Philippians 2:13

My Notes

What Does Philippians 2:13 Mean?

Paul reveals the divine power behind human obedience: for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

For — the verse explains how the working out of v.12 (work out your own salvation) is possible. The human working (v.12) is empowered by the divine working (v.13). You work because God works. The for connects human effort to divine enablement.

It is God which worketh (energeo — to be active in, to produce energy within, to operate effectively) in you — God is the one working. The working is inside (en humin — in you, within you). The divine operation is internal — not external pressure but internal empowerment. God does not push you from outside. He works from within.

Both to will (thelo — to desire, to determine, to set the will toward) — God works your willing. The desire to obey, the inclination toward holiness, the determination to do right — God produces it. The wanting is not self-generated. It is God-generated. When you want to please God, that wanting is already God's work in you.

And to do (energeo — to work effectively, to accomplish, to carry through) — God works your doing. Not just the willing but the executing. The actual accomplishment — the follow-through from desire to action — is also God's work. Both dimensions of obedience (the wanting and the doing) are divinely energized.

Of his good pleasure (eudokia — delight, satisfaction, the settled purpose of a pleased will) — the divine working is not grudging or mechanical. It is pleasurable to God. He delights in working within you. The empowerment flows from God's good pleasure — his satisfied, joyful, purposeful will. God is happy to produce holiness in you.

The verse resolves the tension of v.12: work out your own salvation (human responsibility) with fear and trembling — for it is God which worketh in you (divine sovereignty). Both are true simultaneously. You work. God works. The human effort is real. The divine power behind it is the reason it succeeds. The fear and trembling of v.12 are appropriate because what is happening inside you is God himself operating — and the appropriate response to God operating within you is reverent awe.

Reflection Questions

• 1.How does verse 13 resolve the tension of verse 12 — and how do human working and divine working coexist?
• 2.What does God working 'both to will and to do' mean for the origin of your desire to obey?
• 3.How does 'of his good pleasure' change the tone from mechanical empowerment to joyful, personal divine involvement?
• 4.Where have you experienced the will to do right and recognized it as God working within you — not just your own determination?

Devotional

It is God which worketh in you both to will and to do. God is working inside you. Right now. Not watching from heaven. Working — actively, effectively, energetically — within you. The operation is internal. The power is divine. And the scope covers everything: both the wanting and the doing.

Both to will. The desire to obey — where did it come from? The inclination toward what is right — who planted it? The wanting that shows up when you face a choice between obedience and compromise — that wanting is God's work. He produced the desire before you acted on it. The will to do good is his gift, operating inside you.

And to do. Not just the wanting. The doing — the actual follow-through, the carrying out, the accomplishment of what the will desired. God works both ends: he makes you want to, and he makes you able to. The desire and the capacity are both his provision. You are not on your own in either dimension.

Of his good pleasure. God is not reluctantly powering your obedience. He delights in it. The working within you is pleasurable to him — his good pleasure, his satisfied will, his joyful purpose. God is happy to produce holiness in you. The empowerment is not mechanical. It is personal — flowing from a God who takes pleasure in what he is making you become.

This verse is the companion to verse 12: work out your own salvation — for God is working in you. Both are true. You work. God works. The human effort is real and necessary. The divine power is the reason the effort produces results. You are not working alone — and you are not passive. You work because he works. You obey because he empowers. You will because he wills within you. And the whole arrangement is his good pleasure.

The fear and trembling of v.12 make sense now: the thing happening inside you is God himself, operating. And the appropriate response to the Creator of the universe working within your will and your actions is not casual confidence. It is reverent, trembling awe.

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture