And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden of the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia;
and when they were come over against Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia; and the Spirit of Jesus suffered them not;
and passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas.
And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: there was a man of Macedonia standing, beseeching him, and saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us.
And when he had seen the vision, straightway we sought to go forth into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us for to preach the gospel unto them.
Setting sail therefore from Troas, we made a straight course to Samothrace, and the day following to Neapolis;
and from thence to Philippi, which is a city of Macedonia, the first of the district, a Roman colony: and we were in this city tarrying certain days.
And on the sabbath day we went forth without the gate by a river side, where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down, and spake unto the women that were come together.
And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, one that worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened to give heed unto the things which were spoken by Paul.
And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us.
And it came to pass, as we were going to the place of prayer, that a certain maid having a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much gain by soothsaying.
The same following after Paul and us cried out, saying, These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim unto you the way of salvation.
And this she did for many days. But Paul, being sore troubled, turned and said to the spirit, I charge thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And it came out that very hour.
But when her masters saw that the hope of their gain was gone, they laid hold on Paul and Silas, and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers.
And when they had brought them unto the magistrates, they said, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city,
and set forth customs which it is not lawful for us to receive, or to observe, being Romans.
And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent their garments off them, and commanded to beat them with rods.
And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely:
who, having received such a charge, cast them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.
But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns unto God, and the prisoners were listening to them;
and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison-house were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened; and every one’s bands were loosed.
And the jailer, being roused out of sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped.
But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.
And he called for lights and sprang in, and, trembling for fear, fell down before Paul and Silas,
and brought them out and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved, thou and thy house.
And they spake the word of the Lord unto him, with all that were in his house.
And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, immediately.
And he brought them up into his house, and set food before them, and rejoiced greatly, with all his house, having believed in God.
But when it was day, the magistrates sent the serjeants, saying, Let those men go.
And the jailer reported the words to Paul, saying, The magistrates have sent to let you go: now therefore come forth, and go in peace.
But Paul said unto them, They have beaten us publicly, uncondemned, men that are Romans, and have cast us into prison; and do they now cast us out privily? nay verily; but let them come themselves and bring us out.
And the serjeants reported these words unto the magistrates: and they feared when they heard that they were Romans;
and they came and besought them; and when they had brought them out, they asked them to go away from the city.
And they went out of the prison, and entered into the house of Lydia: and when they had seen the brethren, they comforted them, and departed.
This is the word of the Lord.
Dear Lord, we want to thank Thee for inviting us to Thy table this morning. We want to thank Thee for all Thy love, mercy, and grace that Thou hast so bountifully bestowed upon us. We thank Thee for the precious blood. We thank Thee for Thy body broken for us.
How we praise and thank Thee for all the goodness that Thou hast given to us. Lord, we are always unworthy, but Thou art always worthy. Lord, we do praise and thank Thee that Thou dost not only invite us to Thy table, but Thou dost speak to us by Thy word.
So now, Lord, we just commit Thy word back to Thee and ask that Thy Holy Spirit will quicken Thy word to our hearts, that it truly may be life and spirit to us. And to God be the glory. In the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.
We have been, off and on, sharing on the life of the church, the body of Christ. Luke wrote two books. One is the Gospel according to Luke, and the other is the book of Acts.
In his first discourse, he recorded what our Lord Jesus began to do and to teach. In other words, our Lord Jesus, in His incarnate body, did and taught.
Then, after His death, resurrection, and ascension, on the day of Pentecost, He poured the Holy Spirit down upon the one hundred and twenty who met in that upper room. In one Spirit, these men were baptized into one body.
So we find that the book of Acts is the continuation of the Gospel according to Luke. In the Gospel according to Luke, our Lord Jesus did and taught in that physical body which He received from Mary the virgin. But now, in the book of Acts, we find that He continues to do and to teach in a corporate body, a mystical body, which is the church.
He is the Head of that body, and He continues to do and to teach. That is the book of Acts. So in the book of Acts, we see the life of the body of Christ, which is the church.
Our emphasis is on the life of the church of God. It begins in Jerusalem, continues on to Antioch, and last time we shared on the churches in Galatia. This morning we would like to continue on and see the life of the church in Philippi.
This was the second missionary journey of the Apostle Paul. He started out with Silas, roughly in the year AD 50, and they continued on to Derbe and Lystra. In Derbe, they picked up Timothy.
