Abounding in Love and Knowledge

Scripture — Philippians 1:9-11 (NIV)

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

Devotion

It’s common for people to think of love and knowledge as distinct, as competitors, maybe even as opposites. Love is a matter of the heart. It’s all about emotion. Knowledge is a matter of the head. It’s all about reason.

We have real-life experience of the discontinuity between love and knowledge. I expect you have known someone who has lots of knowledge but little love. They may seek to know and do the right thing, but their actions are often hurtful and unloving. Conversely, you may know someone who has a big heart but lacks good sense. Their compassion gets played out in ways that are ultimately unhelpful, even to the people for whom they feel compassion.

If you sense a certain tension between love and knowledge, then you may be surprised by the beginning of Paul’s prayer for the Philippians. He prays for the believers in Philippi, “that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight” (1:9). Here, love is not set against knowledge. Rather, love and knowledge are juxtaposed in harmony. If the Philippians will abound in love, as Paul prays, they must do so “in knowledge.”

The close association of love and knowledge, though contrary to our cultural presuppositions, is something we see often in Scripture. Yes, a certain kind of knowledge can “puff up,” versus love that “builds up” (1 Cor 8:1-3). But true knowledge and true love work together in God’s kingdom. In fact, to the Corinthian congregation that is enamored with loveless knowledge, Paul writes, “If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing” (1 Cor 13:2). Great knowledge will only be stewarded well if we have great love. Otherwise, though we may be brilliant, we are nothing.

This is true, not only of knowledge in general, but specifically when it comes to knowing God. In 1 John 4:7-9, we read, “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.” In this passage, love is a result of knowing God, such that one who doesn’t love doesn’t know God. God is not just truth, according to John, but also love.

The necessary connection between love and truth has everything to do with the nature of Jesus Christ. In the prologue to the Gospel of John, we are introduced to the Word who was with God and is God (John 1:1). The Greek word translated here as “Word” is logos, which can also be translated as “reason, principle, thinking, or reasoning.” Jesus Christ is the very incarnation of the Word. He is God’s reason in human flesh. Later in John, Jesus will say, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). Yet Jesus is not only God’s logos and truth in human form. He is also the embodiment of God’s love. Once again, we turn to 1 John 4, this time reading verses 9 and 10: “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” In Jesus Christ, God’s truth and God’s love are made known to us. Jesus is the truth and love of God.

In our lives, therefore, if we are going to abound in Christ-like love, we will do so “more and more in knowledge and depth of insight” (1:9). The more we know about God, the more we will experience God’s love and be moved to share it with others. The more we love God, the more we will seek to know God and God’s truth. As Paul prays for the Ephesians, “And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” (Eph 3:17-19).

Given the way Scripture binds together both love and knowledge, we should not be surprised that Paul prays for the Philippians, “that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight” (1:9). But the proliferation of love in knowledge isn’t an end in and of itself. Rather, when our love grows in knowledge and insight, we will be able to “discern what is best.” Love and knowledge are both needed for spiritual discernment. Love and knowledge work together to point to, not just the good, or even the better, but the best.

As we reflect on Philippians 1:9-11, it’s a good time to do some personal reflection as well. How are you doing when it comes to growing in love? How are you doing when it comes to growing in knowledge? Do you experience love and knowledge as sometimes being in opposition to each other? In what ways do love and knowledge work together in your life?

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: 1 John: Walking in the Light.