Let us turn to that portion of
Scripture that we read earlier in Philippians chapter 1. And I want now to direct you
for our text to the words that we have here in verses 9, 10
and 11. In Philippians chapter 1 and
verses 9, 10 and 11, Paul's prayer for fruitfulness in the lives
of these Philippian believers. He says, And this I pray, that
your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in
all judgment, that ye may approve things that are excellent, that
ye may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ,
being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by
Jesus Christ unto the glory and praise of God. He speaks in here of the fruits
of a living religion. And that's the theme that I want
to seek with the Lord's help to address with you for a while
this morning. The fruits of a living religion. As I said this is one of Paul's
prayers. It's interesting how time and
again in the epistles we observe how the Apostle turns from addressing
these various churches and instead addresses God on their behalf. We find Paul's prayers scattered
throughout his epistles. For example, there in the opening
chapter of Ephesians from verse 16 and the following verses. And then again in Ephesians chapter
3 at verse 14 following, but not only when he writes to the
Ephesians but also in the letters to the other churches. And here
in the opening chapter of this epistle to the Philippians, at
the beginning we find Paul praying for them. Verse 3 he says, I
thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer
of mine for you, all making request with joy. He doesn't just write
to instruct them, to establish them in the great doctrines of
the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and to spell out to them
the practical implication of those doctrines. But as he writes,
so also he prays for them. And this is what we have here
in the text this morning, these verses from 9 through 10 and
11. And he's praying for their fruitfulness. that they be filled, he says,
with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ unto
the glory and praise of God. Well, as we consider something
of these fruits, I want to deal with 6.6 fruits, as it were,
as we consider the content of these verses. First of all, we
see very much the importance of love. There at the beginning
of that ninth verses I pray that your love may abound yet more
and more. How Paul himself was one who
had a very real and sincere love towards them. In fact in the
previous verse he says, for God is my record how greatly I long
after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ. An interesting
expression that he uses there when he speaks of his longings,
his yearnings in terms of the bowels of Jesus Christ. And the word that we have literally
means the inward parts. the intestines. That's part of
our human anatomy where we feel things, where emotions find some
physical manifestation and expression. But he's speaking not just of
that natural longing and yearning, not just a natural love that
he bears towards these Philippians. It's not just human desire that
we have here, but it is that spiritual desire. He speaks of
the bowels of Jesus Christ. It's how he longs and yearns
for them in relation to Christ and that work. of the sage that
he had seen so evident as the result of his ministry amongst
them. He was well persuaded that his
ministry there had not been in vain. He was confident. that
the God who had begun the good work would perform it even to
the day of Jesus Christ. Now he rejoiced in their fellowship
with him in the Gospel. It is that Christian love then.
that the Apostle is speaking of as he loves them in the Lord
Jesus so he wants that their love also may abound and that
love not only to him but that love also one to the other and
we see it constantly of course with regards to the ministry
of the Apostle he was very much a man of love how he yearned
after these believers in the various churches that he had
been so instrumental in the establishment of. He tells the Corinthians,
the love of Christ constraineth us. Oh, it was that love of the
Lord Jesus that was such a motivation to him in every aspect of his
gospel ministry. Again, writing to the Romans,
there in Romans 5.5, he says, the love of Christ is shed abroad
in your hearts by the Holy Ghost. It is very much that spiritual
love, that love that is the very real fruit of the Spirit of God
that Paul is speaking of. And of course, we know how that
God Himself is love. God is love when we think of
him in terms of the doctrine of God. Isn't that so evident
in the great mystery of the doctrine of the Trinity? There is an inter-trinitarian
relationship between the three divine persons. God the Father,
God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. How the Father delights
in the Son, how the Son delights in the Father. Oh, then I was
by Him as one brought up before Him. I was daily His delight. says the Son of God concerning
the Father and how each of them also have a blessed delight in
the Holy Spirit himself. There is a relationship, an intra-trinitarian
relationship, and in that sense God is love without reference
to any object outside of himself. And so when we come to the Word
of God, when we come to the Law of God, Remember how the Lord
Jesus Christ answers that man in the Gospel, that man who was,
it says, a lawyer, he was a Pharisee, but he was some sort of expert
in the law of God. And he comes to ask Christ that
question, what is the first and greatest of the commandments?
