281. Fulfill the Work of Faith
2 Thessalonians 1:11c …fulfill…the work of faith with power.
Paul prays for church that God would do three things. One of the blessings he prays for is that God would fulfill the work of faith with power. The condition of the promise is someone would pray for this to happen. God promises to hear the prayer to complete the work of faith. This is certainly a worthwhile thing to pray for. God promises to answer it.
God will work faith in us by the power of the Gospel. The Lord fulfills His promises by working faith in us through Word and Sacraments. When the sinner hears the Gospel the Holy Spirit comes with that Word and generates faith as He regenerates the human spirit. The promise is that God has done it; He has granted faith to receive the gift of righteousness and salvation and life.
God will continue the work of faith throughout our lives, for He does not quit. We have the power to quit on God, but He won’t quit on us. He continues to work faith in us daily and it works every time we hear the gospel and repent and believe. God will fulfill; God will finish what He started. God is faithful and He will fulfill the work of faith until the very end, and then the end is not the end but the beginning of a life without end.
Finally, this work of faith is with power. God promises He will hold on to us with His own Almighty Power. This is the power of love. Love is the greatest and strongest power in the universe. Love is the power that overcomes death and all kinds of evil planned against us. Because love does not look like power to worldlings, God gives His sure Word and Promise so that we may see. The power of the Gospel of Love is the power to defeat all enemies, the power to protect and keep us, and the power to do the impossible—forgive sin, change sinners, and create life. God fulfills.