The Productive Prayer Life of Paul-Philippians 1:3-11

Philippians 1:3 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you. (NASB95)

Philippians 1:3 also indicates that thanksgiving was an integral part of the apostle Paul’s prayer life and demonstrates his great appreciation for other believers who have been so gracious to him throughout his ministry.

Philippians 1:4 always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all. (NAB95)

“Always” refers to Paul’s perseverance in prayer, which is steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, and a state.

Perseverance suggests activity maintained in spite of difficulties, steadfast and long continued application.

“Joy” refers to Paul’s professional happiness as a pastor-teacher and is the result of the Philippians’ gracious and sacrificial support of Paul and his ministry from the first day that he gave the gospel to Lydia, which is recorded in Acts 16, up to time this epistle was written, which is expressed in Philippians 1:5.

Philippians 1:5 in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now. (NASB95)

“Participation” is the noun koinonia which speaks of the Philippians joint-partnership with the apostle Paul in the propagation of the gospel by supporting him with their prayers, friendship and financial support.

“From the first day” marks the starting point of Paul’s relationship with the Philippians, which he recalls in prayer and denotes the point from which Paul’s entire memory of the Philippians begins, which was when he first preached the gospel in Europe (Acts 16:11-15).

“Until now” concludes the time period extending from the first day that the gospel was preached to Lydia (Acts 16:11-15) up to the moment that Paul was writing this epistle to thank the Philippians for the gracious and sacrificial gift that was delivered to him by Epaphroditus.

Philippians 1:6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. (NASB95)

This confidence expressed by Paul in Philippians 1:6 is based upon his entire experience with them from the first day that they got saved as recorded in Acts 16 right up to the moment he received their gift from Epaphroditus, which is recorded in Philippians 4:10-19.

The “good work” in Philippians 1:6 does “not” refer to the financial support that Paul had received from the Philippians but rather it refers to the Philippians being conformed into the image of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The technical phrases “the Day of Christ” mentioned in Philippians 1:6, 10 and 2:16, “the day of our Lord Jesus Christ” in 1 Corinthians 1:8, 5:5 and 2 Corinthians 1:14 all refer to the Bema Seat Evaluation of the church that will be conducted by the Lord Jesus Christ, which immediately follows the rapture (1 Cor. 3:11-15).

We must not confuse this with the technical expressions “day of the Lord,” “that day,” “the day” or “the great day” that appear in the Old Testament and some New Testament passages, all of which refer to another prophetic category and Israel, and not the church.

In Philippians 1:6, Paul is saying that God the Holy Spirit will bring to a successful conclusion the work of conforming the believer into the image of the Lord Jesus Christ, right up to the day of Christ Jesus, which refers to the Bema Seat Evaluation of the church that immediately follows the rapture (1 Cor. 3:11-15; 2 Cor. 5:10).

Philippians 1:7 For it is only right for me to feel this way about you all, because I have you in my heart, since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers of grace with me. (NASB95)

Paul offered intercessory prayers to the Father on behalf of the Philippians with thanksgiving and joy and was confident that God was at work in them because they were thinking of him, which expressed itself in their supporting Paul as a communicator of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Philippians’ gift to the apostle Paul was a visible manifestation that God was indeed at work in them.

The Philippians’ gracious gift to the apostle was a visible manifestation that he was in their thoughts and prayers.

“You are all partakers” refers to the Philippians’ fellowship with the apostle Paul, which involved their common relationship with Paul through regeneration, partnership in his gospel ministry, companionship with him and stewardship, which involves the exercise of the Philippians’ time, talent, treasure and truth.

Their support of his ministry in the form of intercessory prayers, financial support and friendship throughout the years made them “joint-partners” with the apostle Paul.

The Philippians were investing their time, money and materials in order to ensure that the Gospel would be communicated throughout the Roman Empire.

Philippians 1:8 For God is my witness, how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. (NASB95)

Paul calls upon God the Father to be his witness that he does indeed have proper motivation to pray for the Philippians and is not doing so because he received their large financial gift from them through Epaphroditus.

In order to express the genuineness and depth of his love for them Paul introduces his next statement in verse 8 with an oath-God is my witness.

Philippians 1:9 And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment. (NASB95)

Paul’s intercessory prayer to the Father on behalf of the Philippians is that their love for God and each other would grow more and more each day by experiencing fellowship.

“Real knowledge” is the noun epignosis, which refers to an “experiential knowledge” of Christ’s love.

Paul prayed that the Philippians’ agape love would continue to flourish yet more and more by means of personally encountering the Lord Jesus Christ as He is revealed in the pages of Scripture by the Holy Spirit through the process of experiential sanctification.

Paul prayed that the Philippians’ agape love would continue to flourish yet more and more by means of having knowledge or practical wisdom from observing, encountering the Lord Jesus Christ as He is revealed in the Word of God by the Holy Spirit.

“Discernment” is the noun aisthesis, which means, “to have the capacity to perceive clearly and hence to understand the real nature of something.”

Paul prayed that the Philippians’ divine-love might continue to flourish yet more and more not only by means of an experiential knowledge of Christ’s love but also the faculty to discern, discriminate, and have acuteness of judgment and understanding of how to love like Christ.

Philippians 1:10 so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ. (NASB95)

The result of the Philippians divine-love growing by means of a total discerning experiential knowledge of Christ’s love is that they might have a greater capacity to choose the essentials in life, which are revealed by Paul in Philippians 3:10-11.

“The things that are excellent” is the verb diaphero, which means, “that which really matters, that which is important, that which is essential in life, important, excellent, of consequence, superior.”

It is a reference to something, which has number one priority.

Paul identifies “the essentials” in Philippians 3 where he expresses to the Philippians his objectives in life.

In Philippians 1:10 ta diapheronta means “the essentials, which Paul identifies in Philippians 3:10-11.

Philippians 3:10-11 indicates that “the essentials” refers to an experiential knowledge of Christ, which involves: (1) Experiencing fellowship with Christ (2) Appropriating by faith in the Word of God the Spirit’s revelation of the power that has been directed toward the believer through His union and identification with Christ in His resurrection and session (3) Experiencing identification with Christ in His death through undeserved suffering that results in the believer being identified with Christ in His resurrection experientially (4) Experiencing identification with Christ in His resurrection.

“Sincere” is reference to the believer’s motivation in life and deals with the believer’s motivation in life in relationship to God.

“Blameless” is the adjective aproskopos which means “without offence, blameless,” and is a reference to the believer’s actions in life and describes the believer who has a right relationship with people as a result of possessing divine-love for all mankind as functional virtue.

“Until the day of Christ” is a reference to the Bema Seat Judgment of Christ.

Paul wants the Philippians’ divine-love to continue to grow in order that they might possess a right relationship to both God and man at the Bema Seat Evaluation of the Church.

Philippians 1:11 having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. (NASB95)

“Fruit” is employed in the metaphorical sense for the “production” of Christ-like character, which is result of being obedient to the Word of God and in particular being obedient to the Lord’s command to self-sacrificially love one’s fellow believer as He has loved all men.

“Righteousness” is the noun dikaiosune, which refers to the righteousness of Christ in the experiential sense meaning that it is the righteousness of Christ that is reproduced by the Holy Spirit in the believer who is obedient to the Word of God, which results in the believer living in the new Christ nature.

“To the glory of God” refers to the “manifestation” or “reflection” of the character and nature of God that takes place when the believer lives in the new Christ nature and “to the praise of God” refers to the “recognition” of the character and nature of God.