He is seeking to trip the Lord Jesus Christ up in his Word,
but how wisely and how graciously the Savior replies, Thou shalt
love the Lord thy God. with all thy heart, with all
thy soul, with all thy mind. This is the first and greatest
of the commandments. And the second is like unto it,
Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." Love to God and
love to the neighbor. For this should be evident surely
in the lives of those who profess the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. As I said, Christ is there summing
up the whole content of the law of God that we find in the Old
Testament, the two tables of the law. The first four commandments
speaking of our relationship, our responsibilities, our duties
before God. The second table, the last six
commandments, speaking of our relationship, one with the other. And so what do we read time and
again there in the Old Testament? for example in Deuteronomy chapter
30 at the end of the books of Moses and there at verse 6, to
love the Lord thy God with all thine heart and with all thy
soul that thou mayest live. All this Love is so fundamental to any
real spiritual life in those who are the people of God. Love
is very much the fulfilling of the law. If we go back to Paul's
words when he addresses the church at Rome, there in the 13th chapter
of that particular epistle, Romans 13 verse 9, He says this, Thou
shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not
steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet. He speaks of all of the second
table of the Lord of Gods, and if there be any other commandment,
It is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, thou shalt
love thy neighbour as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour,
therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. All the importance
here, the importance of this grace, these fruits of love. Now abideth faith, hope, and
charity or love, and the greatest of these is love." And this is
what Paul is praying with regards to these Philippians when he
speaks of them being filled with the fruits of righteousness. He says, I pray that your love
may abound yet more and more. Or this is the real evidence
that they are those who have such a saving knowledge of God
Himself. John says so much with regards
to the importance of this grace when we find him writing there
in that first general epistle. He tells us quite plainly, it's
a very searching statement that the Apostle is making. There
in 1 John 4, 8, He that loveth not knoweth not God. You think
of that, He that loveth not knoweth not God, and then the reason
for God is love. Or if we say we love God, how
will that be evident? It will be evident in the way
that we love our fellow believer. God is love. and he that dwelleth
in love dwelleth in God and God in him. It's the manifestation
that God has come even to make a place in our very hearts. And though here we see Paul praying
that there might be a continual flowing and growing of this love,
this blessed fruit in the lives of these believers at Philippi. This I pray, he says, that your
love may abound yet more and more. But then we learn something
more really with regards to the nature of this love because he
goes on to speak of it in terms of knowledge. It's to abound
more and more, he says, in knowledge. There's a connection here between
the love and the knowledge. This love is to be rooted. And
what is it rooted in? It's rooted in the knowledge
of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is in that revelation that
God has given to us in the person and the work of his only begotten
Son that we really see the demonstration of the love of God. Here in His
love, not that we love God, but that He loved us and sent His
Son to be the propitiation for our sins, says John. How this
knowledge, this knowledge of God in the Lord Jesus Christ
is so necessary if we're going to know anything of the love
of God. It's not just some mushy emotion when we speak of real
Christian love. It is rooted and grounded in
doctrine and particularly in that doctrine of the Lord Jesus
Christ himself. It's the knowledge of God. Or
we think of the prayer of the Lord Jesus. Here we have the
prayer of the Apostle, but remember we also have that record in John
17 of Christ's prayer, Christ's great high priestly prayer. And
what does the Lord pray in the course of that prayer? He says,
this is life eternal that they might know thee the only true
God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. all this knowledge,
this saving knowledge that we have in and through the Lord
Jesus Christ. Is this love that Paul is praying
for these Philippians to abound yet more and more? Well if that
love is abounding so their knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ must
be increasing. Peter says, but grow in grace
and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ how
these two things must go hand in hand if we would know that
increase of Christian love or we must be those who are growing
in grace those who are feeling more and more need of the Saviour
experience more and more a complete and utter dependence upon Him
and His grace. What are we without Him? We need
to grow in grace. Now, Paul was very mindful, you
see, of his own need of that knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. And when Paul speaks of that
knowledge, it's not just some speculative sort of knowledge. It's not just an understanding
of the letter of the truth, of the doctrine of the Lord Jesus
Christ. What Paul is speaking of in chapter
3, when he goes on to speak of that knowledge, is his experience. That's what we have in that third
chapter. It's an experimental part of
his epistle, as I've said before. We do have these portions in
the epistles where Paul speaks of himself and his experiences.
as well as speaking of great doctrinal truths and the practical
outworking of those doctrines. And here in chapter 3 we have
such a portion, he speaks of himself. And what does he say? He speaks again of his desire after that knowledge
of Christ. "'Jay, doubtless,' he says, "'I
count all things but loss, for the excellency of the knowledge
of Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss
of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ."
