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He wrote this while he was in 
his first Roman imprisonment. The book of Acts ends with that 
imprisonment in Acts chapter 28. So about the years AD 60 
to 62, he was eventually released, continued in ministry, then wrote 
1st and 2nd Timothy and Titus, and possibly and likely the book 
of Hebrews. So Philippians is categorized 
as one of the prison epistles. So I want to read verses 1 to 
11, and then our focus is on verses 9 to 11. Paul and Timothy 
bond servants of Jesus Christ to all the saints in Christ Jesus 
who are in Philippi with the bishops and deacons. Grace to 
you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I 
thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer 
of mine making request for you all with joy, for your fellowship 
in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident 
of this very thing. that he who has begun a good 
work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. 
Just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because 
I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the 
defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers 
with me of grace. For God is my witness, how greatly 
I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ. And this I pray, 
that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and 
all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, 
that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, 
being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by 
Jesus Christ to the praise and glory, excuse me, to the glory 
and praise of God. Well, let us pray. Our Father 
in heaven, thank you for your word. Thank you for these epistles 
given to us by the inspiration of the Spirit through men like 
the Apostle Paul. We pray that you grant us ears 
to hear and hearts to receive these things. Help us, God, to 
make sure that in our lives we are interceding on behalf of 
others, individuals and families and churches and even the civil 
state. We see so many examples of that all throughout scripture. 
We know, God, that this is pleasing in your sight. We ask that you 
would forgive us for all of our sins and cleanse us in the precious 
blood of the Lamb and cause us now to know the nearness of God 
the Holy Spirit as our good. And we pray through Jesus Christ 
our Lord. Amen. Well, as we have looked at this 
particular section, we notice the apostle expresses his gratitude 
according to verse 3 to God for the saints in Philippi. And there 
in verse 4, he mentions that he prays for them. Always in 
every prayer of mine, making requests for you all with joy. 
So in verse 4, he indicates that he prays for them. In verses 
9 to 11, he indicates what it is that he does pray for them. 
And again, I think this is very instructive for us in our prayer 
lives. These are the kinds of things 
that we ought to be praying about with reference to the people 
of God in our church and in other churches. So the apostles intercession 
for them, basically intercession is just that you go to God on 
behalf of others. You see that in Christ's high 
priestly prayer in John 17, he's interceding. That's a function 
of the priesthood to both sacrifice and to intercede. And we see 
that example by our Lord Jesus. But as well, that passage that 
Cam read from the prophet Isaiah, give him no rest till he makes 
Jerusalem a praise in all the earth. We see it in the life 
of Moses. Very often Moses goes to the 
throne of grace on behalf of the people of Israel so that 
God will not wipe them out in his wrath. You see an example 
in the prophet Daniel, Daniel in Daniel chapter nine. He knows 
that things are not well in the nation. He knows that things 
are not well among the covenant people. So he goes to God and 
seeks mercy on behalf of the covenant people. And then of 
course, the epistles of the apostle Paul, you see this sort of intercession. He expresses to them what it 
is that he prays and why it is that he prays those things. So 
I think there are two petitions here in verses 9 to 11. The first 
deals with the disposition of their hearts, and that's in verses 
9 and 10a. The second is the actions in 
their lives, and that's verses 10b and 11. So let's take up 
first the disposition of their heart. So in verse 9 he gives 
the petition, and then in verse 10a he highlights the purpose 
for that particular petition. So notice what he says. He wants 
them to grow in love. And most likely this is love 
to God and love to one another. He says in verse 9, and this 
I pray, that your love may abound still more and more. If you turn 
over to the book of 1 Thessalonians chapter 3, you see that this 
is not unique in the letter to the Philippians. in 1 Thessalonians 
chapter 3, specifically at verse 11. Now may our God and Father 
himself and our Lord Jesus Christ direct our way to you, and may 
the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another 
and to all just as we do to you, so that he may establish your 
hearts blameless and holiness before our God and Father at 
the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints. So 
a very similar petition in terms of intercession for the churches 
in Philippi and then again in Thessalonica. Now when Paul prays 
this in verse 9 of Philippians 1, that your love may abound 
still more and more. He's not condemning them for 
a lack of love. He's not suggesting that there 
is no love whatsoever. He is not calling them to repentance, 
but rather he is asking that God would indeed increase that 
work in their hearts, such that it would be expressed in their 
lives. In that the presence of the love of God and the love 
