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Philippians 1 Commentary
by Brad Boyles
He who began a good work…
Paul qualifies the promise of God completing a good work with a specific view. He says “in view of your participation in the Gospel from the first day until now.” That is directly set in front of us as readers before the good work. “God started the work in your heart, and Philippi, you responded.” This is important because not everyone responds. We know this. Not everyone is an active participant. A lot of people want to be saved, but not a lot of people want to participate.
Why does Paul qualify the good work with a specific view? We learn in Chapter 4 that the church here in Philippi was the only church to support Paul with multiple gifts. In his own words, no other church gave to Paul. We could assume it’s a financial gift, but we don’t know with certainty. Regardless, we all know that you can tell a lot about where a person’s heart is by looking at their bank account. Give me your checkbook or debit card and I can tell you what’s important to you. The Philippians believed in Paul’s Gospel message and they didn’t just talk about it. They literally put their money where their mouth was.
This is exactly why Paul clarifies the source of his thankfulness in verse 17. He says, “not that I seek the gift itself.” Sure, he was tremendously grateful for it. But Paul, even in the verses leading up to this passage, stated that he has learned to live in all circumstances. It didn’t matter if he was hungry or full, living in abundance or having need – in the end, the Lord had strengthened Paul to find joy in everything.
What he is really excited about is the fact that their hearts were stirred to give and receive in the participation of the Gospel. By this evidence, Paul knew that Jesus Christ had dug himself deep into their hearts. He was most excited about the spiritual freedom they had to give, participate, and embody Christ without obligation or compulsion. He knew that through their faithful giving and receiving, Christ was doing a work, and that work was being crafted in them towards completion.
The reason all this is important is because people use this verse to describe many things that lack context. For those who are faithful participants in the Gospel, out of the joy of Jesus, He will complete the good work He started.