Always in every prayer of mine making request for you with joy, (5) for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, (6) being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;……..(8) For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you with all the affection of Jesus Christ. (9) And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, (10) that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, (11) being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
This letter was written by the Apostle Paul while he was in prison in Rome – while he was in mortal danger he wrote this letter indicating his joy in the spiritual growth Of the Philippians. Paul felt that the Christians there were saved and that the church there would continue to grow with or without him.
The doctrine here is that salvation is entirely the work of God, not man. “He who has begun a good work in you” means God has begun this work And if there is evidence of this there should be confidence that God will complete it. God opens the hearts to respond to the gospel. Salvation is first to last of the Lord.
These thoughts introduce the idea of free will – that our will does not choose God but God elects and once His work is started it goes to completion. We are not saved apart from Christ but faith is not from us, it is from God, and salvation is always accompanied by evidence – we will behave as we believe.
In verses 9-11, Paul is warning his readers to avoid subjective feelings which are devoid of doctrine – meaning biblical doctrine. We are to pursue biblical love – of the will with Christ as our model. Love is not an option for the believer but a command and discerning love is based on spiritual knowledge. Discernment means a rational act and biblical faith is rational – comes from studying God through the bible. Paul is praying here that the Philippians would grow in love as they grow in knowledge of God. Godly living is our end, our goal. If we put God at the center of our lives all else will fall into place. God will be glorified in us and that’s what it’s all about.