For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
For it is God himself who works inside a person to produce both the willingness and desire and the doing and power to act according to what pleases him. His good pleasure is his own purpose and will, not a person's own way and preferences, so cooperating with him means seeking his will, surrendering personal plans and turning from known wrong. Divine and human forces work together, so each person must actively work out his own salvation while wholly depending on God, for he will not do the human part and human effort without him is in vain. He does not force the will, yet no one can come to Christ unless drawn, so the will must be yielded, placed on Christ's side and kept there, and when it is yielded he immediately takes possession to shape affections, thoughts and actions into what pleases him. Working this salvation out with fear and trembling is not fear that God will fail or lack compassion, but reverent earnestness lest self interpose, lest hereditary and cultivated traits rule, lest trust rest in own strength, and lest word or deed misrepresent Christ.
God Works Willing Doing
God himself works inside a person to awaken willingness and desire and to give ability, power and action to do what pleases him according to his good pleasure, purpose and design. Both the willing and the doing come from his inward operation, shaping desire and conduct after what he wills rather than leaving the person to save himself independently or to remain passive while God does everything. His grace does not replace human effort but enables it, so the person must actively cooperate, submit the will voluntarily, respond with willing obedience, and work out salvation through obedience after Christ's humility and self-giving example. Success in faithful service depends on using the abilities and opportunities he gives, for he cooperates with those who earnestly strive to be faithful and works by his Spirit drawing and enabling them.
His good pleasure is his own will, purpose and way, not a person's own way, ideas, preferences, sentimentalism, or what blind selfish people think or wish. Cooperation therefore requires setting aside personal preferences and plans, seeking his will, following where he leads, turning from one's own ways, and stopping known wrong so purposes and conduct become Christlike. It calls for entire surrender of ways that seem wise, taking Christ's ways, keeping sacred affections in subordination to his Spirit rather than letting selfish fondness, self-sympathy and human idolatry rule, and abiding in Christ and resting in his love in meekness and lowliness with peace, restfulness and present assurance of acceptance. Every promise belongs to those who meet his prescribed terms, for when they allow him to work he will work in them to enable a life of true godliness, and without laboring together with him a person will never become what he intends.
Working out salvation with fear and trembling is not fear that God will fail his promises, that his patience will tire, or that his compassion will prove wanting. It is fear lest the will not stay held in subjection to Christ, lest hereditary and cultivated traits control life, lest self interpose between the soul and the great Master-worker, lest self-will mar the high purpose he desires to accomplish, lest there be trust in own strength, withdrawal of the hand from Christ and attempting to walk without his abiding presence, and lest one depart from the Father's expressed will. He permits perplexing circumstances and trials not because he delights to harass his children but to arouse his chosen ones to realize their need, to put trust in him instead of being overcome, to humble themselves and seek his grace most earnestly when natural traits appear, and never to become discouraged, and such fear is the fear of the Lord which is the beginning of wisdom.
The same fear and trembling means reverent earnestness and careful fidelity as laborers together with God and co-workers with him in saving the soul and forming a character he can approve, obtaining precious victories in the power of his grace by treating life as reality and not romance. It makes a person afraid of misrepresenting the Christian name in word or deed and careful to pursue a course that honors Christ with confidence and kindly speech, cheerful but not trifling, with no jesting or joking, no irreverence, no selfishness, nothing that would make Jesus ashamed to own the believer, and with words and conduct guarded from offending God. It refuses to spend time and strength in murmuring, talking unbelief, disputing and finding fault with God, and instead encourages confidence in him, speaking kindly of him and honoring him, while fearing lest a mistake lead others to follow a wrong example and showing thorough fidelity that he acknowledges, since he gives every man his work and stamps genuine thorough work while sham work is valueless.
The direction is so clear that there is no excuse for walking contrary to his will, and it must be received, trusted, practiced and not merely read. It belongs to the best instruction for the present time, calling for earnest thankful obedience, being like-minded in the same love and one accord, doing nothing through strife or vainglory but in lowliness esteeming others better, following Christ who humbled himself and became obedient unto death on the cross, doing all things without murmurings and disputings to be blameless sons of God shining as lights in a crooked nation while holding forth the word of life. It requires carefully studying the whole of Philippians 2 and 3, learning its conditions at peril of the soul, taking salvation seriously rather than delaying or putting eternal interests beneath earthly concerns, cooperating with God and the heavenly agencies, walking humbly with God, living the truth in words, spirit and action, and letting it guide the plans and purposes of life.
Setting in Philippians Letter
The verse gives the reason to obey and to work out salvation with fear and trembling, and it stands as the conclusion to having the mind of Christ. That mind is shown in Christ who, though in the form of God and equal with God, did not cling to equality but made himself of no reputation, took the form of a servant in human likeness, humbled himself in obedience unto death on the cross, and was therefore highly exalted by God with a name above every name. At the name of Jesus every knee in heaven and earth and under the earth will bow and every tongue confess Jesus Christ as Lord to the glory of God the Father. The call is to be likeminded in love and of one accord, and to obey in absence as in presence. His inward working enables believers to live out salvation in obedience and to follow his humility and self-giving example, with conduct free of grumbling and disputes.
God's inward working produces the mind of Christ in lowliness that esteems others better than self, looks to the things of others, and obeys even to sacrifice. It brings unity of love in being likeminded and of one accord, doing nothing through strife or vainglory but in meekness and lowliness of heart. Words and actions come under his mind, with words sanctified by the Spirit, so that his word honestly received becomes the governing rule of life. This work is carried on in those who walk in meekness and lowliness, abide in Christ and rest in his love, keep peace and restfulness and present assurance of acceptance, and meet the Lord's prescribed terms by entire surrender of their own ways that seem so wise and by taking Christ's ways. It does not depend on becoming worthy or claiming merit, and giving up one's life to him means much more than is supposed, with nothing allowed to rob the soul of peace. The instruction must not be passed over indifferently but guarded strictly to meet its high standard in universal humility and benevolence, self-denial and self-sacrifice in good works.
What God works within is to be carried into doing all things without murmurings and disputings. It produces a blameless and harmless life as sons of God without rebuke, shining as lights in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation and world. Believers hold forth the word of life, so that labor is not in vain unto the day of Christ. This is instruction to be followed in order to be strong in the Lord, and it accompanies responsibility to live out salvation and to act without grumbling or quarrelling as blameless people who shine in a corrupt world.
Divine Human Cooperation Together
Philippians 2:13 teaches the joint operation of divine and human forces in working out salvation, in which God himself produces both the desire and the power to do what pleases him, yet people must actively cooperate, resolve, act, watch, work, pray and press toward the goal rather than remain passive. His grace does not replace human effort and does not teach that he does everything while people have no part, nor does it teach that people can save themselves independently or succeed apart from divine power and grace. The human will must be voluntarily submitted and united with the divine will, for God does not force the choice or do the work people are called to do, and persistent refusal grieves the Holy Spirit and renders means and evidence ineffective. Ability for service is gained only by studious, persevering effort to do his will, by willingly obeying his laws, feeling dependence upon him, trusting Christ as a personal Saviour, and expecting efficiency only while keeping the Lord ever before the mind, and such effort is always attended with success.
God is the great First Cause and source of all power, grace and efficiency, working inside the person to create willingness and action, and without him people can do nothing and cannot take one step toward Christ unless drawn by the Spirit. Yet he will not do the human part and never commands without giving power, so he accomplishes nothing in restoring the race without human cooperation with every ray of light given, and without human effort divine effort is in vain. The small part to be sustained with God-given faculties, joining human will and endeavor with divine energy, binds the soul to God and makes the work a success. Therefore the one in whom God works is to work out what God works in by not living to please self but by being yoked with Christ and laboring together with God in union with the Holy Spirit, with earnest action of mind and heart in harmony with divine forces, bringing appetite, passion and habit into conformity to his will.
Cultivation of character is like farming, in which the person must prepare the ground and plant the seed at the right time and in the right way, take up duties, cultivate righteousness, and ask and seek in faith for grace and help. God gives life through sunshine and showers to bring first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn, so that righteous fruit grows only by dependence on him. Without human cooperation there is no harvest, and without divine power the planting never springs up and grows, but as the human part is acted God cooperates by working in the heart, just as harvest depends on human energy and faithfulness in cooperation with divine agency.
By this united working in which God works and the person works, God as the great Architect forms yielded believers into a holy temple for himself, his husbandry and his building. Only those who become partakers of the divine nature understand this inward working, shown in walking as Christ walked in patience, kindness, gentleness, meekness and lowliness of heart, yoked with Christ, lifting his burdens and yearning for souls as he yearned. Salvation must thus be worked out with fear and trembling through struggle, battle and victory below, with character wrought upon point by point until it becomes a holy temple, and those so formed will enter into the joy of the Lord and see the travail of his soul and be satisfied.
