Philippians 1:9-11

How glorious the day when we will be totally free! 

Free to love as He loves. Free to have a new heart of compassion, mercy and grace.

Set free from the hatred, chaos and violence that Satan uses to destroy us!!

Philippians 1:9-11

9 And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, 10 that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, 11 being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

As Paul explains later, love (agapē) involves putting others before oneself. The knowledge that Paul has in mind is not just intellectual but experiential, acquired through acts of love. The Greek term used here, aisthēsis, refers to the ability to make decisions for the benefit of others.

When the Philippians’ love abounds, they will be able to determine what is most valuable or beneficial to the community of believers. The natural results of belonging to Christ, whose death and resurrection brings righteousness to all who believe. Faithlife Bible.

The love that Paul sought for the believers is the highest form of Christian love, based on a lasting, unconditional commitment, not on an unstable emotion. Knowledge is the first of two terms on which a directed love is built, knowledge suggests an intimate understanding based on a relationship with the person. Here the focus of this knowledge is God. Discernment, found only here in the NT, the Greek word means moral or ethical understanding based on both the intellect and the senses. The word implies perception or insight into social situations.

That you may approve is used in ancient literature for the testing of gold to determine its purity, and for trying oxen to assess their usefulness for the task at hand. The purpose of increasing in love, controlled by knowledge, is to be able to evaluate people and situations correctly. Sincere, literally meaning “judged by sunlight,” does not mean “honestly trying hard,” but rather pure, unmixed, and free from falsehood. Any spot in a garment or imperfection in merchandise could be seen by holding the object up to the sunlight. Christ died to free the church from every blemish. Paul conveys the sense of not striking out at someone. Here the phrase means not leading others into sin by one’s own behavior. 

The goal ahead for the believer is the day of Christ in which the believer will stand for evaluation before the Savior, who is the faithful and true witness. Fruits of righteousness is best understood either as “fruit that results from being justified” or “fruit characterized by morally correct conduct.” Righteousness describes the source or the nature of the fruit, the behavior. NKJ Bible.

Domestic terrorism incidents have soared to new highs in the United States, driven chiefly by white-supremacist, anti-Muslim and anti-government extremists on the far right, according to a Washington Post analysis of data compiled by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The surge reflects a growing threat from homegrown terrorism not seen in a quarter-century, with right-wing extremist attacks and plots greatly eclipsing those from the far left and causing more deaths, the analysis shows. It peaked in 2020. How very sad.