“For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works lest any man should boast, for we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them."
“Wherefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more so in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”
In Philippians 2, Paul is writing to Christians; those who have obtained salvation. So why does he tell them to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” Are they not already saved by definition? What do the “good works” of Ephesians 2:10 have to do with salvation if we are saved by grace? This duality of salvation is what the Church does not understand.
Do me a favor. Take a sheet of paper and draw a straight line down the middle of the paper. Then turn the paper 90 degrees and in the center of the first line draw another line, shorter this time, across the first line at a 90 degree angle. Turning the paper back to the original orientation, over the top of the short line, draw a cross like the one Jesus died on. Now, to the left of that cross, write, Old Covenant Law; and to the right of the cross, write, New Covenant Law. Here you have a picture of salvation and why there is two parts of it. Here, you have an explanation of why Paul told Christians, those washed in Jesus’ blood, to work out their salvation with fear and trembling.
In order to receive eternal life, all mankind must first be washed of their sins. However, Jesus died under the authority of the old covenant law. He had to in order to fulfill the old covenant and redeem mankind from sin. Everything from Jesus’ death and back into history is old covenant. All mankind must enter the new covenant through the old covenant age because that is when Jesus died for the sins of man. But, Jesus did not remain dead, and once He arose from the dead, after fulfilling the old covenant, He established a new covenant. Therefore, Christians must keep new covenant law. Christians are “created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that they should walk in them."
Hence, Paul, writing to Christians in Philippi, told them to work out their salvation with fear and trembling and in writing to Christians in Ephesus, explained they were saved from sin by grace but had good works to perform in order to receive salvation. New covenant eternal life takes two actions of faith; one that is contained in the heart and one that is dependent on actions, this according to Romans 10:9-10.
Early in Jesus’ ministry He began speaking of eternal life, which was not a provision of old covenant law. If you do not understand that eternal life was not offered by the law, you will not notice how Jesus used the subject of eternal life to pique the interest of the Jews and how they responded to this topic of conversation. Since eternal life was not offered by the old covenant, all the Jews were keenly interested in this new idea, and engaged Jesus in conversation regarding it even though they did not believe He was God in the flesh and therefore had no authority to offer it. The concept was so enticing; the leaders of the Jewish people could not help themselves in engaging this man who was pretending to have authority in Israel.
The fact that the old covenant did not promise eternal life reveals why Paul told the Christians at Philippi to work out their salvation, with fear and trembling. The new covenant contains two salvations. Since Jesus died under old covenant law, all who accept His death as a substitutionary work have their sins washed away, but not only that, they are also clothed with Jesus’ righteousness. This is the salvation offered by the old covenant; only the old covenant used the righteousness of innocent animals.
Remember the piece of paper we drew the lines on before? To receive the salvation of the old covenant puts you in right standing with God, which allows you to receive the salvation of the new covenant. Jesus died under the authority of the old covenant, a covenant that did not offer eternal life, but was raised under the authority of the new covenant, a covenant that does offer eternal life. Only, to enter the old covenant and receive Jesus’ righteousness merely gives you access to the new covenant; it does not grant you new covenant salvation. You have to perform the requisites of the new covenant. Hence Christians must work out their salvation with the Lord after receiving the righteousness of the Saviour.
The book of Hebrews informs us that although Jesus’ blood was poured out as a sacrificial offering at the cross, the resurrected Lord gathered all His blood back up at His resurrection and took it to heaven with Him where He ratified the new covenant with it. The tabernacle in heaven is a life-sized model of the new covenant and by sprinkling His blood over the articles of furniture in the tabernacle, Jesus brought life and authority to the covenant. There is no unlimited supply of Jesus’ blood to wash sins away. His blood has been sprinkled over the furniture in the heavenly tabernacle. In both cases, the old covenant and the new covenant, it is actually the covenant that deals with sin. It is the contract God signed with His own blood that deals with sin eternally and completely. Thus when sinners, those who have transgressed God’s law, both the Father’s and the Son’s, repent, it is the covenant that washes them clean.
Now, let me explain. The Father God was the author of the old covenant and the definition of unrighteousness was based on the innocence of animals. The Ten Commandments is a consolidation of old covenant definitions of righteousness. The new covenant has a different definition of righteousness based on the blood of the Son of God. It is His innocense that believers inherit. The covenant is activated by faith. Those who receive Jesus’ righteousness under the old covenant law do so by believing Jesus died for them, took their sins in His own body on the tree and paid the price for disobedience against the Father’s definition of righteousness. The old covenant, however, was fulfilled by Jesus. A covenant that is fulfilled goes out of force.
