Sermon Series: Philippians, Parts 13 and 14
Tremble While You Work
Philippians 2:12-13
12
Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have
always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence,
work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
13
For it is God which worketh in you both
to will and to do of his good
pleasure.
Outline:
I. Absence Makes the Saints More Obedient? (2:12a-e)
II. The Out-Working of Salvation (2:12f)
III. The In-Working of God (2:13)
Sermon Series: Philippians, Part 13
Tremble While You Work, Part 1
Philippians 2:12
[Audio file on Internet Archive at https://archive.org/details/Philippians212-13].
I. Absence Makes the Saints More Obedient? (2:12a-e)
Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have
always obeyed,
not as in my presence only, but now
much more in my absence,
1. Wherefore
2. my
beloved, as ye have always obeyed
3. not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence
1. Wherefore —
“Wherefore”? The connection back to verses 5-11, and further to
2:1-4 must not be missed. The Carmen
Christi is the meat in the sandwich between the bread of 2:1-4, and 2:12-13
(and 14-18).
2. my beloved, as ye have always obeyed —
They have a track record of obedience.
3. not as in my presence
only, but now much more in my absence —
The issue here is concerning their future, their ongoing
obedience, and this is seen in direct relation to, or even better, in inverse
proportion to, Paul’s presence or absence.
Why does Paul emphasize his absence with “much more”? And make no
mistake, this is being emphasized. Besides the “much more” the repetition seen
in the second word translated “as” even becomes a textual issue where some miss
the emphasis, and explain its presence as “superfluous.” [1]
Phil. 4:15 — Now ye
Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed
from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving
and receiving, but ye only.
Why is Paul’s presence and absence an issue? It was a large issue
in Ch. 1, especially in 1:27; and what had been going on in his absence
provides the occasion for the epistle.
Ph. 1:27 — Only let
your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come
and see you, or
else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in
one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;
Phil. 1:5-6 — 5 For your fellowship in the
gospel from the first day until now; 6 Being confident of this very
thing, that he
which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
II. The
Out-Working of Salvation (2:12f)
work out your own salvation with fear
and trembling.
1. Work
2. Salvation
3. Your own
4. Fear and trembling
1. Work —
The end of this verse comes with an exhortation that is shocking
on its face to many.
Why is this? Where is the problem?
What about “Let go and let God?”
What about “Work as if it all depended on you, and pray as if it
all depended on God?”
What about “Work like an Arminian, and pray like a Calvinist?”
ATR on 2:12 — “He exhorts
as if he were an Arminian in addressing men. He prays as if he were a Calvinist
in addressing God and feels no inconsistency in the two attitudes.”
Marvin Vincent on 2:12 — “Believe
as if you had no power. Work as if you had no God.”
Carson’s words are most helpful on this point (highlighting mine):
“It is vitally important to
grasp the connection between God’s sovereignty and our responsibility in verses
12 and 13. The text does not say, “Work to acquire your salvation, for God has
done his bit and now it is all up to you.” Nor does it say, “You may already
have your salvation, but now perseverance in it depends entirely on you.” Still less does it say, “Let go
and let God. Just relax. The Spirit will carry you.” Rather, Paul tells
us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, precisely because God is working in us both to will and to act
according to his good purpose (2:12–13). Nor is God working merely to strengthen us in our willing and acting. Paul’s language
is stronger than that. God himself is working in us both to will and to
act: he works in us at the level of our wills and at the level of our doing.
But far from this being a disincentive
to press on, Paul insists that this is an incentive. Assured as we are that God
works in this way in his people, we should be all the more strongly resolved to
will and to act in ways that please our Master.
For reasons too complex to probe here, a great deal of Western thought
has gone wrong at precisely this point. We have expended huge quantities of
energy pitting God’s sovereignty against human responsibility, when the Bible
insists that these things belong together.”
— D. A. Carson, Basics For Believers: An Exposition of Philippians (Grand Rapids:
Baker Books, 1996), pp. 61-62.
John 6:27-29 — 27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for
that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give
unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed. 28 Then said they unto
him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
29 Jesus answered and said unto them,
This is the work
of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
2. Salvation —
What is meant by salvation
here?
1 Pet. 1:2 — Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the
Father, through
sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of
Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.