Working out salvation is cooperating with Christ as apprentices in his firm, with divinity and humanity joined as by a ladder between earth and heaven and finite people connected with the infinite God. God is the true worker and human efficiency, while people are only channels and agents worked by the Spirit's power, having none of self and all of Jesus, awakening, longing for the indwelling Spirit, contemplating Christ, confessing sin, removing stumbling blocks, and doing their God-given work in their own place. He uses consecrated ability and reason in his service for doing good and sharing truth with others near and far, and as servants impart to others what they receive he entrusts them with more to share, so missionary work broadens and deepens through his working rather than human strength alone. In this cooperation his power moves believers to declare the word line upon line and to share truth house to house, and all glory for the good done belongs to him as the Alpha and the Omega, with not a jot ascribed to human instruments.
Surrender of Human Will
God does not force the will and does not do for a person what that person is called to do, yet no one can take one step toward Christ unless drawn by the Holy Spirit, so salvation requires consent to be drawn, receiving light, inclining the will into harmony with God's will, and cooperating with truth and the Spirit's energy in willing obedience. Human effort is not independent of what God does and passive reliance on God alone does not fulfill the verse, for reason and the affections of the mind must be educated to distinguish truth from error, and the sternest conflict is yielding the human will and way to God's will and way by following the Holy Spirit's leading rather than feelings, unsanctified desire, or the deceiver's voice in harmony with the unsanctified will. More light and evidence cannot convert one who refuses light already given, for persistent refusal and disobedience grieve the Holy Spirit and make means, light, and evidence shine in vain and ineffective. The verse therefore rejects both extremes, that a person can act wholly apart from God and that a person is free from all obligation because God does everything.
In themselves human beings are incapable of any good, cannot change the heart, control thoughts, impulses and affections, make themselves pure, love God with all heart, soul, strength and mind and neighbor as self, repent, or overcome, but the Holy Spirit must work upon the heart while Christ continually draws sinners to repentance. Spiritual life and power to do righteousness come through faith as the person submits to be drawn until the heart melts in penitence, and no one should wait until repentance is felt before coming to Jesus. Human effort has no saving power apart from God, no one can work out salvation alone, and God will not do the work without human cooperation, yet no one is passive or saved in indolence, for each has a part in the great struggle for everlasting life, responding to the Holy Spirit, straining every muscle and exercising every faculty to break through the powers of darkness while God supplies the efficiency that makes effort succeed.
The will is the governing power in human nature, the power of decision and choice and spring of all actions on which everything depends, and since the fall Satan has worked through it toward its own pleasure bringing ruin and misery, while mere desires for goodness and purity and only hoping and desiring to overcome avail nothing. Through Christ's sacrifice God can take the yielded will from Satan's control without violating His government, unite the weak wavering human will to His omnipotent unwavering will, and give the mind of Christ so the whole nature is brought under Christ's control and character is transformed to be like Christ's. When a person chooses to serve God and gives Him the will by choice, God works in that person both to will and to do of His good pleasure, centering affections on Christ and bringing thoughts into harmony with Him.
A person must choose to believe, place the will on Christ's side and keep it there in full surrender to do His will, and just as the will is yielded God immediately takes possession to produce both the wanting and the doing that pleases Him. Then the whole nature, affections, thoughts, reason, conscience and memory, is brought under the control of Christ's Spirit, opposed thoughts and claims are overcome and every thought brought into obedience to Christ, the rubbish is cleared from the door of the heart, defiance is broken down, barriers raised by self are removed, and Jesus enters to abide. Although impulses and emotions cannot be controlled directly, the will can be controlled, and yielding it makes an entire change of life possible, with the life hidden with Christ in God and joined to power above all principalities and powers, held fast by strength from God for a new life of living faith as a pliable vessel unto honor molded according to His design, so long as the will keeps cooperating with God's will and not with the will of evil associates, with doing governed not by feeling and natural inclination but in harmony with the Father's will, testifying the nature of the resolve.
Unless a person of his own accord consents to renounce sinful practices Christ cannot take away sin, for God does not do the work man can do to meet the standard of righteousness, though grace and sufficiency have been abundantly provided and human effort alone avails nothing against the powers of darkness and man has in himself no merits. Conversion is God working through humble instrumentality while the sinner submits to be drawn, accepts the evidence of God's Word, faces faults, confesses, repents, makes right wrongs done, heartily and willingly obeys God's laws, feels dependence upon God, has faith in Christ as a personal Saviour, receives abundantly provided grace, keeps the Lord ever before him, hungers after righteousness, beholds Christ and is changed from glory to glory and character to character, is imbued with love for Christ and perishing souls, has Christ formed within as the hope of glory, and abides in Him. God also works on the heart to bring repentance, so none need wait until repentance is felt, and when man thus complies Christ imparts the virtue of His righteousness and power to become sons of God with efficiency for growth in physical, mental and moral power.
Beholding Jesus and the love shown at the cross transforms the beholder to hate the sin that caused His suffering, and God's grace through Christ creates a new heart, a higher life, and holy zeal received by faith, with Christ received as wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption. This renewal is a miracle made possible when people take hold of divine power by faith, enabling them to choose the character they form, receive Christ's merits, become like Him, and do Christ's works to glorify the Father rather than merely human effort, as seen in reconversion. All who receive His Spirit become sons of God, one with Christ in God, with Christ's sacrifice furnishing grace and power to work out salvation with fear and trembling, producing Christ's character in universal humility and benevolence through faith which works by love and purifies the soul, overcoming by the blood of the Lamb and the word of testimony with God giving grace for the grace imparted to others.
Holy Spirit Within Believers
God works inside the heart through the Holy Spirit to shape both the willing and the doing toward what pleases him, fashioning the person after Christ's likeness and imparting Christ's life so that it becomes visible and enables true representation of him. The Spirit is not under human control to be directed or used by people, but uses them, so they must yield to his guidance and control, wait humbly for God, seek his guidance and grace, watch for it, and submit rather than reverse the order by taking his work into finite hands. Working out salvation in this inward working means working with reverent earnestness and not with a pompous, overbearing, dictatorial spirit, expressed in Spirit-led conduct producing love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance rather than pride, rivalry, vainglory, provoking and envying. Those serving must rely on him and remain free to follow his leading, for human control that disrupts partnership with him obstructs the work, and those who insist on directing themselves do not receive the promised gift, which is received by faith according to each person's capacity and brings other blessings. When the will is surrendered and cooperation given, the life expresses what God has worked within, so purpose of heart and practice of life are in harmony.
The Holy Spirit does this inward work by bringing God's saving truths, promises and neglected truths vividly and often to mind, taking the things of God and presenting them anew so they do not lose efficiency, revealing the things of God and turning inclinations toward Jesus. By the light of truth the enlightened mind, open and free from prejudice and human opinions and traditions, sees truth in distinction from error and believes it as from God, and whoever cooperates realizes a divine presence hovering near, with Christ abiding in the soul when the heart is open and the mind responds. As fast as the soul decides and acts in harmony with light already revealed, the Spirit gives more light and gives effect to what is revealed, working with living faith and complete dependence so the person wills and does what pleases God. Obedience keeps those truths effective, for mere evidence without inclining the will shines in vain, and human beings cannot accomplish God's work independently but serve as agents whose mind, peace and grace guide them. When truth abides in the heart this divine working brings the principles of the law into daily practice so truth regulates life, while Satan seeks to counteract it and no one can save himself apart from Christ who gave his life as ransom and helps all who come penitent and believing.
Christ changes the heart and abides in it by faith, and the promise works only so long as connection with him is maintained by faith and continual surrender of the will. When trusted and abided in he lives and acts inside as Comforter and whole Saviour to produce willingness and action for what pleases him, giving daily experience of being shut in with God with life hid with Christ in God. With Christ thus working within, the believer manifests the same spirit as Christ and does the same works, works of righteousness and obedience, which is living by faith in the Son who loved and gave himself. This leaves no ground for boasting or self-exaltation, making the only ground of hope the righteousness of Christ imputed and the righteousness wrought by his Spirit working in and through the believer, with rejoicing, purification by truth living within, and readiness for refreshing and latter rain. Works done in his presence are fruit of his working, so the believer can rest in what he can do while the energies of the soul awaken to cooperate trustfully, consecrating self and entrusting life to the one who purchased its freedom in active obedient resolve enabled by grace.
Drawing near to the Lord by humble self-examining prayer and heartfelt confession is met by his inward working creating the willing mind and obedient doing, with pardon of sin, victory gained and blessing as evidence of his power working with them. Prayer and worship therefore require conduct in harmony with prayer, drawing to repentance and obedient living with reverence and seriousness. Believers are to pray earnestly and humbly for this work and seek the Spirit's divine power through faith and fervent prayer, beholding and meditating on Jesus until changed into his character, forming a character like God's with hunger for cheap earthly amusement removed. The Holy Spirit alone can accomplish this leading to desire and do his will.
