Abounding Love
Notes
Transcript
Text: Philippians 1:8-11
8 God is my witness how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,
10 so that you may be able to test and prove what is best and may 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.
PRAY
Introduction:
When was the last time you heard or said the words, “I love you”?
If you’re married, hopefully it was sometime in the last 24 hours.
Even if you’re not married, hopefully you have people in your life that you care about and to whom you can express your love, even if you don’t use those exact words.
There are many ways to express love of course, and words are not the only way. In 1992 Author and Baptist Pastor Gary Chapman came out with a book about 5 Love Languages - 5 ways to give and receive love: Physical Touch, Words of Affirmation, Acts of Service, Quality Time, and Gifts. Even within these 5 categories there are all kinds of different things you can do to express love or feel loved.
In a story I found recently, a wife expressed her frustration that her husband rarely expressed his affection for her with his words.
Then one day she told him how as a kid, her family had the practice of holding hands and squeezing 3 times to say “I love you.”
Now her husband is expressing his love for her all the time.
Squeeze, squeeze, squeeze while holding hands. Tap, tap, tap on the shoulder, arm, knee, or whatever.
Though it was difficult for him to express his love verbally, he found a way to show his wife he loved her, and when she realized that, she felt loved, and their marriage was strengthened.
As he sits in prison, Paul doesn’t have many options for how to show love to the Philippian church. He can’t spend quality time with them; he probably doesn’t have the resources to send them a gift; he can’t give them a hug or a handshake from 800 miles away.
The only way that he can express his love is with his words - and this is exactly what he does in v. 8-11. In v. 8 he expresses his love directly and he also show his love for them through his prayer in v. 9-11.
And I have to imagine that as the Philippians received and read this letter from Paul, they must have been so encouraged and happy to hear how much Paul loved them and how he was showing his love by his words and his prayers.
In this passage we’ll consider:
Paul’s pledge of love (v. 8)
Paul’s prayer for love (v. 9-11)
Paul’s pledge of love (v. 8)
Paul’s pledge of love (v. 8)
8 God is my witness how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
In the previous section, v. 3-7, Paul expressed his thanksgiving to God and his joy as he remembered the Philippian believers and their faithful perseverance in the gospel. They were persevering in their faith, love, and obedience toward God, as evidenced by their ongoing participation with Paul in the spread of the gospel and their willingness to suffer for Christ. God was faithfully continuing His work in them, and so as Paul remembers the Philippians, he overflows with thanksgiving and joy, and now in v. 8-11 his affection spills over as he expresses his love for them.
I long for all of you
He expresses his love for them and his desire to be with them again. Later in ch. 1 and also chapter 2 he will again express his desire to visit them and spend time with them. He loves these believers.
All of you
Paul genuinely loves all of them. Here again he stresses the need for unity by using the word “all.”
With the affection (bowels) of Christ Jesus
The word “affection” in v. 8 is a word in Greek that literally means bowels or intestines, or maybe we could use the word gut. We sometimes talk about having a “gut feeling” about something, and so for a long time people have associated the digestive organs with the feelings or emotions.
Paul point here isn’t to talk about guts but to express emotion or affection for these believers. It was his way of saying “I love you.”
But notice that the love Paul has for these believers is not merely his own love and affection. It is the very affection of Christ Jesus.
In this way, Paul reminds the Philippian believers of the love and affection that Jesus has for them, and he tells them that he also shares in Jesus’s love for them. Just as Jesus loves you, I also love you, and it is his very love and affection that I feel for you.
God is my witness
So badly does he want them to know he loves them, that he takes an oath to confirm it. He calls on God to confirm that what he is saying is true, to increase the assurance of the Philippian believers that Paul truly loves them and cares for them as Jesus Christ Himself does.
How do you think Paul’s expression of love made the Philippians feel? How do you feel when someone expresses or demonstrates this kind of love and affection toward you?
This had to be so comforting and reassuring for the Philippian believers to be reminded of God’s love for them and also to hear Paul express his love and affection for them. To be truly known and loved is one of the most satisfying experiences possible for us.
