¹³ … for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

The primary “work” of our salvation is done by God, not by us. But, we do our work by keeping in step with His work. In the previous verse (Phil 2:12), we learned that we are to “work out” our salvation. Here we are given the reason. Our working out of the implications of salvation in our daily lives can only happen because God is working it out in us.

Think of this for a moment; don’t let the verse make a perfunctory appearance in your thoughts and then morph into a platitude. The infinite, holy and transcendent Creator God of the Universe, the One who spoke the cosmos into existence with a mere word, He who controls the storms and the earthquakes, the One before whom every knee will someday bend – this One is operating, making things happen in our finite, little lives. Comparatively, we are like specks of dust in the galaxy of humongous stars and planets. And God is energizing His plan and purpose for our lives!

What is it that He is doing in our lives? He has a specific will, that is, a purpose and a plan. God accomplishes what He desires, and that means we have a destiny. What about our will? That is an age-old debate: the will of God versus the will of man. Whatever the answer, we can be assured of one thing. God is at work and will complete what He has begun (Phil 1:3). We can also be assured that we are responsible to keep in step with His desires. In the end, when we see Christ in all His glory, the tension will be resolved: “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known” (1 Cor 13:12).

Notice, finally, God is at work “for His good pleasure.” He enjoys working in and through us. It gives Him immense pleasure to carry out His handiwork forming us into His masterpiece, both individually and as a community of His people.

Reconciliation and unity of God’s people brings Him pleasure. That is why at the birth of Christ, angels announced, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased” (Luke 2:14). His pleasure was not in a select group of men, which He then saved. Rather His pleasure is in those whom He saved through the coming of His Son. They are the ones who experience peace with God and with each other. Thus, He enjoys bringing unity among His followers in Philippi and among all His believers.