1. General Application — An Appeal to Obedience(2:12-13)
D. APPLICATION AND FINAL APPEAL (2:12-18)
Because of the splendor of the preceding passage, it is easy to forget its aim. But Paul has not forgotten. At issue is the gospel in Philippi: first of all their own "salvation" (v. 12), evidenced by continuing "obedience" —like that of their Savior (v. 8) — but as always, second, with an eye toward evangelism, the effect of the gospel in the world (v. 16). Thus, he returns to his present concern — "obedience" expressed through a common "mindset," for the sake of Christ and the gospel — by applying to their situation what he has just written in 2:6-11.
The application is in three sentences (vv. 12-13, 14-16, 17-18), which together form a single appeal, reflecting a threefold concern: (1) that they return to their common cause, partly (2) for the sake of the gospel in the world, and partly also (3) for Paul's sake, and thus for their mutual eschatological joy. The first two sentences are imperatives, urging first that they show their "obedience" by getting their corporate act together (working out their salvation, is Paul's way of putting it). To which imperative, and lest he be misunderstood, he immediately appends a theological word, a word of ultimate encouragement: God has committed himself to effecting their "obedience" for his own good pleasure. In the second imperative, echoing language from the Pentateuch and Daniel,1 Paul forbids "complaining and arguing" —for the sake of the "crooked and depraved" Philippi in which they "shine as lights" as they hold fast the message that brings life. That sentence concludes on the note of Paul's own ministry among them — that if they thus obey, it will not have been in vain — which leads to the final sentence (vv. 17-18), where he returns to the themes of his suffering, their faith, and mutual joy.
With these final words the argument begun in 1:27 thus comes full circle.2 It began on the note of their walking worthy of the gospel whether Paul is present or absent. This concluding appeal begins on that theme (v. 12) and ends on the motif of their rejoicing together in their mutual suffering (vv. 17-18; cf. 1:18). And that leads directly to vv. 19-30, in which he goes on to "what's next" regarding his and their circumstances — that he expects to hear further about "their affairs," now in light of the present letter, after they have first learned further about "his affairs," and both from the same source, Timothy.
1. General Application—An Appeal to Obedience (2:12-13)
12Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed — not only3 in my presence, but now much more in my absence — continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13for it is God4 who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
On the basis of what he has just said about Christ, Paul returns to the appeal to harmony that has been the primary concern since 1:27. Picking up the word "salvation" from 1:28, he urges that they flesh it out in their life together in Philippi. At least that is where the appeal is ultimately heading, as vv. 14-16 disclose. This first imperative thus serves as the "theme" sentence for the appeal,5 by reminding them of three realities: (1) Paul's affection for them and their long-term relationship with him; (2) their own long-time "obedience" as far as the gospel is concerned; and (3) God's work in them effecting their obedience for his own good pleasure — the same God who exalted Christ, and for whose glory the whole world will pay homage to his Son.
Everything in the sentence echoes something that has gone before: The vocative "my beloved" recalls the tenderness and affection of 1:8; the reminder of their long-time "obedience" recalls 1:5 ("their partnership in the gospel from the first"), but now comes hard on the heels of Christ's obedience mentioned in v. 8; Paul's "presence or absence" recalls the same kind of interruptive word in 1:27; their common "salvation" that is to be "worked out" among them picks up the language of 1:28; God as the one who is at work in them for this end echoes their salvation as "from God" (1:28); and God's prompting and leading their obedience for his own "good pleasure" is reminiscent of the immediately preceding "to the glory of God." Although Christ is not mentioned directly in this imperative — indeed, in light of vv. 6-11, is there any need? — everything is once again predicated on the three-way bond that holds the letter together: between him, them, and Christ and the gospel (salvation).
