CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES
Philippians 1:9. In knowledge and in all judgment.—“Perfect knowledge (as in Ephesians 1:17; Ephesians 4:13) and universal discernment.” “The one deals with general principles, the other is concerned with practical applications” (Lightfoot).
Philippians 1:10. That ye may approve things that are excellent.—St. Paul would have his dear Philippians to be connoisseurs of whatever is morally and spiritually excellent. That ye may be sincere.—Bearing a close scrutiny, in the strongest light, or according to another derivation of the word, perhaps more true if less beautiful, made pure by sifting. And without offence.—Might be either “without stumbling,” as Acts 24:16, or “not causing offence. Lightfoot prefers the former, Meyer the latter. Beet unites the two.
Philippians 1:11. Fruits of righteousness.—“A harvest of righteousness.” Which are through Jesus Christ.—A more precise definition of “fruits.”
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.— Philippians 1:9-11
A Prayer for Christian Love—
I. That it may be regulated by knowledge and discretion.—“And this I pray, that your love may abound … in knowledge and in all judgment” (Philippians 1:9).
1. So as to test what is best.—“That ye may approve things that are excellent” (Philippians 1:10)—test things that differ. Two faculties of the mind are to be brought into exercise—knowledge, the acquisitive faculty; and judgment, the perceptive faculty. Love is not a wild, ignorant enthusiasm, but the warm affection of a heart, guided by extensive and accurate knowledge, and by a clear, spiritual perception. From a number of good things we select and utilise the best.
2. So as to maintain a blameless life.—“That ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ” (Philippians 1:10). Be so transparent in heart and life as neither to give nor take offence, and when examined in the light of the day of Christ to be adjudged blameless. To live a useful and holy life we must both think and feel aright. Love will ever prompt us to the holiest conduct and to the best work. “I once asked a distinguished artist,” said Boree, “what place he gave to labour in art. ‘Labour is the beginning, the middle, and the end of art,’ was the answer. I turned to another and inquired, ‘What do you consider as the great force in art?’ ‘Love,’ was the reply. In these two answers I found but one truth.”
II. That it may stimulate the growth of a high Christian character.—
1. A high Christian character is the outcome of righteous principles. “Being filled with the fruits—the fruit—of righteousness.” All Christian virtues are from the one common root of the Spirit. It is He who plants them in the heart, fosters their growth, brings them to perfection, and fills the soul with them as the trees are laden with ripened fruit. The apostle prays for more love, because love impels us to act righteously in all things, even in the minor affairs of life. “Just as the quality of life,” says Maclaren, “may be as perfect in the minutest animalculæ, of which there may be millions in a cubic inch and generations may die in an hour—just as perfect in the smallest insect as in behemoth, biggest born of earth, so righteousness may be as completely embodied, as perfectly set forth, as fully operative in the tiniest action that I can do, as in the largest that an immortal spirit can be set to perform. The circle that is in a gnat’s eye is as true a circle as the one that holds within its sweep all the stars, and the sphere that a dewdrop makes is as perfect a sphere as that of the world. All duties are the same which are done from the same motives; all actions which are not so done are all alike sins.”
2. A high Christian character honours God.—“Which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God” (Philippians 1:11). The righteousness which exalts man honours God. It is a practical manifestation of the grace communicated through Jesus Christ, and adorns the doctrine which is according to godliness. There are those who live soberly and righteously in this present world; but what about their duty to God? God is not in all their thoughts. That there has been no acceptance into their lives of Christ—without which acceptance God is a stranger to us and we strangers to God, no consecration to Christ, no referring to His will, no love to His person, and no zeal for His glory—of all this they are perfectly aware. And the thought of their heart is, that the omission is of no great consequence, and so long as they live soberly and righteously, it matters little or nothing whether they do or do not live godly. The power lacking is that for which the apostle prays—the power of love, whole-hearted love to Christ.
III. That it may be enjoyed in ever-increasing measure.—“And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more” (Philippians 1:9). Some time ago the public mind was filled with uneasiness in expectation of a high tide which was to visit our shores, and which it was feared would work great mischief. As the time drew near, the anxiety increased. At length the tide flowed in, rose to its highest point, and then retired, bearing with it the fears that had agitated the public mind. Why this alarm? Because all know the unmanageable, destructive power of water, when it once bursts its bounds. Love, unlike water, the more it abounds and overflows the greater the benefits it bestows. There is no fear that we shall love God too much; it is our shame and loss that we love Him so little. Love chafes against all limitations.
Lessons.—
1. Love is the essence of Christianity.
2. Love should govern every part of the Christian life.
3. Love may be augmented by earnest prayer.
GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES
Philippians 1:9-10. The Apostle’s Prayer for Abounding Love—
I. In its application to the affections.—“That your love may abound yet more and more” (Philippians 1:9).
1. Love to God.—
(1) Because of the supreme excellence of His character.
(2) Because of His generous interposition in the work of human redemption.
(3) Because of the benefits He is constantly bestowing.
2. Love to one another.—Love promotes brotherly unity—oneness of feeling, of aim, of effort. Unity promotes strength. To strength in its combined action victory is given.
3. Love to the unsaved.—The law of Moses insisted, “Thou shalt love thy neighbour”; to which the Pharisees made this addition, “Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.” Christ interprets the law of love in the command, “I say unto you, Love your enemies.”
