Wednesday, November 17, 2004

Philippians 1:9

Textus Receptus:
και τουτο προσευχομαι ινα η αγαπη υμων ετι μαλλον και μαλλον περισσευη εν επιγνωσει και παση αισθησει

King James:
And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment;

Comments:
this I pray, that: Paul's prayer is grateful and meditative, indicated by the attitude of verses 3-7. But it is also specific and purposive, indicated by the clause which expresses not the content, but the purpose of his prayer. He does not just say the words, "may their love increase." Rather, his prayers, which are probably as specific as the content of this epistle, have the purpose of increasing their love in knowledge and discernment.

love may abound yet more and more: Despite the extremely positive description Paul gives the Philippian church, he knows there is room for improvement and growth, as there always is with believers. There is never room for complacency among Christians. Whether the object is described in terms of holiness (as in 2 Corinthians 7:1) or Christlikeness (as in 1 John 3:2-3) there is no point in this life when that object is fully realized, so no point in this life when believers may appropriately cease hungering and thirsting for more (as in Matthew 5:6).

love may abound...in knowledge and in all judgment: Real love needs truth, consistent with passages like 2 John 1-4. So growing love matures both in awareness of that truth and in the ability to discern between truth and error, as this passage implies.

Paraphrase:
Also, I pray for a particular purpose--that your sacrificial love grow increasingly, even overflow, as you gain knowledge and the skill to discern truth and righteousness from error and sin.

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