12 This has long been a difficult passage, especially for evangelical Protestants,6 who, on the one hand, tend to individualize Paul's corporate imperatives (such as this one) and, on the other hand, cannot imagine Paul suggesting that salvation is something the individual must "work out" for oneself — even though it is with God's help. But Paul's concern lies elsewhere. The "so then"7 with which this sentence begins indicates that he is about to apply the appeal of 1:27-2:5, now by way of vv. 6-11, to the case specific situation of the believing community in Philippi. What follows this imperative (in vv. 14-16) makes that certain.
But it takes a while in Paul's sentence for him to get to the imperative,8 because first he will remind them of his affection for them and of their long history of "obedience." His affection is expressed in the vocative, "my beloved friends."9 Even though this vocative occurs elsewhere in Paul, its three occurrences in this letter, as in Phlm 16, should be understood in light of the very personal and warm affection that Paul holds for these friends.10 That is further evidenced by the appeal to his and their long-term relationship, expressed in terms of their "obedience" both when he is present and absent from them.11
Hence he begins, "just as12 you have always obeyed."13 But to whom has such obedience been given? On the one hand, Paul can urge "obedience" to his own words (2 Thess 3:15), a sense that probably lies close at hand elsewhere as well (e.g., 2 Cor 2:9; 7:15; Phlm 21). On the other hand, the combination in 2 Cor 10:5-6 of "every act of disobedience" as having to do with "obedience to Christ" probably gives us the clue for all of these passages, including the present one. As his letter to the Romans makes clear,14 for Paul faith in Christ is ultimately expressed as obedience to Christ, not in the sense of following the rules, but of coming totally under his lordship, of being devoted completely to him. This is the only "obedience" to his own words that Paul cares anything about.15 That this is the sense here seems certain, since it follows so closely the twofold reminder of Christ's own obedience that led to the cross and of his present status as Lord of all. Thus Paul starts on this note of reminder, that they have always given evidence of their faith by their obedience to Christ.
But before he goes on to the "so now," the geographical distance factor which keeps popping up in this letter16 finds expression once more. The repetition of this language from 1:27, plus the fact that this is what is taken up next (2:19-24), indicates a point of obvious concern. He longs to be with them, not only for mutual joy, but also for their "progress" in the faith (1:25); but he is now absent from them, at a time when some mending is needed. Thus, on the basis of his and their close relationship, Paul speaks this way while "absent from them" as his way of appealing to them, as though he were actually present. This in turn best explains the unusual way of putting it here: "not as (though)17 in my presence only." They have had a long history of obedience to Christ and the gospel, whether Paul was present or absent; now that he cannot be present, and some differences among them have arisen, he urges them to get on with their obedience "all the more so"18 in his absence,19 so that it would not appear as if his presence alone prompted them to obey.
That brings him finally to the imperative, what all of this was aiming at in the first place: "Work out20 your own21 salvation." This choice of language is predicated on his prior use of "salvation" in 1:28, which, he asserted, is "from God." But "salvation" is not only something they receive; it is something they do. A great deal of unnecessary ink has been spilt over this passage, as to whether "salvation" has to do with the individual believer22 or with the corporate life of the community. But that is a false dichotomy. The context makes it clear that this is not a soteriological text per se, dealing with "people getting saved" or "saved people persevering." Rather it is an ethical text, dealing with "how saved people live out their salvation" in the context of the believing community and the world. What Paul is referring to, therefore, is the present "outworking" of their eschatological salvation within the believing community in Philippi.23 At issue is "obedience," pure and simple, which in this case is defined as their "working or carrying out in their corporate life the salvation that God has graciously given them." That they must comply with this injunction at the individual level is assumed, and that their final eschatological salvation will be realized personally and individually is a truth that does not need stating, because that is not at issue here. In Pauline theology people are saved one by one to be sure (which is the point of discontinuity with election in the OT), but (in continuity with the OT) they are saved so as to become a "people for God's name." The concern in this passage is with their being his people in Philippi, as v. 15 makes certain ("that you may become blameless and pure, God's children without fault in a crooked and depraved generation").
