Knowledge and Discernment Shape Our Growing Love

Nick Minerva • Sep 14, 2021

In this series of three posts we are going to look at verses 9-11 and see how Paul is praying for the Philippian church and their love. These three verses are one sentence at the end of the opening paragraph and this prayer is a prayer for sanctification. This prayer is not simply a list. As we work through these verses you will notice that each clause of this sentence builds on the next one. 

This is how Paul “always prayed with joy” 1 for this church and it serves as an example for how we should pray for ourselves and for each other. What we will see is that we don’t pursue spiritual growth instead of praying, we pursue spiritual growth because we are praying. And it shows us that God is working in response to our prayers. God is the one who grows us in Christ-likeness through the power of his Holy Spirit. And when we pray in faith, believing that God will make us more like Jesus, we diligently pursue a life that looks more and more like Jesus. 

A Model Church

Philippians 1:9 And I pray this: that your love will keep on growing in knowledge and every kind of discernment,

In many ways the church at Philippi was an example of what it meant to be a loving church. But just because they were doing well didn’t mean they could coast. So Paul prays that their love would keep growing. He prays similarly for the church at Thessalonica. 2 So even though churches like the Philippians and the Thessalonians were in many ways examples of love, Paul is calling them to continually grow in that love. There is no coasting in our walk with him. We can’t sit back and think we are okay. God wants out love to be continually increasing. What is interesting about this challenge to grow in love is that the love here has no direct object. Throughout Scripture we are called to love God and love others. 

Matthew 22:36-40 “Teacher, which command in the law is the greatest? ” He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.”

Always Growing

When we let Scripture interpret Scripture we can see Paul is praying that our love would overflow up to God and out to each other in limitless abundance. We can’t go on auto-pilot just because things seem to be okay. And there is a temptation here that we all have to wrestle with. It’s easy when things are going well, or life is comfortable, to not intentionally pursue after spiritual growth. But Paul encourages these churches, that are great examples, to keep pressing in love. Keep on growing in being like Jesus. 

But then he shows us what informs our limitless love. Biblical love is not an open-ended thing without definition. It is more than just a sentimental feeling that gives us the warm and fuzzies. Biblical love must conform to the truth of God’s Word. Often times people equate love with total acceptance. Love is love. Whatever emotional attachment I have must be accepted as love and any type of disagreement is un-loving. But Paul tells us that genuine love is rooted in God’s objective truth. And the more we grow in our knowledge of God, the more loving we become. 

Love Grounded In Knowledge

Paul makes it very clear that the foundation of their love was knowledge and discernment. The Greek word for knowledge is epignosis. 3 It means a precise and correct knowledge. When Paul uses this word it is almost always in connection with knowing God. Take Colossians 3 for example.

Colossians 3:9-10 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self. You are being renewed in knowledge according to the image of your Creator.

Walter Hansen said “Knowledge of Christ multiplies love.” 4 The more we know of God, the closer we grow to God, the more reason we will have to love him and the more driven we will be to love others. Love is rooted in the knowledge of God. Otherwise we wouldn’t know how to love appropriately. We learn from Christ what it means to serve, forgive, and lay down our lives for others. 

Ephesians 5:1-2 Therefore, be imitators of God, as dearly loved children, and walk in love, as Christ also loved us and gave himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God.

Paul is showing us that Jesus is the example and model of what true love looks like. And as we spend time in his presence, surrendering to his Spirit, he will enable us to walk in that love following his example. If you go on to read Ephesians 5:3-5 Paul doesn’t just say what it looks like, he also tells what love doesn’t look like. He is rooting love in truth. Throughout the Bible we see that the key to growing in our sanctification, the key to growing in our love for God and others, is growing in our knowledge of him. 

Love Grounded In Discernment

Christian love is never a matter of mere sentimentality. Christian love comes from the work of the Holy Spirit bringing the knowledge of Christ through the Word of God. The more you are in the Word, the more your knowledge of God will increase, and the more your love will overflow. 

But not only is knowledge supposed to inform our love, so is discernment. The Greek word for discernment is aisthesis. 5 This means perception. It’s moral discernment in ethical matters. This verse is the only place in the New Testament this word is used, but in the Greek translation of the Old Testament, called the Septuagint, it is used 22 times in the book of Proverbs where it means practical insights that informs choices and conduct. The idea being communicated by including knowledge and discernment is prayerfully answering the question:

“What is the best way for me to love this person based on what the Word of God says?”

The more we saturate our minds in God’s Word, the more we will learn how to live out God’s Word with wisdom and discernment. This is truth saturated love and love saturated truth.

