May your love abound more and more-- what does Paul mean when he prays this (Philippians 1:9)?

A passionate longing for anyone, soon causes us to pray for that one, and so immediately the Apostle adds, "And this I pray, (or, I am praying), in order that your love may yet more and more overflow in intimate knowledge and in all perception, to the end ye may approve the things that are excellent, (or, discriminate the things that differ), that ye may be clear and without stumbling for Christ's day, being filled with the fruit of righteousness, which is through Jesus Christ, to God's glory and praise." (Phil. 1:9-11). In the 4th verse the Apostle had already said he was "always in every supplication of mine on behalf of you all, making the supplication with joy." Now, in the verses before us, he tells the saints what the objects of those supplications were. We will see there were four chief requests: That their love might abound yet more and more. That they may have the grace of discernment, able to test things which differ. That they might be sincere and without offence. That they might be filled with the fruits of righteousness.

We will now, with the Lord's help, seek to ponder these requests. Notice well that LOVE is the foundation of all. Without love we are but sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal. When the Church at Ephesus had left her first love, she was a fallen Church. Discernment, the ability to test things which differ, would be worthless without love. And the Apostle prays that their love might abound yet more and more. Living love must grow; and a love that does not grow and increase is probably a dead and worthless love: or, at least, a diseased and unhealthy love. And notice it is not spoken of as a certain definite love: as love to God, or love to Christ, or to the Apostle himself, or to other saints, or even love of the Word and prayer. It is love in general, and doubtless takes in all these. You may have noticed that the true reading of 1 John 4:19, is, "We love, because He first loved us." You may feel, as I did, disappointed at the old familiar words being changed: and these old, well-loved words are certainly true: we do love Him, because He first loved us: but the true reading includes the old words we all love so much, but it takes in much more. It is a general, absolute love: love to "Him" and love to one another: love of the Word, and love of prayer, are all included. So it is here in our verse in Philippians, I believe. And the only way for that love to increase yet more and more, is to know more and more of His love to us: it is to keep ourselves in the sunshine of His love: it is not by examining our love to see how much we have: it is not by trying to love more: but it is just to take Him at His word when He tells us how much He loves us, and bask in the sunshine of His love: "He loved the ones for whom He died. Not ours to question why! But ours to know the love of Him Who came to die."

But it is not to be a blind love: rather it is to be a love in intimate knowledge and in all perception. The Spirit of God does not use the ordinary word for "knowledge," but adds a preposition to it, which gives the meaning of a deep, true, spiritual knowledge, as distinguished from superficial, or merely intellectual knowledge. We get the two words beautifully distinguished in 1 Cor. 13:12: "Now I know in part, but then I-shall-intimately-know just as also I-am-intimately-known." (The words with hyphens are only one word in Greek: "I-shall-intimately-know" is in the middle voice, so has the thought, "I shall know for myself.") The contrast of the two words is that of Job 42:5: "I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth Thee." Let us notice that this prayer in Philippians tells us that the Spirit of God would have us even now, down here, have something of that "intimate knowledge" that we will have in its fulness up there, when we see Him as He is, and know Him as we are known. We find a very similar prayer, using this same word, in Ephesians 1:17.

His prayer for them is that their "love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment." Our measure of this love can never be too great; and as we progress in the Christian path the love ought to deepen and become more full in every way. Alas, that too often when knowledge increases, love begins to grow cool! This must be watched against with utmost care and godly exercise. Knowledge is badly abused if it decreases love in any measure.

Yet also, if love is to be exercised in proper moral balance, this requires "knowledge and all judgment." Love must not remain ignorant of the true needs of its objects; and it must also have discernment as to the godly means of meeting those needs. Thus it has far greater scope than the mere feeling of affection. 1 Cor.13:4-7 lists some of the solid characteristics of love: it is well worth our quiet meditation.

This real activity of love is required in order to "judge of and approve things that are more excellent" (New Trans.). This is the character of godly balance, the discernment of things in proper proportion. If there is a tendency to magnify small things, there will be a comparative overlooking of more important things which ought to deeply engage the soul. Such a case discloses a serious lack of love's true activity. Or if, on the other hand, we are content with things because we "see no harm in them." it is not real love that is motivating us. Love according to God seeks the things that are "more excellent." This is indispensable if we are to be "pure and without offence" in view of "the day of Christ." Is this not certainly the character in which we desire to be presented before Him? If so, we must cultivate it now.

It is important to observe that this produces "the fruits of righteousness by Jesus Christ." Merely seeking to do right never produces the fruits of righteousness: only the pure love of God known and responded to in the soul can do so, and it is sufficient for a real fulness of these fruits also. Again the mere object of doing right does not have God's glory as its purpose; but "the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ" are shown to be "unto the glory and praise of God." Nothing can be truly right except as it is held in intimate relationship to God.

(Vv. 9-11). In praying for them, the Apostle desires that this love that had been so blessedly manifested to him might abound yet more and more, showing itself in knowledge and all intelligence: for, be it remembered, that, in divine things, spiritual intelligence springs from love. The heart that is attached to Christ is the one that will learn the mind of Christ — not simply a knowledge of the letter of Scripture, but intelligence as to its spiritual meaning. With this divinely given intelligence we shall be able to approve things that are excellent. It is comparatively easy to condemn things that are wrong. In a great measure this is possible for the natural man, but to discern and approve things that are morally excellent requires spiritual discernment. The more we are attached in love to Christ the greater will be the spiritual intelligence that will enable us to do the right thing, in the right way, at the right moment, in all circumstances. Approving things that are excellent, and acting with a pure motive, we shall give no ground for offence, "neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God" (1 Cor. 10:32). We should thus be kept without offence until the day of Jesus Christ.

