Rejoice | Part 1 | Philippians 1:1-11 | He which hath Begun a Good work in You
We are in Philippians Chapter 1 and we are starting a brand new sermon series entire “Rejoice”. It’s really a verse by verse study through the Book of Philippians. We’re going to spend the next several months really through the summer looking at this small Book of Philippians. The Book of Philippians is a letter that the Apostle Paul wrote to the Church at Philippi. It’s only four chapters but there’s so much in this book that we’re going to take our time and go through it and we’re going to look at every truth that we can possibly learn from this book. And I’m glad you’re here this morning. It’s always good to be in Church at the beginning of a new series or a new Bible study. I want to encourage you to be faithful to Church over the summer. I realize that you need to take vacations and things like that and I appreciate that. But if you are able to I’d encourage you to stick with us as we study the Book of Philippians.
Philippians 1:1 “Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons: 2 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, 4 Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy,”. Now I want you to notice in verse 4 that it says “4 Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy,”. Now this is the first time the word joy is mentioned in the Book of Philippians. But it’s not the last time. This really is a book of joy. I would say this is a book of Jesus and it’s actually about the joy that can be found in Jesus. And we’re going to notice that. I want you to make note of the fact as we begin our study in Philippians that the word joy and rejoice. The series is called Rejoice because this is a word that is emphasized throughout this book.
Just by way of introduction, look at verse 25. “25 And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith;”. The word joy appears in this book six times. It’s only four chapters long but in those four chapters the Apostle Paul uses the word joy six different times. However, there’s another word that is similar that is used throughout this book as well. Look down at verse number 18. Philippians 1:18 “18 What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.”. Not only is the word joy found six times in these four chapters but the word rejoice appears ten times in the Book of Philippians. The Book of Philippians is four chapters long and yet six different times the Apostle Paul brings up this idea of joy and ten times he brings up this idea of rejoice. Here in Philippians 1:18 he says “…and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.”.
Look at Philippians 3:1 “Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord…”. Look at Philippians 4:4 “4 Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.”. This book is really a book of joy. It’s a book of learning to find joy in the Lord Jesus Christ. The word joy is defined as the emotion of great delight or happiness. Joy is the feeling of joy, satisfaction, happiness, unity. These are all things that the Apostle Paul brings up in this book. And then rejoice means to show joy, to show happiness, to show delight. In this book, as we begin this study, I want you to understand the context. It’s about learning to have joy in your life.
I’m not sure if you pay attention to the new but if you pay attention then you realize that this is a very unhappy world. It’s a very unjoyful world. It’s a world with a lot of chaos and a lot of hurt. But the Bible says that we can find joy in the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a book of joy. It’s a book of Jesus. It’s a Book of the joy that can be found in Jesus. Now you might be here thinking “Well Pastor, you don’t know what is going on in my life. If you only knew then you would understand.”. But what’s interesting is that Paul wrote this book while in prison. Notice what it says in Philippians 1:7 “7 Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds,”. The words bonds is referring to being in prison. And what we learn is that joy in Jesus can be realized even in the worst of circumstances. Joy in Christ is not based off our circumstances. It is not based off what we’re going through. It is based upon the one that we find our joy from. And this book really is a book to teach us how to rejoice.
We’re going to spend the next several months dissecting this amazing book of the Bible. But for today what I’d like for us to do is to take a close look at the first 11 verses of this chapter. I’d like you to notice that we have 3 sets of three. There are three threes that the Apostle Paul mentions in the first 11 verses. And I want to point this out to you and we’ll move through them as quickly as we can. The first one are the 3 pairs of partners. Philippians 1:1 “Paul and Timotheus,”. That’s our first pair of partners. We have Paul who is the mentor and Timotheus who is the person being mentored.
