The Greek verb enarchomai means to begin or make a start โ specifically to begin a work, an activity, or a process. In Paul's letters, it appears in theologically crucial passages about the divine initiation of salvation.
Philippians 1:6 contains one of the most beloved assurances in the New Testament: 'And I am sure of this, that he who began (enarchomenos) a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.' The beginning of salvation is entirely God's initiative โ He is the one who enarchomai, who starts the work of grace in a believer's life. The same God who begins is the same God who completes. Galatians 3:3 uses the word in rebuke: 'Having begun (enarchomenoi) by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?' โ the Galatians are trying to finish by human effort what God began by grace. The theology of enarchomai is the theology of prevenient grace: God is always prior, always the initiator.