Paul's Prayer: Love, Knowledge, and Discernment (Philippians 1)

Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, whatever time of day this message finds you, I hope that you are doing well. For the next several articles, I’d like to explore the Book of Philippians. Please join me if you feel so inclined.

The Apostle Paul wrote his letter to the believers at Philippi while in prison. Although he was locked away, his heart remained with the people; therefore, he wrote this letter to encourage, edify, and comfort the believers to continue in their faith in God through Christ Jesus. Paul introduces himself and greets his audience in the first two verses: “Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi … grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Ironically, Paul was not only in physical bondage, but he calls himself and Timothy ‘bondservants of Jesus Christ.’ Thus, he was also in a type of spiritual bondage to God. Being a follower and leader in the gospel was not optional in Paul’s eyes. He felt tied to it—as if it was an inescapable calling. Yet, it was a bondage that Paul gloried in. It was one that he did not wish to be free from.

I would liken being a bondservant of Jesus Christ to the bonds of holy matrimony. Under covenant marriage, if done in the way God ordains, spouses are bound to one another until death. Yet, if the marriage is full of love, respect, and devotion, neither party will want to leave the union. It is a bond that they love—a bondage that they do not desire to depart from.

Paul knew what he had in Christ. He loved God and cherished his service with honor. Therefore, the term ‘bondservant’ is not meant to be viewed negatively. It is to be viewed as honorable. It is to be celebrated just as we adore and applaud the tying of two souls at a wedding. This bonding is beautiful, and once entered, one should not want to seek escape.

As Paul began his letter, he thanked God for the Philippians. He wrote of his appreciation of their fellowship in the gospel and admitted that he consistently prayed for them. He encouraged them by writing, “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.”

You must know that if you are in Christ, God began a good work in you. He started faith in you. He began a work of holiness and righteousness in you, and if you allow Him, He will complete His work in you. Paul said he was confident of this very thing. So, I am challenging you to do the same. Be confident in knowing that God is not finished working in you. He is faithful, trustworthy, and reliable. If He began the work, He will finish it. Let Him finish.

If you haven’t noticed by now, the review of Philippians 1 will not be completed today, considering I’ve only made it to Verse 6 out of 29 verses. However, for the remainder of this article, I want to zone in on Philippians 1:9-10. Paul wrote, “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,” 

Love is and will always be the center point of our belief as followers of Christ. It was Paul’s prayer that the Philippians would grow more and more in love. This suggests that love can expand—that it can grow greater. I can certainly attest to this being factual.

Here’s a confession.

I remember being pregnant with my son and having concerns. I was worried that I would not have the capacity to love him as I loved my daughter. My love for my daughter ran so deep that I didn’t think my heart could open that way again. But I was, without a shadow of a doubt, wrong. I was, as the people say, as wrong as two left shoes.

I love my son immensely. I love him just as deeply as I love my daughter. My heart grew by leaps and bounds. It expanded so that I may hold the love of my son in my heart without lessening the love for my daughter. I share this with you as an example that love can grow. Love can abound.

Paul’s prayer for the Philippians was that their love may grow and abound. Sometimes, we do not love one another as we ought. But I am living proof that love can abound. So, my prayer for you and myself is that our love can grow. May God expand our hearts to love Him and others as His heart desires. May God be pleased with the expansion of our love, and it may go well with us.

Paul also prayed that their love would grow in knowledge and discernment. So, love is the starting point of our faith, but it is not where it should end. We need knowledge, and we need discernment. Knowledge is when we attain and retain information. It is when we gather and keep facts in our minds.

As followers of Christ, we need to know about God and His Word. Information about God and what the Holy Bible says is available to us all. With a simple engine search, we can discover virtually anything. Whether it’s a recipe for tacos, historical facts on an ancient artifact, or the birthday of your favorite singer, you can research whatever your heart desires.

So, if we desire to discover more about God, nothing prohibits us from doing so. At times people are intimidated by the Bible. They may assume they will not understand the text, so they shy away from reading it. But in Luke 24:27, after Jesus had risen, He explained the scriptures to two men on the road to Emmaus, “And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.”

Jesus is able and willing to help us understand Him. He will guide us in attaining knowledge in Him if we are willing to learn. Be mindful that Hosea 4:6 reveals that God’s people perish for a lack of knowledge. God forbid that die in ignorance. Let’s attain knowledge in Christ.

Yet, knowledge apart from discernment may not prove beneficial. Paul’s prayer was that we abound in love, knowledge, and discernment. It is believed to some that discernment is a mystical hunch or a type of spiritual Spidey sense. But, discernment is simply the ability to judge well.

Discernment is when we take the knowledge that we have and make a wise decision or judgment. In Matthew 16:3, Jesus said that the Pharisees and Sadducees were hypocrites because they could discern the weather but not the signs of the times. They were able to gather knowledge by observing the color and nature of the sky and make a wise judgment of how the weather would shift, but they did not gather knowledge from the Scriptures to discern that the Son of God was before them.

We must gather knowledge and make wise judgments. King Solomon was said to be the wisest man to ever live. God Himself, declared that he was the wisest man and that no one would ever be as wise as he was (1 Kings 3:12). However, later on in Solomon’s life, he lacked discernment. He did not judge well.

When Solomon decided to marry women who led him into idolatry, he was not operating in discernment. Even with massive knowledge and wisdom, he made a terrible decision. A judgment is simply a decision—it is making a choice from the knowledge we have. And obviously, in this phase of his life, Solomon made bad choices. He did not judge well; therefore, he lacked discernment.

So, when Paul prayed that the Philippians would abound in love, knowledge, and discernment, his prayer was to cover all bases. And I believe that God heard his prayers. I believe God honored Paul’s request and granted the Philippians with this request because it was aligned with God’s heart for His people.

And so, I believe in faith, that God will also honor and grant this request for you: May God the Father through His Son, Jesus Christ, grant you with more love, knowledge, and discernment. May He complete His work in you, and may you praise God for your growth in Him. I pray this in faith and ask that you agree with me in this prayer so that we may see the fruit of God’s labor in both of us.

That is all I have for you today. Paul’s prayer was a beautiful request made unto God. May we include this prayer in our daily prayers unto God for ourselves and others. May God bless and keep you. Until next time, take care.

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Sincerely,

Quin Arrington