That "working out your salvation" has to do with "obedience" is verified both by the grammar and context. First, the imperative must be taken seriously for what it is, the apodosis (the "so then" clause) of a comparative sentence ("just as ... so now"),24 whose protasis ("just as") offers the primary clue as to what "working out their common salvation means"; it means to continue in their obedience to Christ. This is then picked up in the next clause; what God empowers in/among them is to will and do regarding the obedience spoken to in this first clause. And contextually that means that they stop whatever squabbling is going on and get on with being "God's blameless children" in pagan Philippi. Thus everything about the sentence and its context indicates that Paul with this imperative is not referring to the "salvation" of individual believers, but the salvation that God has wrought in making them a people of God for his name in Philippi, and that at issue is their getting on with it. Even though as before (vv. 4-5) they will have to respond individually, the imperative itself has to do with what takes place in their community life, as they return to their common cause with regard to the gospel.
Finally, they are to work out their salvation in this way "with fear and trembling." This unusual phrase, taken over from the OT,25 occurs in some odd moments in Paul, so that it is not at all certain what he intends by these words — especially since the OT sense of "dread" seems to be missing altogether. In its first occurrence (1 Cor 2:3), which probably should give direction to our understanding it in other places, its meaning is especially difficult to pin down. But whatever it might mean specifically in that instance, its being closely connected with "weakness" as further exemplifying the "weakness of the cross" indicates that at the very least it reflects human vulnerability. What people see in one who lives "in fear and trembling" is not self-assurance, but defenselessness. But for that very reason it seems quite wrong, as some have done,26 to suggest that "fear and trembling" is therefore an attitude that believers have toward one another. On the contrary, while the vulnerability of each will be apparent to the others, the OT background of this language calls for an understanding that has to do with existence vis-à-vis God. The context in this case seems to demand such a view.
This phrase, then, first of all reminds the Philippians of the grandeur of the final words in vv. 9-11. If the whole universe of created beings is someday (soon, from their perspective) to pay homage to their Lord, then they themselves need to be getting on with obedience (= working out their salvation) as those who know proper awe in the presence of God. One does not live out the gospel casually or lightly, but as one who knows what it means to stand in awe of the living God.27 On the other hand, nothing of failure or lack of confidence is implied.28 The gospel is God's thing, and the God who has saved his people is an awesome God. Thus "working out the salvation" that God has given them should be done with a sense of "holy awe and wonder" before the God with whom they — and we — have to do.
13 Paul's concern is obviously with the preceding imperative, that the believers in Philippi get on with being God's people in all respects. But he has stated the imperative in such a way as to make possible a betrayal of his theology. So, typically,29 he immediately places the imperative within the context of God's prior action. "For," he goes on to explain,30 "God is the one who empowers you in this regard." They are indeed to "work at" it (katergazesthe): obedience, after all, takes "willing and doing." But they are able to do so precisely because God himself is "at work" (energōn) in and among them. This verb, as elsewhere, does not so much mean that God is "doing it for them," but that God supplies the necessary empowering.31 Thus, even though their obedience must be within the context of proper "fear and trembling" — and it is difficult to escape the motivational aspect of that phrase32 — they are herewith reminded that even so, their obedience is ultimately something God effects in/among them. Paul's real point, therefore, is not to protect himself theologically, but to encourage the Philippians that God is on the side of his people, that he not only has their concern at heart, but actively works in their behalf for the sake of his own good pleasure. The rest of the sentence gives us the "who, where, what, and why" of that empowering.
The who is easy. Just as in the preceding paragraph, which concluded by noting that even the worship of Christ as Lord is ultimately "to the glory of God," so here the emphasis is altogether on God. Even though the name "God" functions as the predicate nominative,33 it appears first in the clause by way of emphasis. Thus, "the one supplying the power for your obedience is none other than the living God."34
The where is "in/among you."35 As before (vv. 1:6; 2:5), when using this phrase in a corporate context, he primarily means "among you"; but for that to happen it must begin "in you," that is, in the resolve of each of them to see to it that God's purposes are accomplished in their community.