After they passed through Phrygia and the Galatian country, they were going west. They were thinking of preaching the word of God in Asia—that is, Asia as a Roman province—because it was heavily populated. So they thought that was the place where they should go. But the Holy Spirit did not allow them to go.
So they continued west to Mysia, with the thought of going a little north to Bithynia to preach the word of God. Again, the Spirit of Jesus forbade them. The only thing they could do was continue west until they reached Troas. Troas was by the sea, the Aegean Sea, so they had nowhere else to go.
But when they arrived in Troas, Paul saw, in a vision, a Macedonian man who said, “Come over and help us.” So the Bible says, “We concluded that God had called us to go to Macedonia.”
Now, brothers and sisters, we know that the gospel began in Asia. From Jerusalem, it went to Antioch, and then to the Galatian country. Now, for the first time, the gospel was to be preached in Europe, because Macedonia is in Europe.
One thing we notice is that the footsteps of the servants of the Lord are guided by the Holy Spirit. It is the Lord Who sets apart His servants, and it is the Spirit of the Lord Who decides where they should go.
You know, oftentimes we are guided by need. In a sense, this is not altogether wrong, because Paul and his companions saw the need in Asia. So they were thinking of going there. But even so, they laid their thought at the feet of the Lord, and the Holy Spirit did not allow them to go.
Again, they saw the need in Bithynia. But instead of simply going there, governed by need, they laid the need before the Lord, and the Spirit of Jesus forbade them.
In other words, the footsteps of God’s servants should be governed by the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit Who directs them where they should go. Today, we often find that needs decide the direction of the servants of God. Oftentimes, human strategy decides where to go.
But here, it was not need. The needs were there, but God knows better than all of us. There is a timing. The need is everywhere. Of course, the gospel should be preached in Asia; and in Paul’s third missionary journey, he actually concentrated on Asia. But God has His own timetable.
God knows exactly when the word of God should be preached in a certain place. That is His strategy. So we cannot depend merely upon human strategy. We have to learn to know the timing of the Lord and learn to obey the guidance and leading of the Holy Spirit.
Paul and his companions were so sensitive in their spirit. If they were forbidden, they did not go. They simply went on until they had nowhere to go but the sea. At the right moment, Paul saw the Macedonian vision, and the calling of God came to them.
So, brothers and sisters, I think this is the first lesson we can learn: the footsteps of God’s servants should be guided by the Holy Spirit and not merely by human need.
Sir William Ramsay, I think, said that Luke probably was a native of Philippi. You find that in Acts 16:10 the “we” section of the book of Acts begins: “We concluded to go to Macedonia.” It continues until the end of Acts 16 and is not resumed until Acts 20:5, when Luke joined the Apostle Paul again at Philippi.
Evidently, Luke was in Troas at that time. We do not know whether the Macedonian man Paul saw in the vision was Luke or somebody else. But Ramsay thought that Luke was a native of Philippi.
At the right moment, God revealed where they should go. They took the boat and crossed the Aegean Sea, about one hundred and twenty-five miles, and landed at Neapolis. Neapolis was a seaport in Macedonia, about eight or ten miles from Philippi. From there, they walked to the city of Philippi.
Philippi was a Roman colony. What does it mean by a colony? At that time, Rome had a great empire, and one way it ruled that empire was by establishing colonies in different places.
These colonies were inhabited partly by retired Roman soldiers and their families. They were placed in strategic locations, and the colony became a Roman city. In a colony, everything was Roman: the law, the government, the clothing, the manner of life, the customs—everything was according to Rome.
Philippi was therefore an important place. Most of its inhabitants were native Macedonians, but there were retired Roman soldiers and their families, as well as a number of people from Asia and other places. There were, however, very few Jews.
Philippi was on the route from east to west, so it was indeed an important city. Yet there were so few Jews that they did not even have a synagogue. If there were ten Jewish men of standing, they could establish a synagogue. In Philippi, there were not even ten such men; therefore, there was no synagogue.
There were only some women who worshipped God outside the city by the river, in an enclosure. When Paul and his companions arrived in Philippi, after a few days, on the Sabbath, they went outside the city by the riverside. They sat down and spoke to these women.
Most of the women were Jews, but there were also some Gentiles who worshipped God—proselytes. While Paul was speaking to them and giving them the gospel of Jesus Christ, there was one woman named Lydia.