for one another is there by the grace of God. Notice in verse 
six, Paul says concerning the Philippians being confident of 
this very thing, that he who has begun a good work in you 
will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. And then notice 
in verse 7 where he says at the end, you all are partakers with 
me of grace. So God in his grace had saved 
these brethren in Philippi. Paul recognizes that. And so 
the prayer is not one of condemnation. It's not one of rebuke or reproof. It is rather that indeed it would 
grow, that it would abound, that there would be more and more 
of it. And he absolutely positively relies upon God's grace to make 
that effectual. All good things that come to 
us or are done by us are according to the perfect plan and will 
of God. In fact, look at Philippians chapter two, specifically at 
verses 12 and 13. This says much about the theology 
of the apostle Paul. In chapter three, he highlights 
justification by faith alone. We're not saved by our works, 
We're not saved by a mingling of our works plus faith, but 
we are saved by grace alone. Notice in 3.9, we'll get back 
to 2.12 in a second, but notice in 3.9, and be found in him, 
not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that 
which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from 
God, by faith. So it's that imputed righteousness 
of Jesus Christ, received by faith alone, along with the forgiveness 
of sins, that's the basis of our acceptance with God Almighty. 
And since we've been accepted by God Almighty according to 
His grace, we live the life of sanctification. We live hopefully 
in a manner that is consistent with our gospel calling, which 
is what Paul says in Philippians 1.27. But notice specifically 
in Philippians 2.12. Therefore, my beloved, as you 
have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much 
more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear 
and trembling. You can only work out what God 
by grace has put there. He's not saying work for your 
salvation. He's not saying strive to attain 
peace with God through your own works, or your own efforts, or 
your own righteousness. No, rather you work out that 
which God has put there by His grace. In other words, justification 
by faith alone. Then that instrument of salvation 
is faith alone, but it's accompanied by all other saving graces, vis-a-vis 
that necessary for the life of sanctification. But then note 
verse 13, he says, for it is God who works in you both to 
will and to do for his good pleasure. So from first to last and all 
the way in between, we are dependent upon the grace of God. So Paul's 
not condemning them, he's not castigating them, he's not chiding 
them or reproving them, but rather he is exhorting them to abound 
more and more in love. And I think what he does here 
as well, at least in a couple of instances, anticipates things 
that he's going to address in the epistle itself. As I mentioned 
when I introduced the epistle, it's not a condemning letter, 
it's not polemic, it's not riddled with the sorts of challenges 
that Paul addresses in, say, 1 Corinthians. But nevertheless, 
it was a church, and certainly churches need exhortation, and 
sometimes churches have some issues and challenges. So I think 
this section anticipates chapter 2, verses 1 to 4, where it exhorts 
the people of God to being like-minded, to being others-minded, to being 
faithful. And then again in chapter 4, 
verses 1 and 2. Therefore, my beloved and longed-for 
brethren, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, beloved. 
I implore Euodia and I implore Syntyche to be of the same mind 
in the Lord. So there was something going 
on. Again, not at the sort of level that we see there in 1 
Corinthians and not the sort of polemics that we see in Galatians, 
but nevertheless it was imperfect. All churches are, and so Paul 
anticipates in prayer what he is going to address when it comes 
to the body of the letter. Then notice secondly, so in terms 
of the petition, growth in love, the second part of it is growth 
in knowledge. Growth in knowledge. In fact, 
turn to Colossians 1, another prison epistle, where you see 
a similar emphasis. Colossians 1.9, For this reason 
we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for 
you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge 
of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. that 
you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful 
in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God, strengthened 
with all might according to His glorious power for all patience 
and long-suffering with joy." So again, similar emphases to 
the churches at that particular time and similar emphases that 
are necessary in churches today. He's not reproving them, he's 
not castigating them, he's not, you know, disowning them, but 
he wants their love to grow. And notice that that love is 
to abound still more and more in knowledge. The love of believers 
is not emotional, the love of believers is not sentimental, 
and the love of believers is not selfish. The love of believers 
is based upon the revealed will of God. Jesus says in John 14, 
15, if you love me, you will keep my commandments. Turn back 
to the book of Romans in Romans chapter 13. We see how love is 
expressed. Again, not sentiment, not emotion, 
and not selfishness, but principled obedience to the law of God is 
the best way that we show love for one another. Notice in Romans 
13.8, Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who 
loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, you 
shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not 
steal, you shall not bear false witness, you shall not covet. 
And if there is any other commandment are all summed up in this saying, 
namely, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. Love does no harm 
to a neighbor, therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. 
You see this emphasis in 1 Corinthians chapter 13. Again, not sentiment, 
not emotion, not Hollywood, not romance novels, not selfishness. The specifics in terms of this 
abounding love, it's to be tethered to the truth of God's holy word. Not divorced from that word, 
but rather tethered to it. Turn over to 1 John, where the 
Apostle John emphasizes the same reality. 1 John 5, specifically 
at verses 2 and 3. 1 John 5, 2, By this we know 
that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep 
His commandments. For this is the love of God, 
that we keep His commandments, and His commandments are not 
burdensome. As we go back to Philippians 
chapter 1, taking a moment, this whole idea of an emotionalism 
or a sentimentalism or a selfishness is absolutely contrary to a biblically 
defined, biblically nuanced love. And so Paul says, I want you 
to abound more and more in love in all knowledge. in knowledge. Now, sometimes people have the 
sneaky suspicion that love stands opposed to good theology. In fact, if you've been around 
the Reformed faith for any amount of time, you've probably heard 
the objections to the Reformed faith. Well, it's very cerebral. And kids, that simply means brainy. 
It's, you know, very theoretical. It's very abstract. Or sometimes persons say things 
like, well, you know, we know a lot. We know a lot of Bible. We know a lot of theology, but 
we don't have a lot of love. The response to that is, so what? 
We get rid of the Bible and we get rid of theology? Well, no, 
we don't want to do that. Maybe just a little bit less 
than that. But if you look at the passage, 
he wants them to abound more and more in love, in knowledge 
and all discernment. We'll pick up the all discernment 
in just a second. But this knowledge, It is the 
knowledge of God that promotes love for God, and it's the knowledge 
of God that promotes love for one another. And when somebody 
says, well, we have a lot of theology, but we don't have a 
lot of love, I wanna just simply remind all of us that it's not 
the church's task or the elder's task to make you love. It's just not. The providing 
of the information, the data giving concerning scripture and 
theology, the onus is ultimately on the person to love. Imagine 
if for 18 years, your parents taught you how to budget. They 
taught you how to live within means. They showed you electric 
bills so you wouldn't leave the lights on. They showed you gas 
bills so you'd know what it costs to heat the furnace. And then 
you go out at 22 and you get married and you plunge yourself 
miserably into debt. Do you blame your parents? Is 
it their fault? Are they all messed up? No, at 
some point, brethren, we have to take responsibility and live 
in light of the Bible and theology that we know. Now, certainly 
it can be helped by pastors in good exampleing and demonstration 
to be sure to realize that only Christ is ultimately that perfect 
example of love to others and love to God. But when it comes 
to these particular things, we live in a climate where this 
idea of love is somehow opposed to theology. But that's not what 
Paul is saying. Paul is saying that love finds 
its fullest expression as it is tethered to the Word of the 
living and true God. John Gill made the observation, 
some Christians are more affectionate and less knowing. Others are 
more knowing and less affectionate. It is well when love and knowledge 
go and keep pace together. He's absolutely positively spot 
on and bang on. Let me just read it again. Some 
Christians are more affectionate and less knowing. Others are 
more knowing and less affectionate. It is well when love and knowledge 
go and keep pace together. And that's the precise nature 
of the petition offered up by Paul for the church in Philippi, 
that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge. Gordon 
Clark, about a generation and a half ago, made the observation 
in his commentary on the Westminster Confession. He says, Christianity 
is not a romantic religion where feeling and emotion suffice, 
nor is it an aesthetic religion where faith and sermons are unnecessary. Christianity is a definite faith. It includes the doctrines of 
the atonement and the resurrection, and it requires a knowledge of 
these doctrines and intellectual is sent to them, a faith that 
can and must be preached. In our own generation, there's 
a writing Presbyterian named Carl Truman, and he has the ability 
to examine culture and church and the various trends going 
on, and I think he analyzes some things very well and very precisely. There's a reprint of a book that 
he wrote in 2012 on the usefulness of creeds and confessions. It's 
been reprinted. It's a little updated, I think. 
It's called Crisis of Confidence, and he is dealing with sort of 
the non-verbal emphases that we find in culture. Political 
sloganing. You know, words that are words, 
but they have no meaning. Just, you know, throwing together 
10 words doesn't actually communicate a policy. Throwing together 20 
words doesn't actually get at how we're gonna reduce inflation, 
how we're gonna reduce gas prices. So he notices that particular 
trend and see how it has infiltrated the church to some degree or 
other. He says, yet we see the impact 
of suspicion of words even within the Christian church. At the 
Reformation, preaching came to supplant the mass as the central 
act of corporate Christian worship. Underlying this shift was a move 
toward an understanding of the gospel as promise and of salvation 
as being by faith in that promise. Thus, proclamation of that promise 
in words moved to center stage. In recent decades, however, many 
churches have shifted preaching from the central place. In some 
contexts, preaching has not been abandoned. Rather, it has been 
relativized and now stands alongside dramatic performances, candles, 
incense, and small group discussion. In other contexts, preaching 
has been pushed completely aside for conversational discourse, 
where the authoritative voice of the preacher has been replaced 
by a more democratic dialogue. Underlying all these shifts in 
practice, if not always in terms of self-conscious planning, is 
a suspicion that proclaimed words are no longer a reliable authority, 
or perhaps better, a plausible authority, given the wider anti-verbal 
cultural dispositions. In other words, when we survey 
the New Testament, when we ask the question, what is worship 
about? What has God purposed in terms 
of growth and grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior 
Jesus Christ? It's very simple. It's very easy. It doesn't take a lot of work. We pray the word, we read the 
word, we preach the word, we sing the word, and we see the 
word in the sacraments. What's the common denominator 
in each of those heads? It's the word. So when Paul prays 
for the Philippians and he wants them to abound more and more 
in love, he wants it to be a love that is biblically defined. He 
wants it to be a love that is theologically motivated. He wants 
it to be a love that is absolutely glorifying to God most high, 
even Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jesus prays in that high priestly 
prayer, sanctify them by thy truth. Thy word is truth. And so we need that emphasis 
in terms of Bible and theology. And of course, there is always 
the tendency, and we're going to look at that under all discernment, 
there is the tendency of having a mind filled with facts and 
having no visible expression of love whatsoever. That's why 
Paul then says the growth of discernment. So he wants us to 
grow in love, he wants us to grow in knowledge, and he wants 
us to grow in discernment. Notice again in verse 9, and 
this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in 
knowledge and all discernment. the knowledge of God must be 
joined with discernment. Or what happens is a mind filled 
with facts that is devoid of any practical application in 
the day in and day out situations that one finds themselves in. And basically this discernment, 
or we might call it wisdom, is the art of living righteously. It is the art of applying that 
knowledge that we have to the various circumstances that affect 
us as individuals, within the family, within the church, within 
society. We need discernment when it comes 
to these particular things, because without discernment, a mind filled 
with a bunch of facts, without any obvious discernment, is going 
to be proud, arrogant, and most likely loveless. And so Paul 
does not want that. In fact, there's an entire book 
devoted to actually applying the things that we know and living 
skillfully in this present evil age. It is the book of Proverbs. You can turn back to 1 Kings 
3. 1 Kings 3. Solomon has ascended the throne 
of his father, David, and God appears to him. And specifically 
in 1 Kings 3, at verse 4, we read, Now the king went to Gibeon 
to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place. Solomon offered a thousand burnt 
offerings on the altar. At Gibeon, the Lord appeared 
to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, Ask, what shall 
I give you? And Solomon said, you have shown great mercy, your 
servant, David, my father, because he walked before you in truth 
and righteousness and in uprightness of heart with you. You have continued 
this great kindness for him and you have given him a son to sit 
on his throne as it is this day. Now, oh Lord, my God, you have 
made your servant king instead of my father, David. But I'm 
a little child. I do not know how to go out or 
come in. and your servant is in the midst of your people, 
whom you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to be numbered 
or counted. Therefore give to your servant 
an understanding heart to judge your people, that I may discern 
between good and evil, for who is able to judge this great people 
of yours?" What a wonderful and noble request. Increase my political 
power. Increase my triumph over my enemies. Increase my riches. Increase 
my army. Increase my capability to balance 
a budget. No, it doesn't do that. He prays 
for wisdom. And God is pleased with this 
particular petition. Now, with Solomon, you have to 
think that living, you know, under the man that wrote the 
book of Psalms, there was certainly a lot of knowledge passed on 
from David to Solomon. So Solomon isn't sitting here 
as some novice. He's not sitting here as a beginner. 
