Which other scriptures emphasize God's influence in our lives and actions? God at Work: The Heart of Philippians 2:13 Scripture speaks plainly and authoritatively about the Lord’s direct involvement in every genuine act of obedience. The believer labors, yet God Himself supplies both the desire and the power. Key Verse “For it is God who works in you to will and to act on behalf of His good pleasure.” – Philippians 2:13 Old Testament Foundations: God Shaping Lives from the Start • Isaiah 26:12 – “O LORD, You will establish peace for us. For all that we have accomplished You have done for us.” • Ezekiel 36:27 – “And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and to carefully observe My ordinances.” • Proverbs 16:9 – “A man's heart plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.” • Psalm 37:23 – “The steps of a man are ordered by the LORD, and He delights in his way.” New Testament Echoes and Expansion • John 15:5 – “I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me, and I in him, will bear much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing.” • Romans 8:26 – “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know how we ought to pray, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words.” • Ephesians 2:10 – “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life.” • 1 Corinthians 15:10 – “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not in vain. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.” • Galatians 2:20 – “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” • 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 – “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely. And may your entire spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The One who calls you is faithful, and He will do it.” • 2 Thessalonians 1:11 – “With this in mind we always pray for you, that our God will count you worthy of His calling and that by His power He will fulfill every good resolve and work of faith.” • Hebrews 13:20-21 – “Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with every good thing to do His will, and may He accomplish in us what is pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” • James 1:17 – “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.” Putting the Pieces Together • God initiates righteous desires, then sustains the strength to carry them out. • Human effort matters, yet it rests entirely on divine empowerment. • The same God who authored creation and redemption now writes holiness into daily choices. • Confidence and humility grow side by side: confidence because God is working, humility because every victory traces back to Him alone. |
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