WEEK ONE
Day Three
DAILY SCRIPTURE
Philippians 1:11
LEADER GUIDE QUESTIONS
Week One Download
PDF FORMAT
Download
Know: Read Philippians 1:9-11
Note: Mark keywords and phrases.
Prayer, knowledge, insight, blameless, fruits of righteousness
Observation:
Who was Paul praying for?
What did Paul want the Philippians to know?
Why was Paul so adamant about the church walking in this knowledge?
What benefit would this knowledge serve?
How was the church to walk?
What: Have you learned to give your resources to help your local church? Examine your relationships. Would you say that you have healthy relationships or unhealthy? What role does right believing play in healthy relationships?
“And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” Philippians 1:9-11
Paul, as usual, opens his letter with a prayer. His prayer is that their love will grow as they grow in the knowledge of insight. The word “insight” means “to perceive.” The word “blameless” means to “not stumble against something.”
In other words, Paul prayed that as the Philippians grew in the knowledge of Jesus, they would become perceptive of all the benefits of sonship they had in Christ. As they grew in that knowledge, they would not stumble against the lies of the enemy, and their love would mature and abound because of this “perception.”
Paul’s gratefulness and affection go unmasked in this letter, calling them “joy and crown.” in chapter 4 and also calling them “brothers and sisters whom he longs for.” He willingly desired to send them his spiritual son, Timothy, who was like a real son to him, so that he might get a first-hand account of how they were doing. In Chapter 1, Paul expressed gratefulness for their partnership in the gospel.
Paul was a tent maker. Everywhere he went, he worked to provide for his travels. Because he ministered primarily to the Gentiles, it was not a common practice among the churches to give to his ministry needs. Paul didn’t expect them to help him, but he did teach the churches to consider giving as the advancement of the gospel required money; money is necessary for travel, to stay, and to eat, as well as to meet the needs of others along the way. Paul taught the Corinthian churches about the power of giving (2 Corinthians 8:7, 11, 9:6-11), writing that they will reap as they have sown and to be cheerful givers. He told them they would be enriched through their generosity (2 Corinthians 9:11).
Paul did not have to teach the Philippians how to give. They generously helped provide for Paul’s needs, even sending a man named Epaphroditus with the means to provide for Paul while he was in prison.
The relationship Paul had with this church was a two-sided friendship. Both gave of themselves, and both received.
Over the years, I have had many relationships, mostly healthy. I have enjoyed true friendships where there was mutual care and patience, overlooking faults, partnering in one another’s joys and sorrows, bearing with one another, and feeling secure in their commitment to love always and to protect one another.
I have also had relationships that have not been so safe. When there is insecurity, there is imbalance. Insecurity leads to control, manipulation, slander, and gossip, which will either shipwreck a friendship or cause the relationship to be strained and will require one side to work harder than the other. Insecurity is simply a lack of identity. When one is secure in God’s love for them as His son or daughter, there is no fear of rejection or losing control. Fear has to do with punishment. If we feel like God is against or punishing us, we are in fear. We fear God’s anger, which feeds our insecurity. This, in turn, drives our lives and every relationship we have.
Depending on the season of life we are in, those unhealthy relationships either need some distance or some patience. If they require patience, guide those friends with love and joy. Responding with kindness and love will cause them to see God’s love through your treatment of them. Pray for them with joy, declaring Psalm 23:6 over them, “Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me (them) all the days of my (their) life, and I (they) will live in the house of the LORD forever.”