Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Phil 2:12-13
KJV
…because God is always at work in you to make you willing and able to obey his own purpose.
Phil 2:13 TEV
Obedience pleases God and through obedience we carry out those things that are pleasing to God. It is also through obedience that we show who our Master is; the one instructing, ordering and commanding us. The New life in Christ is revealed through our obedience. Without it we have nothing to show. It is the vital ingredient by which our salvation is revealed and made manifest.
God works inwardly in our hearts and wants His works to be revealed outwardly. The great works of God in us are revealed to men as we respond in obedience. No man can produce by himself anything that is pleasing to God except God Himself works in him. Just like the branch cannot produce good fruits by itself, neither can any man or believer. It is what He works within that we show forth outwardly through obedience. The good natures and attributes of God are the fruits of our obedience to God. Only God is holy, love and good. Therefore unless He produces these in us, we cannot bear these outwardly.
Obedience therefore is the means by which God’s works are translated from the spiritual to the physical. It is by the operations of God in our hearts that we are made willing- recognizing God’s desires and desiring the same, and are made able to do His will.
The result of our obedience to what God is doing in us is that we do not grumble or complain or argue in the discharge of all our duties. When these things are observed, it is because either what we are doing is not in line with God’s work within or something is being forced on us that is not consistent with the life within. It is as we do all things without complaining that we are to be harmless and blameless proving that our works are done with God’s help.
Let us be captivated by the fact that we are able to ‘hold forth’ the word of life as we respond in obedience to God’s working by His Spirit from within our hearts. Our lives will be a reflection of Christ to the world; His glory will be seen in our faces; His light will shine forth and will be attractive to all those who observe it. The word of life is Christ. Let us note that those who received this letter did not have the Scriptures as we have it today. The people of the world at that time also did not have access to the words of Christ. The testimonies of the lives of the disciples were the only means by which they could access the words of Christ and experience His life.