March 7, 2022 -- Philippians 1:9-11 -- The fruit of righteousness

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And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so 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.
Philippians 1:9-11 ESV

Paul is praying that the Philippians will be filled with the fruit of righteousness. Those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and follow Him have their sinfulness exchanged for Christ’s righteousness. It is imputed, that is, His righteous life and perfect sinlessness are credited to the believer. Whenever the Father looks on the believer He sees the holiness and perfection of Jesus.

What Paul is praying is something which results from being closely connected to Jesus' righteousness—that is—believers will bear fruit that is in keeping with this new nature. The Spirit of the Living God guards the believer in Christ Jesus, applying the work of Jesus at the cross. In John 15 Jesus notes He is the vine and believers are the branches. So a believer who is grafted into Jesus, from Him will receive life-giving nourishment which will lead to fruitfulness.

Righteousness, the word is used 273 times in the ESV translation of the Bible. It is obviously an important word for the believer to understand. When it is applied to the LORD of Glory, righteousness is displayed in the fact that the LORD always keeps the highest standard in all things He does. Every act of God is always right; He never violates His Own holiness.

The fruit of righteousness in the believer is displayed as he intentionally matches his thoughts and his actions with the high standards of Jesus life. Have you ever seen a horse that is being broken for a rider? Its trainer has a long lead and the horse is backing away almost falling on its haunches trying to pull away and by sheer force of strength the trainer is straining against this to make the animal obedient. Well, that image is exactly the opposite of the fruit of righteousness. One who is grafted into Jesus Christ finds new life welling up within him. He is not seeking to strain against Jesus’ leadership and power. Instead, he wants to match his steps and his life to the perfect obedience he sees displayed in Jesus. The act of keeping the law of love confirms the fact one is living for Jesus in the strength of His Spirit. Such life is fruitful, that is, beautiful to see, fragrant to the senses, and sweet to the taste.

Make us, O Lord, to flourish like pure lilies in the courts of Thine house, and to show forth to the faithful the fragrance of good works, and the example of a godly life, through Thy mercy and grace--Amen.
Mozarabic Sacramentary, before 700 A.D.

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