I invite you to turn with me this morning to 1 Corinthians 13. 1 Corinthians 13, as we read that familiar chapter on love. And we read that in connection with our text from Philippians 1, verses 9-11. As you recall, over the past couple of weeks, we've been in that section, verses 3-11, that is titled in many Bibles as Thanksgiving and Prayer. Paul's Thanksgiving and Prayer. And he tells the Philippian believers there, as we have already considered, how he prays for them. He prays for them with joy. And he prays for them with thanksgiving. And he tells them why he prays that way for them. He does so because of their partnership with him in the Gospel of Christ Jesus. And now in the section before us, verses 9 through 11 this morning, he tells them exactly what it is his prayer is on their behalf. As we consider this this morning, this too is to be our prayer for each other. As well, it is to be our desire for ourselves. 1 Corinthians chapter 13. If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient. Love is kind. It does not envy. It does not boast. It is not proud. It is not rude. It is not self-seeking. It is not easily angered. It keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease. Where there are tongues, they will be stilled. Where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child. I thought like a child. I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror. Then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part, then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain, faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love. Now turning to the text, Philippians 1, verses 9-11. As Paul says, And this is my prayer. That your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God. May God add His blessing to the reading of His Word and in particular this text this morning. Beloved in the Lord Jesus Christ, are you satisfied with your spiritual life? Are you content in your walk with the Lord? Are you one, perhaps, who doesn't feel that it's necessary for you to be challenged about your faith any longer, or that you have nothing more that you can learn about the Word of God? And of course, I trust you know that as I ask these questions, my hope for each and every one of us is that our answer would be no. But when we think about our physical lives, I think it's safe to say that most of us, if not all of us, are not really, if ever, satisfied with our physical lives. They're not quite the way we want them to be. We want more money. We want to lose weight. We want better jobs or better hours. We want a bigger house. We want a newer car. And we work in this life to change whatever it is that we're not quite satisfied with about this life. Even boys and girls, you are not satisfied with your physical life. I know that. I was a child once. We want to grow up so quickly so that we can do this or that or the other thing. Or we want to be like so-and-so. We'd like to be more like them. Or we want to have this or that possession. We're simply not satisfied with our physical lives. But, ironically, later on, Paul says we are to be content in our physical lives. But the sad truth is we are often way too content with our spiritual lives. But notice, Paul here does not pray for the physical lives of these Philippian believers. He does not pray, I hope you enjoy good health. I hope that you are given an abundance of wealth. He doesn't even say, I hope that you enjoy freedom from persecution. He doesn't say those things. Instead, He tells them, He tells them directly that He prays for their spiritual lives. That's what's important to Him. And in doing so, He teaches them and us that that is what is to be important to us. That we are to never, ever be content or satisfied with our spiritual lives. But instead, we are to always desire more. We are to desire and to strive for growth. Even like Paul did in chapter 3, he says, forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. He says, I press on. I'm working toward that. Now, there's no contradiction here. Some might say there is. You see, Paul had just said, He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. And therefore, there are some who might think, well, I can sit back then and I can take it easy when it comes to my spiritual life because God has it all under control. And of course, that's true. We know that's true. But see, now Paul points to the believer's participation. To the believer's responsibility. We must not be spiritually indifferent, but quite the opposite. God began that good work. God will complete it. His salvation is all of Him and His grace. But in that process of bringing us to glory, He uses us as He works in us. He uses us and He gives us a responsibility to those who are saved. In this text, Paul gives us a glimpse of how that good work is being done in the believer. And the believer's conscious participation in that. You see, because God is at work in you and me, we have a responsibility to respond to His work. In chapter 2, Paul says, continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. Work at your faith. But then he goes on, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose. God is at work in you and me, and He works through you and me. And that means that one who is born again, one who has given new life in Christ Jesus, complete with new thoughts and new desires and new motives and a new understanding does not want to stay a spiritual infant. But that one wants to grow up into Him who is the head, even Jesus Christ. And therefore we notice with this text Paul's prayer for perfected love. It's really a prayer for the advance of the work of the Gospel in the lives of the Philippian believers and all believers that the Holy Spirit continue to work that gospel power in our lives. And this love is perfected, first of all, through continual growth. Verse 9 says, And this is my prayer, that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight. God gives the growth, and you and I are to desire this growth. Now, Paul prays specifically here for their love. Not that they are to be loving, not that they are to become loving, because they already are. He makes that clear throughout this book that they are