Philippians 1:6 6being confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will finish it until the day of Christ Jesus.
This verse gives more of Paul’s motivation for praying for the Philippians and suggests the topic of his prayers. The opening participial phrase expresses Paul’s faith that supports and compels him to pray for this church. Being confident (pepoithōs) is in the perfect tense, implying that Paul’s confidence in God to work in the lives of the Philippians has not faltered over time but has continued to grow. His prayers are being answered and will continue to be answered because he is “convinced” and “persuaded” that God’s will is for the Philippians to grow in their faith in Christ.
Of what he is convinced is given in the hoti (“that”) clause: God began a work in the Philippians that would be completed when Jesus comes again. As Paul will write later in 2:12-13, the Philippians have a part in this work (ergon) in the way of responding in faith and service, but it is God who is the power behind their work. They must respond to God’s grace with active faith that expresses itself in action.
Faith is the key to continuing in what God has started in us. For us to make progress in God’s purposes for us, we must follow the pattern Paul sets out later in chapter 3 of counting everything else as a loss in our pursuit of knowing Jesus Christ. He must become Lord of our lives. When Jesus is put in the right place, everything else will be prioritized and we can experience God’s purpose and fullness in us. This verse hints at key themes that will appear throughout the letter. It reveals the crucial source for spiritual victory. We are on a spiritual journey in which we learn how to grow our faith in Christ Jesus until he comes again or takes us home.
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