Man's Work; God's Work

(Greek words can be viewed using the Symbol font)

Pastor Scott L. Harris

Grace Bible Church, NY

May 9, 2004

Man's Work; God's Work

Philippians 2:12,13

Context: This morning we come in our study to Philippians 2:12,13. This is a passage that is, as Martyn Lloyd-Jones put it, "perhaps one of the most perfect summaries of the Christian life to be found anywhere," and at the same time, it is one of the more frequently disputed passages of Scripture. Like so many other passages, the major reason for the disputing is that men too often dissect Scripture and put the pieces into their theological boxes instead of taking in the whole meaning within its context first.

Since we do not want to repeat that error, let us read through these verses and then set their context. "So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure."

The opening word of verse 12, wste / h'ste, which is translated as "so then," "therefore," or "wherefore" points us back to what Paul has just said in the previous verses which in turn point us back to the foundation Paul lays in chapter one. The immediate context is Paul's declaration of God's future exaltation of Jesus in which He is given the name which is above every name and at which every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. As I pointed out last week, this declaration of Jesus being Lord is more than just a recognition of Him as "master," but is a reference to Him also being recognized by the very name God used of Himself in Exodus 3. Jesus is also the great "I am." The covenant name of God, Yahweh, is also used of Jesus. This in turn brings glory to the Father. To summarize, in view of the fact that Jesus is going to be glorified in such a state, we should live in a certain way and recognize God's work in His children for His own purposes and good pleasure.

The greater context goes back to 1:27, "Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ" which is the basis and reason for "standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel." Because the Christian lives with an eternal purpose in view, the immediate circumstances, whatever they may be including persecution for Christ's sake (1:28,29), cannot keep the believer from peacefully and joyfully bringing glory to Christ's name by their manner of life and attitude. On a personal level this is seen in Paul's own response to being imprisoned and having others purposely seeking to add to his distress (1:12-26). Paul focused on what God was doing in the midst of the circumstances and therefore was able to be joyful and praise God despite the personal hardships. God was still at work and accomplishing His will. The same is still true for we who are believers today.

In the larger context of the body of Christ, conduct worthy of the gospel of Christ is seen in their unity. Paul points out in 2:1,2 that because there is encouragement in Christ, because there is consolation of the love, because there is fellowship of the Spirit and because there is affection and compassion, believers should be of the same mind, maintain the same love, be united in spirit and intent on one purpose. The key to this unity is humility demonstrated by regarding others as more important than yourself and looking out for the interest of others and not just your own. Jesus is the supreme example of this humility. He set aside aspects of His deity, left the glories of heaven and became a man in order to die on the cross as the payment for our sins. He regarded us as more important than Himself and looked out for our interests and not just His own. God's exaltation of Jesus placed Him back in His proper place in Heaven with the fulness of deity.

The broader context here then is that Paul is writing to the Christians in Philippi and commanding them to conduct themselves worthy of the gospel of Christ being unified with one another because their beliefs and purposes were the same, because of the working of the Spirit in each of them, and because of the mutual love we are to have for one another in Christ. The result was to be a humility toward one another that follows the example of Jesus Christ, who has been exalted back to His position at the right hand of the Father and who will be exalted further when every knee will bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord, to the glory of the Father. The same command and its ramifications apply to we who are Christians today.

Overview.

With that in mind, we come to the overview of verses 12 & 13.

The major disputes about the meaning of these two verses arise from those that insist that man must somehow earn his salvation instead of relying on God's grace to which reckons a man's faith as righteousness, and from those that teach a Christian becomes more holy through a passive submission to the Holy Spirit. Both of these views are contrary to the context, and hence, to the meaning of this passage.

Remember first that Paul is writing to people that are already Christians here. The idea of "work out your salvation with fear and trembling" cannot be gaining salvation from sin. Paul is writing to the "saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi" (1:1). These are those that have participated with him in the gospel from the first day until now (1:5) and who are "partakers of grace" with Paul (1:7). Paul's prayer for them in 1:9-11) contains nothing about them being saved, but only for their continued growth in Christ. His command to them in 1:27 to "conduct themselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ" would have no meaning if they were not already Christians. If they were not already Christians, they could not have the encouragement of Christ or the fellowship of the Spirit and therefore could not have the same mind, maintain the same love, be united in spirit or be intent on one purpose (2:1,2), and humility as described in 2:3-8 would be out of the question.

