#6 - Phil 2:12-13 // Fruits of the gospel and God's sovereignty

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#6 - Phil 2:12-13 // Fruits of the gospel and God's sovereignty by Mind Map: #6 - Phil 2:12-13 // Fruits of the gospel and God's sovereignty

1. Spurgoen - Man’s work an evidence of his salvation: — William Wickham being appointed by King Edward to build a stately church, wrote in the windows, “This work made William Wickham.” When charged by the king for assuming the honour of that work to himself as the author, whereas he was only the overseer, he answered that he meant not that he made the work, but that the work made him, having before been very poor, and then in great credit. Lord, when we read in thy Word that we must work out our own salvation, thy meaning is not that our salvation should be the effect of our work, but our work the evidence of our salvation. (Biblical Illustrator)

2. R. C. Sproul notes: The Christian life requires hard work. Our sanctification is a process wherein we are coworkers with God. We have the promise of God's assistance in our labor, but His divine help does not annul our responsibility to work (Phil. 2:12-13).8

3. But the process of becoming holy (“sanctification”) is just as prominent in the New Testament. We saw Hebrews 10:14, “By a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” And we see it in 2 Corinthians 7:1: . So if we are bringing holiness to completion, there is a process of becoming fully holy. We are not there yet. Or 1 Thessalonians 5:23: “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely.” This prayer shows that our becoming holy is not yet complete. So Paul asks God to complete it. Or Hebrews 12:10: “[Our earthly fathers] disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but [God] disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness.” So a fuller holiness is coming through God’s discipline.

4. Romans 8:29, Eph 1:4 - seems like God will do this thing called sanctification ... its clear that someday this will be filled with the beauty of his holiness, who will refrelct the perfect sense of Jesus!

4.1. Verse 29: “Those whom God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” God predestines a group of people to be conformed to the image of his Son. In other words, he predestines our sanctification, our holiness. Here’s the way Paul says it in Ephesians 1:4–5: “He chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy . . . He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ.”

4.2. “By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God” (1 John 3:10). “As obedient children be holy for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:14–16). “[Our Father] disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness.” (Hebrews 12:10). “If you are left without discipline . . . then you are illegitimate children and not sons” (Hebrews 12:8).

5. ILL

5.1. Justification is by faith, not necessarily the measure of faith. Example by DA Carson on the passover

5.2. Example of his actions empowers our response

5.2.1. Lazarus - the call come forward. He would not until this happened

5.2.2. Jesus calls a man to stretch out his hand

5.2.3. Jesus calls a man to stand up

5.3. Act the miracle

5.4. Quietism

5.4.1. do no work cause that would be efforts of the flesh and therefore, sit still and let God zap you

5.4.2. "let go and let God"

6. Overview

6.1. This section parallels Phil 1:27-30 and the call to live out the gospel in a manner worthy

6.1.1. live out the imlications of the gospel (1:27/2:12)

6.1.2. be unified (1:27/2:14)

6.1.3. unity is visible to the unbelieving world (1:28/2:15)

6.1.4. interest in the final day of Jesus (1;28/2:16)

6.1.5. suffering (1:30/2:17)

6.2. Summary: don't take for granted what God has done in your life. Work out your salvation because one day you will give acccount for it

6.3. Connection

6.3.1. Remember that the previous verses were about worshipk, about the example of jesus and the extent he went to do the father's will

6.3.2. Now Paul connects that example to our living out ht efaith - meaning, Paul is continuing the thought --- live united, live a life worthy - and he not only has given us the exmaple, but allows us to see the inner workings of God and us

6.4. The reconciling of God's sovereignty

6.4.1. JMAC - On the one hand, quietists stress God’s role in sanctification, to the virtual exclusion of any human effort. Pietists, in contrast, emphasize self-effort at the expense of reliance on God’s power. In Philippians 2:12, 13, the apostle Paul avoids both of those unbiblical extremes, and presents the true balanced view of sanctification.

6.5. Other translations

6.5.1. JB Philips - So then, my dearest friends, as you have always followed my advice - and that not only when I was present to give it - so now that I am far away be keener than ever to work out the salvation that God has given you with a proper sense of awe and responsibility.

