Philippians 1:1-30 Has God Begun a Good Work in You?

Summary: A verse by verse examination of what the book of Philippians in the Bible teaches. This message covers Philippians chapter 1 and the good work that God begins in you.

Bible References:

Philippians 1:1-30 ¹Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:  ²Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. ³I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,  ⁴Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy,  ⁵For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;  ⁶Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: ⁷Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace.  ⁸For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ. ⁹And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment;  ¹⁰That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ;  ¹¹Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God. ¹²But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel;  ¹³So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places;  ¹⁴And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.  ¹⁵Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will:  ¹⁶The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds:  ¹⁷But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel.  ¹⁸What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.  ¹⁹For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,  ²⁰According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. ²¹For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.  ²²But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not.  ²³For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:  ²⁴Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.  ²⁵And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith;  ²⁶That your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again. ²⁷Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;  ²⁸And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God.  ²⁹For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;  ³⁰Having the same conflict which ye saw in me, and now hear to be in me.

Acts 16:1-3 ¹Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a Greek:  ²Which was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium.  ³Him would Paul have to go forth with him; and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters: for they knew all that his father was a Greek. 

Romans 8:26-30 ²⁶Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.  ²⁷And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.  ²⁸And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. ²⁹For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.  ³⁰Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

Proverbs 9:10 ¹⁰The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. 

Proverbs 1:7-8 ⁷The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.  ⁸My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother: 

Isaiah 11:1 ¹And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: 

Matthew 7:1-5 ¹Judge not, that ye be not judged.  ²For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.  ³And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?  ⁴Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?  ⁵Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye. 

Galatians 5:22-26 ²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,  ²³Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.  ²⁴And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.  ²⁵If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.  ²⁶Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.