Sometimes the best thing we can do when studying the Bible is simply step back for a moment. The Bible gives us a lot to absorb and digest so taking a moment to reflect gives us the time to ask - What did I just read? and What is God trying to tell me?

While many are asking questions like, "Who is right?" or "Which doctrine is correct?" Those are important questions. But I wonder if there is an even bigger question that helps put all the others into their proper place.

What is God actually doing?

After all we are examining "The Work of God" - work involves doing and so much of the Bible really involves what God has done, is currently doing, and where all that work gets finished in the end - finally leading us to the destination God has had in mind all along. When we begin asking that question - What is God actually doing? - something interesting starts happening. Instead of looking at one tree at a time, we begin seeing the whole forest. Instead of looking at one piece of the puzzle, we begin seeing the picture God has been painting from the very beginning.

God gave Israel the Law.

God gave the Tabernacle.

God gave the sacrifices.

God gave the priesthood.

God gave the feasts.

God gave the prophets.

Then, in the fullness of time, God gave His Son.

None of those things were mistakes. None of them were temporary ideas that God later changed His mind about. Every one of them came from God and every one of them had a purpose.

So perhaps the better question is not, "Which one should I choose?"

Perhaps the better question is, "What was God leading His people toward?"

Paul asked a very similar question. He did not ask whether the Law was good because he had already answered that.

"Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good." Romans 7:12

Instead he asked,

"Wherefore then serveth the law?" Galatians 3:19

In other words...

Why did God give the law?

His answer is just as important.

"The law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ." Galatians 3:24

That tells us something very important. The Law was never competing with Christ. It was leading people to Christ. The same thing can be seen throughout Paul's ministry. He says that grace was given to him to preach "the unsearchable riches of Christ" and "to make all men see..." Ephesians 3:8-9.

I like those words.

"...to make all men see..."

That tells me Paul's goal was much bigger than winning arguments. He wanted people to see what God had been doing all along. Then a few verses later Paul tells us exactly where God is taking His people.

"...till we all come... unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ." Ephesians 4:13

That is the destination of not only God's works but also our works.

That is the destination not only of God's work throughout history, but also of our work as His people. Every act of obedience, every lesson we learn, every trial we endure, every gift He gives, is intended to move us toward the fullness of Christ.

Not simply more knowledge. Not simply more rules. Not simply winning another debate. - The fullness of Christ. - is the highest aspiration that is also unfortunately the most misunderstood aspiration. Giving birth is an intense labor that culminates in a brand new life. A brand new life is the result of the process that God created which Paul describes this way:

"My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you" Galatians 4:19

Life has always been the goal and in all God's doings - gaining that "Life" is found through Jesus Christ.

In him was life; and the life was the light of men. John 1:4

For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; John 5:26

That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. John 3:15

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. John 6:40

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. John 14:6

He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. 1 John 5:12

Jesus Did Not Simply Bring Life - He Is Life

Jesus never pointed to something else to find eternal life. He declared Himself to be Life.

"I am the resurrection, and the life..."

"I am the way, the truth, and the life..."

"Because I live, ye shall live also."

Then John closes by saying

"This is the true God, and eternal life."

This is the forest of God's truth that many can't see because of the other trees that get in the way. One Tree in the midst of the forest deserves our full attention.

Now let's go back and ask the question again.

If that is where God is taking His people - Which things are helping us move toward that destination?

That question has helped me step back and see the Bible in a much bigger way and has formed a different heart within me. When studying the Bible my question is always -

Is what I am studying make me more like Christ?

This puts perspective and priority into the picture.

Does knowing the timing of the Rapture make me more like Christ? Or does it make me judgmental of those who don't agree with me?

Does eating or not eating certain foods make me more like Christ? Or do I shun and disdain people because of my convictions?

Does proving someone else wrong make me more like Christ? Or does "provoking one another towards love and good works" make me more like Christ?

I could go on with dozens of topics and while anything the Bible teaches is important - nothing is more important than - Christ in you the hope of glory Col 1:27

Christ in you is the goal that gets us to glory. Not just the word in you, or knowledge in you, or doctrine in you - all those are important but the point of word, knowledge and doctrine is they are ordained for the purpose of creating life in you. Creating life in you is "The work of God".

