Philippians 2:12-13 (NKJV)
“I Will Work”
September 8, 2024
The Apostle Paul has spent some time encouraging the Philippian church to be humble and obedient to the Lord Jesus. Paul even appeals to the supreme example of humility, Jesus Himself. The word “wherefore” points us back to the discussion about Jesus in verse 5. In His incarnation, He is the prime and perfect example of humility and obedience. Just as Jesus was obedient to the will of the Father, Luke 22:42, we are to be obedient to Him as well. If you ever need a motive to be surrendered to the will of God for your life, then look only to Jesus, Who humbled Himself and became obedient, even to the death of the cross!
Work on Obedience – The Prophet Samuel asked if God was more impressed with the sacrifices of old than our obedience to His word? He concluded that “Obedience is better than sacrifice!” God has called you to His service! What will your response be? The Apostle Paul teaches, “For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the one shall the many be made righteous.” We must obey in Public (no double standards) and We must obey in Private (no hypocrisy). Romans 14:12 teaches Every one of us will have to face God and give an account of our lives! We are to reflect Christ – Like the Moon reflects the Sun! The Moon does not produce light, it simply reflects. NOTE: When we obey God, it is not only going to cost us privately, but also going to cost others publicly, and often that is where the sting comes in. If we are in love with our Lord, obedience costs us little because it is a delight to us, but it costs those who do not love Him a good deal. If we obey God, it will mean that other people’s plans are upset, and they will let you know! But that cannot stop us from doing the will and work of God. Stagnation in spiritual life comes when we say we will bear the whole thing ourselves and keep others around us out of it. We cannot. We are so involved in the universal purposes of God that immediately when we obey God, others are affected. We can disobey God if we choose, and it will bring immediate relief to the worldly, but we shall be a grief to our Lord. Whereas if we obey God, He will look after those who have been pressed into the consequences of our obedience. My daughter Candice and I were at the Museum of the Bible in Washington DC and as we studied the Evangelist Billy Graham’s exhibit, we remembered a video taken at Urbana Student Missions Conference in 1961 where he said, “Do not come lightly to the cross!!” Beware of the inclination to dictate to God as to what you will allow to happen if you obey Him!
Work it Out - When Paul says “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” he does not refer to our groveling before the Lord as a slave before his master. Rather, he is referring to the “fear and trembling” that ought to be ours because of the weakness of our flesh, the ways of the world and the wiles of the devil. The fear and trembling remind us just how prone we are to fail! When the Bible commands us to fear the Lord, it means “to reverence Him”. We are to have a great reverence for God and everything that has to do with Him. We must be sure to keep ourselves separate and holy. We are told in this verse to “Work out your own salvation.” What a great possession! The only reason salvation is mine is because it was His first! He planned it! He purposed it! He pursued it! He paid it! And He pressed it upon my heart! Salvation became mine and it became yours when we placed our trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ. This salvation, when received, buries the past, changes the present and insures the future! What a great salvation we have in Jesus. And Paul says, that the God in you should be “worked out.” God put the minerals within the earth, and men mine them out. It is expensive and hard work, but the results are worth the effort and the expense. When you were saved, God put His all within you. Day by day, you are to work to see that your salvation is mined to its fullest. That you, by His grace become all He saved you to be! You see, the Christian life is not one of defeats and misery. It is a life of progress, joy and victory! Our responsibility is to be what He has saved us to be! And we will, if we work out what He has placed within us! What does it mean then? It means “to complete it, to carry it to its conclusion”. What he is talking about here is moving deeper in the things of the Lord and growing toward maturity! After all, the ultimate goal of salvation is “to be conformed to the image of His Son,” Romans 8:29. Remember that Working it out is not for salvation - According to his opening statement, he is writing to the believers at Philippi. We must count up the cost because what is in us must be worked out! “Do not come lightly to the cross!!” God’s business is serious business – it is Life and Death!
Work in Ourselves - In v. 13 Paul says, “for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” Here, the word means to energize. This verse means that God gives us the power to do His will because we do not have the power to do it without Him! Before we were saved God worked on us, now that we are saved, He works within us, John 16:13. The Holy Spirit gives us understanding as to what the will of God is for our lives, and He creates within us a desire to carry out that will for His good pleasure! That is how the Christian life operates! God reveals His will to us, and we follow Him in obedience. The Christian is not one of passive involvement. We don’t just sit around watching God do all the work. No, He places within us a desire to be involved in that work. He shows us what to do and we go and do it. That is why He saved us - Ephesians 2:10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” God saved us to work, and He has equipped us for that work. God’s work in us is two-fold. To Will (Our Desires, that is where you heart is) v. 5 “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus” and To Do (Our Actions, that is where your hands are) Not only are we energized to know His will, but we are empowered to do His will as well. God doesn’t just save us and leave us to sort out His will. He moves in our lives and brings us into His work. Jesus warned us in John 9, “I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.” So, I have come to remind somebody today that God has put His love in you and it’s time to work it out. God has put His grace in you and it’s time to work it out. God has put His joy in you and it’s time to work it out! God has put His peace in you and it's time to work it out!
