God Himself in Me to Work
In the winter of 2001, I was a sophomore at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina.
As a freshman I had become part of a ministry called Campus Outreach. Its theology was called “Reformed,” which I did not grow up with. In my teens, I heard talk about God being “sovereign,” but I had never wrestled with the extent of his sovereignty — that he was sovereign over all, over good and evil, over angels and demons, over sunny days and natural disasters, over my good deeds and my sin, and (most uncomfortably) sovereign over my own will and choices. But once I saw the verses, dozens of them (if not hundreds), I couldn’t deny that the Bible taught that God’s sovereignty was absolute, over all, no exceptions.
But what I also knew from two decades of human life, and from dozens (if not hundreds) of verses, is that I was accountable. I had thoughts and feelings. I had a will and made real decisions that mattered and had consequences. So, how do I reconcile these two — not just my experience versus what the Bible says, but what the Bible says versus what the Bible says?
So, that winter of 2001, a pastor from Minnesota, named John Piper, spoke at our Campus Outreach New Year’s conference in Atlanta, and not long after that event, I got on desiringGod.org to look for more messages.
There I listened to a sermon he had preached that Christmas Eve. And this one message put together for me, so clearly and memorably, how these major theological truths of God’s sovereignty and my human responsibility come together in my everyday Christian life and experience. The sermon was on the end of Romans chapter 6 (verses 22–23), but at a key moment Piper flipped over to Philippians 2:12–13 to explain this real-life dynamic, and as he did so, lights went on for me one after another.
So, 23 years later, it’s personally significant for me to be assigned these verses, and I pray that for some in this room, new lights might go on like they did for me in those days. How the truth of God’s sovereignty and his choices relates to my responsibility and my choices, in fighting against sin and for Christlikeness, doesn’t all come together at once. Much of it is a lifetime journey. Yet, for me, there was a particular sermon, and a particular text — Philippians 2:12–13 — where new categories were created that have deeply affected my everyday life.
Humbled and Exalted
Last Sunday we stood in awe at the foot of the mountain of Christ’s accomplishment for us in verses 5–11. First, he chose to become man. He did not cling to the comforts of heaven, but he emptied himself of that privilege. Precisely because he was God, gracious and merciful, full of steadfast love and faithfulness, he took on our creatureliness and limitations and the pains and frustrations of our fallen world. His emptying himself was not an emptying of his deity, as if that were possible, but it was a taking, as verse 7 says. His emptying came through addition of humanity, not subtraction of deity. He…
“emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
Then came that amazing “therefore” in verse 9,
“Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name . . . .”
In the biblical pattern of self-humbling from Exodus to the Epistles, Jesus stands at the center as our greatest example: he humbled himself, and therefore God exalted him. Jesus went down, down, down: human, death, the cross. And his Father brought him up: up from the grave, up in the ascension, up to the very throne of heaven. So we walked through three truths, in Pastor Jonathan’s sermon last week, about the example of Jesus.
Which leads us right into verses 12–18, and how Paul turns from Jesus’s obedience and his reward to ours. And so this morning we look at three truths about our following his example. Or: how we become like Jesus.
1. We follow the one who obeyed and was rewarded.
There is a second huge “therefore” in Philippians 2. The first one was verse 9. Jesus humbled himself; therefore God exalted him. Now, verse 12: in light of Jesus’s self-humbling and God’s exalting him, therefore . . .
I can see at least two ways this “therefore” works in verse 12. One is the straightforward charge He is Lord, therefore obey. God has highly exalted Jesus, now his name is above every name, and at his name every knee should bow and every tongue confess he is Lord; therefore, Christians, obey. Simple as that. He is Lord; we are servants. He says it; we do it. Children obey their parents; servants obey their masters; and all the more, creatures obey your Creator, and Christians your Lord.
But there’s also another way this “therefore” works, as an appeal to desire, as a pattern and promise of reward. I say that because the word “obedient” just appeared in verse 8 (and “obey” in verse 12). Jesus was “obedient to the point of death,” and because he obeyed, he was rewarded. Therefore, Christians, obey, like Jesus, that you might be rewarded, like Jesus. Humble yourself, like he did, that you too might be exalted.
Which is crazy countercultural for self-exalting sinners! We want to be exalted, so what do we do? Exalt ourselves. In our own minds, in our words and humble brags, in what we post online, in how we angle for opportunities. And God says to us in our folly, “No, sinners, I do the exalting. Exalt yourself, and I’ll humble you. But humble yourself, and I will exalt you.”
So, the therefore in verse 12 is an appeal to desire, and a profound glimpse into what it meant for Jesus to endure the cross “for the joy set before him.” As man, Jesus humbled himself, obeying to the point of death, by looking to the joy of being exalted by his Father. And so too for us as we obey him. Christian obedience is from sheer duty and force of will. We obey for the joy set before us.
And Paul puts his own joy on display in verses 17–18. Jump down there:
“Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering [this is his self-humbling obedience] upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.”