Sanctification and Holy Character
Sanctification is God's will for every person, summed up in loving God with all heart, soul, strength and mind and neighbor as self, and it is accomplished through faith in Christ and the indwelling Spirit by which human weakness is joined to divine strength. God himself works inside to shape both desire and action according to his good pleasure and purpose, giving both the willing and the doing of what pleases him rather than leaving people to their own merits or self-importance. Through that help believers resist sin's promptings, keep fighting against sin, live without sin, and continue the Christian life in victory. It is not outward show but truth received in the heart and practiced in life, believed and carried into a blameless harmless life that shines as a light in a crooked and perverse world without murmurings and disputings while holding forth the word of life. Received, believed and practiced, pure truth forms character that prepares for the great work to be done in this life and gives fitness for eternal service.
Victory comes by joint operation of divine and human forces, a co-partnership in which no one works out salvation without the aid of the Holy Spirit yet strenuous human effort is required. Right principles of character are formed only by that cooperation, with success depending wholly on God and at the same time on willing obedience to his will and way, working in his lines and submitting to his training as a laborer together with him to be complete in Christ. The human part is most strenuous effort to overcome the tempter and subdue natural passions, propensities, self, temper and inclinations not in harmony with correct principles, battling every practice and habit with harmful tendency until overcome so character is perfected after the divine Pattern. All ability and talents must be brought into working order in union with divine agencies, for without that union no one overcomes and inherits eternal life, and the union of human and divine is to proceed harmoniously toward perfection of Christian character. God with infinite wisdom meets weakness to give mastery as people resist, consent, draw power from him, and conform the human will to his will with help from heavenly agencies presented to all who meet the conditions.
That inward working makes thorough purification possible, cleansing the defiled soul temple, renovating the mind, filling the heart with treasures of truth, giving sanctified memories, and renewing mind and heart by the Spirit with strength to carry out high and holy purposes to his honor and glory. It closes the windows of the soul earthward and opens them heavenward, restoring completely up to no standard but the perfection of the divine character after the example of Christ's obedience and service, with no act of wickedness excused. It requires revived spiritual discernment with fear and trembling, a clear pure mind distinguishing good and evil, daily living out of prayer, earnest cleansing of character, putting away every defect, and washing robes in the blood of the Lamb. It requires Jesus abiding in the heart as a constant living spring so the outflow is pure, sweet and heavenly, higher conceptions of God and his holiness interwoven with life and character, and an unfolding plan of redemption, giving the humble a foretaste of heaven. God cannot work where spiritual perceptions are beclouded so plain duties are not seen, nor put his Spirit power with those who hold weighty truth apart from life in unrighteousness with unclean hands and hearts defiled by sin, for to do so in proportion to truth opened to the mind would sanction sin, and outward religious work without his inward shaping of desire and action is vain.
The same work puts on the new man which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness, fashioning the person after Christ's likeness so life is shaped by his righteousness and holiness and not made a cover for cherished sin. The Spirit is not to be used by the person but is to use the person, producing love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance, with freedom from vainglory, provoking and envying, instead of wild grapes. People must still work out salvation with earnest effort and fear and trembling rather than a pompous overbearing dictatorial spirit, cooperating with God, growing in Christian character, becoming partakers of the divine nature, escaping the world's corruption through lust, resisting evil, and becoming pure and holy and fit for heaven. Those who know the Scriptures must examine themselves carefully to see if they are disappointing the Owner of the vineyard and act while it is called today without hardening the heart. As believers add Christian graces God multiplies growth, while neglect leaves them spiritually blind, forgetful of cleansing from past sins, and vulnerable to renewed sin, so daily prayer and watchfulness belong to ongoing purification.
Making God's will the supreme law of life includes putting to the test, consecrating and keeping in most perfect condition every endowed faculty, especially intellect to understand his revealed will, to rule the body, to honor him and bless others. It includes developing every faculty to glorify him, seeking knowledge, preserving health by avoiding luxury and stimulating drink, practicing strict temperance so brain and muscle are not enfeebled, and bringing habits, appetite and passion into conformity to his will. Indulged perverted appetite puts health in a condition that constantly wars against the soul's highest interests and keeps clear truth from being accepted, so religious life requires earnest action of mind and heart in harmony with divine forces. No one can work out salvation alone and God will not do the work without human cooperation, but when a person works earnestly God works with him, strengthens good purposes, enables obedience, gives power to become a son of God, and gives strength to resist temptation and overcome obstacles. Daniel and his companions illustrate the pattern, for they exerted all powers, determined obedience like Daniel to obey, studied earnestly and used disciplined education and choices to honor God, while God trained them under his working until their faculties could do highest service, giving knowledge, skill, learning, wisdom and understanding. This joining of sincere human striving after wisdom and faithful service with imparted divine power prevents self-exaltation and brings rest in God.
The inner work is a real transformation of character, ways and manners that conquers besetting sins, evil habits, wrong dispositions and feelings, roots them out, and creates holy tempers and emotions by the Spirit. God alone renews the heart from within and cannot do this work while self rules, so believers must constantly submit will to his will and way to his way, give up own ways, plans and peculiar ideas, refuse to rest in self or dwell on the dark side, and crucify self with its affections and lusts at every step, for working in one's own way brings failure. People cannot transform themselves by willpower and merely correcting outward habits is not enough, for grace renews the heart from within and changes the life through the Holy Spirit in conversion and sanctification. Righting wrongs and reforming conduct is not done by a few feeble intermittent efforts, for character building is the work not of a day or a year but of a lifetime, a lifelong struggle for conquest over self, for holiness and heaven, through self-denial, cross-bearing and following Christ. It calls for more of Christ and less of self, stronger faith and trust instead of feeble trust, full conformity to the divine will, expecting much and receiving according to faith, and laying hold of his mighty power by living faith that prays and believes and trusts and works. When believers examine character closely in the mirror of God's holy law to discover defects, cherish nothing contrary to his rule of righteousness, strive diligently to put away every sin, and labor together with him, divine help combines with human effort in overcoming, Christ abides in the heart by faith, angels cooperate, God and his workers remain closely united, and believers love souls for whom Christ died and reveal to those in darkness the light received from Jesus.
Grace Faith and Salvation
Working out salvation with reverent trembling does not contradict salvation by grace through faith, because the command to work stands joined to God himself working inside every willing person to produce both the willingness and the doing of his good pleasure. It is not left to weak feeble mortals to do in their own way and strength, for Christ attends every step of those willing to be saved in his appointed way through obedience to his requirements, so there is no cause for discouragement or fainting, yet human beings must still actively work and not be idle or fold their arms. Salvation is a gift offered free and obtainable on no other condition as a free gift, yet it cannot be enjoyed without action on the sinner's part because cooperation is essential, by coming humbly to the cross with nothing to pay, believing Christ receives sinners now, letting prayer ascend to the heavenly Father, and ceasing to talk darkness, doubt and distrust that cast away confidence and open the way for Satan to deepen despair. People cannot make themselves good or even produce a holy desire by their own power, but God supplies the divine power that works with human effort, enabling them to will and do what pleases him, so that through faith in Christ they work out salvation relying entirely on his righteousness rather than trying to earn approval.
Good works do not buy salvation but are essential evidence of genuine faith which works by love, purifies the soul and bears fruit, for faith without works is dead. Bible religion is constant work, where faith that joins the soul to Christ stirs it to activity and produces labor of love seen in zealous, careful, maintained good works that glorify the Father. Busy activity by itself does not secure salvation, but genuine uniting faith always moves to action, and Christ as the True Witness knows those works. This active faith looks to Christ's sacrifice on the cross and leads people to serve and help others, laboring with Christ while faith and effort depend on God's power, so his work does not make people idle.
Working it out means a life characterized by exertion, self-denial and sacrifice to do others good, with increased efforts to bring others to knowledge of the truth. When the water of life is in the soul and flowing out toward everlasting life, this obedient working gives enjoyment of the truth and the light of life and ends complaints of not enjoying religion. The work is not finished with one's own salvation but must extend to working for the salvation of others through personal effort and becoming channels of light, with rejoicing when souls are saved through that instrumentality. This active, intelligent labor for God done with the help of Christ sows for an abundant harvest that lasts throughout all ages, so there is work for all to do while opportunity remains, letting the refining influence of the Spirit sanctify through the Word to fit people to reach others, leading to a glory for the faithful beyond comprehension.
Forgiveness is possible only through grace and the atoning sacrifice of Jesus, which keeps the believer in continual dependence on God, but receiving grace does not free anyone from taking part in the struggle for immortal life. As sinners draw near with confession and repentance God draws near with mercy and forgiveness to restore his moral image, enabling them to live in the day of salvation and escape coming wrath. When a person labors to work out salvation God works within to restore his image and supplies both willingness and ability to do what pleases him, acting as Helper to those who seek to know him. Salvation involves cooperation between Christ and the repentant sinner, in which Christ provides mercy and grace and fulfills salvation's terms, while the sinner acts in faith, accepts the blessing, resists temptation by drawing strength from God, and becomes Christ's co-worker and God's child.
