Phil 2:12-13 - "…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."
I found the Amplified Bible very useful on this part of the above passage. It describes "fear and trembling" as "reverence and awe and trembling [self distrust, that is, with serious caution, tenderness of conscience, watchfulness against temptation; timidly shrinking from whatever might offend God and discredit the name of Christ]."
In other words, the fear (meaning "reverence, respect, honor" in the Greek) is toward God, but the trembling is toward ourselves! The fear speaks of working out your salvation with a reverence and awe for God. It is working it out (living it out)while always being mindful that God is to remain in the driver's seat and the Holy Spirit is to be the GPS. It is knowing that you, the creation, are in desperate need of the Creator's strength for any of this to happen.
This is the same "fear" that the Bible says Jesus delighted in. (Isa 11:3). Jesus delighted in putting God first and allowing the Father’s will and strength to direct His actions and thoughts and be "worked out" for the world to see and experience. The trembling however, seems like more of a caution towards us. It means working out your salvation (letting Jesus out for the world to see) while at the same time having an attitude of self-distrust towards your ability to lead apart from God's Spirit. Unless you are following Jesus there is vulnerability toward temptation and actions that could discredit the name of Christ and/or thwart you in being conformed to His image.
Thanks for stopping by!
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Adrian
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This is way too confusing. Work and rest, fear and have peace, trust God but mistrust ourselves....
ReplyDeleteJesus help us!
Carry on!
Narrow,
ReplyDeleteApart from Christ we can trust nothing about ourselves. In Christ we have His mind and heart and can peacefully follow His lead. That is where God's wants us to be. His thoughts, His mind, His actions. His call on acceptable and unacceptable action, etc.
Think man! This is not confusing. This is reality for the sanctified, perfected life. Work out = let Jesus shine through every fabric of your being. Fear = reverence or respect for God's leadership. Tremble = when you think of the mess we make of our life when we try to manufacture zoe.
Also, your comments seem to displace freewill from our daily experience. Temptation does not go way. THere are crisis points that require a decision even for the perfected. Are you expounding a salvation that superceeds the Garden of Eden? Does your view eradicate free will?
The New Covenant doesn't offer us the way back to Eden.
ReplyDeleteIf offers us far more.
My view offers nothing, I'm surprised by the response.
Can't Jesus perfect our free will?
Can our will become His?
I'm beggin, someone else make a comment! Please!
Hmmm....if Jesus perfects our will, is it still free?
ReplyDelete