In the waning authority of the old covenant, Jesus drafted and ratified a new covenant that supersedes the old covenant and defined righteousness by issuing commandments governing the behavior of those clothed with His righteousness. Thus Paul states those saved by grace must do works in Christ because although the old covenant with its definitions of righteousness has been fulfilled, the new covenant is not fulfilled and in order to remain in right standing with the new covenant, Christians must perform the works defined by the Christ who has become Lord.
The work of faith concerning the old covenant is passive because Jesus kept the Father’s definition of righteousness perfectly and imparts that perfect keeping of the law to all who believe Jesus died for them. There is nothing more to do than believe; but no one has fulfilled the new covenant law and Christians must keep it by Faith. What I mean to say is this: Once Christians have placed themselves in Christ by faith; the Holy Spirit baptizes them into Jesus’ death where they stand before the Lord, Him who was granted all authority in heaven and in earth. This is the line we drew earlier, dissecting the first line, on the paper we started with. Those who believe on the Lord must now keep the Lord’s definition of righteousness. This faith is not passive but active.
Faith in the new covenant washes sins away just as faith in the old covenant covered sins, only the definition of sin has changed. Jews, living under the old covenant, were required to offer sacrifices for their sins. New covenant Christians must also offer sacrifices for their sins. Sin is defined as a transgression against a commandment of God. Thus, those who fail to perform the law of the new covenant offer the sacrifice of obedience, Romans 12:1, for their absolution of sin. Obedience cancels out disobedience.
Again, notice 1Corinthians 11:24 and following, the Church is not called to observe the Christ’s Supper or the supper of the Saviour. The Church, those who are saved from old covenant definitions of sin, are called to observe the Lord’s Supper and should judge themselves based on new covenant law; not old covenant law. There is a line of division found in Philippians 2:6-12. Jesus first humbled Himself, laid aside His Godhood, and died on a cross but then He was highly exalted and given a name above every other name and issued a new covenant with new commandments with this new authority.
We are not looking for transgressions against the old covenant’s definition of sin; It is notthe supper of the Saviour we are called to observe. We are looking for transgressions against the new covenant’s definition of sin as we observe the Lord’s Supper. The problem is: the Church by and large teaches that the apostles perfectly kept the commandments the Lord Jesus Christ issued with the authority of the new covenant and fulfilled them thereby, negating the need for any other Christian to engage in obedience. Christians today attempt to keep the Saviour’s Supper and judge themselves based on old covenant law and eat and drink damnation to themselves thereby and suffer with horrible sickness and disease as a result.
To ignore the Lord’s commandments while wearing His righteousness is dishonoring to the Lord, who drafted and ratified the new covenant with His blood. To attempt to receive eternal life, while disrespecting the Lord who authored it, while wearing His righteousness is the ultimate insult. This is why Paul told the Philippian Christians to work out their salvation with fear and trembling. Most Christians seem not to understand that Jesus came the first time in love and compassion but He will return a second time to judge and in judgment. The Lord of the new covenant will return to judge those who have kept and not kept His covenant. This is the subject matter of 1Peter.
Christians were “created in Christ Jesus unto good works,” works Jesus Christ defined by commandment. In the book of John, Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” Question, “If belief in Jesus’ death provides eternal life, what does the keeping of Jesus’ commandments have to do with anything?” Why would anyone think the commandments of the Lord Jesus Christ could be found in the old covenant? Remember our piece of paper? Jesus was only granted all power in heaven and in earth after His death on the cross. Why is that significant? Because Jesus could not issue commandments that would be uniquely His commandments until after He had fulfilled His Father’s commandments.
By fulfilling the old covenant’s demands for righteousness and then dying under the penalties for disobedience, Jesus fulfilled the old covenant with its commandments that defined righteousness, setting free all those who accept His death as a substitution for their penalty of death. With the old covenant fulfilled, Jesus could author and ratify a new set of commandments without disrespecting His Father, something that was not possible until after Jesus died on the cross.
The problem is; most Christians don’t recognize this line of division in the historical record. They see the new covenant as starting with the birth of Jesus and old covenant law as Jesus’ commandments. They see old covenant and new covenant together as one.
