A Mystery Worth Living In
Introduction, Who Are You — REALLY?: Philippians 2:12–13
Introduction
Somewhere in the next six weeks, as we journey through the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, you’re going to catch yourself asking the same question at least twice — once while reading about who you already are in Christ, and again while reading about how you’re supposed to live because of it. The question sounds something like this: Am I trying to earn this, or am I responding to something already given?
This series won’t answer that question once and be done with it. It’s going to keep showing up, in different disguises, on almost every page. Here’s the good news: Paul doesn’t resolve it either. In one of his letters, he writes a single sentence that holds both sides at once, doesn’t explain how they fit together, and moves on like that’s perfectly normal. We’re going to start there — not to settle the mystery, but to learn how to stand inside it.
Scripture
Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. — Philippians 2:12–13
Reflection
What’s Happening in the Text
Paul has just finished describing Jesus emptying himself, taking the form of a servant, and being obedient all the way to death on a cross, and exalted because of it (2:5–11). Right on the heels of that, he tells the Philippians to “work out” their salvation. The phrase in the original language doesn’t mean produce or earn. It’s closer to the language you’d use for working out a problem whose solution already exists, or working a mine for ore that’s already there. Paul isn’t asking them to generate something from nothing. He’s asking them to carry through, in practice, something already true.
Notice, too, that the “you” here is plural. This is a community instruction, not just a private one, sitting right after Paul’s appeal for unity and humility toward one another. And “fear and trembling” isn’t anxiety; it’s the weight you’d naturally feel handling something valuable that isn’t yours. Then verse 13 arrives and does something remarkable. It doesn’t explain how human effort and divine work fit together. It just says both, back to back, unapologetically. God works in you — the wanting and the doing, both — “to fulfill his good purpose.” That last phrase shares its root with the voice at Jesus’ baptism: this is my Son, in whom I am well pleased. The same pleasure. The same delight.
What This Means for You
You already know the tension this verse holds, even if you’ve never had a verse to put under it. It’s the difference between obeying because you’re afraid of losing your place, and obeying because you already have one and want to honor it. Between striving to be enough, and responding to a love that already called you enough. Most days, if you’re honest, you can’t always tell which one you’re doing. Neither could the Philippians, probably, and Paul doesn’t seem worried about it. He just tells them to keep working it out, and reminds them in the very next breath that God is the one at work in them the whole time.
That’s the posture this whole series will ask of you. Not a formula that settles, once and for all, how much is God and how much is you. Just a willingness to keep showing up inside a tension Scripture itself never fully resolves. Because a faith you could solve wouldn’t need trust anymore — and trust is the whole of it.
You will not finish this series with the mystery solved. That’s not a failure of the material — it’s the shape of a faith that’s still alive.
Grace Note
And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” — Matthew 3:17
Before Jesus did anything the Gospels record, the Father was already pleased. Whatever “working it out” means for you, it starts from the same place.
Prayer Prompt
Father, I don’t always know which one I’m doing — earning or responding, performing or loving you back. Some days it feels like both at once, and I don’t know how to untangle them.
I don’t want a formula that settles this once and lets me stop paying attention. I want to actually live inside the tension honestly, the way Paul seems to, without pretending I’ve solved something Scripture never fully solves.
Work in me — the wanting, not just the doing. Let even my desire to get this right come from you, not from fear of losing my place with you.
I don’t need the mystery resolved today. I just want to keep showing up inside it, with you.
Amen.
Response
1. Written Reflection: Write down, honestly, which pulls stronger in you most days — trying to earn, or responding to love already given. You don’t have to resolve it. Just name it.
2. Verbal/Read Aloud: Read Philippians 2:13 aloud slowly, emphasizing the phrase “God who works in you.” Let it land as a description of what’s already happening, not a task still ahead of you.
3. Contemplative: Sit for a few quiet minutes and simply ask God to work in both your wanting and your doing today. No goal for the sitting except to let that be true.
Note From Steve
You are invited to join me as we grapple with the book of Ephesians. Five devotionals each week for six weeks, Monday through Friday. Each day complete with Scripture, reflection, encouragement, prayer prompt, and actionable responses to God’s Word. In the same format as this post. We’ll be starting Monday, 7/20.
Please click the Subscribe button below and I’ll send you each day’s devotional directly to your email inbox.
To read all the posts in this devotional series, visit: https://www.thisistheway.live/t/ephesians
© Steve Peschke / This Is The Way