4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the firstday until now, 6 being confident of this, that he whobegan a good work in you will carry it on to completionuntil the day of Christ Jesus.
4 Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, 5 for you have been mypartners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it untilnow. 6 And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continuehis work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. - P64
9 And this is my prayer: that your love may aboundmore and more in knowledge and depth of insight,
9Ipray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growingin knowledge and understanding.
- P65
10 so thatyou may be able to discern what is bestand maybe pure and blameless for the day of Christ,
11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comesthrough Jesus Christ-to the glory and praise of God.
10 For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure andblameless lives until the day of Christ‘s return. 11 May you always be filled with thefruit of your salvation-the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ-for this will bring much glory and praise to God. - P65
Paul writes to the church at Philippi. He is grateful to the Philippians for part-nering in his work for the gospel, and he is confident that He who began agood work in them will bring it to completion. - P65
Paul expresses his affectionfor the believers and prays that their love may abound in knowledge andunderstanding, and that they will be full of the fruit of righteousness. - P65
How rare it is to have loved ones that we thank God for every time wepray for them! But this is how Paul thought of the believers at Philippibecause of the depth of love and commitment they have for him and forone another. - P66
In large part, Paul‘s gratitude flows from their partnershipwith him in the gospel, which is not only for Paul‘s benefit as an apostle,
but also for their benefit as a church he planted. - P66
Their shared ministry isa work that God began in them and promises to bring to completion.
- P66
Joining together with other believers in the work of the gospel is awonderful gift and privilege, for through such partnerships, greater joyabounds as more come to know Jesus Christ. - P66
Words like love and affection do not typically coincide with wordslike knowledge and insight. We tend to think of love in terms ofheart-warming feelings that
stand in contrast with the cold, logicalprocesses of the mind. - P66
Paul, however, sees our emotions, minds, andwill as unified aspects of the soul that must be brought under the Lord-ship of Christ. - P66
They can and should be fully engaged in our pursuit ofrighteousness and conformity to the image of Jesus. - P66
As we grow in ourknowledge of God‘s Word, we are able to better love Him and others,
and our lives will overflow with the tangible fruits of obedience andholy living. - P66
May we love the Lord with all our hearts, souls, minds,and strength! - P66
When the apostle Paul prays for discernment for the believers inPhilippi, he does not ask for them to receive a dream, sign, or mystical feeling about each
impending decision. - P67
He asks for their love to
"abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight" (Phil.
1:9). Discernment stems from love and knowledge.
- P67
Love without knowledge can result in a misunderstanding, like theapostle John‘s misplaced zeal when he stopped a man from casting outdemons in Jesus‘ name because he was not part of their group(Mark9:38-40). - P67
Knowledge without love leads to harshness and rigidity,
like the Pharisees who were sticklers for tradition but neglected mercy. - P67
When we ask God to deepen our love and grow our knowledge ofHim, we will find our discernment sharpened and our lives filled withfruitful righteousness. - P67
Lord Jesus, because of the gospel, I have true friendship with You and with Yourpeople. - P67
Help me to fully engage my entire soul in the pursuit of knowing Youand becoming like You. In Your name, amen. - P67
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