Finished! What a satisfying word! What a satisfying feeling, when a difficult or unpleasant task is completed. One can breathe a sigh of relief, sit back and relax because that task will not need to be faced again…unless it is one of those routine jobs one faces every day.

In God’s realm, He has finished or promised to finish everything He started that relates to His purpose for His creation. “Purpose” and “finish” are inseparable in God’s work. He does nothing without a purpose, and He finishes everything He purposed to do.

Let’s examine some of His completed or to-be-completed acts in creation and redemption.

Genesis 2:1-3 NLT
[1] “So the creation of the heavens and the earth and everything in them was completed. [2] On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work. [3] And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation.”

Now, evolutionists insist that the universe came into being over millions of years and that tings are still evolving! The Bible declares that God finished His work of creation in six days. Someone is lying! It cannot be God because He is truth. He cannot lie!

Numbers 23:19 NLT
[19]”God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?”

Has God finished creating? Yes! Has He finished with creation? No!
Together with His redeemed people, God has promised to restore His natural creation to its pristine perfection.

Revelation 21:1, 5-6 NLT
[1]” Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone…
[5] And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” [6] And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life.”

Wow! Did you get that! Finished! Everything new! Not new as in brand new but new as in restored to its original state. Peter tells us that Jesus, the Alpha and Omega, will burn everything that was corrupted by sin – calledvthe basic elements or elementary principles that govern the world i.e., sin – with the fire of His word.

2 Peter 3:7 NLT
[7] “And by the same word, the present heavens and earth have been stored up for fire. They are being kept for the day of judgment, when ungodly people will be destroyed.”

Will God finish what He started? Yes, He will because it’s His purpose and He promised!

Jesus spoke another resounding “It is finished!” with His final breath, from the cross.

John 19:30 NLT
[30] “When Jesus had tasted it, he said, “It is finished!” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”

Essentially, He used an accounting term to declare the end of sin’s debt to the Father by His death. “Paid in full.” However, in the broadest sense, He spoke the completion of salvation from beginning to end.

A third significant “finished” is God’s commitment to finish the work of salvation in everyone who believes in Jesus.

Philippians 1:6 NLT
[6] “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”

You see, although we are to respond to Him by faith and obedience, it is God who begins and finishes the work of salvation in us. We can do nothing to save ourselves. Jesus finished the work on the cross. We can do nothing to believe in Jesus.

The Father draws us to Jesus.

John 6:44 NLT
[44″For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them up.”

We can do nothing to change us from the inside. We can only work with God.

Philippians 2:12-13 NIV
[12]”Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, [13] for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.”

Even our faith in Him is a work of God.

Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV
[8] “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— [9] not by works, so that no one can boast.”

Grace, faith, salvation, all freely given to us without any effort on our part.

The fourth “finished” was Paul’s response to all that God had finished for and in him.

2 Timothy 4:7-8 NIV
[7] “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. [8] Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”

Fought the good fight, finished the race, kept the faith…the response of a faithful servant of the Lord to all that God had finished for him.

This was God and Paul, working in partnership to accomplish His purpose, both for Paul and for His greater purpose for the gospel in His kingdom.

And what of us? God does nothing without a purpose, remember? He purposed you, your birth, your circumstances, your life on earth, your salvation, your place and work in His kingdom. Only in obedience to His leading and faithfulness to do His work will He enable you to say with Jesus, and Paul…

John 17:4 NIV
[4] “I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.”

Be a good finisher!