SCRIPTURE Philippians 1:6 “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.“
COMMENTARY Although many people quote this passage believing they understand with what is meant by “good work” there is another interpretation and is probably a more likely interpretation. If this is related to salvation at all, the passage teaches that Paul believes He (God) will complete the good work that has begun in us. Confident (Greek peithō) indicates a hopeful belief, not certainty. God choose His meanings on purpose. The idea conveyed would be no different than if a teacher stood at the head of a class and said that “I am confident that all will do well on the test tomorrow” while reasonably expecting that some would not. It could have been written indicating certainty (Greek asphaleia). While Paul certainly believes that those who have accepted Christ will have God help them see it through until the day of Christ, it is again stated as a belief, not fact under this interpretation. However, many assume that the good work is God’s work of salvation which may be said to begin with God but this is reading into Scripture. However, the context strongly suggests the “good work” is contextually the spreading of the gospel. Notice the context of the passages before and after this verse. It seems more likely that Paul is talking of the good work started being the spreading and defending of the gospel. In fact, suggesting this is salvation is the good work is an eisegetic effort; that is reading into Scripture. There is no clear break between verse 5 and verse 6 indicating that the thoughts in verses 5 and 6 are connected as well as verses 7 and 8. When an intelligent person, such as Paul, writes a letter they do not throw out a series of unconnected thoughts. Rather there is a logical flow to a letter where one idea after another is explored. In general, this exploration of an idea runs its course before switching to a new idea. This gives weight to the idea that what is being spoken of has nothing to do with salvation. From a Moody Bible School discourse[1] “The koinwnia of Philippians 1:5 cannot exegetically be interpreted as the communion of the Philippian believers with Christ at new birth. Instead, the use of the term and its cognates within Philippians (especially 1:7; 4:14, 15), the combination of koinwnia with the following preposition eis, and the limiting phrase “from the first day until now” all apply satisfactorily to the united participation Paul and the Philippians had in spreading the Gospel. Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles, preaching and defending the Gospel. The Philippians joined him by their sacrificial monetary gifts, even most recently while he was in prison. But it clearly demonstrates, as much as any passage, how people read into Scripture. In this case, as to what a good work is because it aligns with other aspects of what they believe. In addition, evidence of God’s interaction with man in the Old Testament also give clear evidence that man is responsible for their actions before God and God will deal accordingly with the choices made by men but not override errant choices that man makes. The guarantee that proponents of unconditional, guaranteed eternal security see in this verse is simply not there.
[1] Does Philippians 1:6 Guarantee Progressive Sanctification? Part 1, March 1996, John F. Hart