The what is loaded with theology. Not only does God empower their "doing" (energein, the infinitive of the verb just used to describe God's own activity), but also the "willing" that lies behind the doing. This is fully in keeping with Paul's understanding of Christian ethics, which has not to do with obedience to a set of rules that regulate conduct, but first of all with a "mind that is transformed" by the Spirit. Such a mind is "conformed" not to this age, but to the character of God, so that behavior is a reflection of God's will, what is good and pleasing and perfect to him (Rom 12:1-2). The "doing of salvation" for Paul therefore lies in the "willing," which means the radical transformation of life by the Spirit. The believer is not one who has been begrudgingly "caught by God," as it were, so that obedience is basically out of fear and trembling over what might happen if one were to do otherwise; rather, being Christ's means to be "converted" in the true sense of that word, to have one's life invaded by God's Holy Spirit, so that not simply new behavior is now effected, but a new desire toward God that prompts such behavior in the first place.36
But Christian ethics lies not just in the "willing." In Rom 7:18, in his description of life before and outside of Christ,37 but looked at from the perspective of life in the Spirit, Paul described pre-Christian life with these same verbs. To "will," he said, was present with me; he recognized the good and spiritual thing that the Law truly is. But without the Spirit, he goes on, "carrying out (katergazesthai) the good" does not happen. As a believer, however, Paul will have none of that (i.e., of their not being able to carry out the good that they will); hence he urges the Philippians to "work it out" precisely because God (by his Spirit, is implied) is present with them both to will and to do "the good."38
The why ("according to his good purpose," NIV) is debated; indeed, the phrase is perfectly ambiguous.39 The word translated "good purpose" occurred in 1:15, as the motivation for those among Paul's friends who preach Christ out of love and "goodwill" toward Paul. In light of what is about to be urged (v. 14), that meaning could prevail here as well; that is, God is at work in them both to will and to do what promotes goodwill in the community.40
More likely, however, given Paul's theology and the emphasis of the present sentence, he intends the definite article to function as a possessive and thus to refer to God's empowering their obedience for his own eudokia. In which case this word probably leans toward "good pleasure,"41 in the sense that God does this for his people precisely because it pleases him so to do. This also means further that the preposition hyper bears its regular sense of "for the sake of."42 This does not mean that God, despite v. 6, is a self-gratifying being after all. Rather, all that God does he does for his pleasure; but since God is wholly good, his doing what pleases him is not capricious, but what is wholly good for those he loves. God's pleasure is pure love, so what he does "for the sake of his good pleasure" is by that very fact also on behalf of those he loves. After all, it delights God to delight his people.
Thus, with v. 13 Paul puts the imperative into theological perspective. What follows is to be understood as flowing directly out of this word; there he will specify how they are to "work out their common salvation" as God works in and among them for his own good pleasure. What pleases God in this instance, of course, is that they cease the in-fighting that is currently going on among some of them.
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1. On the basis of the echoes of Deut 32:5 in v. 15, Michael (followed by Beare and Loh-Nida) proposed that Paul in this section is making a "farewell" speech, consciously adapting Moses' farewell speech to Israel. While there can be little question of the intertextuality in vv. 14-16, it is doubtful whether one can read such a "farewell" speech back into vv. 12-13 as Michael does. See n. 16 below, and the discussion on vv. 14-18.
2. In some ways it helps to put 1:12-26 into perspective as well. Paul began the narrative about "his affairs" by noting his imprisonment to be for the "advance" and the "defense" of the gospel (1:12, 16; cf. 1:7); 2:15-16 indicate that this twofold concern regarding the gospel is likewise the point of his appeal in 1:27-30, namely that they "stand firm" and "contend together" for the gospel. But "complaining and arguing" deflect their calling to "brighten the corner where they are," as God's "blameless" children. The appeal of vv. 15-16, we should note further, also supports what was noted on 2:1-4, that their being of "one mind" does not lean in the direction of their all thinking alike, but of their being committed to the common cause of the gospel.
