The Finished and the Present Work

Call to Prayer 

 Title: The Finished and the Present Work

 By: Daniel Peter 

 Date: 06.11. 2023

 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit John 19:30 NIV

 At His first coming, there was a specific work Christ came to finish. This work didn’t start at His appearing as a man, but from the foundation of the world (1 Peter 1:20 -21). When He declared “it is finished“, the new creation realities were completed, and from the moment we believe in Him, that reality is now true in our spirit. 

 Reading through the New Testament, we would encounter verses like “‭‭Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love (Eph. 1:3-4 KJV)“. All the associated acts of God in the above verses of the scriptures were written in past tenses because it has been done already. Now, despite Christ has perfected these realities in our spirit, it is God’s will that what is in our spirit be reflected in our souls and bodies. This desire of God is now termed “the present work of the Holy Spirit“, for they are accomplished as we yield to the Holy Spirit.

 For example, based on the finished work of Christ, we have been made holy already (Eph. 1:4), but we see written in the New Testament “… be ye holy for I am holy (1 Peter 1:15-16)“. The holiness that was instructed is a product of the present work of the Holy Spirit. Again, based on the finished work, Christ has become our righteousness (1 Cor. 1:30), meaning we have been made righteous already. However, it is still expected we live righteously (1 John 3:7), which is the product of the present work of the Holy Spirit. Then, what Christ has finished in our spirit, is now a promise to be fulfilled in our souls and bodies. This is why we hear Apostle Peter say something like “.. he has given us his very great and precious promises (2 Peter 1:4)”. The promise talked about here by Peter is not those from prophetic words, but what Christ has accomplished in our spirit.

 With the above known, how do we now live? we live by faith in what has been done already in our spirit, and we are patient to see their manifestation in the natural. The instruction to ” … imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised (Heb. 6:12)”, now takes up a deeper meaning. We demonstrate faith in what Christ has done in our spirit by thanking Him for them and walking as though it is now our reality, and we demonstrate patience by yielding to the voice of the Holy Spirit as we wait for the manifestation of that which has been finished in our spirit.

 Prayer Point.

 Let’s thank God for His word today. Let’s ask God to help us manifest that which He had completed in our spirit.