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Answer
The apostle Paul commenced his letter to the believers in Philippi by expressing his gratitude to God for them in joyful prayer. He appreciated their collaboration in spreading the gospel. Paul had a special fondness for the Philippian church, which he had established around ten years earlier. He now conveyed his confidence in God’s ongoing work in their lives: “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, for your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this very thing, that He who has started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:3-6;NKJV).
Paul had witnessed firsthand the positive work that God had initiated in the Philippian believers. During Paul’s second missionary journey in Philippi, he and his companions met Lydia and other women gathering by the riverside for prayer. Through Paul’s preaching, Lydia and her household were saved and baptized, leading to the establishment of the Philippian church (Acts 16:11-15). Subsequently, the Christians in Philippi held their house church in Lydia’s home. As the church expanded, it became one of the most ardent supporters of Paul’s ministry (Philippians 4:10-20).
Paul cherished the Philippians deeply and wished to see them continue to progress in Christian maturity and excel in growing spiritual insight: “I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want you to comprehend what truly matters, so that you may lead pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return. May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation&mdasThe righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ will bring much glory and praise to God, so that you will be blameless until the day of Christ” (Philippians 1:9-11; NLT).
At the time of our salvation, God begins His work in us. We are made alive in Christ—regenerated, made new “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Then, through an ongoing, lifelong process called sanctification, God finishes, perfects, and completes His work in us. Paul referred to the process when he said, “He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” “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:” (Philippians 1:6, NKJV). Spiritual growth ought to continue in steadfast believers until the day Jesus Christ returns (2 Peter 3:18; 1 Thessalonians 5:23).
A brief biblical definition of sanctification is “the Holy Spirit’s work of setting believers apart to be made holy or made like God.” Sanctification is a three-phase process. At the moment of salvation, Christians enter positional sanctification. Jesus’ work on the cross is a finished work—believers stand positionally sanctified as though they already are made holy before God, even though they are not yet completely holy in practice: “For by one sacrifice he [Jesus] has made perfect forever those who are being made holy” “For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.” (Hebrews 10:14).
Progressive sanctification is phase two, in which God, who has initiated a good work in us at salvation, continues to transform us into His image, delivering us from the practice and power of sin. After the initial cleansing from sin, the dedicated Christian begins to undergo a daily process of spiritual renewal “and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:”, (Colossians 3:10). The Bible also refers to this phase as “the sanctifying work of the Spirit,” as the Holy Spirit is the primary agent working in the believer to produce the character of God and the fruit of holiness (1 Peter 1:2;cf: 1 Corinthians 6:11;2 Thessalonians 2:13;Galatians 5:22-23).
From the moment God commences His good work in us until its completion, the Holy Spirit is refining our character, day by day transforming us into partakers of the holy nature of God. God performs the work, but believers are also expected to actively participate in the process, yielding to the effort (Romans 6:13,19;12:1) and striving toward the upward call to holiness (Hebrews 12:14;Philippians 3:12-14).
God initiated a good work in us at salvation and then summoned us to live out the progressive development of being conformed to His image. The Christian journey is a path of continual growth. This journey draws us nearer to God until His work in us is perfected and completed on “the day of Jesus Christ”—that is, the day of Christ’s return when we see Him Colossians 3:4.
(Colossians 3:4;1 Thessalonians 5:23). Complete sanctification represents the third phase, also identified as glorification.
From the very start, throughout the process, and until the final moment, God is working within us «For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. », (Philippians 2:13). He is the Master Craftsman who never abandons us (Ephesians 2:10;2 Corinthians 1:21-22). The Lord’s salvation, His magnificent redemption of His people, will reach its ultimate fulfillment when Jesus Christ returns. Only then will God, who has initiated a good work in you, complete His masterpiece.
