Philippians 2:12 12Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not only as in my presence but now much more in my absence, with fear and trembling work out your own salvation.
Paul continues to encourage the Philippians to be faithful to the good news of Jesus Christ. He now applies the hymn of Christ of verses 6-11 to the church. This is shown by the word “therefore,” which links what came before to what comes after. This is how to apply Christ’s model of humility and self-sacrifice to our lives. Paul shows how theology applies to real life. He has clearly laid out the gospel thus far in the letter, especially in what Jesus did for us by giving himself on the cross. The cross makes the difference in all of life. Now Paul writes about how the readers, including us, should respond to the gospel.
Paul builds his commands on a relationship of deep love and trust with the church in Philippi by called them beloved. He is writing as a brother to them, someone who cares about their spiritual journey. He wants the best for them. His advice in this letter is for the good of the church. It will help them grow and be more effective in their ministry to their city. The Philippians had done well by listening to the message about Christ and responded in obedience. always obeying. They had acted on what they had been taught. They did not let the word of the Lord go in one ear and out the other but found ways to apply what they learned.
The last clause of the verse is the key idea. Paul as their spiritual father obviously could not be with them because of his imprisonment. However, he had planted seeds during his time with them. It was now their responsibility to grow these seeds of faith. He is not asking them to do something new but to continue in what they already knew to do. There had experienced salvation but now needed to work out their salvation with fear and trembling. This verse echoes the beginning of the letter, particularly 1:5-6. God had already begun a good work in them through the grace found in Christ but they needed to do their part in the obedience of faith.
The verb work (katergazesthe) is the last word in the sentence for emphasis. It means to bring about or achieve something. This statement could be misunderstood and see as a contradiction of Ephesians 2:8-9, where Paul argues that a person is not saved by work. It should be noted that Paul does not say work FOR salvation but work OUT salvation. He is not writing about how to be saved but what to do once we are saved. This is a present tense verb indicating that this is something that must be done continually. It should be part of our daily habit. This is not so much doing a set of actions as much as it is a day-by-day walk with God in growing faith and dependence.
Paul calls on the Philippians to work out their salvation. Salvation is spoken about with three time references in the New Testament. First, we have been saved from our past sins and have been forgiven. Second, salvation is the present experience of those who believe. Salvation impacts our quality of life now. That does not mean we will have health, wealth, and prosperity, or that we will never suffer or have problems. Actually, we should expect persecution as followers of Jesus. But we can have victory through temptations and have a deep sense of peace and joy. Third, we will have eternal life in the future by being raised from the dead when Jesus comes again. This gives us hope, which also impacts our daily living.
Finally, Paul urges the Philippians to have the appropriate attitude of fear and trembling as they work out their salvation. He is not writing about fear and dread but reverence and deep awe. We must realize we are in the presence of the Creator of the universe, the Holy One in our midst. First Samuel 2:2 says, “There is no one holy like the Lord; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.” God says in Isaiah 40:25, “’To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?’ says the Holy One.” We must be serious about our spiritual growth and not grow weary or lazy. We must realize that God will hold us accountable for how we live. In the Christian life, the “doing” always comes from the “being.” The pattern in the Bible is always faith leading to obedience. Obedience is never easy because it requires that we give up ourselves to God and trust that God’s ways are better.
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