5b Overcoming Hurdles

Last week we began to look at how we can overcome hurdles in our life through prayer. Paul’s short prayer in Philippians 1 can help us overcome our spiritual dryness and excuses for prayerlessness. In this session, we’ll see that the gospel should define our relationships with other Christians and guide our priorities in prayer. Paul’s prayer will also encourage us to overcome the obstacle of perfectionism and self-fulfillment by refocusing our attention on “what is excellent” (Phil. 1:10) according to God’s standards.

In verses 3-8, we saw how Paul prayed for the Philippians (with gratitude and constant joy) and why he prayed this way for them (their gospel partnership, God’s faithful work, and Paul’s heart-felt love). Verses 9-11 explain what specifically Paul petitioned God for, the content and aim of his intercession for these beloved believers.

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.

Pray

In verses 3-8, we saw how Paul prayed for the Philippians (with gratitude and constant joy) and why he prayed this way for them (their gospel partnership, God’s faithful work, and Paul’s heart-felt love). Verses 9-11 explain what specifically Paul petitioned God for, the content and aim of his intercession for these beloved believers.

Notice how verse 9 shows Paul’s request: “that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment.”

So far what has Paul said about our Love?

To Love God or Love one another

So what does Paul mean here?

The context suggests that love for one another is likely the emphasis here.

Let’s follow the flow of Paul’s argumentation. In verse 5 from last week what did Paul thank God for?

First, Paul has thanked God for gospel fellowship with the Philippians (1:5). Then in verses 7-8 he expresses his heart-felt affection and love for these saints. Further, the repeated emphasis on Paul’s prayers and love for “all” the Philippians probably anticipates the repeated call for unity among the whole community in Christ, which alongside the gospel is one of the great themes of this letter. Similarly, Paul prays in 1 Thessalonians 3:12, “May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you” (NIV, emphasis added). So Paul prays that this church that he dearly loves and who has shown noteworthy kindness and loyalty to him, may abound or “keep on growing” (v. 9, HCSB) in their love for each other. The phrase “abound more and more” emphasizes that love isn’t static but continually growing and increasing in its quality, affection, and expression.

The apostle links “knowledge and all discernment” with abounding love. In 1 Corinthians 8:1 Paul declares, “knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.” But here “knowledge” and “discernment” refer to knowledge of God and understanding of His will, which is revealed above all in Jesus Christ. According to Philippians 3:8, “the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” is vastly superior to any other gain or pursuit. In 2:6-11, Paul offers a profound theological exposition of Jesus’ humiliation and exaltation in order to lead his friends to have the same mindset as Christ, to love and serve others and seek their interests as their Lord did. Thus, increasing knowledge of Jesus multiplies love. If we made this our regular prayer, how might God be pleased to transform our churches, small groups, and Christian friendships?

Philippians 1:10 explains Paul’s aims in this prayer for abounding love: “so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ.” What does it mean to approve what is excellent or as the NIV puts it, “discern what is best”? Paul uses the same phrase in Romans 2:18, where he says to the Jews that they “know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law.” Then in Romans 12:2 we read, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Thus, we see that excellence (“what is best”) is defined by God’s standards and accords with knowing God’s perfect will.

Returning to Philippians 1, we see that approving what is excellent flows from abounding love for other people. Love seeks what is excellent, what is best, for another person. Parents sometimes use this language—“Your mother and I love you and only want your best”—to defend decisions that in the parents’ judgment have significant long-term benefits even though they may be unpopular with the child in the short term. So it’s deemed best for the child to practice long hours at the piano, go to church with the family, eat vegetables at dinner. But for Paul, “what is best” is that which prepares someone for the day of Christ and brings glory and praise to God. The apostle regards everything as loss and rubbish in comparison to the “surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus,” such that what is best for him includes sharing Christ’s sufferings (see Phil. 3:8,10). Paul isn’t content with maintaining the status quo. Rather he presses on “toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus,” and he urges all “who are mature think this way” (3:14-15). In summary, believers will “approve what is excellent” when their hearts, minds, and value systems are reordered around God’s purposes in Christ.

The second aim or goal of Paul’s prayer for abounding love is that believers may “be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God” (Phil 1:10-11). When Paul prays for these saints, he doesn’t lose sight of the long view—what they will be on the day of Christ. These believers “at Philippi” are citizens of heaven, who will one day be perfectly pure and blameless, abounding in righteousness unto His glory. The church is to see itself as a heavenly, missionary outpost in a lost, dying, and decaying world.

As the apostle writes in Philippians 2:14-16: “Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.” So we see that Paul expresses confidence that God will bring to completion His good work in the lives of these believers. This sure hope guides his prayers and exhortations for them to live now in light of what they will one day be.

Paul’s prayer forces us to face some uncomfortable but important questions. Do I pursue excellence to bolster my own self-image or to magnify God’s name? What is my heart motivation for wanting what is “best”? How do I respond when what I value is taken away or when my dreams are unfulfilled? Many of us have perfectionist tendencies—we expect our homes to be immaculate, our children to be impeccable, and our spouses and coworkers to fall in line with our ideals. We also set impossibly high standards of excellence in our own vocations, even in our ministries. Paul’s prayer helps us overcome the hurdles of perfectionism and self-fulfillment by directing our focus to what God considers best, that which brings glory and praise to Him and which flows from increasing knowledge of Him and love for His people.