Philippians 2:13

Philippians 2:12-13: “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”

2:11: “glory of God the Father” Isaiah 42:8: “I will not share my glory with anyone else” Isaiah 48:11: “For my own sake, for my own sake I do it…My glory I will not give to another.”

Isaiah 53:10: “the LORD was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief”

The God Who Works in You

God + man = “synergism” God Alone = “monergism”

R. Kent Hughes: “God works in us not merely with us.”

I. God Gives Us the Proper “Will” (vs. 13a) “for it is God who works in you, both to will” Meow! - The “will” is dictated by its nature.

Malachi 3:2: “For I am the LORD, I change not” Hebrews 6:18: “it (is) impossible for God to lie”

Jonathan Edwards: “A man never, in any instance, wills anything contrary to his desires, or desires anything contrary to his will”

1 st Corinthians 2:14: “The natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them.” Jeremiah 17:9: "The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately wicked; Who can understand it? Psalm 51:5: “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.”

Romans 3:10: “as it is written, "THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE” Ephesians 2:3: “we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.”

Edwards: “It is the nature of a stone to be heavy; but yet, if it were placed, as it might be, at a distance from this world, it would have no such quality. But being a stone, is of such a nature, that it will have this quality or tendency, in its proper place, in this world, where God has made it, it is properly looked upon as a propensity belonging to its nature…

…So, if mankind are of such a nature, that they have an universal effectual tendency to sin and ruin in this world, where God has made and placed them, this is to be looked upon as a pernicious tendency belonging to their nature”

Spurgeon: “The great destroyer of man is the will of man...The human will is desperately set against God and is the great devourer and destroyer of thousands of good intentions and emotions which never come to anything permanent because the will is acting in opposition to that which is right and true.”

Jesus in John 3: “born again” = literally “born from above”

1:6: “And I am sure of this, that he (God) who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

Ephesians 2: “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires (or “will”) of the body and the mind, and were by nature (the nature dictating the will here) children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive (“born again” ) together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

1 st John 4:19: “We love Him, because He first loved us”

II. God Gives Us the Proper “Works” (vs. 13b) “for it is God who works in you…to work”

James 2:17: “faith without works is dead” Ephesians 2:8-10: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Romans 6:1: “continue to sin, that grace may abound (?)” “may it never be!” “God forbid!” (KJV)

III. God Works in Us for His “Good Pleasure” (vs. 13c) “for his good pleasure.”

Thomas Watson: “It will be a great comfort in a dying hour, to think we have glorified God in our lives. It was Christ's comfort before his death: John 17:3, "I have glorified thee on the earth." At the hour of death, all your earthly comforts will vanish: if you think how rich you have been, what pleasures you have had on earth; this will be so far from comforting you, that it will torment you the more. What is one the better for an estate that is spent?...

…But to have conscience telling you that you have glorified God on the earth, what sweet comfort and peace will this let into your soul! How will it make you long for death! The servant that has been all day working in the vineyard longs till evening comes, when he shall receive his pay. How can they who have lived, and brought no glory to God, think of dying with comfort? They cannot expect a harvest where they sowed no seed…

…How can they expect glory from God, who never brought any glory to him? Oh in what horror will they be at death! The worm of conscience will gnaw their souls, before the worms can gnaw their bodies. If we glorify God, he will glorify our souls for ever. By raising God's glory, we increase our own: by glorifying God, we come at last to the blessed enjoyment of him.” (Thomas Watson)

Applications: 1.) Be humbled by God’s work in your life. “God works in you, not with you.”

2.) “Work out your salvation” (vs. 12) understanding that it is “God who is working in you” (vs. 13).

Hebrews 12:2: “Looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.”

3.) Take your joy in God’s “pleasure”.

1:21 and 1:23: “to die is gain… I desire to…be with Christ”