6.6. What does it mean to be saved? What does it mean to be born again? What does it mean to have faith?

6.6.1. saces us to conform us

7. [BACKGROUND] - Php 2:12a Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, ...

7.1. Overview Thoughts

7.2. Exposition

7.2.1. Therefore

7.2.1.1. "So then"

7.2.1.2. What is pUal saying? he's bringing them back to the amazing idea that God in his morphe, essential element of God, came in th eform of man "morphe" and then obeied and then died an dbecause o fthat Go has highly exalted him... and the result of that is that every knee will bow, every tongue confess....

7.2.1.3. Considering this truth , then because I love you .....

7.2.1.4. THe implication here is that to see Jesus, to know his condescention and sacrifice (even to the point of death) will incur in us a desire, an energy, and focus to live the faith and life he calls us to

7.2.1.5. Obeying Jesus in or out of Paul's view make sense consider who Jesus is. If every knee wil bow the the apostle, then maybe differen.t

7.2.2. my beloved

7.2.2.1. "agapetos"

7.2.2.2. conveys tenderness and affection which lends force to the injunctions

7.2.2.3. like a father getting down on a knee and looking a child in the face and say - honey, I love you-- but we need to stop this.

7.2.3. as you have always obeyed

7.2.3.1. "hupakouo" = "hear under" - idea that you submit to what you hear.

7.2.3.2. Illusions to military in philippi?

7.2.4. so no, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence

7.2.4.1. why "much more" in absence?

7.2.4.2. This passage brings us back to 1:27 gospel, shaped by the gospel wheteher paul is around or not

7.3. Summary

8. Php 2:13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

8.1. Overview thoughts

8.1.1. This isthe cause of the effect

8.1.2. Ethcial rules is not what empowers us to live eithical lives. It is God. God empowers us. The ethical rules simply allow us to see and recognize that in fact God is working in us.

8.1.2.1. Hence the bible says I would not know do not steal unless the law told me. So it tells me to demonstrate what not stealing is.

8.1.2.2. God works in us and we see - wow ok, I don't really live that way and then wow, i do live that way.

8.1.2.3. ILL:

8.1.2.4. REF: 1 John 4 - all who ware born of God believe!!! Get the order the cause and the effect

8.1.3. Here justification empowers sanctification

8.1.3.1. J Ligon Duncan - When we talk about justification, we’re talking about God accepting us. When we’re talking about sanctification, we’re talking about God changing us

8.1.4. Pelagius was so keen on human work that he explained this away as "a mere persuasion and encouraging by promies" but we see here is efficacious working

8.1.5. Supernatural work requires supernatural power

8.1.5.1. FF Bruce - When the Spirit takes the initiative in imparting to believers the desire and the power to do the will of God, then that desire and power becomes theirs by His gift, and they do His will ‘from your heart’

8.1.6. We speak of salvation s monogeristic , but sanctification is here clearly synergistic

8.1.6.1. REF: That divine-human synergy working in and through believers has always existed and is exemplified in the Old Testament. When Pharaoh’s army threatened the people of Israel, Moses was so confident in the Lord that he cried out, “Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever. The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent” (Ex 14:13, 14). But the Israelites also had a part to play: “The Lord said to Moses, ‘Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the sons of Israel to go forward. As for you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, and the sons of Israel shall go through the midst of the sea on dry land’ ” (Ex 14:15,16). It was not the Lord’s will that His people merely keep silent and be passive but that they participate actively in accomplishing His purpose. His purpose for them was to be accomplished through them.

8.1.7. Edwards

8.1.7.1. We are not merely passive in it, nor yet does God do some and we do the rest, but God does all and we do all. God produces all and we act all. For that is what he produces, our own acts. God is the only proper author and fountain; we only are the proper actors. We are in different respects wholly passive and wholly active.2

8.2. exposition

8.2.1. FOR

8.2.1.1. The single most important word here!!!! FOR -- because

8.2.1.2. He is not saying that you work out your salvation in fear and trembling "SO THAT" God will work in you. Meaning God doesn't reward our acting, our conviction, our putting steps to our faith... NO! God does the work first.

