Phil 2:12 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.
Once again, in order to see the pattern of our discussion of this passage, let us look at this verse in the Amplified translation with the emphasis in place in the context it contains. Therefore, my dear ones, as you have always obeyed [my suggestions], so now, not only [with the enthusiasm you would show] in my presence but much more because I am absent, work out (cultivate, carry out to the goal, and fully complete) your own salvation with reverence and awe and trembling (self-distrust, with serious caution, tenderness of conscience, watchfulness against temptation, timidly shrinking from whatever might offend God and discredit the name of Christ). 
We spent some time, in our last consideration, with the phrase … with fear and trembling. Yet, in my heart, I do not sense that we have exhausted, or ever will exhaust the full aspects of what it means to enter into the presence of the Lord in this manner. We are now the Beloved of God. We have free and unlimited access into the very heart of God through the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are completely covered over with the robe of right standing in the person of Jesus Christ. God, the Father, delights in our presence, and desires a complete fellowship with you and with me, in Christ Jesus. It is such a shame that many Christians are unable to take the time to study the wonderful words that the Apostle Paul, by the divine inspiration of the Holy Spirit, has laid before us in this passage. Rather than take the time to fully allow the Holy Spirit to open up in our hearts, that which He laid upon the heart of the Apostle Paul, we often take the words at face value, with the value of our conception, rather than with the value of the Lord’s conception.
What do I mean by this statement? It is often the case, especially in my readings, where we put the words in the context of our limited understanding. We associate them with our values and our experiences, never taking the time to delve into the true context of the time in which they were written. We often fail to remember that the Authorized or the King James was a translation by men who were also reading the texts and trying to make them understandable to others of their time frame. They used words that may have changed in usage since the time that they were first written down. Does this mean that the text is incorrect? No, not at all. But it does mean that we have a responsibility, as readers, to allow the Holy Spirit to open up, in life, that which He wrote into the heart of the Apostle Paul and to seek after Him to write it in our hearts as well. That often requires that we permit our concepts and our thoughts of what the words mean to be expanded into that which is intended by the Holy Spirit. That is the case before us. That is the reason that I am also including the Amplified version of this phrase, and why I would like to attempt to take us into greater depth, through the use of several other commentaries. It is because the phrase before us is too vital to be glossed over or categorized into a simple concept. There is far too much at stake in the heart of God, in our coming before Him, and in our daily walk as His representatives on this earth.
The Jamieson, Foster and Brown Commentary deals with this phrase in the following manner: With fear and trembling - the feeling enjoined on" servants," to accompany their "obedience". See that, as "servants" to God, after the example of Christ, ye be so 'with the fear and trembling' which becomes servants: not slavish fear, but trembling anxiety to please your Holy Master, and to reach the goal, resulting from distrust of your own sufficiency, and from consciousness that all depends on the power of God, "who worketh both to will and to do". (from Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1997 by Biblesoft)
In Eph 6:5-6, we have the following example: Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;
There is that aspect of service involved in this fear and trembling. Please note the Ephesians verse puts the emphasis on our singleness of heart as unto Christ. While it specifically deals with the service that should be rendered unto those put in charge over us, it is but the earthly expression of what should be true of our beings before God. We should hold God in such reverence in our hearts, that everything we do, say, express, and think comes under His scrutiny and should be completely honoring unto Him. Just imagine that! Every aspect of our beings should be presented unto God for His service with a heart that is so full of fear and trembling because we do not want to displease Him in any fashion. That fear and trembling is not out of the fear of punishment, but out of love for Him and not wanting to disappoint Him in any measure, as we have already discussed.
Do you know that heart of which we speak? It is evident in children who do not want to disappoint their parents. It is evident in parents who want to be the premium parentage for their children. It is evident in spouses who only want to be the best for the love of their lives. This is one of the great intrinsic motivators of humanity, as fashioned after the heart of God, and that is exactly why this world tries to devalue and to deface it at every opportunity. Because it represents what is pure and holy, it is the target of all the media of this age, in order to make it seem outdated and worthless. Look at how children are being taught to rebel and to consider their parents as old-fashioned and out of touch, not to be honored, but to be ridiculed. Look at how parents are being encouraged to seek after the things of this age, and to be absent from the home in presence; physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Look at the way society considers marriage; with the emphasis on what we can get out of it, rather than on what we can give unto it. Is it any wonder that we have difficulty understanding a positive aspect to this fear and trembling that we are considering? 
As a society, we have been desensitized to what a true relationship with each other and with God represents and involves. It seems to be beyond our frame of reference to understand just how important that relationship is to the glory of God. We are being constantly bombarded by all the elements of this age, and what is worst, we are accepting the lies as reality. We feel that we are incapable of knowing anything of true holiness and purity before God, of valuing His way and His glory over all else in our lives. This is not a new battle for Christians. Thankfully, the Apostle Paul dealt with it in his letter to the Corinthian Church for the edification of even us today. 
