The Hope

“And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ; Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ unto the glory and praise of God.” - Philippians 1:9-11

What glorious outcome is experienced by the individual who allows God to be the governing authority over everything they think, feel, say, and do? This is a matter of love. As the Apostle Paul makes known his prayer for the church in Philippi, he seems to express the desire for a church that is propelled by a growing love for God. The more they know of God, the more they agree with Him, and the more they love Him. They are then able to distinguish and discern things that differ from what God says is true. They don’t just want to say what God said, but they genuinely want what God wants in every situation, and they do what God says to do.

This is my understanding of the above verses which incorporates other scriptures listed below:

And this I pray, that the agape love of God in you would be exceeding and excelling in you continually, that is by way of a fuller more exact knowledge of God. A knowledge of God that affects how you see things (all your perception). It enables you to distinguish and discern things that differ; so that you may be morally and ethically pure, unmixed, without additives, and blameless in conscience toward God and man, until the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. That you would be as a tree bearing much fruit, filled with the fruits of righteousness that has come by way of Jesus Christ, to glorify and praise God. That you would “Let God be true”. (See Acts 24:16; Ps. 1:3; Jn. 15:8)