Why Do We Need to Remember God's Cooperative Work of Grace?
By Brother R. Michel Lankford
When one begins to look at the Cooperative Work of Grace (C.W.O.G.), the knee-jerk response is quite often, well why do we even need to teach such a concept? I mean, to many, the idea seems so simple and straightforward that it seems like it should be "Common Knowledge" that almost every one of God's promises have specific conditions attached which are either outright stated or implied, and that ONLY IF one meets the condition(s) and prerequisites that God sets forth, can we rightly expect to receive, abide in, and enjoy the benefits and blessings of the promises that God sets out in His Word. Conversely of course, if we do not meet the prerequisite conditions and principles which God attaches to a particular promise, then we cannot rightly expect to participate in or enjoy the blessings attached to a promise.
That idea is such a basic truth. It's so simple and straightforward that it should be common knowledge. Doesn't everybody already know that? My response to that is that it is a fair question. It is true the concept of C.W.O.G is so very basic, true, simple, logical and straightforward. It's so basic that if we have been in relationship with God and Jesus Christ for more than a few months, we should not have a problem with at least acknowledging that this is a true concept. So why spend time teaching it as a matter of discipleship?
My response to that fair question is this. It is failing to take care of the little things, it's failing to catch the little foxes that ruin our harvest (Song of Solomon 2:15). Any excellent military commander, or any excellent coach of a sports team will tell you the same thing. It's neglecting the simple stuff that will lead to defeat. Very often throughout history, whole armies have been defeated because they did not properly take care of the basic needs of food, clothes, shelter and sanitary conditions of their army. Very often in battle, disease caused by uncleanliness and infection has taken more soldiers and defeated more armies than actual bullets from the enemy. It's a historical fact.
Consider a sports team for a moment. Very often, which ever team executes the basic fundamentals of offense and defense more effectively is the one that will go home a champion. The razzle-dazzle play looks great on TV and sports magazines, but it's the team that executes the fundamentals of offense and defense more effectively that will more often go home the winner. It's neglecting the basics, that usually leads to defeat. It's executing the basics properly, most effectively, that most often leads to victory. Living in the biblical definition of grace, walking in God's Cooperative Work of Grace is so fundamental, it's so basic that it is often the most neglected, which often leaves believers defeated without experiencing the more abundant life that Jesus Christ (Yeshua the Messiah) wants us to have.
A Real Example Where Not Walking in the (C.W.O.G.) Was Literally Deadly
25 years in the faith, 20 of those years in various forms of ministry, have taught me that this is inconvenient truth, but it is still the truth. I have seen far too many of my beloved and treasured brothers and sisters in Christ damaged and even defeated because they were far too quickly taught to claim a wonderful promise within God's Word, but they were not taught to pay careful attention, or to make sure that they actually fulfilled the prerequisites which God attached to a certain promise which they were claiming from Scripture.
In one instance, I have actually seen this dynamic contribute to a brother's suicide, because he grew so despondent that supposedly God didn't "come through" with what he'd been taught to claim was his rightful benefit as a believer. The brother had been taught to believe, to "stand on" and "claim" the great promises that he saw in God's word, but he was not taught with nearly the equal fervor that he had to meet the prerequisite conditions which Almighty God has attached to those various promises. As a result, this precious brother developed the belief that something must be fundamentally and irrevocably wrong with him, because he was not "prospering." He developed the misguided conclusion that God loved other people, but must not love him. He developed the mindset that Christianity must work for other people, but no matter how hard he stood on the Word, it didn't work for him. He ended up swallowing his hunting rifle, all because he had built his expectations on particular results that God did not promise to fulfill before certain conditions were met. You see, neglecting the very basics can literally be a matter of life and death for some people.
Proverbs 13:12 tells us that Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is the tree of life. This brother had built his hopes, his expectations that God would do certain things, and that certain results would take place for him and members of his family. He had been taught to grab on to promises that he saw in the Word which seemed to match up with what he was praying and desiring God to do. After all, he was a believer and a devoted follower of Almighty God and Jesus Christ, and in Christ, all of God's promises are yes and amen (2 Corinthians 1:20), so he was naturally free to claim and stand upon all of those great promises, wasn't he? Well, that was basically the mantra that was regularly pumped into us on a weekly basis in that congregation. When the results did not occur as he had been trained to expect they would, the brother's hope was greatly deferred, and he became extremely heartsick, to a point where it largely contributed to his suicide.
If we are not EXTREMELY careful, some very peculiar pieces of leaven can creep in when we become prosperity focused.