Paul calls the Philippians’ obedience “the sacrificial offering of your faith.” This is like Romans 12:1: the Christian life of faith “as a living sacrifice” — God’s people no longer offer slaughtered animals as sacrifices, as they did under the first covenant, but offer themselves, all they are, their whole lives, in obedience to him. This is what Paul is giving his life to: that Christians like the saints in Philippi, and like us, would be living sacrifices, obedient to Christ.
And Paul, in prison in Rome for his labor, says to them, even if I die in this prison, I rejoice. The pursuit of joy got him into prison, and joy will be his if he never makes it out of prison — because he looks forward to the reward of being with Christ, and having worked for others’ joy in Christ. And in this joy, Paul casts his work in self-humbling terms. The Philippians’ lives of obedience are the main sacrifice, and his labor is just the drink offering, the side offering, the supplement to their healthy, obedient, Christians lives.
So, first, like Paul, and like Jesus, we obey our Lord, in joy, anticipating reward. We follow the one who obeyed and was rewarded.
2. We work out the salvation he worked for.
Now, the rest of verse 12:
“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling . . .”
So, the obedience that Christ, through Paul, is calling for here is “work out your own salvation.” I realize that sounds like nails on a chalkboard for some ears. If so, perhaps I could just warn you: this might feel uncomfortable for a few minutes. Remember we’re praying for biblical categories. And to get there, we may need to sit in the challenge of this “work out your own salvation.” It’s in the Bible. And this is a good translation. The Greek doesn’t fix our discomfort, but might only make us cringe a little bit more. What if we said “produce your own salvation,” or “give rise to your own salvation,” or “grind out your own salvation”?
As we sit in this tension, it’s okay to remember Christ’s obedience on the frontend and underneath — and in just a few minutes, we’ll see that we have even more help on the backend. But we need to linger here. Just because there’s help in front and back doesn’t mean our lives in the middle aren’t real. We need to stay here, in the call and dignity of the Christian life to be, to think, to feel, to will, to act. God is sovereign, and we are responsible.
This word for “work out” is a typical word for “work” but with an intensifying prefix. The kind of work we’re getting at here is not just overflow. Some work feels effortless. But this work means expending effort. It’s the kind of work that requires effort to move inward desires into outward acts. In other places, this word is translated “produce” or “accomplish” or “perform.”
So, this is not just overflow. It requires counting, reckoning, considering (as in verses 3, 5, and 6). There is effort to be given; energy to be expended; work to be done. “Work out your salvation,” Paul says. Not “work for” — Jesus uniquely worked for our salvation in verses 5–11 — but now we “work it out.”
An important question to ask at this point is “salvation from what?” Paul implies the Philippians need deliverance, but from what? Well, what’s clearly at stake in chapter 2, going back to 1:27, is their unity (their fellowship, their relationships in the church). Paul says he longs to hear that they “are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel.” And 2:2: “complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.” He’s saying that because at present they’re not that. Then verse 3: “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit.” Note the two specific sins from which the Philippians and we need deliverance: selfish ambition and conceit.
And Paul has more specifics to give in verse 14: “Do all things without grumbling or disputing.” Okay, so now we have at least four specific sins from which Paul says to “work out your salvation.” Want it, will it, act it, produce it. Christ died to save you from grumbling, from constant complaining and criticizing and scoffing and wallowing. He died to deliver you from petty disputes. So, trust him and don’t grumble. Trust him and be free from disputing.
The new category this leads to is this: the Christian life is both gift and duty. Fighting sin is both a gift from God and a duty we act. Increasing holiness is both gift and duty. It is a gift of grace we receive from Jesus, and the way we receive a grace that involves our own thoughts and desires and actions is by having the thoughts and desires and doing the actions. That is, living out the gift, or working out your salvation.
Look over to Philippians 3:12. Two of the best texts for getting this dynamic of the Christian life as both gift and duty are right here in Philippians. So, first 2:12–13. Now 3:12:
“Not that I have already obtained this [resurrection to eternal life] or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.”
This is so important in getting the order right between God’s working and ours. Paul says, “I press on to make it my own” — I count, I will, I act, I choose righteousness, I fight sin, I press on — why? “Because Christ Jesus has made me his own.” Mark this: I don’t become his by pressing on. Rather, because I am his, because he already took hold of me, I strive and strain and press on. He worked for my salvation. Now I work it out over sin. (Other key texts that show this gift-and-duty dynamic: Hebrews 13:20–21; Romans 15:18; 1 Corinthians 15:10.)
The Christian life is grace from beginning to end. Some graces we receive instead of our effort and action (justification) and some graces we receive as our effort and action.
Which leads us to verse 13, but let me first try to make this more practical. Let me take you back to my time at Furman University. Now it’s the fall of 2002, my senior year, and I’m trying to figure out what to do after graduation. And I am awash in anxiety. I didn’t remember being so anxious in my life before then, and I don’t remember being as anxious since.
