Work Out Your Salvation
By Wayne Christiansen
Philippians 2:12-13 describes the beautiful and mysterious process of how we are able to work out our salvation, precisely because God is working in us to bring about obedience—joyful obedience. Paul writes to the believers at Philippi, “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” (Phil. 2:12). Note that they are commanded to work out their salvation, not work for their salvation. Salvation is by grace through faith, not by works (Eph. 2:8-9). George Muller said, “We are to work out, what God in His grace has worked in.”
Moreover, Paul makes it clear that sanctification requires work, not a passive “letting go and letting God.” Paul says, “Continue to work out your salvation.” The Greek word for work is energeo, which is where we get the English word energy from. It takes lots of energy and hard work to walk in obedience. In describing his ministry to the Colossians, Paul said, “I want you to know how much I am struggling for all of you” (Col. 2:1). Who ever said ministry was easy?
The command to work out our salvation is so serious and staggering, it should be done with “fear and trembling.” This fear and trembling is the natural result of facing an almost overwhelming responsibility. Paul experienced this fear and trembling when God gave him the responsibility to preach the gospel to the Corinthians. Reflecting on his ministry among them, he wrote honestly, “When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling” (1 Cor. 2:1-3). This “fear and trembling” was not due to cowardice, but an awareness that his calling required far more strength and power than he could muster on his own.
When Paul says “work out your salvation,” he also means among other things, “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect,” and “Be holy, because God is holy.” Again, recognition of this awesome responsibility is what invokes “fear and trembling.” If you’re not shaking, you must not understand what God is asking of you, or you think more highly of yourself than you ought. If it wasn’t for the next verse this article would end here, and we would despair.
After the command to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, Paul gives us the incentive to carry out this task: “for it is God who works in you to will and to act (literally work) according to his good purpose” (Phil. 2:13). God doesn’t say, “Let go and let me do the work,” rather He says, “Because I’m working, you can work.” God’s work doesn’t replace our work, it empowers our work. This mysterious union is seen in numerous passages, such as Colossians 1:29: “To this end I (i.e., Paul) labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.” Yes, it feels like I’m doing the work, after all it’s my sweat, my blood, my tears, my sacrifice of time, my labor and struggle, but I am doing all this with His energy.
When my nephew, Jeremy, was about three, he tried to move one of my mother’s glass end tables. He wasn’t able to, because it was too heavy. I asked him to try again, and as he pulled at the table, I reached around when he wasn’t watching and easily pulled the table at the same time he was. It was funny to hear him grunt and groan as if he was moving the table by himself. Yet, isn’t that how it is with us and God? I grunt and groan as if I’m doing the work of ministry, when in reality God’s omnipotent right arm is providing me with the strength I need. Peter says, “Let him who serves serve in the strength which God supplies in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 4:11, NASB).
Finally, I want to you to see that God doesn’t just work to empower our outward acts of service. Serving God must involve more than a duty we perform out of stubborn determination; God is most glorified when it is a delight for us to serve Him. Christianity should not be confined to works resulting from sheer will-power, but works that flow from deep affections for God. For example, it is not enough to merely give during the offering—for God loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor. 9:7). This work of God in us is twofold. He works in us both to “will (i.e., desire) and to act according to his good purpose.” God is working in us, so that we are able to do the right things, but more importantly, so that we desire and delight to do the right things. The end result is not just obedience, but joyful obedience from the heart.
The God of Glory Thunders
When I was in grade school, I remember rushing down into the basement of our house, because a roaring tornado was headed in our vicinity. As a kid, this was a terrifying, yet exhilarating experience. After the tornado and storm had passed, we drove around the neighborhood to investigate the devastation. Of course, tree branches were lying everywhere and garbage was strewn across the landscape, but what stands out in my mind the most was a house about three blocks from our house with a missing roof—it was sitting in the front yard next to the house! How should we respond to such an awesome storm? In Psalm 29, David suggests a one-word cry, “Glory!”
Psalm 29 was inspired by a thunderstorm David observed—or should I say felt? This violent storm most likely arose over the Mediterranean Sea, then moved southeast in a raging fury through the forested mountains of Lebanon and Sirion (Mount Hermon), and finally moved down to the Desert of Kadesh and out of sight (vv. 3-9). David gives a detailed description of the damage caused by this storm. However, what should arrest our attention is not the damage, but the cause of the damage, which is attributed to “the voice of the LORD” (a phrase found seven times in this Psalm). David sees and hears the beginning of this storm and says, “The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the LORD thunders over the mighty waters” (vs. 3). The thunder booming over the Mediterranean Sea and echoing with fierce reverberations through the forests and deserts is none other than “the voice of the LORD.”
In this storm we have a vivid illustration of the power, strength, majesty and glory of God. This is seen as “the voice of the LORD” breaks the cedars, twists the oaks, strips the forests bare, causes the mountains to skip like frightened cattle, and shakes the Desert of Kadesh. In the ancient world, the sturdy cedars of Lebanon and the immovable mountains were symbols of strength and stability, but the thunderous voice of the LORD, accompanied by flashes of lightning, is no match for these “symbols of strength.” If the Almighty merely “lifts his voice, the earth melts” (Ps. 46:6).
Unbelievers may stand in awe of the power of this ferocious tempest, and of the destruction left in its wake, but believers will stand in awe of God. Unbelievers hear the noise of nature, while Christians hear the voice of God. Those who are ignorant of God in the storm exclaim, “Wow!” But those who see God and hear His voice cry, “Glory!” This is why after the storm, David says, “And in his temple all cry, “Glory!” (vs. 9). They sensed the presence of God in the storm.
David was so moved by the breathtaking display of the glory of God in the thunderstorm that he began this Psalm by calling upon the angels of heaven to join him in worship:
“Ascribe to the LORD, O mighty ones (i.e., angels), ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness” (vv. 1-2).
David knew he would find a kindred spirit in the angels who live in the presence of God, because they see the glory of God more clearly than humans do. When we get even a glimpse of the glory of God, we want all the inhabitants of heaven and earth to worship with us. Solo worship is insufficient.
After the storm had passed, we read: “The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD is enthroned as King forever” (vs.10). A storm of this magnitude would often result in localized flooding. However, it’s significant that the Hebrew word for flood here is never used except when referring to the flood of Noah in Genesis. Moreover, many scholars believe that sits (NIV) is better translated sat (NASB). Therefore, verse ten probably means: The LORD sat enthroned over the Genesis flood, He continues to sit enthroned, and will do so as King forever. James Boice says, “[T]he last stanza speaks explicitly of the voice of God in judgment. It is telling us that a final storm of judgment is coming. It warns people to get ready, using the thunderstorm as a powerful image. The only ones who will be ready for that judgment are God’s people, to whom the Lord ‘gives strength’ and ‘blesses…with peace’” (vs. 11; James Boice, Psalms, Vol. 1, p. 259).
To better appreciate this Psalm, Charles H. Spurgeon suggests reading it “beneath the black wing of tempest, by the glare of the lightning… The verses march to the tune of thunderbolts. God is everywhere conspicuous, and all the earth is hushed by the majesty of His presence.”