Today we are going to look at Philippians 2:12-13. The King James Version follows:
12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
Verse 12 is a commonly misunderstood passage. I certainly get it, it’s confusing if you don’t zoom out and look at the context. Some have even used this passage to argue one is somehow responsible for their own salvation. That works can somehow add up to salvation. However, we know that’s not true. Salvation is by grace alone.
The first portion I want to draw your attention to are the words WORK OUT and WORK IN. The passages are easier to understand if you flip them around and read verse 13 before verse 12. Verse 12 tells of your part and verse 13 is telling you God’s part. Without verse 13, verse 12 is not possible.
There are two portions in this process:
- God WORKING IN you
- You WORKING OUT what God has put in you.
What is meant by Working out? When you go to the gym and exercise your muscles, that’s working out. In a general sense, you are working out your faith muscles here. You are allowing and working in cooperation with God as it says in the next verse. However, the most important part is that if God does not work IN you, there is no working OUT of you. Something has to be put IN before it can shine OUT of you! Remember this idea of inward preceding outward as we go through this passage; it’s the overall theme.
You can think of working out as the words “produce” or “perform”. I kind of prefer the word PERFORM here. You are saved and now you are acting as if you are. No, it’s not a show or a put-on act of sorts (not that kind of performance), but a performance of God’s through you. It’s an honest and true performance. You’re accurately performing the role of someone saved.
This is a role that requires surrender. God is not in the business of forcing us to do stuff. As John Welsey so aptly put it-“God empowers, he doesn’t overpower.” You have to cooperate with God and act like you are on the same team.
More details on the word Work
Looking more at the Working In side of things-The words “Worketh” and “to do” come from a Greek word that looks like ENERGY, energon and energein respectively.
An easy way to put this passage is to say that God ENERGIZES inwardly you so that ENERGY can come out. Envision a cable conducting electricity. This cable runs from God to you. God is the source. If you cut the cord, good luck. If you think it’s you that is the source of the energy, good luck with that as well. The energy and capacity to do this work comes from God and God alone. He is the Conduit of all this energy.
John Wesley in his sermon “On Working Our Our Own Salvation” put it this way:
If we know and feel that the very first motion of good is from above, as well as the power which conducts it to the end; if it is God that not only infuses every good desire, but that accompanies and follows it, else it vanishes away; then it evidently follows, that “he who glorieth” must “glory in the Lord.”
At stated above, we can’t sit around doing nothing with the energy God has put in us. If we want God to continue working in us, then we must do something with that which he has already given us. We must obey our Heavenly Father for this flow of current to continue.
What about this Fear and Trembling Business?
Fear and trembling are referring to reverence and respect. You can see this in 2 Corinthians 7:15; it says that Titus was welcomed with “fear and trembling” by the congregation:
And his inward affection is more abundant toward you, whilst he remembereth the obedience of you all, how with fear and trembling ye received him.
This is a good type of fear and not some sort of terrified type of fear. That congregation certainly wasn’t terrified by Titus. It means to accept honorably and respectively. I like simple- it means to take serious the business of your salvation! Handle it with care and welcome it with open arms.
To Will and To Do
Notice the order here.
- God Works in you TO WILL
- God Works in you TO DO
You can’t DO without first having the WILL or desire to do. First, God installs the desire within you. You are now equipped to do. If you try to do something without an intense desire or a lacking will, you don’t get very far. I’d say this is a good daily prayer (Ask God to give you THE WILL to do what he needs you to do). Let it not be a soft form of desire, but rather an intense and longing form of desire. With a will from God, you will have no problem doing outwardly.
Key Points and Summary
I hope this all helps you understand this passage more clearly. Here are the key points
- God Energizes and Equips Us Inwardly before the Outward comes
- The Will (Inward) proceeds the actions (Outward)
- We must handle our salvation with respect and care for God
- All these things proceed from God and not of ourselves