Finish = bring to completion, completed or perfected
To finish a thing, we must start at the beginning…
John 1:1 [ The Eternal Word ] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Genesis 1:26-27 (NKJV) 26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
Genesis 2:2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.
Genesis 2:8-9 The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. 9 And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Genesis 2:15-18 15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
18 And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”
Genesis 3:4-5 4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Do you see the serpents first lie to mankind–you will not die? Do you see where evil entered–once you eat it, you will KNOW good and evil!)
Genesis 17:22 When he had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him.
Genesis 49:33 When Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed, breathed his last and was gathered to his people.
Exodus 12:7;12-13; 29-30 7 Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. 12 “On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. 13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.
29 At midnight the Lord struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner, who was in the dungeon, and the firstborn of all the livestock as well. 30 Pharaoh and all his officials and all the Egyptians got up during the night, and there was loud wailing in Egypt, for there was not a house without someone dead.
Exodus 31:18 When the Lord finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the covenant law, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God.
Exodus 34:33 When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face.
1 Chronicles 28:20 David also said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the Lord is finished.
John 4:34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.
John 5:36 “I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to finish—the very works that I am doing—testify that the Father has sent me.
John 19:30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
John 21:15 [ Jesus Reinstates Peter ] When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” (Three times Jesus asked—to redeem the three denials by Peter.)
Acts 20:24 However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.
Acts 20:36 When Paul had finished speaking, he knelt down with all of them and prayed.
2 Corinthians 8:11 Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. (Do you see present tense?)
2 Timothy 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
James 1:4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (Present tense=us, here and now too!)
Matthew 25:23 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
John 11:25-26 (NIV) 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
Revelation 1:1-2;4-6 (NIV) 1 The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2 who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.
4 John,
To the seven churches in the province of Asia:
Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.
History. His Story…can you see???
In the beginning was…the Word…with God…was God
Let Us…In Our image, according to Our likeness
OH! Do you see — in the beginning was the Word, with God, was God? In OUR Image? And The Word was and is and is to come. Capital letter. Name. Jesus, God incarnate, sinless Son of Man–with God at the beginning of time.
God created…ALL. Adam. Eve. And the human race began.
Eden was designed for mankind to live eternally on earth eating of the tree of life with explicit instruction to not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Death–no longer living eternally in Eden (Heaven on earth)—yes, death, became real, as death was the mandate given by God should the fruit of that tree be eaten. Knowledge of good and evil was the outcome of that original sin when the lie of the serpent was believed…human knowledge of good and evil AND human death began then … and continues today.
As His Story unfolds, the mantle is being passed from one generation to the next in these passages. At each point, someone finished an action and spoke to the next person, passing the baton in this relay of faith. This marathon has not been run by a single man, but by many men and women, making up the entire human race.
…after creation, His Story races from the one sin of one man, Adam, to the one death of one sinless Man–the Son of Man, Jesus. Jesus is the redemption of all mankind. The spirit of death will pass over you–those who believe by the Blood of the Lamb, Jesus,—though they die, yet shall they live—for ever and ever!
Do you see the symmetry?
One man
One sin
One sinless Man
The One original sin redeemed…on the Cross
Galatians 3:13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”),
Redeemed us. For all humanity.
The mantle of responsibility to tell the Good News of the Gospel was passed to Peter, the Rock, singled out by Jesus to “Feed my sheep,” and shared with the other disciples. These appointed men become the foundation upon which the Church was built from the time of Jesus until today. As James 1:4 says, let perseverance finish its work, so we lack nothing.
O glorious day, when we FINISH our time here on Earth and hear Our Master and Lord God say, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” Praise the day the Son of Man returns in His Glory and we live eternally in Heaven – for ever and ever — with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
In Jesus Name. Amen.