3. Although Paul's sentence comes out nearly at this point, his Greek actually reads "not as in my presence only." The ώς ("as") has been omitted by a few MSS (B 33 1241s pc). The omission is easy to account for, since the conjunction implies that they might be obedient only when he was present, but not when absent.
4. Although it makes no significant difference in meaning, Paul's Greek is a good example of an idiom that gives the lie to the Jehovah's Witnesses treatment of John 1:1. Θεός is without the article here just as there, and for the same reason: "Colwell's rule," that a definite predicate noun which precedes the copulative lacks the definite article with the noun. D and the later MajT add the article, recognizing that Paul is referring to God, not "a god," but in so doing quash a NT idiom.
5. Cf. Calvin, Meyer, Silva, O'Brien, who also use the language "general admonition/ exhortation" for these two verses. But "general" should not then give rise to a noncontextual interpretation, as so often happens, as though Paul were now turning to address the matter of their individual salvation (as, e.g., in Meyer, Vincent, Hendriksen, et al., whose comments on this passage are altogether soteriological, in terms of the believer's individual salvation).
6. Evidence for this is the fact that this passage has been included in two recent books on "hard sayings" in Paul, published by evangelical publishers; see R. Stein (Difficult Passages in the Epistles) and M. Brauch (Hard Sayings of Paul). In earlier years this passage served as the fountain for a good bit of vitriol between Protestants and Roman Catholics over "grace" and "works," the result of coming to a passage with a theological agenda in hand, rather than the primary exegetical concern of hearing the passage within its own historical and literary context.
7. Gk. ώστε, which usually indicates that an inference is to be made from what has just been said. While there is nothing wrong with the NIV's "therefore" as a translation of this word, it misses some of the flavor of Paul's Greek. This conjunction is used by Paul especially in contexts where he is applying an argument to the local situation (another reason to believe that the issue here is case-specific, not simply general paraenesis). Cf. 1 Thess 4:18; 1 Cor 3:21; 4:5; 10:12; 11:33; 14:39; 15:58; Phil 4:18, all of which are followed by imperatives as here (cf. I Cor 3:7; 7:38; 11:27; 14:22; 2 Cor 4:12; 5:16, 17; Gal 4:3; Rom 7:4, 12, where it is followed by an indicative, but still functions to introduce an inferred conclusion of an argument).
8. Indeed, this is a very Germanic sentence, with the verb in last position preceded by a long clause before one gets to it (in Paul's order, "just as always you have obeyed, not as in my presence only but now all the more in my absence, with fear and trembling your own salvation work out"). Because of the distance between the μή and the verb, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that grammatically it goes with the imperative at the end, and not with "obedience." But some have made far too much of this. If Paul's sentence is not tidy, it works in terms of intent. At issue is "obedience" to the gospel, as that is spelled out in their life together (i.e., as their common salvation is worked out in their midst). That concern is interrupted by the reminder that this is how they "obeyed" when he was present and by "how much more" he wants them to obey in his absence. Thus the μή negates the imperative only indirectly: In working out their salvation they are not to do so as though such obedience were only forthcoming when he was among them.
9. Gk. αγαπητοί μου (lit., "my beloved"); in Paul see 1 Cor 10:14 (cf. 1 Thess 2:8; 2 Cor 7:1; 12:19; Rom 12:19, where it occurs without μου, and 1 Cor 15:58 and Phlm 16, where, as in Phil 4:1, it is also joined to "brothers and sisters").
10. See on 1:8 and esp. 4:1, where it occurs twice, framing that appeal in a most striking way ("My dearly loved brothers and sisters . . . beloved friends").