II. In its application to the intellect.—“In knowledge and in all judgment; that ye may approve things that are excellent” (Philippians 1:9-10). Knowledge, the faculty to acquire information; judgment, the faculty to discern its value and use: the one leads to the sources of truth and appropriates its stores, the other selects and uses what is acquired. These two faculties necessary—
1. In judging revealed truth.
2. In judging Christian experience.
3. In selecting what is best in all truths.
III. In its application to the conduct.—“That ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ” (Philippians 1:10).
1. An inward state.—Sincerity, transparency of character.
2. An outward walk.—Inoffensive ness of conduct. Not designedly giving offence; sacrificing everything but principle rather than grieve or mislead a weak brother.
3. Perseverance in an upright life.—“Till the day of Christ.” This is the scorner’s day; the good are hated and despised; but the day of Christ is coming, and will rectify all wrongs. A day of blessing and honour to the good, of confusion and punishment to the wicked; of approval to the one, of condemnation to the other.
Philippians 1:9. “And this I pray.” Definiteness in Prayer—
I. Implies a deep consciousness of an intelligently apprehended need.
II. Becoming, when an intelligent being addresses the divine Intelligence.
III. Essential from the very nature of prayer.
IV. Affords a fixed ground from the exercise of faith.
V. Emboldens supplication.
VI. Inspires hope of a definite response.—Lay Preacher.
Philippians 1:10. “That ye may approve things that are excellent.” Spiritual Discrimination—
I. Demands the exercise of the most intelligent and sensitive charity.
II. Commands a wide field of effort—the bad, the good, the better, the best—in character, life, doctrine, practice, enjoyment, attainment.
III. Implies the admission and use of a noble liberty of thought, judgment, and action.
IV. Involves a weighty and far-reaching responsibility.
V. Is essential to a pure and blameless life.—Ibid.
“That ye may be sincere.” The Value of Sincerity in Youth.
There is a false sincerity which is a compound of ignorance and obstinacy. The heathen may be devout and sincere in his idolatry, but he is a heathen still. The Mahometan may be devout and sincere in his worship of the one God, but he rejects the Christ who is the source and substance of all true religion. The sceptic may be devout and earnest in his investigation of the facts of the universe; but he ignores the great moral truths on which he stumbles in the course of his inquiries, and refuses to accept and be influenced by them. There is no craze of the wildest fanatic that may not be adopted as an article of faith, if apparent sincerity is to be the test of its genuineness. The fact is, a man may be sincere, but grossly mistaken. A sincere heart is that through which the light of God shines, unimpeded by duplicity and sin, and is a condition of heart obtained only by living much in the presence and the light of God.
I. Be sincere in the search after truth.—Truth must be sought for its own sake, and is revealed only to the humble and sincere seeker. It is of supreme importance to you to find the truth. Truth has but one direction and one goal—it terminates in the radiant presence of a living personality. When you come into the presence of truth, you come into the presence of God. Truth has a living embodiment in Christ Jesus. If you desire a solution of the perplexing riddles of life, if you would understand the principles on which God governs the universe, if you wish to dissipate the doubts that becloud and harass the mind, if you desire rest and peace of conscience, and to obtain strength and inspiration to live a happy, useful, and noble life—then seek the truth as it is in Jesus; and if you are really sincere, you shall not seek in vain.
II. Be sincere in your social intercourse with one another.—
1. In your friendships.
2. In your promises.
III. Be sincere in the service of God.
IV. Be sincere in the cultivation of your own personal piety.
Christian Rectitude—
I. Consists in internal sincerity.—
1. This involves a concentratedness of heart upon one object.
2. A thoroughness of life’s uniformity to that one object.
3. An unostentatious but manifest integrity.
4. The completeness of that manifestation should be proportionate to the brightness of the testing light.
II. Consists in external blamelessness.—
1. Without being found guilty of offence.
2. Without giving offence.
3. Without taking offence.
III. Consists in a present state of life, with a glorious future destination.—“That ye may be without offence till the day of Christ.”
1. Then life shall be judged.
2. Life shall be made manifest.
3. Rectitude of life shall be approved.
4. Rectitude of life shall be rewarded.—Lay Preacher.
Philippians 1:11. Fruits of Righteousness.
I. The nature of righteousness.—
1. Sometimes the term refers to the divine Being, and signifies the purity of His nature and the perfection of His works.
2. Here it signifies personal holiness.
II. The fruits of righteousness.—
1. Christian righteousness is productive of gracious fruits. These fruits are internal in the heart, and external in the life.
2. The fruits of righteousness are abundant and progressive.—“Being filled with the fruits.”
III. The Author of righteousness.—“Which are by Jesus Christ.”
1. Righteousness is purchased by Christ as our Redeemer.
2. Is derived from Him as our Saviour.
IV. The results of righteousness.—“Unto the glory and praise of God.”
1. Righteousness is to the glory and praise of God in the scheme of redemption.
2. In the subjects of redemption.
Lessons.—
1. This subject should stimulate our desires.
2. Promote our devotion.
3. Inspire us with praise.—Theological Sketch Book.
Spiritual Attainment.
I. Righteousness of heart precedes righteousness of life.
II. Righteousness of heart is self-disseminating.—
1. Its fruit is living.
2. Of harmonious unity.
3. Luxuriant.
III. Righteousness of heart is the only thing that can fill the capacities of man.
IV. Fulness of righteousness is all divine.—
1. In its source.
2. In its medium of communication. “By Jesus Christ.”
3. In its end. “Unto the glory and praise of God.” Glory before men: praise among men.—Lay Preacher.
Divine Culture.
I.
The field.—The loving heart.
II.
The seed.—Righteousness.
III.
The fruit.—Abundant.
IV.
The husbandman.—Jesus Christ.
V.
The end.—The glory and praise of God.—Ibid.