A Good Work among You—Philippians 1:6 (Monday with Mounce 14) by Bill Mounce

Philippians 1:6

Paul begins his letter to the Philippians with praise for them, and then says this now famous verse. "And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ" (ESV).

It is not that difficult of a verse to translate. The only really question is the translation of en hymin. The "you" is plural, a fact obscured by the English language. This is partly why some translations prefer "among" instead of "in" since it helps clarify that Paul’s confidence is in God’s work within all the people of the Philippian church.

But these types of constructions can be confusing. Can this verse be used, as it often is, to reassure a single believer that God will bring his work to completion in an individual, or is this only a promise to the larger group of the church? The plural "you" alerts us to the fact that it cannot only be a promise to an individual but that it is primarily for the group. But is that the end of the discussion?

And what specifically is the "good work"?

Hawthorne sees the good work in terms of the immediate context. The Philippians started to share in Paul’s material support, and God will continue to work through them. But it is difficult to get "through you" out of en hymin. It is not a natural reading of the text.

Others see the "good work" as something more general, something more akin to their participation in spreading the gospel with Paul, or just their participation with Christ (Fee). Paul is confident because their spiritual lives began with the work of Christ (and not the Philippians) and it is Christ who will bring it to it perfect fulfillment.

en hymin is a standard way of saying "among you." Paul is confident that God is at work among the Philippians, and that he will continue to work among them until Christ returns. The plural "you" asserts that this is Paul’s primary intent. But if God is working among the believers as a group, the only way to do that is for him to work in the life of each individual believer.

But did Christ continue to work among the Philippian church until he returns? Based on what I saw in Philippi a few years back, I would have to conclude, No. I wasn’t there long, but I did not see evidence of a vibrant church. I have to conclude that while God was at work in the life of the Philippian church, ultimately Paul’s confidence was in God’s ability to complete what he initiated in the lives of the individual believers who made up the Philippian church.

For this reason I am comfortable using Phil 1:6 as assurance for an individual Christian. God initiated the work of redemption in their life. The gift of the Holy Spirit was the guarantee their inheritance (Eph 1:14). God will bring his work to completion when his children stand before the throne. This was true of the believers in Philippi.

It is still true today.

William D. [Bill] Mounce posts every Monday about the Greek language, exegesis, and related topics at Koinonia. He is the author of numerous books, including the bestselling Basics of Biblical Greek, and general editor for Mounce's Complete Expository Dictionary of the Old and New Testament Words. He served as the New Testament chair of the English Standard Version Bible translation. Visit www.billmounce.com for more info or read his blog (co-authored with scholar and his father Bob Mounce) at www.supportministry.com.

Comments

[Irving Salzman]

This is an excellent post! I have often been intrigued by this interpretive "problem;" not just here in the Philippians context, but in numerous other contexts, even in the Hebrew Scriptures. In the Pentateuch, for example, God seems to address Israel often rotating between second person singulars and plurals. In the Shema of Dt 6:4, it says, "Hear O Israel, ..." But then Dt 6:5 begins with the exhortation, "And you (singular) shall love the Lord your God ..." Obviously, there was to be no hiding behind the group. Every individual Israelite was expected to love God with all of their (singular) heart, soul, and might. But, again, in the Pentateuch, one finds God's commands to Israel frequently drifting from second person plurals to singulars to plurals again. I've often wondered if we do a disservice when we delineate only two types of second person pronouns: singulars and plurals. I wonder if there aren't really three: (1) second person singulars that legitimately address the individual, (2) second person plurals that address the group as a whole, and (3) second person plurals that address the aggregate/conglomerate of individuals (that comprise a group). In other words, the individuals in that same group are being addressed as individuals. We can perhaps say, then, that this last type retains its full individual force. Of course, this is merely my supposition. There are typically no semantic or morphological clues that tip us off as to usage. Ultimately, only context will decide and, unfortunately, context won't always be conclusive. But I believe that many second plurals that are used in the scriptures are intended to address individuals that happen to comprise a group rather than a group of individuals whose individuality has now been lost or subsumed in the group. Thanks Dr. Mounce for a great post!

[Daniel Radke]

Thanks for the insights Dr. Mounce! I too have wondered if this verse can be interpreted or applied to individual believers, and I appreciate your research on this point. Thanks.