Breakfast: That Our Love May Abound

by Hillary Mortensen

Philippians 1:9-11

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, 11filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

Wow. This is a simple yet profound prayer that Paul prayed for the church in Philippi. If we break it down, we see how much depth and meaning it has.


Love abounding more and more.

How can we get this abounding love?

In John 13:34, Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” First of all, we are able to love because of God’s love for us. Second, Christ would not command us to do something He will not enable us to do. Paul affirms this by writing to the Thessalonians, “and may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all people.” (1 Thessalonians 3:12)

The Lord causes our love to abound.

Knowledge and depth of insight.

This, too, comes from God Himself. As Paul mentions in his prayer for the believers in Ephesus, it is “the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory [who gives to us] a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.” (See Ephesians 1:17.)

James instructs his readers to do what Paul did: “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” (James 1:5)

Let us ask God for knowledge and depth of insight.

To discern what is best.

Other translations call this “approving that which is excellent” or “seeing the difference between good and bad and choosing the good.” If we do this, we will be pure and blameless until the day of Christ and filled with the fruit of righteousness.

As the passage points out, discerning what is best is something we will do better as our love grows in knowledge and understanding.

Let us ask for forgiveness for the times when we choose what is not best (sin) and ask for the knowledge and insight to discern what is best, as well as the strength to choose it.

Fruit of righteousness.

In order to produce a fruit, first a seed must be sown.

James 3:18 says that the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. There are numerous other Biblical references to sowing righteousness, as well. It is something to be sown and cultivated.

Commentator Adam Clarke describes righteousness as being “the whole work of the Spirit of God in the soul of a believer” and the fruit of righteousness as “all holy tempers, holy words and right actions. And with these they are to be filled, filled up, filled full; the whole soul and life occupied with them, ever doing something by which glory is brought to God or good done to man.”

We must be intentional about living upright lives.

To the glory and praise of God.

And let us not forget that this is all for the glory of God. “All blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever.” (Revelation 7:12)

A prayer.

In light of all this, let’s make Paul’s prayer our own.

Pray it for yourself:
Lord, I pray that my love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that I 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 You, God.

Pray it for Adam & Amy:
Lord, I pray that Adam and Amy’s love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that they 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 You, God.

Pray it for others.

Click the link, below, for this morning's song:
The Benediction by Timothy James Meaney