Growing in Christ-like Love

Good morning. If you have a bible this morning open it up to Philippines chapter 1.

I have titled the message this morning, “Growing in Christ-like Love”

Pray with me....

We are finishing today the introduction portion of Philippians that has taken me three weeks to get through, and i slowly wanted to walk through it, because I found so much richness in the story of the Philippian Church, and I believe the first 11 verses have so much to teach us.

Remember how the church got started, it started by God switching the plans of Paul sending him to minister to these people who did not know Christ, remember how many people were changed by the same message is a variety of different circumstances.

And as we saw last time we were together Paul poured his heart out to these people showing the church of Philippi and us the heart he has for Christian ministry, and how our hearts should look, and as we saw last week. A heart for Christian ministry is thankful, joyful, cooperative, confident, and loving.

This week we see a prayer a prayer centered around these people developing a love that results in the glory of God.

These three verses that I am about to read to you have so much truth for us today, and it set’s the tone for the rest of the letter to the church of Philippi. They read as following…

Philippians 1:9–11 ESV

9 And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve what is excellent, and so 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.

In this prayer if you could take way one big thing as our main idea for us it would be this…

Believers are to have Christ-like love for the praise and glory of God.

If you are familiar with Pauls letters to other churches his introductions often look a-lot like the introduction in Philippians. In fact in Colossians 1:9-11 it says this…

Colossians 1:9–11 ESV

9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy;

Very similar and I believe Paul does this so that his readers do have a firm grasp of Paul’s heart and intentions for what he wants them to see. Now when I look these verses in Philippians. I see v11 as the cause and effect of how Christ like love truly works.

And If you are taking notes today the first point I have for you is this…

Christian love is rooted in Christ.

Everything we do in the Christian life is determined by how connected we are to Christ. x2 If we are rooted and planted in the things of Christ then a true Christ like love with flow from it. In fact I love what one man said… Rebirth is the root, and love is the fruit. Put another way, the new heart given in the new birth leads to love for other believers. This fruit of practical righteousness will be clearly evidenced in the lives of true believers.

Love is a fruit of the Spirit. Gal 5:22-23 says what all the fruit of the Spirit is as a reminder let me read that to you…

Galatians 5:22–23 ESV

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

This love that produces fruit is connected by faith in Christ. Phil 3:9 one of my favorite verses in the bible says..

Philippians 3:9 ESV

9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—

Our faith in Jesus Christ is ultimately connected to how we love one another, because the closer we are to him the greater the faith, and I am fully convinced that will produce a more Christ like love for us, and flow into the outreaching of our lives.

If you remember back in John 15 in verses 3-10 say these powerful words.. John 15:3-10

John 15:3–10 ESV

3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. 9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.

I have said this before, but you can appear to have a love like Christ, but if you don’t have a realationship with him then you will never have true Christ like love.

Abide if you remember from my Sermon all the way back in John 15. means you are going to continue a certain state, condition, or activity. In this context it means, That you will remain, stay, and reside with Christ. And if you are abiding in Christ you are going to bear and show fruit in your life.

And if you are going to grow in Christ like love you must abide and be rooted in Christ.

Which leads to my second point..

Christian love grows over time.

I am not going to spend a ton of time on this point, but it is definitely worth mentioning. Our love for Christ and one another cannot remain the same. This point connects with the first point I made. If you think about a healthy tree its never done growing, and neither should our own Christian life and our love for Christ and others.

Love in general over time grows as you spend time with someone. Atleast it should. I love my wife, and my daughter more now then I do when I first met them, our relationship with God, and others should be the same. Some of you might say well you don’t know my mother in law or my cousin or whatever, and I don’t but I know that our love for believers in Christ should stop growing.

Many of you know this, but If we are not careful we can be static in our love for God, and others, and I believe that is why Paul is calling them to a love that abounds more and more. So they have a love that is constantly growing..

And I believe our next point helps us do that very thing.

Christian love grows in knowledge.

I have always had this saying that I have liked to say, and I have said it to you before the higher the theology the higher the doxology. Meaning the more you know about God, the more you will worship and love him. And I am convinced that one of the greatest problems we have in the church today is a lack of biblical knowledge, and all week I have been thinking do we not love correctly because we lack an understanding of what love truly is?

I found a quote this week in my study I thought was really good, and that was Knowledge of how He loved us is necessary if we want to walk in love.

