Phili 1:9 | KingComments | STEP | . Paul substantiates what he said earlier about his prayer with thanksgiving for the Philippians, and about his fellowship in the gospel, and about his confidence that God will perfect His work in them. He is “right” in mentioning all these positive thoughts about them for several reasons. One reason is that he had them in his heart. He knows that they do not think of him only every now and then, because he belongs to them completely. Though he was not physically present with them he carried them in his heart. There he feels their love for him. They cherish a constant love for him, because they also have him in their hearts. I think that you can imitate the Philippians. You can also have Paul close to your heart and love him. When you read his letters you simply show your love for his teachings. Then what is said of the Philippians could also be said of you. Others will thank and pray God for you. They will see your life and notice that your life is dedicated to the gospel; they will see that you live for the gospel; they will see that God works in you and therefore are confident that the Lord will perfect His good work which He began in you. Another reason why Paul rightly had good thoughts of them is because of their practical Christian living. Their love for him had hands and feet. They rallied behind him as he defended the gospel. The gospel when preached is always opposed and attacked. But the Philippians were always with Paul and together with him they resisted the opposing forces. They showed others that the gospel is the only way to salvation and this gospel included all other blessings. Their own repentance was the confirmation of the truth of the gospel. We can dispute and refute on various issues. But living witnesses which testify to what happened to them when they accepted the gospel cannot be denied. They had to be killed to stop their mouth. And even then they still speak ( ). Anyone who thinks that he can stop the course of the gospel by throwing its preacher into prison makes a great mistake. That happened to Paul. The opposing forces only paved a new road for the gospel. The “grace” he speaks about enabled him to endure his chains and to defend the gospel and to confirm it. He felt his preaching as well as his imprisonment as personal grace. Talking about this grace he says “you are partakers”. You are all partakers of the grace that is my portion. You see how Paul and the Philippians form a unity. Participation in a common cause promotes unity and fellowship. Do you identify yourself with the Lord’s workers and their situations? Then you also partake of the grace they received for this cause. It is not about persons but about God and the Lord Jesus Christ. Where the consciousness of the grace increases the dedication to the Lord and the unity of the believers will also increase. This is true not only among believers who together form a local church but also between the local church and a worker somewhere in the world. . Such an intimate bond of fellowship seeks to express itself in more concrete ways. They want to see each other and be together. Paul wants them to know how much he loves them and longs to see them. That he calls God to be his Witness does not mean that he is concerned about the Philippians’ difficulty to believe him. It is as if he sought for himself the strongest expression to emphasize his longing for them. His longing for them had nothing to do with human sympathy. He did not want to see them because they were so nice to him. He wanted to be with them because his heart yearned for them. “Affection” literally means ‘entrails’ and it denotes the inner feelings, emotions. However, these are not human emotions but it is the affection “of Jesus Christ”. Paul shows that his affections toward the Philippians are compared to the affections of Christ for His church. There we not only love the nice brothers and sisters but all without distinction. It is important to develop such feelings in our relationship with our brothers and sisters. . Paul already said that he thanked and prayed for them, giving the reason why he did so ( ). Now he mentions what he prayed for. Love is never limited to the necessary. It belongs to the nature of love that it always abounds. Paul speaks about “your love” that it “may abound still more and more”. Once the faucet of love is opened the volume of love that flows out becomes greater and greater. But the river of love requires a channel to flow through. Love is never wasteful or unreliable. That is why Paul prays that their love must be led by “knowledge and all discernment”. Love does not operate foolish. Spiritual knowledge is essential to express love and to prove love. Otherwise love is a hollow concept. We need to know what the Bible means by love. A sinful relationship cannot be labeled as love. True love will point out the very sinfulness of such a relationship. Sin must be judged so that God’s love can be enjoyed. With “all discernment” Paul adds spiritual understanding to his prayer. It is one thing to have knowledge of something, but it is another matter to use knowledge in the right way at the right time. That is why discernment of a particular situation or circumstance is necessary, not in small measure, but in all discernment. Try to acquire all discernment. We are unable to achieve that by ourselves. That is why a prayer like this is essential. You can add this as a prayer point for yourself and others. . Love directed by knowledge and all discernment is necessary to “approve the things that are excellent”. You see how everything is viewed positively. To approve what is excellent is quite different to avoiding what is evil or spasmodically trying not to sin. To approve means to examine closely and carefully whether something is true and to make a decision based on this examination. It is an examination to check if a thing is worthy to be believed. One for whom Christ is everything is not content with anything lesser than the best. The good is not sufficient and only the best is good enough. If you seek the best in earthly things, why not seek the best in spiritual things? The best is that you know Christ and that it may result in glorifying Him with your life. A few examples: - You want to use the best Bible translation. - You want to belong to a local church where the Lord Jesus is the Center and the Word of God is acknowledged in all its authority. - You want a profession in which you can work for His honor. - You want to spend your free-time in a way that you can express your gratitude to Him. These are few examples in which choices are included. It is your choice to choose what is best. If you choose the best in spiritual areas, your walk and behavior will be in compliance with God’s perfect light. In a dark world you will increase in sincerity and blamelessness. This is the growth process. This process comes to an end when “the day of Christ” dawns or when the Lord takes you to Himself before this day. I already said something about the day of Christ at the end of the previous section ( ). On this day you will be perfectly “sincere and blameless”. But it is the purpose of God that you work on it now. He would like to see that you live a life that is sincere and blameless as much as possible. A sincere or pure life is a life without ulterior motives, clear and transparent. Impure motives are not there. A blameless life is a life in which no one will find fault. To meet the expectations of God, you do not look to the commandments or impose laws upon yourself. You must only look to Christ. You learn from Him so that the result that He desires in you is achieved with love as the motivating force. . A life without ulterior or impure motive is rare but not impossible. Anyone can achieve this, in whose life Christ takes the first and only place. Such life will be like a tree which is full of fruits. It has its roots in Jesus Christ. It draws its life’s nourishment from Him. The fruit consists of everything in life of which we say, it is righteous ( ; ). That refers to everything you say and do. There is no question of acting unjustly. You give everyone his due, and you are honest in your evaluation of God, of other people, of words and events, of actions. This is possible only “through Jesus Christ”. All what you do, the whole “fruit of righteousness”, is “to the glory and praise of God” both now and at the appearance of Jesus Christ, and to all eternity. The fruit of righteousness was found in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ in its fullness. Everything He did was a fruit which was characterized by righteousness, the right of God. His whole conduct was a righteous conduct. Now read Philippians 1:7-11 again. Reflection: What is the reason you think that you can yearn for a brother or sister?