To know that God, the Creator of the Universe, knows us and loves us is satisfying and delightful, and when other people know and love us it also fulfills a longing deep within us.
God created us for relationship with Himself and one another, and so there is great joy and satisfaction in living in right relationships with Him and others.
This kind of love and affection should characterize every one of us as believers. Just as God has loved us, we also must genuinely love one another.
The Philippians already did love one another - they were already growing in love, but they needed to keep growing in love - and this is what Paul is praying for.
Paul’s prayer for love (v. 9-11)
Paul’s prayer for love (v. 9-11)
9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,
10 so that you may be able to test and prove what is best and may 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.
Paul already told the Philippians back in v. 3-4 that he remembers them often and prays for them; now he tells them what he says when he prays. As he prays with joy, he asks God, “Lord, please let their love abound more and more...”
This is the main request of Paul’s prayer: abounding love.
Paul has prepared them to hear of their need for more growth in love by reminding them of his love for them and more importantly the love of Jesus Christ for them.
9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,
that your love may abound more and more
In the phrase, that your love may abound more and more, the words more and more are especially emphasized in Greek, showing us that Paul thinks the Philippians are already doing a good job of growing in love. It’s not that they have little or no love and need to start loving, but that the love they already have needs to grow more. Their love for one another has been growing, and it needs to keep growing and increasing even more.
This is very similar to what Paul tells the Thessalonian believers in 1 Thessalonians 4:9-10: Now about brotherly love, you do not need anyone to write to you, because you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another. And you are indeed showing this love to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to excel more and more… That church also was doing a good job loving, but they needed to keep growing more.
The church in Ephesus that John addresses in Revelation, however, is an example of a church that was not doing well in this area. Jesus says to this church, I have this against you: You have abandoned your first love. (2:4). They were not loving God or each other well. They had left behind the love they had at first - they started well, but their love was no longer growing. They have gotten cold in their love for God and for one another. In their zeal for truth they have abandoned love. Their minds are in the right place, but their heart is not. Jesus encourages them to keep up the good work in the fight for truth, but he also warns them of the deadly consequences of leaving love behind. Thankfully this church responded positively to this message and became a thriving church once again.
The love of the Philippians needs to abound…
in knowledge and depth of insight,
The Philippians already know God and have some measure of spiritual insight, but they need to keep growing in these as well. They need to know God more intimately and know His Word and His will better. They need greater wisdom and insight for making the best choices in how to live in love, as the first part of v. 10 indicates -
10 so that you may be able to test and prove what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,
so that you may be able to test and prove what is best
The word translated “approve” in the KJV means to prove by testing. They are to evaluate the choices they make on the basis of God’s Word and will and so discern what is best - what are the best choices we can make? What are the best ways to show love to God and others? This is the kind of growth Paul is praying for. This is spiritual maturity, as the writer to the Hebrews also indicates in 5:14. Those who are the mature, who by constant use have trained their senses to distinguish good from evil. Spiritual maturity isn’t about having a head full of knowledge about God and His Word, but about practical growth in wisdom - making good choices with the knowledge that you have from God’s Word.
And this all relates back to the love mentioned in v. 9, because (as we talked about 2 weeks ago) the sum of all the commandments is love - love God, love others; and so the wisest and best choices we can make are choices that demonstrate love for God and for one another.
As we make choices in life, this ought to be our consideration: what option will show the greatest love for God and my neighbor?
Let’s say you have…
A choice between 3 jobs: You’ve applied for multiple jobs and you have 3 offers - 3 different companies that want you to work for them. What should be your primary consideration? Which of these gives me the greatest opportunity to show love to God and my neighbor? (Not where will I make the most money, which one offers the greatest benefits, which one is easiest, etc.) Where do I have the best opportunity to display love?
A choice between 3 churches: You move to a new city and need to find a new church to worship with. There are 3 Bible-preaching churches in the city. What’s your most important consideration? Where do you have the greatest opportunity to show love to God and others? (Not which one has the best programs or music). Which environment is best for me to grow in my love for God and practically show love to others by using my time, talents, and resources to serve them?
