Pastor Chris’ Corona Quarantine Epistles to the Flock of AIC Ngong Road, in Dispersion and Isolation. 26th. Edition.
Dear Little Flock,
We saw yesterday in Philippians 2:5-11, the selfless humility of Jesus, that we ought to emulate. We look today at verses 12-13. This is yet another turn in the direction of the apostle’s teaching. In verse 12, Paul encourages the Christians to Obey. This obedience is to be demonstrated in the ”Working out their own salvation with fear and trembling.”This verse is often misunderstood and its intent misrepresented.
To “work for” and to work out” are very different in meaning. The former means to work in order to earn or achieve that which one does not have. The latter means to exercise, in order to bring out the best in what one already has. The latter is what Paul means, here. The reason for “fear and trembling” is not because one can lose one’s salvation – from Paul’s teaching elsewhere and the teaching of the Apostle John, that is simply impossible. But the exercise could be labeled, “Handle with care,” nonetheless. It is so easy to be driven by wrong or selfish motives, that one can never be too careful.
We must always be vigilant because the most formidable foe is the evil within. In verse 13, Christians are to Observe God at Work in them. We cannot affect our own transformation. Our responsibility is to yield our “members (bodies) to God as instruments of righteousness,” (Romans 6:13). In populist parlance, we are to “Let go and let God.”God is at work in each believer’s life, to accomplish His purposes in that person. Often, our disobedience takes the form of resistance to the leading of the Spirit of God, because we think we know what is good for us, but we suspect God has a plan that may go contrary to our wishes.
The most important step in obedience is to repeat to God the words of Isaiah, “Here am I, send me,” (Isaiah 6:8). Only then can we truly “Approve what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God,” (Romans 12:2).
Your loving Pastor Chris.