John Piper emphasizes that God actively works obedience in believers through His transforming providence; it's not merely a suggestion but a divine performance. This work is intimately linked to the ultimate goal of God's providence: the glorification of His grace through Jesus Christ, achieved by beautifying undeserving people who find their joy and reflect His beauty. This ultimate purpose also includes God's own overflowing joy in the holiness and happiness of His people.

Piper argues that happiness in God is the essence of holiness, defining holiness as preferring God above all else. This preference, experienced intensely, is true happiness in God. The new covenant, secured by the blood of Christ, includes God's promise to put His law within believers and cause them to walk in His statutes through the Holy Spirit. The Spirit produces the fruit of obedience, transforming believers into Christ's likeness.

While our acceptance with God (justification) is based solely on Christ's imputed righteousness received through faith, visible transformation and obedience are necessary to make our faith evident, confirm its reality, and publicly display the worth of Christ, bringing glory to God. Saving faith inherently works through love, and this visible fruit is a natural outflow of genuine faith, demonstrating the reality of God's transforming work within us. God's work in us enables our willing obedience; we act out the miracle He causes.

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