Paul is writing here in 2:12,13 to the believers in Philippi that have become "beloved" to him. They cared for Paul very much as evidenced by their supplying for his needs and sending Ephaphroditus to minister to him. In many ways, they had become somewhat dependent upon Paul, and his being imprisoned and unable to come to them was distressing. Paul is using the example of God's working both in his own life and in Christ's life to encourage them. They have already shown obedience to God without Paul being present and they need to continue in that same vein and work out their salvation with fear and trembling. They needed to continue to mature and evidence the faith they professed. Paul's admonition here is in keeping with his earlier prayer. They had already done well, but they needed to keep on and do even better. To "work out their salvation" was to bring it to maturity or completion.

The greatest encouragement for them to do this was the fact that though this was something they were to do, it would not be done by themselves. It would be God working in them both to will and to work for His good pleasure. This is what God was doing in Paul's life even while He was imprisoned. This is what God did in Jesus Christ's life that even though He went through great humiliation in doing God's work, the Father had now highly exalted Him. They could take comfort and encouragement in these examples set before them. Though Paul desired to see them again (1:25), it was also entirely possible that he could die before that could happen (1:20-23). Paul was encouraging them that even if they did not see Paul again until heaven, they would make it and be successful because God was at work and would accomplish His will in them.

Let's now look at each of these phrases a bit more in depth to see how they fit within the context of this overview.

Man's Work - vs. 12

"So then" - points us back to the context and examples of both Paul and Jesus Christ as I have already explained.

"My beloved" - brings out the close nature of Paul's relationship to the Philippian believers. These two verses are not just great theological truths, but they are set squarely in the context of this close relationship between Paul and the church God used him to found in Philippi. There is a strong bond of affection between the two.

"Just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence." The Philippian believers were marked by their obedience to the Scriptures and what Paul had taught them of Jesus Christ. This is one of the reasons that Paul expressed such thanksgiving at his remembrance of them in chapter 1. They had participated with him in the gospel from the first day of their salvation to the present (1:5). Paul was confident that God would finish the work He started in them both because that is the nature of God and it was the response he had seen in them since, in his imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, they had been partakers of God's grace with Paul (1:6,7).

Paul was not present with them, yet they continued in their faithfulness to the Lord and toward Paul. As soon as they had opportunity they sent a gift and Ephaphroditus to help while he was imprisoned (2:25-30; 4:10-18), and from Ephaphroditus Paul learned of their continued obedience to the Lord. Nothing is more encouraging to a teacher than to hear that his students are putting into practice the lessons learned when he is not around. That is when a teacher knows they have been successful. The Philippians did this. No wonder Paul referred to them as his "joy and crown" (4:1).

Work Out Your Salvation - This is a key phrase to understand.

"Work out" is from katergazomai / katergazomai and means to "do," "accomplish," "bring about." It is a present middle imperative and so is a command in which the individual is actively involved in an action in which something else is also acting upon. The individual is neither passive nor working by themselves but in conjunction with something else. The sense then is that this is something you continue to "work out" to its completion. It will take a sustained effort to accomplish this.

"Your" is eautou'' / heautou is an emphatic form of "your" that actually has the sense of "your own." The importance of this word is that it places emphasis on the fact that your salvation is something that is between you and God personally. God saves you as an individual, and you mature in Him as an individual. God may have used many other people in your life who have become important to you, but ultimately, none of them are essential. God's normal plan is to use other people in your life, but you can still become mature in Christ even if no one else helps. This also means that you cannot blame any lack of maturity on anyone else.

"Salvation" is swthria / s'tLria and is the common word for deliverance, preservation and release. It is often used in the New Testament as a reference to deliverance from sin and its consequences.

The phrase, as has already been pointed out, is being applied to those who are already Christians, and so is not a reference to bringing about your own salvation through one's own effort, but rather a sustained effort by the individual to bring about the ultimate completion of their salvation. Paul makes it very clear in many other passages that salvation cannot be earned, but comes only by the grace of God - Ephesians 2:8,9 - "for by grace you have been saved through faith: and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not as a result of works that no one should boast." (See also Romans 3:24,28; 4:16; 10:9,10; 2 Tim. 1:9; Titus 3:5). The sense of this phrase is that you are to bring about the completion of your salvation by showing forth its fruits. This is sanctification which is the outworking of what God has done in you in saving you from sin that is manifested in your ever changing life as He conforms you into the image of His son.

If I can use a rough analogy appropriate for today's recognition of you moms. You became a mom when you gave birth to your first child, but you have continued to work out your motherhood as you have done those things that are in keeping with being a mom. That child has changed your life completely because you now have a different belief about what your life is about compared to when you were single without children. Your actions as a mother are a direct result in your change in belief in purpose and responsibility. It is because you are a mom that you do what you do. The Christian is to live their life in the way that is pleasing to God not to become a Christian but because they are a Christian.

