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.