All this knowledge, he speaks of it in terms of the excellency. The excellency of the knowledge
of Christ Jesus. And then he says this, that I
may know Him. that I may know him, and the
power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings,
being made conformable unto his death." And interesting, the
order that we have, he doesn't speak first of all of the sufferings,
the death of the Lord Jesus. We might have expected him to
have said that, the fellowship of his sufferings. And then the
power of His resurrection and being conformable unto His death.
But no, there in that 10th verse, the first thing He makes mention
of is the resurrection, that I may know Him and the power
of His resurrection, how there must come into His soul, into
the soul of every true believer and follower of the Lord Jesus
Christ, that power of God. Oh, He speaks of it, does He
not? Time and again, the importance of that that is the mighty and
the effectual work of God in the soul of the sinner. The power
of the resurrection comes first and then the fellowship of his
sufferings and the being made conformable unto his death. Here is Paul then. How he speaks
so plainly with regard to himself and that knowledge that he has
or desires to have of the Lord Jesus Christ. but with regards
to this love he speaks not only in terms of knowledge but also
in terms of judgment look at the words at the end of verse
9, this I pray that your love may abound yet more and more
he says in knowledge and in all judgment as saving knowledge
is necessary to Christian love so also spiritual perception
is also so necessary in knowledge he says and in all judgment and
it is spiritual perception that he is speaking of here you'll
see that we have the alternative reading here in the margin and
the word is sense in all sense, as well as in knowledge. It's
interesting, the particular word, we can think of the five senses.
And when we think of the five senses, do they not in scripture
have a spiritual significance? Think of the sense of sight. And what is the believer to do? Where does his faith begin? Well,
God says, look unto me and be ye saved, all the ends of the
earth, for I am God and there is none else. Or the believer
is that one who is looking, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher
of our faith. That's that looking, that looking
away. from every other object that
fixing the eye upon one thing alone looking only onto the Lord
Jesus seeing him who is the invisible
God how important it is you see that sense of spiritual sight
but then also when we think of senses we can think of the sense
of hearing how does faith come? Well, Paul says in Romans 10,
17, Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.
This is how God communicates with us, by that sense of hearing.
The Lord Jesus is that one who is spoken of as the Word of God.
And God has appointed the proclamation, the preaching of this message
of salvation. It pleases God by the foolishness
of preaching, to save them that believe. It's not just the act
of preaching, it's more than that of course. It's the subject
matter, it's the content of the message, it's what's being proclaimed. It's the person, it's the work
of the Lord Jesus. Again we see that there is that
reference as it were to spiritual sense, a sense of hearing. But
then also, amazingly, there's that sense of smelling. What
does Paul say here with regards to the Philippians later, at
the end of the epistle? Verse 18, in chapter 4, I have
all, he says, and abound, I am full, having received of Epaphroditus
the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell. A sacrifice acceptable while
pleasing to God. An odor of a sweet smell, that's
their sacrifice, their concern, their ministry to the Apostle.
It's a spiritual sacrifice. But then, do we not also, when
we go to the Old Testament, there in the Song of Solomon, read
concerning the name of the Lord Jesus Christ that it is a disjointment? as ointment poured forth. Oh, there's a sweetness there.
There's that sense of smell, ointment. Precious ointment. And that's what the name of the
Lord Jesus is. And that's what motivates believers
to, themselves, offer that sacrifice. An odor of a sweet smell, acceptable.
