By Brian L. Harbour
In the Old Testament period, the Hebrew high priest wore a costly shoulder garment called an ephod which hung over his heart. Over the ephod was the breastpiece. The breastpiece contained 12 precious stones, set in gold, with the names of the 12 tribes of Israel engraved upon them. The high priest would wear these garments whenever he performed his priestly duties. So the priest literally carried the people on his heart when he went into the holy place to pray to the Lord (
Ex. 28:15-30).
In the same way, Paul lovingly carried the names of the Philippians on his heart. He cared for them (
v. 7) and longed for them (
v. 8) with a deep, abiding love.
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When you love someone you want the best for them. And when you want the best for someone you will pray for them. So the passion of
verses 7-8 leads right into the petitions of
verses 9-11. Because Paul loved the Philippians, he prayed for them. In our text, we see four specific petitions.
A Fuller Experience of LoveFirst, Paul prayed in
verse 9 "that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment."
There are some who see this as a reference to the love which the Philippians were to have for each other. That is, Paul prayed that the Christians in Philippi would get along better with each other, that their fellowship would be strengthened, that their love for each other would be deepened.
It is true that Jesus admonished His followers to love one another (
John 15:12). It is also true that Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, "And may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another" (
1 Thess. 3:12). It is equally true that one of the problems of the Philippians was some bickering in the fellowship (
2:1-3,
4:2) so that they needed to grow in their love one for another. While all of those things are true, this is not what Paul was talking about here. It was not their love for each other that he wanted to increase but their love for God.
He wanted them to have a deeper love for God so that they would be able to endure more for His sake. He wanted them to have a wider love for God so that they would be able to embrace more for His kingdom. He wanted them to have a fuller love for God so that they would risk more for His will.