"And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death —— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 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, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose" (Philippians 2:12 NIV).
There are two "‘therefore'’s"’ in this passage. First, Jesus became human and, in obedience to His Father, died on the cross for our sin . . . therefore God exalted Him to the highest place. Second, because of what He did, eventually every knee will bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord . . . therefore work out your salvation with fear and trembling.
This passage does not say "“work for your salvation,"” or "“work at your salvation,"” or "“work up your salvation."” This is not about attaining salvation by human effort or goodness or it would contradict other plainer passages. It is about living out the inner transformation that happens when someone accepts Christ and recognizes the reasons for the therefore'’s.
In other words, because Jesus lives in me, my life ought to show it. From the context, this means acting like He acted. It means: being humble even though God has blessed me in countless ways; being human and identifying with fellow strugglers in this life; being a servant just as Christ came to serve; being obedient to God like Jesus is obedient to His Father, and being willing to pay the ultimate price if God asked for it, just as Jesus did.
My life would be no different from any pagan, unbelieving person if I did not "“work out my salvation"” by allowing Jesus who lives within to come out, to be seen. It is the outworking of His life that makes a difference. But I'’m not a puppet. My part is putting off the old (me) and putting on the new (Christ) and humbly cooperating with Him as He fulfills God'’s purposes for me.
So where will that take me today? I'’ll likely have to do my ironing and begin lesson preparations for next Sunday. Other than that, He makes today, like every other day, an adventure!
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