Christian Living

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The Work of God

Jesus’ disciples and the people following saw Him feed the crowd and walk on water, yet they asked, after declaring Him to be that prophet who was to come, what sign He would show so they’d believe? What exactly did they want? What do you want? We ultimately want God to do what we want not what He wants. That is the essence of sin. Then after Jesus tried to expose them to the disingenuousness of their motives for seeking Him, they asked the following question as to what they were to do
John 6:28-29
28 Then they said to Him, "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?"
29 Jesus answered and said to them, "This IS the work of God, that you believe into whom He has sent."
I would suggest you read the whole passage of John 6:11-40 to get the context of Jesus’ central remarks in v28-29. He was contrasting all the miraculous acts He did with what He was telling us we need to do.
Have you ever really thought about this? How is believing, the work of God? What about evangelizing; teaching; pastoring; charity; missions etc.? We think of these and other such things as being God’s work, but they are the real work’s byproducts. Have you ever stopped to realize that your belief system guides and directs your entire life? All that you think say and do stems from what you really believe down deep inside. Not necessarily what you say you believe, what you present to others, but what you really believe and operate your life out of and by. As you (really) think in your heart, so you will be. This is a quote from Prov. 23:7, but we should look at this passage more closely.

Prov 23:6-9
6 Do not eat the bread of a miser, nor desire his delicacies;
7 For as he thinks in his soul, so is he. "Eat and drink!" he says to you, but his heart is not with you.
8 The morsel you have eaten, you will vomit up, and waste your pleasant words.
9 Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words.
(NKJ)
This is an often-misunderstood verse because it is usually quoted out of context. Yet it elucidates what we are focusing on in Jhn.6:29. Stick with me here.
It is the miser that is the” he” in verse 7. As “he” really thinks, so he is and IS disingenuous and selfish. He is not as he presents himself and cannot be trusted. You will be the same if you buy into his ways, the morsel of his words. Don’t focus in on that which can be easily lost, namely any immediate gains. The heart is what’s important.

1 Sam 16:7 But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."
(NKJ)

What you think and really believe drives and directs your entire life.

Prov.23:7 also shows that our way of thinking is directly affected by our belief system. Logic and reason by their very nature are limited by what we know and what we believe. We will often disregard facts in order to confirm preconceived notions that are based more on beliefs than facts. Evolution and political dogmas are good examples of this. In Christian circles, we have the same problem. Certain doctrinal positions with little Biblical backing and pamphlets, such as “The Earths Missing Day”, which were out and out lies, serve to illustrate that the problem is in human nature itself, namely the actual belief structure of the person. If you, for example, believe the ends justify the means, you’ll lie or do other underhanded things to achieve your ends or get people on board with you, “for their own good”. Both Christians and non-Christians have been guilty of this one. Wrong faith is as bad as no faith, maybe worse. One doesn’t need to stand on lies to defend the truth. This also shows a lack of trust in the Holy Spirit and a misplaced faith in ones own ability to bring about a desired end. Abraham did this with Hagar when he helped God out by having a child, Ishmael, with her and we are still paying the price to this day.
Note also that in Jhn.6:29 it says to believe into Him not just in Him. In Greek this is a very important concept. When the tightrope walker Blondin did his thing over Niagara Falls, he brought up a wheelbarrow and asked the crowd if they believed he could go across with this wheelbarrow. They all yelled yes. Then he asked if they believed he could go across with a person in the wheelbarrow. They all yelled yes. At that point he asked for a volunteer. You see that the crowd believed in his ability but only a volunteer would believe into. This is what is meant by saving faith. Too often, we believe in the facts about Jesus, but not, necessarily, in or rather into Him Himself. Until we are willing to jump into Christ’s wheelbarrow, we are like the crowd with Blondin and will be left on the edge.
What you really believe down deep inside determines all your life actions. God cannot and will not guide you if you don’t exercise this kind of belief. It’s a choice you make. By doing the work of belief, you will automatically gravitate into activities consistent with that belief.
Phil 2:13 for it is God working in you both to will and to do on behalf of His good pleasure. (Lit.Trans.)
II Th 1:11 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 (belief) with power,
(NKJ)
There is actually no word faith in Greek; it is the word belief which is the noun form of the verb to believe. Pistis and pisteuo.
History and Scripture is replete with those who acted, for good or ill, on the basis of the beliefs that drove them.
Heb 11:4-12
4 By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.
5 By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, "and was not found, because God had taken him

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