Jesus Christ is both Lawgiver and the great Worker in salvation, and the Lord is the one efficient power and agent in sanctification, so people should not walk by human wisdom or put trust in men. Human wisdom alone cannot walk even one step safely and feet will slip even on apparently safe paths, so walking without fear requires knowing that the hand of Jesus Christ holds firmly, and that knowledge comes only by searching the Word of the living God. Therefore the discouraged should not hang down the head but lift it up, trust wholly in God, let the struggling heart break with longing for the living God, walk obediently and lawfully, and look to him for wisdom, and he will be helper and strength, a front guard and a rearward. Each person is accountable to God, must trust God instead of putting trust in men, must work in Christ's lines and hold fast to his strength, with no one having right to control another's judgment, while he cooperates in cleansing the heart of all evil and in teaching the compassion those saved must exercise, even sending judgments for that purpose, with obedience bringing victory over enemies as a holy nation and royal priesthood.
Each person must work out his own salvation as his greatest concern, a work no one else, minister or trusted person can do by proxy. Each must develop an individual experience under God's direction and grow up to his own individual measurement under God's supervision, as in natural growth no one can add a cubit to stature by thought, so all depends on the Lord. No one is to become a copy of another's mind, pattern after another's character, lean on any minister or trusted person, or wear Saul's armor, but each is to look to God for himself, lean upon God, breathe out the soul to God, and act in his own capacity with God-given ability and talents in the armor God provides, for God is in you, not in another for you, giving an individual experience that brings rejoicing in yourself and not in another. This means ceasing to watch and judge others, never relaxing vigilance in prayer and obedience to all requirements, refusing pride and boasting, walking humbly with God in fear of rash movements or unconverted display that gives occasion for truth to be evil spoken of, with continual vigilance as the price of victory, and drawing nigh to God so he will draw nigh. It requires personally seeking truth, repenting, believing, obeying, surrendering and consecrating, gaining personal consecration and knowledge of God's will from the Bible, which equips a person to carry truth to others rather than becoming passive and dependent on ministers constantly hovering over.
Human cooperation does not replace or dishonor human understanding and will, but brings the human will into connection with God's own through living faith, so people must actively use minds and abilities to seek truth and labor together with God. God works within through the light of truth and the energy of the Spirit, leading desires toward Jesus, but the human agent must receive the light, incline the will to God's will, and act in hearty obedience, for neither independent human effort nor passive reliance on God alone fulfills the verse. Reason and the mind's affections need education and direction so the person can distinguish truth from error, with duty discerned as the mind expands through studying the word, and more evidence cannot convert someone who refuses light already given, since persistent disobedience makes that light ineffective. This divine work is experienced as grace and strength, both physical and spiritual, linked with believing, watching unto prayer, and praying, and its spiritual influence is to be increased by right use, with enlargement of power proportionate to desire to do his will, greatly increasing usefulness. The blessing requires casting out all self-sufficiency, desire to dictate to others, pride and selfishness, and it is forfeited by selfishness and misuse of the entrusted gift, while going to brethren for counsel and prayer and guarding speech helps character-building.
Obedient Life and Service
God works within to awaken willingness and supply power to do what pleases him, and that inward working calls for active cooperation rather than passivity, with success in service depending on using given abilities and opportunities, watching and working and praying and ever pressing toward the goal, putting every spiritual muscle to the stretch with studious persevering effort, industry and thorough fidelity and continual growth instead of slothfulness, for he gives every man his work and stamps genuine work with approval while sham work is valueless and a wrong example must be avoided lest others be led astray.
His indwelling sustains soul-winning labor through living connection, in which the worker does not give the light or make the impression but angels move upon hearts and the Spirit makes testimony effective, keeping a vital connection between heaven and earth so believers become his husbandry and building and work as he worked with his spirit, imparting received knowledge, preaching truth, opening the Bible, travailing for souls house to house and taking truth to those in darkness instead of leaving them to perish, as consecrated heart and mind and soul and strength reflect heaven's light in deeds of kindness and words of cheer.
Under his guidance servants work in harmony with minds wrought upon by him, and their unity glorifies him as they advance toward holiness and live out Christ's prayer for unity in obedient humble conduct, with dependence belonging to the Lord rather than to one another or to finite people, leaving no place for human kingly power over minds or for selfish exaltation to rule fellow workers in any branch of his cause or line of Christian service.
He cooperates with parents who in trustful dependence awake to sacred responsibility and carefully and prayerfully educate children while working out their own and their children's salvation, for without such human effort divine effort is in vain, and this requires doing God-given work intelligently to honor the Redeemer, forming correct habits, setting a blameless example that leaves no excuse for wrongdoing, counseling and reproving in fear of the Lord, seeking him in prayer for a commendable spirit, communing with Christ instead of giving way to feelings, bringing the graces of the Spirit into daily life, and keeping husband and wife from separating; mothers labor together with him as chief worker and lawgiver in divine love and peace, open to instruction and wisdom to act and conform to his will, while children remember they are bought by Christ's blood in self-denying sympathy and offerings.
The same working guides training of students and youth to consecrate abilities and zeal to service and bless others in preparation for the coming day of trial, keeping daily school life in view by discerning what Christ is to the believer and what the believer may be to Christ, gaining victories in prayer, receiving a sweet kind courteous temper, never irritating schoolmates by word or tone or action, never placing temptation in another's way, helping one another with pleasant kind words, perfecting Christian character humbly by revealing Christ in life and deportment, refusing ignorance of Satan's devices, standing temptation, tearing rotten timbers from the character building and putting solid timbers in, answering the call to be laborers together with God as bright shining lights who know the time and diffuse distinctly revealed truth without waiting to be urged.
Working out salvation includes putting oneself in right relation to God and physically where able to work, valuing self aright by caring for the body to help finish his great work while Satan opposes every line he sets in operation, intelligently removing harmful practices and appetites that damage brain and digestive organs and war against the soul, touching not, tasting not, handling not beer, fermented wine, tea, coffee, tobacco, wine and liquor, practicing temperance and self-control and constant self-denial, keeping his commandments so health is precious in his sight, seeking the highest education to stand beside Christ in unselfish service with courage and perseverance under angelic guard, and using every dollar self-denyingly as stewards of his money for schooling children in truth and saving perishing souls, even to working out the salvation of the whole family.
Restoring his moral image requires earnest human cooperation during probation, for this world is the training school deciding fitness for future immortal life or perdition, and he does not take man in natural feelings and deficiencies straight into the light of his countenance but supplies power without which man cannot accomplish the work; man must therefore work with fear lest he depart from divine counsels and lose heaven, allowing no carelessness or indolence or indifference, straining every energy and every spiritual nerve, attending faithfully to life's duties diligent in business and fervent in spirit, staying on watch, showing faith by works in great activity to advance his cause, making calling and election sure with the mark set high and reached through Christ, pleasing him as Enoch did by walking humbly with him, learning from Christ who was tempted yet without sin, striving with ever-increasing faith to bear fruit, trusting implicitly so divine strength becomes human strength, reflecting his character and purifying the soul temple from moral defilement even in discouraging missionary work.
Working out what he works within means carrying it into a transformed life with the heart right with God, turning from self-centered nominal faith that lives without him to keeping his commandments as embodiments of Christ's grace governed by his law of righteousness, becoming blameless and harmless sons without rebuke who shine as lights in a crooked and perverse nation and hold forth the word of life to gather souls instead of scattering them by worldly self-indulgence, surrendering will and preferences day by day and hour by hour, closely examining the heart so he reveals the work to be done, laboring with him as Masterbuilder with fear lest natural temperament spoil his plan until character is pronounced perfect, bringing order into the church with the mind that dwelt in Jesus, observing the Sabbath correctly with testimonies and confessions and hearty repentance for unrighteous conduct toward brethren, obeying his directions to honor the Redeemer while preparing to meet the Judge.
The verse encourages those in discouraging labor and those fearing departure from his counsels not to dwell on personal weakness or defects but to trust his work rather than become discouraged, believing he personally works willingness and ability as they humbly rely and take hold of him and carry out duty, pray and obey and serve others with praise and thanksgiving put in hearts and minds, using influence and capabilities for him so talents increase in growth and efficiency instead of weakening through misuse and indolence, supplying by his own power the points of character essential for each assigned place, keeping the dedicated life from becoming temptation's victim, bringing the true believer into close oneness with Christ so responsibility is borne in and through him, giving hope even when the enemy seeks to discourage.
His inward shaping of desire and ability accompanies practical obedient cooperation in daily duties, using reason and judgment rather than feelings, doing what can be done, seeking wisdom, following where he guides, trusting him instead of putting trust in men, cleansing the heart of all evil and learning the compassion the saved must exercise, removing every obstacle and stumbling block from one's own way and a brother's way by reconciling, confessing faults, removing wrong impressions and putting away envy and jealousy and evil thinking so prayers are answered and the soul is not under condemnation, helping people in trouble, caring for widows and fatherless, giving means to his cause, guarding the heart, sharing received grace so harmful influence becomes uplifting, bringing praise and glory to him rather than to outward profession or position, promptly heeding warnings by leaving corrupt surroundings rather than lingering like Lot, in contrast to Satan moving Brisbin to desire and carry out his own evil will.
