God’s Work in You

Philippians 2:13
“…for it is God who is at work in you,
both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”

Let’s finish our thoughts on the verses we began looking at last week. How does God work in us? I can think of three ways immediately; He energizes, provides enablement and provides desire.

I learned long ago that when I try to do things in my own strength there are usually two results; I fail and I am not blessed. Paul will tell us later on in this book (4:13) “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Whether I try to share a spiritual truth with a friend or have been on the mission field, I’ve learned that I need to depend on God’s strength, not my own resources. How do I do that? By asking Him to lead me to those He wants me to share with, asking Him to bless my efforts, and realizing that it is not my attempt to convince people, but the very words of Scripture that are convicting.

God also provides enablement through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. When we are “filled with the Spirit” He is in complete control of our lives. I can tell you from personal experience that He will bring to your mind verses you have memorized years ago. He takes away fears that may develop within your mind. He provides great confidence as you depend on Him.

Finally, God gives us a desire to serve Him. We can look at the examples of many men and women in Scripture who faithfully followed Him. Just a simple word from Jesus captivated the twelve disciples. He didn’t have to spend a lot of time and effort convincing them to follow Him. That is because the Holy Spirit had prepared their heart to be receptive. God does that in our heart also. That doesn’t necessarily mean we are all called into full-time service. I never felt led that way, but the Spirit has definitely placed in my heart a desire to serve Him through teaching, serving in positions of responsibility in our church, and participating in community activities as his representative.

I pray that you might recognize God’s work in your life, and serve Him well. As you do that you will “appear as a light in the world” (2:15).

Work Out Your Salvation

Philippians 2:12-13

“So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”

These verses have caused some confusion among Christians because some believe they are saying that we have to earn our salvation, or that salvation is based on works. I don’t believe that is the case. Notice that Paul addresses the epistle (1:1) to “saints”; so the people to whom he is addressing the letter are already Christians.

I think Paul is exhorting the Christians to exercise, or put into practice, their belief. We begin exercising our belief by becoming knowledgeable of the Bible and by staying true to the convictions we gain from it. A consistent prayer life is critical to working out our salvation. How can we know the will of God for us without communicating with Him? When we sin, we confess that sin immediately (I John 1:9) so that we remain in right relationship with Him. That gives the Holy Spirit free reign to influence our decisions and our actions.

These steps lead to the outward manifestations of the Christian life. Our lives reveal the fruit of the Spirit which is “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control”(Gal. 5:22-23). As we do that we are able to develop and maintain the relationship with other Christians: “being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose”(Phil. 2:2). We are also able to live our lives before non-Christians as God desires.

The book of James has much to say about working out your salvation. In 2:24, 26 he explains “You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone…..For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.” I would encourage you to carefully study this book.

Salvation is a free gift of God and there is absolutely no way we can work our way to an eternity with Him. Once we are saved it is our responsibility to learn to live the way God desires and to then put those convictions into practice.

The Attitude of Christ

Philippians 2:5-8

“Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

In this passage Paul exhorts us to develop the attitude of Christ while He was here on earth. First, note that he willingly gave up equality with God. Paul shares three things about this attitude. First He “emptied himself” That means he became completely selfless, always acting in the best interest of others, never in His own interest.

Secondly, he took “the form of a bond servant”. He came to earth to carry out His Father’s will and never insisted on His own way. That is mostly dramatically revealed to us in the garden of Gethsemane when He was praying (Luke 22:42) “Father, If thou art willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but thine be done.” He was willing to take upon himself the sin burden of the whole world so that we might have eternal life.

Thirdly, He was physically born and made in the likeness of man. He physically and mentally suffered as we do. He was tempted to sin just as we are. He grew weary and hungry just as we do. Yet, even though He was genuinely human, He did not sin.

Finally, this passage tells us He was obedient to the Father, even to the point of death. The death He suffered was the most cruel and despicable possible. Hanging on a cross was limited to non-Romans and the worst criminals. And the amazing thing is He died “for the joy set before Him” (Heb. 12:2). “He endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Jesus did this for you and for me. Paul is encouraging us to have the same attitude. I don’t know what the future holds for you or for me, but we can be confident that our future is in God’s hands. I pray this truth will stay permanently etched in your mind.

Others More Important Than Self

Philippians 2:3-4

“Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.”

In the last two verses Paul spoke of unity and oneness. He continues that now by stating a very important principle and warns against the trait of being selfish. Notice the positive statement is sandwiched between two negatives. First he warns against selfishness or conceit. Selfishness means not being willing to share. God wants us to hold everything with an open hand. He wants us to be willing to help others in need. Need can be more than financial; it can be emotional or it can be physical. I can tell you from experience, it is more blessed to give than to receive. There is a great joy that comes from seeing needs met.

There are three cautions in these verses. First be careful about selfishness and then guard against conceit. Conceit reveals pride, snobbery or arrogance. Notice that trait is described as being “empty”. God highly values the attitude of humility. Remember the statement that Christ humbled himself to become a man. Conceit is very common in our world. We want to look or dress better than others; own more expensive things; live in better houses, etc. Selfishness and conceit prevents us from being generous.

The third caution Paul gives us is that we should “not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interest of others”. That is very similar to being selfish, but I think extends the thought. We should be careful to take note of what is best for others. We should be willing to sacrifice our desires for the best interest of others if the Holy Spirit leads us. That attitude may cause us not to do something we otherwise have the freedom to do because we know a friend doesn’t have that freedom. It may cause us to pay a utility bill for someone rather than spend money on something we want. You probably can think of many other examples.

It is in your best interest to be alert for the interest of others. You will receive much more satisfaction from that than from selfishness or conceit.