A Prayer for us to be filled with Christ

The Book of Philippians

This evening we continue to work our way through the book of Philippians. So let me invite you to go ahead and turn to Philippians 1:9-11, our focus for our time together tonight.

Just to make sure we are all on the same page, let me give us a bit of a recap of where we have been so far.

The Philippian Church got its start back in Acts 16 with the Macedonian call that led Paul to Philippi. There was a woman named Lydia who came to belief upon hearing Paul and Silas preach the gospel. Paul and Silas were arrested and in their imprisonment, a Philippian jailer was converted. From here would the Church of Philippi get its start.

Fast forward, Paul is now in prison and writing a letter to the Philippian Church around the year A.D. 62. This letter is a means of encouragement and thanking them for their partnership in the gospel. For they had sent one of their own, Epaphroditus to care for Paul.

Paul is writing this letter then primarily to encourage the Philippians to continue to live out their calling in Christ, particularly in a growing commitment to God and one another.

The commitment to serve one another is a major theme as even evidenced in Paul’s greeting and introduction of his letter as he refers to Timothy and himself as servants of Jesus. He wants to teach the Philippians to ensure they understand the great importance of serving one another. This likely to confront the temptation for some to preach Christ out of rivalry tha twill come up in our next section of text.

For the sake of context, can I get a volunteer to read Philippians 1:1-11 there on the screen for us.

Philippians 1:1–11 ESV

1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. 6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. 7 It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8 For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. 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.

Now, let’s zoom in on Philippians 1:9-11.

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.

There are three parts to this prayer:

The Prayer Request

The Prayer Purpose

The Prayer Result

1. The Prayer Request

Philippians 1:9 ESV

9 And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment,

As we look at Philippians 1:9, do you see Paul’s prayer request for the Philippians (their love to abound more and more)?

If the request is that their love abound more and more, why is the clarification, with knowledge and all discernment important here?

It’s not just any love that we are being called to abound more and more in.

It’s not a love that is defined by us. 

It’s a love that is rooted in knowledge and discernment. 

A love that is flowing from the gospel. 

A love that abounds in knowledge and all discernment in pursuit of both God and care for one another. 

This is the prayer that Paul prays for the Philippians. But why this prayer? Why pray for their love to abound with knowledge and all discernment? 

2. The Prayer Purpose

The so that (underline it) is the purpose clause making us aware exactly why Paul is praying what he is from verse 9. 

Paul’s purpose is for us to approve what is excellent. 

The idea of approve is to test and approve. A parallel to this passage is Romans 12:2, turn there now in your Bibles. 

We are to test and approve of what is excellent. That is what is best, what is superior in our pursuit of Christ. 

This is exactly what Paul has committed himself to. Turn over to Philippians 3:8…the surpassing worth of Jesus is more superior than anything else. This is why Paul prays for our love to abound with knowledge and all discernment. He wants us to grow in love for Jesus and always choosing the best thing, not the 2nd best. 

By approving what is excellent then, it will lead us to the result. 

3. The Prayer Result

The result of us approving what is excellent, we will be pure and blameless for the day of Christ. The day of Christ taking us back to Phil. 1:6 and the judgment at the day of Christ. 

This pure and blamelessness not being a perfection without sin. But, it is to be a sanctifying work that is working its way out in us as we are filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ. 

Apart from Christ, we cannot and will not be pure and blameless.

But, if we are in Christ, we are being filled with Christ and Christ is to be working out in us, filling us with the fruit of his righteousness. A righteousness that will then approve what is excellent and be pure and blameless.

A pure and blamelessness that is not perfection, but we are ever striving for. Phil. 3:11-12…

Piper sums this call to purity and blamelessness up with the following:

If we are aware of any sin we confess it and make war on it by the Spirit (Rom 8:13);

and we actively pursue holiness (Heb. 12:14), and seek to please the Lord in everything (2 Cor. 5:9);

as we trust Christ to be our sinless perfection (Rom. 5:19).

Philippians 1:9-11 Application

Paul’s prayer for the Philippians is a prayer we should make our own. A prayer for our own souls and the souls of one another. 

We are to abound more and more in love. Not any love. Not careless love. Not flippant love. But a love with knowledge and all discernment. A love for God and one another. A love that goes back to the gospel of Jesus that we are to be partners in.

Our love is abound with knowledge and all discernment in how we live pursuing God. 

We are to approve, test, try what is excellent, namely the surpassing worth of Christ. Proving him more excellent and the things of him more excellent. Let us not then get caught up in petty things, unlasting things. Let us see that what is excellent is the things of Christ. To love God and one another. The two greatest commandments are what is excellent. 

We are to be filled with the fruit of (which is) righteousness. We are to be pursuing and walking in holiness. We are to be quick to confess and repent of sin as we become aware of it. We aren’t to keep sinning, keep remaining and abiding in our sin. And the way we do that is seeing that Christ is more excellent than our sin.