Through Us … But Not Up to Us

By Beverly Guy, CMCUS Editor and Strategic Messaging Team Lead

Usually, as an editor, I stay behind the curtain. But as the year begins, I’d like to share with you from a more personal perspective about a Scripture passage that has been shaping our focus for 2025—one that has encouraged me to rejoice in God’s sovereignty, power and faithfulness.

God’s promise isn’t just for you or for me: It’s for us. And in His grace, because it’s His promise, it’s not up to us.

Over the past six months or so, I’ve been exploring the implications of a small but significant fact: Many of the passages addressed to “you” in the epistles were written not to individuals but to groups of believers.

The plural “you” gives new shades of meaning to numerous familiar passages, and recently this one stood out:

“I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:3-6 ESV)

The songs and Sunday school lessons that come to mind when I read “he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion” focus on what God is accomplishing in me. Yet these words weren’t written to an individual but to an entire church. Realizing that has prompted me to read these words with fresh eyes and to rejoice in three truths about God’s work in the Body of Christ.

We give thanks that God is already working through the Body of Christ as its members partner in the gospel.

The context of “you all” sheds light on Paul’s perpetual thankfulness, communicated three times over: “in all my remembrance,” “always,” “in every prayer.” If I were editing his letter, I’d wave the redundancy flag. But through his repetition, his gratitude is abundantly clear as he gives thanks not only for individual believers but for the ways members of the Church partner in the gospel so the Body of Christ can expand to places where He isn’t yet known. The work the Lord is doing in each of us is just a tiny, interconnected part of what He’s accomplishing in the Church.

We rejoice that the work that has been started in the Church will be brought to completion.

As I saw how the context of “you all” extends to “he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion,” the magnitude of Paul’s gratitude seems even more fitting: He’s confident not only that God is working within the Church but that this work will be finished.

Though Paul is referring to the local body in Phillipi, God’s promise to accomplish His purposes extends to the global Body of Christ. And, knowing that Jesus promised that He would build His Church, Paul rejoices in God’s promise to bring to completion the good work He has begun within His people.

We praise the Lord that He is the one who will bring it to pass!

The fact that God (not us!) will complete His good work gives Paul a final reason to rejoice. We rest in the truth that the Lord is the One who accomplishes His redemptive purposes through us and trust Him to sustain us, joyfully expecting Him to work through us. Ultimately, it’s not up to us, but up to His unending faithfulness and power. 

Amid God’s work in us, His people, these three truths give us confidence and joy as they encourage us to eagerly anticipate the completion of His work. And they remind us that the Lord accomplishes His purposes through us, collectively, as the Body of Christ.

In this group project of the Great Commission, God gives every believer roles to play. Each of us has the blessing of being involved in a work that He promises to complete.

At Christar, it’s our joy to serve Christ’s Body, connecting and resourcing people from throughout the Church to be part of what God is doing in least-reached communities. To this end, we’ve curated a collection of resources to help you get involved using the gifts the Lord has given you. Check out our Group Project page to learn more.

Participate Through Prayer:

• How have you seen the “partnership in the gospel” Paul refers to in your local body of Christ? Praise God for the people and examples that come to mind.
• How have you seen partnership in the larger Body of Christ to advance the gospel? Again, praise the Lord for the ways you’ve seen Him at work through the participation and cooperation of His people.
• What good work have you seen God begin in your local church and beyond? Ask Him to continue working to bring His purposes to pass.
• How does the truth that God will accomplish His work in His people shape your perspective of your work? Meditate on God’s promise that He will bring to completion the work He has begun in His Church and respond to Him as He leads.