"Do work, He works"
Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. (Philippians 2:12, 13 NLT)
The Bible is full of paradoxes. Things that seem contradictory on the surface but both exist at the same time. Jesus is a man & yet God. We have to die in order to live. The way to greatness is by humility.
One of the hardest paradoxes that Christians have tried to reconcile over the centuries is the fact that God is sovereign & man is responsible (and they have yet to succeed). Both are true but don't seem to be able to exist in the same universe. But the Bible clearly teaches that God is sovereign over all things & yet we make choices. Very real, very responsible choices.
One of the best examples of this is in Philippians 2. The question comes up from this passage, "Who is responsible for my sanctification? Who is responsible for my growth in Jesus & the gospel? Is it God or me?"
The answer is yes.
God is sovereign & works in us but we are responsible & must work out our salvation. We see both here. "Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him."
See it there? One minute Paul says, "Work hard" & the next he says, "For God is working." Now, we don't work for our salvation. We are saved by grace through faith but we do have a part in our sanctification.
We will not be more like Jesus by osmosis. The more we read, seek, love, serve, pray, repent, engage, & worship (among other things) the more we grow. We become more like Jesus the more we do. When we work out our salvation & God works in us, we become more like him.
So what are we doing to mature in Christ? And what have we seen him doing in us & through us to make us more like Jesus?
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