Please turn in your Bibles to Philippians, the letter to the Philippians. We are still in the beginning section here. Last week we looked at the greeting, and we see there that Paul identifies himself as a slave or as a servant of Christ, and we know that that is who we are as well. Also, not only slaves, but also saints. And we saw the encouragement to greet one another with grace and peace from God. We turn now to Philippians 1, and we'll be reading verses 1 and 2, but our focus is also verses 3 through 11. So we'll be looking at verses 3-11 for our sermon, but we'll start in verse 1 and read the entirety there for some context. Turn your attention now to the reading of God's Word. Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all, making my prayer with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to feel this way about you, because I hold you in my heart. For you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more with knowledge and all discernment. so that you may approve what is excellent and be so pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. Amen. Let's go to God and ask that He bless our time meditating upon these words. Father in Heaven, we thank You for these words. preserved for us, inspired by Your Spirit, breathed out by You. We pray that You would help us to believe that we hold here something precious, that we're dealing with not an ordinary book, but the very Word of God. May Your Spirit work the truths from Your Word into our hearts, that we would be a changed people, that we would abound in love We ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen. As we move from the greeting of Paul in this letter to this section, there are a few things that stand out. It's important to remember that this is a letter that Paul is writing, probably dictating to Timothy his concerns, his thanksgivings, his teaching to the church in Philippi. Gordon Fee, the theologian, the commentator, he notes that Paul follows standard letter-writing formulas and practices of the day, general structures, but he transforms them by the gospel. So there's standard practices in a letter. His greeting is more than just salutations, but there is depth and blessing. And we looked at that last week. He is blessing God's people with his greeting. Today, we see a section on Thanksgiving and then a prayer that he offers, that he writes down and prays for the people there in Philippi. Normally in a letter there would be a more secular of the day, a more secular health wishes that would be found right after the greeting. And Paul takes something like that, a wishing of well-being, but he transforms it into praise, gospel praise. Something similar to what we might find in our own letters of, I trust that this letter finds you well. But Paul doesn't just offer that kind of generic sentimentality. It's transformed into a rich thanksgiving for the body of Christ in Philippi, and it's rooted in the gospel. We see Paul emphasize a unity among God's people, a loving union of believers. And then he prays that their love may abound with knowledge and discernment. We see an expectation presented here, both in the thanksgiving section and in his prayer, that the church would abound in love. That it would abound with love and that that love would be a knowledgeable, and discerning love. Like we talked about this morning, our prayers shape our hearts and our desires, and our prayers reveal our desires. Notice Paul's prayer. What does it communicate that he desires? What does he care about and what is he concerned with? what desires would shape this kind of prayer. And I think if we were to try to put one word to it, we could say love. Love is central in his thanksgiving and his prayer here. And our encouragement tonight, the main point of the sermon, is that we would abound in knowledgeable love. May we abound in knowledgeable love. First, we look to that first section where he gives some thanksgiving and he emphasizes the union there among the body. And we see that we too are to demonstrate a loving union with the church. I want to encourage you tonight to demonstrate a loving union with the church. Paul gives a thankfulness for the church, the members there themselves. He gives a thankfulness to God for what he is doing among the people there. And we see that the source of this love, as he gives a thanksgiving, and you can just sense the love he has for the church in Philippi, the source of that love is Paul's union with Christ. What gives that indication? If you look at verse 8, you're reading along, and it says, For God is my witness, how I yearn for you with all affection. And then there is a word there, and you might think he would say, all affection like Christ Jesus, or similar to Christ. But what he says is, I yearn for you with the affection of Christ Jesus. Now Paul is an apostle. He is a representative of Christ. He is a sent one out by Christ. But all of us can say that we have affection for one another of Christ. That's not just something particular or special to Paul because he was an apostle. This is what we have. It is a blessing of being part of the body of Christ. Our union with Christ is our source of affection or love for one another. that preposition of indicates that. It's not just an affection like Christ's, but it is of Him or from Him. Because we are united to Christ, we are able to love one another with the same love that Christ has for us, the same love that He has for His children, for those that are His. We are able to have that same love. We are united to Christ. We are identified with Christ. His Spirit is in us, enabling us to act. We are able to love with a love that is of Christ, not from ourselves, but from Him. We have that deep relationship with Him, and that gives us a deep relationship with all who are united to Him. As we are identified with Him, are called to live in light of that reality. Sadly, we often resist that. We are able to love with a love of Christ, and yet we often choose to live with a love of self, to live with a love that loves only ourselves and is actually idolatrous and is not loving of those around us, but self-serving. We need to live in light of the reality of who we are in Christ, not live contrary to that identity. Paul here loves the church and Philippi, his brothers and sisters in Christ, and he loves them with the affection of Christ. He feels this way about them because he holds them in his heart. That's the language he uses. There's a deep bond. He holds them in his heart. because he has the same salvation