Day 3 | Philippians 1:9–11
Lisa Sheffler, author
How do you feel about New Year’s resolutions? If you are like a lot of people (myself included) you often begin January with a firm goal and great determination, but by Valentine’s Day you’ve lost your resolve and are back to your old, bad habits. December rolls around again and you find yourself needing to make the same resolution you made last year. Frustrating, even disheartening, isn’t it?
The Bible has good news for people like us. We are not working alone to make ourselves into better people. Having rescued us from the penalty of sin, God will one day complete the job by rescuing us from its effects. As Paul writes to his beloved church in Philippi, “For I am sure of this very thing, that the one who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6).
But that doesn’t mean we sit passively waiting for some blast of magic that will remove all our temptation to sin. We fight for the faith to trust God and desire him more than the sinful habits we resolve to break every January. We pray for ourselves and for each other, and the prayer Paul prays for the Philippians gives us an excellent model.
Read
Philippians 1:9-11
9 And I pray this, that your love may abound even more and more in knowledge and every kind of insight 10 so that you can decide what is best, and thus be sincere 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.
Reflect
Where do you find the “so that” in this prayer?
Yesterday we saw how Spirit enabled strength can give us the power to comprehend the love of God at a deep level. Today we are going to talk about love along the horizontal plane, between fellow Christians.
Our individualistic society has encouraged us to view our spirituality as a private thing. But the Bible makes it clear that in Christianity, community is essential. The love that we share in and through each other is a powerful force in our spiritual growth. Paul prays that the love the Philippian church shares will “abound more and more.” The Greek word translated “abound” means “to be in excess.” Paul is not just talking about a casual fondness between acquaintances, but about excessive, abundant, sacrificial love that mirrors what God gives to us in Christ. That’s what we should pray will be present among believers.
As Paul describes it, the outgrowth of this love is not something we might usually consider. Think about how you’d finish the prayer “And I pray this, that your love may abound even more and more in __________________________.” What would you put in the blank? Unity? Mutual sacrifice? Dedication to the mission of Christ? All of those are characteristics of the church the apostle talks about elsewhere. But here we see him asking God to give this beloved church knowledge and insight.
Our culture has trained us to think of love as a feeling, and often an irrational one. We separate the heart from the head as if our emotions aren’t worthy influencers of our thinking and vice versa. But here Paul connects the two — genuine, Christian love and wise, thoughtful perception.
So That…
In verse 10 comes two words that we have seen before in other prayers, the big “so that.” What result is Paul praying will come from this abundance of love, knowledge and insight? Discernment and lives that are well lived for God’s glory. Personally, wise, godly discernment is something I need daily. How about you?
If we want 2021 to be a year in which we live out God’s will, bless others, and make much of Jesus in the world, we need discernment in our day to day lives. And that is precisely Paul’s point. For us to demonstrate the sincerity of our faith and be blameless in our actions, we need to live according to the knowledge of God and in a community that relies on and shares the love of Christ.
Our relationship with Jesus fills us with the “fruit of righteousness” by the Spirit. It also enables us to bring glory to God. And that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it? Don’t you want your life to be all about Jesus? This week so far we’ve seen that incomparably great power, the filled-to-the-brim goodness of God and the excessive love of a Christ-centered community all come from a greater and deeper knowledge of God.
If only we would earnestly pray Philippians 1:6–9 for ourselves and our church. Can you imagine what our faith community could look like if it abounded in love? What would it mean for us to have greater spiritual insight and knowledge leading to greater discernment? What if more Christians lived in ways that truly reflected the righteousness of Christ? What kind of impact could we have for the good of other people? Starting today, let’s pray this prayer and see!
In what areas of your life do you most need discernment in the new year? What tough choices are you having to make that need God’s wisdom?
What could greater love and discernment by the people of Christ Fellowship mean for the church and for our impact in the community?
Pray Philippians 1:9–11 today for yourself and someone else.