The works of God...

Do you want to work the works of God? 

I know I do. And I know the crowd of people who 'got into the boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus' (John 6:24) also want to work the works of God.

I'm sure you do too.


I would like to bring you to the conversation between these people and Jesus in John 6, particularly John 6:28-29. All through the Good Friday weekend to Easter, this verse kept coming to my mind. It was as though Jesus was repeating the answer He gave to those who asked Him, to me. 

First, let's compare a few Bible translations for John 6:28-29. 

1) NKJV
Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?”
Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”

2) NLT
They replied, “We want to perform God’s works, too. What should we do?”
Jesus told them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.”

3) ESV
Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” 
Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” 

4) TPT
They replied, “So what should we do if we want to do God’s work?”
Jesus answered, “The work you can do for God starts with believing in the One he has sent.”


Notice the words used - What shall we do, what must we do? To perform God's works, to do God's work. 

And note the answer from Jesus: Believe in Him. 

Source: Internet

The Greek word for:

  • "work" (verb) is ergazomai, which means to work, to labour, to do. 
  • "works" of God is ergon, which refers to business, employment, that which anyone is occupied; that which one undertakes to do, undertake. 


My Easter reflection for this year lies in Jesus' response to those who sincerely wanted to do God's work. The footnote in my Bible for John 6:28-30 says this: 'The people placed primary emphasis on their works for God and on God's works for them (signs), whereas with Jesus, singular focus in on believing (that is, trusting) in the One whom God sent.'

And as I pondered and reflected in His answer to those who asked Him, I asked myself these:

1. Have I truly understood what Jesus said about the work of God in John 6:29? 
2. Am I, right now, doing the work of God? 
3. Have I believed in Jesus Christ whom God the Father has sent? 

Of course, I believe in Jesus Christ. That He is the Son of God. That He was crucified, resurrected and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God. After all, I am a believer. 

But do I believe in Him, beyond the believing of a nominal Christian? 


The world at large (including myself), looks to man doing great and mighty deeds for God and His kingdom (serving) and to God performing signs, wonders and miracles in man's lives (read John 6:30). 

When what is required is essentially the basic - believe in Jesus. 

Believe in who He is. Believe in what He did. In what He has done. Just really, essentially, purely, believe in Him. 


I have recently stopped serving as a cg leader in my church. And I suppose, in everyone's eyes (or at least for a majority of people), that is a step backward in my spiritual walk. I sometime caught myself wondering that too, ever since I stepped down from leading. The words of my leader ringing in my head, "You'll still support and serve the group right? You're only saying no to leading cg and not saying no to growing right?". 

It is common to equate one's spiritual growth to the outward manifestation of one's works. After all, that is one of the easiest ways to measure. 

I don't want to take John 6:29 out of context and conclude that the only work that we will ever need to do is to believe. Just sit back passively and just believe, doing nothing. Because there are so many other verses where the scripture teaches us to work out our salvation (Phil 2:12), to be rich in good works (1 Tim 6:18) etc. etc. Jesus Himself told us to love our neighbor as ourselves. 


But, beloved in Christ, I felt God reaffirming 2 revelations to me this Easter 2021 in the answer that Jesus gave. And it held great significance to me. After all, Easter is a special day, isn't it? A victorious day where Jesus was risen from the dead, victorious and glorious, 2000 years ago. 


This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent. 


1. The work of God that we want, we should and we need to work is simply to believe in Jesus Christ. In all that He is, all that He did and does, all that He represents, all that He gives. 

2. And out of this believing, all things will flow in abundance - the mighty works we will do for Him and the mighty works He will do in and through us. 


Dear ones in Christ, do you hear Jesus voice saying, "This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent."? 

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