as them. Paul himself roots his love, his affection towards them in the saving work of Christ. It's right of me to feel this way about you, because I hold you in my heart. You are all partakers with me of grace. For all of us who have partaken in grace, there is a resource of love for one another in Christ. And we are to demonstrate that reality. We are to live in light of that reality in the way that we interact with one another, in the way that we think of one another. May we have a love for one another that finds its source in union with Christ. That is how Paul is able to be thankful for the church in Philippi. That is how they bring him joy. That is how He's able to be thankful for their partnership with him in the gospel, that he shares a union with them. He loves them. He's joyful for them. He's thankful for them because of Paul's relationship to Christ. And we have that same opportunity, that same ability, and we are called to live in light of that. We also are united to Christ, and that should be reflected in the way that we interact with everyone else who is united to Christ. As we seek to live in reality of that, to live in light of these things, of who we are in Christ, we need to pursue action that reflects that. And there's practical ways. That's boots-on-the-ground kind of work, to reflect a union with one another in Christ. The simple thing that we can draw from this section is that we ought to be thankful for one another. Are you able to say that you are thankful for those you are united to in Christ? And not just the ones that are easy to love, not just the ones you like, but all of the church. Thankful for all in Christ. Make it a practice to give thanks for one another. as you find it difficult to love others, prayer can shape your heart in that. If you pray thanksgiving for those that you maybe have tension with or conflict with, your heart will soften. You will be enabled to love them with a love of Christ, because as you pray, you are able to see them as those who are Christ. Prayer shapes our hearts be thankful for one another. It is difficult to do the one another callings of the gospel, the way in which we are called to love one another. It's difficult to do that. It may be impossible if you are not thankful for the ones you are called to love. If you do not enjoy them and appreciate them and depend upon them and are vulnerable with them and seek them That is all included in thankfulness, to recognize a true partnership and to be appreciative of who they are in Christ. We must demonstrate a union with one another, a loving union, and we're only able to do that in Christ. And as we think about our union with Christ, we see that an understanding of that has real practical changes in our relationships with others. an understanding, a dependence upon union with Christ, an intentional, no longer viewing yourself as free to seek only your well-being, but viewing yourself as one who is clothed in Christ, bound in Christ, hidden in Christ, as Colossians says. How would one who is hidden in Christ interact with all those that Christ came to die for? That will change your interaction with one another. That union with Christ gives us power now. There is a change in us now. There is a definitive break from being under the dominion of sin. We are being sanctified. But our union with Christ also looks forward and we can see how Paul does this in this chapter. Paul points to the hope of union with Christ in that what Christ has already done, what He has begun to do in you, He will complete. He will complete it. This is the hope of our prayers, and this is to be our encouragement to one another. This is the source of hope that we have for one another. As we seek to love one another, we have something to offer them, and that is the hope that Christ is working. Not that Christ died and saved you and rose again and now you're on your own. But Christ is continuing to work. He has saved you unto something and that salvation is moving towards full realization of that salvation, a glory with Christ. And that is our hope and that impacts the way that we encourage one another, the way that we love one another in our actions. What are those things to come? What is it that He will complete? He will perfect our souls. He will redeem our bodies. We have a promised consummation of joy, where joy is fully experienced. Not just believed in or known, but experienced. We'll have a rest from our labors. We will have life in paradise. No more suffering, no more sorrow, no more conflict among the body of Christ. He will complete it. It is our hope, and we can seek to live in light of that reality. We can believe that He will complete it and that He is working, and that can change the way we live. We're not just sitting around twiddling our thumbs, waiting for Him to return. but we're living as those who are being completed with the ongoing sanctifying work of Christ. If you live with that hope, it'll drive you to action. It'll drive you to love one another, to live as those who have been brought to peace, to live as those who are going to spend eternity with one another, worshiping God, to have a loving, intimate, deep relationship to pursue a Christ-likeness in our own hearts and actions. Paul Tripp uses the example of a homebuyer. He talks about how two potential homebuyers may see a home that's being on the market for sale, and they both will recognize all the problems. Both potential homebuyers will see it's maybe going to need a new roof. The carpet needs to be replaced. Maybe a wall needs to be taken out. They both will see all the same problems. The one that sees those and is overwhelmed by them and knows what needs to be done but has no hope of it actually being done will pass on the home. But the one that sees all that needs to be done and seeks to do it demonstrates the hope of what can be. They both see the same problems, but one sees the potential as not just a hopeless potential, but one where when action is put into work, it can be accomplished. He'll buy the house and he will start doing the work. Do you believe that Christ will complete the work that he has begun? Do you look forward to that hope that we have? Does that drive you to change the way that you live now? It's not really hope if you see all the problems, but you don't believe that it actually is going to be completed. It's real hope when you live like the work's getting done. Eventually, it's going to be completed. Paul offers us hope. Rather than just a nice sentiment of well-being, he presents