Heb. 5:9 — And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto
all them that obey him;
What common misunderstanding of this word injects problems into the
understanding of Paul’s meaning here?
Rom. 3:21-24 — 21 But now the
righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law
and the prophets; 22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith
of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no
difference: 23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of
God; 24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption
that is in Christ Jesus:
Rom. 11:6 — And if by grace, then is it no more
of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it
no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.
Eph. 2:8-10 — 8 For by grace are ye
saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9
Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10 For we are his
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before
ordained that we should walk in them.
3. Your own —
There is an emphasis in this verse that is left out of several
modern translations including the NASB, NIV, and NLT. In those translations it
is “your salvation,” but not “your own salvation.” [2]
Some would emphasize the corporate nature of the exhortation,
i.e., that it is directed at the church at Philippi as the local body of
Christ. That is a good point, and needs to be made since from beginning to end
the text is addressed to them in plural nouns, verbs and pronouns: “…beloved…obeyed…work out your own…in you…”
However, the church there at Philippi is not just a corporate entity. As such
it is composed of individuals, individual Christians whom God is at work in,
who will, and who do, who fear, and who tremble. Neither the “one,” nor the
“many” can be left out of our consideration without doing an injustice to what
was on Paul’s mind and heart when he wrote this.
4. Fear and trembling —
Why fear and trembling?
Søren
Kierkegaard, Fear And Trembling (1843;
orig. title Frygt og Bæven)
“Fear and
Trembling (original Danish title: Frygt
og Bæven) is a philosophical work by Søren Kierkegaard, published in
1843 under the pseudonym Johannes de silentio (John of the
Silence). The title is a reference to a line from Philippians 2:12,
"...continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling." —
itself a probable reference to Psalms 55:5, “Fear and trembling came upon
me...” (the Greek is identical).” [3]
Note: The only thing that is identical in the Greek
translation of Psalm 55:5 in the Hebrew Old Testament (Ps. 54:6 in the LXX) is
the coupling of the words for “fear and trembling.” However, they are not in
the same case, there are no other words in common with Phil. 2:12, and the
context is dissimilar. Ps. 55:5 — “Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror
hath overwhelmed me.” It is more likely that if Paul had a Psalm in mind in this
expression it would have been Ps. 2:11 — “Serve the LORD with fear, and
rejoice with trembling.”
Other examples of this expression in contexts where it is viewed
as a healthy Christian experience:
2 Cor. 7:15 — And his inward affection is more abundant toward
you, whilst he remembereth the obedience of you all, how with fear and trembling ye received
him.
Eph. 6:5 — Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters
according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart,
as unto Christ;
1 Pet. 1:17 — And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of
persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:
What produces this fear and
trembling?
Another basis for this fear
and trembling will come in the next verse. However, even that connection
seems in the mind of many to be intended to have the opposite effect.
This is not “Whistle While You Work.” [4] This
is “Tremble While You Work”!
Why do we see so little of this in modern American evangelical
Christians?
No
Strength of Nature Can Suffice
by William
Cowper
|
1 No strength of nature can suffice
To serve the Lord aright;
And what she has she
misapplies,
For want of clearer
light.
2 How long beneath the law I lay,
In bondage and distress!
I toiled the precept to
obey,
But toiled without
success.
3 [Then to abstain from outward sin
Was more than I could do;
Now, if I feel its power
within,
I feel I hate it too.]
|
4 [Then, all my servile works were done
A righteousness to raise;
Now, freely chosen in the
Son,
I freely choose his
ways.]
5 What shall I do, was then the word,
That I may worthier grow?
What shall I render to
the Lord?
Is my inquiry now.
6 To see the law by Christ fulfilled,
And hear his pardoning
voice,
Changes a slave into a
child,
And duty into choice. [5]
|
[Sermon preached 12 MAR 2017 by Pastor John T. “Jack” Jeffery at
Wayside Gospel Chapel, Greentown, PA.]
Sermon Series: Philippians, Part 14
Tremble While You Work, Part 2
Philippians 2:13
III.
The In-Working of God (2:13)
For it is God which worketh in you both
to will and to do of his good pleasure.
1. Because It Is —For it is God which worketh in you
2. Both/And — both to will and to do
3. Good Pleasure — of his good pleasure
1. Because It Is —For it is
God which worketh in you —
There are two emphases in this verse. The first two sandwich the
other two. The first two have to do with God. The second two have to do with
the people of God.