2 Cor 3:2-6 Ye are our epistle, written in our hearts, known and read of all men; being made manifest that ye are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in tables (that are) hearts of flesh. And such confidence have we through Christ to God-ward: not that we are sufficient of ourselves, to account anything as from ourselves; but our sufficiency is from God; who also made us sufficient as ministers of a new covenant; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.
The power to come to God and to live in the honorable and positive aspect of this fear and trembling is not based on our self-control and on our determination to do that which is right and proper. No, it is based on the authority of God to bring forth, by the active ministry of the Holy Spirit, that which is completely honoring unto God. He is faithful to be the strength, the wisdom, the guidance and the courage to face this realm of society with a clear understanding of what God expects to be true in our lives, in our hearts, and in our daily witness of Him on this earth. He has great expectations for us, but He also has given the means, obedience to the Holy Spirit, in line with His Living Word of Truth, to be the servants, those humble servants, who desire not to displease Him or dishonor Him in any manner.
As a further encouragement along this line, I would like to read the UBS Handbook commentary on this phrase. The Philippian readers are encouraged to attain this goal with fear and trembling. This is a stereotyped Old Testament expression denoting humble reverence, dependence, and devotion to God. It does not appear in the New Testament apart from the Pauline writings. In every instance (here and in 1 Cor 2:3; Eph 6:5) it is used to describe the spirit of reverence and humility which should characterize mutual relationships within the Christian community. It is precisely with this spirit that Paul is urging the Philippian Christians to keep on working toward the restoration of the spiritual welfare of the community. A literal rendering of with fear and trembling might suggest that the Philippian Christians should be fearful of their enemies and tremble because of them. It may even be misleading to speak of "with fear and trembling before God," or "while you are fearing God and trembling before him." A more appropriate equivalent in a number of languages is "with complete devotion to God," or "with complete reverence for God." (from the UBS Handbook Series.  Copyright (c) 1961-1997, by United Bible Societies)
There is much that is part of this fear and trembling in the terminology that the Apostle Paul uses. The Holy Spirit gave us a lofty goal of the perfection that indwells us by Jesus Christ. It is because of that perfection, because of the love that we have for Christ, for our Heavenly Father, for the Holy Spirit, for our Triune God, that we dare not dismiss the truth of this passage as just a nice goal that others can strive after. It is a tremendous expectation set before us, but not one that only the great Christians will achieve. I often have the feeling that we belittle the power of God within us, and magnify it in other Christians, because we get caught up in comparing our lives with the lives of others. They are so much farther along than we are. They are doing everything that God desires, and here I struggle with just taking time to pray or to read the scripture or even to think about God each day. When we are looking at ourselves, we are defeated. It is that simple. There is nothing about us or about others that is of any value apart from Christ. Comparison with other Christians belittles the work of God in us, and immediately places us outside the course of this tremendous aspect of fear and trembling before Him. When we consider ourselves, we inevitably find that we fear the punishment of not measuring up to what God expects. We let our conscious awareness dictate our spiritual limitations. No, we are to be looking fully to the One Who indwells each of us. We need to set aside all the earthly weights and restrictions and concepts that serve only to defeat our minds and our hearts before the Lord.
Peter dealt with this in 1 Peter 1:13-19 Wherefore girding up the loins of your mind, be sober and set your hope perfectly on the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as children of obedience, not fashioning yourselves according to your former lusts in (the time of) your ignorance: but like as he who called you is holy, be ye yourselves also holy in all manner of living; because it is written, Ye shall be holy; for I am holy. And if ye call on him as Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to each man's work, pass the time of your sojourning in fear: knowing that ye were redeemed, not with corruptible things, with silver or gold, from your vain manner of life handed down from your fathers; but with precious blood, as of a lamb without spot, (even the blood) of Christ:
Set our eyes, our hearts, our hopes, our admiration, our ideas, and our desires upon the One Who is worthy of all consideration. He, Alone, should be the concern of our being. He has made the provision to have this accomplished in us through His Holy Spirit. As a matter of fact, it is only by the Holy Spirit that we can come into the living reality of the Lord Jesus Christ. Many have tried to know Him in an historical sense, in a human sense, in an emotional sense. Yes, there are the historical documents that can be studied that testify to a man called Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified by the Romans. But those documents do not reveal the person of Jesus Christ, the life that He is now! Yes, there is a wealth of emotional aspects to someone who would be willing to lay down his life for others. We see this emotional facet played out in movies and in stories of heroes on a daily basis. There is the emotional drama of the suffering that Christ endured, also as characterized, even most recently, in cinema and in song. But that is not the full truth of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Only the Holy Spirit can bring forth life from the deadness that we are in our selves. He, Alone, is capable of opening up the Love that is now our inheritance in the Beloved, as members of the Living Body of Jesus Christ. 