It's acceptable in the Lord Jesus Christ. These various senses
there. the sense of taste. The Swami says, oh taste and
see that the Lord is good. Oh what do we know, do we taste
these things? We speak sometimes of God by
the means of grace, the ministry of the word coming and ministering
to our souls, feeding our souls. Well, when God feeds our body,
He feeds us with good food, and we have been blessed with that
sense of taste, we taste what we eat, we enjoy the taste, it
makes the meal very satisfying. Well, do we taste of the good
things of the Gospel? As we come under the Word of
God, or we love to feed, to feed upon the Lord Jesus Christ, to
eat His flesh, to drink his blood. Nothing to do with the blasphemy
of the Romish mass, and the nonsense of the doctrine of transubstantiation,
nothing at all to do with that. But surely, when we come under
the Word of God, there is that spiritual feasting. Why the Gospel
is compared to a feast, a feast of good things. Or do we desire
to taste these things? This is how our love will come
to abound more and more. The more we taste, of Christ,
or taste and see that the Lord's is good. These spiritual senses
then, abounding more and more in knowledge and in all judgment,
all sense, and then ultimately that sense of touch, that sense
of touch we feel, we can handle things. And what does John say
concerning his knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, that which
was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have
seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands
have handled, our hands have handled of the word of life.
All true religions, more than notion, something must be known
and found. These fruits then of the Spirit,
the fruit of love, the fruit of knowledge, the fruit of judgment
or sense but then also he goes on to speak in the fourth place of discernment in verse 10 he
says that ye may approve things that are excellent that she may approve things that
are excellent it's interesting because we have two alternatives
in the margin there that she may try things that differ if
we read with the margin not just approving things that are excellent
but what lies behind that approval it's the trying of those things
that differ now The marginal reading just really brings out
to us here the fullness of the Word of God as it is contained
in the original Greek. There's no adequate way in which
the strength of what is being said can be brought out in our
English version. So you have these two things
really. There is a trying of things that
differ, And after that trial is made, there is the approving
of those things that are excellent. What are the things that differ?
Well, law and gospel differ. Law and gospel differ. By grace
are you saved through faith. All salvation
is of grace. And if by grace says Paul, then
it is no more of works, otherwise grace is no more grace. But if
it be of works, it is no more of grace, otherwise work is no
more work. These things differ. The idea
of works, the idea of law, and that of grace, and the gospel
of the grace of God. Law and gospel were to make a
distinction, were to make a distinction between morality and grace these
are things that differ we are to see that there is a vast difference
between the opinions of men and the doctrine of the Lord Jesus
Christ all these are all those things
that differ and we are to approve only those things that are excellent
we need then if we're going to make that distinction we need
to know something of that fruit of spiritual discernment. That's what he is speaking of
here. That's Christ, that fruit of spiritual discernment. And it is that that belongs to
the spiritual man. In 1 Corinthians 2, verses 14 and 15 he says the
natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God for
they are foolishness unto him neither can he know them because
they are spiritually discerned but he that is spiritual judgeth
or discerneth all things yet he himself is judged of no man
the spiritual man judgeth discerneth all things. Oh, are we those friends who
desire that we might have that blessed grace, that fruit of spiritual discernment,
to make a distinction, to try the things that differ, to approve
the things that are excellent. The Lord Jesus says, judge not
according to the outward appearance, but judge righteousness. Now I know many say look you're
a Christian you're not you're not to make judgment and people
appeal again to other words that were spoken by the Lord Jesus
you know the passage there in the course of the Sermon on the
Mount and the language that we have at the beginning of Matthew
chapter 7 judge not that ye be not judged. For with what measure
ye judge, ye shall be judged, and with what measure ye meet,
it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote
that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam
that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother,
Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye, and behold, a beam
is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out
the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou seek clearly
to cast out the moat out of thy brother's eye." And people appeal,
when they quote the opening verse of that chapter, judge not that
ye be not judged. But what is the Lord doing there?