already loving in the Lord. So he's not praying that they become loving, but he is praying that their love, the love that they already possess by the grace of God, that that love be practiced, that that love be demonstrated more and more. Therefore, he prays for continual growth in love. Now, 1 Corinthians 13 makes it clear that true faith is expressed through love. We love, John says, because he first loved us. Our love is a response to God's love. True faith is clothed in true love. And that means that the character of this love that Paul is talking about is that it's not simply an emotion, it's not simply an affection for someone because of the way that someone makes you feel. It's not what is true among so many people today who say they love each other, but it's really nothing but infatuation. but he's talking about true spiritual love, the love of God that God has poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit whom He has given us, as Paul says in Romans 5, verse 5. We might call it regeneration love because with new birth, when the Holy Spirit causes us to be born again, He takes that heart of stone, that heart of hatred, that heart of selfishness which is ours by nature. And He replaces that heart with a heart of flesh of love and of selflessness. And that love is unfailing. That love is enduring. Paul makes it clear at the end of 1 Corinthians 13 that of faith and hope and love, love is the greatest. Our faith, you see, will become sight. Our faith is in unseen things. and one day we will see clearly and there will no longer be a need for faith in the glory of heaven. Our hope. Hope is usually in something that is still a bit beyond our reach. Our hope will become a reality. Salvation is ours today, but one day we will have it in all of its fullness in the glory of heaven. So hope will no longer be necessary. But love will continue forever. We will live forever in the realm of God who is love. And this love is characterized by the obedience of faith. Faith is directed toward two objects which are detailed in the great commandments that we know so well, to love God above all and our neighbor as ourself. And therefore, too, the character of this love is that it is an abounding love, as Paul says. Abounding more and more. And the idea there is somewhat twofold. On the one hand, he's talking about a non-stop progress. Something that is ongoing, an ongoing, continual love. But also, on the other hand, something that overflows, that overfills its container like a river overflowing its banks. You can't keep it in. Continual growth in this love. And Paul goes on to point out that there will be growth because it is an informed love. It's not just sentimental, it's not just feelings, but it's based on something. It has a foundation, it has an object. And the believer's love is not stagnant, but it's active. And Paul's prayer is that this love will overflow more and more in knowledge and in depth of insight. This love is nourished by these things, and therefore there must also be continual growth in knowledge. Now again, when Paul talks about knowledge here, boys and girls and young people, The character of this knowledge is not simply being smart. He's not just talking about knowing a lot of facts about math and science and history or how a satellite works or how to build a freeway or how to cure sick people. It's not just a head knowledge. It's not just facts and figures and those kinds of things. But it is a specific knowledge that is tied to love. Knowledge is nothing without love. As Paul makes clear in the first part of what we read, If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. Anything we might do that even seems remotely good in this life. Without love. It's worthless. It's nothing. This knowledge that Paul is talking about is a spiritual knowledge in its fullest sense. It is the knowledge of true faith. Answer 21 of the Heidelberg Catechism says that true faith includes, it's not the completion of it, but it includes a knowledge that everything God reveals in His Word is true. It's a knowledge of all that God reveals in His Word. And therefore, it is insight into God's Word and into God's ways and into the whole plan and process and purpose of salvation and into His will for our lives. This knowledge means understanding the eternal decrees of God and how they are carried out insofar as God has revealed it to us. It includes understanding the nature of the death of Jesus Christ, that He took our place, that it was substitutionary. It includes understanding the power of His resurrection, that because He lives, we too shall live. We are raised again to new life, and one day too we shall enjoy resurrected bodies, glorified bodies. And this knowledge means understanding all of this, the application of all of this to our lives by the Holy Spirit. The process of that good work that He has begun. Very simply, this knowledge is knowing the love of God in all of its fullness. And the result, beloved, is that as we grasp God's redeeming love for us, and as we grow in the assurance of such a great salvation, our love will abound. It will increase. Our love will increase to God and for the things of God. And our love will increase for our neighbor, for our neighbor's good, and especially for our neighbor's salvation. And as well, our confidence will increase in the face of contradicting and disappointing and troubling times of life. Our confidence, like the psalmist, Psalm 73. You know the psalm. Before then, as he looked at the world and all that they enjoyed and all that he did not enjoy, He was distraught until he gained knowledge by going into the inner sanctuary. Love without knowledge of God and what He has done and what He is doing is without a firm foundation because our feelings and our affections are up and down and they fail. They're on again, off again. But beloved, when I believe that the doctrine that finally saves me is not how I feel or what I think, but that it is the finished work of Christ on the cross as God has revealed it clearly in His Word, that no matter how I feel, I know where I stand. And I can go forward in His strength because I have the confidence that God's plan for me will not fail. But there's a progression here. Even knowledge by itself isn't enough. This must lead to a proper application of this knowledge. And Paul prays for growth in wisdom or discernment. The NIV says depth of insight. That's the phrase that you find there in your pew Bibles. And other translations say in all judgment or in all sense or understanding or in all discernment and discrimination. There are many ways that it can be said. But we need to understand that there is a danger of knowledge alone. All by itself, knowledge is useless unless it is applied, unless it is used correctly. And just as love without knowledge lacks a foundation, knowledge without love lacks direction. It lacks application. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 8, verse 1, knowledge puffs up. It means it destroys. But love builds up. Knowledge with love, as it looks outside ourselves, it builds up. But I believe we are to understand this depth of insight this way, that it is using the mind and the heart and the knowledge that one has gained by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, using the mind and heart filled with that knowledge then to recognize and distinguish, not just to know, but to recognize and distinguish between good and evil, between the important and the unimportant, between truth and error, to know the difference. Paul's desire for the Philippian believers was that they not only be expert theologians, that they grow in their knowledge of the Word of God. And don't be scared by that word theologian because everyone here who believes has true faith is a theologian. And it doesn't mean that you and I know everything there is to know. We don't. But you are an expert theologian insofar as you know what God has revealed to you. But Paul was not content that they and we be expert theologians, but also then that it be a step further that we understand the difference between good and evil, truth and error. The early church, we know, faced many false teachers and teachings and because of the heresies, particularly in the first couple of centuries that the church faced, that gave birth to our creeds, which we hold so dear. And that's because the church studied the Word of God. The church prayed for depth of insight to understand the truth of the Word of God. And the church today must continue to study the Word of God in all of its fullness, the whole history of redemption and revelation, and take advantage as well of the wisdom of the ages that God has given to godly men before so that we might understand the difference between the truth of the Bible, the Word of God, and Islam, and Hinduism, and Jehovah's Witnesses. and Mormonism, and many others, as well as non-heretical believers who misunderstand, who misinterpret, who misapply the Word of God, to be able to dialogue with them intelligently. You see, beloved, love here does not mean tolerance as the world would have you and me believe. To the world, love is simply, you know, you accept everyone as they are, whatever they like, whatever they believe, whatever they feel. And you don't try to tell them that there's something else that they should be considering instead. To the world, that's tolerance is love. But that's not what Paul is talking about here. This love, nourished with spiritual knowledge and depth of insight, means to understand God in His majesty, power, holiness, mercy, grace, and peace. It means to understand His redeeming love in Christ Jesus and to understand the salvation that He alone gives. and to desire God's things, God's way. See, beloved, Paul knew that it was not enough simply to be a good person, to live a good life, to know all the facts of the Bible, to be a member of the church. There are some people who believe that so-and-so must be a Christian because they're a good person. They live a good life. But Paul says, no. Aris Buechelman, our dear sister whose body we just laid to rest, on Friday. And all of our believing loved ones who died in the Lord were not Christians and they were not saved because they were good people. Because they lived good lives. Because they knew the facts of the Bible. But they were good people and they lived good lives because by the grace of God they were saved. They were Christians. Love. Informed by true spiritual knowledge and understanding also overflows then with an attitude of humility and tenderness and a forgiving spirit. It abounds with these things. With words of encouragement and truthfulness and mildness and with deeds of self-denial and loyalty and kindness. And that then points to the result of this love which will be perfected through growth in knowledge and discernment as this love is perfected for productive service in the second place. Paul goes on. as if to say the result then of this abounding love in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ. I trust you can see a progression here. Not only are we to know the facts of the Word of God, to be able to discern between good and evil, not only to recognize what is true and good and important, but to choose for that to desire for that to live according to what is true and good and important Paul is talking here about putting the Word of God into practice with a proper application and that begins first of all with testing the excellencies of God Paul says so that you may be able to discern what is best again a difficult phrase also translated approve the things that are excellent or have a sense of what is vital. A number of ways to understand this. But what we must grasp, brothers and sisters, is that the idea here is to approve of something after testing it. It has to do with testing coins and finding out their genuineness. And here, testing God's Word. Submitting ourselves to the Word of God. Now, boys and girls in the Greek, there are basically two words, two major words that can be translated to test. And one of them means to test in order to find out if something passes or fails. That's the kind of test that your teacher gives you. That's not the kind of test that Paul is talking about here. Paul is talking about the kind of test that takes place with the expectation that one will find out exactly what was expected. That means putting God's Word