He's not sitting here as a kindergartner. Well, I just don't know. I think 
when he uses that language, he's showing or highlighting his inability 
in and of himself to execute the judgment that is necessary 
to rule a kingdom. But this man had knowledge, but 
what does he ask for? He asks for the discernment and 
he asks for the wisdom so that he can navigate properly concerning 
the affairs of the kingdom. Notice in chapter 3 he gives 
an expression of that when the two harlots come to him to give 
verdict concerning the son that had died. And then look at 1 
Kings 4.29, And God gave Solomon wisdom and exceedingly great 
understanding, and largeness of heart like the sand on the 
seashore. Thus Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the 
men of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt, for he was wiser than 
all men. Then Ethan, the Ezraite, and 
Heman, Calchol, and Darda, the sons of Mahal. And his fame was 
in all the surrounding nations. He spoke 3,000 proverbs, and 
his songs were 1,005. Also, he spoke of trees, from 
the cedar tree of Lebanon, even to the hyssop that springs out 
of the wall. He spoke also of animals, of 
birds, of creeping things, and of fish. And men of all nations, 
from all the kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom, 
came to hear the wisdom of Solomon. So it was wisdom concerning the 
special revelation that he had vis-a-vis the true knowledge 
of God, but it was knowledge in the general revelation sphere 
also. He was a philosopher. He understood 
animals. He understood botany. He understood 
the various things that we find in this world. Of course, in 
1 Kings 10, we have an expression of somebody coming to see for 
themselves all that he had amassed and all that he had orchestrated, 
and that was the Queen of Sheba. She's blown away when she sees 
the kingdom of Solomon. If you turn to the book of Proverbs, 
not every proverb can we go through, but just a couple that highlight 
this discernment that is necessary, because Paul wants us to increase 
and abound in love, to abound still more and more in knowledge, 
I'm sorry, that your love may abound still more and more in 
knowledge and all discernment. Notice in Proverbs 2 at verse, 
Oh, that's not it. Proverbs 5, verses 1 and 2. Proverbs 5, verses 1 and 2. My 
son, pay attention to my wisdom. Lend your ear to my understanding 
that you may preserve discretion and your lips may keep knowledge. They're specifically to guard 
against the immoral woman. You know it's wrong that you 
shouldn't go into the immoral woman, but you need that wisdom 
and discernment to put that knowledge into practice so that you don't 
go into that immoral woman. Notice in 14.7, 14.7, go from 
the presence of a foolish man when you do not perceive in him 
the lips of knowledge. Go from the presence of a foolish 
man. Again, we can know that we should 
do that, but discernment and wisdom actuate that knowledge 
such that we'll actually go away from him. Notice in 15.7, 15.7, 
the lips of the wise disperse knowledge, but the heart of the 
fool does not do so. And then verse 21, folly is joy 
to him who is destitute of discernment, but a man of understanding walks 
up rightly. So going back to our text, you 
can see that Paul emphasizes in terms of this disposition 
of their hearts, that they have an increasing love that's growing 
an understanding of God's word, and in the application of that 
word as well. And then he brings the purpose 
to bear specifically in the first part of verse 10. That you may 
approve the things that are excellent. That you may approve the things 
that are excellent. I think this anticipates chapter 
4, verses 8 and 9. chapter 4, verses 8 and 9. Finally, 
brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, 
whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things 
are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any 
virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy, meditate on these 
things. The things which you learned 
and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God 
of peace will be with you. He gives a snapshot version of 
that in his intercessory prayer in 10a, that you may approve 
the things that are excellent. And I think the specific emphasis 
in terms of approval is just what Solomon asked for, so that 
I may know the good from the evil. So look at the text, that 
you may approve the things that are excellent. Approve with a 
heart-filled commitment to follow the good and to withdraw from 
the bad. So in order to do that, your 
love needs to abound still more and more in knowledge and all 
discernment. I want that to be the case, Paul 
says to the Philippians, so that you may approve the things that 
are excellent. So that you may not fall prey 
to the godlessness of the Roman Empire. So that you may not fall 
prey to the godlessness of your own remaining corruption, or 
to the assault of the devil. And so that specifically is the 
disposition of their hearts. Then notice the actions in their 
lives in verses 10, B, and 11. The petition is there in 10b, 
that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ. That you may be sincere and without 
offense till the day of Christ. I think he specifically wants 
them to be genuine in their conduct. He wants them to be blameless 
or offenseless toward others. And he wants them to be persevering 
to the very end. But with reference to genuineness, 
how do we observe? How do we measure? How do we 
