Philippians 2:13 (ESV Strong's)
for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
Subject: Sanctification and Service
God is in the business of saving His children and perfecting them into holiness. It is all a complete work of God in Christ by the Holy Spirit. Our part is faith in Christ's work. Hence the above passage. The verse goes right along with what Paul started in the introduction of this book:
Philippians 1:6 (ESV Strong's)
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
God began the work and will complete it. It is He who is working inside us to complete it and to fulfill His good pleasure in us. In the above verse it is stated He is working out His good pleasure in us and not us working out our good pleasure. Sanctification is done by God for God. It produces service done by God and for God. We have to take ourselves out of the equation. We are simply the agents of faith. God is doing a "good" wok in us. We can, at times, look at our lives and wonder, "where is the good." Yet, even when He denies us something we think would be "good" for us, He ultimately has something better, that is good for His kingdom and plan. In Psalm 72:18 we read that God alone does "wondrous" things. He is doing that in our lives, even when we don't know it.
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