Philippians 2:12-13

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,

(v12, NIV)

We are to continue and endure regardless of whether Paul is there or not. Whether or not we have someone looking over our shoulder, we should remain steadfast in our devotion to the Lord. Paul is encouraging them and acknowledging their obedience. The saints at the church in Philippi are obedient whether Paul is there or not.

The last section was about Christ's humble obedience to the father. He took the form of a servant and was obedient to the point of death on a cross. In light of his obedience and his example, we too are to be obedient. A call to work out your salvation is a call to obedience. However, we are not saved by work that we do. We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

"If you love me, you will obey what I command.

(John 14:15, NIV)

It is out of love that we obey his commandments. The obedience is with respect to what he commands. So, what are we to obey? My knee-jerk reaction is to obey the "rules and regulations". Does obedience to him mean "be good"? That is certainly something that we should do, but not the heart of the issue. Sanctification and "being good" are mere by-products of the gospel.

for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

(v13, NIV)

God is the one who causes us to act according to his purpose. His purpose is good. God isn't forcing us to be drawn along into something that is not good for us. Now, our definition of "good" may be different from God's definition of "good". We may think "good" means that we never experience pain and are wealthy and successful in life according to the cultural norms. This is according to the wisdom of men, not the wisdom of God. Jesus' obedience led him to be crucified on a cross, which is a terrible result and means failure according to the world's standards. If that was all it was, it would be a poor result regardless of whose eyes you are looking through. However, Jesus died as payment for our sins so that we might be redeemed as adopted sons and daughters of the living God. In addition, he rose from the dead, conquering death. God's purpose was for good and carried out by Jesus was good for him and good for all of us.

I think I'm going too far in trying to explain away what this passage means. I'm trying to reason out what I don't understand myself. The saints at Philippi were obedient, and Paul was encouraging them to continue in their obedience. We are to look at Jesus' example of humble obedience to the Father. What's interesting is that God is the one who works in us. Though we are to be obedient to him, it is at the same time he who works in us to will and to act. It's weird and confusing, but amazing at the same time. God is good. Obey him.