know? Well, again, it's by the word of God. And that sort of 
objection I dealt with a little while ago. Well, you know, we 
have a lot of Bible, but we don't have a lot of love. You've got 
to be omniscient to say that, brethren. How do you know your 
brother doesn't have the love that he's supposed to have? Unless 
you follow him 24-7, it's kind of an arrogant statement. Well, 
we're just not loving as we ought. Okay, but... Do we understand 
the claimant there? It's a bit rough. The sincerity 
of one's conduct is measured by the truth of God's Word. And 
the sincerity of God's conduct, as measured by God's Word, is 
going to reflect in love to God and love to one another. Again, 
those concrete illustrations from John 14, 15. If you love 
me, you'll keep my commandments. From Romans 13, 8 to 10. And 
from 1 John 5, 2 and 3, the sincerity of one's conduct is also informed 
by passages like these and the rest of what you find in the 
epistles in the New Testament. So genuineness, he says that, 
that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you 
may be sincere. People can be sincerely wrong. People can be sincerely evil. 
We're going to see that next time in John's gospel, John 16. There's going to come a time 
when they're going to kill you and they're going to think they're 
doing service to God. So the whole idea of, but he's 
so sincere. Yeah, but he's a mass murderer. That's not a good thing. He's 
so sincere, but he's contrary to the law and will of God. It's 
the law and will of God that dictates what is right conduct, 
that is sincere or genuine. And then notice this emphasis 
on deference to others and without offense. without offense most 
likely to brethren that you know, family that you dwell with, churches 
that you're a part of, and civil society. We can find New Testament 
references to each of those areas. Paul wants us to live in a manner 
that is consistent with the gospel, not just on Sunday morning and 
evening when we're in this place. But he wants us to live consistently 
with the gospel when we're in our own place, when we're in 
our workplaces, when we're in, you know, wherever we are, wherever 
we find ourselves. We're not supposed to be offensive 
to others. And I think that this, again, 
anticipates things that we're going to see later in the book. 
We've got that admonition in chapter two, notice, verses one 
to four. Therefore, if there is any consolation 
in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the 
Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being 
like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of 
one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish 
ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind, let each esteem others 
better than himself. Let each of you look out not 
only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. 
And then he sets forth three examples, real-life examples 
of this conduct. He's got Jesus in verses 5 to 
11. He's got Timothy in verses 19 
to 24. And he's got Epaphroditus in verses 25 to 30. So this without-offenseness in 
terms of the people of God is something that we are to be pursuing. 
We're to be sincere. We're to be genuine. And we're 
to live in such a way that we're not causing offense. Now, if 
we're preaching the gospel to God-hating rebels and they're 
offended by that, that's okay. That's the kind of offense that 
we're supposed to actually engage in. Now, that doesn't mean we 
court it. It doesn't mean we scream in 
people's ears with bullhorns to repent because the kingdom 
of heaven is at hand. You can offend them by being 
a weird human being. We don't want to be weird human 
beings. The bottom line is, is that the offense that Paul is 
speaking of here is with reference to one another. Would it be like 
Jesus? Would it be like Timothy? Would 
it be like Epaphroditus? And then notice the perseverance 
before God. So in verse 10, that you may 
approve the things that are excellent, the here and the now. Presently, 
that's what you're supposed to be about. Then he turns his attention 
to the eschaton, or he turns his attention to the day of judgment 
at the end of verse 10, that you may be sincere and without 
offense till the day of Christ. The emphasis throughout the passage 
is that presently he wants you to abound in love, in all knowledge 
and discernment. He wants you to live in such 
a way that what you're doing now, you're going to be doing 
10 years from now, you're going to be doing 20 years from now, 
you're going to be doing for the entirety of your life till 
the day of Christ. Should you die before that great 
judgment day? Well, you should have been living 
in a way that is consistent. Should Christ come next week 
on the clouds of glory to judge the living and the dead? Well, 
we should be living that way. That's the emphasis. He turns 
from the present to the future to underscore this perseverance, 
this endurance, this not a flash in the pan mentality. Because 
we're prone to hear a petition. We're prone to hear an exhortation. Say, yeah, I need to really do 
that. And by Thursday, we trail off. Paul says, I want this to 
be the case that you may be sincere and without offense till the 
day of Christ. And then that brings us finally 
to the purpose there in verse 11. He says, being filled with 
the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ to 
the glory and praise of God. What are the fruits of righteousness? 
