Explanation:  

Paul commands the Philippians to work out their salvation. To understand what he means, it is important to notice how he uses the term salvation throughout his writings. At times, he refers to salvation as a past event. For example, in Ephesians 2:5 he writes that when we were dead in our transgressions, God made us alive—by grace you have been saved. He writes similarly in Titus 3:5, where he says, He saved us.¹ Most of Paul’s references to salvation, however, put it in the future, in connection with the day of the Lord, thereby implying that in a way salvation is not yet complete. Some examples are 1 Corinthians 3:15 and 2 Timothy 4:18.² Thus, there is a sense in which we are saved by Christ, and this salvation manifests itself in the believer’s life, but it reaches its full consummation in the future. And when Paul commands the Philippians to work out their salvation, he has in mind the time between the day they were saved to the day of Christ’s return. In other words, Paul commands the Philippians to produce fruits of righteousness in line with their salvation until Christ returns.³

Counterargument:

The problem here is that this view assumes that when Paul uses the term salvation in Philippians 2:12 he refers to individual, final salvation. Yet the term can also denote something like deliverance, and in fact, we have evidence from the context that deliverance is likely what Paul has in mind.⁴ For in Philippians 1:19, Paul uses the same term to denote his being delivered from prison. In other words, Paul has in mind salvation in the sense of things working out according to God’s will, and that this is for the best.⁵ Paul knows how to trust and obey God. When we reach Philippians 2:12, Paul has the same sentiment in mind, only he wants the Philippians to work out their own trust and obedience to God. Paul is saying, Work out the fact that God has a plan for you, and it is for your best, trust and obey him.⁶

Response to Counterargument:  

This view is confused. First, it is not clear that Paul’s use of salvation in Philippians 1:19 has to do with the fact that things work out according to God’s plan. That is, he is not saying, I know that through the help of the Holy Spirit things will work out according to God’s plan. Rather, he is saying that he knows things will work out for his deliverance. Second, even if we grant that Paul does take salvation to refer to the fact that things work out according to God’s plan, it is not clear how such a sentiment makes sense in the context of Philippians 2:12. For Paul would be saying something like, Work out your own acknowledgement of the fact that things work out according to God’s plan with fear and trembling. But working out that things go according to God’s plan does not seem to fit with Paul’s overall train of thought, which has to do with Christ’s humble service (Philippians 2:6–11), and the Philippians’ counting others as better than themselves (Philippians 2:3). Finally, third, Paul’s normal usage of the term salvation is something like personal, final salvation.⁷ Thus, unless we have other reasons, we should take it that Paul deploys the term according to his regular usage.⁸

Explanation:

When Paul calls the Philippians to work out their salvation, he is calling them to produce fruit that aligns with their salvation in the here and now.⁹ We can deduce this based on the context and because Paul makes similar comments elsewhere. First, we know from Philippians 1:27 that Paul calls the Philippians to live life in a manner worthy of the gospel. So producing spiritual fruit is not far from Paul’s mind. Added to this, we know that Paul conveys a similar sentiment in other passages, albeit with slightly different imagery. For example, in Philippians 3:12 he talks about pressing on in order to make perfection his own. Likewise, in 1 Corinthians 9:24–27 he talks about running the race so as to obtain the prize. Finally, in 1 Timothy 6:12 he refers to fighting the good fight and taking hold of eternal life. Thus, when he commands the Philippians to work out their salvation, he has a similar notion in mind. That is, he commands them to produce spiritual fruit in line with their salvation.¹⁰

Counterargument:  

The problem with this argument is that the context surrounding Philippians 2:12 suggests that Paul has the community and not the individual in mind. Thus, we ought to understand what it means to work out salvation in a community-oriented sense. We can deduce the community orientation of Paul’s statement by the fact that in Philippians 2:4, he calls the Philippians not to look to their own interests but to the interests of others. Of course, Philippians 3:12, 1 Corinthians 9:24–27, and 1 Timothy 6:12 all seem to refer to one grabbing a hold of personal salvation. Given that Philippians 2:12 is likely community-oriented and not about personal salvation, we can deduce that Philippians 2:12 is not about producing individual fruit in line with salvation.

Response to counterargument:

That Paul calls the Philippians to look out for each other’s interests in Philippians 2:4 is not relevant to Philippians 2:12. We can deduce this for two reasons. First, Philippians 2:12 is not near the immediate context of Philippians 2:4 so unless there is some overarching reason to think that Philippians 2:4 strongly influences Philippians 2:12, we ought to interpret Philippians 2:12 based on its own immediate context. Second, there is no inconsistency between considering others better than oneself and working out one’s own salvation. In fact, a byproduct of working out one’s salvation is arguably to consider others better than oneself.

The weakness of this view is that Paul is adamant elsewhere that salvation is not something earned, but something gifted by God’s grace. Thus, it is hard to see how one can work out one’s salvation when it is given as a gift. Of course, this view handles this weakness because the idea is not that Paul is saying earn your salvation. Rather, he is saying that those who have been gifted with salvation should work it out in the sense of producing spiritual fruit according to it.

Explanation:

When Paul commands the Philippians to work out their salvation, he uses the clause, Work out your salvation. What is important to notice is that the verb to work out and the pronoun behind your are both plural.¹³ That suggests that there is a corporate element to Paul’s command, so he is not commanding the Philippians to work out their own individual salvation. That is, he is commanding the church at Philippi as a whole to work out her salvation.¹⁴ So what does it mean for the corporate church to work out her salvation? Likely, Paul means that the church ought to cultivate harmony among her members so that she will be a united body.

Counterargument:

The problem here is that the plural forms of the verb to work out and the pronoun your do not suggest that Paul has a corporate command in mind. Rather, they indicate that all of the believers fall under Paul’s command. In other words, Paul has a common, not a corporate action in mind.¹⁵ What he is saying is that his command to work out your own salvation applies to everyone in Philippi.

Explanation:

When Paul commands the Philippians to work out their salvation, this call has to do with obedience to live out their salvation in the believing community. In other words, there is an individual and corporate element to working out salvation, which ultimately has to do with obedience. We can deduce that Paul is mostly concerned with the Philippians obediently responding to the gospel, which has to do with living a corporate life, because of the context. For Paul opens Philippians 2:12 with so then… before explaining that the Philippians have always obeyed.¹⁶ Next he calls them to work out their salvation, before adding Philippians 2:13 where he says God is at work in them.¹⁷ When we take these together, Paul is saying that they should stop squabbling with one another and be obedient to their call to live as God’s children. This is something they will do by living out their faith in community.

Counterargument:  

This argument contends that according to the context, Paul’s command to work out your salvation is akin to obeying the gospel by settling disagreements and living as a corporate unity. The problem with this understanding is that the context also supports the notion that Paul calls the Philippians to work out their individual salvation. That Paul says the Philippians have always obeyed, and that God works in them, are consistent with the notion that the command to work out your salvation is a command for each individual to work out his own salvation.

Response to counterargument:

The argument is not that Paul excludes the notion of working out one’s individual salvation, but that he has in mind an ethical command that includes both individuals and the church as a whole. That is, the point of Paul’s command is not that individuals work out their salvation, but that they obey, for God is at work in them, and obedience is demonstrated by working out your salvation. So what is working out your salvation? It is obedience to God’s call to live individual and corporate lives that align with the gospel.¹⁸

The weakness of this view is that the term salvation is often a technical term for Paul that refers to final salvation. The notion that he uses it in the context of Philippians 2:12 to refer to developing harmony in the community does not align with his normal usage.