Thursday, December 10, 2009

Philippians 1:1-11

1Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons: 2Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

3I thank my God every time I remember you, 4constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, 5because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. 6I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.

7It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart, for all of you share in God’s grace with me, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus.

9And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight 10to help you to determine what is best, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, 11having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.

    
Here is a look at verses 6 and 9-11:

6- I am confident of this,
9- And this is my prayer

6- that the one who began a good work in you
9- that your love may overflow more and more
with knowledge and full insight

6- will bring it to completion
10a- to help you determine what is best,
11a- having produced the harvest of
righteousness

6- by the day of Jesus Christ.
10b- so that in the day of Christ you may be pure
and blameless,
11b- that comes through Jesus Christ for the
glory and praise of God.

Now we can proceed to play with the interrelationship between confidence and prayer. Prayer here is not supplication, but an envisioning or imagining of realized behavior.

What is to be realized is the connection between a generalized good work and the particulars of an insightful love (different than a feeling love). This application of knowledge keeps us from idealism and dogmatism.

When we connect love and insight we are able to do more than have a resolution – to do gooder, we are able to not only determine, but complete or harvest the fruit of said resolution.

Those who connect Jesus Christ with a revelation of G*D will affirm this pattern will be done “by” tomorrow, is being done “in” what we know to be today, and has already been done or “come through” to now.

So, confident ones, pray that love be connected with knowledge and insight. This is an energy needful in our lives and the lives of many.