The epistles of the apostle Paul are a guide book showing what is expected or not of the person that has been born-again. Too many have a habit of not studying his writings that often, therefore they try to wing it as a follower of Jesus Christ. They improvise their walk with Christ, and ad-lib their Christian walk so as not to look like they do not have faith in the Lord. Below is a very short teaching that I have written from Paul’s communication with the Philippian church in his day. He was making every attempt to instruct them, and the believer’s that would come after them, in how to live until the day when Christ would come for the church.
“And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and all discernment; so that ye may approve the things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and void of offence unto the day of Christ; being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are through Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God” (Philippians 1:9-11, ASV).
Paul confessed to the Philippian church that they were dear to his heart (1:7a, 8). He prayed that their love would increase (9a). He used the Greek term agape, that the English have translated as, love.[1] Agape signifies the type of love that God is, and the same type of love that he has for his new creation, and the same type of love that the body of Christ should persist in (1 Jn. 4:16). Agape produces a bond of affection, it yields a heart of compassion, it begets mercy, and grace. He prays their love would increase so that they may be able to abound in knowledge and discernment. Knowledge so that they would know how to love, and discernment so they may understand agape’s role in the kingdom of God (1:9b).
Knowing how to love and understanding agape’s role within the body of Christ should push the believer to be sincere, to be genuine and pure in heart (authentically righteousness or holy), and to be devoid of sin (offense), meaning not being a stumbling block or being the reason others are led into sin (1:10b). And this is how the believer is to live right up until the day of Christ (1:10c). The day of Christ is of course, referring to the day when Christ comes to rapture the body of believer’s out of this world (1 Thess. 4:16-17).
The believer is to walk this way enduring in the faith, being grounded, standing strong until the day of the rapture (Col. 1:22-23). Being “sincere and void of offense” is what it means to be “filled with the fruits of righteousness;” this glorifies the Holy Father (1:11). Being filled with the fruits of righteousness should be the goal of the believer so that they may obtain the prize, which is eternal life (Phil. 3:1-14).
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[1] Other Hebrew and Greek terms and definitions for the
English word love, see the Blue Letter Bible Online Lexicon:
https://www.blueletterbible.org/search/search.cfm?Criteria=love%2A+G26&t=KJV#s=s_lexiconc
(Accessed 12/15/2022)
