Old Dry Bones

“…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”
- Philippians 2:12-13

I have, in my vast collection of stuff my children will struggle with when I’m gone, a mammoth tooth. It came from my Grandad. He was an engineer/bridge inspector for Santa Fe Railroad and during the installation of a new bridge they came upon a site that contained mammoth remains. He did the right thing and reported the find. In gratitude, the authorities allowed him to keep a tooth from the find. It speaks to life on earth that once was and is no more. But what about life that is not, but could be?

Ezekiel 37 is an extraordinary account where the prophet is caught up by the Spirit of the Lord and taken to a valley filled with old dry bones. As the chapter states, they were “very dry.” Ezekiel is asked by the Lord, “‘Son of man, can these bones live?’ So I answered, ‘Oh Lord God, You know.’” (v. 3)

Ezekiel is commanded to prophesy to the bones, “O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!” And before his eyes and ears a rattling of bones began, and they were joined together. Sinews connected them and flesh covered them. He was commanded again to prophesy breath into them, “Thus says the Lord God: ‘Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.’” (v. 9)

The Lord then tells Ezekiel to take what he has seen and prophesy that God says, “I will put My Spirit in you and you shall live…” (v. 14)

Many people fear verses like Philippians 2:13 which calls us to “work out our own salvation in fear and trembling;…”. However this should have more to do with awe and respect than questioning and doubt.

What we often miss in Philippians 2:12 is it doesn’t end in verse 12. It has a semicolon at the end, meaning clarification of what I just said follows. And in verse 13 we are told, “…for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” In other words, what we are to “work out” is what God “works in”!

We are the old dry bones of Ezekiel’s vision. There should be fear and trembling. The fear of never experiencing eternal life. Insuring that we do. The trembling of our old bones being brought together. The fragmented pieces of the life we have lived and messed up being worked together for our good (Romans 8:28). And the new life we have breathed into us by the Holy Spirit to make us new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17). It should make us tremble. It is one of the few times we can actually utilize the word “awesome” in truth.

The problem is we tend to focus on what we are “working out”, when what we are called to focus on is Christ “working in” our lives. If what we are doing is not an out-flowing of what Christ is working in our lives, then there should be fear and trembling because it will never meet God’s standard.

In fulfillment of Ezekiel’s prophecy, through “fear and trembling” and awe, God is able to rattle the bones, bring them together, connect them, clothe them in flesh and breath new life into them. We only have to respond to God’s word. God works in us to give us new life. He works in us to make us complete for His good pleasure. Working out our salvation is simply working out what God has worked in to our lives. Allowing the living Lord to live through our lives.

It is not working out “how to be saved,” but rather working out the fact that you are saved. Working out what He has worked in! Allowing His work to transfer from within us to the world around us. Allow the living Lord to work out what He is working in our lives. Truly the only word that can capture that in any way is AWESOME!

© 2026 Warren Martin. All rights Reserved.