There are three corresponding aspects to salvation and sanctification which cover past, present and future. The root word for sanctification means to be "set apart." At initial salvation God's grace is extended to a person, and their faith in Jesus Christ is reckoned to them as righteousness. They are justified and set apart to God. They were saved and sanctified. As a Christian matures in Christ and walks in holiness they are further removed from sin and set apart to God as they are conformed into the image of Christ. They are being saved and sanctified. When a Christian is finally with the Lord, they are fully delivered from all sin and set completely apart to God. They will be saved and sanctified - which is glorification. A Christian is saved from sin and its judgement by God's grace through faith in Christ. A Christian is being delivered from current sin as they are being conformed into image of Christ. A Christian will one day receive the fulness of salvation when they enter eternity and become like Christ in both position and reality.

"Fear & Trembling" in this context is not the fright that comes from experiencing something beyond your imagination such as the guards as Jesus tomb who saw the angel and "shook for fear of him and became like dead men." Neither is this terror like the non-Christian will have at the return of our Lord (Luke 21:26). That is the fear of those who are facing their judgement and doom. Christians do not have that because Jesus has already paid the price of our sin and removed God's condemnation from us. This is the proper humble and reverential fear that all godly people should have toward the Lord. It is the "fear of the Lord" that is the beginning of wisdom (Prov. 9:10). The proper reaction of those who are humble and have a contrite spirit is a "trembling" at God's word (Isa. 66:2) as Who has spoken and what He has said is considered. For the Christian, the fear of the Lord and the comfort of the Holy Spirit go hand in hand (Acts 9:31).

The Christian's fear of the Lord is the same as a child has toward a godly father. There is no fear of rejection, but there is great respect for him and fear of disobeying his commands because he will correct and discipline. Hebrews 12 tells us that God deals with believers as with sons whom He loves and therefore disciplines and chastises as needed. As His sons then, we strive to walk carefully in discerning His will and following His commands. We pay attention to what He says because we desire to obey, honor and glorify Him and not offend and grieve Him. Obedience begins with carefully listening to the instructions given. If you are not spending time in God's word and in prayer, then you are not listening to His instructions.

God's Work - vs. 13

For it is God who is at Work in you. In verse 13 Paul transitions from our responsibility with the statement "for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure." The transitional preposition here, "for," is important because it ties what Paul has just said about them working out their own salvation with the fact that it is God who is at work in them. These two facts go together and should not be separated. Those who reject or diminish God's sovereignty do not like this, but it is the truth, and fits perfectly with the comfort and encouragement that Paul was giving to the Philippian believers. They were to do their part in obeying the Lord and thereby working out their own salvation with fear and trembling, but they could be confident that they would succeed because it was God who was working in and through them to accomplish His will and good pleasure just as He had done in Jesus' life and was doing in Paul's life. This the reason that Paul could say back in 1:6 that he was "confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus." God is at work.

The word work here, energew / energe', is where we get our English word "energy," and it means "to work," "to do," "to be operative," "to put forth power" and "to effect." While the Christian is responsible to put forth effort in obeying God, the reality is that whatever the Christian accomplishes including changes in his own character are due to God's work in him. Paul makes numerous statements showing his dependency upon God even as he labored in God's service. In 2 Corinthians 3 Paul speaks about his labor among them and its effect upon them then adds in verse 5, not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant . . ." . Paul had previously told them (1 Corinthians 15:10) that he was what he was by the grace of God and that though he had labored even more than all of them, it was not him, but the grace of God in him that accomplished anything. Paul warned the Galatians (3:3) that they were foolish if they thought they could perfect themselves (mature in Christ) through the flesh (works of the law).

I pointed out earlier that "working out your own salvation" was in the middle tense. It was work you did but which also required some other participant in the action. That other participant is God, and without Him, you cannot accomplish anything.

Both to will and to work for His good pleasure is what God is going to accomplish in the life of the Christian. The purpose of everything that exists is to bring glory to God, or as Paul puts it here, "His good pleasure." All of creation exists for the pleasure of God. However, that is contrary to man's own sinful bent. Man wants his own good pleasure. We want our will to be done and we work hard to accomplish our own goals. How then does a man change from working for his own pleasure to working for God's? God changes us from the inside out. He changes our heart from one bent to satisfy our own will to one that becomes increasingly bent to satisfy God's will and work for His good pleasure instead of our own. As our will is changed so then is our work and its purpose.

