Bible Studies

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Philippians 2:13 – “For God is at work in you, giving you the desire to obey Him and the power to do what pleases Him.”

Thesaurus Fun:
Desire – longing, yearning, want, aspiration
Power – ability, capacity, strength, might

God at Work in You

Once we belong to God in the special sense of being His children, not only do we become a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17), not only does He give us a new heart, but God also gives us His Spirit; as Scripture says, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. (Ezekiel 36:26-27).” This spirit is the Spirit of God – the Spirit of holiness (Romans 1:4) and power (2 Timothy 1:7). It is by His Spirit in us that we are able to live the new life He calls us to. For on our own we are prone to sin and cannot please God. As far as anything good is concerned, as Scripture says, “…apart from Me (Jesus), you can do nothing. (John 15:5).” So for us to be holy and live the way that God wants us to we need all the help He will give, and He gives us all the help we need in the third person of the trinity; the Holy Spirit. Through the Spirit of God who lives in us, God is ever at work in our hearts moving us with the desire to obey Him in love and reverence. When this has truly become our desire (to obey Him), God gives us the strength and power we need to be able to obey Him and therefore also to please Him. On our own, it is impossible to please God, but thank the Lord that by His mercy, He does give us His Spirit and moves us and enables us that we might live lives pleasing to Him and to His glory. Oh the divine mystery of the plan of God! His ways are past tracing out! (Romans 11:33). He is the One who loves us when we were still sinners and saves us when we were His enemies. He is the One who calls us to holiness and then sees it done. As Scripture says, “the One who calls you is faithful and He will do it! (1 Thessalonians 5:24)”. Oh that we would every moment yield to His work in us!

If you would please God, you must first receive His salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. As Scripture says, “without faith it is impossible to please God. (Hebrews 11:6)”. When you receive Jesus Christ as savior and Lord, you also receive the gift of the Holy Spirit who will begin to guide your thoughts and set to work in your heart and life. Then, if you would grow, you must spend time in prayer, in Scripture, and in community with other believers that you might “with unveiled face behold the glory of the Lord and (be) transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory (2 Corinthians 3:18)”.

Point to Ponder

Are you able to see God’s Holy Spirit at work in your life? If not, do you think that it’s possible that you have never truly received God’s salvation? Scripture days, “examine yourself to see if your faith is really genuine. Test yourself. Don’t you know that Jesus Christ is in you? Unless, of course, you fail the test. (2 Corinthians 13:5)”. If you have never received the gift of salvation – forgiveness of sin and the Holy Spirit – are you ready to receive it? Are you ready to be changed – not by your own human effort but by the Spirit of God?

So we pray, “Oh, God, we recognize that we can do nothing good without You and that on our own we are prone to sin and so cannot please You. We gratefully receive Your salvation – forgive us of our sin, make us new, fill us with Your Holy Spirit, and help us to follow You completely. We thank You for Your Word that says that You set to work in us, changing us, since we know that we cannot change ourselves. Lord, help us to never resist Your work in us, but fill us with the desire – the deep and sincere longing – to obey You and follow You and please You. Help us to grow in the grace and knowledge of You (2 Peter 3:18), for Your name’s sake and for Your glory. We thank You for loving us and saving us, though we were unworthy. Thank You for making us new and making us like You, setting us apart as holy. May our every day be an anthem of praise to You. To You be all glory and honor, dominion and power, forever and ever! Amen.”

See these songs: Unexplainable, I Believe

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