"And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to feel this way (verse 3-5) about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel."
Why was Paul so sure that God would complete the work he had begun in the believers at Philippi, that he would continue to teach, protect, grow and love them with absolutely no drop outs? Because he understood God's grace. God had called the Philippians to himself and saved them by the blood of Christ while they were still his enemies, still sinners. Just as his grace saved them at their conversion, it would see them through to the end of their lives. Once God has us as his children, he will never let us go.
Why would God pursue us, call to us, make us new creations, only to then let us drift away? The answer is he wouldn't and doesn't. The Philippians were in God's family regardless of their continuing to be sinful people because they were covered by Christ's atoning sacrifice, as we all are if we trust in Jesus alone. End of story.
This grace is an unthinkable, unimaginable gift. The only way to really understand it is to experience it for yourself. And the only people who can really understand you once you've seen the beauty of the Cross are others who know God's grace, others who have partaken of it. This caused a bond between Paul and the Philippians which was unbreakable. They were one in Christ (John 17:20-26).
Have you experienced God's grace on your life and the bond he desires you to have with his sons and daughters?
See you next week.
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