“So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” (Phil. 2:12 LSB) https://accordance.bible/link/read/LSB#Phil._2:12
The mystery of this Christian life, this relationship with the Almighty God, is in its partnership with God for the accomplishment of the will of God upon earth as it is in heaven. By the will of God, He commands the will of men to obey Him, to cooperate with Him in the accomplishment for Him of His kingdom upon earth as it is in heaven. Therefore we work out our salvation, the salvation He generously imparted to us in full, through His work in Christ Jesus. The work of Christ is complete, the appropriation of that work total to those who receive Him as Savior, yet the visibility of that work, the fulfillment of that work in us who believe, transpires daily as we work with God to fulfill the work of God in us and in the world. Because this is God’s work we work in fear and trembling for the Holy One is in our midst, in our presence, in our very life, and He is not to be ignored, denied, or disobeyed. In Christ, God owns us, having purchased us by His blood. We are His possession for His use on earth to bring heaven in its glory, honor, and worship of Jesus to this place so that all men everywhere recognize Jesus as King of kings and Lord of lords. God is at work in us to accomplish through His will and we are not to resist or restrain His Holy Spirit Who guides and directs us through His Word and through His whisper of that Word’s application in our daily circumstances. It is work to die to self in order for God to do His work through our flesh prone to disobey but now born again to live to the glory of God. We are God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, made a kingdom of priests for ministering the love of God to the world through Jesus Christ the Lord. This is our work and God’s work through us.
