What Does It Mean to Work Out Our Salvation? | Lynn Cohick on Philippians 2:12–13

4 days ago 20

The title of this weeks What in the Word episode, Work Our Our Salvation?, is displayed in bold text at the center of the image.

In this episode of What in the Word?, Lynn H. Cohick joins Kirk E. Miller to unpack Paul’s exhortation in Philippians 2:12–13.

What does it mean to “work out your salvation with fear and trembling”? Does this imply salvation is earned? How do we reconcile Paul’s call to action with his insistence elsewhere that salvation is not by works?

Together, Kirk and Lynn explore the passage’s literary and theological context, its implications for how we think about salvation and sanctification, and how this text shapes the Christian life.

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Episode guest: Lynn Cohick

Lynn H. Cohick (PhD, University of Pennsylvania) is distinguished professor of New Testament and director of the Houston Theological Seminary at Houston Christian University.

Her works include The Letter to the Ephesians in NICNT (2020); Christian Women in the Patristic World: Their Influence, Authority, and Legacy in the Second through the Fifth Centuries (2017); Philippians (Story of God Commentary, 2013); Women in the World of the Earliest Christians (2009); and many more.

Episode synopsis:

Situating Philippians 2 in its context

Before turning to the passage itself, Lynn Cohick highlights the importance of understanding Philippians as a whole.

The letter is written while Paul is imprisoned, likely around a decade after his initial visit to Philippi recorded in Acts 16. Although it is a relatively short letter, Philippians reflects deep affection and mutual partnership between Paul and this church. A major theme throughout the letter is unity—a unity the Philippians share in their love for Paul, but not yet fully with each other.

This concern for unity directly shapes the message of Philippians 2, particularly the exhortation that opens the chapter: to have the “same mind,” putting aside selfish ambition and modeling the humility of Christ (Phil 2:1–5). These themes culminate in the famous “Christ hymn” of verses 6–11, which praises Jesus for humbling himself unto death after which he is exalted by God.

Notably, Paul’s exhortation in Philippians 2:12–13 flows directly from this call for humility and unity as a community.

Understanding “salvation” in Paul & the New Testament

Confusion surrounding Philippians 2:12 often arises when readers approach the text with a narrow sense of the term “salvation.” In many evangelical contexts, salvation is often equated strictly with justification—the moment of being declared righteous before God by means of faith. But in the New Testament, salvation, although including justification, expands beyond it to include other dimensions. The term ecompasses the past, present, and future aspects of God’s redemptive work in the believer’s life.

Kirk E. Miller and Lynn encourage readers to recover this full picture:

Past (we were saved): We have been justified (e.g., Eph 2:8; Rom 5:1).
Present (we are being saved): We are being renewed and sanctified (e.g., 1 Cor 1:18).
Future (we will be saved): We will one day be glorified, made fully like Christ (e.g., 1 Pet 1:5; Phil 3:20–21).

As some have helpfully summarized, we are saved from the penalty of sin (justification); we are currently being saved from the power of sin (sanctification); and we will eventually be saved from the very presence of sin (glorification).

This fuller picture of salvation is essential if we are to make sense of Philippians 2:12–13. Paul is not telling believers to work for their justification but is exhorting them to live out the implications of their salvation in community with obedience.

“Work out” does not mean “work for”

Kirk points out that Paul, the same apostle who insists we are justified apart from works (e.g., Rom 3:28; Gal 2:16; Eph 2:8–9), cannot mean here that salvation is earned. In fact, in the very next chapter of Philippians, Paul goes on to say, he does “not hav[e] a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith” (Phil 3:9).

Lynn agrees, noting that the Greek term rendered “work out” (κατεργάζομαι) typically implies carrying something to its conclusion or bringing it to fruition. It is about embodying or enacting the reality of salvation in one’s life.

This “working out our salvation” then refers to sanctification—the Spirit-empowered process of becoming more like Christ, which includes active obedience and participation in the life of the church.

A Logos search of κατεργάζομαι ("work out") in the New Testament.

Search for all occurrences of κατεργάζομαι in the New Testament.

A command for the community, not just the individual

This “working out” includes both individual and communal aspects. Importantly, the verb “work out” is plural, indicating that Paul is addressing the church as a whole. The Christian life, in other words, is not a solo endeavor but something lived and cultivated in community.