He is showing that we must be careful to make righteous judgment. He's not saying make no judgment. He speaks of the hypocrites,
yes. or how we have to judge ourselves how we have to prove
ourselves how we have to examine and know ourselves there must
be that but the Lord there is condemning that false judgment
but there is a great need and surely in our day there is a
crying need for a spirit of real discernment spiritual discernment
beloved John says, believe not every spirit but try the spirits
because many false prophets are gone out into the world or we
need to be those who are discerning, discerning hearers of the Word
of God the spirit of the Bereans to search these things, to try
these things by the Word of God not just to accept it because
the man in the pulpit says it There's no authority vested in
a man. The authority is here in the
Word of God, to the Law and to the Testament. If they speak
not according to this Word, it is because there is no light
in them. We need to know then these blessed
fruits of a spirit of discernment. What
does Paul say concerning believers? There in Hebrews 5.14 he says
they have their senses exercised to discern both good and bad. Are our senses exercised? To
discern that that is good, that that is right, that that is of
Christ, that that is bad, that that is evil, that that is only
of the pit, that that comes from the devil. that ye may try things
that differ that ye may approve things that are excellent and
then furthermore he speaks of another of the fruits of righteousness
that ye may be sincere that ye may be sincere and without
offence till the day of Christ And what does this word sincere
mean? Well, it means literally that
that is pure, unalloyed, you know, not a mixture of minerals,
but that that is pure, either pure gold or pure silver. and it has been well said that
this sincerity is the main thing all this sincerity the words
of the Lord Jesus with regards to Nathanael what does the Lord say concerning
that man is an Israelite? Behold an Israelite indeed in
whom there is no guile ought to be those who are guileless,
transparent, sincere, having set our affections upon
those things that are above, being those who would be diligent
in following the Lord Jesus, heeding his words, delighting
not only in his promises, but also embracing all the holy precepts
of the Gospel, to be those who are true followers of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Is that what we desire? How do
we pray when we come to the house of God? Are we like David? Or
David, the man after God's own heart? David was a sinner. And
now the Scriptures so faithfully record the sins of that man,
but he's a man after God's own heart. He had that new heart. And how does David pray? Search
me, O God, and know my heart. Try me and know my thoughts,
he says, and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead
me in the way everlasting. Is that the way we come to the
Word of God when we read God's words? And I trust that with
those who do read the Word of God daily, we read it in our
own homes. when we come under the sound
of the Word of God, is that how we approach it? We want that
God would come and search us and try us? Or we want to be
those who are truly sincere? We want a real religion. We want
a real religion, not something of our own manufacture. Again,
think of the words of the Lord Jesus, He that doeth truth, cometh
to the light, says Christ. that his deeds may be made manifest
that they are wrought in God. And in the contrast, everyone
that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light,
lest his deeds should be reproved. So are we those who delight to
come to the light, the light of God's work, shining into our
hearts, exposing to us what we are causing us to see our sins
are with those who are sincere and real here is Paul's prayer then for
these Philippian believers that ye may be sincere and without
offense to the day of Christ or to have always a conscience
void of offense before God and man. Can we say that that is
our sincere desire this morning? And then, finally, the sixth
fruit that he speaks of here in this 11th verse, and it's
their complete, their utter dependence upon God for all of these other
things being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which
are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God. It's all by the Lord Jesus Christ. It's living that life of faith.
It's that life of complete and utter dependence upon the Lord
Jesus Christ. we receive it all from Him. What
have we that we have not received? Of Him are ye in Christ Jesus
who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification
and redemption that as it is written he that glorieth let
him glory in the Lord. All we we have to bear that fruit,
that fruit of real faith it's a life of dependence the Lord
says from me is thy fruit found and here we have that fruits
of righteousness or the fruits of righteousness but they're
all from the Lord Jesus Christ the Lord himself there in that
15th chapter of the Gospel of John where he speaks of himself
as the vine, I am the vine, you are the branches, he says his
father is the husbandman. And what does the Lord say? The
branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide in the vine.
No more can ye except ye abide in me. Oh, it's that constant
abiding, it's that growing you see, in grace and in the knowledge. of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ. Without me, he says, ye can do
nothing. Here we have it then, the fruits.
The fruits of a living religion. That's what Paul is speaking
of in these verses. This I pray, that your love may
abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment, that ye
may approve things that are excellent, that ye may 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." And the very fact that Paul makes such a prayer,
why the very act of prayer does he not teach us that truth of
all our dependence, being upon that one to whom we utter
our prayers. When we come to pray, we're confessing
our complete dependence, our complete indebtedness to God,
to the grace of God. And all the glory then must go
to God. Unto the glory, he says, and
praise of God for of him, and through him, and to him be glory forever. Amen.