Well, in the book of Galatians, we see them as called the fruits 
of the spirit. The good works, the good works 
that people do subsequent to saving faith in our Lord Jesus 
Christ. Gill summarizes the requisites 
of a good work is that it should be done according to the righteous 
law and will of God, that it springs from a principle of grace 
and holiness, that it be performed in the name, grace, and strength 
of Christ and with a view to the honor and glory of God. That's 
a good work. That's the fruits of righteousness. 
That's what the fruits of the Spirit look like. I think that's 
a great sort of encapsulation of that concept. But even this, 
notice that these fruits of righteousness are by Jesus Christ. So in other words, these fruits 
of righteousness are not the cause of our acceptance with 
God. They're the effect. They're not 
the cause of our justification. They are rather the consequence 
of that justification. Again, Paul everywhere teaches 
justification by faith alone. In the life of sanctification, 
the Spirit working in us, there will be these fruits. There will 
be these good works, fruits of the Spirit, fruits of righteousness. 
But they're by the agency of Jesus Christ even then. We don't 
get the glory for the good that we do. Remember Philippians 2.13, 
for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for his 
good pleasure. So the fruits of righteousness 
follow justification by faith alone. The fruits of righteousness 
are by Jesus Christ. Listen to John Gill again. He 
says that Jesus is the green fir tree, from whom all fruit, 
as of grace, so of good works, is found. For all good works, 
which are truly and properly so, spring from union to Christ 
and are owing to his grace. Souls are married to Christ that 
they may bring forth fruit unto God. They are created in him 
unto good works and are engrafted in him the true vine. and through 
abiding in Him and deriving life, grace, and strength from Him 
bear fruit, which otherwise they could not do. Without Christ, 
no good work can be performed. It is through Him, strengthening 
His people, they do all they do, for they are insufficient 
to do anything of themselves. But His grace is sufficient for 
them, and His strength is made perfect in their weakness. He 
is the exemplar and the pattern. according to which they do their 
good works, and they are motives drawn and taken from him, from 
his love, from the doctrines of grace relating to him, which 
are the most powerful and do most strongly work upon the saints 
to perform these things, and which under his grace and the 
influence of it are directed unto the glory and praise of 
God. Notice the end of verse 11, which 
are by Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God. So the good 
works are not a result of us coming to ourselves and resolving 
that I'm only ever gonna do good works. No, it's the consequence 
of having been justified freely by His grace, having been forgiven 
of our sins, having received the imputed righteousness of 
Jesus Christ. The consequence to that is the 
life of sanctification and the bearing of good fruit, the bearing 
of the fruits of the Spirit, bearing good works. It is still 
and always will be by the agency of our Lord Jesus, and it is 
ultimately to the glory and praise of God. It's not to the glory 
and praise of us. It's not to the back-patting 
idea that is in us, but it is rather done such that God Most 
High is glorified. Well, in conclusion, I think 
that intercessory prayer is a good thing. I don't know of a specific 
command. Well, I do actually look back 
up in Ephesians 6. Just wanna make sure if we're 
gonna dole out some strong exhortations here, we better have some biblical 
warrant. Notice in Ephesians 6, 18, praying always with all 
prayer and supplication in the spirit, being watchful to this 
end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints 
and for me. So he says, pray for all the 
saints and pray for me, Paul. "'that utterance may be given 
to me, "'that I may open my mouth boldly "'to make known the mystery 
of the gospel, "'for which I am an ambassador in chains, "'that 
in it I may speak boldly as I ought to speak.'" In other words, there 
ought to be intercession on the behalf of God's people. Husbands 
should be praying for their wives, wives should be praying for their 
husbands, children for their parents, parents for their children, 
brethren for one another. Paul in 1 Timothy 2 tells us 
to pray for kings and all who are in authority. Intercessory 
prayer is a great means given by God for us to call upon his 
name and to bring the needs of our fellows beforehand. As I 
mentioned, we've got Moses as a wonderful example. We've got 
Daniel. We've got the prophet Isaiah. 