Lydia was not a European; she was an Asiatic. She came from Thyatira, one of the cities in the Roman province of Asia. You remember the seven churches in Asia in the book of Revelation, and Thyatira was one of them.
Lydia was a seller of purple. At that time, purple was the dress of wealthy people; only the wealthy could use purple. So Lydia must have been a businesswoman dealing in costly clothing. Yet she worshipped God.
As she listened by the river, the Lord opened her heart. She believed the gospel preached that day. Not only did she believe, but her household also believed in the Lord, and they were baptized.
After she was baptized, she told Paul and his companions, “If you really consider me faithful to the Lord, then come and stay in my house.” She must have had a large house. She constrained them to come, and Paul and his companions moved to Lydia’s home rather than staying at an inn.
Then they went out and preached the gospel. As they did so, another woman followed them. She was a slave girl with a spirit of divination. Because she was demon-possessed, she could prophesy and bring her masters much profit.
She followed Paul and his companions, saying, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.” Isn’t that strange? Here was a woman possessed by an evil spirit, yet she seemed to be helping Paul preach the gospel.
Actually, it was another strategy of the devil, because she was trying to confuse the issue. Sometimes he tries to persecute, but at other times he tries to confuse. He was trying to confuse the gospel.
After a few days, Paul was distressed. He turned and said, “In the name of the Lord Jesus, I command you to come out.” The spirit went out at once. Because of this, she could no longer prophesy, and her masters saw that their hope of gain was lost.
Immediately, they laid hold of Paul and Silas and brought them before the magistrates. They said, “These Jews have come here to teach us customs which we Romans cannot receive. They trouble us.” The whole city rose up, and the magistrates, without really finding out the reason, tore off Paul and Silas’s clothes, beat and scourged them, and put them into prison.
The jailer was charged to keep them safely. So he put them into the inner prison, the dungeon, and fastened their feet in the stocks.
Now, at midnight, if you have wounds, that is usually the worst time. You feel the pain most at midnight. Paul and Silas had been scourged and beaten with many stripes. They must have bled much and hurt much. Yet, at midnight, they prayed and praised God with singing.
What a victory! While they were praising God with singing, all the prisoners were listening. Then there was a great earthquake. All the prison doors opened, and all the chains were loosened.
The jailer suddenly awoke from sleep. When he saw that the doors were open, he thought all the prisoners must have escaped. He took a sword and tried to kill himself.
But Paul called from the dungeon, “We are all here. Do not kill yourself. We are all here. Nobody has escaped.”
The jailer asked for lights, came in trembling, and led them out. Then he asked them a question: “What shall I do to be saved?”
Paul and Silas told him, “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved, thou and thy household.” They spoke the word of the Lord to him and to his household. The jailer took them out of prison, washed their wounds, and set a table before them. He and his household were all baptized, and they rejoiced in the Lord.
The next day, the magistrates sent messengers saying, “Let these men go.” But Paul said, “We are Romans.” Paul and Silas were Roman citizens. As Roman citizens, they could not be lashed without first knowing why, nor could they be put into prison without an opportunity for defense.
Paul said, “We are Romans. You scourged us and put us into prison, and now you secretly want to drive us out. No, you have to come yourselves.” I believe Paul did this for the sake of the brethren who would be left behind.
That is how the gospel came to Philippi. Paul’s stay in Philippi was not long because he was asked to leave the city. But there are a number of things we should notice.
First of all, the church in Philippi, from the very beginning, was composed of people of different races, cultures, backgrounds, and social status.
Lydia was an Asiatic. The slave girl was most likely a Greek. The jailer was a Roman officer. Lydia was a rich merchant woman; the slave girl was social chattel, in the lowest social position; and the jailer was a Roman officer.
Their cultures were different, and their races were different. But when the gospel comes, all the distinctions of this world are eliminated. In the church in Philippi, there is no Greek or Jew, no circumcision or uncircumcision, no bondman or freeman, no barbarian or Scythian, as we find in Colossians 3:11.
In the church, all these worldly distinctions are eliminated by the gospel. Outside the church, in the world, you have all these distinctions—races, cultures, social status, and so forth—and because of them people are divided.
But in the church, in Christ, we are one. When we step into Christ, the cross has eliminated all these worldly distinctions. In the church, you do not have an Asian or a European, either Greek or Roman. You do not find the wealthy or the poor, nor do you find cultural differences.
