Rejoice That You Work Out What God Works In

After a three-month hiatus from the Philippians Weblog Commentary, I now return to this blog series with a post on Philippians 2:12-18, a passage that teaches us to rejoice that we out-work what God in-works. You can read prior posts on this series (commentary on 1:1-2:11) by clicking here.

Before we examine this text, however, let us see this text’s context in the broader scheme of Philippians:

1. Paul, a Person of Joy (1:1-26)
2. “Let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ” (1:27-2:30).
   1. Unite in Perseverance (1:27-30)
   2. Be Humble, As Was Christ (2:1-11)
   3. Rejoice That You Work Out What God Works In (2:12-18)
      1. “Work out your own salvation” because God works in you (vv. 12-13).
      2. Be blameless and faithful (vv. 14-16).
      3. Rejoice because of your God-given perseverance (vv. 17-18).
   4. Persevere because we await One greater than Timothy (2:19-24)
   5. Honor those who give their all for Christ (2:25-30)
3. The Practicalities of Joy (3:1-4:23)

As always, I encourage you to read this passage (Philippians 2:12-18) before reading my below commentary on the passage. (Click “read more” to read the whole post.)