So, I needed deliverance from anxiety. So what do I do? Just wait? How do you seek to be free from oppressive anxiety when God is sovereign and you are responsible? As one who is justified by faith in Jesus, how do I work out my salvation? First, I need truth to work with. I need a specific word to believe. So I found three biblical promises about anxiety:
Matthew 6:34,
“Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
1 Peter 5:6–7,
“Humble yourselves . . . under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”
Philippians 4:67,
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
So I printed them out, posted them next to my bed, and reviewed them every morning when I woke up, and every night when I went to sleep. And (with Christ before me and his Spirit in me), I worked out the grace of my deliverance from anxiety. God gave me the gift of deliverance from the dominance of anxiety in that season. And that doesn’t mean I don’t still fight anxiety as it comes in new ways in new times and seasons of life. But I know how to fight: recognize it, address it with promises of reward, pray for help, and act.
So whether it’s sinful anxiety, selfish ambition and conceit, grumbling and disputing, or sinful anger or lust or greed, work out the deliverance Christ has worked for you. Don’t presume that God will defeat your sins while you’re passive. And don’t presume to fight sin on our own. Look to the sovereign Christ, trust his promises, pray for his help, and act the miracle you seek to have from him.
And just to comment very quickly on verses 15–16: I think Paul has in mind the relationship between unity in the church and witness in the world like he did in 1:27–28. There he said that our “standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel” leads to the church “not [being] frightened in anything by your opponents” — and this is “a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation.” In working out our salvation against the relationship-killing sins of selfish ambition, conceit, grumbling, and disputing, we come to stand out “in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation.” Unified in Jesus, we “shine as lights in the world.” How? “Holding fast to the word of life,” that is, the message about true life, eternal life — the life and death of Jesus in place of our death to give us life.
So, if ever you find yourself discouraged about the “crooked and twisted generation” in which you find yourself, remember two truths from Philippians 2: (1) this is nothing new for Christianity (this is how it usually is in this age) and (2) grumbling and disputing are not the Christian response. But exactly the opposite. The Christian response is this: hold fast to our word of life, work out our salvation from grumbling and disputing, and shine as lights in the world, not as more of the same darkness.
What about that last phrase in v. 12, “with fear and trembling”? Now our third and final truth.
3. We have His Spirit at work in us.
We finish with the end of verse 12 and with verse 13:
“work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”
What in the world could Paul mean here by “with fear and trembling.” Perhaps “fear and trembling” only sounds negative in your ears. Fear and trembling, yikes. How about with hope and joy? Why fear and trembling?
Scripture has a broader vision for inward fear and outward trembling than modern people. Throughout the Bible, “fear and trembling” is what wise, in-touch, healthy humans do when they find themselves in the presence of God almighty. Like Moses at Mount Sinai, as we saw in Hebrews 12:21: “I tremble with fear.” And Paul talks how the Corinthians received Titus, as a messenger from Christ, “with fear and trembling” (2 Corinthians 7:15).
Or perhaps most instructive of all is the way the Gospel of Mark ends, with the women who found the tomb empty and heard from the angel, “He has risen; he is not here.” Mark 16:8:
“They went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them.”
Or, as Matthew 28:8 reports,
“They departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy.”
“Fear and trembling” is not only the response of someone taken aback by great horror, but also of someone struck with great joy. It’s the response of a believing heart in the presence of God himself — and it’s the appropriate response of a Christian who learns that God himself has come to dwell in me.
Verse 13 provides, essentially, threefold confidence for us as we expend energy and effort to obey our Lord and live the Christian life. So, as we close, let me turn verse 13 and address it to you.
First, brothers and sisters in Christ, you have God in you! What an awesome thing to have the Holy Spirit, poured out on us, sent into our hearts, dwelling in us, leading us, working in us. You are not on your own to fight against sin and for Christlikeness. You have God in you! This is no standard joy. This is cause for fear and trembling.
Second, he is in you not only to will but even to work! God works in us to (will and) work our work. He gives us new desires and willing, and even then doesn’t leave us to ourselves. He is in us to prompt, to lead, to empower, to execute our working out those holy desires through the exertion of effort.
Third, all this stands on the rock of God’s own joy, his delight, his good pleasure. He is not reluctant in helping us fight sin and pursue Christlikeness. He is happy to do it, thrilled to do it. He delights to do it. He works in us, in our willing, in our working, for his good pleasure. We work with the grain of God’s own joy when we work out our deliverance from sin.
So, we close with this question: What sin or sins came to mind this morning in our time of silent confession? Or, what do you most often confess week after week? Brothers and sisters, don’t just say it again, move on, continue in sin, and make empty confession again and again. Work out your salvation. Act the miracle. With Jesus before you and beneath you, and his Spirit in you and through you — hemmed in on every side by his grace — work out your salvation. Will it, work it, act it, do it — with prayerful dependence in every step.
Jesus Willed and Worked
What makes possible our having the Holy Spirit at work in us to will and work, is that first the Spirit was at work in Christ to will and to work. How he worked, for the joy set before him, is an example we follow. How he worked, by the Spirit, is imitable. But what he accomplished at the cross for us is inimitable.
At this Table, we do not mainly remember Jesus as our example but as the one who worked for us in a way in which we could not work for ourselves.
