10 So that you may give your approval to the best things; that you may be true and without wrongdoing till the day of Christ;
So that your hearts may be strong and free from all sin before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.
And may the God of peace himself make you holy in every way; and may your spirit and soul and body be free from all sin at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
For I am certain of this very thing, that he by whom the good work was started in you will make it complete till the day of Jesus Christ:
Who will give you strength to the end, to be free from all sin in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And in this, I do my best at all times to have no reason for shame before God or men.
Testing by experience what is well-pleasing to the Lord;
My loved ones, do not put your faith in every spirit, but put them to the test, to see if they are from God: because a great number of false prophets have gone out into the world.
For we are not like the great number who make use of the word of God for profit: but our words are true, as from God, being said as before God in Christ.
And though by this time it would be right for you to be teachers, you still have need of someone to give you teaching about the first simple rules of God's revelation; you have become like babies who have need of milk, and not of solid food. For everyone who takes milk is without experience of the word of righteousness: he is a child. But solid food is for men of full growth, even for those whose senses are trained by use to see what is good and what is evil.
These do it from love, conscious that I am responsible for the cause of the good news:
And might take it for himself, a church full of glory, not having one mark or fold or any such thing; but that it might be holy and complete.
But saying true words in love, may come to full growth in him, who is the head, even Christ;
For such men are false Apostles, workers of deceit, making themselves seem like Apostles of Christ. And it is no wonder; for even Satan himself is able to take the form of an angel of light. So it is no great thing if his servants make themselves seem to be servants of righteousness; whose end will be the reward of their works.
I am not giving you an order, but using the ready mind of others as a test of the quality of your love.
The light is hated by everyone whose acts are evil and he does not come to the light for fear that his acts will be seen.
So now, go in fear of the Lord, and be his servants with true hearts: put away the gods worshipped by your fathers across the River and in Egypt, and be servants of the Lord.
For words are tested by the ear, as food is tasted by the mouth.
Butter and honey will be his food, when he is old enough to make a decision between evil and good. For before the child is old enough to make a decision between evil and good, the land whose two kings you are now fearing will have become waste.
Go after good and not evil, so that life may be yours: and so the Lord, the God of armies, will be with you, as you say. Be haters of evil and lovers of good, and let right be done in the public place: it may be that the Lord, the God of armies, will have mercy on the rest of Joseph.
You who are haters of good and lovers of evil, pulling off their skin from them and their flesh from their bones;
But he, turning to Peter, said, Get out of my way, Satan: you are a danger to me because your mind is not on the things of God, but on the things of men.
But whoever is a cause of trouble to one of these little ones who have faith in me, it would be better for him to have a great stone fixed to his neck, and to come to his end in the deep sea. A curse is on the earth because of trouble! for it is necessary for trouble to come; but unhappy is that man through whom the trouble comes.
But Peter made answer and said to him, Though all may be turned away from you, I will never be turned away.
Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him and said of him, See, here is a true son of Israel in whom there is nothing false.
But, if I do that which I have no mind to do, I am in agreement with the law that the law is good.
Let love be without deceit. Be haters of what is evil; keep your minds fixed on what is good.
Do not let the work of God come to nothing on account of food. All things are certainly clean; but it is evil for that man who by taking food makes it hard for another. It is better not to take meat or wine or to do anything which might be a cause of trouble to your brother.
For this reason, if food is a cause of trouble to my brother, I will give up taking meat for ever, so that I may not be a cause of trouble to my brother.
Give no cause of trouble to Jews, or to Greeks, or to the church of God.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Philippians 1
Commentary on Philippians 1 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 1
He begins with the inscription and benediction (v. 1, 2). He gives thanks for the saints at Philippi (v. 3-6). He speaks of his great affection and concern for their spiritual welfare (v. 7, 8), his prayers for them (v. 9-11), his care to prevent their offence at his sufferings (v. 12-20), his readiness to glorify Christ by life or death (v. 21-26), and then concludes with a double exhortation to strictness and constancy (v. 27-30).
Phl 1:1-2
We have here the inscription and benediction. Observe,
Phl 1:3-6
The apostle proceeds after the inscription and benediction to thanksgiving for the saints at Philippi. He tells them what it was he thanked God for, upon their account. Observe here,
Phl 1:7-8
The apostle expresses the ardent affection he had for them, and his concern for their spiritual welfare: I have you in my heart, v. 7. He loved them as his own soul, and they lay near his heart. He thought much of them, and was in care about them. Observe,
Phl 1:9-11
These verses contain the prayers he put up for them. Paul often let his friends know what it was he begged of God for them, that they might know what to beg for themselves and be directed in their own prayers, and that they might be encouraged to hope they should receive from God the quickening, strengthening, everlasting, comforting grace, which so powerful an intercessor as Paul asked of God for them. It is an encouragement to us to know that we are prayed for by our friends, who, we have reason to think, have an interest at the throne of grace. It was intended likewise for their direction in their walk, and that they might labour to answer his prayers for them; for by this it would appear that God had answered them. Paul, in praying thus for them, expected good concerning them. It is an inducement to us to do our duty, that we may not disappoint the expectations of praying friends and ministers. He prayed,
Phl 1:12-20
We see here the care the apostle takes to prevent their being offended at his sufferings. He was now a prisoner at Rome; this might be a stumbling-block to those who had received the gospel by his ministry. They might be tempted to think, If this doctrine were indeed of God, God would not suffer one who was so active and instrumental in preaching and propagating it to be thrown by as a despised broken vessel. They might be shy of owning this doctrine, lest they should be involved in the same trouble themselves. Now to take off the offence of the cross, he expounds this dark and hard chapter of his sufferings, and makes it very easy and intelligible, and reconcilable to the wisdom and goodness of God who employed him.
Phl 1:21-26
We have here an account of the life and death of blessed Paul: his life was Christ, and his death was gain. Observe,
Phl 1:27-30
The apostle concludes the chapter with two exhortations:-