Philippians 2:12

Textus Receptus:
ωστε αγαπητοι μου καθως παντοτε υπηκουσατε μη ως εν τη παρουσια μου μονον αλλα νυν πολλω μαλλον εν τη απουσια μου μετα φοβου και τρομου την εαυτων σωτηριαν κατεργαζεσθε

King James:
Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

Comments:
Wherefore: This "wherefore" points back to Paul's desire for the Philippians to be "like-minded" in verse 2.

presence...absence: This is the second time in this book (1:27) Paul has used his presence or absence to motivate the same response Christ's presence or absence should motivate. Language about the church as the body of Christ and passages like 1 John 4:17-21 make such a parallel appropriate.

work out your own salvation: This phrase is not the common colloquialism, "figure it out for yourself." Instead, as the next verse makes clear, Paul is telling those who already have salvation to apply that salvation thoroughly, to live it out. It is the same point he makes to Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:12--to lay hold on that which is already his.

fear and trembling: While Christians are freed from fear through salvation (as in Romans 8:15) they are obligated to fear God (and only God) in passages like 2 Corinthians 7:1. Romans 13:7 makes it clear that the appropriateness of fear is in its object, not inherent in its nature. The trembling Paul mentions indicates the humility of those who know they cannot in themselves fulfill their obligation.

Expanded Paraphrase:
As one who loves you and knows you have always acted in obedience, I charge you, since your goal is to have the same mind as Christ and therefore to be in harmony with each other, to fashion your lives according to the salvation which is already yours, to do it whether I am there to see it or not, and to do it out of your fear of and respect for God knowing that you could not in yourselves ever satisfy His demands.