Romans 14 provides a beautiful example of the principle I just presented in everyday life. Paul discusses food and holy days, subjects that have divided believers for centuries. Yet rather than forcing every believer into identical personal convictions, he writes, "Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind" (Romans 14:5). He then adds, "I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself" (Romans 14:14). Yet Paul refuses to use his own conviction to wound another believer's conscience. Instead he warns, "Destroy not the work of God for meat" (Romans 14:20).

That raises an important question again relating to: What is "the work of God"? The context answers it. Just a few verses earlier Paul declares, "For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost" (Romans 14:17). Those point to the abundant life God wants for us. God's work is not merely regulating external behavior. His work is producing righteousness, peace, joy, love, and spiritual maturity in His people. Food was never intended to destroy what God is building.

Paul closes the chapter with one of the broadest principles found anywhere in Scripture: "For whatsoever is not of faith is sin" (Romans 14:23). Suddenly the discussion rises far above food. Faith is no mystical concept floating somewhere in the clouds. Faith is the practical response of a heart that trusts God. It is the root from which every act of genuine obedience grows. Anything done apart from that trusting relationship with God misses His purpose.

This explains why Paul repeatedly returns to faith throughout his letters. "The just shall live by faith" (Romans 1:17). "Without faith it is impossible to please him" (Hebrews 11:6). Faith is how we participate in the abundant life that God freely provides. God supplies the fullness; faith reaches into that fullness and begins to live from it.

This also sheds light on Paul's teaching concerning our future reward. In 1 Corinthians 3 he describes believers building with "gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble" (1 Corinthians 3:12). The issue is not whether the foundation is Christ - He alone is the foundation - but how deeply each believer has built upon Him. Likewise, Jesus spoke of thirtyfold, sixtyfold, and a hundredfold fruit (Mark 4:20). The difference is not found in God's supply. His fullness never changes. The difference lies in the measure of our participation by faith.

Faith, however, never remains alone. Paul tells us that "faith which worketh by love" (Galatians 5:6) is what truly matters. Love is not a replacement for faith; it is faith reaching maturity. A tree draws life through its roots, but it is known by its fruit. In the same way, faith receives from God, while love reveals that God's life is genuinely flowing through us. "Though I have all faith... and have not charity, I am nothing" (1 Corinthians 13:2). Mature faith always produces love because the life it receives is the very life of God and God is love.

When viewed from this perspective, the entire Bible becomes one unfolding story. God created mankind for fellowship with Himself. Sin fractured that fellowship. The Law revealed His holy character and exposed man's need. The Cross opened the way back into union with God. The Holy Spirit now forms Christ within us, leading us from glory to glory. Finally, the story ends where it was always headed: "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them... and they shall be his people" (Revelation 21:3).

This is why one question continues to rise above all others:

What leads us most fully toward the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ?

That question does not diminish the Law. It honors its purpose. It does not diminish obedience. It places obedience within God's greater purpose. Everything God has ever given ultimately serves one glorious end - that His people might increasingly share His character until the day when "God shall be all in all" (1 Corinthians 15:28).

The true work of God has never been merely producing people who know His commandments. It has always been producing people who know Him. The true reward is not winning theological debates, but growing into the likeness of Christ. The gold, silver, and precious stones are lives that have learned to draw deeply from the fullness God has already provided. And when the New Jerusalem finally descends, every lesser thing will have accomplished its purpose, because the greatest promise of Scripture will have become reality:

"They shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God." (Revelation 21:3)

The following Bible Study outline is included to as an addendum for your use and edification. May God always lead you to drink deeply of His fulness until Christ be formed in you - the hope of glory.

The Work of God

From Sinai to the New Jerusalem

Opening Scripture

"For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." Romans 14:17

Introduction

The Bible is often approached as a collection of doctrines, commandments, and theological debates. While those things certainly matter, they are not the destination. Scripture is telling one continuous story. It begins with God walking with man in a garden and ends with God dwelling with man in the New Jerusalem.

The question every believer should continually ask is not merely, "What has God commanded?" but "What is God accomplishing?"

When we begin asking that question, many individual doctrines begin finding their proper place within God's larger purpose.

Imagine someone hands you a box containing hundreds of individual puzzle pieces.

You could spend hours studying each piece by itself.

Or...

You could step back and look at the picture on the box.

Which approach helps you understand the purpose of every piece? Studying the piece? Or studying the picture? The Image of the invisible God is Christ. Take the image away and the individual pieces are senseless.