and His promises to the test, fully expecting them to be true. We are to put the Word of God to the test, to submit ourselves to the Word of God. For example, in Psalm 91, verse 1, it says, He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. Isaiah 26, verse 3. You will keep in perfect peace Him whose mind is steadfast because He trusts in you. As Jesus says in Matthew 11, verse 28, Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. And as Paul says in chapter 4, present your request to God and the peace of God which transcends all understanding and it will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Take God's Word on. Test it. Submit to it. Cast your burdens upon the Lord. Trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. And you will find that it is genuine, that it is true. You will experience its truth. You will have it proven trustworthy in your own life. And the result is that we will find out what is vital, what is most important, what is best. And that is not financial independence. It is not acceptance by others. It is not having many friends. It is not having all A's on your report card. It is not any number of good things that we might enjoy in this life. All those things, there's nothing wrong with them. But that's not what's best. That's not what's vital, first of all. That's not what is excellent. Paul says what is in chapter 3, verse 10. I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection. Having a saving relationship with Jesus Christ and a life that reflects that relationship with all that flows from it is what is vital, what is best. See, sometimes we become so consumed with the difficulties and the troubles and the cares of this life and life in general. Again, like the psalmist in Psalm 73. But you see, beloved, when your center of life is to know Him and the power of His resurrection, then whatever you may face in this life, you will be safe. You will be secure. And even if God provides you with success, even then you will be thankful in prosperity. And this then, of course, leads to another step, and that is living a sincere life. You see, when love abounds more and more in the knowledge of God's Word and recognizes what is true and best and desires what is true and best, that then leads to being pure and blameless, as Paul says. He's talking about how we live this life. He's not talking about the righteousness that God sees us as. That's the righteousness of Christ. But he's talking about that which is to flow from that. To flow from new life in Christ Jesus. To be pure and blameless. And he's not talking about perfectionism because we know that that will never take place in this life. But to abound in this more and more. Being pure and blameless. And purity here has the idea of precious metal without impurities mixed into it. And there's an allusion here to the sunlight shining on something and seeing through it. Kind of like when you take a glass cup and put it up into the light to see if there are any scratches on it or any fingerprints on it, to see if there are any impurities whatsoever in that cup. And this is the purity that is to be ours, that when we are examined with the light of the Word of God, that we are free from hypocrisy, free from hidden secrets, free from double-mindedness, and instead giving loving obedience to God alone. Not being tossed about by every wind of doctrine, as Paul says in Ephesians 4, or being filled with worry and doubt and bickering. But as Paul says in chapter 4, verse 8, Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things. Those things are to characterize our purity. because those are the things that in Christ Jesus are best. And he talks about being blameless. That means to be without offense or without stumbling. That can either mean that we have not stumbled in our spiritual walk or that we have not caused others to stumble so that our love abounds toward our neighbor. Pure and blameless. And again, we know that we fall short in those areas, but that's what Paul is talking about. this progress, this growth as we grow in knowledge and understanding of the Word of God and a desire for the things of God. That we desire the Holy Spirit's work of sanctification to continue day by day in us and we recognize that we are conscious of that work. The sincere life of godly love abounding in knowledge and in the understanding of God's truth is to have the goal then also producing righteous fruit. Paul's prayer is that on the day of Christ Jesus, when He comes again to judge the living and the dead, that those who are saved by the blood of Jesus, that they may stand before Him filled with fruit of righteousness. He's not talking there about how we stand again before God's sight. That's already in place. But he's talking about righteous conduct. He's talking about a life lived in loving obedience to God and for the benefit of our neighbor. This righteous fruit that he talks about is not that we stand there with this righteous fruit in order to get saved or not, as some even in the Reformed camp today are wrongly teaching, not to stay saved. Our works don't do that for us. They have nothing to do with our salvation. But that we stand there filled with the fruits of righteousness as an offering of a life of thankful praise for His redeeming work. the fruit of the Christian life, lived in obedience to God and in service for our neighbor, is the result of abounding love that is overflowing with the fruit of the Spirit. Paul says what that fruit is in Galatians 5, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. And he gives another beautiful description as we read, love is patient, love is kind, love does not envy, and all those things there, Love never fails. And that's the Christian love that we are called to practice toward one another. And that's the selfless love that we are called to strive to give to our God. But ultimately, beloved, this love will be perfected in the third place unto the glory of God. That's to be our ultimate purpose. The glory of God. And that is to be, That glory is to be given to God from men on account of you and me. Jesus says in Matthew 5, verse 16, Let your light shine before men. Why? That they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. That is to be the goal. Our goal for all those around us is that they see something in us that points them to God so that they realize that God deserves the glory, whether it's how we play in an athletic sport, how we do our jobs, how we walk them all, that others may see Christ living with us. And obviously, too, this glory is to come from us to God. And that is to be our goal in all the things that we do, that whatever it is be done in a way that is pleasing and honorable to God, that points to Him, that points to His saving grace. Sadly, we are often more concerned about what others think of us. But instead, we are to be more concerned about what God thinks of us. Our goal is to be with the psalmist in Psalm 19. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer. That's the content of Paul's prayer for the Philippian believers. and really we've only scratched the surface, but we need to move on. It's an awesome prayer. And no doubt Paul prayed also for their physical well-beings, but this was most important. It's an awesome prayer. It's not just a wish, you see. But you see, it's all a part of the good work that God has begun in His people. That love, which is central to the good work of God in us, will be perfected. And as I said in the beginning, This is to be our prayer for each other. This is to be our desire first and foremost for our brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ. We are to pray for each other's spiritual lives and desire that each other grows in the Lord Jesus Christ and also desire this for ourselves. But sadly, I trust you will agree with me that when we look at our lives, often this perfected love seems so far off. We know that we won't be perfected until glory, obviously, but even what we've talked about seems so far off. It seems at times that we have made so very little progress. Some are further along in their walk than others by the grace of God. But it can become discouraging. But if you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, do not be discouraged. Do not worry. Do not doubt. Because this is what the Holy Spirit is doing in the lives of all who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Those who don't believe in Him don't care. They don't care about the love of God. They don't care about growing in that love. They don't care about the good work He is doing. And they will be condemned to eternal death on the day of Christ Jesus. If you were here this morning, you don't yet believe. You know the facts. But you have not yet given your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ. You're being called to repent of your sins and turn to Him. To forsake yourself because you will fail. our eternal happiness and the love of God is only found in Christ Jesus. And if you believe on Him, even if your faith is brand new, then be comforted because He has been condemned for you and He promises with a promise that will not be broken to complete that work that He's begun in you. Sometimes it's discouraging, beloved, when we find ourselves in sin, when we fail miserably and we know it. It can be discouraging, but even when we fail and we humbly repent of our sins by the leading of the Holy Spirit, that too is to be wonderful news to you and me. It means that you have a knowledge of the Word of God and a desire for the Word of God and a desire for what is right and true. And that too is a demonstration of God's love in you poured back to Him. And may we be filled with humble joy as we recognize His work in us that work that gives us a greater desire to grow in Him. And He provides those opportunities, doesn't He? He provides those opportunities to grow in knowledge. And that's why the elders of this congregation earnestly encourage you as a congregation to worship Him faithfully with God's people and to participate regularly in Bible studies as you're able to and as well to give yourself over to personal devotions day by day. Those who do in true faith, He opens their eyes more and more that we see the wonderful truths of God's Word and He helps us to apply those to our lives so that in all things, in all that we do, in all of life, we live in this love. And one day we will stand before the judge of the universe, Jesus Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness, done in the power of His righteousness. We will stand there as a demonstration of His completed good work in us. And He will say to those whom He has saved, who demonstrate such a great salvation, He will say, as we'll sing in a moment, but to those who have confessed, loved, and served the Lord below, He will say, come near ye blessed, see the kingdom I bestow. You forever shall my love and glory know. Beloved, may we never, ever be satisfied with our spiritual life and are content in our walk with the Lord where we are today, but may we desire more and more day by day to grow and rejoice in that work begun and pray that the Holy Spirit of God and gospel power will continue to work powerfully in our hearts and minds with the assurance that He will complete what He began and one day He will bring us into glory with perfect love for Jesus' sake. Let's pray together. Father, once again, as we bow before Your throne of grace, we must confess, Lord, that at times these things are hard things to understand. And at times we think that we have everything going for us, everything in place spiritually. But yet we struggle. But our hope, O Lord, is in You and in You alone. We thank You, Father, for Your love poured out upon us and in us through Your Son by the power of Your Holy Spirit. We thank You for the love that You have given to us for You and for our brothers and sisters in Christ. And we pray that You would continue to nurture and nourish that love and cause it to grow until the day of Christ Jesus, that day when we will give to You perfect love, even as You deserve. And until that day, Father, continue Your work powerfully and faithfully. Help us to see it. Help us to know it. Help us to desire it for each other and for ourselves. And through that, too, that we might give all glory and honor and praise to You. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.