11. All of this, it should be noted, is the "stuff" of friendship. See the Introduction, pp. 2-7.
12. Gk. καθώς, introducing a comparative clause; see on 1:7 above. But in contrast to that sentence, and others like it, the point of comparison will follow in this case. Thus the basic elements of his sentence read: "Just as you have always obeyed . . . so now work out your own salvation." Contra Hawthorne (see n. 24 below).
13. Gk. υπακούσατε; for Pauline usage, of churches with regard to obedience to Christ and the gospel, see 2 Cor 2:9; 7:15; 10:5, 6; cf. 2 Thess 3:14 and Phlm 21.
14. See esp. his language "the obedience of faith" (Rom 1:5; cf. 15:18), which in that letter means something like "obedience that characterizes true faith." This is made certain by the interchange of "faith" and "obedience" in 1:8 ("your faith is proclaimed all over the world") and 16:19, which becomes "your obedience is known by all." Thus obedience means to respond to God (Rom 15:18) by receiving the gospel (10:16): whereas those who reject God do so by "not obeying the gospel of our Lord Jesus" (2 Thess 1:8).
15. Thus those who stress obedience only to Paul (e.g., Barth, Dibelius, Gnilka, Martin, Loh-Nida) or to God (e.g., Lightfoot, Melick) do not seem to have it quite right. In light of the following qualifier, about their "obedience" (whether Paul is present or absent), it is hard to escape an emphasis on "obedience" with regard to Paul's admonitions; but in light of the larger context (Christ's obedience [v. 8]; his lordship [vv. 9-11]) it is equally hard to escape that "obedience" to Christ and the gospel is the only obedience to his words that Paul could imagine. So most interpreters.
16. See esp. 1:27 above; but cf. 1:8, 24-26: 2:19-24; 4:10. Michael (99, followed by Beare and Houlden), as part of his overall view of this passage as a "farewell speech," sees this language as referring to "life" and "death," i.e., that Paul is here preparing them to carry on after his death (= they now have to work out their own salvation because the apostle will not be around much longer to help them; so also Hendriksen, Collange, Caird, but without Michael's scenario). But there is nothing in favor of such a view (even the use of the Deuteronomy echo in v. 15 is misguided) and everything against it: (1) these words are a deliberate recall of the similar language in 1:27, where there is not hint of "death"; (2) this language belongs especially to matters of friendship (see n. 11), which culturally has nothing to do with "death"; (3) Paul clearly expects to be released from this imprisonment (1:24-26; 2:24); and (4) he immediately follows this passage not with directions about how to carry on after he is gone, but how to carry on now, because he is about to send Timothy and he himself will be coming soon — or so he firmly believes (2:19-24).
17. Gk. ώς, which (contra Collange, Hawthorne, O'Brien) functions here as a comparative particle; it could thus mean "just as you do in my presence" (so Meyer). But the combination μή ώς . . . μόνον suggests a degree of doubt on the part of Paul. Collange's view (argued for in more detail by Hawthorne and followed by O'Brien) is that ώς = "when" in the sense of "in view of" (although how one can make that leap escapes me) and thus speaks to his anticipated παρουσία. But besides a nearly impossible meaning for ώς, this view founders on the position of μόνον ("only"), which seems to demand that the obedience spoken of had to do with their obedience only when he was present, not "in view only of my coming."
18. Gk. άλλά νũν πολλώ μάλλον (= but now by how much more); cf. 1:23. Its force is brought out esp. in 2 Cor 3:9 and 11 (if the older covenant had glory, and it did, how much more the new covenant that is accompanied by the life-giving Spirit).
19. Gk. έν τή άπουσία μου, the cognate noun for the participle that occurs in 1:27; a NT hapax legomenon. Here, of course, it parallels έν τή παρουσία μου ("in my presence").
