I was contemplating recently a simple phrase found in Philippians 2:13: … for it is God who is at work in you… What a profound thought and statement. If we could but grasp that! God, the God of the universe, He that spoke worlds into existence, Who is eternal holding all of the yesterdays in one and and all of the tomorrows in the other, Who is omniscient and cannot be surprised, Who is ever present no matter where we are or what circumstances we are in or are facing, THAT GOD, THE ONLY GOD, is at work in us.
[Philippians 2:12-15 NASB95] 12 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. 14 Do all things without grumbling or disputing; 15 sothat you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world,
Paul, who had faced many trials and persecutions and troubles is writing this church at Philippi, a church also under persecution and encouraging them. Much is made of the phrase “work out your salvation with fear and trembling” That is so because it generally is applied to our eternal salvation and deliverance from sin.
I submit that is not consistent with the scriptures indicating salvation is a gift by grace through faith, nor is it consistent with the context. I believe Paul is speaking of their salvation from persecution, the ongoing jailing, and being burned as torches in Nero’s gardens. Paul was writing, himself, from house imprisonment chained to guards. Our eternal salvation is secure and requires no fear and trembling. But our current challenges and circumstances often do require us to move through, work out, our fears and anxieties in them. Paul’s instruction is to turn us toward God. A God who is at work in us, even through our experiences to display His nature and accomplish His will and His work for His good pleasure or purpose. As he would say to the Romans (8:21) “If God is/be for us, Who is/can be against us?
Then the apostle gives instruction regarding behaviors that will result in them shining as
lights in the world even among a dark and perverse generation.
Peter shares the same kind of encouragement:
[1Peter 4:16-17, 19 NASB95] 16 but if [anyone suffers] as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name. 17 For[it is] time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if [it] [begins] with us first, what [will be] the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? … 19 Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.
The point of this reminder that God is at work in us, is to encourage us all to keep a Kingdom perspective. A viewpoint and paradigm that there is a King, a Lord, with whom we have to do that is Sovereign God. He is in control, He is doing what is right even when we may think differently. Seeking first His Kingdom and His righteousness involves entrusting ourselves to Him, and comprehending that He is working in the world today, and much, if not most, of what He is doing, He is doing through you and me as the corporate expression of the Body of Christ in the earth. It is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for [His] good pleasure.
Last week I mentioned a proverb that indicates that the hearts of kings are like water channeled through His (God’s) fingers as He turns them wherever He wants them to go. ( [Proverbs 21:1 NASB95] 1 The king’s heart is [like] channels of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He wishes.
A Kingdom perspective involves recognizing a King is ruling in His domain. His place of dominion. And, being in that domain, believers are under His authority, as citizens and ambassadors of the Kingdom of God. As such, we express the present reality of that Kingdom and our King, the Lord Jesus and who is one (echad/inseparable) with the Father/God.
[Colossians 2:6-10 NASB95]6 Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, [so] walk in Him, 7 having been firmly rooted [and now] being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, [and] overflowing with gratitude. 8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. 9 For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, 10 and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority;
His Lordship over all things is established, for He is God, the fullness of God dwelling in Him in bodily form. Capture that if you can. Imagine it, meditate on it, let it sink in. Then consider that you have been made, by the power of rebirth in Him, complete. In Him you are without lacking, finished. And you may rest, as a part of His body, the fullness of Him that fills all in all (Ephesians 1:22-23) in His complete and sovereign rule and authority. He has been given first as Head over His body, the church.
Obviously, there is some deep theology here. And, just as obvious, is the reality of our daily experiences which often include challenges and dealing sometimes, if not often, with suffering and pain, and sometimes persecution, and even death. These “in the world” but “not of it” experiences may cause you/us to question the present reality of the Kingdom we are citizens of and ambassadors for.
But the reality of our King and His Kingdom is nevertheless present. Jesus saw it so, and we have need of comprehending it, and seeing ourselves as representatives of His Kingdom, as He did in the face of judgment, pain, suffering, and persecution.
[John 18:36-37 NASB95] 36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of (literally – not derived from) this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.” 37 Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say [correctly] that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”.
Jesus spoke of His Kingdom as a reality calling it “My kingdom” and explaining My Kingdom is not of this realm (literally – “not from here”). Pilate takes from this that He is proclaiming Himself a king. And without any hesitation or backing up Jesus says “You say correctly I am a king.” Then emphasizes that He, in fact, was born for that purpose and came into the world to establish that truth. He is King, He is the Truth. He is King in the kingdom of truth. Note that everyone who is “of the truth” hears Him.
In a side note here. In Daniel 4 and 5 the prophet is announcing a judgment on Nebuchadnezzar and 4 times mentions that “the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind”, and that the judgment , being turned into a beast to graze the fields like a wild donkey, is to prove to him and all others this fact.
[Daniel 4:17, 25 NASB95] 17 “This sentence is by the decree of the [angelic] watchers And the decision is a command of the holy ones, In order that the living may know That the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind, And bestows it on whom He wishes And sets over it the lowliest of men.” …
25 that you be driven away from mankind and your dwelling place be with the beasts of the field, and you be given grass to eat like cattle and be drenched with the dew of heaven; and seven periods of time will pass over you, until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes. [ see also Daniel 4:32 and 5:21 ]
Jesus spoke of, and moved in, the present reality of the Kingdom and poured it out upon the earth even in His state of humility having taken on the form of a man. And not just a man, but that of a bondservant serving us, and the eternal purpose of the Father, even unto the ignoble death of a criminal on the cross. (see Philippians 2:7-8) He would also pray for us and speak of His disciples in terms of being in the world, but not of it. And, of them making He and the Father, and the fullness of the Father’s love and truth, known in the world
[John 17:9-18 NASB95]9 “I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours; 10 and all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them. 11 “I am no longer in the world; and [yet] they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, [the name] which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We [are.] 12 “While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled. 13 “But now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves. 14 “I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 15 “I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil [one.] 16 “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 17 “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. 18 “As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. …
Without great exposition here this so-called High Priestly Prayer of Jesus makes it clear we, in Him, have purpose in the world, in our experiences (even suffering, persecution, etc) just as He did. So, our experiences should find us looking for, seeking, His Kingdom and seeing it in our experiences rather than questioning its present reality. May the Holy Spirit give us revelation of all that is ours, and all that is purposed through us, in Him.
[John 16:13-15 NASB95] 13 “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. 14 “He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose [it] to you. 15 “All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose [it] to you.
As we move through our daily lives, the joys and the challenges, may we comprehend that we are in Jesus, that we are where He is, and may we seek to co-labor with Him in what He is doing. And may we pray as He did that the world may see that we know Him, and that we have been sent by Him. May the world see us as ambassadors from another Kingdom. And, may we make the King’s name known, and manifest the fullness of Him and the fullness of the Fathers love for Him, and His love for us in Hm. We have purpose in the world even if we are not of it
[John 17:9-18, 24-26 NASB95]24 “Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. 25 “O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me; 26 and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”
May we keep in mind..
It is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for [His] good pleasure.
And through our testimony in Jesus …
the living may know That the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind