Courageous Praying

Text

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.

Remember that all of Paul’s letter really hinges on this encouraging thought that we spoke of last week: His confidence in Christ to continue to work in and through the lives of individuals in the local church.

Philippians 1:6 ESV

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.

Let’s take note of the tone...

Paul mentioned in verse 4, that he prays regularly for these people - His people. That he prays with joy!

Now we see an example prayer that he wishes to include in his letter.

This three-verse prayer is one long, complicated sentence in Greek. It has a three-fold structure: (1) request, (2) purpose, and (3) final result.

(NOTE: The lexical and conceptual parallels to Colossians 1:9-11 are astounding)

1. The Request - Here are the specific things I’m asking for (v9)

2. The Purpose - Here is the ultimate reason I’m asking (vv 10-11a)

3. The Final Result - Here is what will happen if this is answered (v 11b)

Let’s look at the REQUEST:

Philippians 1:9 ESV

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

1. LET LOVE ABOUND

Just like in other letters, it’s a major theme:

1 Thessalonians 3:12 ESV

12 and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you,

2 Thessalonians 2:13 ESV

13 But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.

1 Thessalonians 4:9–10 ESV

9 Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, 10 for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more,

Biblical love is not mushy gushy. The Bible is not a hippie manual (“All you need is love!”). Biblical love is sacrificial (agape¯) love. It involves action (1 John 3:11-18). For the Thessalonians’ love to have this type of reputation has to mean that their love was visible. Do you want your love to be known throughout the entire region? Their love was known by others, and Paul says, “Come on, let’s love even more.” You have to admire his zeal for more impact! [Merida, Tony. Exalting Jesus in Philippians (Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary) (p. 39). B&H Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.]

THIS LOVE HAS NO OBJECT.

Is it love for God?

Is it love for the church?

Is it love for the lost?

taking his cue from Jesus

John 13:34–35 ESV

34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Mark 12:30–31 ESV

30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

What’s so courageous about that?

We know the starting point is love - he wants it to abound so much that it colors the way they learn. He didn’t ask for stuff, or power, or position.

This Courageous love is...

1 Corinthians 13:4–8 ESV

4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.

2. LET KNOWLEDGE & DISCERNMENT ACCOMPANY LOVE

Just like in other letters, Knowledge is a major theme:

Colossians 1:9 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,

Colossians 3:10 ESV

10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

Knowledge with Love = OUTREACH & EVANGELISM = Making Disciples

Philemon 6 ESV

6 and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.

DISCERNMENT - “Depth of insight (NIV)”

to have the capacity to perceive clearly and hence to understand the real nature of something—‘to be able to perceive, to have the capacity to understand, understanding.

The Bible Knowledge Commentary 1:10

The idea of testing is clearly in view in the Greek word dokimazō, translated “discern.” The testing is with a view to approving. The word was used in testing metals and coins, to determine whether they met the specified standards.

This kind of “more and more” growth helps weed out apostacy, false doctrine, false converts,

Hebrews 5:11–14 ESV

11 About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. 12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, 13 for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. 14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

What’s so courageous about that?

It isn’t distracted by the tyranny of the urgent, temporary needs, it’s a sniper-like focus - dialing in what matters most - our maturing in a way.

2 Corinthians 4:16–18 ESV

16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

We’ve seen the Request, now...

LET’S LOOK AT THE PURPOSE

Philippians 1:10-11a

10 so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11a filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ...

Philippians 1:10 AMP

10 So that you may surely learn to sense what is vital, and approve and prize what is excellent and of real value [recognizing the highest and the best, and distinguishing the moral differences], and that you may be untainted and pure and unerring and blameless [so that with hearts sincere and certain and unsullied, you may approach] the day of Christ [not stumbling nor causing others to stumble].

1. APPROVE WHAT IS EXCELLENT

Ephesians–Philemon Comment

The purpose of this love is to “approve what is excellent.” The verb here means to “test and approve” (dokimazō). The closest parallel is Romans 12:2, where Paul calls for renewal of the mind so that “by testing you may discern [dokimazō] what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” A discerning type of love will enable the Philippians to set their highest affections on the highest virtues and not get distracted by devoting themselves to lesser, peripheral matters.

Love would weigh matters in view of the deeper purposes of God, and thus make decisions and carry them into action.

To “be able to discern what is best,” as this verse indicates, required that some things would be rejected by love as not being best. Love was therefore a thinking thing, which, like wisdom, observed, and sifted, and decided. There may be many ways to make decisions, but Paul prayed that their way would be the highest; the way of love. Thus the pure and blameless quality of life came through prayer, as did the righteousness indicated in the next verse. The pure person was one who was sincere and honest and whose mind was not polluted by those things which did not come from God.

(The College Press NIV Commentary: Philippians Colossians & Philemon B. Prayer for Love Growing toward Glory (1:9–11))

How do you get the mind of Christ?

“Read your Bible, Pray every day and you’ll grow, grow, grow”

This first purpose mentioned was “near” or a more immediate purpose. Now, we should be approving what is excellent; testing every system and thought...

2 Corinthians 10:3–6 ESV

3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 6 being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.

So that when the day of Christ comes, we can be pure and blameless, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ. Alec Motyer beautifully writes:

The Message of Philippians 2. Growth to Harvest

To Paul, then, the life of the Christian is a life of programmed growth. His vision is clear as he looks forward to the completion of God’s handiwork (verse 6) in a life that is pure and blameless, completely filled with the fruit of righteousness. But all this is in the future, an ideal reality to which the believer progressively approximates. If there were any other way, any easier path, any shorter route to perfection, would not the yearning love of the apostle say so? But there is no such thing, no sudden righteousness.

The contrast between what we might wish and what the all-wise providence of God has decreed is perfectly touched off in Psalm 126:4–6. The people of God feel their need for a new and restoring work of the Lord and long that it should happen with all the suddenness and fullness exemplified by the rains which, at an instant, fill the dried-up river-beds in the Negeb. But this is not the Lord’s way: sowing in tears must precede reaping with joy; the seed must be carried out before the sheaves can be carried in. We might well wish it otherwise; we sometimes hear different programmes proposed by preachers; we may be offered this experience or that technique as a quick way to holiness. But of such things Paul knew nothing—not even for his beloved Philippians.

Kent Hughes says,

Life for everyone, and especially believers, is a series of choices. What we choose day to day will shape the course of our lives. Foolish choices will leave us unprepared for the coming King. It is the little choices that determine our spiritual vitality because they in turn govern bigger choices. Most of us have little trouble distinguishing the big issues. We know that theft and murder are wrong and that generosity and justice are right. But in the gray area, choices involve a range of options that are not so clearly moral or clear-cut. It is here that we find difficulty in discerning the best. What confused lives so many Christians lead because they do not have the wherewithal to discern what is best.

...

...“if God’s children overflow with love to God and others, along with a growing personal knowledge of God and Christ and practical insight, they will be able to discern and choose what is superlative—the best over the second best—the best over the good—the best in knowledge of God—the best in priorities—the best in habits—the best in pleasures—the best in pursuits—the best course of action for themselves and for their families.”

2. BE PURE AND BLAMELESS

Ephesians–Philemon Comment

The result of a love rich in knowledge and discernment, firmly fixed on excellent things, is moral purity and completeness. “Pure” (eilikrinēs) has the sense of being morally unmixed, while “blameless” (aproskopos) focuses more on being faultless in respect to external actions. The combination of these two terms conveys a sense of completeness, covering both internal (“pure”) and external (“blameless”) aspects of Christian holiness.

Ephesians–Philemon Comment

This purity is not a moral achievement but a divine gift. Christians will be pure and blameless only by being “filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ” (1:11; for this theme in the OT, see Ps. 1:3 and Jer. 17:8). “Fruit of righteousness” probably refers to fruit that flows from righteousness, identified as the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22–23. This moral fruitfulness flows from the righteousness from God found in Jesus Christ (Phil. 3:9). This verse thus portrays the Reformation truth that the faith that alone justifies does not remain alone.

Preaching the Word: Philippians—The Fellowship of the Gospel Pure and Blameless

Pure and blameless. His prayer was that they would be “pure and blameless” against that great day (cf. v. 10b). “Pure” means “unmixed,” as in unmixed substances. It denotes transparency of heart, a heart with pure and unmixed desires. Paul prays for their moral transparency—that “what you see is what you get” with the Philippians, and it is good.