8.2.2. it is God

8.2.2.1. exeget

8.2.2.1.1. It is God

8.2.2.2. ILL

8.2.2.3. Quotes:

8.2.2.3.1. Gordon Fee emphasizes that "This does not mean that God is "doing it for them," but that God supplies the working power. Happily for us, God is on the side of his people.

8.2.2.4. Ref:

8.2.2.4.1. 2 Co 3:5 Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, 2 Co 3:6 who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

8.2.3. who works

8.2.3.1. exegete

8.2.3.1.1. work = energeo = active, effecient, effectual ferevant work

8.2.3.1.2. Present tense - God is always at work

8.2.3.1.3. So we are to work hard because God is working hard in us

8.2.3.1.4. Paul's point is that God energizes His children to obey and serve Him! His energy enables our ongoing, daily supernatural process of sanctification.

8.2.3.1.5. Paul alon

8.2.3.2. ILL

8.2.3.3. Quote

8.2.3.4. REF

8.2.3.4.1. Col 1:29 For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.

8.2.3.4.2. Eph 3:7 of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God’s grace which was given to me according to the working of His power (dunamis).

8.2.3.4.3. Eph 3:20 Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,

8.2.3.4.4. John 15:5 “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.

8.2.3.5. His working is an incentive, not an disincentive. If that is true, you don't know it

8.2.3.5.1. At one of the apostle’s discouraging periods of life and ministry, God encourages him by assuring him that he should preach on and endure precisely because God already “has” many people in the city of Corinth, and thus they are bound to be called forth at the right time by the preaching of the Word (Acts 18: 9– 10). Carson, D. A. (1996-04-01). Basics for Believers: An Exposition of Philippians (Kindle Locations 778-780). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

8.2.4. In you

8.2.4.1. exegete

8.2.4.1.1. Not an invitation to imitation, but more than that, it's an incarnation

8.2.5. to will

8.2.5.1. exegete

8.2.5.1.1. God resolves our inability by willing in the will

8.2.5.1.2. present tense - meaning God is always working this desire in our hearts

8.2.5.1.3. the will that ultimately makes each individual choice of whether we will sin or obey. It is the will that chooses to yield to temptation or to say no. Our wills, then, ultimately determine our moral destiny, whether we will be holy or unholy in our character and conduct. This being true, it is critically important that we understand how our wills function—what causes them to turn in one direction or the other, why they make the choices they do

8.2.5.1.4. God works in us to will - meaning that within our being of creation is a will that God intends us to exercise, and salvation, any part of it, is never independent of our will. What God does is work in our will so that our will would be willing!

8.2.5.2. ref

8.2.5.2.1. ex. Love for the brethren 2 Cor 8:16-17 ... perhpas Titus was offended by how they didn't care for Paul or would not give, but God worked in Titus heart

8.2.5.2.2. 1 Chron 29 - prays God preserves in Solomon this commimtment ...

8.2.5.2.3. Eze 11:19 “And I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them. And I will take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh,

8.2.5.2.4. Eze 36z:26,27 (NASB) “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.

8.2.5.2.5. Je 31:31 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, Je 31:32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. Je 31:33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

8.2.5.3. quote

8.2.5.4. Ill

8.2.5.5. Application

8.2.5.5.1. You first-most cry is God - give me a heart. God give me brokeness. God rend my heart broken to sin. God, give me desire. God give me resolve. God, give me courage. God give me angst for my soul.

8.2.5.5.2. Be comforted - God never leaving us nor forsaking us means that what we often lack he will supply

8.2.5.5.3. Too many of us obey God only beasue of pressure on the outside, when tehe true power for lasting chaing is the ppower on th einside

8.2.5.5.4. Since God is always workin ginour hearts, there's walways this want, this desire, this conviction to do what is right. It is one of te ways we know God is at work in us and we are his.

8.2.5.5.5. God uses two things to move our will

8.2.6. and to work

8.2.6.1. exegete

8.2.6.1.1. "work" = power, energizing

8.2.6.1.2. KEY!!! Different word for "WORK" here than in verse 12. In verse 12 WORK means to bring out. HERE WORK MEANS to ENERGIZE

8.2.6.1.3. Chrsitian ethics and transfrmoation is not jus the wililng (as per Romans 7 - i willed but could not find the doing) ... no the workign of God is evidenced in the wilin and the doingin

8.2.6.2. ref

8.2.6.3. ill

8.2.6.4. quote

8.2.6.4.1. DA Carson - God's continuous, gracious, sovereign work in our lives becomes for us an incentive to press on with fear and trembling.