‏ Philippians 1:9

The Love of Paul for the Philippians

Phil 1:7. Paul substantiates what he said earlier about his prayer with thanksgiving for the Philippians, and about his fellowship in the gospel, and about his confidence that God will perfect His work in them. He is “right” in mentioning all these positive thoughts about them for several reasons. One reason is that he had them in his heart. He knows that they do not think of him only every now and then, because he belongs to them completely. Though he was not physically present with them he carried them in his heart. There he feels their love for him. They cherish a constant love for him, because they also have him in their hearts.

I think that you can imitate the Philippians. You can also have Paul close to your heart and love him. When you read his letters you simply show your love for his teachings. Then what is said of the Philippians could also be said of you. Others will thank and pray God for you. They will see your life and notice that your life is dedicated to the gospel; they will see that you live for the gospel; they will see that God works in you and therefore are confident that the Lord will perfect His good work which He began in you.

Another reason why Paul rightly had good thoughts of them is because of their practical Christian living. Their love for him had hands and feet. They rallied behind him as he defended the gospel. The gospel when preached is always opposed and attacked. But the Philippians were always with Paul and together with him they resisted the opposing forces. They showed others that the gospel is the only way to salvation and this gospel included all other blessings. Their own repentance was the confirmation of the truth of the gospel.

We can dispute and refute on various issues. But living witnesses which testify to what happened to them when they accepted the gospel cannot be denied. They had to be killed to stop their mouth. And even then they still speak (Heb 11:4). Anyone who thinks that he can stop the course of the gospel by throwing its preacher into prison makes a great mistake. That happened to Paul. The opposing forces only paved a new road for the gospel.

The “grace” he speaks about enabled him to endure his chains and to defend the gospel and to confirm it. He felt his preaching as well as his imprisonment as personal grace. Talking about this grace he says “you are partakers”. You are all partakers of the grace that is my portion.

You see how Paul and the Philippians form a unity. Participation in a common cause promotes unity and fellowship. Do you identify yourself with the Lord’s workers and their situations? Then you also partake of the grace they received for this cause. It is not about persons but about God and the Lord Jesus Christ. Where the consciousness of the grace increases the dedication to the Lord and the unity of the believers will also increase. This is true not only among believers who together form a local church but also between the local church and a worker somewhere in the world.

