This week’s passage completes the statement began in the previous couple of verses. And there is a lot in this brief sentence that brings encouragement into our lives.
See it for yourself in Philippians 1:5-6:
Paul began this sentence by stating that he is thankful for the Philippians and remembers them in his prayers with joy. The reason for that is given now: It is because they partnered with him in spreading the gospel.
This undoubtedly refers to the Philippians gift to Paul, helping support him and his ministry while he is in prison. But the significance runs deeper than that. The word for “partnership” here is the Greek word koinonia. This certainly includes the generosity of the Philippians, but goes beyond that indicating a partnership in sharing the gospel, or even sharing life in Christ.
The word koinonia is generally used to describe fellowship, but the term carries a much deeper significance. A basic understanding of this word could be stated as “a participation in something with someone,” but the specific definition depends upon the particular context. In this instance, the Philippians have shared, or koinonia-ed, with Paul in the Gospel, and that holds layer upon layer of significance, partly because the Philippians have been such partners from the very beginning.
Paul shifts from what the Philippians have done to what Jesus will do. Though the immediate context was the gift the Philippians sent, and that could be the good gift that God began in them, it makes more sense to see that the entire experience of living in Christ is in mind here.
This principle isn’t to applied only to the Philippians. This holds true for you and me today, as well. The work that God began in us, when we placed Jesus in control of our lives and submitted to his Lordship, will be completed. In other words, we aren’t finished yet. God is working, and will continue to work in our lives to produce in us the righteousness he desires.
This work will continue until Christ returns. The modern church has lost the sense of immediacy of Christ’s return. The New Testament is full of a sense of anticipation that the return of Christ was imminent. Now that we are centuries away from the life of Jesus, we have lost much of that sense of anticipation. We need to recapture that longing for an event that could happen at any given moment.
But that implies an further question or two. Do we really want that? And if so, are we ready for it?
