PAUL’S PRAYER-DESIRE FOR THE PHILIPPIANS
(Part 1)
Phil. 1:9-11
Morning Meditation 10/20/16
Verses 9-11 say, “And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ; Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.”
Paul is in prison. He is writing to a church that knew him as a prisoner. He was well acquainted with the prison in Philippi. There is where the Philippian jailor was converted and then his whole family. And out of all this the Church at Philippi had come. Paul is ministering from prison. The quality of this man’s Christianity amazes me. Only a work of God in the life of a bond-slave of Jesus could issue in this kind of life. Paul prays for the Philippians and tells them what he is praying for. This is the subject of this meditation.
The words “And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more . . .” reveal his first request. The word for “pray” is “proseuchomai” and is the commonly used word for prayer which means, “to offer prayers, to pray.” Then follow the words, “That your love may abound.” The word “that” starts a purpose clause (the reason for the prayer). The word for “love” translates “agape” and is God’s kind of love. This love is described in 1 Cor. 13:4-8: “Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.” It would be impossible in the scope of this meditation to restate these things that love does. This passage does not define the word love (agape translated charity) but tells what it does. This is what Paul prays that the Philippians will grow in.
The love of God is shed abroad in all believers’ hearts (Rom. 5:5). The absence of it in the life will cause a Christian to doubt his salvation (1 John 3:14), and could be an indication that a professed believer has never actually been saved.
The words “that your love” means that the Philippians have this love. So Paul is not praying that they receive what they already have. This is not a natural love. It is divine love bestowed at salvation. The words “may abound” translates “perisseuo” and mean, “to exceed a fixed number of measure, to be left over and above a certain number or measure..” It is a present active subjunctive verb. The present tense means to keep on doing something that is in progress. The active voice is where the subject (the Philippians) must decide (active voice is the voice of volition) to do it. The subjunctive mood is the mood of potentiality. It is possible but not automatic. The manifestation of God’s love in us to others is an act of obedience. It is a choice. It is possible to make this choice. This is what the subjunctive mood means. This kind of love (agape) is not the love that is a response to kindness shown us by others. It is a compassionate giving of oneself to another at one’s own expense (whatever the cost) because of a need. It is giving what only God can give, therefore, when a believer gives this love it is a manifestation of the work of the Holy Spirit in his heart. It is called fruit (Gal. 5:22-23). It is treasure in earthen vessels (2 Cor. 4:7). You say, “I just can’t love people this way.” I do understand. God is not asking you to do it in your strength. He dwells in His temple. Your body is His temple. He will do it through you. That’s easy, isn’t it? You say, “I have never lived life on that level.” Well, then you haven’t lived the Christian life. You say, “I just can’t attain it.” Maybe you are climbing instead of descending. You see you do not climb to success in God’s work. You descend. Oh, you want a Scripture for that, huh? Ok. Isaiah 57:15 says, “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” Humility takes the lowest seat. It does not expect to be served but to serve.
Jesus is the example in the Love of God. John three sixteen is the statement of love. God SO loves the world. Rom. 5:8 says, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” The word “commendeth” translates “sunistao” and means “to place together, to put together by way of composition or combination.” God combined His love for us, who were His enemies, with the gift of His Son on the cross, because He knew what we needed when we didn’t. Jesus still loves that way. My body is His temple. He wants to work in His temple to love others this same way. It is not a matter of its being possible. It is impossible for God not to love that way, because He is Love (1 John 4:8; 4:16). It is a matter of finding those who are willing to die to his own desires and let Him live His life through him. So you are afraid that there is someone that God will want to love through you? And you don’t really want to love that person!? That will probably be the first person He wants to love through you. It will be a test of your commitment. It will be a test of how much you mean it the next time you sing, “Oh, how I love Jesus.” The Christian life is His life being lived by Him in us. But He can only live in me to the extent to which I am willing to die to my own desires, and bow in worship at His feet and say, “Yes, Lord. Help thou mine unbelief.” One of the best ways of self discipline, when you are not wanting to love someone you feel does not deserve that love, is to go to the mirror and take a good look with meditation, and try to figure out why God loved the person you see. If you are a repentant saved sinner, it will help you. If you are a lost person on the church rolls, you will probably find some good reasons.
The next words are, “ . . . that your love may abound yet more and more.” The words “more and more” means to grow in a never ceasing growth. “It abounded, it flowed and overflowed; it rose up out of the heart, as water out of a fountain; it was as grace is said to be, a well of living water, springing up, and spreading itself in various ways; wherefore the apostle did not pray that they might have love, nor merely that their love might abound, but that it might abound ‘yet’, might continue to abound, that there might be no stop put to its flow and exercise, and so concerns the perseverance of it, and its actings; and that it might abound ‘more and more’; which regards the increase of it, and enlargement of its exercise. It is capable of abounding more and more, without any danger of excess.” —John Gill
I will take up here in part 2 of this meditation. For God’s love to abound in us is to increase in our love of Him. Do we really love Him? It is hard to love someone you can’t see. And the people we see are not lovable! But love for One you can’t see is possible. Peter says, “Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.” (1 Pet. 1:8). Peter is talking to those who had accepted Christ as their personal Saviour by faith without seeing Him. He says, “Whom having not seen.” Sometimes we get the idea that Jesus appeared over and over again to the early Christians. No, they trusted Him on the basis of the preached Word (Rom. 10:14; 1 Cor. 2:1-5; 1 Cor. 15:1-11). Our faith that He hears, that He is present when we pray, and that we enter the Holy of Holies when we pray (Heb. 10:19), and that His throne is a throne of grace and not to be dreaded by us (Heb. 4:15-16), is based on our FAITH in the RECORD THAT GOD GAVE OF HIS SON (1 John 5:10-11). Bible faith requires no proof beyond Divine Revelation (Heb. 1:1). Faith IS the EVIDENCE that He is real and that He responds to our faith in His word (Heb. 11:6).
Our love for others will be measured by our love for Him. He had to die to show that quality (agape) of love and we will have to DIE TO SELF for it to be manifested in our lives. I close with the following exhortation. Get some place alone. Open your Bible to John 3:16. Read and meditate on that truth. Get on your knees in silence before Him. Think upon Him as you do and ask Him to show you how much He loves you. He will. Maybe not the first time. Fellowship with God is a LEARNED experience. The disciples said, “Lord, teach us to pray.” You will discover His love. And when you do, you will not hesitate to love those who do not deserve it. And you won’t do it for show. In fact, you won’t care if anyone but Him sees it. Amen!
May God bless these words to our hearts.
In Christ
Bro. White
