“And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”—Philippians 1:9-11 (NKJV)
Paul’s epistle “to all the saints…bishops and deacons…at Philippi was filled with gratitude, joy, and instructions for the Christian life. And his prayer that “their love may abound still more and more” conveyed his love for these Christian brothers and sisters and his confidence that they could, with God’s help, fulfill what he prayed for them.
The abounding love for which he prayed was to be that kind of love filled with knowledge and discernment. The Philippian Church, unlike several others in New Testament days, needed very little correction. They were not buffeted about by false doctrines or plagued by internal conflicts. The letter has sometimes been called the epistle of joy because of the characteristics of the people within the church that made Paul grateful and joyful..
That all churches may “abound in love,’ grow in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and His ways; have discernment or understanding of what is right and wrong, ‘approve the things that are excellent,’ (that is, not settling for ‘second best’ or distractions that get us off track in the Christian life), to be sincere and without offense, and that fruits of righteousness (fruits of the Spirit [see Galatians 5:22-23]) might be the result of living the Christian life. And all of this ‘abounding in love’ is for the praise and glory of God, never for selfish purposes.
These are high standards for abounding in love. These are the ways Jesus has set for us. May we “press toward the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:14).
c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Sunday, February 21, 2010
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