God's Sovereignty at Work in the Believer

Dr. Couch, what is going on in Philippians 2:13? It sounds like the absolute sovereignty of God working in the believer! Is this right? ANSWER:  You're right! That is what is going on! The believer is not a robot and yet, God is absolutely sovereign. Nothing happens with us without His working and causing us to be willing and then to be working in regard to His good pleasure! The Greek text reads:    "Be continually working intently your salvation with fear and trembling; for God is the One continually working in you the to be willing and the to be working concerning the good pleasure [of Him]" (Phil. 2:12b-13).    Notice the Present Tenses in the verse. Nicoll points out that there is no conflict with Divine sovereignty and human responsibility. But guess which one dominates? God's sovereignty. His work causes all things to be!    A.T. Robertson is stronger on the passage. "God is the Energy and the Energizer of the universe. ... God is back of all activity in nature." "Both the willing and the working (the energizing). God does it all, then. The will of God is behind gravitation and all the laws of nature."     As I used to ask my students: "Who is in charge?" And, "Who do we think we are?"    Ellicott goes further: "The word 'works in you' is constantly applied to the divine operation in the soul, ... to do the action of men. It must necessarily extend to the will as well as the action; otherwise God would not be sovereign in the inner realm of mind. Hence, while we cannot even conceive the existence of freedom under an unbending impersonal law or force, the harmony of our will with a Supreme Personal Will (God's) is mysterious, indeed."    Thanks for asking.    Dr. Mal Couch