20. Gk. xατεργάζεσθε, a verb with a degree of flexibility. Its basic sense is to "accomplish" something, not in the sense of "fulfillment," but of "carrying out" a matter (cf. Rom 7:18: "to will is present"; but to "carry out" [xατεργάζεσθαι] what is willed is another matter). Under no circumstances can it be stretched to mean "work at," as though salvation were something that needed our work (as in good works) in order for it to be accomplished. On this see esp. Stein (Difficult Passages, 42-45).
21. Gk. (τήν) έαυτών (σωτηρίαν). Some see Paul here as emphasizing the reflexive, suggesting either that it puts stress on each believer's salvation, or on their own salvation, now that Paul does not expect to be around much longer (see nn. 1 and 16 above — although some who hold this view are thinking only of Paul's present absence, not his anticipated death). But these views make too much of very little. While the reflexive at times does stress what belongs especially to the subject of a sentence (cf., e.g., vv. 3-4 above), that is usually made clear by some inherent contrast in the sentence. In other cases it functions very close to a normal possessive, except that by use of the reflexive it slightly intensifies the possessive as being one's own. This latter seems to be what is going on here. For his purposes Paul could easily have said ύμών σωτηρίαν; he chose rather to use the reflexive, which strengthens the idea of its being their "possession." It must be noted (pace Kennedy, Müller, Hendriksen, et al.) that Paul has ways of individualizing plural commands, and the use of this reflexive is not one of them.
22. As, e.g., in Kennedy, Müller, Hendriksen, Silva, O'Brien.
23. On the other hand, Silva and O'Brien rightly oppose what they call a purely "sociological" understanding of this imperative, so that "salvation" is watered down to mean something like "wholeness" within the community (as Michael, Beare, Martin, Loh-Nida, Hawthorne; Swift, "Theme," 245). One will have a hard time defending that understanding of this word on the basis of Pauline usage (as Hawthorne's resorting to some papyrus uses indicates). In a (correct, but unfortunate in terms of results) reaction to this view, Silva and O'Brien, despite an occasional demurrer, swing the pendulum to the other side, so that it becomes a case of "either/or" (i.e., either individual or community); whereas in Paul "salvation" is always "both/and." As Caird (125) put it, "Salvation in the New Testament is always an intensely personal, but never an individual, matter." On this question see further, Fee, Presence, 846-47, 876, where for the sake of stressing the corporate nature of the Pauline imperative I chose finally to discuss his ethics in the chapter on salvation and the people of God. rather than in the chapter on salvation and the individual. Martin's view, it should be noted, seems strikingly contradictory. On the one hand, he follows Käsemann in vigorously contending for a soteriological view of ν v. 6-11 (= the "way of salvation" that serves as the basis for the paraenesis, vis-à-vis the passage serving as a paradigm); yet he then turns about and defines "salvation" in this passage as "wholeness."
24. So Silva (135, noted favorably by O'Brien), although not expressed grammatically. Contra Hawthorne, 98, who thinks the clause elliptical, requiring an assumed "so continue to obey" as an apodosis. But that is unnecessary, since the present imperative functions precisely in this way. For this usage in Paul cf. 1 Thess 2:4; 3:4; 5:11; 2 Cor 8:6.
25. Gk. μετά φόβου xαί τρόμου; cf. 1 Cor 2:3; 2 Cor 7:15; Eph 6:5. In the LXX it is used primarily of the dread that pagans experience at the presence of the living God (e.g., Exod 15:16; Isa 19:16), which then is transferred to their dread of his people because of the wonders God performs for them (Deut 2:25; 11:25); finally it is also used of the sheer terror of circumstances that bode death (Ps 54:6 [English, 55:5]).
26. See esp. Barth, 71-72, who suggests that the phrase is nearly synonymous with "lowliness of mind" in v. 3, and thus sees it as the theological key to the whole imperative; cf. Collange, Martin, Loh-Nida, Gombitza ("Mit Furcht"), who also see it basically as concerned with relations between people. So also Giesen ("Furcht"), although he more correctly emphasizes the believers' attitude in the midst of their hostile environment. Hawthorne, to a degree following Pedersen ("Mit Furcht"), suggests a meaning here akin to "obedience." Given its OT background, however, and Paul's usage elsewhere, the phrase probably has to do with one's proper awe of God.
