The salvation in 2:12 is not salvation from the condemnation of God or from hell. Rather, salvation here refers to the salvation we experience day by day. In particular, it is salvation from murmurings and reasonings. In verse 14 Paul says, “Do all things without murmurings and reasonings.” We need an instant salvation to deliver us from our murmurings and reasonings.
We have pointed out that the sisters have a particular problem with murmurings, and the brothers, with reasonings. Usually the wives are given to murmuring, and the husbands, to reasoning. Because we all are troubled by murmurings or reasonings, we need the kind of salvation that can rescue us, not only from God’s condemnation and from the lake of fire, but also from our murmurings and reasonings. This means that we need a subjective, moment-by-moment salvation.
We have seen that, as our pattern, Christ emptied Himself and humbled Himself and also was exalted and glorified by God. Sisters, do you think that while you are murmuring, God will come in to exalt you? Brothers, do you believe that while you are reasoning, God will come in to glorify you? Surely God will not exalt us or glorify us when we are murmuring or reasoning. Oh, we need salvation from murmurings and reasonings!
Both murmurings and reasonings are signs of rebellion and disobedience. In verse 12 Paul says that the Philippians “have always obeyed.” We also need to obey—to obey Christ as our pattern. As the One who became our pattern, the Lord Jesus did not murmur or reason. Instead, He emptied Himself and humbled Himself. Now we must obey this pattern, realizing that Christ does not murmur or reason, but empties Himself and humbles Himself. When the brothers are tempted to reason, they need to remember the pattern of the self-emptying and self-humbling Christ. The brothers should then obey this pattern without reasoning. This obedience is the working out of our salvation. Whenever we obey Christ as our pattern, we automatically work out our salvation from our murmurings and reasonings.
Christians often ask others if they have been saved. When I was asked this question as a young man, I answered strongly that I had been saved. But if I were asked this question today, I would reply, “What do you mean by ‘saved’? If you mean saved from God’s judgment and from the lake of fire, I most assuredly have been saved. However, if you mean saved from reasonings, I would have to admit that I have been saved in part, but not yet in full.”
Years ago, I used to wonder why Paul included verse 14 in this chapter. It seemed to me that what Paul had written was so high that there was no need for this verse. After saying that Christ was exalted and given a name above every name, that every tongue would confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, and that we must work out our own salvation according to God’s operating within us, Paul suddenly tells us to do all things without murmurings and reasonings. It seemed to me that murmurings and reasonings were too insignificant to be mentioned here. However, after more experience I learned that we definitely need to be saved in a practical way from reasonings and murmurings.
In the church life and in our married life there is a lot of murmuring and reasoning. The sisters may behave properly, but within they may murmur against the brothers. What sister can say that she has never murmured about anything in the church life? If the sisters do not complain outwardly, they certainly murmur inwardly. When the brothers hear of the sisters’ murmuring, they may react by reasoning. Because we have murmurings and reasonings, we need the practical salvation revealed in Philippians 2. The salvation here is not the salvation we have received once for all. On the contrary, it is the salvation which we need to work out in order to be rescued daily from our weaknesses. We have pointed out that this salvation is Christ as our pattern. Hence, the pattern and the salvation are one. The pattern is the salvation, and the salvation is the pattern worked out in us.