Pride: People can come to believe that they are prospering and that their prosperity is a sign that God favors them, and if other people are not "prospering" as they define the term, then something must be wrong with those other people, because those other folks are not prospering. Without realizing it, this mindset can cause us to develop a contemptuous attitude toward weaker or underprivileged believers. That is a sin. It's literally insulting God when we do that. As it is written:
Proverbs 17:5 The one who mocks the poor insults his Maker, and one who rejoices over calamity will not go unpunished. Proverbs 17:5 (HCSB)
Inferiority Complexes: The other extreme can take hold where one can feel worthless, unloved and unwanted and rejected by God if they are not "prospering." Quite simply, tempting though that conclusion may be to believe, the weight of biblical evidence and history simply does not support the conclusion that our prosperity is a sign of how righteous you are before God. By the end of their rule, the Nazis were worth approximately $60 billion. Believe me when I tell you that this was not a sign of how righteous and God fearing these people were. The Roman Empire amassed immense wealth. It was definitely not a sign of how well they served God!
Pursuit of riches: If we are not extremely careful, developing a prosperity mindset because we falsely believe that prosperity is a sign of God's favor, can lead us to pursue wealth and prosperity rather than pursuing after pleasing God. Pursuing wealth and prosperity can actually choke out God's word from having its most positive life-giving effect in our lives. It can afflict our souls, and it can actually cause us to turn away from the faith (Mark 4:18-19; 1 Timothy 6:10).
A mindset of entitlement: If we are not careful, becoming overly prosperity focused can cause us to believe that because we, as believers in Messiah, are body of Kings and priests, joint heirs with Messiah of the Kingdom, princes and princesses of Almighty God our Heavenly Father, that this reality entitles us to a life of wealth, health, prosperity, comfort and success, all with as little pain and inconvenience to ourselves as possible.
It sounds ridiculous prima fascia (on its face), but believe me when I tell you that I've have personally heard things like this preached with fervor and passion, and by more than one pastor. Whole movements within Christianity have sprung up with this staggeringly popular doctrine. It tickles our ears by telling us what we want to hear - follow God and get rich. It makes pastors and ministries incredibly wealthy by people giving in faith, expecting God to multiply a 100 fold return. It breeds a self-righteous contempt for the poor and underprivileged - Hey, if they're not "prospering," then it must be because they're not following God as well as I am; and on and on the story goes.
I put it to you plainly, was that the mindset Jesus held when He walked through this world, (Philippians 2:5-8)? Does that belief system leave you empowered and encouraged to deny yourself, to pick up your cross and to follow your Master and Messiah where He leads (Matthew 16:24), or does it leave you thinking that you are somehow entitled to a life of wealth, health, prosperity, ease and comfort, all because you are one of God's children? Does this kind of mindset truly build you up and prepare you to be consistent and faithful and obedient to God and Jesus Christ, whether you are in a season of prosperity or experiencing lack, which is what Paul understood, (Philippians 4:10-13)?
Beloved, I tell you the truth, I have often seen the fruit of this doctrine and belief system, and more often than not it creates selfish spoiled brats in God's kingdom more than it has ever produced a mature thriving overcoming disciple and follower of Almighty God and Jesus Christ, and that's the truth.
Accusing God: Believe me, I've seen this happen to people, where they have truly believed that they have done everything that they could, and because God has not met their expectations, (although they do not realize their expectations are actually misplaced), nevertheless they blame God, they are angry at God and accuse Him of wrongdoing because their misplaced expectations have not been fulfilled. People get so tired of believing that something must be wrong with them that the enemy actually turns the tables on them in causes them to think that something must be wrong with God.
When we get overly promise focused or prosperity focused and it gets out of balance, this can be extremely dangerous, because it alters our view of God and our ability to believe and relate to Him properly. Almighty God is not capable of the types of favoritism and partiality that we often learn to attribute to Him, (Deuteronomy 10:17; Job 34:19; Romans 2:11; Ephesians 6:9).
Every one of God's promises is available to the believer in Messiah, PROVIDED that we believe God enough to the point that it motivates us to truly fulfill the specific conditions which Yahweh Almighty God attached to any given promise. God is able to do exceedingly and above all that we can ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20; 1 Corinthians 2:9). However, if we are not willing or we're not able to meet the conditions, then we cannot in all righteousness expect to enjoy the benefits of the promises. God did not let us down. When we do not truly meet the conditions that He sets forth, then we are simply tying His hands from rightly being able to bless us, as He would like to do. It's that simple. It's an extremely simple truth, but it's rapidly vanishing in some circles. Sadly, one brother whom I knew and loved personally, actually perished for the lack of this seemingly common understanding (Proverbs 29:18).
The ultimate reason that we need to remember God's C.W.O.G. is because if we do not, we can start misunderstanding God's promises. We can start believing that God promised us something in His word which in reality, God never actually guaranteed, or worse, we can actually deprive ourselves of blessings that we could be enjoying, but we tie God's hand from granting it to us because we are not meeting the very specific conditions which God enjoined to those promises. All of this can leave us heartsick and needlessly disappointed.
Thank you so much for your kind attention. I hope this Bible study leaves you with a better understanding of why we really need to walk in God's Cooperative Work of Grace. In our next installment, I will focus on the function and walk in God's Cooperative Work of Grace in a practical and useful way. I hope you will join me. Feel free to write to me with any constructive questions or comments. God be with you.
Brother R. Michel Lankford
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