"Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ."
Philippians 1:6
Part 1
“Being confident of this very thing,”
As humans, we may be quick to put our confidence in things that are not good. Paul was sure that his confidence was in the right person.
“The English word “confident” happily represents the Greek, which like it sometimes denotes reliance, on definite grounds…sometimes a more or less arbitrary assurance (so Rom_2:19). In every case in the N. T. the word indicates a feeling of personal certainty, for whatever cause.” [1]
“Being confident – This is strong language. It means to be fully and firmly persuaded or convinced… It means here that Paul was entirely convinced of the truth of what he said. It is the language of a man who had no doubt on the subject” [2] (Barnes).
We need to be careful about what we put our confidence in. Many things in the world will ask for our allegiance, but be careful where you put your trust. We dare not put our confidence in man, especially lost sinful men, even politicians.
“It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes” (Psalm 118:8-9).
We had better not trust in or put our confidence in the flesh, our own, or others. We are weak, and our flesh, our “old man,” is sinful.
Paul said to the Philippians, “…have no confidence in the flesh” (Philippians 3:3c). But we always have confidence in God and His Word!
“By terrible things in righteousness wilt thou answer us, O God of our salvation; who art the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of them that are afar off upon the sea” (Psalm 65:5).
“For the LORD shall be thy confidence and shall keep thy foot from being taken” (Proverbs 3:26).
It is always right to trust in the Lord!
Paul told the Philippians that he put his confidence in the Lord’s work in his life. He was utterly confident in what the Lord was doing.
How long will this work of God take? And when will it be finished? Come back tomorrow and let’s see.
[1] Cambridge Bible, the electronic version in eSword.
[2] Albert Barnes, Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible, the electronic version in eSword.