Philippians 2:12-16, Working Out, Working In

We need to take some time to regroup, so to speak, to remind ourselves of the “big picture” in Philippians.  Paul began the letter expressing his joy, his “happy satisfaction,” even though he was in prison, even though he was being reviled by some brothers in Christ.  He had this joy because Christ was exalted in His life (Phil. 1:1-26).  He had this joy because he said and lived according to this truth: For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain (1:21).

Now Paul wanted Christ to be exalted in his friends, the brothers and sisters, in Philippi (1:27-2:30) as well as in Lewistown (where I currently live) as well as in your community.  They could do this if they …

STOOD FAST IN ONE SPIRIT (1:27-30)

FOR THE RIGHT REASONS (2:1-2)

THROUGH THE PROPER ATTITUDE (2:3-4)

HAVING THE MIND OF CHRIST (2:5-11)

AND BY WORKING HARD (2:12-16)!

Paul’s instructions to the believers have been directed at internal affairs: our spirit, attitude and mindset.  But now he takes aim at our externals.  Phil. 2:12-13 is somewhat of a transition as it deals with both internals (God works in you to will or to desire) and externals (God works in you to do).


Look at 2:12-13 again.  It is all one sentence and it has a lot of supporting phrases.  At the core of this sentence are these words: work out your own salvation.  This is a command.  It does not say “work for your own salvation.”  To work out your own salvation is akin to something John the Baptist said to his crowds: you need to produce works that are fitting for salvation (Matt. 3:8).  In other words Paul is saying: “you are saved, by faith in Christ, by the grace of God.  Now by that same faith and grace you need to put on the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 13:14), to adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things (Titus 2:10), so that the name of God and His doctrine may not be blasphemed (1 Tim. 6:1; Titus 2:5).  Simply put, we need to live like who we are in Christ!

Let us briefly note the supporting phrases around the command to work out.

·        Work out your own salvation.  The path to Christ-likeness is different for each believer.  Our focus should be on our own life, a point that was important to the Philippians as they were experiencing some dissension.

·        You have always obeyed. This is a command; thus it is an obedience issue.

·        With fear and trembling.  This command is from the Lord; thus it is an issue of the fear of God.  Do we revere God as God?

The next phrase is major so let us stop here and meditate, with self-examination, on the matters Paul has raised for us.  This is so full, so important, and so powerful for our day-to-day lives.