8.2.6.4.2. WIlliam Barclay - There are two significant things about (energeo); it is always used of the action of God, and it is always used of effective action. God’s action cannot be frustrated, nor can it remain half-finished; it must be fully effective.

8.2.6.5. appli

8.2.7. for his good pleasure

8.2.7.1. not all thing swe do are put by God. Somethings we do wihtout God. Sin/

8.2.7.2. exeget

8.2.7.2.1. good pleasure - think well of

8.2.7.2.2. God works in us so we do what is good in God's eyes - righteouns, justices, truth, holiness. Tha tis sanctification - living a life that is pleasing to God!

8.2.7.3. Boice - These verses are really Paul's own commentary upon Philippians 2:12, 13, for they tell us that although God can never be satisfied with any good that comes out of human beings, he is satisfied and pleased with the good that is done by Christians through the power of Jesus Christ within them. Through that power the tyranny of sin is broken, the possibility of choosing for God is restored, and a new life of communion with God and holiness is set before the Christian. (Boice Expositional Commentary)

8.3. Summary

8.3.1. (1) Why every week you come to church you should be full of praise - because you still come to church. Becuas ei fyou feel sins weight is good that you still feel sins weight. IT means GOd has not stopped working in you.

8.3.1.1. God not only brings about the will, but creates the will

8.3.2. The reality is that sanctification is no different than justification. We live out what he puts in. He works on our WILL so that our will is never self-autonomous and independent. We love to think so - we chose to abide, we chose to obey, we chose in our will and volition to follow - but we think to highly our ourselves. We think too much of our strength and power. We only work out WHAT GOD IS DOING IN OUR WILL.

8.3.2.1. At the end of the day, if God will not work on our WILL, our will will never WILL godliness.

8.3.2.2. No one saves themeslves and not one perfects themselves. There is no such thing as a "self-made" christian.

8.3.2.3. The gospel is not saved by grace and then sanctified by self.

8.3.3. God’s good pleasure Is not an arbitrary whim of a sovereign, but represents that which in the wisdom and love of God would contribute most to the well-being and blessing of the saints. The ultimate goal or purpose of our lives is "His good pleasure". Our lives are to be lived for God's greater glory and not for our own selfish desires. Are we left to carry out this daunting task alone? Is it our task to grit our teeth and to "grin and bear it" (whatever "it" is in our lives)? Paul is teaching us "Absolutely not!" He is however not saying just "Let go and let God." That is part of the "equation" but Paul presents a balanced picture: God is at work in us! He gives us strength and empowers our diligence. As He pours His power into us, we are to do our part choosing to do the things that bring Him pleasure. His pleasure not ours. His will not ours. His glory not ours. Those are the things that make life truly meaningful.

8.3.3.1. Chuck Swindoll observes "As He pours His power into us, we do the things that bring Him pleasure. Take special note that His pleasures (not ours), His will (not ours), His glory (not ours) are what make life meaningful.”

8.3.3.2. Matthew 11:26 "Yes, Father, for thus it was well-pleasing (good pleasure) in Thy sight.

8.3.3.3. Luke 2:14 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased (good pleasure)."

8.3.3.4. Luke 10:21 At that very time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and said, "I praise Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that Thou didst hide these things from the wise and intelligent and didst reveal them to babes. Yes, Father, for thus it was well-pleasing in Thy sight.

8.3.3.5. Romans 10:1 (note) Brethren, my heart's desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation.

8.3.3.6. Ephesians 1:5 (note) He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention (good will, delight, satisfaction, purpose, counsel) of His will, (Comment: Paul teaches that predestination is God's absolute act of free love grounded totally in Himself - here according to the kind intention or good pleasure of His will).

8.3.3.7. Ephesians 1:9 (note) He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him (Comment: Wuest writes that "God’s good pleasure, therefore, is not an arbitrary whim of a sovereign, but represents that which in the wisdom and love of God would contribute most to the well-being and blessing of the saints. The word means “will, choice, delight, pleasure, satisfaction.” In the case of God, all these are dictated by what is good or well. Thus, the delight, pleasure, and satisfaction which God has in blessing the saints is found in the fact that what He does for them is dictated by what is good for them. This good pleasure is that “which He hath purposed in Himself.")

