Philippians Chapter 1 verse 9 Holy Bible

Philippians 1 : 9 Bible Verse Songs

• My Prayer (Yahweh) by CalledOut Music
• I Want To Know You by TY Bello + Nosa

Pulpit Commentary

Pulpit CommentaryVerse 9. - And this I pray. This is the purport of the prayer already mentioned in Ver. 4. The conjunction ἵνα marks the end of St. Paul's prayer, and so its purport. That your love may abound yet more and more. Your love; not love for the apostle only, but the grace of Christian charity. St. Paul finds no fault with the Philippians, but "ignis in apostolo nunquam dicit, Sufficit" (Bengel). He prays for their continued growth in love, but not unintelligent love. In knowledge and in all judgment. Ἐπίγνωσις is a stronger word than γνῶσις: it means full, complete knowledge. The Greek αἴσθησις (literally, sense) occurs only here in the New Testament, though αἰσθητήρια (organs of sense) is found in Hebrews 5:14. "Discernment," the rendering of R.V., is more correct than "judgment." It is, Bishop Wordsworth says, "that delicate tact and instinct, which almost intuitively perceives what is right, and almost unconsciously shrinks from what is wrong." It cannot exist without love. "Every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God." With love there comes a spiritual sense, spiritual sight, spiritual hearing, a sense of the beauty of holiness, a fine perception of Christian propriety; ἡ ἀγάπη οὐκ ἀσχημονεῖ.

Ellicott's Commentary

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(9, 10) If we study carefully the opening thanksgivings and prayers of St. Paul's Epistles, we may note that he always thanks God for what is strong in the Church to which he writes, and prays God for the supply of that in which it is weak. Here he thanks God for the characteristic enthusiasm and large-heartedness of the Philippians; he prays for their advance in knowledge, perception, judgment--the more intellectual and thoughtful side of the Christian character--in which they, and perhaps the Macedonian Churches generally, were less conspicuous. In the opposite case of the Corinthian Church (see 1Corinthians 1:4-10), he thanks God for their richness in all utterance and all knowledge, but he bids them "wait" for Him who shall "establish them as blameless," and exhorts them to unity and humility.(9-11) In this sentence, the original shows that there is not the three-fold parallelism which our version would suggest. St. Paul's immediate prayer is that "their love may abound in knowledge and all judgment." To this is subjoined, as an immediate consequence, "the proving the things that are excellent." The final result of the knowledge and judgment so applied, is "that they may be sincere and without offence."(9) That your love may abound more and more in knowledge.--The original verb here signifies to "overflow," a sense which our word "abound" properly has, but has in general usage partially lost; and St. Paul's meaning clearly is that love shall not only primarily fill the heart, but "overflow" in secondary influence on the spiritual understanding. (1) The "knowledge" here spoken of is the knowledge gradually rising to perfection, so constantly alluded to in these Epistles. (See Ephesians 1:17, and Note there.) Since it is clearly a personal knowledge of God in Christ, it may be gained, under His inspiration, by one of many processes, by thought, by practice, by love, by devotion, or, perhaps more properly, by some or all of these combined. Here St. Paul singles out the way of love--the enthusiasm of love to God and man which he knew that the Philippians had--and prays that it may overflow from the emotional to the intellectual element of their nature, and become, as we constantly see that it does become in simple and loving characters, a means of spiritual insight, in "knowledge and all judgment," or rather, all perception. (2) The word "perception" properly applies to the senses, and seems here to signify the insight which recognises a truth as the eye recognises an object. In the same sense (Hebrews 5:14) Holy Scripture speaks of those who "by use have their senses exercised to discern good and evil." In fact, the "perception" here spoken of differs from knowledge in dealing not with general principles, but with concrete examples and questions. (3) Accordingly he connects with it, as a direct consequence, the power of "approving" or "testing" the things that are excellent. Now the word here translated "excellent" carries with it the idea of distinctive and relative excellence, conspicuous amidst what is either evil or defective. To "test" is obviously first to distinguish what is the best, and then by trial to prove its absolute goodness. Clearly the process may be applied either speculatively to truths or practically to duties. In Romans 2:18, where exactly the same phrase is used, the latter application is made.