The Bible is much the same way. The pieces put together creates the Image God has always had in mind. "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me." John 5:39

Part One

God Always Works Toward a Destination

Everything God has ever done has moved toward one glorious purpose.

From Eden...

to Abraham...

to Sinai...

to the Tabernacle...

to the Temple...

to the Cross...

to Pentecost...

to the New Jerusalem...

Nothing was random.

Every step was moving toward:

"Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men" Revelation 21:3

That is where the story ends.

Which tells us that it was always where God intended to bring us.

Discussion:

• What changes when we begin reading the Bible as one continuous story instead of isolated doctrines?

• How does knowing the destination help us understand everything that came before it?

Part Two

Why Did God Give the Law?

Paul never questioned whether God's Law was good.

"The law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good." Romans 7:12

Instead he asked the question:

"Wherefore then serveth the law?" Galatians 3:19

His answer:

"The law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ." Galatians 3:24

The Law revealed God's holiness.

It exposed man's need.

It pointed toward Christ.

The Cross did not declare the Law to be evil.

The Cross accomplished what the Law was preparing us for - To have Christ living inside us though the Spirit.

Discussion

• Is there a difference between something being God's gift and being God's final destination?

• How does Christ fulfill the purpose of the Law without diminishing its value?

Part Three

What Is the Work of God?

Romans 14 is often reduced to a discussion about food. Paul's concern is much larger.

"Destroy not the work of God for meat." Romans 14:20

So what is "the work of God"?

Paul has already answered.

"The kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." Romans 14:17

God is building people.

Not merely regulating diets.

Not merely settling arguments.

He is producing righteousness...

peace...

joy...

love...

He is producing Christlikeness - and in Christ we have eternal life. That is His work.

Discussion

• Can we become so focused on secondary issues that we unintentionally damage what God is trying to build?

• What does it look like to protect "the work of God" in another believer?

Part Four

Faith Is Participation

Paul ends Romans 14 with a remarkable statement.

"For whatsoever is not of faith is sin." Romans 14:23

Faith is not merely believing certain facts. Faith is trusting God enough to participate in what He is doing.

Grace supplies the fullness. Faith receives that fullness.

Faith grows into obedience. Faith matures into love.

"Faith which worketh by love." Galatians 5:6

Love is not a substitute for faith. Love is mature faith becoming visible.

Discussion

• In what ways is faith practical rather than merely theoretical?

• How have you seen love become the visible evidence of genuine faith?

Part Five

Building With Eternal Materials

Paul writes:

"Gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble." 1 Corinthians 3:12

Jesus speaks of thirtyfold - sixtyfold - a hundredfold.

The difference is not God's supply - the word shared is the same.

God's fullness never changes. The difference is the depth of our participation.

Some believers draw deeply from Christ.

Others barely scratch the surface.

God offers the same fullness to every believer. Faith determines how deeply we draw from it.

Discussion

• What might gold, silver, and precious stones represent in practical Christian living?

• How do we move beyond simply surviving spiritually toward bearing abundant fruit?

Part Six

The Measure of Everything

Paul gives us the destination.

"Till we all come... unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ."
Ephesians 4:13

Notice what he does not say.

He does not say:

"The measure is knowledge."

"The measure is debate."

"The measure is winning arguments."

The measure is Christ Himself.

Every doctrine - every commandment - every ministry - every trial - every gift - should ultimately move us toward becoming more like Him.

Questions Worth Living With

Rather than asking only,

"Who is right?"

perhaps Scripture invites us to ask even larger questions:

• If the goal of Scripture is ultimately God dwelling with His people in perfect union, which parts of the Torah are the destination, and which parts were signposts pointing toward that destination?

• When we arrive in the New Jerusalem, what remains after judgment and continues because it was always God's ultimate purpose? And what has reached its fulfillment because it accomplished its purpose?

• Does the New Jerusalem look more like Mount Sinai, or does it look more like Christ?

These questions do not diminish God's earlier works. They help us understand their purpose.

Closing Challenge

Every one of us is building something.

The question is not merely:

Am I correct?

The deeper question is:

Is my life participating in the work that God is accomplishing?

Will my faith produce wood - or gold?

Will my life merely defend doctrines - or increasingly reveal Christ?

Because in the end, the greatest reward is not proving ourselves right.

The greatest reward is hearing:

"Well done."

And entering forever into the presence of the One who has been calling us to Himself from the very beginning.