All these are eliminated by the cross of Jesus Christ. In Christ Jesus, we are one. That is what the church is. Here, in the church in Philippi, you find this demonstrated. This is the first thing that we need to remember.
The second lesson we need to learn is this: when the gospel was preached, Lydia and her household were all baptized. They all believed and were baptized. The same thing happened to the jailer. Not only the jailer, but his whole household came to the Lord and was baptized.
Here again is demonstrated another important principle: household salvation. In Old Testament times, when God delivered the children of Israel out of Egypt, He asked every Jewish family to prepare a lamb—each family.
It is true that on that night only the firstborn would be killed, but the firstborn represented the whole household. Each household had a lamb. The blood was put on the doorposts and the lintel, and the whole family gathered in the house behind the door, under the blood. There the whole household ate the lamb.
After midnight, they were asked to go out. The whole household went out, not merely the firstborn. So, brothers and sisters, in Old Testament typology, we find that household salvation is a principle of salvation.
If anyone in the house is saved, there is a promise: “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved, thou and thy household.” This does not mean that if one believes in the Lord Jesus, all members of the household are automatically saved without believing. No, it does not mean that.
In Acts 16:31, the word says, “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved.” Every one of us must believe for himself or herself. If you do not believe, even though salvation is for the household, you will not be saved. But if you believe, you shall be saved.
God promises concerning your household. If one is saved, it is not only the promise of God that the whole household will be saved; it is also the responsibility of the one who believes to go to the Lord, claim the promise, and be a faithful witness in the household.
If we are faithful, if we believe, you will find that God’s promise is always true. God’s promise does not come to us automatically. There is a responsibility on our side.
Have you ever prayed for the members of your family? You are saved, but perhaps some member of your family has not yet come to the Lord. It is your responsibility to pray for them, claim the promise of the Lord, and be a good witness and testimony. Live before them as a true disciple of the Lord.
Brothers and sisters, God is faithful. We can cite case after case where whole families came to the Lord because the first one saved was faithful. In the thought of God, salvation is for the household. So we can claim that before the Lord.
Number three: there is another lesson we can learn in the life of the church in Philippi. The church in Philippi began with the labor of love.
The moment Lydia was saved, immediately you find love within her—hospitality. She loved those who were the Lord’s. She could not bear to see Paul and his companions stay in an inn. She had a large house, and immediately she opened it. She even constrained Paul and his companions to come.
She said, “If you really consider me faithful to the Lord, then you have to come.” You see, this is love. The church in Philippi began with love, and it was the labor of love.
You find the same thing with the jailer. He took Paul and Silas out, washed them, and set the table before them. Immediately, love was there. Love marked the church in Philippi.
It was not merely love with the lips. There was labor of love, the service of love, and that marked the church in Philippi. Brothers and sisters, that is what should mark every church of God.
In the church of God, as members one of another, we need to love one another. This is the new commandment our Lord gave us: “Love one another, as I have loved you.”
The Lord loved us with actions. He loved us to the extent of giving Himself for us. Likewise, He commands us to love with deeds, not merely with words, and to love our brethren to the extent of giving our lives for them.
Brothers and sisters, this is the life of the church. This is something we really need to take to heart. Oh, that the love of Christ may so constrain us that we cannot but love our brothers and sisters. This marked the church in Philippi.
Number four: we find that the church in Philippi was born through the travail of Paul and Silas. In birth, there is always travail. Today people try to make birth without pain, but as a matter of fact, birth is always with travail.
The birth of a church comes through travail—not only because of the travail of our Lord Jesus on the cross, but also through the suffering of God’s servants. Paul and Silas suffered for the sake of the faith.
If you read the letter to the Philippians, you will find that the church also suffered for the faith. Paul wrote to the Philippians and said that they had received grace not only to believe in the Lord, but also to suffer for the Lord.
Now, brothers and sisters, if we are faithful to the faith of our Lord Jesus, there is bound to be conflict. The world will rise up and try to persecute you. The church is separated out of every nation, people, tongue, and tribe; God has called out a people unto Himself.
We are separated from the world, and the faith of the gospel separates us from the world. Therefore, we are in conflict. The enemy of God will not allow us to go on smoothly. There will be many conflicts.
Not only did Paul and Silas suffer for the faith, but the church in Philippi was given grace not only to believe but also to suffer—to believe on the Lord Jesus and to suffer for the Lord. Brothers and sisters, that is grace.
