A Peek at My Bible Study This Morning
I am in a study of the Book of Philippians from the New American Standard Bible. I started reading Chapter One yesterday and copied several verses in my journal that stood out to me. I read the chapter again this morning for review, but rather than going on to the next chapter, verses 9-11 peaked my interest along with certain words which I circled.
God teaches me by making me curious. I like to look up definitions of words.
I often go to Bible Gateway.com for research.
“And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”
My Recap:
- Love may abound
- in knowledge
- and discernment
- approve things that are excellent
- to be sincere and blameless
- til Jesus returns in the air to remove His church before The Day
- having been filled with the ways of righteousness (right standing with God which comes from the inner man where Jesus’ Spirit dwells)
- To God be the praise and glory forever!
- I remembered the scripture: God is in me to establish His good pleasure. (See Philippians 2:13)
I thought, “What do I like best about this list?” I decided to put it into one sentence.
Love, knowledge, and discernment bring excellence and sincerity of character, producing righteousness, which makes me ready for the rapture and gives glory to the Father!
LOVE, KNOWLEDGE AND DISCERNMENT
I was curious about these three words so I went to Vines Dictionary. Here are some highlights from several pages of advanced explanation.
Love:
Agape: charity; kindness; love for man
God is love. 1 John 4:8 and 16.
Love can be known only from the action it prompts.
God’s love can be seen in the gift of His Son. Love had its perfect expression among men in the Lord Jesus Christ. Christian love is the fruit of His Spirit in the Christian. (Galatians 5:22) Love seeks the welfare of all and works no ill to any.
Christian love has God for its primary object, and expresses itself first of all in implicit obedience to His commandments. Self-will, that is, self-pleasing, is the negation of love to God.
I remembered 1 Corinthians Chapter 13 and “Love never fails.”
Knowledge:
Ginosko: To be taking in knowledge, to come to know; recognize, and understand. Frequently suggests inception or progress in knowledge.
“But if any man love God, the same is known of him.” (1 Corinthians 8:3) Here the knowing suggests approval and bears the meaning, “to be approved” – such knowledge is obtained, not by mere intellectual activity, but by operation of the Holy Spirit consequent acceptance of Christ, nor is such knowledge marked by finality; indicates a relation between the person knowing and the object known; what is known is of value or importance to the one who knows, and hence the establishment of the relationship – especially of God’s knowledge; to observe, fully perceive, notice attentively, discern, recognize; advanced knowledge or special appreciation - John 14:7 “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.”
After thinking about knowledge I wrote: “I like the words learning and enlightenment because they produce the wisdom from God.” I remembered Proverbs 4:7.
DISCERNMENT
Anakrino: To examine, judge.
To distinguish, or separate out so as to investigate by looking throughout (intensive) objects or particulars, hence signifies to examine, scrutinize, to hold a preliminary judicial examination preceding the trial proper (this first examination, implying more to follow, is often present in the non-legal uses of the word), it is said of searching the scriptures; “Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.” (Acts 17:11); also of discerning or determining the excellence of defects of a person or thing; (1 Corinthians 2:14) “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.”
Knowledge also signifies to separate, discriminate; then, to learn by discriminating, to determine, to decide. (Acts 11:29) “For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly.”
Also means: a distinguishing, a clear discrimination, discerning, judging, as in discerning of spirits, judging by evidence whether they are evil or of God. (1 Corinthians 12:10)
Also means: fit for, or skilled in, judging, Hebrews 4:12: “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
Studying the Word of God has tremendous benefits.
It feeds your spirit man by depositing the Word of God into you as you search and inquire. That makes you good ground which will bear fruit for the Kingdom of God. God’s plan and purpose for your life is dependant on you eating from the Tree of Life, God’s Word.
Without that, you can do nothing for God. (See John 15:5)
This is that…which you were born of.
“Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever…” (1 Peter 1:22-23)