Philippians 2:12,13 - You work, I work

2:12a

Paul has been correcting attitudes, or perhaps it is better to say he is guarding them against wrong attitudes. Instead we are to have the same attitude that Christ had. It should be noted that Paul’s relationship with the Philippians was very good, and there do not appear to have been major problems in the church, unlike at places like Galatia or Corinth. When Paul had been with them they had always obeyed him. We tend not to like the word obey, but obedience to leaders is important. Paul urges them to have same attitude when he is absent from them. He wants this not so that his own ego is satisfied, but so that they can continue to follow Christ and grow in Him.

12:12b,13

We are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, and we are to do this for it is God who is at work in us to will and act according to His purpose. So we see here, if you like, Calvinism and Arminianism at work together. There are sometimes acrimonious debates between Calvinists and Arminians, these are often fruitless. One stresses the work of God, the other the work of man. If we look at the Bible we see that it stresses both, as we see very clearly here. God is at work in us, and because He is at work in us we are to work out our own salvation. It should be noted that a proper understanding of Calvinism does say that what we do with our lives matters. We are chosen, God is at work in us, we are utterly dependent upon His grace, but because of all this we should put every effort into obeying Him as well. What we do with our lives matters. God’s work of grace is to enable us to become people who naturally do His will.

We see here that God is at work in us in order for us to fulfil His good purpose. Whenever we think we become the primary focus, or we can set our own agenda, then we are going far wrong.