This portion of Paul’s letter is a brief, yet crucial and rich passage in the book of Philippians. It is perhaps the most concise explanation in the New Testament of the dynamics of Christian spirituality – especially regarding what God does and what we do. Read Philippians 2:12-13. The overly simplified way to explain this concise passage is: "Work out what God works in."
Let's see how Paul describes what God "works in," and then let's see what he says about what and how we "work out."
Re-read 2:13. Almost every single word and phrase in this verse is important. Note especially:
The "you" in verse 13 does not refer to all people; Paul is not teaching that God is in every human being, which is pantheism – the belief where worshiping all gods is tolerated. The "you" here refers to people who belong to Christ (see Philippians 1:1 – "saints in Christ") because they have personally received Him as their Messiah. The Bible teaches that all humans possess the image of God, which can be expressed through personality, spiritual awareness, etc.; but that being indwelt by God requires the forgiveness of our sins – and this forgiveness comes only through faith in Christ as Savior.
"God" here refers specifically to the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity whom Jesus promised would personally and permanently indwell those who receive Him as Savior (read John 14:16-17). The Holy Spirit indwells all who belong to Christ to make His life-transforming presence personally real to them.
"Is at work in you" is in the present tense and indicative mood, which means that God's Spirit is at work in all Christians at all times. This is true of all Christians, whether beginners or long-time followers of Jesus. This is true at all times, whether we are aware of and sense His work or not, whether we have been "spiritual" lately or not. You can resist God working in you , but you cannot stop Him from constantly initiating His work in you .
"For His good pleasure" refers to the purpose toward which God's Spirit is at work in us. He is at work in us to fashion our lives into what delights Him, just as a sculptor fashions a block of marble into a sculpture that delights him. God is well-pleased with His Son (see Matthew 3:17), and His Spirit is constantly at work in us to fashion us into the likeness and character of His Son (see 2 Corinthians 3:18). We will learn more specifically what this looks like when we examine 2:12.
"Both to will and to work" explains two key ways in which the Holy Spirit is constantly at work in all Christians:
"To will" here does not mean "to make your decisions for you," but "to impart desire and motivation" for God's purposes. All new Christians notice this new desire–to relate to God the Father, to learn from His Word, to tell others about this newfound faith in Jesus, to admire and to pursue godly character. Spiritual motivation is not something that we must self-generate; it is something that God supernaturally generates in us.
"To work" literally means "to energize," or "to empower." God's Spirit not only imparts motivation for God's purpose, but He also imparts the necessary power to accomplish His purpose. All true Christians have experienced this, through things such as coming to God with vulnerability about what is on their hearts, receiving understanding and revelation of His Word, having the courage to tell others about Jesus, having the ability to resist temptation, and so much more. Spiritual power is not something that we ruin or miss out on because of our own moral will-power; it is something that God constantly makes available to us (see Ephesians 1:19-20a and Colossians 1:11,29).
Think of the effect that the sun has on a flower – it exerts a power that causes the flower to bend toward it, and its rays cause the flower to grow and mature. God exerts a similar influence on all the people He indwells.
What an amazing and encouraging promise!
Ask yourself, "What difference would it make to view my problems in light of this promise?" "What difference would it make to view other Christians problems in light of this promise?" “If God does this, do I need to do anything?"
The answer is yes, because humans are not flowers. A flower responds to the sun unconsciously and automatically, but it is the glory and dignity of humans to respond to God's influence consciously and willingly. This is why some Christians grow, while others do not.
This is why some Christians grow during some periods of their lives, but not during other periods.
This is why some Christians progress more or less consistently, while others tend to stagnate or even regress. God is always at work in all of us, but we need to respond properly to His working.
Paul describes how to respond in 2:12.
The main command here, which is our part in spiritual growth, is: "Work out your salvation with fear and trembling." As with 2:13, every word and phrase in 2:12b is important.
"Work out your salvation" does not translate to "work for your salvation." This would contradict the core of Paul's teaching about how we receive salvation (see Ephesians 2:8-9). We do not earn our salvation by our works; we receive salvation as a free gift, apart from our works, by simply putting our faith in Jesus and trusting Him to give it to us.