2nd Timothy 2:2 “2 And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.”. The Bible teaches that we all need people that are investing into us spiritually and we also eventually need to be investing into others spiritually. We have this relationship we see here with Paul and Timothy. Not only Paul and Timothy but Paul and Titus and Paul and Philemon and Paul and all sorts of different men. The Bible tells us in the book of Titus that the aged women should teach the younger women how to love their husbands and love their children and be keepers at home. The Bible teaches this idea that we are to be investing in others and having others invest into us. I would put it this way and I’ve heard it put this way. Every Paul needs a Timothy and every Timothy needs a Paul.
The question I have for you this morning is who is your Paul? Is there anyone in your life that you have looked to that is maybe a little older physically or spiritually and just said that you want to learn from them. If you say that you don’t have anybody, then I ask if you’re infallible? Do you think you have it all figured out? We weren’t created to live on an island. Everybody should look toward others as example for how to be good spouses, how to be good parents, etc…Every man in this room, every lady in this room, needs somebody who’s a little further ahead of them that they can look to for some advice. My wife and I specifically look for people who have been in the ministry maybe longer than us or have raised godly children and they are serving the Lord. We’ve looked toward them and liked the results and decided we want that in life. Instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, find a Paul.
That’s why God gave you a local new testament Church. God gave you a Church that you could be around where people are heading in the same direction that you are going. They are raising their children, having marriages and having careers and having success that you’d like to have. If you stick around here long enough, someone will come up beside you and put their arm around you and say “Let’s walk through life together.”. Everybody needs a Paul. But let me just say this, once you’ve been here for a while, once you’ve matured a little bit, once we’ve helped you with your marriage and helped you with your children and helped you with your maturity and helped you with your career, don’t forget to find a Timothy. Every Paul needs a Timothy and every Timothy needs a Paul.
2 Timothy 2:2 “2 And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.”. But I want you to notice secondly something else. Not only do we see the pair of Paul and Timothy but we see another pair here in verse one. Philippians 1:1 “Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:”. Not only do we see the Paul and Timothy but we see the bishop or the overseer and we see the deacons or the servants. Notice that there is a spiritual leadership authority structure within the Church and the Apostle Paul acknowledges the bishops and the deacons. This is a good place to start when it comes to finding somebody to help you and coach you and counsel you in life.
Notice verse 2. “2 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.”. We have God the Father and we have the Lord Jesus Christ. We have God the Father and we have God the Son. It’s interesting because just a little while ago I told you that some of you need to find someone to follow. Well God gave you a Church. God gave you a Pastor. God gave you a Bishop. God has given you deacons. God’s given you teachers. God’s given you people that are similar to Paul that you can follow. God’s given you people. You need to find somebody and maybe submit yourself under that authority. Just humbly admit that you are a Timothy and that you are looking for a Paul. Some of you feel like you don’t need that. It’s interesting to me because the Lord Jesus Christ who was God in the flesh lovingly submitted unto the authority of God the Father. All I’m telling you is that if it’s good enough for Jesus then it’s good enough for you and me.
So we see these three pairs of partners; Paul and Timothy, bishops and deacons, and God the Father and The Lord Jesus Christ. Then I’d like you to notice secondly that not only do we have 3 pairs of partners but the Apostle Paul brings up 3 pivotal days. Notice in verse 3 “3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, 4 Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, 5 For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;”. The Apostle Paul begins by speaking to this Church at Philippi. And his mind goes back to that first day. And I won’t take the time to take you there this morning but Acts 16 is when Paul first shows up in Philippi and starts this Church. But Paul brings up in this letter 3 pivotal days. 3 very important days in the life of the Church of Philippi and in the life of every believer. He says for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now.