Give him no rest till he establishes and till he makes Jerusalem a 
praise in the earth. Now, obviously, in intercessory 
prayer, there's benefit for others. It's good when we pray for others. 
It's good for them, right? It is. Have you ever been encouraged 
when somebody said, oh, I was praying for you today? That's 
nice. I don't know that anybody's ever 
said, oh, don't do that. That's terrible. Don't ever think 
about me before God and ask good things for me. No, it's just 
not the way it happens. It's got benefit for others, 
but it's got benefit for ourselves. What's kind of one of the biggest 
remaining sins that all of us have? It's attachment to the 
unholy Trinity, me, myself, and I. We're like that horse leech 
that has two daughters, give, give, that Solomon speaks of. 
Praying for others gets the eyes off of self, at least for 12 
seconds. That's gotta be a good thing. 
I thought about myself 12 seconds less today. That's an accomplishment. That's great. There's gonna be 
rewards for that. It is a benefit and it is commanded 
by God in the context there in Ephesians chapter 6. I would 
suggest secondly the necessity of growth and love. We've seen 
that in the Gospel of John. By this all men will know that 
you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. In 
that section before he gets to the world hating the believer 
in John 15, 18, the previous section is Christ's love for 
His people, their love for Christ, and their love for one another. 
This is an absolutely crucial aspect in terms of our growth 
in grace. And then I would suggest thirdly, 
the necessity of growth in knowledge and wisdom. We need the Bible 
and we need theology. We need the discernment so that 
it's not just a bunch of facts rolling around our brains with 
no expression in our lives. It needs to be knowledge and 
all discernment. We need to have the heart of 
Solomon that says, God, I've got the knowledge, just give 
me the wisdom so that I can administrate this particular kingdom in this 
particular situation. There's the necessity of the 
son, the agent by which we actually bear good fruit. There's the 
agency of the Holy Spirit as we're learning throughout the 
Upper Room Discourse. He's the one who teaches us. 
He's the one who guides us. He is, in fact, the Spirit of 
Truth. So if there is a lack or an absence of love in our 
hearts, even though we know a lot of Bible and a lot of theology, 
the first recourse seems to be to cry out to God. Lord, send 
the Spirit. May it not be just a bunch of 
random facts rattling around my brain, but may you give me 
the wisdom to apply that. May you give me the desire to 
apply that. May you give me the grace to 
apply that. And then, of course, the necessity 
of the Father, which are by Jesus Christ to the glory and praise 
of God. We live in light of Westminster's 
Shorter Catechism No. 1. What is the chief end of man? 
Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. What should motivate the saint? 
It is the person and the work of our Lord Jesus Christ, it 
is the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit, and it is 
the praise and glory of God the Father. May that encourage us 
to pursue an increase in love, growth in knowledge, growth in 
all discernment, and those sorts of things that Paul commends 
here in terms of life in this present evil age, that you may 
be sincere and that you may be without offense till the day 
of Christ. Well, let us pray. Our Father 
in heaven, thank you for your word. Thank you for these petitions 
that the apostle prayed, for these Philippians that are recorded 
now by the power of the Holy Spirit, help us, God, to meditate 
upon such things and other places in Scripture and cause us to 
receive the truth and not only to have that knowledge, but may 
it always be mingled with discernment and wisdom so that we may put 
it into practice. We ask that you would go with 
us now, watch over all of us as we enter into a new week. We thank you that Many will be 
able to spend time with family tomorrow, and we have every day, 
should be Thanksgiving Day, to give all praise and glory and 
honor unto you for the many manifold blessings and gifts that you 
have conveyed to us, both spiritual and even temporal. As the psalmist 
said, you load us daily with benefits. And as Paul says, you 
blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places 
in Christ. So we give all praise and glory 
and honor to you, and we pray now in Jesus' name, amen. We'll close with a brief time 
of meditation.