But besides all this, his love for them made him intensely solicitous about their real wants, and he turns to the Lord for them accordingly. "And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more, in knowledge and in all judgment." v. 9. He wished that they should love (not less, but) with a fuller knowledge and an exercised intelligence. Love, or charity, is the basis, else there would be no building up; this being laid and abounding, full knowledge, instead of puffing up, guides and guards. The more the intelligence is, if it be real and spiritual, the greater the desire to grow in it. Those who do not see anything in Scripture as an object for constant search, and growth, and desire after more, are those, it is to be feared, who see scarce anything in it that is divine. Directly it is discerned that there is infinite light in it, desire to know more and more is a necessary consequence. But it is for practice. And this epistle shows us spiritual progress in the Apostle and in the saints more fully than any other, while it is the epistle that shows us the strongest desire after going on. This is what we know from experience. Whenever we begin to be satisfied with what we have got, there is an end of progress; but when we make a little real advance, we want to make more. Such was the case with these saints, who are prayed for therefore, "That ye may approve things that are excellent," etc. They needed to grow in intelligence, in order that they might be able to judge of things, and so lay hold of what was more excellent.

Having received from the saints at Philippi a gift to meet his needs while a prisoner at Rome for Christ’s sake, the apostle Paul, in writing to acknowledge what they had sent, spoke of his prayer for them. The first desire of this prayer reads, “And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in full knowledge and all intelligence” (Phil. 1:9). The gift was the expression of their love, as had also been their previous gifts, of which we read in Philippians 4:16. There was no need for the apostle to exhort the saints to express their love, but he desires that the love so touchingly expressed might abound in the features of full knowledge and all intelligence.

The epistle which the apostle writes to the Philippian saints does not exactly open out the truths of full knowledge, but his writing thus would show how interdependent all the divine writings are, and how great the value the apostle places on full knowledge and intelligence in the things of God. Love is altogether indispensable in the things of God; it is the divine nature in activity in the saints, but the divine nature is to be expressed intelligently, and according to the full knowledge which God has given to us in the Scriptures.

With reference to the first of these we read in verse 8: ‘For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ’. Words strong and tender these! Not only did he love these true-hearted young Christians, but he did so ‘in the bowels of Jesus Christ’. He yearned over them. He could thank his God for the whole remembrance of them. There had not been a cloud of sorrow to darken that memory. Their testimony had been peculiarly bright. They had fellowship with the gospel in all its difficulties; nor had they been daunted by its sufferings. The birthplace of that church was amid the fires of persecution, and this fact gave a steadiness and a living reality to their after-course. What they had witnessed in the apostle had furnished an example to themselves. There was everything in them that led him to long after them all in the love, and joy, and sympathy of Jesus Christ. And this produced the most earnest solicitude. He prayed for them that their love might abound ‘more and more in knowledge and in all judgment’ (v. 9). He desired no curtailment of that love. Fervent at first, it should yet become more so; it should abound more and more. The prevalence of iniquity should not make it wax cold; nay, contrariwise, it should be intensified in its beautiful course — only it should be regulated by knowledge and by judgment. These should be the rails on which this mighty engine should speed along. Without such guides it might pursue a headlong course, for love is blind; but, thus directed, it would tell a tale of surpassing charm, it would make known, in a practical way, the truth itself, for ‘God is love’ (1 John 4:8, 16). Thus, they would ‘approve things that are excellent … be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ; being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God’ (Phil. 1:10–11).

The apostle now utters his inspired prayer for them. It is still the prayer of the Holy Spirit for God's people. They had love, but he prays that their love may abound yet more and more. But this abounding love is to be "in knowledge and all intelligence." Love must not and will not tolerate evil. If the heart is fixed on the Lord Jesus Christ, then the Christian will manifest this love in knowledge and all intelligence, having discernment of good and evil. As Christ is before the heart the believer will abound yet more and more in love and also "judge of and approve the things that are excellent." Walking after this rule means to be "pure and without offence till the day of Christ." That day is not the Old Testament day of the Lord, when He is revealed on earth in power and glory to judge and to establish His kingdom, but it is the day for the saints when they meet Him in the air and then appear before His judgment seat. And such a walk produces the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God. Thus it is seen that love is the source of everything in the life of the believer.

It was certainly more than loving them from a sense of duty; it rather suggests a burning desire for them. Such a love would not be easily changed. It led him to fervent prayer on their account as he says next. Whatever they had attained to he desired that they might still go increasing in "knowledge and in all judgment", of intelligence as the word means. Maturity is the thought underlying these expressions. This would lead them to "approve the things that are more excellent" (New Trans.). Their love would be guided along right channels if they thus increased in knowledge and intelligence. Growth is the thing we all should covet. We need grace to reach out to the deeper things of God, the things that are "more excellent". They are there for all who want to grow.

Those we love, we pray for. So with the apostle: loving the Philippians he prays for their state of soul, that their love may abound yet more and more. If, however, he prays for their state, he does so in connection with Christ. He does not pray for a good state in connection with himself, that they may be a credit to him; or that they may accredit themselves before men, in man's small day. He prays for them in view of the day of Christ. Furthermore he desires that their lives might be filled with the fruit of practical righteousness. This, however, he at once connects with Christ, for such practical fruits can only be by Jesus Christ. Nor does the apostle desire these fruits that he may be praised, or the Philippians praised, but for the glory and praise of God.