Sorry; it's taken me some time to get back to this.
12Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyednot only in my presence, but now much more in my absencecontinue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
Philippians 2:12-13(NIV)
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So, there isn't a "work out" vs "work in" dichotomy in these verses. Based on the English grammar, it is completely invalid to treat these as grammatically synergistic. So, verse 13 provides no context for interpreting the language used in verse 12.
You can't split the context of v. 12 and 13--the two verses are part of the same sentence! Verse 13 begins with the coordinating conjunction "for"; it gives the foundation for v. 12.
Expositors Bible Commentary writes:
Paul describes the enablement to carry out the exhortation as being furnished by God himself, who produces in believers both the desire to live righteously and the effective energy to do so.
Word Biblical Commentary writes:
In fact, the conjunction makes it clear that God does not work and has not worked . . . because man has worked.. . . The contrary is true: because God works and has worked, therefore man must and can work"
I wouldn't call it a "dichotomy", but Paul specifically repeats the word "work" with various prepositions. In v. 12 the preposition
kata is included with
ergon (work) as part of a compound verb.
Kata literally means "down";
Thayer writes:
a preposition denoting motion or diffusion or direction from the higher to the lower
In v. 13 Paul the prepositions are separate from the verbs and participles. Paul uses both "work in" and "work for." Paul seems to be intentionally re-using the word "work" in this passage to make a point.
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Granted, Iano's belief that our good works are only the result of God working in us* is fully supported by this scripture.
Exactly.
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However, I reject this one simply because it makes no intuitive sense to say, "Do X," when what you mean is, "Let God do X through you." What good could possibly be done by saying that?
Good observation and question. This sort of contrast is not unusual in the Bible. We could find many other passages that say similar things. But exploring this here would take us off-topic.
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