What is God Doing? - CREW

Recognize

Bible Passage: John 5:17–20, Ephesians 2:10

Summary: In John 5:17–20, Jesus reveals His unity with the Father in His work, highlighting the ongoing divine activity and purpose. Ephesians 2:10 emphasizes that we are created in Christ for good works, showcasing God's intention for our lives.

Application: This sermon can help Christians recognize God’s active presence in their lives, urging them to see their purpose as part of His grand design, encouraging them to engage with God's work in their daily lives, especially in challenging times.

Teaching: The teaching centers on understanding that God is continuously at work in the world and in our lives, calling us to partner with Him in advancing His kingdom through good works.

How this passage could point to Christ: This theme illustrates Christ’s role as the mediator of God’s ongoing work in the world. He exemplifies perfect obedience to the Father’s will, and believers are called to follow His lead in fulfilling their divine purpose.

Big Idea: God is actively working in and through us, inviting us to join Him in the good works He has prepared for us, reflecting the unity of the Father and Son.

Recommended Study: As you prepare this sermon, consider using your Logos library to explore the historical and cultural context of John 5:17–20, particularly the implications of Jesus' claims about working on the Sabbath. Evaluating different translations of Ephesians 2:10 may also reveal nuances in our identity as 'God’s workmanship.' Additionally, look into commentaries discussing how these passages connect with Old Testament themes of creation and rest.

Have you ever thought “What is God doing?”

Have you ever had a moment when you clearly recognized God was working?

Was it something dramatic, or something ordinary?

How easy is it to overlook what God is doing because we're looking for something spectacular?

One of the foundational truths of a relationship with God is that God is not sitting on the sidelines waiting for us to come up with something for Him to bless. God is already working. The question is whether we're paying attention.

1. Engage with Eternal Energy

John 5:17–18 CSB

Jesus responded to them, “My Father is still working, and I am working also.” This is why the Jews began trying all the more to kill him: Not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal to God.

Jesus says something really important in v. 17, What is it?

“My Father is still working” - God is still working

God’s activity didn't stop when the Old Testament was completed. He didn’t stop when Jesus died on the cross, or when you became a Christian. He continues working in the world, in the Church, and in your lives.

Why did it say the Jews began trying to kill Him?

When they heard this, the Jewish leaders wanted to kill Jesus—not only because he was breaking the Sabbath, but because he was calling God his own Father, making himself equal to God (5:18).

Was Jesus telling the truth?

They heard Him but didn’t know Him. They hadn’t misunderstood Jesus; they knew exactly what he was saying. The Son shared the Father’s divine nature. He had the DNA of deity. As John himself has already said, “The Word was with God, and the Word was God” (1:1). But as far as the leaders were concerned, Jesus’s claims were blasphemy.

Jesus spoke plainly about God, His Father’s, work. His continual work. In the old testament, we see God’s continuous work spanning over 2000 years. That’s 2000 years Pre-Jesus. In the New Testament we get roughly 100 years of God’s continuous work through Christ. God works daily, and His plans are long-game.

This frames our understanding of God's ongoing activity in history and in our lives. Jesus is asserting His divine mission, challenging perceptions, embodying active engagement with God's will. This suggests we too should awaken to the perpetual divine movement around us, grasping our place within God's unfolding story.

2. Reflect Divine Unity

John 5:19–21 CSB

Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, the Son is not able to do anything on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, the Son likewise does these things. For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing, and he will show him greater works than these so that you will be amazed. And just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so the Son also gives life to whom he wants.

What does Jesus say about His relationship to the Father's work?

Why do you think Jesus emphasizes that He does what He sees the Father doing?

But Jesus wasn’t committing blasphemy. He was acting in perfect harmony and solidarity with the Father. The Son does only what he sees the Father doing. Their relationship is so close that they function simultaneously. So whatever Jesus was doing, the Father was doing. Thus, healing the man on the Sabbath was not blasphemy but an act of God.

What does this teach us about how we should approach God's will?