A choice between 3 homes: You’re looking to buy/rent a house. There are 3 that are in your price range and meet your basic needs. How do you decide which one is best? Which home will give me the greatest opportunity to grow in love for God and others? For example, one important consideration will be how close is this to my church? How can I use this home to show hospitality to people at church or missionaries, etc.? Is this a wise use of the resources God has entrusted to me?
If we are not motivated by love for God and others in the practical choices that we make, we are not spiritually mature. And this doesn’t only apply to big life choices like jobs, churches, or houses. Every choice that we make, down to what we eat and drink, the clothes we wear, the music we listen to, the places we go and the things we do must all be motivated by love for God and others. That’s the goal of spiritual maturity - Rather than being motivated by love for ourselves in the choices we make, we should make choices that demonstrate love for God and others.
If we’re honest, none of us meets this standard perfectly. Even the Apostle Paul in ch. 3 goes on to say that he hasn’t arrived yet to full spiritual maturity. But this is the goal. It was Paul’s goal, it was his prayer for the Philippians, and it’s our goal too: to grow in love in such a way that more and more of our choices are motivated by love for God and others rather than love for ourselves.
and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,
The result of growing in love and making loving and wise decisions is that we may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ.
Not perfection in this life, but moving toward perfection (Phil 3:12-14: Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize of God’s heavenly calling in Christ Jesus. )
Perfect purity and blamelessness when we see Christ (1 John 3:2-3: Beloved, we are now children of God, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when Christ appears, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as Christ is pure.)
Giving account for our actions at the judgment seat of Christ - 2 Corinthians 5:9-10: So we aspire to please Him, whether we are here in this body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive his due for the things done in the body, whether good or bad.
We must live in light of His return - what will He find you doing when He comes for you? Or if you die unexpectedly? (Luke 12:35-40: Be dressed for service and keep your lamps burning. Then you will be like servants waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks, they can open the door for him at once. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds on watch when he returns. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve and will have them recline at the table, and he himself will come and wait on them. Even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night and finds them alert, those servants will be blessed. But understand this: If the homeowner had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour you do not expect.”)
11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
filled with the fruit of righteousness .
As a result of living in love and growing in our ability to make wise and loving choices, we will be filled with the fruit of righteousness. You will be like the blessed man of Psalm 1, planted by streams of flowing water, producing fruit in season and never withering but always prospering.
You won’t just have a tiny bit of fruit (like our strawberry plants with just one or two berries) - your life will be full and overflowing with fruit of righteousness - good works, acts of love toward God and others.
that comes through Jesus Christ,
And it’s important to remember, we are not the ultimate ones producing this fruit. The righteousness that will come to characterize our lives comes through Jesus Christ. It is His perfect righteousness that He is working in us. Elsewhere it is called the fruit of the Spirit. This reminds us that it is not our own doing - it is God’s. He gets the credit, not us. He gets the glory and the praise. And that’s how Paul ends his prayer:
to the glory and praise of God.
When God’s people grow in love, it honors God. When our lives become more and more characterized by God’s love, people around us will see and glorify our Father in heaven. As we become more and more like Christ, it draws attention to the value and worthiness of God, and so we and others around us will glorify and praise God for His work in us.
How do we do this practically? How do we grow in love?
Grow in love for God
Spend time reflecting on God’s love -
Romans 5:8: But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
1 John 4:9-10: This is how God’s love was revealed among us: God sent His one and only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him. And love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.
Ephesians 2:4: But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our trespasses. It is by grace you have been saved!
1 John 3:1: Behold what manner of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God.
Spend time with God in God’s Word and prayer
Grow in love for others
Spend time with other people
Think about ways to serve them or meet needs that you see
Think of kind and encouraging things to say to people
Applications
Express love to other believers - through words and actions
Pray for other believers - and tell them that you’re praying for them
Seek to grow in love toward God and others
Remember that all growth comes through Christ and for God - give Him all the glory and praise for your progress.