8.3.3.8. Philippians 1:15 (note) Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from good will;

8.3.3.9. Philippians 2:13 (note) for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

8.3.3.10. 2 Thessalonians 1:11 To this end also we pray for you always that our God may count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire (purpose, choice) for goodness and the work of faith with power

8.3.4. Take stock - what is your deepest desire as you enter the new year?

8.3.5. What are you putting time and efffort into this new year?

8.3.6. Want to -

8.3.6.1. So many think that we have to sacrifice, to give up ... but in reality the wonderful think is that God kills the desire and gives us a new want to

8.3.7. Now more than ever, at the end of the year, is a call and renewal to press hard after God!!!

8.3.7.1. Piper - Go hard after Christ, because Christ is at work in you! "Strive for … the holiness without which no one will see the Lord" (He 12:14-note), for the Lord is working in you what is pleasing in his sight (He 13:21-note). The reason the Bible can make our salvation depend on our pursuit of holiness without turning us into self-reliant legalists who have no assurance is that it makes our pursuit of holiness depend on the sovereign work of God in our lives. Work out your salvation because God is at work in you. Your work is his work for his glory when done in dependence on his power. The most fundamental reason why you must go hard after Christ is that Christ is in you, moving you to go hard after him. (from Going Hard After the Holy God)

8.3.7.2. Since God has given power for godliness, strive to become godly! This is the heart of New Testament ethics. We labor for virtue because God has already labored for us and is at work in us. Don't ever reverse the order, lest you believe another gospel (which is no gospel). Never say, "I will work out my salvation in order that God might work in me." But say with the apostle Paul, "I work out my salvation for it is God who works in me to will and to do of his good pleasure" (Phil 2:13). Never say, "I press on to make it my own in order that Christ might make me his own." But say with Paul, "I press on to make it my own because Christ Jesus has made me his own" (Php 3:12-note). There is a world of difference in a marriage where the husband doubts the love of his wife and labors to earn it, and a marriage where the husband rests in the certainty of his wife's love and takes pains joyfully not to live unworthily of it. ...God is for us with divine power. Of that we may be sure. Now, in the confidence of that power, take pains not to live unworthily of his love. (from Confirm Your Election)

9. sam storms

9.1. Anti-cedent -

9.1.1. God always works first in us

9.1.2. 1 John 4:9 - we love because he first loved us

9.2. This is the reconciliation of God's sovereignty and human responsibility - it's the key - at least it's the closest that we know

9.2.1. We ask what does God do and what do I do

9.2.2. Who does what and when

9.2.3. What is God's role and mine?

9.3. The need to commit and engergy

9.3.1. Phil 3 - press on

9.3.2. rom 14:19

9.3.3. 1 cor 9:24-29 -

9.3.3.1. run, discipline

9.3.4. heb 12:1

9.3.5. 1 tim 6:12

9.3.5.1. fight the good fight

10. [BACKGROUND] - Php 2:12a ... work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,

10.1. Overview thoughts

10.1.1. Be diligent and devoted in your Christian life

10.2. exposition

10.2.1. work out

10.2.1.1. Definition

10.2.1.1.1. Plain Meaning

10.2.1.1.2. Illustration

10.2.1.1.3. Does not mean

10.2.1.2. Implicaitons

10.2.1.2.1. sanctificaiton - the working out of our justification

10.2.1.2.2. relationship grace & works

10.2.1.2.3. Part of that salvation is teh life of Christ - is doing things his way, he is lord! And this makes sense in light of pauls admonition for unity. Look to Jesus. You are his, he is yours, you have been saved, infused and indwelt by his spirit. You are the aroma of Christ. his community. So work out the truth of God. The reality of Jesus in you! that's salvation - Col - christ in you the hope of Glory. Paul - Gal - not i who live but christ that lives in me.

10.2.1.3. referebce

10.2.1.3.1. In 1 Timothy chapter 4, do you remember verse 15? “Take pains with these things,” Paul says to young Timothy, “be absorbed in them so your progress may be evident to all.” Take pains in the spiritual elements of life. Chapter 6 verse 12, “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold of the eternal life to which you were called.

