For it is God who is at work in you… (Phil. 2:13).
Everybody needs a good spiritual workout. Even the Bible says that physical training is of some value, but training in the spiritual life is of value not only in this life, but also in the age to come, (I Tim. 4:6). Today’s text is part of two verses that give the formula for living an effective spiritual life.
In the verse immediately preceding today’s text, Paul writes to the men and women of the church in Philippi exhorting them to “work out your salvation with fear and trembling”. “Fear and trembling” was a Hebrew idiom meaning “reverence and respect”. The reason Paul uses this idiom is the truth contained here in Philippians 2:13: “for it is God who is at work in you.”
Here is a great thought to hang onto today: God is working in you! You might be completely oblivious to this fact, but it doesn’t change a thing. The grammatical structure of the text indicates that God is continually working in us. I can think of at least four ways God is at work in your life and my life today.
First, he is at work giving us spiritual life. When we were dead, Christ made it possible for us to once again experience spiritual life. Theologians call it “regeneration”. When we pray and ask Christ into our lives, he comes. And when he comes, he brings life. Only God can do this. We can’t make ourselves come alive. We can resist this gift, or we can accept it. When we accept it, God begins working…in us!
Second, he is working in us to change us. God is in the transformation business. You can make changes in your external life, but only God can change you from the inside out. Theologians call this sanctification. The word literally means “to make holy”. In our lives it means God is continually at work to make us more like Jesus. The Bible even says we have been predestined (once we come to Jesus) to be conformed to his image, (Romans 8:29).
Third, he is working in us to motivate us. The rest of today’s text says “to will and to act according to his good purpose.” God is working in us to give us a desire to be his men and women. He is working in us to give us the desire to be pleasing to him. We can resist this prompting, or we can embrace it. Sometimes we misinterpret our struggles in this area. We want to be pleasing to God, but we keep making stupid choices that hinder that goal. When we get frustrated, we should stop and remember that there was a time in our lives when we were not frustrated about this because we didn’t even care whether we were God’s men and women. Frustration is actually a sign of progress! God is working in you to motivate you.
Finally, God is working in you to empower and enable you. Notice that the text says that he not only working to motivate us to “will”, but he also is at work helping us be able “to act according to his good purpose”. We can’t live the spiritual life in our own power. We need divine intervention. Jesus told the disciples, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you…” He enables us to do those things he has motivated us to desire.
Some days, I wonder if I have made any progress at all in my relationship with Jesus. When I’m having one of those days, I need to remember this truth: God is working in me, today. So next time you are having one of those day, remember Philippians 2:13!
Want to know more? Go to this link for more teaching on this topic:http://www.highlinecc.org/go/index.php/teaching/recent-sermons/sermon/16…