For it is God himself who works inside a person to produce both the willingness and desire and the doing and power to act according to what pleases him. His good pleasure is his own purpose and will, not a person's own way and preferences, so cooperating with him means seeking his will, surrendering personal plans and turning from known wrong. Divine and human forces work together, so each person must actively work out his own salvation while wholly depending on God, for he will not do the human part and human effort without him is in vain. He does not force the will, yet no one can come to Christ unless drawn, so the will must be yielded, placed on Christ's side and kept there, and when it is yielded he immediately takes possession to shape affections, thoughts and actions into what pleases him. Working this salvation out with fear and trembling is not fear that God will fail or lack compassion, but reverent earnestness lest self interpose, lest hereditary and cultivated traits rule, lest trust rest in own strength, and lest word or deed misrepresent Christ.
God Works Willing Doing
God himself works inside a person to awaken willingness and desire and to give ability, power and action to do what pleases him according to his good pleasure, purpose and design. Both the willing and the doing come from his inward operation, shaping desire and conduct after what he wills rather than leaving the person to save himself independently or to remain passive while God does everything. His grace does not replace human effort but enables it, so the person must actively cooperate, submit the will voluntarily, respond with willing obedience, and work out salvation through obedience after Christ's humility and self-giving example. Success in faithful service depends on using the abilities and opportunities he gives, for he cooperates with those who earnestly strive to be faithful and works by his Spirit drawing and enabling them.
His good pleasure is his own will, purpose and way, not a person's own way, ideas, preferences, sentimentalism, or what blind selfish people think or wish. Cooperation therefore requires setting aside personal preferences and plans, seeking his will, following where he leads, turning from one's own ways, and stopping known wrong so purposes and conduct become Christlike. It calls for entire surrender of ways that seem wise, taking Christ's ways, keeping sacred affections in subordination to his Spirit rather than letting selfish fondness, self-sympathy and human idolatry rule, and abiding in Christ and resting in his love in meekness and lowliness with peace, restfulness and present assurance of acceptance. Every promise belongs to those who meet his prescribed terms, for when they allow him to work he will work in them to enable a life of true godliness, and without laboring together with him a person will never become what he intends.
Working out salvation with fear and trembling is not fear that God will fail his promises, that his patience will tire, or that his compassion will prove wanting. It is fear lest the will not stay held in subjection to Christ, lest hereditary and cultivated traits control life, lest self interpose between the soul and the great Master-worker, lest self-will mar the high purpose he desires to accomplish, lest there be trust in own strength, withdrawal of the hand from Christ and attempting to walk without his abiding presence, and lest one depart from the Father's expressed will. He permits perplexing circumstances and trials not because he delights to harass his children but to arouse his chosen ones to realize their need, to put trust in him instead of being overcome, to humble themselves and seek his grace most earnestly when natural traits appear, and never to become discouraged, and such fear is the fear of the Lord which is the beginning of wisdom.
The same fear and trembling means reverent earnestness and careful fidelity as laborers together with God and co-workers with him in saving the soul and forming a character he can approve, obtaining precious victories in the power of his grace by treating life as reality and not romance. It makes a person afraid of misrepresenting the Christian name in word or deed and careful to pursue a course that honors Christ with confidence and kindly speech, cheerful but not trifling, with no jesting or joking, no irreverence, no selfishness, nothing that would make Jesus ashamed to own the believer, and with words and conduct guarded from offending God. It refuses to spend time and strength in murmuring, talking unbelief, disputing and finding fault with God, and instead encourages confidence in him, speaking kindly of him and honoring him, while fearing lest a mistake lead others to follow a wrong example and showing thorough fidelity that he acknowledges, since he gives every man his work and stamps genuine thorough work while sham work is valueless.
The direction is so clear that there is no excuse for walking contrary to his will, and it must be received, trusted, practiced and not merely read. It belongs to the best instruction for the present time, calling for earnest thankful obedience, being like-minded in the same love and one accord, doing nothing through strife or vainglory but in lowliness esteeming others better, following Christ who humbled himself and became obedient unto death on the cross, doing all things without murmurings and disputings to be blameless sons of God shining as lights in a crooked nation while holding forth the word of life. It requires carefully studying the whole of Philippians 2 and 3, learning its conditions at peril of the soul, taking salvation seriously rather than delaying or putting eternal interests beneath earthly concerns, cooperating with God and the heavenly agencies, walking humbly with God, living the truth in words, spirit and action, and letting it guide the plans and purposes of life.
Setting in Philippians Letter
The verse gives the reason to obey and to work out salvation with fear and trembling, and it stands as the conclusion to having the mind of Christ. That mind is shown in Christ who, though in the form of God and equal with God, did not cling to equality but made himself of no reputation, took the form of a servant in human likeness, humbled himself in obedience unto death on the cross, and was therefore highly exalted by God with a name above every name. At the name of Jesus every knee in heaven and earth and under the earth will bow and every tongue confess Jesus Christ as Lord to the glory of God the Father. The call is to be likeminded in love and of one accord, and to obey in absence as in presence. His inward working enables believers to live out salvation in obedience and to follow his humility and self-giving example, with conduct free of grumbling and disputes.
God's inward working produces the mind of Christ in lowliness that esteems others better than self, looks to the things of others, and obeys even to sacrifice. It brings unity of love in being likeminded and of one accord, doing nothing through strife or vainglory but in meekness and lowliness of heart. Words and actions come under his mind, with words sanctified by the Spirit, so that his word honestly received becomes the governing rule of life. This work is carried on in those who walk in meekness and lowliness, abide in Christ and rest in his love, keep peace and restfulness and present assurance of acceptance, and meet the Lord's prescribed terms by entire surrender of their own ways that seem so wise and by taking Christ's ways. It does not depend on becoming worthy or claiming merit, and giving up one's life to him means much more than is supposed, with nothing allowed to rob the soul of peace. The instruction must not be passed over indifferently but guarded strictly to meet its high standard in universal humility and benevolence, self-denial and self-sacrifice in good works.
What God works within is to be carried into doing all things without murmurings and disputings. It produces a blameless and harmless life as sons of God without rebuke, shining as lights in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation and world. Believers hold forth the word of life, so that labor is not in vain unto the day of Christ. This is instruction to be followed in order to be strong in the Lord, and it accompanies responsibility to live out salvation and to act without grumbling or quarrelling as blameless people who shine in a corrupt world.
Divine Human Cooperation Together
Philippians 2:13 teaches the joint operation of divine and human forces in working out salvation, in which God himself produces both the desire and the power to do what pleases him, yet people must actively cooperate, resolve, act, watch, work, pray and press toward the goal rather than remain passive. His grace does not replace human effort and does not teach that he does everything while people have no part, nor does it teach that people can save themselves independently or succeed apart from divine power and grace. The human will must be voluntarily submitted and united with the divine will, for God does not force the choice or do the work people are called to do, and persistent refusal grieves the Holy Spirit and renders means and evidence ineffective. Ability for service is gained only by studious, persevering effort to do his will, by willingly obeying his laws, feeling dependence upon him, trusting Christ as a personal Saviour, and expecting efficiency only while keeping the Lord ever before the mind, and such effort is always attended with success.
God is the great First Cause and source of all power, grace and efficiency, working inside the person to create willingness and action, and without him people can do nothing and cannot take one step toward Christ unless drawn by the Spirit. Yet he will not do the human part and never commands without giving power, so he accomplishes nothing in restoring the race without human cooperation with every ray of light given, and without human effort divine effort is in vain. The small part to be sustained with God-given faculties, joining human will and endeavor with divine energy, binds the soul to God and makes the work a success. Therefore the one in whom God works is to work out what God works in by not living to please self but by being yoked with Christ and laboring together with God in union with the Holy Spirit, with earnest action of mind and heart in harmony with divine forces, bringing appetite, passion and habit into conformity to his will.
Cultivation of character is like farming, in which the person must prepare the ground and plant the seed at the right time and in the right way, take up duties, cultivate righteousness, and ask and seek in faith for grace and help. God gives life through sunshine and showers to bring first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn, so that righteous fruit grows only by dependence on him. Without human cooperation there is no harvest, and without divine power the planting never springs up and grows, but as the human part is acted God cooperates by working in the heart, just as harvest depends on human energy and faithfulness in cooperation with divine agency.
By this united working in which God works and the person works, God as the great Architect forms yielded believers into a holy temple for himself, his husbandry and his building. Only those who become partakers of the divine nature understand this inward working, shown in walking as Christ walked in patience, kindness, gentleness, meekness and lowliness of heart, yoked with Christ, lifting his burdens and yearning for souls as he yearned. Salvation must thus be worked out with fear and trembling through struggle, battle and victory below, with character wrought upon point by point until it becomes a holy temple, and those so formed will enter into the joy of the Lord and see the travail of his soul and be satisfied.
