We’re continuing through the book of Philippians. Paul is able to open up his heart to these people.
God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
Philippians 1:8 NIV
This church had a special place in Paul’s heart. They were one of his greatest supporters. He loved to fellowship and worship with them. The love he had for them was very emotional.
As a result, they were constantly in his prayers.
And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ — to the glory and praise of God.
Philippians 1:9-11 NIV
Paul’s prayer for them was that they would abound in love. Love is relationship. He wanted the depth of their relationship with the Lord and each other to grow in a big way.
Obviously, this was a church that knew how to love. They had a love for one another and for the lost. However, even loving people can experience growth in their area of strength. This should be a lesson to us in how our love is to grow.
The first area is in our knowledge. That’s simply the learning of facts. If you love someone, God included, you want to know as much as you can about them.
That’s a big problem in many relationships. A couple stops relating to each other. Then, after years of no communication, they say, “I don’t know you anymore.”
A relationship grows as we learn more and more about each other. With God, there’s no end to learning about Him. We’ll never know all there is to know of His ways.
The next area of growth is depth of insight. This is a tough one to describe. It means a total perception of who the other person is. This includes both the physical senses and the mind.
That’s why when a couple gets very close to each other, it’s like they can read each other’s mind. They know what they’re thinking and what they’re about to say or do.
With my wife and I, a common phrase that comes up is, “I knew you were going to say that!”
Of course, when it comes to God, this should be our goal. We should want to think His thoughts. We want His goals to be our goals. That’s a healthy relationship with the Lord.
According to the above verses, the goal of this growth is to be able to discern what is best. That literally means that you approve of your transport to a higher level of walk. That’s not just understanding good and evil, but an agreement with God’s direction and plan for your life.
That in itself is great, but what I consider the best part of what the Apostle wanted for them is that they be filled to overflowing with the fruit of righteousness. Where could they obtain this fruit? It only comes through Christ.
The Apostle John saw the tree of Life in his vision of the Revelation. He describes it as being in our future, eternal home.
On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.
Revelation 22:2b NIV
Because of our relationship with God, through Jesus Christ, we have access to the tree of life right now. We don’t have to wait until we die or the Lord returns. It’s available to you today.
Do we really understand the power of that statement? We can have unbroken fellowship with the God of the universe – Creator of Heaven and earth! He will allow His power to work through us. His life will be our strength. What greater gift could we ever ask for?
Question: How do you access this life?
© 2023 Nick Zaccardi
The Spirit and the Word 