.)

I think the title is appropriate because if Paul’s little letter, with just four chapters and twenty-six hundred words, was the only fragment of the Bible you had, you would have all you need to enter into an eternal right-standing relationship with God. I am going to be reading through Philippians over the next three weeks and share my thoughts with you.  

One of my favorite verses of scripture is Philippians 2:13 where Paul affirms that God is at work in me. (And you!) That verse is made even more powerful for me in today’s text:

“God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”

Finishing what he started was very important for the apostle Paul as he affirmed in 2 Timothy 4:7, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful.” The best I can tell, Paul had two jobs in his lifetime. He started as Saul the Pharisee, and then God commissioned him as Paul the missionary to the Gentiles. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average worker in the US holds ten different jobs before age forty. Some researchers predict that the current generation will hold twelve to fifteen jobs in their lifetime. With so much movement in our lives it can be difficult to keep our eye on the goal.

Our goal for life is not about how we start; it’s about finishing well. I know we all have experienced things in our lives that we did not finish. However, that wasn’t our goal when we began. Our goal was to finish what we started.

In the Gospel of Mark, the young man at the tomb instructed the women to go and tell Peter that Jesus would be waiting for him in Galilee. (Mark 16:7) Why? Because God wasn’t through with Peter, and God isn’t through with me either, or you! As you join me in reading the Book of Philippians, we can celebrate our God who owns the record for finishing what he starts.

“God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.