Working out salvation is cooperating with Christ as apprentices in his firm, with divinity and humanity joined as by a ladder between earth and heaven and finite people connected with the infinite God. God is the true worker and human efficiency, while people are only channels and agents worked by the Spirit's power, having none of self and all of Jesus, awakening, longing for the indwelling Spirit, contemplating Christ, confessing sin, removing stumbling blocks, and doing their God-given work in their own place. He uses consecrated ability and reason in his service for doing good and sharing truth with others near and far, and as servants impart to others what they receive he entrusts them with more to share, so missionary work broadens and deepens through his working rather than human strength alone. In this cooperation his power moves believers to declare the word line upon line and to share truth house to house, and all glory for the good done belongs to him as the Alpha and the Omega, with not a jot ascribed to human instruments.
Surrender of Human Will
God does not force the will and does not do for a person what that person is called to do, yet no one can take one step toward Christ unless drawn by the Holy Spirit, so salvation requires consent to be drawn, receiving light, inclining the will into harmony with God's will, and cooperating with truth and the Spirit's energy in willing obedience. Human effort is not independent of what God does and passive reliance on God alone does not fulfill the verse, for reason and the affections of the mind must be educated to distinguish truth from error, and the sternest conflict is yielding the human will and way to God's will and way by following the Holy Spirit's leading rather than feelings, unsanctified desire, or the deceiver's voice in harmony with the unsanctified will. More light and evidence cannot convert one who refuses light already given, for persistent refusal and disobedience grieve the Holy Spirit and make means, light, and evidence shine in vain and ineffective. The verse therefore rejects both extremes, that a person can act wholly apart from God and that a person is free from all obligation because God does everything.
In themselves human beings are incapable of any good, cannot change the heart, control thoughts, impulses and affections, make themselves pure, love God with all heart, soul, strength and mind and neighbor as self, repent, or overcome, but the Holy Spirit must work upon the heart while Christ continually draws sinners to repentance. Spiritual life and power to do righteousness come through faith as the person submits to be drawn until the heart melts in penitence, and no one should wait until repentance is felt before coming to Jesus. Human effort has no saving power apart from God, no one can work out salvation alone, and God will not do the work without human cooperation, yet no one is passive or saved in indolence, for each has a part in the great struggle for everlasting life, responding to the Holy Spirit, straining every muscle and exercising every faculty to break through the powers of darkness while God supplies the efficiency that makes effort succeed.
The will is the governing power in human nature, the power of decision and choice and spring of all actions on which everything depends, and since the fall Satan has worked through it toward its own pleasure bringing ruin and misery, while mere desires for goodness and purity and only hoping and desiring to overcome avail nothing. Through Christ's sacrifice God can take the yielded will from Satan's control without violating His government, unite the weak wavering human will to His omnipotent unwavering will, and give the mind of Christ so the whole nature is brought under Christ's control and character is transformed to be like Christ's. When a person chooses to serve God and gives Him the will by choice, God works in that person both to will and to do of His good pleasure, centering affections on Christ and bringing thoughts into harmony with Him.
A person must choose to believe, place the will on Christ's side and keep it there in full surrender to do His will, and just as the will is yielded God immediately takes possession to produce both the wanting and the doing that pleases Him. Then the whole nature, affections, thoughts, reason, conscience and memory, is brought under the control of Christ's Spirit, opposed thoughts and claims are overcome and every thought brought into obedience to Christ, the rubbish is cleared from the door of the heart, defiance is broken down, barriers raised by self are removed, and Jesus enters to abide. Although impulses and emotions cannot be controlled directly, the will can be controlled, and yielding it makes an entire change of life possible, with the life hidden with Christ in God and joined to power above all principalities and powers, held fast by strength from God for a new life of living faith as a pliable vessel unto honor molded according to His design, so long as the will keeps cooperating with God's will and not with the will of evil associates, with doing governed not by feeling and natural inclination but in harmony with the Father's will, testifying the nature of the resolve.
Unless a person of his own accord consents to renounce sinful practices Christ cannot take away sin, for God does not do the work man can do to meet the standard of righteousness, though grace and sufficiency have been abundantly provided and human effort alone avails nothing against the powers of darkness and man has in himself no merits. Conversion is God working through humble instrumentality while the sinner submits to be drawn, accepts the evidence of God's Word, faces faults, confesses, repents, makes right wrongs done, heartily and willingly obeys God's laws, feels dependence upon God, has faith in Christ as a personal Saviour, receives abundantly provided grace, keeps the Lord ever before him, hungers after righteousness, beholds Christ and is changed from glory to glory and character to character, is imbued with love for Christ and perishing souls, has Christ formed within as the hope of glory, and abides in Him. God also works on the heart to bring repentance, so none need wait until repentance is felt, and when man thus complies Christ imparts the virtue of His righteousness and power to become sons of God with efficiency for growth in physical, mental and moral power.
Beholding Jesus and the love shown at the cross transforms the beholder to hate the sin that caused His suffering, and God's grace through Christ creates a new heart, a higher life, and holy zeal received by faith, with Christ received as wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption. This renewal is a miracle made possible when people take hold of divine power by faith, enabling them to choose the character they form, receive Christ's merits, become like Him, and do Christ's works to glorify the Father rather than merely human effort, as seen in reconversion. All who receive His Spirit become sons of God, one with Christ in God, with Christ's sacrifice furnishing grace and power to work out salvation with fear and trembling, producing Christ's character in universal humility and benevolence through faith which works by love and purifies the soul, overcoming by the blood of the Lamb and the word of testimony with God giving grace for the grace imparted to others.
Holy Spirit Within Believers
God works inside the heart through the Holy Spirit to shape both the willing and the doing toward what pleases him, fashioning the person after Christ's likeness and imparting Christ's life so that it becomes visible and enables true representation of him. The Spirit is not under human control to be directed or used by people, but uses them, so they must yield to his guidance and control, wait humbly for God, seek his guidance and grace, watch for it, and submit rather than reverse the order by taking his work into finite hands. Working out salvation in this inward working means working with reverent earnestness and not with a pompous, overbearing, dictatorial spirit, expressed in Spirit-led conduct producing love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance rather than pride, rivalry, vainglory, provoking and envying. Those serving must rely on him and remain free to follow his leading, for human control that disrupts partnership with him obstructs the work, and those who insist on directing themselves do not receive the promised gift, which is received by faith according to each person's capacity and brings other blessings. When the will is surrendered and cooperation given, the life expresses what God has worked within, so purpose of heart and practice of life are in harmony.
The Holy Spirit does this inward work by bringing God's saving truths, promises and neglected truths vividly and often to mind, taking the things of God and presenting them anew so they do not lose efficiency, revealing the things of God and turning inclinations toward Jesus. By the light of truth the enlightened mind, open and free from prejudice and human opinions and traditions, sees truth in distinction from error and believes it as from God, and whoever cooperates realizes a divine presence hovering near, with Christ abiding in the soul when the heart is open and the mind responds. As fast as the soul decides and acts in harmony with light already revealed, the Spirit gives more light and gives effect to what is revealed, working with living faith and complete dependence so the person wills and does what pleases God. Obedience keeps those truths effective, for mere evidence without inclining the will shines in vain, and human beings cannot accomplish God's work independently but serve as agents whose mind, peace and grace guide them. When truth abides in the heart this divine working brings the principles of the law into daily practice so truth regulates life, while Satan seeks to counteract it and no one can save himself apart from Christ who gave his life as ransom and helps all who come penitent and believing.
Christ changes the heart and abides in it by faith, and the promise works only so long as connection with him is maintained by faith and continual surrender of the will. When trusted and abided in he lives and acts inside as Comforter and whole Saviour to produce willingness and action for what pleases him, giving daily experience of being shut in with God with life hid with Christ in God. With Christ thus working within, the believer manifests the same spirit as Christ and does the same works, works of righteousness and obedience, which is living by faith in the Son who loved and gave himself. This leaves no ground for boasting or self-exaltation, making the only ground of hope the righteousness of Christ imputed and the righteousness wrought by his Spirit working in and through the believer, with rejoicing, purification by truth living within, and readiness for refreshing and latter rain. Works done in his presence are fruit of his working, so the believer can rest in what he can do while the energies of the soul awaken to cooperate trustfully, consecrating self and entrusting life to the one who purchased its freedom in active obedient resolve enabled by grace.
Drawing near to the Lord by humble self-examining prayer and heartfelt confession is met by his inward working creating the willing mind and obedient doing, with pardon of sin, victory gained and blessing as evidence of his power working with them. Prayer and worship therefore require conduct in harmony with prayer, drawing to repentance and obedient living with reverence and seriousness. Believers are to pray earnestly and humbly for this work and seek the Spirit's divine power through faith and fervent prayer, beholding and meditating on Jesus until changed into his character, forming a character like God's with hunger for cheap earthly amusement removed. The Holy Spirit alone can accomplish this leading to desire and do his will.
