THE WORLD is full of works. Men and women
are engaged in various works under the sun. There are the works of men and
women, the works of the devil and the work of God. All these works are carried
out in the world. This means men and women do not only work for themselves, but
also for the devil and God.
Man was made and placed in the earth to
work. The Bible says, “The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden to
work it and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man saying, “You may surely
eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil you shall not eat…” (Genesis 2:15-16).
But apart from men and women working for
themselves and fellow humans, virtually all men and women also work either for
God or for the devil. To work for the devil is to be captured by him to engage
in his destructive activities and promote his desires. Yes, there are works of
the devil in the world. And he captures people to work for him. The Lord Jesus
Christ revealed this in His words to the Jews who refused to believe in
Him:
“You are doing the works your father
did…You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s
desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth,
because there is no truth in him. And the Apostle John also says that “…the
reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John
3:8).
There is no doubt that the devil has works
in the world which are being done by himself, his fallen angels (demons, wicked
spirits) and people he has captured to advance his works. The works of the
devil are the evil deeds, acts of lawlessness and all sins including unbelief,
curses, bestiality, homosexuality, corruption, oppression, exploitation and
murders which have bedevilled the nations of the world.
Then also, there is the work of God in the
world which was revealed by the Lord Jesus Christ. And there are many men and
women who have also been called to do the work of God. One day, while teaching
the Jews, Jesus disclosed what God’s work actually is. That was when the Jews
had asked Him about what God’s work is all about.
“Then they said to him, “What must we do
to be doing the works of God? Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God,
that you believe in him whom he has sent” (John 6:28-29). Notice that Jesus stressed
“the work of God” and not “the works of God” as the Jews put it. We can now see
that God’s greatest work on earth is to get sinners to believe in Jesus Christ.
Clearly, getting sinners from the slavery of sins to believe in Jesus Christ
for their freedom is a work, a serious business.
This work involves the vigorous preaching
of the gospel, teaching the Word of God, healing, deliverance, prayers, fasting
and other things to save people from the controlling power of the devil. God
fills people He calls, prepares and sends them to do this work in the world.
Thus, the greatest duty of true apostles, prophets, evangelists, bishops and
teachers and other workers of God is to get people to believe in Jesus
Christ.
To believe in Jesus Christ is to
completely trust, have faith in Him and commit to the saving grace that is
vested in His name and the message of His death, burial, resurrection and
second coming. To believe in Jesus Christ is to be willing to be taught about
Christ, learn about Christ, know Christ, live the life of Christ, grow in
Christ, conform to the image of Christ and eventually leave this earth to be
with Christ forever.
People turn to the Lord as ministers
preach the gospel of salvation and teach God’s Word in cities, towns and
villages throughout the world. Thus, servants of Christ do the work of God, by
the spirit and grace of God. They carefully do this work by getting people to
believe in Jesus Christ. Anything we do or say that gets people to believe in
Christ constitutes the work of God, but deeds and speeches which make people
disbelieve in Christ actually form the work of the devil.
Indeed, there is the work of God in the
world, a serious business of getting people to believe in Jesus Christ for the
salvation of their souls. It is for this reason the Lord Jesus, the creator Son
of God, came into the world and shed His sinless blood for the salvation of
sinful soul. And knowing the significance of this work, the Lord calls, trains
and sends people to go to the world to call His people to repentance and
salvation.
“Go therefore and make disciples of all
nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And
behold, I am with you always to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20).
However, unbelievers do not consider the work of God any serious work. They mock and scoff at it. They cannot see how they will perish on the last day, but rubbish the work of salvation. To them, getting people to believe in Jesus Christ is a foolish work, but to those who are being saved, it is the power of God and a noble work.
By James Quansah
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