If you want to truly grow in your life for Jesus you must know and master his word. And that church family is a life long adventure.

The goal in this life is to be more like Christ and to love like he does, and if don’t know who he is how do you expect to love like Jesus.? There is so much knowledge we can find in the scriptures. We can learn about God, and his attributes, learn of his own righteousness, learn of his son, what his will is, of sin, of truth, and according to the text today learn how to love more.

I would argue that the idea of love has been so distorted from outside of the word of God that we don’t know what it truly is. And when it comes to loving God, and loving others we need to have the right knowledge to do that very thing. Another man said, “In our day people want to separate knowledge of God’s Word from love. Love today is more associated with tolerance and feelings than with truth and righteousness. Many operate by If it feels right, then it’s acceptable. If you try to correct someone, than you are labeled as intolerant and therefore unloving. But love must be tied to truth for it to be truly, distinctly Christian love. When the bible rubs against your preferences who wins?

Knowledge and love have to be tightly woven together. And knowing how to love the right way is the only way we can glorify God. God is not glorified when you love based on how the world want’s to be loved, no he is glorified when we love him and others in a way he calls us to.

Now what is the need for knowledge? To better understand how to love and live for Christ, but what else?

Well the next point is this…

Christian love knows how to discern.

Paul in this prayer wants to make sure love also has discernment. To me this is the application of knowledge. knowledge is understanding what is right which is super important, but the discernment is knowing what is best?

Paul is praying that these people know what is best. Know how to use the knowledge they possess to live their lives. I have heard this said in a variety of a different ways but you can do the right thing and it not the best thing.

I think I can relate to this because sometimes I do the right thing but its not always the best thing. Knowledge and discernment truly go hand in hand.

Discernment is a great spiritual gift to have some are better than others with this, but we all need to figure out how to be better at discerning things especially when it comes to loving others, and doing what is best.

A couple of churches in the book of Revelation struggle with what we have talked about today, and am I sure you do as well. I think its helpful to examine what a lack of love, knowledge, and discernment looks like especially in the church setting.. Lets look at two churches..

The church at Ephesus had a great knowledge, but was failing to love.

Let me read to you about this church. Rev 2:1-7

Revelation 2:1–7 ESV

1 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands. 2 “ ‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. 3 I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. 4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. 6 Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’

They had the knowledge, they were doing good works, they did not put up with evil, and false teachers, they were enduring, and not growing weary, but something happened where the love they had was abandoned. We don’t know how it was abandoned, but something happened along the way, goes to show you that you can have knowledge, and discernment, and not have love, something i fear myself to often, and the church as a whole as well.

Another church in Revelation is the church at Thyatira. Who had love, but lacked discernment listen to these words..

Revelation 2:18–28 ESV

18 “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: ‘The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze. 19 “ ‘I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first. 20 But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. 21 I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. 22 Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, 23 and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works. 24 But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden. 25 Only hold fast what you have until I come. 26 The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, 27 and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. 28 And I will give him the morning star.

See all the sins they were allowing in there own church… Having a false teacher, who suduced them to practice sins of sexual immorality, who would not repent. There is much more to say about these churches.

But I simply wanted to use those churches as an example to us just how important knowledge, discernment, and love are in fact they are crucial to having Christ like love. You can’t have one without the others. They are truly connected..

How do we develop Christian discernment? As I have already touched on it starts with being rooted to Christ, growing in love, and having knowledge. All these things are going to help us develop discernment overtime.

But it also means we have to know people. What works best with so and so might not work best with someone else. This is what is hard for most of us. I don’t see through the lenses of… Church members...

One man said, “In reaching out to people, we need to be able to sort through the multiple options that lie before us so that we can approve and pursue those things that are “excellent.”

Our goal for discernment should not just be what is good, but what is best. And not just what is best for us, but what is best for those around us. Let me say that again..

G. K. Chesterton said once, “Love is not blind. Love is bound. And the more it is bound, the less it is blind.” Love needs to see clearly and speak truthfully. Love knows how to see and speak.

And I would simply add to that that true love knows by the knowledge of the word of God to discern what is best. And its your job as the believer to figure out what that is in every situation...

In fact I believe if we do love in such a way we have already spoke about it will lead to this kind of love.. which is my next point…

Christian love is pure.

