9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God. ~ Philippians 1:9-11
When we enter into a relationship with the Lord Jesus, what is dear to Him begins to become dear to us. This is why the Apostle Paul prays that the Philippians would experience a deeper and meaningful love for each other. He describes this love in v.9-11.
In v.9, the Apostle prays that our "love may abound more and more." The Greek word translated ‘abound’ describes the bubbling up and flowing over of a spring of water. A natural spring should never run dry, even in the driest of summers, because of its source. In our case the source is the Lord Jesus Himself. As long as we walk with Him, the sky is the limit. His love constantly flows, and He loves enough for our benefit and the benefits of others. This spring keeps none of its water to itself. So, true love flows out of the Christian to others. God loved and gave. Christ loved sinners and gave Himself for us. We love and so we give.
In v.9, the Apostle prays that our "love may abound more and more." The Greek word translated ‘abound’ describes the bubbling up and flowing over of a spring of water. A natural spring should never run dry, even in the driest of summers, because of its source. In our case the source is the Lord Jesus Himself. As long as we walk with Him, the sky is the limit. His love constantly flows, and He loves enough for our benefit and the benefits of others. This spring keeps none of its water to itself. So, true love flows out of the Christian to others. God loved and gave. Christ loved sinners and gave Himself for us. We love and so we give.
In v.10, he prays for the kind of love that results "more in knowledge and depth of insight," "so that they may be able to discern what is best." Love acts like hate when it refuses to think correctly. This kind of love must come with knowledge out of our relationship with the Lord Jesus which lead to wholeness that Paul describes as "pure and blameless for the day of Christ."
This word "pure" in the Greek means "without wax." In the ancient world oftentimes they made little statutes which would develop cracks. In order to pass these off as perfect, some of the merchants would fill the cracks with wax so the crack was not observable. There was a way of find out if the statute was imperfect. They would put the item out in the hot sun for a while. If there was wax, the sun would melt it and the crack would become visible. In this case, it was "sun tested". Paul is saying that the Christian life when motivated by God's love will be pure, without hypocrisy, without wax.
This word "pure" in the Greek means "without wax." In the ancient world oftentimes they made little statutes which would develop cracks. In order to pass these off as perfect, some of the merchants would fill the cracks with wax so the crack was not observable. There was a way of find out if the statute was imperfect. They would put the item out in the hot sun for a while. If there was wax, the sun would melt it and the crack would become visible. In this case, it was "sun tested". Paul is saying that the Christian life when motivated by God's love will be pure, without hypocrisy, without wax.
Love can make us whole, but it is not automatic. His love can make us whole in the context of our relationship with Him. We do not supply what's missing, God is the only one who can do this. And, He does this through the way He relates to us and we Him. Then we are in the position to love others as we ought, as He loves us.
But love doesn’t just make us whole. Love orients us outward toward Him and toward other people. Paul says the final result is that we are "filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ." This fruit is not just for us. It's also for others. Fruit doesn't serve the fruit tree. It brings life outside of itself.
Love gives us something to make the lives of the people around us better. When we choose to love someone, we help to bring life to them. Our fruitfulness is for their benefit. This is the love that orients us toward others. And, it’s a powerful kind of love.
Love gives us something to make the lives of the people around us better. When we choose to love someone, we help to bring life to them. Our fruitfulness is for their benefit. This is the love that orients us toward others. And, it’s a powerful kind of love.
When we are connected to God and one another by the eternal work of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we are brought together to be a part of the body. Once we have experienced His love for ourselves, once we are in the family, we discover that we belong to each other since God is our Father and Jesus is our brother. We are loved and drawn together by our common purpose which God makes happen. We belong because we are loved by the author of love, and He is addressing our brokenness and the brokenness of the world round us through us.
The fruits of righteousness mentioned in v.11 are the fruit of the Holy Spirit. In Galatians 5:22 we read, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." These fruits are not produced by the believer. The Holy Spirit produces these. The believer yields these fruits as the Holy Spirit produces them.
God is always looking for our willingness to be the vessels of His expression. In 2 Chronicles 16:9, we read, "For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him." Our hearts must be defined by Him and none other. When this is the case, we can love others as we ought, "purely and blamelessly," not expecting anything in return.
Finally, at the end of v.11 we read, “to the glory and praise of God." This is the goal of the one who is himself being loved by the God of all creation. As this prayer of the Apostle is realized in our lives, as our knowledge and depths of insight increases, we naturally give credit where credit is due. As Cicero once said, “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.”
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Finally, at the end of v.11 we read, “to the glory and praise of God." This is the goal of the one who is himself being loved by the God of all creation. As this prayer of the Apostle is realized in our lives, as our knowledge and depths of insight increases, we naturally give credit where credit is due. As Cicero once said, “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.”
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