10.2.1.3.2. “Pursue the holiness without which no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able” (Luke 13:24). “Whoever says ‘I know him’ but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 John 2:4).

10.2.1.3.3. Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. (Luke 13:24)9

10.2.1.3.4. "For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers." (1 Timothy 4:10)

10.2.1.3.5. Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified." (1 Corinthians 9:24-27)

10.2.1.3.6. ""Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love." (2 Peter 1:5-7)

10.2.1.3.7. "And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises." (Hebrews 6:11-12)

10.2.1.4. Connection to Phil

10.2.1.4.1. Remember in 1:8 - God will complete .. and apparently that completing is using our efforts

10.2.1.5. quotes

10.2.1.5.1. Thomas Watson - Life is a day for labor. The day is the time for working, Psalm 104:23. The sun rises and man goes forth to his work. Death is a sleeping time for the body. Life is a working time. A Christian has no time to lie fallow. Philippians 2:12, "Work out your salvation with fear and trembling." John 9:4, "Work while it is day." Still there is some work to do—either some sin to mortify or some grace to exercise

10.2.1.5.2. JC Ryle - If there is anything which a man ought to do thoroughly, authentically, truly, honestly, and with all of his heart, it is the business of his soul. If there is any work which he ought never to slight, and do in a careless fashion, it is the great work of "working out his own salvation"

10.2.1.5.3. Spurgoeon - Salvation is to be worked out. Holiness is salvation. We are not to work out our salvation from the guilt of sin; Christ has done that, but from the power of sin. God has in effect worked that in; He has broken the yoke of sin; it lives and struggles, but it is dethroned, and our life is to keep it down. A man may be saved from the guilt of sin, and yet not saved from the power of pride or bad temper. Your salvation is not complete till you are saved from these. You must fight them till you conquer.

10.2.1.5.4. The Bible knows nothing of an unpractical theology, but, on the other hand, the Bible knows still less of an untheological morality. ALexander Macclaren

10.2.1.5.5. Jerry Bridges points out, while sanctification involves our activity, all of our activity is founded upon and is in response to the activity of the Holy Spirit: Progressive sanctification very much involves our activity. But it is an activity that must be carried out in dependence on the Holy Spirit. It is not a partnership with the Spirit in the sense that we each – the believer and the Holy Spirit – do our respective tasks. Rather, we work as He enables us to work. His work lies behind all our work and makes our work possible7

10.2.1.6. CONCLUSION

10.2.1.6.1. If we are to work out and that means to completion, then until the day we die we have a calling to press on

10.2.1.6.2. In other words, conquering canceled sin is essential if we are to be finally saved. Not because sins can be uncancelled, but because the will to kill canceled sin is the necessary sign that it is cancelled.

10.2.2. your own salvation

10.2.2.1. definition

10.2.2.1.1. reflexive pronoun, work out your OWN, not others

10.2.2.2. exeget

10.2.2.2.1. Paul says this because he cannot be twith them.

10.2.2.2.2. What does it mean to work out your own salvation?

10.2.2.3. ref

10.2.2.3.1. In other words, Paul’s intention in 2: 12 is not far from Peter’s in 2 Peter 1: 10– 11: Be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Thielman, Frank S. (2009-05-26). Philippians (The NIV Application Commentary) (p. 138). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

10.2.2.4. quotes

10.2.2.4.1. James Hastings notes that "Salvation must be personal for the all-important reason that sin is personal.

10.2.2.5. illustrations

10.2.2.6. conclusion

10.2.2.6.1. (1) Good word for you who love to serve God - the greatest watch you have is the watch over you're own soul. So easy to give and give in the care of others soul and the reality is, the command is to work our your own salvation with fear and teremplbing

10.2.3. with fear and trembling

10.2.3.1. Summary

10.2.3.1.1. Don't often hear chrsitians talked about as God fearing people - partially because our culture doesn't even know what that means so how cna it recognzie that.. but partly becuas eour fear i s so tamed down in the mandate that we view God only in love, only in care, only as a friend - we are Ray Stedman would say "have created such a Christian culture" that those words fear and trembling have no place in our vocabulary

