5. God Is at Work in You (Philippians 2:12-18) -- Inductive Bible Study Questions

Disciple Lessons from Philippians, Paul's Letter to the Church at Philippi

5. God Is at Work in You (Philippians 2:12-18)
Inductive Bible Study Questions

by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson
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The dynamics of salvation: our part and God's part

I get the feeling, reading some of the answers, that some are resorting to parroting Sunday school answers to questions without really thinking through the implications. Answer from the text!!! I want to exhort you to put some work into this text. You will be richly rewarded by doing so. The passage this week is easier than last week's. But there is one difficult scripture: vs. 12 "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." There are two interpretations of what "salvation" refers to here:

1. Personal Interpretation: "Work out your personal salvation with fear and trembling."

2. Social Interpretation: "Work out your Christian faith as a congregation with fear and trembling." As you prepare for the lesson, don't begin with vs. 12, but read chapter 2 in its entirety looking for which interpretation seems to fit the context best. Then jump in to the questions.

Level 1: What Does the Text Say

1.1 What is the context of vss. 12-18? What was the problem in the Philippian church that vss. 1-11 was addressing? What point was Paul trying to make in vss. 1-11?

1.2 There are three divisions to our short passage. Give a brief topic phrase for each division: Vss. 12-13 Vss. 14-16a Vss. 16b-18

Level 2: What Does the Text Mean?

2.1 "Obey" is a strong word. In light of the context of vss. 1-11, what is Paul commanding members of this church to do?

Comment: The word "work out" in vs. 12b is Greek katergazomai, "1. achieve, accomplish, do something... 2. "bring about, produce, create ... work out something" (BAG 421d). It occurs in the Greek present tense, which has the idea of continuous action. Thus the NIV translation "CONTINUE to work out your salvation..." is appropriate. Comment: As mentioned above, salvation can have the personal sense ("Continue to work out your own personal salvation so you may have eternal life") or a social sense ("Continue to work out the implications of your salvation together as a church").

2.2 Question: From this passage, state the case for either the personal or the social sense of "salvation," and cite your reasons for choosing the interpretation you did. (This is like a college essay, ;-) but you'll find it very rewarding as you think it through.)

2.3 Why is "fear and trembling" appropriate to the sense of salvation you selected in Question 2.2?

Comment: Vs. 13 is one of my favorites, a wonderfully positive verse which puts my obedience to God in perspective! Comment: Vs. 12 has "to work out" (katERGazomai), while vs. 13 twice uses a similar word "to work" (enERGeo). We get our English word "energize" from energeo, which means "1. to work, be at work, operate, be effective, 2. to work, produce, effect something" (BAG 465b).

2.4 Question: In vs. 13, what are the two things that God works in the believers? What kinds of things do they cover?

2.5 There is always a debate raging (in the Church and in us personally) between works and grace. What special message does vss. 12-13 contribute to this question?

2.6 How could grumbling and questioning in the Philippian church keep it from shining as God's light to the unbelievers in Philippi?

2.7 What is the balance between (1) critical thinking and careful reflection and (2) grumbling and questioning, do you think?

Comment: "Crooked" is Greek skolios "crooked, 1. Literally, 2. Figuratively: crooked, unscrupulous, dishonest" (BAG 756c). The disease "scoliosis" comes from this root. "Perverse" is Greek diastrepho "1. to make crooked, pervert," 2. figuratively, here "perverted" in the moral sense, "depraved" (BAG 189a).

2.8 Society is described in vs. 15 as "crooked and perverse". Without parroting Sunday school phrases, how specifically have you seen this to be true in your own experience? Let's not have generalizations here but specifics. How can we resist this depravity instead of cave in to it? Comment: In vs. 17 Paul uses terminology and imagery from the Jewish sacrificial system. Priests would daily offer animal sacrifices to the Lord and pour out "drinking offerings" of wine before the Lord (Numbers 28:7).

2.9 In vss. 16b-18 Paul is rejoicing again, this time about the possibility of his death as "a drink offering". (See also 2 Timothy 4:6, some of Paul's final words.) What is there for Paul to rejoice about? (Look back to the immediate context for your answer.)

SATURDAY Note: You may need to work on these for a couple of days to get to all the implications for your own church and personal life.

Level 3: What Does the Text Mean to Me?

3.1 If churches do NOT heed Paul's command and exhortation in this passage (vs. 14), why are they prevented from effective outreach to non-Christians? How can we make our churches friendlier places to be?

3.2 What kind of balance are you trying to come to in your own personal life between "working out" your Christian life (vs. 12), and allowing God "to will and to work" (RSV) in you? (vs. 13)

3.3 How can we "shine like stars" in the dark, crooked, and morally depraved universe (vs. 15) without coming across as "holier than thou" to those who aren't disciples of Jesus?

3.4 What are some ways you have tried to make a difference in your community or workplace (not your church now), as you have attempted to "shine like a star" in a dark place? How specifically are you "holding forth the word of life" (vs. 16a) in your community without being annoying? We're not bragging here, but providing some ideas -- and some accountability to one another.

Disciple Lessons from Philippians

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