This aligns with Paul’s repeated emphasis throughout Philippians on unity, humility, and mutual care. Lynn emphasizes that salvation in Philippians is not merely a private spiritual experience but a collective reality. The immediately preceding context, for instance, includes the call to be “of the same mind” and to model Christ’s humility (Phil 2:1–11), showing that Paul’s broader concern here is with how the church community lives together.

The Philippians, like many modern congregations, were dealing with interpersonal tensions—evidenced later in the letter by Paul’s plea to Euodia and Syntyche to agree in the Lord (Phil 4:2). “Working out salvation,” then, includes embodying the self-giving love of Christ in our relationships with one another.

The church is called to be a kind of corporate “colony” of heaven (see Phil 3:20), modeling the character of Christ to the world. Lynn shares that once, as a child, her grandmother corrected her by saying, “Harrisons don’t do that”—a reminder that her conduct reflected the family name. Similarly, Paul reminds the Philippians that their conduct reflects their heavenly citizenship and their participation in the body of Christ.

Working as God works: concurrence

Crucially, verse 13 clarifies that the only reason believers can “work out” their salvation is that God is already at work within them. Notice the repetition of “work” as shown in the ESV translation: “[W]ork out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Phil 2:12–13, emphasis added). This matches up with Phil 1:6, which likewise states that God will be sure to bring to completion the good work (same root) he has begun in believers.

As Kirk explains, this theological concept is often referred to as “concurrence,” meaning God works in and through the human will to bring about his purposes. Paul makes a similar point in 1 Corinthians 15:10: “I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me” (ESV).

A grace that transforms: union with Christ

As Ephesians 2:8–10 shows, although we are not saved by good works (2:8–9), we are saved for them (2:10). Our good works, therefore, are not the grounds or basis of our justification before God. But they are the evidence and expression of the salvation we have already received.

As such, as Kirk explains, grace is not opposed to good works, but merit. Grace is opposed to earning (e.g., Rom 11:6), not effort.

At root here is the doctrine of union with Christ. Those who are united to Christ receive all of him. They not only receive him as their justification (Rom 5), but also their sanctification (Rom 6). They share in him entirely—his righteousness and sanctification, his death and his resurrection life.

In other words, the same grace that forgives us also goes on to transform us. The grace of God in Christ that pardons likewise empowers. Obedience is not opposed to grace; it is the fruit of grace.

Philippians 2:12–13, thus, does not contradict this gospel of grace. This “working out” of our salvation, i.e., our sanctification, is not something we do apart from Christ but something we receive, experience, and do on account of our union with Christ.

“With fear & trembling”?

The phrase “with fear and trembling” can strike readers as intimidating. Lynn offers a reframing. While the phrase does convey reverence and seriousness, it is not meant to suggest that God is scowling or waiting to punish. Instead, to “fear” God reflects the awe and humility that befit those who stand before a holy and gracious God.

It is, Lynn says, akin to standing before the grandeur of the Rocky Mountains—an awareness of one’s smallness and fragility in the presence of something immense and powerful. The idea includes both reverence and a sober acknowledgment of our creatureliness and dependence. It is not about being terrorized but about being rightly oriented before God.

While modern readers may associate such obedience with drudgery or legalism, Lynn notes that Paul presents obedience as something deeply life-giving. Just as Jesus was obedient to the point of death—and then glorified (Phil 2:6–11)—so too believers are invited to walk in obedience as a path to joy and maturity. Like Jesus, the path of obedience for Christians is one of humble service that leads to glorification.

Encouragement for teachers & preachers

Lynn and Kirk’s conversation offer several takeaways for those preparing to teach or preach this passage:

Use this text as an opportunity to expand people’s vision of what “salvation” means.
Emphasize that good works are not meritorious but participatory—we display by our works what God is already working in us.
Highlight the communal dimensions of this salvation. Christian growth happens best in the context of the local church.
Encourage obedience not as a burden, but as a pathway to deeper joy and maturity. Stress the goodness of the God we serve and fear.

Logos values thoughtful and engaging discussions on important biblical topics. However, the views and interpretations presented in this episode are those of the individuals speaking and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Logos. We recognize that Christians may hold different perspectives on this passage, and we welcome diverse engagement and respectful dialogue.