What is the first day that he is referring to? It’s referring to the first day of salvation or the day that you get saved. 1st John 5:13 “13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”. In the scriptures or the Word of God, it is written about how to have eternal life. Isn’t it good that you can know that you’re saved? It’s a wonderful thing that we can know that we are saved. One of the reasons God gave us the Bible is that we can know we are on our way to heaven. It’s not something that we have to hope for or wonder about. The Bible says that you can know for sure that you are on your way to heaven. The Bible says that you can have that assurance that you are saved. That first day is the day of salvation. Now let me say this. You may not remember the date that you got saved. You may not remember the day that you got saved. However, you should remember getting saved. You should remember a time in which you believed on Christ and called upon him for salvation.
For some of you, you may not remember the day you got saved or the date but you should remember that moment. I remember as a little boy going to my dad and telling him I didn’t want to go to hell. He took a Bible and showed me that Jesus loved me and he died on the cross for my sins and that even as a little boy my sins had condemned me to hell but Jesus could pay my sins and give me eternal life. I remember bowing my head and asking Jesus to save me. Paul is bringing up the most important day in your life which is the day of salvation. Some of you are blessed to know the exact date and praise the Lord that. It’s ok if you don’t remember the exact date as long as you remember that moment you got saved.
If you say “Pastor, I don’t really know what you’re talking about. I’m not sure if I died today if I would go to heaven.”. Now let me tell you that if I were to die today then I know for sure that I would go to heaven. I’m not saying that to be arrogant and it has nothing to do with me being the Pastor or how I live my life or anything like that. It’s because I didn’t have to do anything for that salvation. One day Jesus washed my sins away because I called upon Christ in faith for salvation. Let me tell you that if you don’t remember getting saved then today you can be saved. 2nd Corinthians 6:2 “2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)”.
You say, “Maybe I will just wait on getting saved one day.”. One of the worst things that could happen to somebody is to come to a Church like this where there are maybe a hundred people sitting in this room that could take the Bible and show you how you can know for sure you’re on your way to heaven and for you to walk out this door lost and on your way to hell. One of the worst things that could happen is for you to come to Church like this and have your wife be saved and have your children be saved and you just choose not to get saved and choose not to believe and choose not to call upon Christ for salvation and one day be eternally sent to hell when you could have been saved.
Paul said that he remembered the first day. He said I remember that day when that business lady Lydia got saved and I remember that demon-possessed girl in Philippi that got saved. Then everyone got really upset because we cast the demon out of her. He said I remember being in prison, being in jail with that very famous Philippian jailer and the earthquake shook and the doors opened and he went to kill himself because he thought that we had all already run away. We told him do thyself no harm and he asked how to be saved and that day he received salvation. He begins this letter to this beloved Church and he says I remember the day you got saved. I remember the first day you came to Christ. And here’s what I’m telling you, if you’re here this morning and you’re not saved, don’t leave here today without getting saved. You say “I don’t know how to do it.”. We’ll have somebody at our Church show you how to get saved. Don’t leave here unsure that you’re saved. This is the most important day for the Church of Philippi. The most important Church day for the member of Verity Baptist Church or for anybody. Being born again is more important than the day that you were born.
Paul brings up these 3 pivotal days. He says the first day what was it the day of salvation want you to notice he brings up another day go back to keep your place in first John go back to Philippians chapter 1. He says this in verse 6 “6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:”. Here is the 2nd day that he mentioned. The first day is the day of salvation and then he says the day of Christ. What is the day of Christ? This is a reference to the rapture. This is the day that Jesus Christ resurrects all believers and raptures those that remain in our life and we are caught up in the heavens to be with him for all of eternity.
2nd Thessalonians 2:1 “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,”. This is when Jesus returns and we are gathered together with him. This is a reference to the rapture. Now there is a false doctrine out there called the pre-tribulation rapture that says that we’re all gathered secretly at some other point and Jesus returns at some other point. But that’s not what the Bible teaches. The Bible says “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, 2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.”. See, what Paul said was that he was confident that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.