"Work out" does not mean simply "work hard at something," as when we do a physical workout. The Greek word used in Paul’s letter is katergazomai, which here means something like "bring forth" or “bring out into view what is already within”.
The Roman scholar Strabo, in his discourse on geography around 60 BC, uses the Greek word katergazomai when describing mining operations. When working in a silver mine, all of the precious ore needs to be extracted. Similarly, we are commanded to “mine out” all of the richness of God’s salvation that He graciously deposited into us.
Paul presumes that we already have our salvation within us; he is calling us to actively bring it out into external reality, into our actual lifestyle.
What is this lifestyle that we are to work out, that God is constantly working in us? The passages immediately preceding and immediately following 2:12-13 answers this question:
It is not embracing a lifestyle of religious observances, or of sterile, self-righteous moralism.
It is embracing a lifestyle of love – toward the other Christians God has put in your life (see Philippians 2:3-5) and toward the non-Christians God has put in your life (see Philippians 2:14-16).
This love-oriented kind of lifestyle was not Paul's idea or command; it was Jesus' mandate to all of His followers (see John 13:34-35 and Matthew 5:14-16). The Holy Spirit has poured God's love into our hearts so that we may pour His love out to others (see Romans 5:5).
Paul calls us to embrace this lifestyle with a certain heart-attitude – "in fear and trembling." This does not mean "cringing in terror by the prospect of God's condemnation." We have already seen how through Christ, our salvation is in us and secure. It is a figure of speech that Paul uses in some of his other letters, and by referring to these usages, we get two insights into its meaning.
When you read Ephesians 6:5-6, you see "with fear and trembling" is paired with "with sincerity of heart." The word "Sincerity" here means "one who is free from pretense and hypocrisy." There is a difference between doing something out of peer pressure, or just to get a favor, versus doing something out of sincere respect for a person. Many Christians make no spiritual progress because they are people-pleasers, trying to fit in with Christians when they are around Christians, and/or mercenaries, who are trying to put God and others in their debt. This attitude blocks God's work in our lives. But, we can choose to live before God, "as unto Christ" because we believeHis will is right and good (see Romans 12:2).
When you read 1 Corinthians 2:3-5, "with fear and trembling" is paired with "in weakness." Paul is describing his heart-attitude when he spoke about Christ to the Corinthians for the first time. He was not a self-confident man with eloquent speech, relying on his human intelligence and grand public speaking abilities. He was acutely aware of his inadequacy and incompetence to do what God wanted, which was to bring the Corinthians to faith in Christ. In other words, he spoke with humble dependence on the power of God's Spirit to do through him what he could not do. Many Christians make no spiritual progress because they try to serve God by their own power. This attitude likewise blocks God's work in our lives. But, we can choose to accept our complete spiritual incompetence (see 2 Corinthians 3:5-6a) and learn to humbly depend on Him to work through us as His branch (see John 15), an instrument of righteousness (see Romans 6:13), and an incompetent would-be parent (see Romans 4:19-21).
"Fear and trembling," then, is simply a synonym for "faith in God." Since the Greek word katergazomai is in the present tense, this is an attitude we are to choose, day by day and situation by situation, rather than a one-time crisis event.
What a simple yet deeply self-examining challenge this is! Ask yourself: "Am I choosing to give myself to God for His purpose? Or am I still living for some form of living for selfish-ambition, like materialism, hedonism, or climbing higher in social status ?”
If so, you are going against God's constant influence, nullifying His motivation and power. But you can change this at any time, including right now!
If you have given yourself to God for His purpose, ask yourself: "Am I choosing to rely on God to empower me to live for His purpose?" It is easy to drift into relying on your own will-power, personality, natural talents, etc., instead of humbly admitting your incompetence and asking Him to work through you. This is also considered going against God's constant influence, nullifying His motivation and power.
There is good news: If you simply embrace this lifestyle, day by day, with humble sincerity and dependence on Him, He will supply day by day all the motivation and power you need to live a fruitful life. Jesus tells us in John 15:4-5 that He is the vine allowing us, His branches, to bear fruit, so long as we remain in Him and Him in us. The only one who can stop you is you. Once you choose to walk down this path, no one and nothing else can stop you from being gradually transformed! God does not want to stop you; no one, including Satan, can stop you if God is working out His salvation in you.