Hope you can see how Pauls’ prayer leads to a better love. I don’t think it gets any better than pure love. We see that through the person and work of Jesus Christ. One who showed us love without blemish…

Now Your translation may say sincere or pure, When I was studying this week I came across an interesting take from one scholar who said... The word “sincere” comes from two words for “sun” and “to judge.” It was originally used to describe a piece of fine pottery that was judged in the light of the sun and found to be without any cracks. In ancient times, devious merchants would conceal flaws in their expensive pottery with wax. The authenticity of valuable pottery was revealed when held up to the light of the sun.

Think about that church, because our love will be compared to the pure love of Christ. If you have been with us you have heard me emphasize over and over again the fact that compared to Jesus Christ we always fall short, that is why we need to be connected to him, rooted in Christ’s love, having the word of God ingrained in our hearts, and our minds, knowing how to discern what right, and best leading us ultimately to living like the pure one Jesus Christ.

Paul is praying that there will be no character flaws or false love in the Philippians.

That commentator would go on to say.. One must not appear to be one person on Sunday in church, but someone else on Monday in their work. That can be an ouch for alot of us huh?

He continues.. There must not be an inconsistency between what they confess to believe and how they live. Every area of life must fit together into a cohesive whole. This is the idea of personal integrity or spiritual wholeness.

Moreover, Paul prays that the Philippians will prove themselves to be “blameless.” This word means, literally, “not to stumble.” Paul is praying that in their Christian walk the Philippians will not fall into any moral failure that causes themselves or others to stumble.

Put positively, to be blameless means pursuing personal holiness in such a manner as not to give offense to others through any moral failing. The apostle asks God to make it so that in their daily walk they will not become ensnared by the world.

I can’t over emphasize to you enough that the World has so many things that can cause you to take your eyes off Jesus. To follow it instead of God. So many ways where you can be rooted it in instead of Christ, MANY OF US PLANT OUR SELVES IN THE WORLD AND ITS KNOWLEDGE and we begin to love like the world does and not how Christ calls us to..... and if you are at a point in this sermon where you are maybe saying I dont have much of this kind of love in my life, Its probably because you have captured by the world, and not rooted in Christs love.

One man said.. It matters to God how we live our lives. Forgiveness of sin does not bestow freedom to sin. The grace that pardons us is the same grace that must purify us.

This kind of personal integrity should mark the daily life of every Christian. Our love for others will be demonstrated by living in such a manner as will not cause them to stumble in their Christian walk.

Church I long to see this kind of love not only in myself but in the church. A love that never causes other believers to stumble.

Church family We are to look more like Christ for when he returns we shall be like him. Don’t live the rest of your days longing to the day he returns before change happens before you truly love, lean into him today, grow in your faith, acquire knowledge, learn how to discern what is best, so you can look more like him today. You know what the world needs more people who want heaven here on earth, and not just waiting tell we get in heaven, and having a pure and blameless love will do that very thing.

And you know why we want to have this kind of love, and why we want to grow in Christ like love its simple, because our purpose in this life is to glorify God.

which is my last point today..

Christian love glorifies God.

Which brings us back to the beginning point doesn’t it. Having that Christian love that is rooted in Christ allows us to glorify God with our lives.

So often in our flesh we set our aim to please those around us and in turn we fail to live for the praise and glory of God. I am convinced without a shadow of doubt that if we concerned most with glorifying God above everything else than we would be people who loved better than everyone else. Can I say that again? I am convinced without a shadow of doubt that if we concerned most with glorifying God above everything else than we would be people who loved better than everyone else.

And we would do well if the source of our love was none other than Jesus Christ. And being so rooted in Christ that it is the total source of our love, not distorted by the poisons of the world. Oh church what we may look like if we were so connected to him that there was no denying the fact of his love.

We would do well to grow in love not becoming stagnate like so many do in our lives, and our relationships, but making every effort to grow in the likeness of Christ and his love.

Having the knowledge and discernment that actually leads to love and Christ likeness. And this kind of knowledge and discernment is available in the Word of God. Live in this book, and see how it helps shapes and conforms not just your relationship with God, but others, and how it leads you down the path of loving like Christ, and purity.

I cannot stress this enough this kind of love does not come naturally in our sinful flesh we want to love others in un Christ like ways, and I am here to tell you the only cure for that is to have a realationship with Jesus Christ by faith Jesus lived a perfect life on earth dying on the cross rising from the dead not so you could just go to heaven, but so you can be saved, and love others in such a way that proves to be his disciples. If you don’t have Christ like love come to him by faith, and never be the same again..

Let us pray..