Bill Waddell
He Who Began A Good Work Will Also Complete The Good Work
My Hope by Bill
John 1:29 “The next day John saw Jesus coming towards him and exclaimed, look, that is The Lamb of God who is to take away the sin of the world”
John 19:30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished! ” Then bowing His head, He gave up His Spirit.
These two scriptures (John 1:29 and 19:30) represent book ends marking the beginning and completion of the sent down to earth mission statement of The Son of God. By the way the Greek word airo translated takes away in John 1:29 can mean to lift or bear the burden. The Son of God carried out this mission (to bear the burden of our sin) without our consent, help, and apparently even without the agreement of two of his closest disciples. “When the days drew near for Jesus to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for him. But the people did not receive Jesus, because his face was set toward Jerusalem (to finish His work). And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them as also Elijah did?’ and having turned, he rebuked them, and said, “Ye have not known of what spirit ye are; for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save;” (Luke 9:51-56) Notice who got rebuked It was not the unbelieving Jesus rejecting Samaritans it was James and John who wanted the unbelieving Samaritans destroyed with fire. Do you know what spirit you are of? I would have to answer that question no for many years I did not. Sadly, I passed out tracks that conveyed the same message.
As Jesus approached the time of the cross to take away the sin of the world or bear the burden He said aloud “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose (bear the burden of our sin) I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And if I am lifted up from the earth—will draw all (men and all judgment) to me.” He said this to indicate the kind of death He would die (John 12:27-33). He was referring to all judgment and all men. We know all judgment because of the previous verse “now is the judgment of the world” and we know all men because of this verse “And He is an atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (I John 2:2). This bible verse was inspired by the Holy Spirit and recorded by The Apostle John, yes, the same John that thought it appropriate to destroy with fire the rejectors of Jesus. Here is another verse that supports the idea of Jesus taking the judgment for sin for all people. “For The love of Christ constrains me because I am convinced that if one died for all than all (men) died (II Cor.5:14). Here is one more Heb 2:9 “but we see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by God’s grace he would experience death on behalf of everyone”. How was this possible that the cross would be the judgment for sin for the whole world. Luke 1:37 “For nothing will be impossible with God.”
In our study of Philippian’s, we see a second mission statement a statement that could not be revealed until the completion of the first mission (taking away the sin of the world) “For of this I am confident, that He who has begun a good work within you all (The First Fruits) will go on to perfect it in preparation for the day of Jesus Christ”. (Phil 1:6) This mission began on the day of Pentecost (First Fruits) after completing the first mission with His death on the Cross. Paul offers this hope to the Philippians “Therefore, if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort provided by love, any fellowship in the Spirit, any affection or mercy, complete my joy and be of the same mind, by having the same love, being united in spirit, and having one purpose. Instead of being motivated by selfish ambition or vanity, each of you should, in humility, be moved to treat one another as more important than yourself. Each of you should be concerned not only about your own interests, but about the interests of others as well. You should have the same attitude toward one another that Christ Jesus had, who though he existed in the form of God did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking on the form of a servant, by looking like other men, and by sharing in human nature. He humbled himself, by becoming obedient to the point of death – even death on a cross! As a result God exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name. (Phil 2:1-9) What is so important about the name Jesus. Joshua or Jehoshua = Salvation. The name Ihsous, which was translated Jesus from the Latin Vulgate is the same word in Hebrew Yeshua (Joshua), which means “Yahweh saves” (Yahweh is typically rendered as “Lord” in the OT). Joshua or Jehoshua = Salvation. “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS (Yeshua) for he shall save (deliver) his people from their sins.” (Mathew 1:21) Jesus said You shall experience the truth and THE TRUTH will make you free. “Anyone that commits a single sin is a slave to sin”. This was a response to a group of pharisees that claimed they had never been slaves. “The Sin shall not be master over you because you are not under law but under grace” (Rom. 6:14) “And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David” (Luke 1:32). Jesus will not only be “The Deliverer” from the “Sin Task Master” He will be “The Reigning King” that liberates us from the “Tyranical King” called The Sin and The Death. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the First Fruit, (Singular) then at his coming those who belong to Christ, (The Church or First Fruits) then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. (I Cor 15:21-28) Notice how Sin is rendered powerless, death is destroyed and Jesus is Victorious. Now the conclusion of Paul’s encouragement to the Philippians. “So that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow – in heaven and on earth and under the earth – and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. (Phil 2:10-11) Prophesied by Isaiah “By Myself I have sworn; Truth has gone from My mouth, a word that will not be revoked: Every knee will bow to Me, every tongue will swear allegiance. It will be said to Me: Righteousness and strength is only in the LORD.” All who are enraged against Him will come to Him and be put to shame. Isaiah 45:23-25.
Closing Thoughts: When Paul encouraged us in Philippians 1:6 “For of this I am confident, that He who has begun a good work within you all (The First Fruits) will go on to [PERFECT IT] in preparation for the day of Jesus Christ”.
The Greek word “epiteleo” is a verb translated “perfect it” and it means to complete, accomplish, or bring to a completed end. The same word “epiteleo” is used in noun form to describe the order of those being made alive in I Cor 15:21-24
1Cor 15:21 for since through man [is] the death, also through man [is] a rising again of the dead,
1Cor 15:22 for even as in Adam all die, so also in the Christ all shall be made alive,
1Cor 15:23 and each in his proper order, a first-fruit Christ, afterwards those who are the Christ’s, in his presence,
1Cor 15:24 then–the end, [Teleo]
The Greek word “Teleo” does not mean the end of the world or the end of time it means the completion of those being made alive. (look at the context)
The title of this blog contains the two Greek words “enarchomai” to begin and epiteleo to bring to a completion. These two words are used together in only two new testament versus. Philippians 1:6 and the other in Gal. 3:3 a verse made famous by Grace Guarddog Steve. “Are you so foolish after beginning “enarchomai” by means of The Spirit are you now trying
To finish “epiteleo” your goal by the flesh. That is the reason for my hope the work (making all alive) begins and ends by means of The Spirit.