No
Greater Joy
Philippians 1:9-11
Introduction: Today
as our nation celebrates “Father’s Day,” forgive me if I start with a grandpa
story. A little girl was sitting by her grandfather, studying his rough, wrinkled
face. She felt her own face with her hand. And then reached over, and touched
grandpa’s face. She asked, “Grandpa, did God make you?” He replied, “Yes he did
dear, a long time ago.” Then she touched her own smooth face and asked, “Did
God make me?” The old man replied, “Yes dear, just a little while ago.” She finally
said, “He’s getting a lot better at it, isn’t he?” We love children as you
know, and we are thankful for the young families in our church who are seeking
to raise their kids in the way of the Lord. I decided to stay with our series
in Philippians, as Paul’s prayer for his friends in Philippi strikes me as a
very appropriate prayer of a Christian father for their children. The apostles had that kind of love for the
people under their care. Paul would sometimes call the believers his
children in Christ, though the Apostle John seemed to use that metaphor more frequently.
He wrote in his old age, in 3 John, verses 2-4,
2 Beloved, I pray that
all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well
with your soul. 3 For I
rejoiced greatly when the brothers came and testified to your truth, as indeed
you are walking in the truth. 4
I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
In honoring Father’s Day, I’ve called this
message, “No Greater Joy.” In our series on Philippians we’ve seen that Paul
is writing a letter of friendship and encouragement to a church that he knew
well, a church that was doing reasonably well. Even so, the substance of his
prayer in these verses is a reminder to them, and to us, not to be complacent
in our Christian Lives. There were no heresies in the Philippian church, no
real crisis that they were facing in terms of living out their faith, but he is
urging them not to be satisfied, but to continue growing in their love for God,
their understanding and discernment of truth, and in living out their faith. There is an interesting contrast with 1:6, where
God’s sanctifying work in them comes to the forefront. There he said, “…being
confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you, will bring
it to completion in the Day of Christ Jesus…” In contrast, we see here the
aspect of human responsibility, in the light of God’s work in us, how should we
live? Phil 2:12,13 will put this
tension, the indicative and the imperative together again…
“Therefore, my beloved… work out your
own salvation with fear and trembling, 13
for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”
We
need to pursue intimacy with God, we need to receive His Word and open
our hearts before him, allowing his Spirit to fill and control our lives. We need to reflect his character more and allow
his love to flow through us as we relate to our neighbors. Do you long for more in your Christian life? Paul
himself describes his own pushing ahead to grow in Philippians 3:14, “I
press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ
Jesus.” There was no
complacency in Paul’s walk with the Lord! Let’s read today’s passage, for context I’ll
start in verse 6…
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.
The Maine* Idea: We
should pray for growth as his disciples, and for the growth of others: loving Him
more, knowing Him better, and living a life that brings Him glory.
I. A Prayer for Love: “…that
your love may abound still more and more…”
Increasing in love is the idea here. The object of love is not
specified – I think because love for God and love for my neighbor really can’t
be separated. Jesus called loving God the first and greatest commandment, and
then put loving our neighbors beside it. “To love the world is really no chore,
my only real problem is my neighbor next door.” Paul begins…
9 And it is my prayer
that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment…
Paul implies here that the Philippians
are already characterized by love.
He prays that that love wouldn’t stagnate, but would abound still more. Love
defines authentic Christianity. First John talks a lot about that. We read for example in 1 John 3:10-11,
“By this the children of God and the children of the
devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God,
nor the one who does not love his brother.
11 For this is the message which you have heard from the
beginning, that we should love one another…”
Why
do you love your kids? Because they are
yours! Its love that never stops, never
fails. God is our Father. CS Lewis said, “On the whole, God’s love
for us is a much safer subject to think about than our love for him.” How
great the Father’s love for us!
They love, but they were not without
problems (Phil 4:2,3). So, Paul urges them to abound still more in love. There is always room for growth in the
Christian life! The starting point is God’s love for us… Augustine grasped God’s
love, and responded, “You called, you cried, you shattered my deafness, you
sparkled, you blazed, you drove away my blindness, you shed your fragrance, and
I drew in my breath, and I pant for you.” Genuine Love for God overflows in
our love for one another.