Phil 1:8. Such an intimate bond of fellowship seeks to express itself in more concrete ways. They want to see each other and be together. Paul wants them to know how much he loves them and longs to see them. That he calls God to be his Witness does not mean that he is concerned about the Philippians’ difficulty to believe him. It is as if he sought for himself the strongest expression to emphasize his longing for them. His longing for them had nothing to do with human sympathy. He did not want to see them because they were so nice to him. He wanted to be with them because his heart yearned for them.

“Affection” literally means ‘entrails’ and it denotes the inner feelings, emotions. However, these are not human emotions but it is the affection “of Jesus Christ”. Paul shows that his affections toward the Philippians are compared to the affections of Christ for His church. There we not only love the nice brothers and sisters but all without distinction. It is important to develop such feelings in our relationship with our brothers and sisters.

Phil 1:9. Paul already said that he thanked and prayed for them, giving the reason why he did so (Phil 1:3-5). Now he mentions what he prayed for. Love is never limited to the necessary. It belongs to the nature of love that it always abounds. Paul speaks about “your love” that it “may abound still more and more”. Once the faucet of love is opened the volume of love that flows out becomes greater and greater.

But the river of love requires a channel to flow through. Love is never wasteful or unreliable. That is why Paul prays that their love must be led by “knowledge and all discernment”. Love does not operate foolish. Spiritual knowledge is essential to express love and to prove love. Otherwise love is a hollow concept. We need to know what the Bible means by love. A sinful relationship cannot be labeled as love. True love will point out the very sinfulness of such a relationship. Sin must be judged so that God’s love can be enjoyed.

With “all discernment” Paul adds spiritual understanding to his prayer. It is one thing to have knowledge of something, but it is another matter to use knowledge in the right way at the right time. That is why discernment of a particular situation or circumstance is necessary, not in small measure, but in all discernment. Try to acquire all discernment. We are unable to achieve that by ourselves. That is why a prayer like this is essential. You can add this as a prayer point for yourself and others.

Phil 1:10. Love directed by knowledge and all discernment is necessary to “approve the things that are excellent”. You see how everything is viewed positively. To approve what is excellent is quite different to avoiding what is evil or spasmodically trying not to sin. To approve means to examine closely and carefully whether something is true and to make a decision based on this examination. It is an examination to check if a thing is worthy to be believed.

One for whom Christ is everything is not content with anything lesser than the best. The good is not sufficient and only the best is good enough. If you seek the best in earthly things, why not seek the best in spiritual things? The best is that you know Christ and that it may result in glorifying Him with your life.

A few examples:

- You want to use the best Bible translation.

- You want to belong to a local church where the Lord Jesus is the Center and the Word of God is acknowledged in all its authority.

- You want a profession in which you can work for His honor.

- You want to spend your free-time in a way that you can express your gratitude to Him.

These are few examples in which choices are included. It is your choice to choose what is best. If you choose the best in spiritual areas, your walk and behavior will be in compliance with God’s perfect light. In a dark world you will increase in sincerity and blamelessness. This is the growth process. This process comes to an end when “the day of Christ” dawns or when the Lord takes you to Himself before this day.

I already said something about the day of Christ at the end of the previous section (Phil 1:6). On this day you will be perfectly “sincere and blameless”. But it is the purpose of God that you work on it now. He would like to see that you live a life that is sincere and blameless as much as possible. A sincere or pure life is a life without ulterior motives, clear and transparent. Impure motives are not there. A blameless life is a life in which no one will find fault. To meet the expectations of God, you do not look to the commandments or impose laws upon yourself. You must only look to Christ. You learn from Him so that the result that He desires in you is achieved with love as the motivating force.

Phil 1:11. A life without ulterior or impure motive is rare but not impossible. Anyone can achieve this, in whose life Christ takes the first and only place. Such life will be like a tree which is full of fruits. It has its roots in Jesus Christ. It draws its life’s nourishment from Him. The fruit consists of everything in life of which we say, it is righteous (Eph 5:9; Gal 5:22-23). That refers to everything you say and do. There is no question of acting unjustly. You give everyone his due, and you are honest in your evaluation of God, of other people, of words and events, of actions.

This is possible only “through Jesus Christ”. All what you do, the whole “fruit of righteousness”, is “to the glory and praise of God” both now and at the appearance of Jesus Christ, and to all eternity.

The fruit of righteousness was found in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ in its fullness. Everything He did was a fruit which was characterized by righteousness, the right of God. His whole conduct was a righteous conduct.

Now read Philippians 1:7-11 again.

Reflection: What is the reason you think that you can yearn for a brother or sister?