God begins this change in us through the Holy Spirit convicting us of sin. This is part of our initial salvation, for salvation is from sin to righteousness. If you have never found your own sin to be repugnant, then there is good reason for you to question your salvation. Escape from Hell and going to heaven is a result of being delivered from sin. If there is not some point at which you turned from sin and called on God to be merciful and forgive your sin through Jesus Christ, then there is no salvation. For the Christian, the desire to reject evil increases as we grow in Christ. Sinful things we used to do and found pleasurable lose their attraction and become increasingly repulsive to us. It is not that we do not sin, but we find that sin contrary to our desires even as Paul did in Romans 7.

God also changes us by increasing our desire for holiness. His call for us to be holy as He is holy (1 Peter 1:16) becomes less of a chore and more of a pleasurable desire. Reading the scriptures is a discipline of a holy life, but the greater your maturity in Christ the more this discipline is a joy. You find that you agree with David's expression in Psalm 19 that the word of God becomes more desirable than even much find gold and is sweeter than honey dripping from the honeycomb. Self discipline is needed as you strive for personal holiness much as a runner disciplines himself in training that he might run well and win (1 Cor. 9:25), but as you grow in Christ that pursuit of personal holiness becomes less of a chore and more of a pleasure as you forget what lies behind and reach forward to what lies ahead in pressing on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (3:12-14). Your change in will results in a change in purpose and even a joy in the work to gain that purpose which is now God's good pleasure.

It is this internal change that God works in us that is the basis for God's promise in Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart. The Psalm continues, 5 Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, and He will do it. 6 And He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your judgment as the noonday.

Once these verses are understood, the practical application of them in daily life is obvious. The Christian is saved from their sin by God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ. There is no work you can do to earn that salvation. However, belief in Christ will result in a different understanding of and purpose to life. It is no longer about yourself, but about God. As you strive to conduct yourself in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ there will be a change in attitude and how you live. You will become increasingly marked by the same humility that was in Christ resulting in regarding others as more important than yourself and looking out for the interests of others instead of just your own. In keeping with your belief that Jesus Christ is Lord you seek to obey Him regardless of anyone else around. In other words, though teachers and being accountable to others is helpful in living the Christian life, the reality is that even in the absence of any other Christian, you are to be obedient to our Lord.

The result of all this is that you work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. In holy reverence for the Lord you do your part and put the effort in to bring your salvation to maturity or completion. You practice the disciplines of godliness which includes personal Bible study, prayer, turning from evil to holiness, and service. This is your responsibility as you cooperate with God as He molds you into the image of His son. You must actively work toward personal holiness in your life in conjunction with God's working in you.

There is no question that God will do His part to change your will and work to His own good pleasure. It is really only a matter of what you will have to go through as God does His work in you and how useful you will be to Him.

Those who actively cooperate will mature rapidly in Christ and be greatly used by Him. These are those that strive to live holy lives and seek out God's will through Bible study, prayer and Christian fellowship and are quick to find ways to serve the Lord.

Those that actively resist will be chastised by God in order to correct them and make them what they need to be. These are people that generally only do what they are forced to do. Perhaps they come to church regularly and they might be buttonholed into some church project, but usually only because others expect it of them.

Then there are the many that are passive. They have fallen victim to the 19^th century holiness philosophy of "let go and let God." They mistakenly believe God will someday make them holy without effort on their part. Some even go so far as to believe that effort on their part will hinder God's work in them. They will do what they are told, but not much beyond that. They will be of limited value to the Lord and risk His rebuke because Rev. 3:16 makes it clear that the Lord does not like those that are lukewarm.

You will not grow in Christ by sitting around watching TV, or by pursuing all your many personal hobbies, or by working lots of overtime, or by amassing a lot of material wealth. There is nothing inherently wrong with any of these unless they are in competition with what you need to do to mature in Christ. Do you spend time in regular personal Bible Study? Would you know how do that if you did try? Do you spend daily time in prayer? Are you actively turning away from evil and establishing habits that are holy? Do you have to be asked, or do you volunteer and seek to serve the Lord with your gifts? Are you taking advantage of programs for your spiritual growth that are offered? Have you been through at least basic discipleship? If not, then see Diane Harris or Ed Colon and get scheduled to go through it. If so, then have you helped someone else through it?

God will fulfill His work. Are you doing your part in that work?

Sermon Study Sheets

Sermon Notes

Man's Work; God's Work - Philippians 2:12,13

Context

Overview

Man's Work - vs. 12

"So then"

"my beloved"

"just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence."

Work Out Your Salvation

katergazomai / katergazomai

Your

Salvation

Fear & Trembling

God's Work - vs. 13

for it is God at work in you

Both to will and work for His good pleasure