How to pray for Christians Philippians 1:9 discussion

Notes from Grace Int'l Video Party

CNV5  Philippians 1:9 我所禱告的，是要你們的愛心，在充足的知識和各樣的見識上，多而又多，

ESV  Philippians 1:9 And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment,

BGT  Philippians 1:9 Καὶ τοῦτο προσεύχομαι, ἵνα ἡ ἀγάπη ὑμῶν ἔτι μᾶλλον καὶ μᾶλλον περισσεύῃ ἐν ἐπιγνώσει καὶ πάσῃ αἰσθήσει

Notice Paul who just presented himself as a bond-servant of God while identifying the believers in Philippi as 'saints'...just a few sentences later shows us how the great apostle prays for saints.
He assumes their lives have already been changed from darkness to light...from death to life....from doubt to faith, from loveless to loving...Paul does not ask God to give them new hearts or to forgive them for their sins.  He assumes this has already happened...and he asks God to cause the agape that the saints have to grow more and more.

What is agape?  

Some say it is unconditional love. Some say it is God's love.  Some say it is choosing the highest good for another.  But the word agape has some very unusual uses in the Bible. For the first appearance of the noun and verb form together we must go to 2 Samuel 13:15 where the Greek word is used in the LXX (Greek translation of the Hebrew OT).

How can agape be used in this story?

In 2 Samuel 13 we have the story of the rape of Tamar by Amnon. In this story he rapes her and then his desire for her is gone and he sends her away with a greater hatred than his previous 'agape' was for her.  If agape meant God's love primarily this would not make sense.  If agape meant choosing the highest good for someone, it was the wrong word there. Or if agape means unconditional love it doesn't fit there either.  But Ceslas Spicq, the French Theological Lexicographer has written a three volume study on Agape in the New Testament (3 Volume Set on Agape in the NT by Spicq. He defines agape as a demonstration of love or affection.  It can be God's demonstrated love....or it can be mans demonstrated love.  The emphasis is on love that puts itself on display.  And so in this context, Amnon had such a deep feeling for his half sister Tamar, that he could not contain himself.  In that sense then we have the distinctive nature of agape. It is the only word in Greek for love that specifically emphasizes the manifestation of love or a strong feeling for someone or something...or a demonstrated love. An important aside By the way, there are about 25 distinct words (about 8 groupings if clustered into similar words) in the New Testament used for various kinds of love. Eros is not one of them. My favorite word for love in the NT is the one Jesus had in John 11:33 where a deep feeling is mixed with a consternation. The word there is not agape, but embribraomai. Jesus had embribraomai. That's why 'Jesus wept'. It triggered a resurrection from the dead! My point is that a careful turning of the biblical spade can help us a lot when it comes to sharpening up our understanding of what Paul was saying in Philippians 1:9. Let's not assume the pop-teachings on agape are correct. Check these things out for yourself.

Agape means 'demonstrated love'

So in Philippians 1:9 Paul is saying that he is praying for the manifestations of love that the Philippians have in their lives to increase.

Furthermore, the term knowledge in that same verse implies experiential knowing.  So he prays for the Philippians to grow in manifestations of love while they experience Christ more and more....all mixed together with discernment in all situations.

It's a rich little verse and shows us how to pray for other believers.  Ask God to help them manifest love and experience Jesus while growing in discernment!

So Paul believes the Philippians are saints (holy ones).  He prays what God has put in them grows!  This is so powerful.  Let's pray this way for each other...with confidence in the finished work of the cross as we see each other in Christ! Looking at John 3:16 with this clearer definition in mind, it means...for God had so much agape for the world...for God manifested his love for the world so much that he gave his only son......puts a whole different spin on things doesn't it? The invisible God full of humility loves us so much that He could not hold it in...his love came out on display for us through Jesus whom he set forth as an atoning sacrifice for us so that we could reconnect with Him! Now that's amazingly good news.