He brings up these 3 pivotal days. The first day is the day of salvation. The last day is referring to the day of resurrection or the rapture. Why is that the last day? It’s not the last day that you’ll exist but it’s the last day in which God finishes the work that he begun in you. Notice again there in Philippians Chapter 1. Philippians 1:6 “6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:”. See, the day of the rapture is when God finalizes his purchase of your salvation. If you’re saved this morning, your spirit has been quickened, your soul has been redeemed but you still live in this corruptible flesh. Your flesh has not yet been regenerated. Your flesh has not yet been renewed. But the Bible says that there’s coming a day, the day of Christ, when this corruptible will put on incorruption. This mortal will put on immortality. And at that point, God will have perfected us. We will be completely regenerated; body, soul, and spirit.
We’re talking about your spirit being quickened and this new man that’s created in you at the day of salvation. But Paul says that not only was there the first day but then he says there’s the last day or the day of Jesus Christ. This is the day when he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. This is the day that we meet and stand before Christ. That should motivate us. Brother Oliver brought this up recently in his Wednesday sermon. He said we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. That day should be a motivation for us. We should all live our lives in anticipation of the judgment seat of Christ, that we will one day stand before the Lord Jesus Christ and we will be judged for the things that were done in our bodies whether good or bad.
1st John 3:1 “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God:…”. That’s the day of salvation. “therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. 2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear,…”. That’s the last day. “we shall be like him;…”. That’s the perfecting of our bodies. “for we shall see him as he is.”. Then in verse 3 “3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.”. You say why does somebody who has the hope of seeing Jesus Christ one day purify themselves? Here’s why. Because we ought to be living our lives in anticipation for the day that we stand at the judgment seat of Christ where we are judged by the Lord Jesus Christ. The Book of revelation calls him the amen. Jesus is the amen. The word amen is a word that it means the affirmative. Sometimes you hear men at our church say amen and they are letting you know that they affirm or agree with what was preached. I appreciate that when men do that.
Paul brings up these three pivotal days. He says these three very important days. He says the first day is the day of your salvation. Are you saved this morning? Then he brings up the last day. This is the day in which God fulfills the work. He completes the work that he has begun in you. Let me show you the 3rd day. Notice Philippians 1:5. “For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;”. Notice those words “until now. That’s today. See, you have the first day which is the day of your salvation. Then you have the last day which is verse 6. But between those days is the current day. The first day is the day that God began to work on you. The last day is the day that God finishes his work in you. Today is the day that God is working on you.
We have the first day; the day of salvation. We have the last day; the day of the rapture. We have the current day; the day that God is working on you. Salvation is a gift. Salvation is not something you earn. You don’t work for it. That’s why some people don’t understand how someone can be sure of heaven because they think it’s based off of the works you do. The truth is that you could never know if you are basing it off works. But salvation is not of works. Salvation is a gift. Jesus paid for it on the cross. He offers it to all of us freely. All you have to do is receive it. Accept it, believe it, call upon him to be saved. Salvation is not of works.
Ephesians 2:8-9 “8 For by grace are ye saved through faith;”. It doesn’t say you’re saved by your baptism. It doesn’t save you’re saved through your Church attendance. It doesn’t say you’re saved because you live a good life. It doesn’t say you’re saved because you quit smoking or quit drinking or quit whatever you quit. He says “8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.”. It’s not what you do and that is why none of us can boast about our salvation.”. Now if somebody says “How do you know you’re saved?”. If your response is “Because I used to live a bad life and don’t know. Because I repented of my sins.”. What is that? Boasting. Bragging. The Bible says it is not of works lest any man should boast.
But I want you to notice that though salvation is not of works meaning you don’t have to work to be saved, the day you got saved God did begin a work in you. Notice Ephesians 2:10 “10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”. See, we have the first day which is the day of salvation or the day that God began his work in you. And we have the last day which is the day of the rapture or the day that he will complete his work in you. But then we have the current day which is today. Now today is the day that God is working in your life. Today is the day that God is working on you to make you more like his Son.
