PAUL’S PRAYER-DESIRE FOR THE PHILIPPIANS
(Part 6)
Phil. 1:9-11
Morning Meditation 10/23/16
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.”
We have now come to Paul’s sixth prayer request for the Philippians. He begins verse 11 with the words, “Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ . . .” The words “Being filled” translate “pleroo” and means “to make full, to fill up, i.e. to fill to the full.” This is a perfect passive participle. The perfect tense is completed action in the past, that completed action, having present results. So when Paul is using this word, he is saying, “You have been filled, and as a result, that is the way you are now. He is not praying that they might be filled. If he were, he would put it in the subjunctive mood, i.e., the mood of possibility. Paul’s use of this word in this tense is acknowledging that they had been filled and remained that way at the time of this writing. He is saying that the Holy Spirit, even though He is not named here, is the origin of the “fruits of righteousness.”
Jesus said, “Without me ye can do nothing.” This stands as a truth of God that is never violated in Scripture. Any work that comes out of man that is not a product of the Holy Spirit is NOTHING the way God looks at it. We may count it, and keep records of it, and men may compliment us for it. When we die we may make the Halls of Fame that are being started for men of great accomplishments. But if what we do is not the outworking of the inworking of the Holy Spirit, it is nothing.
What else is Paul saying when he uses the words “being filled” translated “pleroo?” Let’s look at some of the uses of this word. Matthew 1:22 says, “Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled (pleroo) which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying.” The meaning here is that what the Prophet had said might be fulfilled to the letter. The exact completion of everything that the Prophet said in Isaiah 7:14 was fulfilled (brought to an inerrant climax) when Jesus was born. It was not fulfilled in another so-called virgin birth in Isaiah’s day which I heard suggested by a writer in a denominational Sunday School book. This virgin birth was exclusively fulfilled in the birth of Christ. So the word is used here to say that exactness is reached. John 15:11 says, “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full (pleroo).” Jesus says to His disciples, “that my joy might remain in you” and means that they were already enjoying His joy. He wanted it to remain. It is also “my joy.” It is not a fleshly worked up joy. It is His joy. What kind of joy did Jesus have? You say, “It was a joy that you can’t explain.” You are right. That is His joy. Do you have if? I means a joy that you can’t explain. It is a joy that does not come from this world. Then He says, “ . . . and that your joy might be full (pleroo).” The words “your joy” is the working out of His joy so that it is now “your joy.” The word “full” means Jesus wants His joy, which is in them, to affect their joy, so that their joy stays at capacity level all the time! Now it doesn’t take much to spill water from a glass that is filled to capacity. All you have to do is bump it a little. The Christian that is filled to capacity will spill over in “amens!” and “hallelujahs!” and make their “half full neighbors” uncomfortable!!! Have you ever been in church with a person where it took hardly nothing to set him off? The preacher made a statement. It was true. But it didn’t do that much for you. You didn’t disagree or anything like that. But your fellow church member, sitting three rows in front of you, went into orbit, and shouted amen! and possibly raised his hand, and it disturbed you. You were critical, and said the man was in the flesh, instead of praying “Lord give me a little of that.”
Acts 5:28: “Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled (pleroo) Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us.” This means that there was no place in Jerusalem that you could go without finding people who knew the new doctrines that were being taught by the Church. This means when a person is filled that there is no part of him that is not to capacity. Don’t bump him. He is carrying a full cup. It will spill!!
Ephesians 5:18 says, “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled (pleroo) with the Spirit;” The filling of the Holy Spirit will definitely cause you to spill over. Verse 19 tells us what happens when a Spirit filled person spills: Verses 19-20 say, “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;” The expression of the fulness of the Holy Spirt is seen in song and thanksgiving. Not only in song but also in thanksgiving. Have you ever been to Church and heard someone get up, take the mike, and sing a silent song. There is no music. There is no voice. After two to three minutes (and after you have wondered what is going on), the person sits down.. The pastor gets up and says, “What a wonderful hymn!” You immediately feel uneasy. You are going to watch that singer who sings silently, and the preacher who says that he sang a great hymn, like a hawk! If they make any unusual moves, out you go!! You say, “Preacher, your crazy.” I don’t think so. My wife doesn’t think so (most of the time). May I suggest that you are the one who is crazy. You think that a song should be loud enough to be heard. With the modern technology of amplification systems, it can be so loud that it is offensive to the ears (I’m talking about loudness, not the song). But if a man says “amen” in thanksgiving to God (which verse 20 suggests), loud enough to be heard all over the church, you say he is in the flesh. He may even stand and say it, and then sit back down. I used to have a man who did that. I could tell it was coming on. He would begin to get red in the face. And just before he turned blue, he would stand to his feet, raise his hand and shout “Glory to God!” I usually said, “God bless you brother, help yourself,” and then go on preaching. Now you can do one of two things when something like this happens. You can either say, “Lord, you have filled that man/woman so full that he/she just spilled over,” and add, “Lord will you please fill me where I will spill?” Or, you can sit around the rest of your life and contribute to the deadness of the services wherever you attend Church.
Paul says, “Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ . . .” The words “fruits of righteousness” mean “fruits which the imparted righteousness of Christ produces in the life of the Spirit-filled believer.” The word “fruits” refers to the “natural effortless product of a healthy plant.” Righteous works are as natural in the spiritual world of the born again, as peaches to the peach tree. No peach tree sweats to produce peaches. It does it because of what it is, i.e., a peach tree. When you find a Spirit-filled Christian doing good things, it will not be something with which he would be comfortable, if you came up and said, “You know I really appreciate the work you are doing and the care you express for others.” It would be like you going to the peach tree and saying to it, “I want to thank you for having such beautiful and tasty peaches. You should be complimented for the good work you are doing.” If the peach tree could talk it would say, “Sir, I made no effort at all. It is my nature to do this. This is the way my Creator made me. If you will wait until about this time next year, you will see another tree full!”
Then Paul says, “. . . which are by Jesus Christ . . .” The words “are by” translate “dia,” a Greek preposition (there is no verb attached to this preposition in the Greek Textus Receptus), which is translated in most places as “through.” The preposition “dia” means “the channel of the act.” Jesus is the Channel. It is not obedience to the law of Moses, or the rules that you make up. Righteous acts must be through Jesus Christ or they come out of the flesh. Jesus is not just along for the ride. He is not a crutch to help. Paul gave a verse that explains it: Romans 11:36 says, “For of him (the Source), and through him (the Channel), and to him (the Goal), are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.” Explanation added in parenthesis.
May the Lord bless these words to our hearts.
In Christ
Bro. White
