What does it mean that God “works in you...to will”?

Explanation:

When Paul says that God works in the Philippians to will, we can deduce what this means by looking at the grammar of Philippians 2:13. In Philippians 2:12, Paul commands the Philippians to work out their salvation, and he opens Philippians 2:13 with, For it is God who works in you. The conjunction for links Philippians 2:13 to Philippians 2:12. Paul commands the Philippians to work out their salvation (Philippians 2:12) because God is working.⁵ Next, notice the prepositional phrase in you. Paul commands the Philippians to work out their salvation, not only because God is working, but because God is working in them. That God works in the Philippians suggests that he empowers them internally.⁶ Finally, Paul not only says that God is working in the Philippians, but he explains why: to will…for the good purpose. In other words, God works in the Philippians to will according to God’s good purpose. Thus, we can deduce what it means that God works in the Philippians to will. He works in them to will in the sense that he empowers them to will God’s own good purpose.

Counterargument:

This argument is fine except that it makes an assumption about the meaning of the prepositional phrase in you. For the preposition translated as in carries a variety of nuances, and can just as likely be translated among.⁷ Thus, Paul would be saying that God works among the Philippians to will for the good purpose. That implies not that he empowers them internally but that he generally empowers the community as a whole to will for his good purpose.

Response to counterargument:

While it is true that the preposition could be taken in either an individual or corporate sense, this does not impede the notion that God empowers internally.⁸ For God empowers either each individual internally, as the above interpretation argues, or the community as a whole internally, which amounts to the same result. In other words, how we take the prepositional phrase does not alter the fact that God is working to will for his good purpose. The will is internal to a person so either God is empowering the will of the community as a whole, which implies each individual taken collectively, or each individual, which amounts to the community as a whole.

Even so, it seems we do have reason to take the preposition to mean in rather than among. For when Paul commands the Philippians to work out their salvation in Philippians 2:12, he seems to have individual salvation in mind. Further, we know from other passages that Paul often refers to God working in individual believers. For example, in 1 Corinthians 15:10 he says it is not he who works, but the grace of God in him. And in 2 Corinthians 3:5 he explains that his sufficiency is from God.⁹ So, given that the meaning of preposition, whether in or among, makes no difference to the fact that God empowers each believer, that Paul likely refers to individual salvation in Philippians 2:12, and that he often refers to God working in individuals, we understand Paul’s meaning. He means that God empowers each individual Philippian to will according to his good purpose.

Explanation:

We can understand what Paul means when he says, It is God who works in you, both to will and to work according to his good purpose. That is, he likely means that God empowers each individual Philippian by the Holy Spirit who enables their will to align with God’s good purpose. We can deduce this is Paul’s meaning because he speaks this way in many other passages.¹⁰ For example, in Ephesians 3:20 he gives glory to God, who is able to do far more than we ask or think by the power working within us. And in Colossians 1:29 he says he struggles with all his energy that God powerfully works within him. Finally, later in this same letter Paul says that Christ will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him to subject all things to himself (Philippians 3:21). And it is that same power that works in the Philippians.

Counterargument:

The problem with this argument is that if God is the one who works in the Philippians to will according to his purpose, then how do we make sense of Philippians 2:12? For in Philippians 2:12, God calls the Philippians to work out their own salvation. How can they work out their salvation if God is the one working in them to will?

Response to counterargument:

There is no conflict between Philippians 2:12 and Philippians 2:13. Rather, Paul opens Philippians 2:13 with the conjunction for, which indicates that it is because God empowers the Philippians to will according to his purpose, that they are able to work out their salvation. In other words, it is best to see Philippians 2:13 not in competition with but as a complement to Philippians 2:12. Paul is saying there is a causal relation between our working and God’s activity. That is, our activity is efficacious because it is an extension of God’s activity working in us.¹¹

Explanation:

In order to understand what Paul means when he says, God is the one working in you to will, we need to understand what he means by the verb to will. In the context of Philippians 2:13, the verb likely means something like purposeful determination. We can detect this for two reasons. First, Philippians 2:13 is connected with Philippians 2:12 in that Philippians 2:13 explains that it is God who empowers the Philippians to work out their salvation. Now, to work out one’s salvation is not just to desire salvation, but to firmly resolve with purposeful determination to carry out one’s salvation.¹² And lest the Philippians think the firm resolve to carry out salvation comes from themselves, Paul reminds them that it is God who empowers them to will.¹³ In other words, it is God who empowers them with purposeful determination to work out their salvation.

Second, we know from other passages that Paul sometimes uses the verb to will in the sense of purposeful determination. For example, in 2 Corinthians 8:10, Paul refers to the Corinthians’ willingness to give. And in Romans 7:15 he refers to doing what he does not want. In both cases, he seems to have purposeful determination in mind.¹⁴

Counterargument:

It could be that Paul has in mind purposeful determination. Still, the above argument is consistent with the notion that by to will, Paul means desire. For this argument has it that God empowers the Philippian to will to work out their salvation. Now, if we take to will in the sense of desire, this is perfectly consistent with this argument. For Paul is saying that God empowers the Philippians to desire to work out their salvation. What about the supporting passages that infer that Paul sometimes uses the verb to will in the sense of purposeful determination? For one, we know Paul also uses the verb to will to mean something like desire. For example, in Galatians 4:20 he writes that he wishes, as in desires, that he could be present with the Galatians. Second, it is not clear that when Paul uses the verb to will in 2 Corinthians 8:10 he means purposeful determination. For he is encouraging the Corinthians to give generously, and refers to their desire to give. Thus, this argument gives us no reason to think that Paul has in mind purposeful determination rather than desire.

Response to counterargument:

In the end, whether we understand the verb to will to mean purposeful determination or desire, the result is the same. Paul is saying that God works in the Philippians either to desire his good purpose, or to carry out his good purpose with purposeful determination. In either case it is God empowering the Philippians to will according to God’s good purpose.

It is hard to see what the weakness of this view might be, given that Paul clearly explains himself. One might trip over the notion that Paul calls the Philippians to work out their own salvation in Philippians 2:12 since God works in them to will according to his good purpose. Still, as we have explained, working out salvation and being empowered by God are complementary notions. It is because God is working in the Philippians to will that they are empowered to work out their salvation.