In and Through Us

Q: What does Philippians 2:13 mean?

A: Philippians 2:13 says, "for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose." This verse, although it may be difficult to understand at first, is actually the definition of the Christian life in many ways. It is also a summation of verse 12, which says, "Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling..." A Christian works out his salvation by allowing God to work in him. This can only be accomplished if we humbly stop trying to live the Christian life in the energy of our own flesh and allow God to live it in and through us. Many Christians, throughout history, have asked the same question you have put forth. The key to understanding what this verse is implying lies in understanding the Gospel in its fullness. All Christians will say that the Gospel is the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, but without understanding the meaning of these events the scriptures are near impossible to discern properly.

The first step in understanding the Gospel, and the meaning of Philippians 2:13, is understanding man's problem. Man is spiritually dead and in need of life. God created Adam and said to him, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die (Genesis 2:16-17)." Adam was given the choice of remaining dependent on God for life or become independent from Him which is spiritual death. Adam chose to become independent of God and ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and died spiritually on that day. Because of this choice all mankind is born into this world, in the image of Adam, spiritually dead to God without His life indwelling them. "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned... (Romans 5:12)" If we look at things from God's perspective, we realize that problem of man is not that he is a sinner in need of forgiveness; he is dead and in need of life.

God desired to once again indwell mankind the way He did in the Garden prior to Adam's sin. However, before He could restore His life to mankind, He had to deal with the sin that caused that life to leave in the first place. Otherwise, the life He desires to restore to mankind would only leave again the next time we sinned. "This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins (1 John 4:10)." God is completely satisfied with the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on our behalf. Because of Christ's finished work on the cross, the sin issue between man and God no longer separates us from Him. There are those that believe Jesus dying for our sins is the Gospel. While His sacrifice is necessary for our salvation, it is not an end in itself, but a means of accomplishing the end. "For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life (Romans 5:10)!" That end is for God to save us from our spiritual death by restoring His life to us.

The solution to man's problem of spiritual death is God's provision of spiritual life through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. "But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved (Ephesians 2: 4-5)." All who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior have had the life of God, lost in Adam, restored to them for all eternity. The death of Jesus Christ paid the penalty for our sins that we could not pay ourselves. The resurrection of Jesus Christ provided the restoration of the life of God as a free gift to all who receive Christ. It is now that life that indwells a believer. "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (Galatians 2:20)." The answer to the meaning of Philippians 2:13 is that it is God, through the indwelling Holy Spirit, who lives a life only He can live through us. The Holy Spirit, the very life of God, can only live through us because of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Christ died for us so that, raised from the dead, He could live His life through us. "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10)." The only way God can accomplish the works He prepared for us in advance is by doing those works in and through us. And by understanding the fullness of the Gospel we can understand how all that is made possible.