The emphases concerning God are that it is His working, and His
good pleasure. The verse begins with “For it is God which worketh,” and ends
with “his good pleasure.” His work. His good pleasure.
Because. Since.
It is God.
God is at work in you. God is at work. God is working. God is at
work in you. God is working in you. Think of it! Say it to yourself: “God is at
work in me.” “God is working in me.”
2. Both/And — both to will
and to do —
The middle of the verse contains the word “both.” On the one side
of this word is “in you.” On the other side is “to will and to do.” The
emphasis is on “both.” Not one or the other. Not either/or, but both/and. Both.
What God works in His people is not just the willing, but also the doing. He
doesn’t just make us “willing to do His will,” as many would leave it. There is
more than that here, as “both” emphasizes. God also works in us the “doing” of
His good pleasure. If someone wants to phrase one aspect of this as “God makes
us willing to do His will,” then they should not leave it there, but go on and
finish the thought. If God makes us willing to do His will, He doesn’t leave it
there. God makes us do His will. He works in us the doing of His good pleasure
coordinate, just as much, in the same sense, as He works in His the willing to
do it in the first place. There is no possibility that God’s people will not be
willing to do His good pleasure, nor is there any way that they will not do His
good pleasure. We know that because it is the work of God from beginning to
end. He will accomplish His good pleasure. His work, His working in His people,
will not fail. Marvin Vincent is helpful here: “Lit.,
the willing and the doing. Both are
from God, and are of one piece, so that he who wills inevitably does.
The willing which is wrought by God, by its own nature and pressure, works out
into action. “We will, but God works the will in us. We work, therefore, but
God works the working in us” (Augustine).”
Ps. 110:3 — Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power,
in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of
thy youth.
Phil. 1:5-6 — 5 For your fellowship in the
gospel from the first day until now; 6 Being confident of this very
thing, that he
which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
The teaching that God is the sovereign
source actively producing in His people the will and the deeds that accomplish
His good pleasure is woven throughout the Scriptures. This may be seen
especially in just a brief survey of the New Testament:
Rom. 12:3 — For I say, through the grace given
unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly
than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure
of faith.
1 Cor. 12:6 — And there are diversities of
operations, but it
is the same God which worketh all in all.
1 Cor. 15:8-11 — 8 And last of all he
was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. 9 For I am the
least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I
persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his
grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more
abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
11 Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye
believed.
2 Cor. 3:5 — Not that we are sufficient of
ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;
1 Th. 2:13 — For this cause also thank we God
without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of
us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of
God, which
effectually worketh also in you that believe.
Many more examples could be cited, but
before we leave this subject we should consider one more. Perhaps the most
interesting passage in the New Testament where we see this interplay between
the working in of God producing the willingness and the doing of His will is:
2 Cor. 8:5-17 — 5
And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the
Lord, and unto us by the will of God. 6 Insomuch that we
desired Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also finish in you the same
grace also. 7 Therefore, as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and
utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see
that ye abound in this grace also. 8 I speak not by commandment, but
by occasion of the forwardness of others, and to prove the sincerity of your
love. 9 For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though
he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty
might be rich. 10 And herein I give my advice: for this is expedient
for you, who have begun before, not only to do, but also to be forward a year
ago. 11 Now therefore perform the doing of it; that as there was a
readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out of that which ye
have. 12 For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted
according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.
13 For I mean not that other men be eased, and ye burdened: 14
But by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for
their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want: that there
may be equality: 15 As it is written, He that had gathered much had
nothing over; and he that had gathered little had no lack. 16
But thanks be to God, which put the same earnest care into the heart of Titus
for you. 17 For indeed he accepted the exhortation; but being more
forward, of his own accord he went unto you.
If God is at work in you, if He is working in
you, then what is He at work in you to accomplish? Why is God working in you?
The answer is, “To will and to do.” God’s work in you has to do with your will,
your willing, your willingness, your desires, your motives and motivation, and
your hungering and thirsting. God’s work within you is not a work that stops
there. God is at work in you to do. His being at work in you effects your
actions, deeds, and works. His work produces your work. The fruit of the Spirit
is not your fruit. It is not the fruit of the natural man. Faith is the gift of
God. Repentance must be granted by God. That is why it is a fit subject for
prayer for those who need to be delivered from sin. God is working in you to
act in accordance with His will.
