And this I pray, that Your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment ..."(Philippians 1:9).
Paul's prayer for the Philippian believers begins with hina, "that," which introduces a purpose clause. His prayer has a purpose, "that your love may abound." The love here is agape, the unconditional love that can be produced by no one but God. Every reference to agape in the Scriptures is a reference to the Power, the dynamic, of the Spirit of God.
Agape is not human love. Human love cannot begin to match the love produced by the Spirit of God (Romans 5:5; 1 Corinthians 13; Galatians 5:22). Agape is the foundation of the Christian's orientation to reality. If we want to orient to the way that God sees things in this world, we have to start with love. There are two paths we can take in life: the path of love, light, and truth or the path of hate, darkness, and deception.
Agape in Scripture always has a two-fold connotation for man. In Matthew 22:37-39, we are given two commandments: to love God and to love others as ourselves. Our love for God is personal love, love based on the virtue of the one loved. God is worthy of our love. Love for others is impersonal love, based on the virtue of the one loving. The highest expression of the love of God operating in our lives is when we love those who are absolutely unlovable. But it is impossible to love others if we do not love God and if we have not learned to love and accept ourselves based on God's love for us.
This love, Paul tells the Philippians, is to abound, to overflow. The "real knowledge" he wants them to have is epignosis, experiential knowledge.
"Discernment" is from aisthesis, a word that means "insight, perception, skillful application." It was originally used of common sense and the ability to make distinctions. Paul's prayer is that their love will overflow in two areas: practical application of the Word to life and the ability to make common-sense distinctions in life. This is the beginning of discernment.
"Discernment" is from aisthesis, a word that means "insight, perception, skillful application." It was originally used of common sense and the ability to make distinctions. Paul's prayer is that their love will overflow in two areas: practical application of the Word to life and the ability to make common-sense distinctions in life. This is the beginning of discernment.
... so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God (Philippians 1:10-11).
When the ability to make common-sense distinctions leads to making common-sense decisions, we have "approved," dokimazo, to prove by putting to the test. We have put something to the test with a view toward approval. We need to develop through experiential knowledge and discernment, the ability to put things to the test. Discernment is proof by testing.
"Things that are excellent" refers to things that are of value, worthwhile, as opposed to things that are worthless. We put things to the test, we identify the things that are excellent in order to be "sincere and blameless."
"Sincere" is from eilikrines and means "to be judged by the sun, to be open to the light, to be unmingled with darkness."
Aproskopos, "blameless," means "without stumbling." When we approve the things that are proper, excellent, and fitting in God's plan, we can stand in the light because we have nothing to hide and we can walk in the light without stumbling. Paul wants these believers to be open to the light and without stumbling "until the the day of Christ," a technical New Testament term for the Rapture of the Church.
"Sincere" is from eilikrines and means "to be judged by the sun, to be open to the light, to be unmingled with darkness."
Aproskopos, "blameless," means "without stumbling." When we approve the things that are proper, excellent, and fitting in God's plan, we can stand in the light because we have nothing to hide and we can walk in the light without stumbling. Paul wants these believers to be open to the light and without stumbling "until the the day of Christ," a technical New Testament term for the Rapture of the Church.
"The fruit of righteousness" in Philippians 1:11 is a reference back to the love of God. "Having been filled" comes from the Greek verb pleroo, a word with four shades of meaning: to fill a deficiency, to fill with quality, to fully influence, and to fully possess.
We all have deficiencies in our lives. But they are filled when we allow the Word of God, in the function of the love of the Holy Spirit, to become practical and experiential, to work in our lives. Only then do we begin to orient to God's reality instead of our subjective emotions. We begin to understand where we stand with God, that we are forever accepted in the beloved.
Once we really understand what that means, we are able to take the rejection of other people and to do what no one is able to do apart from the Spirit of God—to love unconditionally, impersonally, to love others not because of anything attractive in them, but because God loves us and pours that love through us. Unconditional love is a wonderful thing to be able to give. When we can love unconditionally, we have been filled with the fruit of righteousness.
That love gives us the ability to have discernment and to make good decisions. It gives us the ability to adjust to whatever conditions we face in life. Because we are filled with the fruit of righteousness—which comes through Jesus Christ—God receives the glory and the praise.
*This material was originally a highlighted topic in "The Basics". Additional topics can be found here
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