In Real Knowledge and Discernment

[Christsfreeservant]

“And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” (Philippians 1:9-11 NASB1995)​

This was Paul praying for the Christians (the saints of God) in Philippi, that their love may abound more and more in real knowledge and all discernment. And the “love” he spoke of is not human love, of the flesh, but it is agape love which means “to prefer,” and typically it means to prefer what God prefers. And God prefers all that is holy, righteous, godly, morally pure, upright, honest, faithful and obedient to God and to his commands.

So when we love with this agape love, how we love others should align with how God loves us. And his love for us is pure, unselfish, self-sacrificial, honest, and faithful, etc. Out of love for us, Jesus Christ willingly died on a cross, taking upon himself the sins of the entire world, putting our sins to death with him, so that by God-persuaded and God-gifted faith in him we will now die to sin and walk in obedience to his commands, by his grace.

So, if our love is agape love, which prefers what God prefers, it should overflow with knowledge (understanding, experiential knowledge) gained through our personal relationships with Jesus Christ via our walks of surrender to the Lord in doing his will and purpose for our lives. And this is not head knowledge only, but heart knowledge via our intimate relationships with Christ as Lord of our lives, resulting in much spiritual discernment.

And if we are people who exercise biblical discernment, we will be people of God who live morally upright lives to the praise and glory of God. Sin will no longer be what we practice, but now righteous living and moral purity and honesty, etc., will describe how we live, in practice. We will be people who exercise good judgment and discrimination, and we will not be people who are easily persuaded to do what is evil, wicked, and immoral, in practice.

And part of discernment is recognizing our own areas of weakness and not putting ourselves in positions where we might be tempted to give in to those weaknesses. We have to be wise in how we live, watchful, careful, and guarded against all things which might tempt us to sin. For if we play with fire we are bound to get burned. We have to recognize where we are vulnerable and not put ourselves in danger of yielding to sinful behaviors.

And all this is so that we may be those who approve the things that are excellent (by God’s definition), not in words only, but by how we live, in practice. And this is in order that we are sincere (inwardly pure), free from hypocrisy, deceit, and wickedness, and blameless (not being led into sin) until the day of Christ. As followers of Christ we are to be those for whom sin is no longer our practice but righteous and holy living are what we practice.

For faith in Jesus Christ, if it is biblical faith, which comes from God, will result in the believer in Christ denying self, dying to sin, and following our Lord in walks of obedience to his commands. Sin must no longer be what we practice (our habit, our lifestyle, our addiction), but now obedience to our Lord in holy living should be what we practice. For if sin is what we practice, and not obedience to God, we will not inherit eternal life with God.

Gospel:[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

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In Real Knowledge and Discernment
An Original Work / August 18, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love