3. Good Pleasure — of his
good pleasure —
The will of God is good.
The pleasure of God is always good.
Eph. 1:5 — Having predestinated us unto the
adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure
of his will,
Heb. 13:20-21 — 20 Now the God of
peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of
the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 21 Make you perfect in
every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in
his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever.
Amen.
God being at work in us to will and to
do of His good pleasure is a good thing. It is a blessed reality for His
people. But it still is the basis for them to fear and tremble as they work out
their own salvation.
Because. Since.
It is God.
God is at work in you. God is at work. God is working. God is at
work in you. God is working in you. Think of it! Say it to yourself: “God is at
work in me.” “God is working in me.”
Of His good pleasure. Finish the thought: “God is at work in me to
will and to do of His good pleasure.” “God is working in me to will and to do
of His good pleasure.”
Conclusion:
How sinners vaunt of power, John
Berridge [6]
1 How
sinners vaunt of power
A ruined
soul to save,
And
count the fulsome store
Of worth
they seem to have,
And by
such visionary props
Build up
and bolster sandy hopes!
2 But God
must work the will,
And
power to run the race;
And both
through mercy still,
A work
of freest grace;
His own
good pleasure, not our worth,
Brings
all the will and power forth.
3 Disciples
who are taught
Their
helplessness to feel,
Have no
presumptuous thought,
But work
with care and skill;
Work
with the means, and for this end,
That God
the will and power may send.
4 [They
feel a daily need
Of
Jesus’ gracious store,
And on
his bounty feed,
And yet
are always poor;
No manna
can they make or keep;
The Lord
finds pasture for his sheep.]
5 Renew, O
Lord, my strength
And
vigour every day,
Or I
shall tire at length,
And
faint upon the way;
No stock
will keep upon my ground;
My all
is in thy storehouse found.
[Sermon preached 19 MAR 2017 by Pastor John T. “Jack” Jeffery at
Wayside Gospel Chapel, Greentown, PA.]
Complete
Outline:
I. Absence Makes the Saints More Obedient? (2:12a-e)
1.
Wherefore
2.
my beloved, as ye have always obeyed
3. not as in my presence only, but now much
more in my absence
II. The Out-Working of Salvation (2:12f)
1. Work
2. Salvation
3. Your own
4. Fear and trembling
III. The In-Working of God (2:13)
1.
Because It Is —For it is God which
worketh in you
2.
Both/And — both to will and to do
3.
Good Pleasure — of his good pleasure
_____________________________________________
End Notes:
[1] “The
omission of ὡς from B 33 42
234 618 1241 al is probably
accidental, although copyists may have deliberately deleted it as superfluous;
in any case, the presence of the word is strongly supported…”
— Bruce M. Metzger, and United Bible Societies, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New
Testament, Second Edition a Companion Volume to the United Bible Societies'
Greek New Testament (4th rev. ed.) (London; New York: United Bible
Societies, 1994). pg. 546.
[2] There is only one word here in the original, but it is a reflexive pronoun. The
issue is over how the reflexive nature of this pronoun is to be maintained in a
translation without reducing it to a mere possessive sense.
[3] Wikipedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear_and_Trembling
[accessed 11 MAR 2017].
[4] From Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Walt Disney Productions, 1937);
lyrics by Larry Morey; music by Frank Churchill. See video on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSnXNHUEodY [accessed 11 MAR 2017]; and lyrics on The Disney Wiki at http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Whistle_While_You_Work [accessed 11 MAR 2017].
[5] A Selection of
Hymns for Public Worship, by William Gadsby (London: Gospel Standard
Publications, 1987; also, n.p.: Gospel Standard Trust Publications, 2000), pp.
158-159, Hymn #188. Evangelical Obedience. Rom. 7:9; Phil. 2:13. Common Meter.
[6] A
Selection of Hymns for Public Worship,
by William Gadsby (London: Gospel Standard Publications, 1987; also, n.p.:
Gospel Standard Trust Publications, 2000), pp. 509-510, Hymn #674. Power belongeth unto God. Ps. 62:11;
Phil. 2:13. 148th.
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