hope. to the church in Philippi and to us tonight. And as he moves from there, from the thanksgiving and the encouragement to have a loving union, he encourages the church and he prays that the church would abound in love. And not just love, but a love that is knowledgeable and discerning. We live in an age that likes to talk a lot about love. but has difficulty defining it. What is love? There's a recent book that came out written by Kyle Borg, and I haven't read all of it. I've read some of it, and I would commend it to you. It's a very readable book called What is Love? The fact that a book is coming out entitled that shows us that this is a question that we ask. He begins his book, Reverend Borg, begins his book saying there's lots of voices, lots of answers given to us about what is love today, from science or philosophy, from pornography, from art, from movies, TV shows, lots of answers, lots of suggestions. What is love? You can think back to after the Supreme Court decision was made in Obergefell v. Hodge to give homosexuals the right to marriage, the Marriage Equality Act. Obama said, in light of that action, he said, love is love. It's not a very helpful definition. Love is love. doesn't give us much clarification there. What is it? It's love. What he was giving voice to was this idea that love is really whatever you want it to be. Love is a feeling. Love is something that happens to you that no one should be able to say should look a certain way. He's saying love is not about your gender or any societal norms. He's opening the door there to any kind of relativism. If love is just love, if it's just whatever our passions want to define as love, if it's not defined by anything else, then love can be any kind of selfish inclination. The pedophile can claim, well, love is love, isn't it? Or the abuser can claim, love is love. Or the adulterous spouse can say, aren't I entitled to love who I want, when I want? The younger sibling can say, love is love. I have to love you, but that means I'm going to take all your toys. Love needs truth. Love needs knowledge and discernment. Love is not ambiguous or undefined. Even in the church, we have a difficulty understanding what does it mean to be loving? Is it really loving to rebuke that particular sin? Is church discipline really loving? Is disciplining our own children loving? What is love? Is love at odds with justice? Is love at odds with righteousness? Our world, our society, wants love to be God. It wants love to define whatever it wants. It wants love to be the excuse, but that has it backwards. Love is not the God of your life, but God is love. God is love, and if God is love, love cannot be ambiguous, because God is not ambiguous. It's not something that can be manipulated in service to our own selfish wants and desires. Love is defined in God's Word, and if love is God, love is bound by who God is. It's because of this that we can say the law cannot be at odds with love. The law is a reflection of who God is. They are in harmony together. And so we must seek to abound in love, but that's not just a nice sentiment. That's not something you find on a Valentine's card. Love is defined by God and by his word. And so as we seek to abound in love, and as Paul prays that for the church, and we make that our prayer, may we qualify that according to the Bible. May we abound in love that is discerning. that approves what is excellent according to God's Word, that is founded on truth, that flows from the true and only source of love, God Himself. Love is not just infatuation. Love is not self-serving. Love is defined by God. We must pray that our love would abound in that biblical knowledge and discernment. And this relates to a major theme of Philippians, one we will get into, and that's that right thinking produces right action. Our orthodoxy informs our orthopraxy. Our doctrine informs our practice. We too often want to decide what the good life looks like, what does it look like to live, what are our actions, and then we'll build our theology in a way that supports how we want to live. But Paul is going to emphasize over and over that our minds need to be conformed to Christ. And out of a mind that's been conformed to Christ, transformed by Christ, then our actions flow in a way that is pleasing and right and good. glorifying to Him and good for us and those around us. What does this kind of love produce? Paul says it produces a purity and a blamelessness. Do you want to be pure and blameless? Abound in love, but not just any idea of love, love that is rooted in knowledge, grounded in biblical discernment. And why is this Paul's prayer for the church? Why ought we to pursue this? Why is this something we ought to be passionate about, care about? Why is it important that we abound in love? Is this some kind of sanctified self-help tutorial? If God is love and we are to abound in love, defined by Him and His Word, this relates directly to the glory of God. Paul directs us back to the glory of God in verse 11. This isn't just for the sake of the church to have a good relationship with one another. The end is not in your own accomplishments. We can often twist good things and make them for our own glory. that Paul directs us back to God. This rich theology, the union with Christ, biblically defined love, all that theology properly leads to doxology. Theology leads to doxology. It is all to the glory and praise of God. May we demonstrate a loving union with one another. with the body of Christ, and may that love abound with knowledge and discernment, all to the glory of God. Let's pray. Father in Heaven, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You for the light that it is to our path. Father, may we seek after You. May we be teachable and submit ourselves to Your truth. May we recognize the objectivity of your word, the objectivity of who you are, that these things that love in our lives today are not something that blows around in the wind, free to be defined by whoever has the most to gain, but may we seek to live according to your word. May we seek to understand what it means to love, what is love, and may we look to your word for these truths. And we thank you for your demonstration of love for us, for what you have done for us in Christ, that you loved us so much that you sent your Son to live in our behalf and to die on our behalf, that we may know you. And we proclaim that hope, that definition of love, boldly and loudly, that many may hear and believe. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.