Maybe you’re here this morning and you think “Pastor, if you knew my circumstances and how messed up everything is then you would understand why I don’t have joy.”. Look, this book is for you. This series is for you. Joy is not found in your circumstances. Joy is found in the Lord Jesus Christ. But let me tell you something. God wants to work in you. You don’t just show up to Church one time and everything is fixed. God does a continuous work, day by day, bit by bit. Romans 8:29 says “29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.”. You say what’s the work that God began to do in me? He began to take you and to conform you to the image of his Son. You’re like a piece of stone and God is the stone carver and he has a hammer and a chisel and he’s taking your image and he’s starting to chisel away at it and remove the imperfections and remove all of the excess and remove all of the sin and remove all of the world.
You say what’s he trying to get me to be like? He’s predestinated you to be conformed to the image of his Son. Look, the first day was the day of salvation. The first day was the day that God gave you everlasting life and the last day is the day of the rapture or the day that God gives you a resurrected eternal body. It is the day that the redemptive process is complete and you are fulfilled in Christ for all of eternity. But let me tell you something. Jesus did not just come to give you everlasting life and eternal life. Yes he came to give you eternal life but he also wants to give you an abundant life. He doesn’t just want to give you life. He wants to make you better at life. So how can my life get better? How can my marriage get better? When you become more like Christ. Your parenting will get better when you become more like Christ. You’ll be better at work and you’ll be better at your job. You’ll be better with your emotions and you’ll be better with your depression. You’ll be better with whatever habits you’re dealing with and addictions you’re dealing with when you become more like Christ. See, God is at work in you to make you like Christ. He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. God’s working on you. Are you allowing him? God’s working on you. Are you listening? It’s not just a snap of the finger but bit by bit and day by day and habit by habit.
The Apostle Paul brings up these 3 sets of threes. We first saw the 3 pairs of partners. Paul the mentor and Timothy the mentee. The bishops or overseers and deacons. God the Father and God the Son. Then he brings up these 3 pivotal days. The first day is the day of your salvation. I hope you’re saved this morning. And if you’re not then I hope you’ll allow today to be that first day, that you’ll allow us to show you from the Bible how you can know for sure you’re on your way to heaven. “Because these things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God that ye may know that ye have eternal life.”. Then there’s the last day or the day in which God will complete the work that he has begun in you. But then there’s today. Now the work that God’s doing in you. The Bible says that we are co-laborers together with God. God wants to work with you and to work on you.
Not only do we have 3 pairs of partners and 3 pivotal days but let me show you a 3rd thing. Paul says “3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, 4 Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy,”. By the way, in the Christian life, this is where it should all begin with prayer. This is how the Church of Philippi started. He went out to where prayer was needed. He said “4 Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, 5 For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now; 6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:”.
Notice verse 7. “7 Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all,…”. Notice what Paul says to the Church at Philippi. “…because I have you in my heart;…”. The Book of Philippians is a letter that Paul wrote. It’s about joy and it’s about Jesus and it’s about the joy that we can find in Jesus. But the Book of Philippians is really a love letter. Not a love letter like the silly things you wrote your girlfriend or your wife or whatever. This is a love letter among friends. As you read through the Book of Philippians, you begin to see that Paul really loves these people. I mean he says “4 Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy,”.
We just recently had a team leaders ministry meeting here at our Church. We’ve got team leaders and men and women that have chosen to help us here in the ministry and the care of our Church family. One of the things that I try to get across to them is that we have to love our people. “4 Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy,”. Notice how Paul loved people. I believe one of the reasons that Paul was such an impactful person is because he loved people. “7 Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace. 8 For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ.”.
He says this in verse 3 “3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, 4 Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy,”. Then in verse 5 & 6, he talks about the fact that God’s doing a work in them and that God is doing this work from the first day to the last day. Then he talks about the fact that he loves them. He says “that I have you in my heart and how I greatly long after you all”. But then in verse 9 he goes back to this idea of prayer and he says “9 And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment;”.
