All Christians Are Made by God

Everything is made by God. Every good begins with something made by God. It’s true that we have work to do, but these works are prepared by God for us to do. So even our creative work is a made by God.

“Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”

John 1:3

The big sin in the world is beginning with ourselves and not with God.  We can bend what God purposed and seem to make something of ourselves, but we can’t bend reality to our perceptions. Regardless of how hard we work we cannot breathe life into dead objects and ideas. When we begin with ourselves it’s like we turn out the light and live and work in the shadows, and cut ourselves off from his breath of life. When Jesus makes something he breathes life into it, and it comes alive.

In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.

John 1:4

One difference between a person who is of God, and one who is not of God; is their beginning point. A child of God has begun in God, in Christ, according to his word and is being made by that word as they remain in Christ. Believers are made by God, not by themselves or others. People who are not children of God are beginning with themselves; and trying to make themselves.

I wish I knew this when my faith first came alive. I made a confession of trust in Him, and he did everything else in saving me and working his new life in me. But because I was so orientated by this world to making myself through effort in learning and application this is how I tried to grow as a believer. It doesn’t work. If I’m trying to do what God has come into my life to do, I’m creating an internal conflict.  The only way to deal with this internal conflict is to give up trying make ourselves and trust God to make us.

Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act.

Psalms 37:5

I love Psalms 37 in which we see God inviting us to trust him so he can act on our behalf. This is a big ‘so’. Our Father in heaven invites us to trust Him, so he can work his word in us, so he can grow us up as mature children of God. His problem is, we won’t trust Him. We test his patience when our unbelief insists that we try to make ourselves good Christians.

Here’s an example:
Moses in Numbers 20 was instructed by God to speak to the rock from which the water flowed for the Israelites to drink. Instead of just speaking Moses strikes the rock. God called this unbelief. Moses was doing what God had come to do, God has come to strike the rock and release the water of life. So when we try to do what God has come to do we are unbelievers. Moses acted in unbelief and received severe discipline from God, while God answered his unbelieving actions and blessed the people. Why? Because the people needed to drink. Take note of what God said to Moses, “And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe in me, to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.” Numbers 20:12

I’ve been guilty of similar things. I’ve struck people with words trying to get them to be better believers. I’ve acted like it was up to me the preacher to make faith in people, when only God can form faith in our hearts.

What are you striking that God wants you to speak to leaving the striking to him? Where are you striving rather than trusting God and waiting patiently for him to work? He makes Christians, he makes his church, he uses us here and there; but only God can make spiritual things grow. And faith is spiritual. Church is spiritual.

Many believers are stuck because they are trying to make themselves good Christians. it’s impossible. Fortunately, what is impossible for us is possible for God, and as we trust him he will work to grow us as spiritual and fruitful children of God.

Remember, Jesus made a universe he can make a believer out of you. And he can make his church what he wants it to be. Will we trust Him? Will we evidence our trust with obedience? He will do more with our obedience than we can do with our great striving. Remember, he is inviting us to trust Him so he can act on our behalf.
If you read to here, the Spirit is working in you forming a new desire to trust in God so he can act in you. Amen.