Philippians 2:12

Ὥστε. He has now pressed on them the duty and blessing of self-forgetting love, above all by this supreme Example. Here this is still in view, but subordinately; he is possessed by the thought of “so great salvation,” and through this views the obligation and joy of Christian humility and harmony.

ἀγαπητοί μου. So again Philippians 4:1. Cp. 1 Corinthians 10:14; 1 Corinthians 15:58; 2 Corinthians 7:1; 2 Corinthians 12:19; where this tender term similarly goes with earnest practical appeals.

καθὼς πάντοτε ὑπηκούσατε. “As you always obeyed.” The aorist looks back to Philippi and the old days there. Let these be like those.

μὴ. Not οὐ: it is not a statement but an appeal; they are to “work out their salvation” not only when he is there to help them, but now when he is away.

ὡς ἐν τῇ παρουσίᾳ μου μόνον. Ὡς suggests the agent’s condition, or point of view; “influenced by my presence with you.” Μόνον is as if to say, “My presence was good for you in its time, but your ‘working out’ was never to end with it.” “The sentence is a fusion of two ideas, μὴ ὡς ἐν τῇ παρουσίᾳ μου κατεργάζεσθε, and μὴ ἐν τῇ παρουσίᾳ μου μόνον κατεργάζεσθε” (Lightfoot).

πολλῷ μᾶλλον. His absence was to be the occasion for a far fuller realization of their own personal obligations, and personal resources in Christ, for the spiritual life.

μετὰ φόβου καὶ τρόμου. Cp. 1 Corinthians 2:3; Ephesians 6:5. The thought is not of tormenting misgiving about either present peace with God or final perseverance; it is of a reverent and wakeful conscience in His holy presence.

τὴν ἑαυτῶν σωτηρίαν κατεργάζεσθε. Ἑαυτῶν is strongly emphatic. He appeals to them to “learn to walk alone”—alone not of the Lord, but of Paul; not leaning too much on his present influence. “Do not make me your proxy in spiritual duties which are your own.”

Σωτηρία here is our whole “saving” from evil, in union with Christ. This the Christian κατεργάζεται (cp. 2 Corinthians 4:17, an instructive parallel, τὸ παραυτίκα ἐλαφρὸν τῆς θλίψεως κατεργάζεται ἡμῖν … βάρος δόξης) in the sense of his watchfully applying, and as it were developing, in temptation and duty, the free Divine gift of peace and strength in Christ. “In this way of diligence we receive daily more and more of ‘salvation’ itself, by liberty from sin, victory over it, peace and communion with God, and the earnests of heavenly felicity” (T. Scott).

There is no contradiction here to the profound and radiant truth of Justification by Faith only. It is an instance of independent lines of truth converging on one goal. From one point of view, that of justifying merit, man is accepted and finally glorified (Romans 8:30) because of Christ’s work alone, applied to him through faith alone. From another point, that of qualifying capacity, man is glorified as the issue of a work of training, in which he in a true sense has his operating part, though God (see next verse) is the secret of even this operation.