Do we suffer for the name of our Lord Jesus? Our sufferings can be of many kinds. You may not suffer physically through persecution, imprisonment, or scourging. But if we really believe in the Lord and are faithful to our faith, we will suffer, because through much tribulation we enter into the kingdom of God.
Suffering matures us. Suffering strengthens us. The church in Philippi was not merely having a good time. It suffered for the name of Christ, and through that suffering the church was strengthened.
That is another lesson we need to learn. Do we have the will to suffer? Are we willing to give up ourselves? Are we willing to give up the world? Are we faithful to the Lord in following Him all the way?
Paul was in Philippi only for a short period because he was asked to leave. But when he left, he left someone behind. Paul, Silas, and Timothy went on, but Luke was left behind.
Luke was the beloved physician. When we think of a physician, sometimes we think that a physician is so technical that he has no emotion. But here we find that Luke, the physician, was beloved. He was full of love.
Luke was left behind to help the young church, and he was with them for years. Luke did not join Paul again until Acts 20:5, at the end of Paul’s third missionary journey, around AD 58.
With Luke in their midst helping them, it is no wonder that the church in Philippi was a church of love. It was full of warm love.
We know quite a lot about the life of the church in Philippi because we have a letter written by Paul in AD 63, while he was in a Roman prison. He wrote a letter to the Philippians, and in that letter we are shown a great deal about the church in Philippi.
First of all, if you read the letter to the Philippians, it is a love letter. You find such love, such an intimate relationship of love, between Paul and the church in Philippi.
Paul loved the church in Philippi so much that he longed for them with the affection of Christ Jesus. The church in Philippi loved Paul so much that they not only prayed for him, but also supported him materially.
After Paul left Macedonia, the church in Philippi was the only church that supported Paul with financial help. Once and again, they sent help to Thessalonica. Even when Paul was in the Roman prison, after so many years, they sent Epaphroditus with material assistance to serve Paul.
The church in Philippi loved Paul deeply. There was a good relationship between the worker and the church, a proper relationship between the work and the church.
Today, in many places, workers and churches are in conflict. There are many problems between them. The workers try to control the church, and the church tries to control the workers. They struggle over power, and there are many problems.
But here you find that the relationship between the workers and the church, between the work and the church, was a proper and good relationship. Humanly speaking, the church in Philippi was started by Paul, but Paul did not control them.
He prayed for them. He helped them in whatever way he could. Even though he personally could not be there because he was in a Roman prison, he wrote to them. He was deeply concerned for them.
This was reciprocated by the church in Philippi. From the very first day, they stood with Paul in the preaching of the gospel. Even when Paul was in the Roman prison and in the defense of the gospel, they were participants with him.
From the beginning to the end, many years passed, but they stood with Paul in the gospel without letting up. That is a good relationship.
This is a lesson we really need to learn. If you look into Christianity today, you will find that this is something very much needed: the relationship between the work and the church.
In one sense, they are distinct; but in another sense, they are not separated. The workers are sent out by the Lord and guided by the Holy Spirit. They are not controlled or sent out by any church. They look to the Lord for their supply, and they serve the Lord and the church.
On the other hand, the church is not controlled by the workers, yet it is one with the work of God. The church supports the work with prayer and practical help. Thus, they work together. There is no conflict; they work together as one.
That is why the gospel was able to reach out so rapidly in the first century: a good relationship.
This letter to the Philippians is a love letter. Because of that love relationship, Paul was able to pour out his heart to them.
Everyone who reads the letter to the Philippians knows that this letter reveals Paul as a person more than any other letter he wrote. Here he was able, as it were, to open himself to the Philippian believers: “This is what I am.” He told them the secret of his life.
What is the secret of the life of Paul? In the letter to the Philippians, he reveals it. In Philippians 1:21, he said, “For to me to live is Christ.” That is the secret.
The reason Paul could live as he did was because, for him, to live was Christ.
In Philippians 2:5, he said, “Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” Not only do you have the life of Christ; you also have the mind of Christ, which is selfless humility.
In Philippians 3, he shows us his passion, his pursuit in life: to gain Christ. In Philippians 3:10, he speaks of knowing Him.
In Philippians 4:13, he tells us the secret of overcoming in every circumstance: “I have learned the secret. I can do all things through Him Who strengthens me.”
Brothers and sisters, this is Christian living. This is the Christian life. Paul shared this secret with the Philippian believers.
