As Paul the apostle shared
his joy and concern for the church located in Philippi, he declared
how much he longed to be with them because of their great fellowship
with one another and with the Lord. In chapter one and verse nine in
his letter to them, Paul told them of a special prayer request
concerning their love which he made on their behalf. He wrote:
And this I pray, that
your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in
all judgment;
The
verse begins, “And this I pray, that your love may abound
yet more and more...” In the
kind greeting written by Paul the apostle to the Philippian church,
he told them in verse four how often he prayed for them. His
attention in prayer in verse nine turns more specific as he concerned
himself with their “love”
which is the Greek word “agape” and means “unconditional love,
affection, good will, benevolence, or brotherly love”. His
desire for them is that this “love” would “abound”
or “overflow, to make abundant or excellent” “more and more”
which means “to a greater
degree, more readily, and more willingly”. Although this church was
a loving church, Paul desired they continue to grow in love for one
another.
The verse continues, “...in
knowledge and in all judgment;” Paul
mentioned two specific areas in which he prayed they would “abound”.
First, “in knowledge”
which is “precise and correct knowledge”. For the church in
Philippi to abound in love more and more, there was a need for them
to have “correct knowledge” of one another and of the Lord.
Secondly, Paul desired they grow in love “in all
judgment” or “perception,
not only by the senses but by the intellect, cognition, discernment,
and of moral discernment in ethical matters”. When times of
discretion and judgment were necessary, Paul desired they would
abound in their outstanding love toward one another as the standard.
When we consider what Paul
wrote concerning the “love” life of the church in Philippi
it causes us to look into ours. Is our love abounding “more and
more” for the people around us? Are we more loving in our
“knowledge” and “judgment” of
God and others than we formerly were ? If we were to measure
our love on a scale from one to one hundred, what would our number
be? Perhaps we should adopt Paul's prayer for ourselves and one
another as we ask the Lord to help our love to abound “more and
more in knowledge and in all judgment”, and may the Lord grant
our requests as He did for Paul.
Next
time we will see what Paul has to say about being sincere, so read
ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want
to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on
the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ;
www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore
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