A Biblical Theology of Philippians 2:12-13; Why Paul is not Synergistic in our Salvation by Grace through Faith
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. — Philippians 2:12-13
Over the years, many Christians have cited Philippians 2:12-13 -- “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling” – to make the argument that “Oh yes, here is where the apostle Paul diminishes divine sovereignty in favor of human responsibility in our salvation. You do your part, God does his part.”
Given all that we know about the apostle Paul’s theology, that interpretation would be a surprising departure from the rest of his theology. Is there human responsibility before God? Yes. We are all responsible for our sin!
“None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands, no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” (Rom 3:10b-12)
"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil". (2 Cor 5:10)
Therefore, here are 10 distinct reasons why “you do your part, God does his part” as you earn your own salvation is a misinterpretation of Pauline theology in general and Philippians 2:12-13 in particular.
Reason #1: Paul is not saying: “Work toward your salvation.” Or, “Work for your salvation.” Paul is encouraging you: Work out your salvation. That is a huge difference! Paul is talking about the process of sanctification – of growing in grace & holiness — not a matter of justification whereby you might earn your salvation by working for it.
Reason #2: Paul is not of two minds. Only a few verses earlier, Paul clearly and unequivocally writes: “This is a clear sign…of your salvation, and that from God.” (Phil. 1:28)
Reason #3: Paul is consistent throughout the epistle to the Philippians: In chapter 3, Paul denies any possibility of earning righteousness by working and obeying the law. Paul declares: “not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith.” (Phil 3:9)
Reason #4: Faith is a gift of God. Paul admonishes the Ephesian Christians: do not even make your faith a “work”. Paul calls faith a gift given to you by God: 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. (Eph 2:8-9).
Reason #5: Paul is in agreement with the prophet Jonah: “Salvation belongs to the Lord!” (Jonah 2:9). I trust the witness of anyone who miraculously gets vomited out of a fish by a sovereign God!
Reason #6: Paul is in agreement the apostle John: John describes children of God “who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”( John 1:13)
Reason #7: Paul is consistent throughout his theology. Paul writes his younger protégé Timothy about the God “who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began” (2 Timothy 1:9).
Reason #8: A dead person cannot “choose” anything, let alone God. A person in a casket no longer has any “choice” left in life. This is our condition apart from the saving act of God in regeneration. As Paul says, “You were dead in your trespasses and sins.” (Eph 2:1)
Reason #9: Obedience is the Pauline call to the Philippian believers directly after the Christ hymn (“my beloved, as you have always obeyed…,” Phil 2:12). Paul is saying; “Embrace Christ’s pattern of life based on his example in the Christ hymn (Phil 2:6-11). Don’t merely be spectators of Christ’s humble obedience, walk it out in your own life. Thus, “obedience” fits into the overall Pauline meaning of the passage, like he admonished the Philippians earlier: “Walk in a manner worthy of Christ (1:27). Paul is not suddenly talking about working “for” your salvation in Philippians 2:12-13. The imperative is “work out” your salvation by simple and humble obedience to Christ who Paul has set before them.
After admonishing the believers to walk in a manner worthy of Christ, it surely would be jarring if Paul suddenly decided to thrust them back on themselves in a way that would produce pride that they, in fact, are the ones working “for” their salvation.
Reason #10: God gets all the glory in your salvation. Not you. Paul admits no boasting before God in your salvation. DeYoung writes: “If we contribute or cooperate in any way in our regeneration, then we can be proud of contributing some small part to our salvation, of which Paul says, ‘But far be it from be to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.’” (Gal. 6:14)
So here is how not to interpret Phil 2:12-13:
“Oh, the apostle of the free grace of God suddenly is retracting his gospel that God justifies by grace through faith and now is talking about your contribution in working for your salvation. Paul even adds “with fear and trembling” because he wants to make salvation a point of ‘nervous insecurity’ in your life. Indeed, you now ride on the spiritual roller coaster of emotions because your Christian life (after joyously coming to Christ) is ALL UP TO YOU: self-satisfaction with yourself when “you get it right” and self-condemnation when you “get it wrong”. I guess this is just the Christian life.”(1)
Better to “Fall on Grace” and “Fall on Humility” because Philippians 2:13 literally reads: “For God is the working one.” God promises to work powerfully in your life by faith, by the Holy Spirit, by the Word of God, and by the fellowship of believers. For God is the working one! This is such good news!
God does not stand back and say: “Hey pal, The Cross! The Resurrection! I’ve done my part. What more do you want? Now it’s up to you!” That is not God’s heart, and that is not the biblical vision of the Christian life. God is always the working one in our initial salvation and throughout our lives in our sanctification.
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“The work of God in regeneration is monergistic (by the one working) not synergistic (by a work of cooperation). That is to say, regeneration is God’s work and his alone. Being dead in our sins and trespasses, we are passive, helpless, acted upon in the new birth, rather than working jointly with God. The Reformed confessions all reject the synergism of the [Roman Catholic] Council of Trent whereby the will is said to be “excited and assisted” by divine grace…We are not mostly dead; we are all the way dead.
Given the monergistic nature of the new birth, we must also conclude that regeneration precedes faith. We don’t believe unto new life; we are given new life that we may believe….In the miracle of regeneration, we bring nothing and do nothing. That’s why Paul likens regeneration to a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17) and to a resurrection (Col. 2:12).”
– Kevin DeYoung, Daily Doctrine
(1) Paraphrase by Jason Carter & Dennis Johnson in Philippians: Reformed Expository Commentary.