Sanctification and Holy Character
Sanctification is God's will for every person, summed up in loving God with all heart, soul, strength and mind and neighbor as self, and it is accomplished through faith in Christ and the indwelling Spirit by which human weakness is joined to divine strength. God himself works inside to shape both desire and action according to his good pleasure and purpose, giving both the willing and the doing of what pleases him rather than leaving people to their own merits or self-importance. Through that help believers resist sin's promptings, keep fighting against sin, live without sin, and continue the Christian life in victory. It is not outward show but truth received in the heart and practiced in life, believed and carried into a blameless harmless life that shines as a light in a crooked and perverse world without murmurings and disputings while holding forth the word of life. Received, believed and practiced, pure truth forms character that prepares for the great work to be done in this life and gives fitness for eternal service.
Victory comes by joint operation of divine and human forces, a co-partnership in which no one works out salvation without the aid of the Holy Spirit yet strenuous human effort is required. Right principles of character are formed only by that cooperation, with success depending wholly on God and at the same time on willing obedience to his will and way, working in his lines and submitting to his training as a laborer together with him to be complete in Christ. The human part is most strenuous effort to overcome the tempter and subdue natural passions, propensities, self, temper and inclinations not in harmony with correct principles, battling every practice and habit with harmful tendency until overcome so character is perfected after the divine Pattern. All ability and talents must be brought into working order in union with divine agencies, for without that union no one overcomes and inherits eternal life, and the union of human and divine is to proceed harmoniously toward perfection of Christian character. God with infinite wisdom meets weakness to give mastery as people resist, consent, draw power from him, and conform the human will to his will with help from heavenly agencies presented to all who meet the conditions.
That inward working makes thorough purification possible, cleansing the defiled soul temple, renovating the mind, filling the heart with treasures of truth, giving sanctified memories, and renewing mind and heart by the Spirit with strength to carry out high and holy purposes to his honor and glory. It closes the windows of the soul earthward and opens them heavenward, restoring completely up to no standard but the perfection of the divine character after the example of Christ's obedience and service, with no act of wickedness excused. It requires revived spiritual discernment with fear and trembling, a clear pure mind distinguishing good and evil, daily living out of prayer, earnest cleansing of character, putting away every defect, and washing robes in the blood of the Lamb. It requires Jesus abiding in the heart as a constant living spring so the outflow is pure, sweet and heavenly, higher conceptions of God and his holiness interwoven with life and character, and an unfolding plan of redemption, giving the humble a foretaste of heaven. God cannot work where spiritual perceptions are beclouded so plain duties are not seen, nor put his Spirit power with those who hold weighty truth apart from life in unrighteousness with unclean hands and hearts defiled by sin, for to do so in proportion to truth opened to the mind would sanction sin, and outward religious work without his inward shaping of desire and action is vain.
The same work puts on the new man which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness, fashioning the person after Christ's likeness so life is shaped by his righteousness and holiness and not made a cover for cherished sin. The Spirit is not to be used by the person but is to use the person, producing love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance, with freedom from vainglory, provoking and envying, instead of wild grapes. People must still work out salvation with earnest effort and fear and trembling rather than a pompous overbearing dictatorial spirit, cooperating with God, growing in Christian character, becoming partakers of the divine nature, escaping the world's corruption through lust, resisting evil, and becoming pure and holy and fit for heaven. Those who know the Scriptures must examine themselves carefully to see if they are disappointing the Owner of the vineyard and act while it is called today without hardening the heart. As believers add Christian graces God multiplies growth, while neglect leaves them spiritually blind, forgetful of cleansing from past sins, and vulnerable to renewed sin, so daily prayer and watchfulness belong to ongoing purification.
Making God's will the supreme law of life includes putting to the test, consecrating and keeping in most perfect condition every endowed faculty, especially intellect to understand his revealed will, to rule the body, to honor him and bless others. It includes developing every faculty to glorify him, seeking knowledge, preserving health by avoiding luxury and stimulating drink, practicing strict temperance so brain and muscle are not enfeebled, and bringing habits, appetite and passion into conformity to his will. Indulged perverted appetite puts health in a condition that constantly wars against the soul's highest interests and keeps clear truth from being accepted, so religious life requires earnest action of mind and heart in harmony with divine forces. No one can work out salvation alone and God will not do the work without human cooperation, but when a person works earnestly God works with him, strengthens good purposes, enables obedience, gives power to become a son of God, and gives strength to resist temptation and overcome obstacles. Daniel and his companions illustrate the pattern, for they exerted all powers, determined obedience like Daniel to obey, studied earnestly and used disciplined education and choices to honor God, while God trained them under his working until their faculties could do highest service, giving knowledge, skill, learning, wisdom and understanding. This joining of sincere human striving after wisdom and faithful service with imparted divine power prevents self-exaltation and brings rest in God.
The inner work is a real transformation of character, ways and manners that conquers besetting sins, evil habits, wrong dispositions and feelings, roots them out, and creates holy tempers and emotions by the Spirit. God alone renews the heart from within and cannot do this work while self rules, so believers must constantly submit will to his will and way to his way, give up own ways, plans and peculiar ideas, refuse to rest in self or dwell on the dark side, and crucify self with its affections and lusts at every step, for working in one's own way brings failure. People cannot transform themselves by willpower and merely correcting outward habits is not enough, for grace renews the heart from within and changes the life through the Holy Spirit in conversion and sanctification. Righting wrongs and reforming conduct is not done by a few feeble intermittent efforts, for character building is the work not of a day or a year but of a lifetime, a lifelong struggle for conquest over self, for holiness and heaven, through self-denial, cross-bearing and following Christ. It calls for more of Christ and less of self, stronger faith and trust instead of feeble trust, full conformity to the divine will, expecting much and receiving according to faith, and laying hold of his mighty power by living faith that prays and believes and trusts and works. When believers examine character closely in the mirror of God's holy law to discover defects, cherish nothing contrary to his rule of righteousness, strive diligently to put away every sin, and labor together with him, divine help combines with human effort in overcoming, Christ abides in the heart by faith, angels cooperate, God and his workers remain closely united, and believers love souls for whom Christ died and reveal to those in darkness the light received from Jesus.
Grace Faith and Salvation
Working out salvation with reverent trembling does not contradict salvation by grace through faith, because the command to work stands joined to God himself working inside every willing person to produce both the willingness and the doing of his good pleasure. It is not left to weak feeble mortals to do in their own way and strength, for Christ attends every step of those willing to be saved in his appointed way through obedience to his requirements, so there is no cause for discouragement or fainting, yet human beings must still actively work and not be idle or fold their arms. Salvation is a gift offered free and obtainable on no other condition as a free gift, yet it cannot be enjoyed without action on the sinner's part because cooperation is essential, by coming humbly to the cross with nothing to pay, believing Christ receives sinners now, letting prayer ascend to the heavenly Father, and ceasing to talk darkness, doubt and distrust that cast away confidence and open the way for Satan to deepen despair. People cannot make themselves good or even produce a holy desire by their own power, but God supplies the divine power that works with human effort, enabling them to will and do what pleases him, so that through faith in Christ they work out salvation relying entirely on his righteousness rather than trying to earn approval.
Good works do not buy salvation but are essential evidence of genuine faith which works by love, purifies the soul and bears fruit, for faith without works is dead. Bible religion is constant work, where faith that joins the soul to Christ stirs it to activity and produces labor of love seen in zealous, careful, maintained good works that glorify the Father. Busy activity by itself does not secure salvation, but genuine uniting faith always moves to action, and Christ as the True Witness knows those works. This active faith looks to Christ's sacrifice on the cross and leads people to serve and help others, laboring with Christ while faith and effort depend on God's power, so his work does not make people idle.
Working it out means a life characterized by exertion, self-denial and sacrifice to do others good, with increased efforts to bring others to knowledge of the truth. When the water of life is in the soul and flowing out toward everlasting life, this obedient working gives enjoyment of the truth and the light of life and ends complaints of not enjoying religion. The work is not finished with one's own salvation but must extend to working for the salvation of others through personal effort and becoming channels of light, with rejoicing when souls are saved through that instrumentality. This active, intelligent labor for God done with the help of Christ sows for an abundant harvest that lasts throughout all ages, so there is work for all to do while opportunity remains, letting the refining influence of the Spirit sanctify through the Word to fit people to reach others, leading to a glory for the faithful beyond comprehension.
Forgiveness is possible only through grace and the atoning sacrifice of Jesus, which keeps the believer in continual dependence on God, but receiving grace does not free anyone from taking part in the struggle for immortal life. As sinners draw near with confession and repentance God draws near with mercy and forgiveness to restore his moral image, enabling them to live in the day of salvation and escape coming wrath. When a person labors to work out salvation God works within to restore his image and supplies both willingness and ability to do what pleases him, acting as Helper to those who seek to know him. Salvation involves cooperation between Christ and the repentant sinner, in which Christ provides mercy and grace and fulfills salvation's terms, while the sinner acts in faith, accepts the blessing, resists temptation by drawing strength from God, and becomes Christ's co-worker and God's child.