We’re about to see Paul’s 3 prayer requests for these believers in Philippines. Just like we have a prayer sheet and communication cards where we write prayer requests, here we have the Apostle Paul’s prayer requests. He said he’s telling the Church of Philippi “3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, 4 Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy,”. And then in verse 9 he says “And this I pray…”. He’s about to give us his three prayer requests for the Church at Philippi. And by the way, these three prayer requests coincide with the work that God is wanting to do in you and in me and in every believer. You say what are they? This really should be the prayer that we have for every believer. This should be the prayer you have for your children. This should be the prayer you have for your spiritual children. You say what is it? The Apostle Paul is a great man of God. He is perhaps the greatest Christian who ever lived or for sure the greatest missionary, soulwinning, Church planter that ever lived. The man that penned most of the New Testament. He is about to tell us how he prays for people.
He says “how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ.”. He said that he has them in his heart. He says let me tell you how I pray for you. Number 1, he says “that your love may abound yet more and more…”. The Bible emphasizes 2 loves in our lives or 2 directions for the live in our lives. He says “knowledge and judgment”.
Matthew 22:36 “36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?”. What is the big one Jesus? If there is 1 commandment to fulfill then what is it? “37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.”. He says this is the first and great commandment. The Bible says we need to love God which is a vertical love. “38 This is the first and great commandment.”. Notice verse 39. “39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”. This is a horizontal love. He said that he wants us to love vertically but also horizontally. He said I want you to love God with all of your heart and soul and might. He also says that he wants us to love our neighbors as ourselves. “40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”. You will fill all of the commandments found in the Bible if you have this vertical and horizontal love.
By the way, you cannot love vertically and you cannot love God if you are not loving your neighbor horizontally. I mean read the Book of first John. The Bible says don’t say that you love God while you hate your brother. You cannot love vertically if you’re aren’t loving horizontally. You can’t love God if you’re not loving your neighbor. And by the way, let me say this, you cannot properly love horizontally until you are properly loving vertically. You can’t love God while you’re not loving your neighbor and you can’t properly love your neighbor while you’re not loving God. See, both of these connect. They coincide with each other. This is a problem some people have in their marriages. People show up to Church trying to fix their horizontal problems without fixing their vertical problems to God. What people don’t realize is that the horizontal and vertical love coincide with one another.
How can I be the best parent for my kid? Love God with all your heart. If your goal is just to love your kids as much as possible without loving God then you will fail. You will destroy your children. You’ll make an idol out of your children and you will destroy them. People think when they put their kids first then they will be the best parents or spouse but you can’t love them properly without loving God. First love God. And you cannot love God until you’re loving others properly. So the Apostle Paul says “9 And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more…”. He said that he prayed for them to love God with all their heart and love their neighbor as themselves.
He also says “9 And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge…”. He says that he prays for knowledge to increase. He says that I pray that your love may abound and I pray that your knowledge may increase. 2nd Peter 3:18 “18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ…”. He says you cannot grow and mature without knowledge. Your life cannot get better until you learn to be better at life. You say why is my life a mess? Doing the same things that got you into the mess you’re in are not going to get you out. Nothing will change if nothing changes. You say “Well I’m just going to keep doing something. I’m just going to keep treating my wife the way I’ve been treating her. I’m going to keep treating my husband the way I’ve been treating him. I’m going to keep treating my children the way I’ve been treating them. I’m going to keep treating my in-laws the way I’ve been treating them. I don’t understand why it’s not working.”. Here is why. You need more knowledge. You need to learn something. Paul says “9 And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment;”. The Bible says “grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.”.
