The Work of God
John 6:29 says, "Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent." Earlier in John Chapter 6, Jesus had just fed 5,000 men, plus women and children. Evening had fallen. A stormy night-crossing of the Sea of Galilee had taken place.
John 6:22-29 says, "The day following, when the people which stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was none other boat there, save that one whereinto his disciples were entered, and that Jesus went not with his disciples into the boat, but that his disciples were gone away alone; (23) (Howbeit there came other boats from Tiberias nigh unto the place where they did eat bread, after that the Lord had given thanks:) (24) When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they also took shipping, and came to Capernaum, seeking for Jesus. (25) And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither? (26) Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled . (27) Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed. (28) Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? (29) Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent."
In verse 24, we see that the people have crossed the Sea of Galilee and upon arriving in Capernaum, are seeking Jesus. That is good! Or is it?
In verse 26, Jesus tells them, "Yes, you're seeking me, but you're seeking me for the wrong reason!"
As a side note here, I do think it's worth mentioning that we need to examine ourselves carefully to make sure that we are always seeking Jesus for the right reasons.
These men are looking for a quick fix, the next meal, to have Jesus apply a band-aid and let them go about their business. Jesus has a way of cutting right to the chase. He tells them they are seeking Him for the wrong reasons. He goes on to tell them that they are really working hard to get another meal, something that can only sustain temporarily, (vs.27), physically, ("What's in it for me?") He tells them that they should be seeking Him to obtain that which lasts for eternity! He then tells them that He can give them eternal life...notice He will give it; they won't earn it.
They still don't get it. We know that because of their response in verse 28, "What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?"
Look what Jesus tells them in verse 29, "This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent."
"Jesus, What shall I do?"
"Jesus, What shall we do?"
"Jesus, What great thing should we do to gain your favor?"
"Jesus, What can we barter with, to get you to serve us some more?"
"Jesus, What shall I do?"
Jesus simply says, "This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent." What does that mean?
The work of God is simply that you believe on Jesus. That's just too simple isn't it? That doesn't appeal to our human nature, does it? No, of course not! In fact it is so simple, and we believe so strongly that there has to be something else to it, that we tend to dismiss it. "Oh no, I'm quit sure that there has to be more to it than that!"
That's not what Jesus says. He says that the work of the Father is to believe on Jesus. That is it. You can make it more difficult than that if you wish, but you are missing the life that God intended for you to live.
Still we question, "What shall I do?"
Jesus says, "The work of the Father is to believe on Jesus!" God is much more concerned with our being, than doing. What do I mean by that?
God addresses this elsewhere in the Bible when He says in Matthew chapter 7, beginning at verse 21, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. (22) Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? (23) And then will I profess unto them , I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."
Jesus says, "Not everyone that saith, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter into heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father."
What is the will of the Father? It is that you have a relationship with Him, through the Lord Jesus Christ. How do we know that? Our text from John plainly states it, as does Matthew 7:22, "Lord, Lord, have we not done many wonderful works in thy name?"
Jesus doesn't seem to be impressed. "Yeah, but I never knew you. We had no relationship."
It seems that God is much more interested in our being something for Him than He is in our doing something for Him. God is looking for those who desire to have an ongoing relationship with Him. God is looking for those who desire to worship him.
John 4:23 states , "But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him." God is primarily concerned with knowing us, and our knowing Him.
Yes, I understand the "Great Commission" as we call it, and I understand that God has chosen us as His instruments to spread the good news. We need to be doing that, but we must have the relationship first; otherwise it doesn't matter what works we do in His name, it is still in name only. How can we effectively tell others about someone whom we only know in passing? How can we effectively tell others about a Jesus with whom we are barely acquainted ourselves? How can we convincingly model a changed life in the Lord when we spend almost no time with Him?How can we hope to do anything lasting when Jesus is not in it?
These folks were casting out demons and prophesying. How do our works compare? (Regardless of what I have accomplished, I haven't cast out any demons.)
Jesus said that even these works do not take the place of His knowing us and our knowing Him. I think it is clear that Christianity has hit some bumps in the road. Setting aside all of the things that we have been told that we must do, (and believe that we must do), our first responsibility is to have a relationship with Him! No amount of doing or training takes the place of our being what a close relationship with Jesus produces in our lives.
The Bible seems to be centered around what you can be for God much more than what you can do for God. You can be so busy doing that you completely miss the essence of what it means to be a Christian!
The word Christian literally means little Christ. A little Christ is a copy of a bigger Christ. If we are not careful, we can be so busy doing, that we do not have time to have a relationship with the same Christ into whose likeness we're supposed to be conformed. How can we measure whether we have become more focused on doing than believing? It is really pretty easy if you think about it.
If you are in a close relationship with God there are certain behaviors that He will not allow. I didn't say that you might not be tempted, but I do believe that God will not allow you to act out in some manners if you are in close communication with Him.
Do you sometimes surprise yourself when certain behaviors over which you thought you had mastered control, re-emerge? That is a sure sign that your focus has wondered from your relationship with the Lord.
I can have any of the same temptations that you do, but if I'm spending time on my relationship with God by reading my Bible, praying, meditating on His word and spending time in personal reflection, God will change my mind. He will tell me, "You can't do that! You can't say that! That's not what children of God do! Quit focusing on yourself! If you do or say that, you will damage others for the cause of Christ!"
Isn't that what it is really all about? How do others see Christ because of us? Part of the wrong we do is simply a reflection of who were are, and no one is perfect yet. Often the problem is that we are much too busy doing, instead of just believing!
We see public examples of this often. How many people have we known, or how many people have we seen, who appear to be doing great works for the Lord, and the next thing you know there is some huge scandal surrounding them, or the un-Christlike things they once did, have all too apparently returned?
What happened? They got focused on doing, instead of being, and when temptation came along, because they were too busy to spend time with God, He didn't have the opportunity to change their minds.
In John 6:28, the men asked the question, "What shall we do?"
That is the same question that Christians still seem to be asking today. Many truly sincere people are puzzled about what following God really looks like when it is played out in their lives. The religions of the world are man's attempts to answer that question, but Jesus' reply is simple and right to the point. We must believe on Him whom God has sent.
Religions and relationships are not the same thing, and satisfying God doesn't come from how much work we do, but from whom we believe.
The first step is believing that Jesus is who He says He is and putting all our faith in that belief. All future spiritual development must be built upon this foundational belief.
Confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and embark on a relationship that is a lifelong journey that is satisfying, pleasing and acceptable to God.
Does this mean that we should never do anything for Christ, then? No, certainly there are things that must be done! We have a responsibility to serve, but we must remember that the things that we do, aren't done to be accepted of Him; they are done because we are already accepted by Him.
Our first responsibility, our primary responsibility, our greatest responsibility is to have an ongoing, vibrant, loving relationship with Jesus Christ. Each one of us must find this relationship for ourselves. We can satisfy and sustain spiritual life only through a right relationship with Him.
"What shall I do?" the people asked.
Jesus replied, "This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent."