Jesus Christ is both Lawgiver and the great Worker in salvation, and the Lord is the one efficient power and agent in sanctification, so people should not walk by human wisdom or put trust in men. Human wisdom alone cannot walk even one step safely and feet will slip even on apparently safe paths, so walking without fear requires knowing that the hand of Jesus Christ holds firmly, and that knowledge comes only by searching the Word of the living God. Therefore the discouraged should not hang down the head but lift it up, trust wholly in God, let the struggling heart break with longing for the living God, walk obediently and lawfully, and look to him for wisdom, and he will be helper and strength, a front guard and a rearward. Each person is accountable to God, must trust God instead of putting trust in men, must work in Christ's lines and hold fast to his strength, with no one having right to control another's judgment, while he cooperates in cleansing the heart of all evil and in teaching the compassion those saved must exercise, even sending judgments for that purpose, with obedience bringing victory over enemies as a holy nation and royal priesthood.
Each person must work out his own salvation as his greatest concern, a work no one else, minister or trusted person can do by proxy. Each must develop an individual experience under God's direction and grow up to his own individual measurement under God's supervision, as in natural growth no one can add a cubit to stature by thought, so all depends on the Lord. No one is to become a copy of another's mind, pattern after another's character, lean on any minister or trusted person, or wear Saul's armor, but each is to look to God for himself, lean upon God, breathe out the soul to God, and act in his own capacity with God-given ability and talents in the armor God provides, for God is in you, not in another for you, giving an individual experience that brings rejoicing in yourself and not in another. This means ceasing to watch and judge others, never relaxing vigilance in prayer and obedience to all requirements, refusing pride and boasting, walking humbly with God in fear of rash movements or unconverted display that gives occasion for truth to be evil spoken of, with continual vigilance as the price of victory, and drawing nigh to God so he will draw nigh. It requires personally seeking truth, repenting, believing, obeying, surrendering and consecrating, gaining personal consecration and knowledge of God's will from the Bible, which equips a person to carry truth to others rather than becoming passive and dependent on ministers constantly hovering over.
Human cooperation does not replace or dishonor human understanding and will, but brings the human will into connection with God's own through living faith, so people must actively use minds and abilities to seek truth and labor together with God. God works within through the light of truth and the energy of the Spirit, leading desires toward Jesus, but the human agent must receive the light, incline the will to God's will, and act in hearty obedience, for neither independent human effort nor passive reliance on God alone fulfills the verse. Reason and the mind's affections need education and direction so the person can distinguish truth from error, with duty discerned as the mind expands through studying the word, and more evidence cannot convert someone who refuses light already given, since persistent disobedience makes that light ineffective. This divine work is experienced as grace and strength, both physical and spiritual, linked with believing, watching unto prayer, and praying, and its spiritual influence is to be increased by right use, with enlargement of power proportionate to desire to do his will, greatly increasing usefulness. The blessing requires casting out all self-sufficiency, desire to dictate to others, pride and selfishness, and it is forfeited by selfishness and misuse of the entrusted gift, while going to brethren for counsel and prayer and guarding speech helps character-building.
Obedient Life and Service
God works within to awaken willingness and supply power to do what pleases him, and that inward working calls for active cooperation rather than passivity, with success in service depending on using given abilities and opportunities, watching and working and praying and ever pressing toward the goal, putting every spiritual muscle to the stretch with studious persevering effort, industry and thorough fidelity and continual growth instead of slothfulness, for he gives every man his work and stamps genuine work with approval while sham work is valueless and a wrong example must be avoided lest others be led astray.
His indwelling sustains soul-winning labor through living connection, in which the worker does not give the light or make the impression but angels move upon hearts and the Spirit makes testimony effective, keeping a vital connection between heaven and earth so believers become his husbandry and building and work as he worked with his spirit, imparting received knowledge, preaching truth, opening the Bible, travailing for souls house to house and taking truth to those in darkness instead of leaving them to perish, as consecrated heart and mind and soul and strength reflect heaven's light in deeds of kindness and words of cheer.
Under his guidance servants work in harmony with minds wrought upon by him, and their unity glorifies him as they advance toward holiness and live out Christ's prayer for unity in obedient humble conduct, with dependence belonging to the Lord rather than to one another or to finite people, leaving no place for human kingly power over minds or for selfish exaltation to rule fellow workers in any branch of his cause or line of Christian service.
He cooperates with parents who in trustful dependence awake to sacred responsibility and carefully and prayerfully educate children while working out their own and their children's salvation, for without such human effort divine effort is in vain, and this requires doing God-given work intelligently to honor the Redeemer, forming correct habits, setting a blameless example that leaves no excuse for wrongdoing, counseling and reproving in fear of the Lord, seeking him in prayer for a commendable spirit, communing with Christ instead of giving way to feelings, bringing the graces of the Spirit into daily life, and keeping husband and wife from separating; mothers labor together with him as chief worker and lawgiver in divine love and peace, open to instruction and wisdom to act and conform to his will, while children remember they are bought by Christ's blood in self-denying sympathy and offerings.
The same working guides training of students and youth to consecrate abilities and zeal to service and bless others in preparation for the coming day of trial, keeping daily school life in view by discerning what Christ is to the believer and what the believer may be to Christ, gaining victories in prayer, receiving a sweet kind courteous temper, never irritating schoolmates by word or tone or action, never placing temptation in another's way, helping one another with pleasant kind words, perfecting Christian character humbly by revealing Christ in life and deportment, refusing ignorance of Satan's devices, standing temptation, tearing rotten timbers from the character building and putting solid timbers in, answering the call to be laborers together with God as bright shining lights who know the time and diffuse distinctly revealed truth without waiting to be urged.
Working out salvation includes putting oneself in right relation to God and physically where able to work, valuing self aright by caring for the body to help finish his great work while Satan opposes every line he sets in operation, intelligently removing harmful practices and appetites that damage brain and digestive organs and war against the soul, touching not, tasting not, handling not beer, fermented wine, tea, coffee, tobacco, wine and liquor, practicing temperance and self-control and constant self-denial, keeping his commandments so health is precious in his sight, seeking the highest education to stand beside Christ in unselfish service with courage and perseverance under angelic guard, and using every dollar self-denyingly as stewards of his money for schooling children in truth and saving perishing souls, even to working out the salvation of the whole family.
Restoring his moral image requires earnest human cooperation during probation, for this world is the training school deciding fitness for future immortal life or perdition, and he does not take man in natural feelings and deficiencies straight into the light of his countenance but supplies power without which man cannot accomplish the work; man must therefore work with fear lest he depart from divine counsels and lose heaven, allowing no carelessness or indolence or indifference, straining every energy and every spiritual nerve, attending faithfully to life's duties diligent in business and fervent in spirit, staying on watch, showing faith by works in great activity to advance his cause, making calling and election sure with the mark set high and reached through Christ, pleasing him as Enoch did by walking humbly with him, learning from Christ who was tempted yet without sin, striving with ever-increasing faith to bear fruit, trusting implicitly so divine strength becomes human strength, reflecting his character and purifying the soul temple from moral defilement even in discouraging missionary work.
Working out what he works within means carrying it into a transformed life with the heart right with God, turning from self-centered nominal faith that lives without him to keeping his commandments as embodiments of Christ's grace governed by his law of righteousness, becoming blameless and harmless sons without rebuke who shine as lights in a crooked and perverse nation and hold forth the word of life to gather souls instead of scattering them by worldly self-indulgence, surrendering will and preferences day by day and hour by hour, closely examining the heart so he reveals the work to be done, laboring with him as Masterbuilder with fear lest natural temperament spoil his plan until character is pronounced perfect, bringing order into the church with the mind that dwelt in Jesus, observing the Sabbath correctly with testimonies and confessions and hearty repentance for unrighteous conduct toward brethren, obeying his directions to honor the Redeemer while preparing to meet the Judge.
The verse encourages those in discouraging labor and those fearing departure from his counsels not to dwell on personal weakness or defects but to trust his work rather than become discouraged, believing he personally works willingness and ability as they humbly rely and take hold of him and carry out duty, pray and obey and serve others with praise and thanksgiving put in hearts and minds, using influence and capabilities for him so talents increase in growth and efficiency instead of weakening through misuse and indolence, supplying by his own power the points of character essential for each assigned place, keeping the dedicated life from becoming temptation's victim, bringing the true believer into close oneness with Christ so responsibility is borne in and through him, giving hope even when the enemy seeks to discourage.
His inward shaping of desire and ability accompanies practical obedient cooperation in daily duties, using reason and judgment rather than feelings, doing what can be done, seeking wisdom, following where he guides, trusting him instead of putting trust in men, cleansing the heart of all evil and learning the compassion the saved must exercise, removing every obstacle and stumbling block from one's own way and a brother's way by reconciling, confessing faults, removing wrong impressions and putting away envy and jealousy and evil thinking so prayers are answered and the soul is not under condemnation, helping people in trouble, caring for widows and fatherless, giving means to his cause, guarding the heart, sharing received grace so harmful influence becomes uplifting, bringing praise and glory to him rather than to outward profession or position, promptly heeding warnings by leaving corrupt surroundings rather than lingering like Lot, in contrast to Satan moving Brisbin to desire and carry out his own evil will.