GOD’S WORKING AND
THE BELIEVER’S WORKING

SEEING THE BALANCE

Compare Galatians 2:20 "I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me";  I work; yet not I, but Christ worketh in me; I labour; yet not I, but Christ laboureth in me. etc.

Additional Comments

The above chart begins with Philippians 2:12-13 because these two verses present the proper balance in a way that is very clear and easy to see.

If we cling to Philippians 2:12 (man's working) and forget about Philippians 2:13 (God's working) then we are left with only man's working and thus there is no supernatural dynamic. It is like the disciples who "toiled all the night, and have taken nothing" (Luke 5:5). It is like the frustrated branch which is trying to produce fruit without being connected to the vine: "without me [apart from Me, separated from Me] ye can do nothing" (John 15:5). By self-effort alone, we will never be able to perform that which is good (Rom. 7:18).

Another common mistake is to err in the other direction by clinging to Philippians 2:13 (God's working) and forgetting about Philippians 2:12 (man's working). This leads to the wrong idea that "God does everything and I do nothing." This kind of thinking tends to make the believer passive and inactive and dormant. Sometimes it is stated this way: "Let go and let God." God's Word does not tell the believer to "let go" but rather to "HOLD FAST"--see Hebrews 3:6; 3:14 ("hold"=hold fast); 10:23; Luke 8:15 ("keep"=hold fast); 1 Cor. 15:2 ("keep in memory"=hold fast). The believer is to have an active, living faith in a powerful Saviour, clinging to Him who is OUR LIFE.

The life that we now live in the flesh is an active life of trusting the One who loved us and gave Himself for us (Galatians 2:20). Faith is the key because "we walk by faith" (2 Cor. 5:7). This is how we are to live (Gal. 2:20). We are to fight, but it is to be "the fight of faith" (1 Tim. 6:12). We are to strive "according to His working" (Col. 1:29). We are to work, ever knowing that He is working in us mightily (Eph. 3:20; Heb. 13:21). We are to labour, but our labour must be in the Lord as we abide in Him (1 Cor. 15:58; Romans 16:12). By faith we actively draw upon the limitless resources of the risen Christ who is the only Source of our life and power. Apart from Him we can do nothing (John 15:5). Through Him we can do all things (Phil. 4:13)!

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Additional Notes:

A very extreme Calvinist position would deny that a believer has a responsibility to the lost: "If God does the electing then I need do nothing. If God wants them saved, He will save them. Either God will bring them to faith in Christ or He will not. It's totally God's work whether we do anything or not." The Bible answer to this is best expressed by the apostle Paul himself:

"Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory" (2 Tim. 2:10).

Yes, Paul laboured for the lost, prayed for the lost, preached to the lost, suffered for the lost and poured out his energy for the lost. Why? "that the elect may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory." Paul knew that God's sovereignty did not interfere with man's responsibility. Paul knew that God would do His part. Paul also know that he must do his part: "woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel" (1 Cor. 9:16).

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John 6:27-29 is an interesting passage showing the balance between God's working and man's working when it comes to salvation. The Lord told them to labour or work for the right kind of food (v.27). They then asked, "What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?" The Lord did not say, "You should do NOTHING!" Instead He said, "You must BELIEVE!" (v.29).