“Blameless” is literally “without stumbling,” “not stumbling.” And this metaphorical sense enhances the picture. Paul’s prayer is that the Philippians will live pure, morally transparent lives, free from stumbling—and thus stand upright and pure on that day in the dazzling presence of Christ who knows all. Oh, to pray like this for each other!

3. BE FILLED WITH THE FRUIT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

If love is the seed, then we prayerfully cultivate it with knowledge and strengthening our discernment so that it yields the FRUIT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS.

A tree that bears fruit is alive. But a tree that is filled with fruit glorifies the gardener’s care! “ ‘Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit” (John 15:5). “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit’ ” (John 15:8). When Christ returns, Paul wants the Philippians to be like fruit trees at harvest, their branches hung low, laden with the good deeds that Christ has worked in and through them.

(Preaching the Word: Philippians—The Fellowship of the Gospel For the Praise and Glory of God)

“Day of Christ”

The thought of Jesus’ first coming and the promise of Jesus’ second coming defined Paul. He reminds us that we will be held accountable when Jesus returns (Phil 1:6, 10; 2:10–11, 16; 3:20). Until then, we should strive to please him in all we do and say.

Does this reminder help you maintain an eternal perspective? How does it affect the way you treat others?

LET’S LOOK AT THE FINAL RESULT

English Standard Version Chapter 1

to the glory and praise of God.

THE GLORY & PRAISE OF GOD

Our love is for His glory and praise!

Our knowledge fueled by love is for His glory and praise!

Our discernment fueled by love is for His glory and praise!

Our prizing what is excellent is for His glory and praise!

Our goal of purity and blameless living is not for our notoriety, it is for His glory and praise!

Our fruitful life is for His glory and praise!

…because it comes from Jesus Christ!

Preaching the Word: Philippians—The Fellowship of the Gospel For the Praise and Glory of God

John Piper says, “All who cast themselves on God find that they are carried into endless joy by God’s omnipotent commitment to his own glory.”

Cat & Dog Theology illustration

"A dog may look at you and think, 'You feed me, you pet me, you shelter me, you love me -- You must be god!"  On the other hand a cat can look at you and say, 'You feed me, you pet me, you shelter me, you love me -- I must be god!" -- You see, they both look at the same information, but because of their self-centered or master-centered attitudes, they come to totally different conclusions!

Kent Hughes again summarizes,

Paul reveled in the thought of God’s glory. At the climax of the Christ hymn later in Philippians we read, “so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (2:10). And then there will be the climactic doxology at the letter’s end: “To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen” (4:20). Such elation! Such joy!

This magnificent introductory paragraph that began with Paul’s thanksgiving for the Philippians and then moved to his affection for them has now concluded with Paul’s description of how he prayed for them. This is the substance of real prayers, repeatedly offered in real time and space and history by a real man. This is not pious spiritual musing. This is how and what Paul prayed.

What the apostle has outlined has relevance for those of us who care at all for our families and the body of Christ. Certainly we must pray for our jobs and our finances and our health and our children’s grades and friendships. But if that is it, we have missed it. We need love to overflow in a limitless geyser up to God and out to others.

- We need to have our love ride and expand upon an increasing knowledge of God as revealed in Christ Jesus—because the more we know of him, the more we will love him.

- We need to grow in all discernment—practiced insight and common sense for living.

- We need to be able to weigh the choices before us and choose what is excellent, the best.

- We need to be ready for the day of Christ.

- We need to be transparently pure and stand upright before Christ in that day.

- And as we stand tall, our lives need to be hung heavy with the fruit of the righteousness that comes through Jesus.

- We need our lives to be a doxology to the glory and praise of God as part of the endless, joyous commitment to God’s glory.

And more, this is what we need to pray for each other. Parents, this is what we must pray for our children and grandchildren. This is a call for real prayers for real people in real space and real time.

(Preaching the Word: Philippians—The Fellowship of the Gospel For the Praise and Glory of God)

Amplified Bible Chapter 1

to the honor and praise of God [that His glory may be both manifested and recognized].

CONCLUSION

May Grace Covenant Church continue to abound in love more and more with knowledge and discernment. May we surely learn what is vital, and approve and prize what is excellent and of real value for us as we grow as disciple-making-disciples. May we abound in and be filled with the fruits of righteousness…so that God’s glory might be manifested and recognized in our individual lives and as a church family!