As we are taught, by the Holy Spirit, our entire focus yearns to know more of the One, Who so fully gave up the entirety of His rightful position as God, in order to redeem us, to bring those lost in sin and trespass into life, into the proper relationship with God as the Beloved. As His Being of Love indwells us, we become desirous to never bring shame upon His name.
According to Vincent's Word Studies in the New Testament concerning Fear and trembling. Not slavish terror, but wholesome, serious caution. "This fear is self-distrust; it is tenderness of conscience; it is vigilance against temptation; it is the fear which inspiration poses to high-mindedness in the admonition 'be not high-minded but fear.' It is taking heed lest we fall; it is a constant apprehension of the deceitfulness of the heart, and of the insidiousness and power of inward corruption. It is the caution and circumspection which timidly shrinks from whatever would offend and dishonor God and the Saviour. And these the child of God will feel and exercise the more he rises above the enfeebling, disheartening, distressing influence of the fear which hath torment. Well might Solomon say of such fear, 'happy is the man that feareth always'" (from Vincent's Word Studies in the New Testament, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1997 by Biblesoft)
Wholesome, serious caution. This is what should be true of all our relationships. It is this wholesome, serious caution which takes a marriage to the spiritual level of God’s design. When this heart’s expression is in place, there is an attitude toward marriage, toward the spouse, that this world cannot comprehend. There is a revering of the spouse, there is a giving for the spouse, and there is a protection of the one whom we hold near and dear to our hearts. That is what should be in evidence in our heart toward God. When we practice a wholesome, serious caution in our relationship, we do not take anything for granted. It is not a business as usual attitude that proceeds forth. It is a serious determination to develop only the best that we can for the sake of the other, be it spouse, be it child, or be it Our Loving God Almighty. 
There is, in place, a self-distrust, meaning that we do not look to our efforts and our ideas of what the Lord wants. We simply and absolutely seek Him to make Himself known and to bring about the work that He desires in our beings. We willingly submit to whatever avenue He would choose to use to establish His desired relationship in us, with all trust and confidence that He has everything well in hand.
As well, we will have a tenderness of conscience, something that this world has been trying to deaden in a most ferocious manner. Desiring to have God let us know when we are displeasing to Him, is another way of phrasing this. It is not just a knowledge level, but an experiential aspect to our lives on this earth. When we are off-base, we know it in our hearts and beings. We sense the unrest and the disappointment of God in our soul and we earnestly seek after God’s forgiveness to work in us that which He desires. There is no pride that strives against making amends when possible. There is no sense of self-worth that is injured by having to ask for forgiveness and to apologize. There is only the Love of God which covers us and covers others. 
This also pertains to when we are wronged by others. We ask the Lord to work in us to the point that we can love the offending person with the same love with which we have been loved. Our tenderness of conscience covers them in the desire that they would come to know the Lord as we know Him, in Life, in Truth, in Love, and in all the fullness of His Majesty.
In line with this fear and trembling, there is vigilance against temptation. That means that we do not see other things as more desirable than the Lord. That is what temptation is, you know. When we allow something to take the place of that which it rightfully has in our lives, we have given into temptation. Rather than to guard and to cherish the relationship that is ours with God, we allow our beings to become distracted and seduced by other elements in this world. These elements need not necessarily be carnal in nature. The world is so adept at putting forth concepts and persuasive aspects that can so easily derail our hearts from their focus on the Lord. Jobs, family matters, recreation, and comrades can so easily take away the concentration that should be set upon the Lord Jesus, if we let them. We must be on constant guard, vigilant that our heart’s focus will not be distracted from the Lord, and His Glory and His Majesty and His Honor.
Finally, our lives should be characterized by an inherent nature to timidly shrink from whatever would offend and dishonor God and the Savior. There should be a truth about us that prevents us from engaging in that which would be offensive to God. We should cringe internally as we witness the defecations of this realm. We should find that we are not amused at the off-colored stances and antics of this age. Rather, there should be a revulsion within that makes us lift up those caught in the snares of this realm and to hold them in love in our hearts, while discarding the actions and influences as unworthy to be put before God. That is after all, the key to our life, bringing forth unto God only that which would please Him. When we measure the course of our daily walk against that standard, we can either be lost in the futility of our endeavors, or miraculously amazed at the effectiveness of the Holy Spirit, as He works to establish that which is fully in line with God’s will.
Once again, listen to this phrase of consideration in the Amplified with reverence and awe and trembling (self-distrust, with serious caution, tenderness of conscience, watchfulness against temptation, timidly shrinking from whatever might offend God and discredit the name of Christ).  This is a mighty challenge laid upon us that we are absolutely incapable of fulfilling without the expressed guidance and wisdom of the Holy Spirit. This is the life that we are to lead in the presence of God as His witnesses in this realm for His sake, and for His Glory alone.
I close this evening with three benedictions of encouragement from three books of the New Testament, urging us to be that living work of God, with all fear and trembling.
1 Peter 5:10-11 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. 
2 Peter 3:17-18 Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness. But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. 
And finally in Jude verse 24 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.