The church in Philippi was not perfect. You cannot find a perfect church on this earth. As some people say, as long as you are there, the church cannot be perfect.
The church in Philippi was not perfect. It was a church of love, no doubt. It stood with Paul from the beginning to the end for the gospel. There was much to commend.
You do not find any obvious flaw in that church. When you read the letter to the Galatians, you immediately see what was wrong. But if you read the letter to the Philippians, you find nothing apparently wrong until you come toward the end. Paul only hinted at it; he did not even mention exactly what was wrong.
It was a church of love, a church of faith, a church that stood for the gospel of Jesus Christ and was willing to suffer for it. Yet there was a flaw.
The flaw concerned two leading sisters: Euodia and Syntyche. They were Paul’s fellow workers. They helped Paul in the furtherance of the gospel. They were very zealous for the Lord and gifted. Yet a rivalry developed between these two women.
You may say that in the world there can be rivalry, striving with one another for glory. But in the church, there should not be such a thing. There should be no rivalry.
If we see any brother or sister being used by the Lord more than we are, we should be happy about it. We should thank God for it, because we are members one of another. If one is glorified, then we are all glorified.
But unfortunately, we are still human beings. Even in the church in Philippi, even in a church of love, even among those who loved the Lord, were zealous for Him, and worked for the gospel, somehow rivalry developed between these two women.
Who had the greater influence? When one looked at the other and saw that she was used by the Lord more, she became jealous, and vice versa. They tried to create influence for themselves.
Love, yes. They may even have been willing to give up their lives. But what happened?
That is why, in the letter to the Philippians, Paul prayed for the church. Paul never prayed a general prayer. He always prayed very specifically, right to the point and right to the target.
When he prayed for the church in Philippi, he said: “And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and all discernment.”
Yes, they had love, but their love needed to abound and increase. In what way? More and more in full knowledge and all discernment.
We say that love is blind. If you know too much, you may feel that you cannot love anymore. But spiritual love is different. Spiritual love has its eyes wide open. It is with full knowledge and all discernment.
In other words, spiritual love increases in knowledge and discernment. Love itself cannot be increased, because God is love. The love of Christ in you is complete. But love can increase in knowledge and discernment.
Full knowledge refers to the eternal purpose of God. All discernment refers to spiritual perception. With that knowledge and discernment, you may be able to distinguish the things that differ, to approve the things that are excellent, and to be pure and without offence unto the day of Christ.
What does that mean? It means that even though there is love, you know what ought to be loved, how to love, and where love should be placed. You know the things that differ.
You do not merely love blindly. No. You love according to the will of God, and you are able to discern whether something is of the flesh or of the Spirit.
These two women did have love, but evidently they lacked full knowledge. The eternal purpose of God is Christ. They began to seek themselves and seek vainglory. Instead of esteeming the other as more excellent than themselves, they lost the spirit of humility, the spirit of the Lamb.
That was the thing that differed. The believers in Philippi saw these two sisters, so zealous for the Lord and greatly used by Him, yet they were at odds with each other, striving perhaps secretly. Somehow a cloud spread over the whole assembly.
They did not know what to do. You see, they did not have discernment. Not only did these two sisters need this, but all the brothers and sisters needed their love to abound more and more in full knowledge and all discernment, that they might know the things that differ.
There needed to be dealings so that they might be pure and without offence unto the day of Christ. In this letter, Paul mentions a number of times the day of Christ Jesus. That is the day to which we are looking forward, when we shall stand before Him at the judgment seat.
Paul was trying to tell these two sisters: you have love, but you do not have full knowledge and all discernment. You do not see the things that differ. There is self there. There is flesh there. You need to be dealt with by the cross. Then you will have the mind of Christ, and you will be one.
Paul, out of his love for that church, though unable to speak to them directly, wrote to them and prayed for them—that their love might abound more and more in full knowledge and all discernment. The result would be to God’s glory and praise.
Brothers and sisters, we thank God that even though we are not perfect, there is hope. The Lord will not allow us to remain in ignorance. He will instruct us, persuade us, beseech us, and bring us into a place where we will be unto God’s glory and praise.
Dear Lord, we do pray that the lessons Thou hast given us in the life of the church in Philippi may be well learned by heart.
Lord, we just pray that Thy word will not fall into hard ground, but that it may fall into ground that has been tilled, that it may patiently bear fruit a hundredfold unto Thyself.
Lord, may glory be unto Thee in the church, in Christ Jesus. In the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.