Let’s use another perspective to illustrate this line of division. Remember the old covenant tabernacle? It had an outer court and an inner court. Now, Jesus died under authority of the old covenant law but fulfilled it by doing so. A contract that is fulfilled goes out of force; it loses its authority. In other words, the old covenant no longer has authority to define sin. Jesus did not enter into the old covenant tabernacle with His blood; He entered into the new covenant tabernacle with the blood of redemption. The outer court of the new covenant tabernacle represents the old covenant and as such, there is nothing for Christians to do but believe. A belief of the heart is all that is required in the outer court of the new covenant tabernacle.
However, the inner court of the new covenant tabernacle represents the new covenant, which has not been fulfilled and requires works Christians were created in Christ to perform. To believe Jesus died for your sins gets you half way to the presence of God. In order to enter God’s presence you must keep new covenant law; you must perform the good works Jesus defined by commandment.
Again, in 1Peter, Peter makes the point that all Christians are priests of the Most High God. This point is lost on most Christians, not fully understanding old covenant practices. All the Children of Israel were allowed into the outer courts and the outer courts is where lost souls find the Christ and are saved. The only requisite is faith, but all Christians are then made priests of the Lord Jesus Christ and have a responsibility to serve in the inner section of the tabernacle. The holy place itself determines the service you bring. As a priest of Jesus Christ, you don’t determine the service you bring to Him; He determines the service you bring.
Again, consider 1John 5:2-3: “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.” Now, let me remind you it was Jesus that was granted all power in heaven and earth at His resurrection. We are living in a time post resurrection; right of the short line we drew on our paper. The old covenant was fulfilled by the Christ with its definition of righteousness so the commandments John is referring to are post resurrection commandments. When Paul says to the Philippians, “Now my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus,” in Philippians 4:19, it presupposes the obedience he encouraged in Philippians 2:12, with fear and trembling. If there is no obedience; if there is no service of the priests in the tabernacle, there is a severe limitation of the supplying of needs by Christ Jesus. Jesus responds to the covenant He authored and ratified with the blood of His suffering.
In John 14:21, when Jesus said, “He that has my commandments and keeps them, he it is that loves me,” loving Jesus is defined as obedience of commandments Jesus uniquely issued as His own; commandments He could not issue until after He had fulfilled His Father’s covenant. Notice the personal pronoun, “my.” When Jesus was highly exalted and given a name above every other name, it means that the name of Jesus is the highest name; His authority is the highest authority. When Jesus said, “All power has been given to me in heaven and in earth” Matthew 28:18, He meant, “all power.” There is no power that is not under His authority.
Thus, when Jesus continues by saying, “He that loves me will be loved of my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him,” you can rest assured that only those who keep these unique commandments will experience the manifestation of God. Moreover, history tells us only the high priest went into the holy of holies to experience the presence of God and then only after serving in the outer and inner courts. It is the service of the inner court that makes Christians high priests. Notice Jesus’ words once more; it is the keeping of Jesus’ commandments that guarantees an audience with God, thus, it is the keeping of His commandments that makes Christians high priests.
All of Christianity hinges on the keeping of one commandment, a commandment most Christians are taught was fulfilled by the apostles; a commandment to saturate yourself with the Spirit of God. Who, according to Jesus, will only represent the interests of Jesus in this present age. Jesus told us there would come a time when He would issue commandments that would be uniquely His. The three commandments of Acts 1:4-8 are unique in all the scriptures. At no time prior was any person commanded to wait for a baptism with the Spirit. A baptism with the Spirit was not possible prior to Jesus’ resurrection. At no time prior was any person commanded to go out preaching a gospel or to disciple the converts. These commandments are unique to Jesus; they are His commandments.
The word, “baptize,” means to saturate, so there is no one time event. Christians must wait for the Holy Spirit to flow out of their mouth until they are saturated with Jesus each and every day. This is the service of the inner court, that, plus the preaching of this gospel, the gospel of the Lord, and the discipling of the converts. This service prepares the Christian to stand before God and brings the kingdom of God to earth to meet the needs of the people of God. Again, if there is no service in the inner courts, or, if we determine what our service will be on our own instead of keeping Jesus’ commandments, the meeting of needs by God will be severely limited. The new covenant tabernacle requires service in order to be active, service ordained by God.