Philippians 2:12-13; Work Out II


“Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, (13) for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.”


Sorry about the spaces...the formatting has gone a little crazy! 


When I consider the idea of getting out of the way so that Jesus can do His work in me, I am reminded of the words of John the Baptist: “He must increase; I must decrease”.  Because in truth, any good that I accomplish comes through God’s power, not my own. 


The best example I can come up with is this: If Levi wants to give me a Christmas present, I take him to the store, help him pick it out, pay for it, drive him home, help him wrap it, and then let him put it under the tree.  His gift to me is due solely to his father’s effort and design. 


The same is true of our service to Christ – anything of worth that I do is because He gave me the eyes to see, the will to act, and the strength to carry it out.  Even more, as we obediently interact with others, the Spirit of God does His work through us. The God of the Universe does eternal, God-sized things through our humble obedience. 

That is liberating, challenging…and a bit daunting.  What a relief that it is not up to me to convict of sins and save souls.  My job is to love, serve, and share – it is God’s job to use those things to transform lives (including my own).  But it is also a little scary.

If it is Jesus who works in me to accomplish His will…what will He do in me?  His obedience took Him to the cross, what will He do with my obedience?  Enter “fear and trembling”.  Obedience means we move out of the driver’s seat so God can take us where He wants.  And that is frightening, which is probably why Jesus said, “Fear not,” so much.  When you hitch your wagon to the all-submissive redeemer Jesus, anything can happen! 

Have you ever sensed fear at the prospect of things God has called you to do?  Yeah, me too.  But I think that definition of “fear” is a very small part of what Paul is talking about.  I believe “awe” best conveys Paul’s meaning of “fear and trembling”.  We should always live in “awe” of the God who created the universe with a word. 

To sum up: Salvation should change the way we live.  We work out our salvation by getting out of the way and letting the Spirit take control of our lives.  We fear and tremble simply because it is the holy and majestic God of eternity who is doing work in our lives that we cannot accomplish on our own.  If that doesn’t inspire awe, I don’t think anything will.  God has a plan for your life and mine – and He will accomplish it!