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  1. Philippians 1:4
  2. 1 Thessalonians 4:9-12
  3. https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g1922/csb/mgnt/0-1/
  4. Hansen, G. Walter: The Letter to the Philippians. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2009
  5. https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g144/csb/mgnt/0-1/

A Creed To Remind The Gathered Church Of Its New Life In Christ

By Nick Minerva • 14 Jul, 2023
When I was pastoring I wanted to read a blessing over the church that would remind all of us of our new life in Christ. So I wrote this new life creed and every week I would read it and remind us of what Christ had done for us. We gather together as believers professing our great need We acknowledge that we have fallen short We confess that we are rebels who have gone our own way Apart from Christ, we stand condemned, guilty, and unable to save ourselves But what we are incapable of doing, God did In his infinite love, God made a way of salvation for all who would believe Jesus willingly laid down his life and received the just punishment we deserve So that could walk in new life So yes, we confess our great need We humbly recognize that apart from Christ we are incapable of any good thing But we also proclaim that because of the finished work of the cross we will never be apart from Christ We are forever secure in the love of the Father We have been sealed by the Holy Spirit All because of the sacrifice of the Son, Jesus Christ. We are no longer in bondage to sin We are no longer facing righteous wrath We have been declared holy by our King And nothing on heaven or earth will change that reality This gathering is a testimony to our redeemed state We pursue holy living to be an authentic demonstration of the love we have for Christ We believe that we have been empowered by grace to meet our every need And we gladly anticipate the complete fulfillment of our adaption and the remaking of this world at the coming of our Lord To Christ be glory forever and ever Amen

A Praying Church: A Book Review

By Nick Minerva • 23 May, 2023
Prayer is one of those topics that always seems to convict me. I have never heard a sermon or read a book on prayer and not been challenged. Even as I am writing this review there is a bit of imposter syndrome because I know I should pray more. In A Praying Church , Paul Miller writes about how to become a people of hope in a discouraging world through prayer. And he does so in a way that was very authentic and accessible. While I was consistently challenged, I was also consistently encouraged. Throughout the book, he takes you on his journey of developing a personal prayer life plus countless stories of ministries that developed communal prayer as a vital component of their life together. One thing that struck home with me throughout these stories was the reality that prayer always grows out of desperation for God. There were several things that I found very helpful in this book. One of them was the connection between a life yielded to the Holy Spirit and a vibrant prayer life. The power to do anything of eternal importance comes from the Holy Spirit and the Spirit moves in response to prayer. Paul shows us a biblical pattern we see throughout the New Testament. Prayer-Spirit-Jesus-power. However, this is not a simple formula to get God to do what you want. Another thing I appreciated about this book is Paul tells us time and again that the Spirit often moves in ways we don’t expect and that almost always includes difficulties. The Spirit enables us to look more like Jesus and that means joining him in the fellowship of his suffering. So this is not a “how to turn God into your personal genie” scheme, like many books on prayer. God often answers in ways we don’t expect and in places we don’t anticipate. This book is also full of practical help. I’ve already mentioned the stories he tells, but Paul also offers several helpful charts, strategies, and ideas to help put into place what he writes about (and lives by.) At the end of each chapter, he has a section called “A Word To Pastors” with a few paragraphs of wisdom to help them become a person of prayer and then lead their congregation to become a church of prayer. This book also made me thankful that I am a part of a church that has sought to grow in corporate prayer over the last few years. This would be a great book for any ministry leader who is burdened with the prayer life of his or her church. But it’s also a great read for any believer seeking to develop their own prayer life. Crossway was kind to send me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. You can get a copy of it at the affiliate link below.

Non-Toxic Masculinity: A Book Review

By Nick Minerva • 28 Apr, 2023
Let me start this review by saying everyone should read this book. If you've grown up in Evangelicalism, you‘ve no doubt heard of purity culture. For the last several years we have seen the harm that has come as a result of this sub-group of Christianity. In Non-Toxic Masculinity, Zachary Wagner does an excellent job unpacking its teaching and the damage that has come as a result. He explains so well the angst I've been feeling with the movement and how often the Church falls short and winds up doing more damage. But unlike many critiques, this one also points a way forward. We know what toxic male sexuality looks like. We see it in the news and unfortunately, in the Church. But what does healthy male sexuality look like? What does it look like for me? What will it look like for my boys? In my heart, I know what I want it to look like, but so often I struggle to find the right words to express it. Non-Toxic Masculinity paints a healthy picture that is (re)humanizing and ultimately looks like Jesus, who, like all of us, had a sexual body. Zach is also very transparent in this book and God used his transparency to encourage, challenge, and convict me. As you read his story you will no doubt find yourself resonating with him on some level. Every man should read this book for themselves first and foremost. But if you have sons, nephews, grandsons, or young boys in your life, reading it is a must. Non-Toxic Masculinity is a breath of fresh air that will prove to be a tremendous resource for generations. Thank you Zach for writing it and sharing your story to serve us.
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