27. For the unlikelihood of Jewett's view that this phrase refers to their "fear and trembling" before the final judgment of God, see n. 75 on 1:6.
28. As Vincent (65) suggests.
29. In this regard see esp. 1 Cor 5:7, where Paul uses the imperative in such a way that, if left unguarded, it could undermine his theology. So they must indeed "cleanse out the old leaven so as to become a fresh lump of dough," but of course that is what they already are by grace. Cf. Gal 4:9, where he does the same thing with what appears to be an innocent statement of reality, that the Galatians now "know God," meaning, of course, he immediately qualifies, that they are in fact "known by God."
30. That is, the γάρ in this case indicates that he will now explain how they are going to be able to carry out the imperative of v. 12. Collange (110) makes the intriguing, but unlikely, suggestion that it emphasizes his absence; thus, "you do not need to wait for my arrival, for it is God in any case who does the work."
31. The verb ένεργεΐν appears in Paul's letters 17 of its 20 NT occurrences. That it means something close to "effective empowering" is supported by the interchange in 1 Cor 12:6 and 11 between God the Father and God the Spirit, both of whom are said to "energize all [these] things" among God's people.
32. So Mundle, NIDNTT, 1.623.
33. Contra Meyer. On this matter see n. 4 above.
34. In keeping with their view of v. 12, many would limit it to "in the souls of believers" (so Meyer, Vincent, Kennedy, Hendriksen, Silva, O'Brien); but the context seems to rule that out.
35. Gk. έν ύμΐν; cf. n. 72 on 1:6 and the discussion on v. 5 above.
36. Cf. Bruce (82): "This is Paul's teaching about the Holy Spirit, even if the Spirit is not explicitly mentioned here." Cf. Fee, Presence, 598-603, for the Spirit as key to Rom 12:1-2 in the same way.
37. See esp. 7:5-6; "When we were controlled by the flesh . . . ; but now we have been set free to serve in the new way of the Spirit." See the NICNT commentary by D. Moo, for this perspective.
38. For this understanding of Rom 7:7-25, see Fee, Presence, 508-15; the repetition here of these very verbs as something quite within the grasp of God's Spirit-filled people plays the lie to the interpretation that Paul was there describing some kind of (non-existent) tension between the Spirit within him and the flesh, in which the flesh obviously still had the upper hand.
39. Gk. ύπέρ της εύδοκίας. The ambiguity lies with the article της, which can refer either to "the well-known" goodwill that believers ought to have toward one another (in keeping with v. 4), or "his" good will, reflecting the Greek article as referring back to the subject of the sentence ("God"), and thus functioning as a possessive pronoun.
40. As inter alia Michael, 104; Collange, 111; Hawthorne, 101.
41. So most interpreters; Lightfoot has "benevolent purpose."
42. For reasons not at all clear, many find this usage difficult, as though God's effecting something "for the sake of his own good pleasure" were awkward or theologically offensive. The result has been a number of unlikely ploys to get around the ordinary sense of the preposition. BAGD suggest the sense of "above and beyond" for this passage. That would work fine for the accusative, but Paul uses the genitive here, and almost certainly means that God acts "on behalf of" someone's "good pleasure," most likely his own. The NIV implies that it equals κατά here, as though God's empowering their willing and doing were "in keeping with" the standard set by "his good purposes." But grammatically that has no analogies. Collange argues that "in behalf of" carries this nuance in any case; but that is especially difficult to see. Finally, BDF §231.2 offer the extremely unlikely expedient that it goes with the next imperative (v. 14). In light of biblical theology in general and Pauline theology in particular, the view presented here fits perfectly well into the argument.