Phil.2:12 – Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now 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 do for His good pleasure.
In this passage Paul is talking about growing in grace which results in producing verifiable fruit as a Christian. He shares two concepts that at first glance seem to be in conflict with one another. First he says to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. This sounds like Paul is putting all the responsibility to change and bring forth fruit on us as humans. Then he makes an about face and says that God is working in us to will and to do for His good pleasure. So which is it, us or Him? The answer is an emphatic yes. God works on our enslaved will by His grace so that our desires become aligned with His. This leads us to yielding so that His power goes to work in us to accomplish all that He intends to do. This passage falls right in Augustine’s wheel house, this is how he describes this conundrum.
“It is not that the will or the deed is not ours, but without his aid we neither will nor do anything good….It is not in God’s power that anyone should be forced against his will to do evil or good but that he should go to the bad, according to his own deserts, when God abandons him. For a person is not good if he does not will it, but the grace of God assists him even in willing. It is not without cause that it is written, “God is the one who works in you to will and do, of his own good will.”
This concept is impossible for the natural man to understand. The reason is that it is our free will that was corrupted and enslaved at the fall. Fallen man does not have the capacity to get saved our follow the Lord without divine intervention. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ attracts us, cleanses us, delivers us, transforms us, and empowers us. We are set free from ourselves and liberated to follow the Lord. Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling because God is at work in you to will and to do for His good pleasure.