What Is The Work Of God?

What Is the Work of God?

What is the work of God? Notice, I didn’t say the works of God. Many of us can name various works of God; such as when God made the heaven and the earth (Genesis 1:1) or when God made us human beings (Genesis 1:26-27). God made the angels and Hell for the devil and the fallen angels (even though Hell hath enlarged itself and people foolishly fall into it by dying in their sins – Isaiah 5:14). We can think of many works of God, but what is the singular work of God? 

John 6:25-40 says: And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither?

26 Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.

27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.

28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?

29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

30 They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work?

31 Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.

32 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.

33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.

34 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.

35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

36 But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not.

37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.

38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.

39 And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.

40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

We Can’t Do The Work of God

The Jews asked Jesus how they might work the works of God. Men can’t work the works of God. If men could do so, then they wouldn’t be the work of God. But they thought that they could keep the Jewish laws not just the 10 Commandments (which none of us can keep) but all 613 Jewish laws that were added to the commandments. It’s utter madness to think that we can work the work of God. Only God can work the work of God!

What is the work of God? Jesus tells us in John 6:29: This is the work of God, that you believe on him whom he hath sent. Did you catch that? God did the work of God by sending His only begotten Son to take the punishment that all of us sinful creatures deserve.

God Sent His Only Son

God sent His only Son to suffer for the sins of the world. God sent forth His Son that we might receive eternal life. God does the work of God. God commands all men everywhere to repent (Acts 17:30-31). You must receive this most amazing gift and you do so through repentance and faith in Jesus.

We’ve all sinned against God. Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned (Romans 5:12). We’ve all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. Not a single one of us are righteous; we are not right with God – at least not on our own.

We can’t work the work of God because we are sinful creatures. We are born with a sinful nature and we’ve all sinned, we’ve all rebelled against our great Creator God and there’s nothing that we can do to wipe out our sins. We can’t be good enough, we can’t work, earn or bribe our way to Heaven. We cannot do the work of God.

God Does The Work of God

But thank God and praise God that God does the work of God. Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God (John 5:17-18). God is working. God sent Jesus to suffer and die in our place, if we receive the gift of salvation.

In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins (1 John 4:9-10). God loved us and sent Jesus to be the propitiation for our sins. Propitiation means the wrath was satisfied. Make no mistake, sin, all sin makes God angry.

If Jesus Christ is not your Lord and Savior, then God’s wrath over your sins abides upon you. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him (John 3:36).

You don’t have to continue going through life with God’s anger abiding upon you over your sins and you sure don’t want to die in your sins. The soul that sins, it shall die. The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 3:26).

Free Gift of Salvation

God works the work of God and His work is that He sent Jesus Christ to take the punishment that we deserve. But you must receive the free gift of salvation. But God commendeth his love (He demonstrated His love) toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).

God offers salvation freely to all sinners, but you must receive this free gift and you receive it by believing on the Lord Jesus. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved (Acts 16:31). That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation (Romans 10:9-10).

We Come To Jesus Through Repentance And Faith

We come to Jesus Christ through repentance and faith. We are to have repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21). 2 Peter 3:9 says: The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Jesus said Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life (John 5:24). He also said: Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life (John 6:47). I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins (John 8:24).

Repent and Put Your Faith In Jesus

Oh, repent and put your faith in Jesus. Do this tonight. Believe on the Lord Jesus. Trust Him. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths (Proverbs 3:5-6). Trust Jesus completely. Don’t trust in your own works. Don’t trust in your own self-righteousness. Trust in Jesus and His finished work on the cross.

Sending Jesus to suffer and die for our sins is the work of God. You can be saved tonight. Believe in Jesus Christ. Believe in His finished work on the cross. Oh, repent and surrender your life to Him. Do this tonight and be saved. Today is the day of salvation. Don’t put it off. Come to Jesus Christ and be saved.

If you are trying to do the work of God tonight, you will fail. You and I are not God. If you are trying to be a good Muslim, you will fail. If you are trying to be a good Mormon, you will fail. If you are trying to be a good Jehovah’s Witness, you will fail. If you are trying to be a good Buddhist, you will fail. If you are trying to be a good Catholic, you will fail. If you are trying to get to God by your works, baptism or church membership, you will fail.

Only God

Only God can do the work of God, not you and me. God’s work was Jesus and His work on the cross. Jesus was fully God and fully man. He took the punishment that we deserve. He suffered, bled and died for guilty sinners like us. Jesus did the work. Salvation is of the Lord. All we can do is receive the gift of salvation when God is drawing us to Himself through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Not only did God work through Jesus and the cross, but He’s still working today. He works through the power of the Holy Ghost on guilty sinners, convicting them of their sins. Is God working on your conscience tonight? Is God working on your heart? Is God convicting you over your sins?

If so, please come to Jesus through repentance and faith. Turn from your sins and come to Jesus. Surrender your life fully and completely to Him. Repent and believe the Gospel. Call upon the name of the Lord and be saved. Believe on the Lord Jesus and be saved. Be saved tonight. That is the work of God, the salvation of men and women, even today.

(This message was proclaimed on the square in downtown Springfield, MO on September 16,2016)