As John wrote in 1 John 4:10-11, “In this is love, not that we
loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our
sins. 11 Beloved, if God so
loved us, we also ought to love one another.” An
unbelieving Greek writer from the 2nd century said, “It is incredible
to see the fervor with which the people of that religion help each other in
their wants. They spare nothing. Their first legislator [Jesus] has put it in
their heads that they are brethren.” The church father Tertullian observed,:
“It is our care for the helpless, our practice of lovingkindness, that
brands us in the eyes of many of our opponents. “look!” they say. “How they
love one another! Look how they are prepared to die for one another!” That
is not radical Christianity, it is normal, biblical Christianity. We should long
to grow as his disciples, loving Him more, knowing Him better, and living a
life that brings Him glory. So we pray for love, and we see…
II. A Prayer for Light:
Knowing God and discerning his will “…in all knowledge and discernment, so
that you may approve the things that are excellent…” (9b-10a).
“…with
knowledge and all discernment, 10
so that you may approve what is excellent…”
Where are you in your Christian life? Some
of us are like Christopher Columbus: “He didn’t know where he was
going. He didn’t know where he was when
he got there. He didn’t know where he had been when he returned.” I have
been there… I think! Paul is praying for growth in the life of the Philippians.
What does that look like? The previous petition sets the foundation: ever
growing love. And that is rooted not in mindless emotion, but in deepening
knowledge of the truth. When it comes to our relationship with God, to know Him
is to love Him.
Paul prays for increasing knowledge
of God - Our knowledge of God is inextricably based on His revelation, the
Bible. It also means knowing God
personally, intimately. A dear lady from our church, now living in St. Andrews
village, used to say, “There is a big difference between knowing about
God, and knowing God!” The word employed here is a less common word for
“knowledge.” Paul used the word “gnosis” repeatedly in the Corinthian
letters. Now, ten years later or so, he prefers this compound word, epignosis,
which may serve to intensify its meaning (the NASB translates, “real knowledge”).
Some commentators suggest it alludes to a depth of knowledge that comes from
experience or personal relationship. We
don’t need to simply know facts about God, we need to know him personally,
intimately. To know Him is to love Him.
Its not merely emotion, but emotion based on the joy of knowing truth.
“…and discernment…” Ever
increasing moral insight - Discerning truth from error. “…in order that you may approve the things
that are excellent…” Paul’s prayer for the Philippians is that they would
be able to discern the things that really matter – that they would have
perspective (I Cor 7:19; Gal 5:6). We tend to focus on the surface and neglect
the heart, Paul says to discern what really matters.
But even discernment is not an end in itself.
Paul prays that our love will abound more and more in real knowledge and all
discernment in order that we might approve what is excellent. It's not
enough just to know something, neither is it enough to just know whether
something is good or bad. Verse 10 is the goal of knowledge and discernment.
What God wants and what Paul is praying toward is that the Philippians, and you
as well as me, approve what is excellent, the things that really matter. I think
the NLT get the sense here,
“For I want you to understand what
really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of
Christ's return (Phil 1:10, NLT).
God wants our heart. “Approval” is a
matter of the heart agreeing with the head that something is valuable and that
you want it—that you prefer it to things of lesser value, that you perceive it
to be excellent and you love its excellence. Later in this letter Paul says
knowing Christ is the heart of the matter.
Do you long for more in your Christian
life? Paul did, and so should we. We should desire to grow as his disciples, and
pray for others to grow, loving Him more, knowing Him better, and living a life
that brings Him glory.
III. A Prayer for a Life that
glorifies God: We are changed by God, and our life is to
bring glory to God. “…in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of
Christ…”
“…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.”
We see Paul remembering again the truth
that this story is moving toward a conclusion: Twice in this opening he refers
to the “Day of the Lord.” Jesus is returning.
Eschatology is not an abstract concept in the NT: because Jesus
is returning, we need to be faithful, pressing on in the mission he has given
us, striving to know Him better and love Him more. Be watchful, be ready, be faithful. In this
case the result will be for Paul’s readers to “…be pure and blameless…”
on that day. Ray Stedman made an interesting observation about the Greek word
translated “pure,” which occurs here, and only one other time in the NT.