You say how do we change and get better? You need to learn. That’s why we tell people to read the Bible. Paul said his hope was that they would grow in grace and knowledge. You might wonder why we have you turn to so many passages and take notes. The reason why is the only way for you to get better is to learn. Romans 12:1 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed”. You say, I want my life, marriage, relationship with my children, my career, my health to be transformed. Okay. Then be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Something has to change in your mind. You say, “That Church is just trying to brainwash me.”. Some of you need your brains washed. You’ve been thinking the wrong way. You need to be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Paul said that he prays for our love to abound more and more and knowledge may increase. You cannot grow or mature or change without knowledge.
By the way, there is a divine order here. There’s a reason why he brought up growing in grace before growing in knowledge. 2nd Peter 3:18 “18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.”. You say why? Here’s why. Because the Bible says that knowledge puffeth up. See knowledge without love gets you into trouble. You know what knowledge without love does? Knowledge without love gets these Independent Fundamental Baptists who are puffed up and make it a point to show off their knowledge to unsaved people or newly saved people. You say “Pastor, don’t you believe those things.”. Yes but I don’t just stand up in front of a bunch of unsaved people or new Christians and just start talking about random things that they don’t understand trying to show off how extreme I am. Your problem is that you have knowledge without grace. You have knowledge without love. You’d rather show off how extreme you are than care about the maturity of somebody who may not understand what you’re talking about.
He says I pray that your love would abound. Then he says in knowledge. Why? Because growing in knowledge without grace is dangerous. Because you get puffed up and arrogant. When you talk about extreme things that people don’t understand and you’re offending them, it does no good. One of the reasons why I have you guys turn to all the passages is because I don’t want to just say all these things that people might consider extreme without proving them. You don’t need to take my word for it. You need to take God’s word for it. He says that your knowledge would increase. Because knowledge puffeth up he says I want your love to abound. He says but grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
I want you to notice thirdly his third prayer request. He says “9 And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment;”. He says I want your love to abound, knowledge to increase and judgment to expand. See, proper judgment would keep you from saying stupid extreme things that may be correct and true in front of people that don’t understand that. You having knowledge and judgment are not the same thing. Having knowledge and having discernment are not the same thing. He says I pray that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment. He says that ye may approve things that are excellent. Look, the only way to prove things that are excellent is to do it with proper judgment or discernment.
Notice, he says “10 That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ.”. Sincere means authentic or real on the inside. He also says without offence. That’s being holy on the outside. Look, you can be holy on the outside and not be real on the inside. It’s called hypocrisy. And you can think that you love God on the inside while living worldly on the outside. That’s being worldly.
Paul says “10 That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ.”. Notice it says “till the day of Christ.”. So the day that God is done working in you. He says I pray that you will increase in love, knowledge and judgment until that day. He says that you would love God and love your neighbor. To increase in knowledge because that’s the only way to be transformed, through the renewing of your mind. But also that you would add judgment and discernment to approve things that are excellent. He’s talking about making better decisions, wise decisions. Your life cannot get better until you get better at life. You have to start making better decisions. You have to start making better choices. You say, “How do I do that?”. When your knowledge increases. You say “What will motivate me to do that?”. When your love abounds.
In Romans 12, the Apostle Paul is pretty much making the same arguments. Romans 12:1 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”. Jesus did not only come to give you eternal life. He also came to give you an abundant life. Jesus did not just come to give you life. He also came to make you better at life. God has a will for your life. He has a good and acceptable and perfect will for you and he began that work on the day you got saved. You will finish that work on the day of Christ. Today he’s at work in you. Like the Apostle Paul said, we should all be praying that we would all abound in love, knowledge and judgment.
Why? Because we could love more, we could know more, we can make better choices, and we could prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. See, you need to keep your knowledge in check and you need the knowledge to have better judgment and you need the judgment to make better choices. And the truth is that nothing changes until something changes. Philippians 1:11 “11 Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.”. When you allow God to work on you, when you allow God to work in you, when you allow God to work with you, here’s what will happen. You’ll be filled with the fruits of righteousness and your life will give glory and praise to God.
Let’s pray.