Bowling Green Covenant Church

Friday 8 June 2007

I began my last post with the following observation from David F. Wells’, book, Above All Earthly Powers: “It is very easy to build churches in which seekers congregate; it is very hard to build churches in which biblical faith is maturing into genuine discipleship.” I mentioned there that the key ingredient necessary to building churches in which biblical faith is maturing into genuine discipleship is obedience to the gospel. Followers of Jesus should practice a lifestyle in which biblical faith is maturing into genuine discipleship.

This brings us back to Paul’s exhortation in Philippians 2.12-13; “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”

Paul is neither exhorting us to work in order to earn our salvation, nor is he exhorting us to work in order to keep our salvation. We misunderstand his meaning primarily because of how our English Bibles translate the Greek verb “work out.” The basic sense of the Greek verb katergázesthe [kat-er-gá-zes-the] is to “accomplish” something, not in the sense of “fulfillment,” but of “carrying out” a matter.

Although imperfect, try this thought experiment. Imagine a young woman who has received a full academic scholarship to a very prestigious university. She has been granted four years at no cost with the guarantee that she can pursue further study (for as long as she wants) beyond her bachelor’s degree also at no cost. The only condition is that she carry out her scholarship to obtain her bachelor’s degree. Now let us suppose that after two years of hard work she is wavering in her commitment. Having written a letter to her father expressing her weakening resolve, he concludes his letter to her with this exhortation: “Therefore, my beloved daughter, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, carry out your scholarship with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”

What does this young woman need to do to carry out her scholarship? She has to stay in school. She has to attend class. She has to study. She has to take exams. She has to participate in the community life of the university. She has to commit to practicing the lifestyle of a fulltime university student and all that being a student requires of her and from her.

My analogy is imperfect to this degree. It is about one person carrying out a university scholarship. Paul’s exhortation is directed to the entire membership, men and women, of the church in Philippi. He exhorts them to carry out their salvation not just as individual believers, but as active participants in a community of believers.

Salvation is a matter of individual men and women being saved one-by-one, however, the reason we are saved is so we may become part of a larger community of people called by God to display His glory by the way we live. All who come to Jesus do so in response to the Gospel. Additionally, all who come to Jesus having been called to faith are also called to assemble as part of His new covenant community. Thus, the church is where our biblical faith matures into genuine discipleship. So part of our gospel obedience is active participation in the life of the church. Our faith-relationship with Jesus Christ is to be carried out through our relationships with those inside the church.

According to Gordon Fee, the goal of the gospel “was not simply to fit individuals for heaven but to create a people who by the power of the Spirit lived out the life of the future (the life of God Himself) in the present age. The goal is not the populating of heaven with individuals. The goal is God’s creating a people who in their life together are His people living out His rule, His character,” (Paul, the Spirit, and the People of God, p. ix).

In the second part of Paul’s exhortation we are exhorted to work out our own salvation “with fear and trembling,” because the power to work it out, the power to carry it to completion is not ours. It is God’s power—the power of His Holy Spirit.

That we will take up in our next visit.

Until then, you think about that.

MM