“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and 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.”
Philippians 1:9-11 NIV
Wow! Have you ever prayed a prayer like that…for loved ones…for friends…or even, for someone who has hurt or offended you?
Paul’s prayers followed a pattern…he prayed this for that outcome. “So that…” was the bridge between what he asked of God and what and why he desired for his beloved fellow believers…and he expressed his desire in his prayers.
Paul also prayed…examples are written in his letters…for spiritual outcomes…things that happened in their hearts and could not easily be seen or measured. Let’s examine what he prayed for these Philippian believers…
Paul prayed one prayer…
“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight…”
If I may paraphrase, Paul is asking God to give these people a love that was growing but also discerning. The Greek words he used all point to the same thing…discernment. Knowledge…understanding…discernment.
Discerning love…what is that?
In a world system under Satanic influence, the devil’s tools to control are all counterfeit, spurious, and deceptive. He even disguises himself as an angel of light.
Believers need discernment, continually… to test the “spirits”…the motives and attitudes of the people who make up the body of Christ in which they function. This is not suspicion. This is wisdom…a spiritual filter that sifts out what may damage the fellowship…things like pride, division, competition, manipulation. selfish ambition etc.
Paul often warned, as did John, against these subtle influences that creep in under the guise of “prophecy”, “the Holy Spirit”, and “love”.
The Bible warns us not to be so “loving” that we miss the warnings signals.
“Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. Do not scoff at prophecies, but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. Stay away from every kind of evil.”
1 Thessalonians 5:19-22 NLT
“Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world.”
1 John 4:1 NLT
How do we test the attitudes and motives of our fellow believers in our fellowship? Jesus said, “Look at their fruit.”
“Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?”
Matthew 7:15-16 NLT
So, Paul anticipates. three outcomes that flow from discerning love…
“…so that you may be able to discern what is best and 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.”
…three outcomes of growing in love that focuses on keeping the lives of God’s people pure and fruitful.
…discerning and dealing with what creeps in to poison the fellowship…
…pure and blameless lives…not perfect but mature…protecting love and promoting unity…
…fruitfulness that grows in lives that remain attached to the Vine…
“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.”
John 15:5 NLT
What a prayer! Imagine a fellowship of people who do life together…lovingly guarding and protecting one another from those who try to disrupt and destroy. They are always watching out for attitudes and behaviour in themselves and others that harm the body. They bear the fruit of union with Jesus…love, joy, and peace… and…Jesus gets the glory!
I need to add a postscript here. Paul never allows or advocates that God’s people play “policeman” in each other’s lives. To do so would destroy the love that sees and expects the best of one another. Living in and walking by the Spirit would guard us against spying on and judging one another…which is never the role of believers in a fellowship. Our part is to walk in the light with one another, guarding our own hearts and lovingly lifting up those who have fallen.
“Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.”
Galatians 6:1-2 NLT
To be continued