that ye may judge of and approve the things that are more excellent, in order that ye may be pure and without offence for Christ's day,
Paul's prayer in Philippians reaches its aim here. Love that grows in knowledge produces a trained eye — one that can sort what is merely good from what is best. The verse then ties that daily skill to a fixed point: the day of Christ.
Condemning what is wrong is the easy part. Seeing what is excellent takes something more:
With this God-given intelligence we will be able to approve things that are excellent. It is fairly easy to condemn what is wrong. Even someone who does not know God can do that to a large extent. But to see and approve what is morally excellent takes spiritual discernment. The more we are attached in love to Christ, the greater our spiritual intelligence will be. It will help us do the right thing, in the right way, at the right moment, in every situation. Approving what is excellent, and acting with a pure motive, we are kept without offence until the day of Jesus Christ.
This phrase can be translated two ways. Both describe a grace that is rarer than we assume:
"Approve what is excellent" can just as well be translated "distinguish the things that differ." Other Scriptures translate these same words both ways. The meaning is really the same. Such people have learned to take the precious out from the worthless (Jer. 15:19). For a Christian, telling apart things that differ is the same as approving what is excellent. It is strange and sad that this grace is so rare.
Avoiding sin is only the floor here. The prayer asks for something finer:
He prays that they might have all kinds of knowledge and spiritual judgment, so that they would do just what fits to be done. They would know how one thing differs from another. They would be experts in the Christian path — not only not falling into sin, but knowing just the right thing to do in the circumstances. The standard is satisfying the heart of Christ, not "Where is the harm?" The apostle wants them to discern things now as they will be seen when brought into the light in that day of Christ.
Discernment shapes character. Where the ESV says "pure," older translations read "sincere." The word behind it is rich:
The Greek word properly means what is "distinct" and "unmixed." … Some think it comes from a word meaning "that which is cleansed by much rolling and shaking to and fro in the sieve." Others suggest a more beautiful origin, if only we could be sure it is right: "that which is held up to the sunlight and in that proved, and approved." … This grace shuts out all double-mindedness, the divided heart, the eye that looks two ways, all hypocrisies.
The next word, "blameless," reads "without offence" in older translations. It points to stumbling, and works in two directions:
The instruction here may mean either that we do not stumble ourselves, or that we do not cause others to stumble. I like to think it has both meanings. If we walk without stumbling ourselves, then we will not cause others to stumble. In Acts 24:16 the same word describes a conscience free from offence — a conscience that looks back on the path and sees no stumbles. That should be our aim.
Older translations read "till the day of Christ." That day tests today's choices:
The test will be "the day of Christ." It would keep a person from trying things that look good on the surface but may not be good underneath. That day will show everything up in the light.
Commentators differ on what that day covers. One calls it "the day when He comes to judge; it is always so when it refers to our responsibility" (J. N. Darby). Another calls it "the day for the saints when they meet Him in the air and then appear before His judgment seat" (Arno Clemens Gaebelein).
Notice how much Paul expects — and where the strength for it lies.
The apostle prays for these believers as if he thought it possible. Growing in love and intelligence, they might walk the path of faith till the day of Christ without a single false step… No progress in the things of God will ever keep a person. Nothing keeps us but real nearness to Him and dependence on Him… And remember, this is the only approved path for all believers. It does not belong by right to some advanced souls. It is what every Christian has to desire.
- Love first. Discernment is not cleverness. It grows where the heart is attached to Christ.
- Sift, then choose. "Approve what is excellent" also reads "distinguish things that differ" — taking the precious out from the worthless.
- Christ's pleasure, not permission. The question is never "where is the harm?" but what fits the moment and satisfies His heart.
- Character follows. Two things come out of that sifting. A life that is unmixed, held up to the light. And a walk that trips no one — not you, not anyone watching.
- Measured by that day. The day of Christ brings everything into the light. A walk with no false step is not for a select few. It is every believer's aim, kept only by nearness to Him.
being complete as regards the fruit of righteousness, which [is] by Jesus Christ, to God's glory and praise.
Paul's prayer for the Philippians ends here. It moves from growing love and testing discernment to something you can see: a life full of fruit. The verse raises three questions — what this fruit is, where it comes from, and who ends up with the credit.
One writer lists the requests in this prayer. The fruit is the last of them.
In these verses the Apostle tells the saints what he was asking God for. There were four main requests: that their love might overflow more and more; that they might have the grace of discernment, able to test the things that differ; that they might be sincere and without offence; that they might be filled with the fruits of righteousness.
Paul writes "fruit," not "fruits." One writer explains why that matters.
"Being filled with the fruit of righteousness" is literally "having been filled." This seems to look forward to Christ's day. Then the Apostle will rejoice to see these beloved saints like a tree well filled with fruit, with not an empty branch among them. And notice it is fruit, not fruits. This fruit is like a bunch of grapes: "the results of grace are many, yet in substance they are one, and each is needed to make the rest full."
So does this fruit grow out of keeping rules? One writer answers that plainly.
More than this, notice that he prays for them to be filled with the fruit of righteousness. He does not ask only for this or that righteous act. He asks for the blessed product of righteousness by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God (v. 11). There is no thought of the law here, and no room for it. The law is shut out as the proper standard for the Christian. There is Another, who is both our new object and our rule: Christ Himself, the image of God, the life and power of fruit bearing for the believer. What a rule for our practical, everyday walk!
So can a person simply try harder to do right? One writer says that road never reaches the fruit.
It is important to notice what produces "the fruits of righteousness by Jesus Christ." Merely trying to do right never produces them. Only the pure love of God, known and answered in the soul, can do that, and that love is enough for a real fulness of these fruits. Nothing can be truly right unless it is held in close relationship with God.
Fruit grows only where the branch stays joined to Him. Even His painful dealings serve the same end.
But let us never forget that "the fruit of righteousness" comes only "by means of Jesus Christ." He is the "Tree of Life" and the "True Vine," and only branches that remain in Him bear fruit (John 15). "Every branch that does bear fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit" (verse 2). And so we find in Hebrews 12:11 that discipline, painful rather than pleasant at the time, yields "the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it."
Paul does not pray for a little fruit. He prays for a full tree.
Those who are justified by faith have Christ as their righteousness. When they walk in the light, keep the flesh judged, and train themselves in godliness, their walk shows "the fruit of righteousness." And do not forget this: there is to be not only "the fruit of righteousness," but a tree filled with it. It is as we find in John 15: "fruit," "more fruit," and "much fruit." True fruit of righteousness will not bring glory to us, but to God.
This fruit pleases the Father now. It will also be on show on a coming day.
This prayer shows us how God produces the fruits of righteousness in the saints, ready for the day of display, the day of Christ. God works sovereignly in the saints, and He also works through the exercises of His own people. Love, divine knowledge and spiritual judgment produce in God's people the precious fruits of righteousness, the features of Christ. They are for the Father's pleasure and glory now, and for His praise and glory on the day when Christ "comes on that day to be glorified in His saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed" (2 Thess. 1:10).
- Root — the fruit comes "through Jesus Christ." Trying hard to do right never produces it. Branches bear only while they remain in Him.
- Rule — the law is shut out as the Christian's standard. Christ Himself is both our object and our pattern for everyday life.
- Fruit — it is one cluster, not scattered good deeds, echoing John 15's "fruit," "more fruit," "much fruit."
- Fulness — Paul prays not for a token crop but for a tree so filled that not an empty branch is left among them.
- Fame — the harvest brings no glory to us. It ends "to the glory and praise of God," grown now and shown in the day of Christ.