10.2.3.1.2. But here is Pauls key to working out your salvation - with fear and tremblin

10.2.3.2. exeget

10.2.3.2.1. Definition

10.2.3.2.2. likley resonating the reality of Phil 2:9-11 - that all knees will bow and every tongue

10.2.3.2.3. Jerry Bridges captures this good - The late professor John Murray said, “The fear of God is the soul of godliness.” Yet the fear of God is a concept that seems old-fashioned and antiquated to many modern-day Christians. There was a time when an earnest believer might have been known as a “God-fearing man.” Today we would probably be embarrassed by such language. Some seem to think the fear of God is strictly an Old Testament concept that passed away with the revelation of God’s love in Christ. After all, doesn’t perfect love drive out fear, as John declares in 1John 4:18? Although it is true that the concept of the fear of God is treated more extensively in the Old Testament, it would be a mistake to assume that it is not important in the New Testament.

10.2.3.2.4. One of the blessings of the new covenant is the implanting in believers’ hearts of the fear of the Lord. In Jeremiah 32:40 God said, “I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me.”

10.2.3.2.5. The example of the Lord Jesus Himself, of whom Isaiah said, “and he will delight in the fear of the Lord” (Isa 11:3), should put the question beyond all doubt. If Jesus in His humanity delighted in the fear of God, surely we need to give serious thought to cultivating this attitude in our lives.

10.2.3.2.6. God is desirous of that. In fact, I read you in Psalm 111 what is in Proverbs many times, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” But listen to what it says in Isaiah 66. This is from the Lord, “Thus says the Lord,” verse 1, “heaven is My throne, the earth is My footstool. Where then is a house you could build for Me?” What are you going to do for Me? What are you going to contain Me in? What are you going to offer Me? What do I need that you can give Me? What do I want from you? “For My hand has made all these things, thus all these things came into being, declares the Lord.” Then, He says this, “What do I want from you? I’ll tell you what I want. To this one I look, to him who is humble and contrite of spirit and who trembles at My Word.” You want to know what I’m looking for? You want to know what you can give Me? You can tremble at My Word. Verse 5 says, “Hear the Word of the Lord, you who tremble at His Word.”

10.2.3.2.7. Jmac - a kind of fear against self - a kind of fear that i know i can and will fall. a distrust of self. “This fear is self-distrust. It is tenderness of conscience. It is vigilance against temptation. It is the fear which inspiration opposes to high-mindedness in the admonition, be not high-minded but fear. It is taking heed lest we fall. It is a constant apprehension of the deceitfulness of the heart and of the insidiousness and power of inward corruption. It is the caution and circumspection which timidly shrinks from whatever would offend and dishonor God and the Savior.” JMac ... but it is also towards God!

10.2.3.2.8. Do this with fear and trembling because there's a grand vision here - of a sovereign king that is establishin a community of eople and don't wreck it. He has laid down his life as an example. Would we trample on it? If God has so highly exhalted him for his sacrifice, would we disdian it? Treat his example so contemplty?

10.2.3.3. quotes

10.2.3.3.1. J. Mac - This kind of fear is fear of sinning, distrust of one’s own strength in the face of temptation, horror at the thought of dishonoring God. It is a sense of foreboding that comes with understanding "the deceitfulness of sin" (see Heb 3:13-note) (See Related Discussion: The Deceitfulness of Sin) and the unreliability of one’s own heart (see Jer 17:9). It is terror at the thought of a moral breakdown; a loathing of the disqualification such sin might cause and the kind of circumspection Paul enjoined when he reminded the early church of the failures of the Israelites (see 1Cor 10:6, 11). It is a moral revulsion at anything that would grieve or cause affront to a thrice-holy God.

10.2.3.3.2. Rainy - He uses it where he would express a state of mind in which willing reverence is joined with a certain sensitive anxiety to escape dangerous mistakes and to perform duty well

10.2.3.3.3. Vincent has an excellent note reminding us that phobos, fear, is ... “Not slavish terror, but wholesome, serious caution. This fear is self-distrust; it is tenderness of conscience; it is vigilance against temptation; it is the fear which inspiration opposes to high-mindedness in the admonition, ‘be not high-minded but fear.’ It is taking heed lest we fall; it is a constant apprehension of the deceitfulness of the heart, and of the insidiousness and power of inward corruption. It is the caution and circumspection which timidly shrinks from whatever would offend and dishonor God and the Saviour” And these the child of God will feel and exercise the more he rises above the enfeebling, disheartening, distressing influence of the fear which hath torment.

