We are Laborers Together with God

• Labor is Required in Every Human Enterprise - God gave mankind the duty of working to live, as a result of Adam’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden, as we read in Gen 3. All who are physically and mentally capable of doing so are responsible to God and to the society into which God has placed them to earn a living by their own labor, as 2 The 3:10 declares. Thus, work is an important aspect in the life of every human being, according to Psa 104:23. Col 3:22-23 make the point that we should say and do everything to the glory of God.

Gen 3:19 “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.”

2 The 3:10 “For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.”

Psa 104:23 “Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labour until the evening.”

Psa 90:10 “The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.”

Col 3:22-23 “Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God: 23And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;”

• Not the Labors of my Hands can Fulfill Thy Law's Demands - Because man is so conditioned to working to satisfy his physical and emotional needs, he naturally believes that he can also obtain spiritual benefits through his own efforts. Therefore, one common aspect of all the pagan religions and false gospels of the world is the notion that man must do something to gain favor with whomever or whatever they worship. However, the Bible says there is no work that we can do to get ourselves saved. We cannot contribute in any way to obtain salvation – no church, no religious ritual, no person, and no human effort can save us. God considers all of “unclean” man's attempts at becoming righteous to be like “filthy rags” in His sight, because they are tainted with sin, according to Isa 64:6. Only the work done by the Lord Jesus Christ at the cross and by the Holy Spirit in our hearts can save us.

Isa 64:6 “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”

Jam 2:10 “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.”

Rom 3:19-20 “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. 20Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”

Gal 3:24 “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.”

• Only Christ’s Labor Fulfilled the Demands of the Law of God - The Bible clearly teaches that salvation is totally by God’s sovereign grace, love and mercy; and those three elements – along with everything else associated with salvation – are unearned gifts from God to His people. Only God can “forgive” sins so they no longer count against a person. However, since God is bound by His Law that requires a payment for sin, His “forgiveness” is not based on a whim but on the atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ at the cross for His people, the eternal Israel of God. Thus, God Himself, in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ, had to make the ultimate payment – the equivalent of eternal punishment in Hell – for the sins of His people to obtain eternal forgiveness. God’s salvation mercy is an infinitely precious gift because Christ had to “give His life”, or soul, as a “ransom” to pay for His people’s sins, as we read in Mark 10:45. It is only because Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man that salvation is possible for mankind, as explained in 2 Tim 1:9. In Acts 13:41 God refers this message from Hab 1:5 to those who refuse to acknowledge that He does ALL the work of salvation.

Mark 10:45 “For even the Son of man [Lord Jesus Christ] came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

Acts 13:41 [quoting Hab 1:5] “Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I [God] work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man [Jesus Christ] declare it unto you.”

Isa 53:11-12 “He [God the Father] shall see of the travail [work] of his [Lord Jesus Christ] soul, and shall be satisfied by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”

Tit 3:4-5 “But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.”

2 Tim 1:9 “Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.”

• Come unto Me [Jesus Christ], All ye that Labour, I will Give you Rest - Isa 55:1-3 beautifully describes the free gift of “everlasting life” and the “rest” of God’s salvation. The “rest” for our souls is something only God can give to us – we cannot attain it through any of our own efforts, as Heb 4:10-12 clearly states. The Greek word for “labour” in verse 11 means “to be diligent” with reference to feeding on the Word of God as is pointed out in verse 12. It is translated as “study” in 2 Tim 2:15.

Mat 11:28-30 “Come unto me [Jesus Christ], all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Heb 4:10-12 “For he that is entered into his [that is, God’s] rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. 11Let us labour [spoudazo:G4704: diligent or study] therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. 12For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

2 Tim 2:15 “Study [spoudazo:G4704] to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

John 6:27 “Labour not for the meat [material things] which perisheth, but for that meat [Word of God] which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.”

Isa 55:1-3 “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters [Gospel], and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat [the bread of life]; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good [the bread of life], and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant [or Gospel] with you, even the sure mercies of David.”

• We [believers] are Laborers Together with God - God commands all of His saints to “go ye into all the world” and to “shew mercy” to the lost by being “ambassadors for Christ” and proclaiming the “Gospel of Christ”. God’s “saints” (born-again believers) shall praise and bless the Lord for His grace, love, and mercy upon them and shall tell others about His glorious salvation, as Psa 145:10-12 declares. As believers bring the Gospel they are a “sweet savour of Christ” to the people of the world, as stated in 2 Cor 2:15-16. The Gospel is a two-edged sword that cuts one way to eternal life and the other way to eternal damnation, and God uses it to accomplish His purposes in the lives of those who come in contact with it. In other words, God is the builder of the house, or the eternal church that is the invisible body of true believers. We believers, are co-workers with God in building this house.

2 Cor 5:20 “Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.”

Psa 145:10-12 “All thy works shall praise thee, O LORD; and thy saints shall bless thee. They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power; To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom.”

2 Cor 2:15-16 “For we [believers] are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?”

1 Cor 3:9-15 “For we [believers] are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building. 10According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. 11For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; 13Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. 14If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 15If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.”

Psa 127:1 “Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.”