When Paul the apostle told
the church at Philippi that he prayed for their love to abound more
and more, he had several reasons for doing so. In chapter one and
verse ten of Philippians we discover what those reasons are, and how
he desired that they be “without wax”. We read:
That you may approve
things that are excellent; that you may be sincere and without
offense till the day of Christ;
The verse begins, “That
you may approve things that are excellent;” The
first reason Paul desired that the love of the church in Philippi
abound is so they “may approve”
which means “to test, examine, prove, scrutinize (to see
whether a thing is genuine or not), as metals, to recognize as
genuine after examination, to approve, deem worthy” “things
that are excellent”. “Excellent things” were
those which would draw them “to distinguish between good and evil,
lawful and unlawful, to approve of things that excel, to differ from
one”. These “things” would “surpass or excel” other
things that were available to those within the church.
The
verse goes on to say, “that you may be sincere and
without offense till the day of Christ;” In
addition to approving “things that are excellent”,
Paul desired for the church's love to abound more and more that they
“may be sincere”
which is derived from the Greek word “eilikrinēs”
which means “pure,
sincere, unsullied, found pure when unfolded and examined by the
sun's light”. The idea is “without wax” which Paul took from a
common occurrence from his day. Sculptures were quite common
throughout the Roman empire in the days of Paul, however, not all of
those who made these sculptures were are as proficient as they should
have been. Sometimes in the managing of their work they would chip
off a nose accidentally or perhaps an ear would disappear because of
a wrong chisel move. When this occurred, the sculpture would simply
make a mixture of marble dust and wax, form the nose or ear, place it
back on the sculpture, and sell it in the market place. The
unsuspecting buyer would only later notice the mistake when the hot
sun came out and melted the wax all over the head. Paul desired that
those within the church in Philippi be “sincere”,
real, “without wax”
and “without offense”until
“the day of Christ”
which meant until Jesus was to return again.
If
we were to be examined by others, would they deem us as “without
wax” or would they suspect that we are not nearly as “sincere”
as we seem to be? Maybe the heat of the sun in the form of a trial
would easily expose and reveal that there are a few flaws in us.
Paul's idea was that the love of the Philippian church should
continue to abound more and more so they would be able to approve
excellent things, be sincere, and be without offense until Jesus
returns. Perhaps his desire for them should be one to which we should
aspire as well and simply be real and “without wax” until the
Lord comes to take us home to be with Him.
Next
time we will see what Paul says of what the church of Philippi should
be full 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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