10.2.3.3.4. John Flavel - "By the fear of the Lord men depart from evil; but by the fear of man they run themselves into evil."

10.2.3.4. verses

10.2.3.4.1. Isaiah 66:5 says, “Hear the word of the Lord, you who tremble at His word.”

10.2.3.4.2. ‘So the church … walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit was multiplied’ (Acts 9:31)

10.2.3.4.3. Acts 2: 43 Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe (fear); and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles.

10.2.3.4.4. Acts 5:5 And as he heard these words, Ananias fell down and breathed his last; and great fear came over all who heard of it.

10.2.3.4.5. 2 Cor 5:11 Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are made manifest to God; and I hope that we are made manifest also in your consciences.

10.2.3.4.6. of unbelievers - rom 3:18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

10.2.3.4.7. "Give diligence to make your calling and election sure" (2Pe 1:10)

10.2.3.5. illustrations

10.2.3.5.1. It's from this text that Kiergaarad wrote is book on Fear and Trembling. And in it he looks at Abraham and what it means to boey

10.2.3.5.2. ILL: me and Stewart - electricity - and me so ignorant and oblivious. Not good. Fear is not all bad: To fear the power of electricity doesn't mean we don't appreciate it or love it, but we treat it with clear undesrtanding and respect

10.2.3.5.3. Many people have faced frightening experiences, and sometimes nations have passed through times of terror. One such nightmare of human history was the frequent bombing of London and other English cities by Germany during World War H. Many Christians testified that those nighttime attacks were times of great peace because the Lord was with them. In this vein, During WWII in the midst of frightening nighttime air raids one London church posted the following sign "If your knees knock, kneel on them."

10.2.3.6. Conclusion

10.2.3.6.1. (1) Stop using grace as an excuse for laziness and antinomialism

10.2.3.6.2. (2) Repent of your sin - I speak seriously to you. You need to stop. you need to cut it out. You need to take head the voice of God's Spirit

10.2.3.6.3. Christianity is never a place self-confident people find to be attractive. Not without twisting it, not without corrupting it. Christianity is a place to accept that we are very fallible, veriy brokeable

10.3. Summary

10.3.1. 1 -

11. conclusion

11.1. not 50/50 - but 100/100. God works 100% in us and we call 100% in our doing

11.2. Salvation demands repentance!

11.3. Energized by the spirit

11.3.1. Rom 8:13

11.4. By Galatians 3:5, “Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith?” The answer is that the miracle-working Spirit is supplied to us, and active in us, by hearing with faith.

11.5. resolutions ---- work it out .... do it!

11.5.1. No one grows in sactification if God does not put it in their heart, but when he does, his call to you.. perhaps right now to empower you .. is it's time to grow! It's time to grow. That's Gods' voice to you. To give yo uenergy, give you wil, give you a vision

11.5.2. Time to read you rbible like never before - becasue it it you will will see Jesus

11.5.3. Time to pray - thats growing on my heart. I'm weak in that area, and i'm weak in lots of areas because i'm weak in that area.

11.5.4. Time to engage - Join the Mission - that's a phrase I'm planting in your hear, that's a thought that will hit us hard in Feb .. Join the Mission.

11.5.5. Time to join a communit ygroup - isolated, not sure .. friend - do it.

11.5.6. Time to step out, to let go of a ministry .. never thought that would be how...

11.6. We can make no claim upon God; we can only say, “We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty” (Luke 17: 10). Thielman, Frank S. (2009-05-26). Philippians (The NIV Application Commentary) (p. 145). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

12. He works in us

12.1. Heb 13:20-21

12.2. Jas 1:18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

12.3. 1 cor 15:10

12.3.1. Paul says at the end of it all, after all my owrk and straining and sweating ... it's GOD!

12.4. I will put my spirit in them and cause them to walk

13. “Let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.” (2 Corinthians 7:1)

14. G