WHAT IS “THE WORK OF GOD?”
By: Frank Tunstall, D. Min.
Dear reader, have you had the experience of the Holy Spirit reading your mail by looking into your heart?
After Jesus fed the 5,000, He read the people’s hearts: “Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life which the Son of Man will give you. On Him, God the Father has placed His seal of approval” (John 6:27 NIV). Jesus discerned the motives of His questioners were impure. They were looking for the free bread that satisfies the stomach. Jesus came to give the bread of eternal life and challenged them to reach for the Father’s “seal of approval.”
The word picture here assumes the internal drive or work ethic that motivates a farmer to till the soil and grow, and then harvest his crops, and of a dad who goes to work daily and labors to feed and clothe the hungry children in his family. It is quite natural to work for food that spoils. But all too often we do not equally yearn to ‘grow’ the nourishing ‘food’ that strengthens spiritual bones and muscles. The far greater need is for a strong faith in Jesus Christ God’s Son who gives eternal life.
“What must we do to do the work God requires?” An excellent question indeed! It is the key to the “seal of approval.”
Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: believe in the one God has sent” (John 6:29).
Is this all God is after?
Yes, indeed, it is just this simple and the “seal of approval” comes with it. Yet, for His questioners, it was a tall order. The only way they could discover the Father’s “seal of approval” that Jesus fully enjoyed was for them to be willing to go to the Heavenly Father through Jesus Christ the Son of God.
This statement, in fact, embodies the whole prophetic message of God’s covenant with Abraham that is fulfilled in the death and resurrection of Jesus. “Abraham believed God and it was credited to Him as righteousness” (Genesis 15:6; John 8:56).
Jesus showed here His willingness to express a word of wisdom, an ability that has become known in the church as the manifestation gift of wisdom (1 Corinthians 12:9). Jesus wisely summarized what God is looking for from each of His followers. What He said translates into English with fourteen simple words anyone can understand: “The work of God is this, to believe in the one God has sent” (NIV).
Many people claim the right to choose between the attributes of God. They embrace the mercy and love of God, for examples, and reject divine judgment and eternal punishment. But Jesus said the “seal of approval” goes to those who “believe in the One God has sent.”
Jesus is the bread of eternal life who offers one path to everlasting life. He is the one and only road to the Heavenly Father.
I must go home by the way of the cross.
The path that the Savior trod,
If I ever climb to the heights sublime,
Where the soul is at home with God.
The way of the cross leads home.
The way of the cross leads home.
It is sweet to know as I onward go,
The way of cross leads home.Author: Jessie Brown Pounds (1906)