What's the difference between asking, and asking, “God, will You bless what I'm doing?”“God, what are You already doing that You want me to participate in?”

The Father loves the Son. The Godhead is united in perfect love, transparency, and intimacy. This line, then, is a subtle warning to the religious leaders. The one whom they wanted to kill (5:18) was dearly loved by God the Father. And because of that, the Father would show him greater works than these so that they would be amazed (5:20); these works included raising the dead (5:21). So in a way, Jesus was telling them, “You think you’re upset now because I healed a paralytic? You haven’t seen anything yet. Wait until you see what I do with my people”

We don't have to convince God to start working. He's already working.

The challenge is developing spiritual eyes to recognize His activity.

Jesus emphasizes His unity with the Father in action and purpose. This can lead us to contemplate our own call to unity with God through Christ. Jesus does nothing on His own; He watches and follows the Father's work. In our lives, we are invited to be attentive to God's will, pursuing our activities in harmony with divine intentions. All of our daily actions are opportunities for aligning with God’s greater purpose, embodying Christ’s example.

3. Live Your Created Purpose

Ephesians 2:10 CSB

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.

What does this verse say God has already prepared?

Why is it significant that Paul says the works were prepared beforehand?

How does this change the way we think about our daily lives?

Imagine someone painting a mural.

You walk into the room and see someone handing you a brush.

You didn't design the mural. You didn't choose the colors. You didn't create the vision.

But you're being invited to participate.

That's a picture of what God does.

God is the one accomplishing His purposes. Yet He graciously invites us to participate in His work.

Could God be working through ordinary things like conversations, relationships, jobs, school, church, or family?

You could conclude by focusing on how believers are God's workmanship, created in Christ for good works already prepared for us. This passage provides a vision of a purposeful existence, grounded in Christ's transformative work. This should encourage us recognize our identity in Christ and view our actions as participation in the greater story of God’s mission. This embodies the truth that God is actively working through us, encouraging responsiveness to His calling.

4. God’s Work Isn’t Always Obvious

Philippians 2:12–13 CSB

Therefore, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, so now, not only in my presence but even more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who is working in you both to will and to work according to his good purpose.

Philippians 2:12–13 CSB

Paul shifts the discussion from Christ’s humility and lordship to our response to it. These verses are some of the most powerful in the New Testament in terms of our development and spiritual growth. They are often quoted, but often misunderstood. Paul says to work out your own salvation (2:12). To interpret this correctly, we must note the little word used to translate what Paul said. We are not to work “for” our salvation but to work “out” our salvation. Salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. But what we do with that salvation once we receive it is another matter. Paul encourages the church in Philippi to develop the salvation that has been deposited within them. This they were to do with fear and trembling (2:12). To fear God is to take God seriously. We’re to honor God in our decisions, regardless of the cost, so that he might be glorified. God brings circumstances into our lives, in fact, that will require us to “work out” our salvation, to gain an increasingly high reverence for God and to choose his will over our own. This allows us to have an ever-increasing experience of his saving work and kingdom purpose in and through us. Where does the motivation to obey come from? It is God who is working in you both to will and to work according to his good purpose (2:13). The reason the Philippians could “work out” their salvation was because God had already been “working in” them. God had already deposited within them that which was to be worked out. He gives us the desire and ability to obey. Obedience is not based on our willpower, but on God’s power working in us.

Sometimes God's activity isn't immediately obvious.

Ask:

Can God be working even when we don't recognize it?

Why do we sometimes assume God isn't working simply because we don't see immediate results?

Have you ever looked back on something and realized later that God was working even though you didn't recognize it at the time?

How can disappointment cause us to become spiritually blind to God's activity?

God's work isn't always loud.

Sometimes God's activity looks like:

A conversation

A conviction

An unexpected opportunity

A closed door

A relationship

A burden for someone

A desire to serve

An interruption in our plans

The question isn't simply:

“What do I want God to do?”

Instead:

“God, what are You doing around me?”