Philippians 1:3–11, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Philippians 1:3–11
Paul Thanks God and Prays for Their Growing Love
Partnership in the gospel is the work God will finish.
Paul thanks God every time he remembers them because of their partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. His confidence that the one who began a good work will complete it until the day of Christ Jesus is confidence about that shared gospel work in them. Philippians 1:6 is not an independent promise about any project a person starts.
He longs for them with the affection of Christ Jesus and prays that their love will overflow more and more in knowledge and all discernment, so they can approve what is excellent and be filled with the fruit of righteousness through Jesus Christ. Love here is trained sight, not vague warmth.
How this should shape us
Thank God for one actual gospel partner by name. Refuse to treat Philippians 1:6 as a slogan that God will finish your career, house, or personal brand.
Teach it back
Explain Philippians 1:3–11 in your own words. State its main movement, why it appears here, and one boundary on application.
Your explanation stays in this browser. It is not sent or saved.
Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
What is the 'good work' in 1:6?
Why it fits: God begins and completes the work, and the day of Christ gives the statement a saving and future horizon.
Difficulty: The audience is plural, and Paul's stated reason for confidence is their shared gospel participation.
Why it fits: The plural audience, partnership in v. 5, shared grace in v. 7, and corporate prayer frame the claim communally.
Difficulty: A corporate reading should not exclude God's work in the individuals who form the community.
Why it fits: Partnership immediately precedes v. 6 and remains a major concern throughout the letter.
Difficulty: The broader language of God's work and Christ's day makes it too narrow to identify the work only with financial or missionary support.
Best judgment: The strongest reading holds these observations together: Paul is confident about God's gracious work in this gospel-sharing community, already visible in their partnership and including God's saving formation of its people. The text does not define the work as financial support alone or as any private project a reader chooses.
How certain? strongResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: The KJV wording and immediate English context for Philippians 1:3–11.
eBible/CrossWire eng-kjv2006 USFM, source files dated 2026-08-19, Philippians 1; archive and normalized-corpus SHA-256 values are recorded in the library policy.
Supports: The critically edited Greek wording and punctuation used as the base text for this passage.
Faithlife SBLGNT repository, data/sblgnt/text/Phil.txt, Philippians 1, verses within Philippians 1:3–11.
Supports: Material English translation choices, syntax notes, and textual variants identified for this passage.
NET Bible, Philippians 1, translator and textual notes attached to the verses in Philippians 1:3–11.
Supports: Passage structure, historical setting, Greek analysis, and interpretive alternatives tested against the primary text.
Paul A. Holloway, Philippians: A Commentary (Hermeneia), pp. 69–81.
Supports: A cross-check of the Greek forms and reasonable lexical range for words surfaced to readers.
STEP Bible Data repository, Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament (TAGNT) and Greek lexical records, Philippians 1, verses within Philippians 1:3–11.
Supports: Only the abstract's claim that Philippian missionary partnership had an active material and economic expression.
Julien M. Ogereau, Paul's koinōnia with the Philippians, publisher abstract only.
Supports: The particular Roman-colony, economic, travel, or gift setting named in the reader explanation; the cited subsection varies with the claim.
Laura Salah Nasrallah, Archaeology and the Letters of Paul, Chapter 4, 'Finance and Abundance in the Letter to the Philippians' through 'Conclusions,' pp. 122–140.
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: The KJV wording and immediate English context for Philippians 1:3–11.
Exact location: eBible/CrossWire eng-kjv2006 USFM, source files dated 2026-08-19, Philippians 1; archive and normalized-corpus SHA-256 values are recorded in the library policy.
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: The critically edited Greek wording and punctuation used as the base text for this passage.
Exact location: Faithlife SBLGNT repository, data/sblgnt/text/Phil.txt, Philippians 1, verses within Philippians 1:3–11.
Open the Philippians Greek text file ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible — Philippians with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, digital edition accessed 2026
Supports: Material English translation choices, syntax notes, and textual variants identified for this passage.
Exact location: NET Bible, Philippians 1, translator and textual notes attached to the verses in Philippians 1:3–11.
Open NET Philippians 1 ↗A major interpretive source
Philippians: A Commentary
Paul A. Holloway
Fortress Press, Hermeneia, 2017
Supports: Passage structure, historical setting, Greek analysis, and interpretive alternatives tested against the primary text.
Exact location: Paul A. Holloway, Philippians: A Commentary (Hermeneia), pp. 69–81.
Open the book record ↗Lexical and grammatical evidence
STEP Bible Data
Tyndale House Cambridge
Tyndale House Cambridge, repository snapshot verified 2026
Supports: A cross-check of the Greek forms and reasonable lexical range for words surfaced to readers.
Exact location: STEP Bible Data repository, Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament (TAGNT) and Greek lexical records, Philippians 1, verses within Philippians 1:3–11.
Open source ↗Historical and social evidence
Paul's koinōnia with the Philippians: Societas as a Missionary Funding Strategy
Julien M. Ogereau
New Testament Studies 60.3, Cambridge University Press, pp. 360–378, 2014
Supports: Only the abstract's claim that Philippian missionary partnership had an active material and economic expression.
Exact location: Julien M. Ogereau, Paul's koinōnia with the Philippians, publisher abstract only.
Open source ↗Historical and archaeological evidence
Archaeology and the Letters of Paul
Laura Salah Nasrallah
Oxford University Press, 2019
Supports: The particular Roman-colony, economic, travel, or gift setting named in the reader explanation; the cited subsection varies with the claim.
Exact location: Laura Salah Nasrallah, Archaeology and the Letters of Paul, Chapter 4, 'Finance and Abundance in the Letter to the Philippians' through 'Conclusions,' pp. 122–140.
Open source ↗