OCTOBER 4

COUNTED WORTHY

“Wherefore also we pray also for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness, and the work of faith with power: that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Thess. 1:11-12)

It is interesting that Paul would use this phrase “count you worthy,” when he so stressed the grace of God, freely give, and not based upon any merits of man. It is not God-plus, or grace-plus, it is ALL GOD, and ALL GRACE, without man adding unto it in any way. How then do we harmonize this usage of the word “worthy,” and to what does it apply?

It is evident that all our works must FOLLOW HIS INWORKINGS, not precede them. We live out what He has worked in . But to not live out what He has worked in, would be to despise His inworkings, and prove ourselves to be unworthy. It is in alignment with this fact that we use the word “worthy.” If we do receive and live out the grace which He has given, we are worthy of it, and if we do not live what He gives us, we are not worthy of it. For all our worthiness must follow what He has first wrought in us.

Matt. 10:10, “The workman is worthy of his meat.” That’s clear enough, a workman earns his reward. Worthiness is connected with rewards, not with our salvation. “Verily, there is a reward for the righteous.” (Ps. 58:11).

To be counted worthy, O Lord, this, I pray,
Worthy of Thy calling, walk Thy narrow way.
Surely our salvation is by grace alone,
Works of flesh ne’er avail our sin to atone.
Thou, alone, can transform - image so divine,
Beauty for our ashes, truth in us refine.
Worthy is the result of Thy work within,
All our overcoming is Thy strength to win.
Thou art all-sufficient, union now with Thee,
Is what makes us worthy, share Thy jubilee.

Ray Prinzing