Stedman says that
In
the ancient world oftentimes they made little images or pottery which would
develop cracks. In order to pass these off as perfect, some of the merchants
would fill the cracks with wax so the crack was not observable. There was a way
of find out. They put the item out in the hot sun for awhile. If there was wax,
the sun would melt it and the crack would become visible, so it was "sun
tested". Paul is saying that the Christian life ought to be one
without hypocrisy, without wax, so constantly exposed to the light that is in
Jesus Christ that it is continually Son tested, This is where the Christian
lives, in the light of the glory that streams from the face of the Father in
heaven. If in our lives before Him we hide nothing we are then sincere,
blameless, and as a result we are filled with the fruits of righteousness.
Maturing and persevering “…having
been filled with the fruit of righteousness which come through Jesus Christ…”
The evidence of our genuineness, the proof that our approval of what is
excellent is more than lip service, more than mere mental assent, is that we
will have been filled up with the fruit of righteousness. What does that look
like? Our lives will show forth the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control… (Gal 5:22-23). Our choices and our deeds will substantiate
that we really did approve what is excellent.
It comes through Jesus… (Cf. Eph 2:10, Phil 2:12,13). It comes through
knowing who you are in Him.
On
March 11, 1830, a
little English girl was doing her lessons with her tutor, and the lesson that
day was on the royal family. As she studied the genealogical chart in the book,
she became aware that she was next in line for the throne! At first she wept,
and then she looked at her tutor and said, “I will be good!” The fact that
little Victoria would one day be queen motivated her to live her life at a
higher level.
Let’s
remember who we are, who’s we are! We are children of the King! As our love
abounds, as we abide in Christ, our hearts are changed. Our love grows. We more
and more put off the old man, and put on Jesus. We are changed by being close
to Jesus.
Dr.
Charles Weigle composed the favorite “No one ever cares for me like Jesus…” One
day he visited Pasedena, CA to go to a Bible Conference. Early that morning he had the opportunity to
walk through some of the famous rose gardens as the roses were in full bloom
and their fragrance filled the air.
Later he arrived at the hotel where the conference was being held. As he took his seat a man turned to him and
said “Dr. Weigle, I know where you’ve been.
You toured one of our lovely gardens, I can smell the roses on your
clothing.” He replied, “My prayer is to walk so closely with the Lord that the
fragrance of His grace will pervade my being.
I want them to know by my words, actions, and songs that I have been
with Jesus…”
Our
life should be so changed! Hudson Taylor said, “If your father and mother, your
sister and brother, if the very cat and dog in the house are not happier for
your being Christian, it is a question whether you really are.” That’s
convicting!
Because the fruit of a changed life
comes through Jesus, God gets the glory. We’ve looked ahead to 2:12,13 in the beginning
of this message: “…Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for
it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”
We seek Him, we pray for growth, but God is at work in us, so He gets the glory.
Notice in v.11, our Goal: The glory of God “…to the glory and praise of God…” The fruit of righteousness comes through
Jesus, so God gets the glory!
What is God saying to me in this passage?
It
is easy to lose the joy, the excitement we had when we first believed. We can
begin to neglect our first love, rather than nurturing it. We should desire
to grow as his disciples, loving Him more, knowing Him better, and living a
life that brings Him glory. We
should pray that for ourselves, and we should pray it for those around us,
including our children and grandchildren.
What would God have me to do in response
to this passage? Is it
your desire that your love abound more and more, your love for God, and
your love for others? Seek intimacy with
God – the more we know Him, the more we’ll love Him. The more we Love
Him, the more we’ll love one another and discern the things that are excellent,
the things that really matter. Guarding
our tongue, being quick to forgive, seeking the best for our neighbor. We
should pray this for ourselves, and we should pray it for others. Fathers, you
can memorize this, and pray it for your children, that their…
…love may abound more and more, with
knowledge and all discernment, 10
so that [they] may approve what is excellent [choose the
things that matter], 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.
We
can pray these things for our children, and we can model it in our lives. I
remember well going down the dark stairs of my church in NJ, taking my daughter
by the hand, she was maybe 4 years old... “Stay close,” I said. She replied, “OK
Dad, I’ll follow you, and you follow God.” That was convicting! Let’s strive to
be good examples of authentic Christianity for the next generation! AMEN.
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