Work Out Your Salvation! What Does It Mean?
Philippians 2: 12 – 13 [KJV]
12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, WORK OUT YOUR OWN SALVATION” with “FEAR AND TREMBLING”
13 for it is God who worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure
I will explain this scripture in two parts. In the first part, we will examine what “FEAR and “TREMBLING” means as regards the matters of salvation..
This portion of the scripture has confused some people, thinking that they can lose their salvation because of the use of choice words “fear and trembling”.
Here, Paul was not putting the believer in a state of nervousness or timidity. The word “fear” translated in this context means “reverence or respect”.
Paul uses the same word in 2 Corinthians 7:15 [KJV] – “And his inward affection is more abundant toward you, whilst he remembereth the obedience of you all, how with “FEAR AND TREMBLING” ye received him.
Again he used it here as well…
1 Corinthians 2: 3 [KJV]
And I was with you in weakness, and “IN FEAR, AND IN MUCH TREMBLING”
David used the phrase too.
Psalm 2: 11 [KJV]
Serve the Lord with “FEAR, and rejoice with TREMBLING”.
None of the text implies anxiety, nervousness or timidity. They all connote “reverence and respect” or better put, “reverential fear”
In matters of salvation. We live in reverence and awe of what God has wrought in and for us in Christ Jesus not in fear of what might happen to us if fail to meet up with some demands. All demands have been met in Christ Jesus.
Romans 8: 15 [KJV]
For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
2 Timothy 1: 7 [KJV]
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
Let’s look at the second part of this teaching…
A lot of people have misunderstood and misinterpreted “WORK OUT YOUR SALVATION” to mean “WORK FOR YOUR SALVATION” in Philippians 2: 12 [KJV]
What they read is “work out” but what it means to them is “work for”. It is totally different. I once saw things like that many years ago.
The word “work out” is the Greek word “katergazomai” which comes from two Greek words “kater” and “gazomai”. “Gazomai” means “TO WORK” and “Kater” means “ACCORDING TO”.
If you put it together, you will find out that “WORK OUT” means “TO WORK ACCORDING TO”. We are not “working anything out”, we are only “working according to what is in us”.
It actually means to “bring out the works of your salvation”, and we can only “bring it out” because we have been created unto good works in the first place. We are God’s handiwork [Ephesians 2: 10 KJV]
It does not mean “to work towards it or work for it”, but “to work according to it”. They are two different things.
Then Paul concludes in Philippians 2 vs 13 [KJV] – For it is God who works in you, both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
We are only working in accordance to what God has worked out and done in us [And He is still working in us]. We work it out because we have the very source of what was worked/wrought on the inside of us, and this is done with reverence, respect and awe.
DECLARATION
I serve the Lord with reverence and awe, I am an offspring of God in Christ Jesus. I am saved and secured, full of power, love and sound mind. I am a new creation in Christ Jesus made for good works after the counsel of God’s own will. I am working in accordance with everything God has wrought in me Christ Jesus. I am always pleasing to the Father. Glory to God!
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