I have been reading in Philippians the past few days. I am only reading the first three chapters for now. The others will keep until I feel the need to proceed. But I am getting off track. What I want to share today happens in the first ten or fifteen verses of chapter one. The issue that Paul spoke of, and the Holy Spirit just woke me up to, was the affection of Christ Jesus… and God’s Word, and I saw both in a different light. Paul spoke of them in a way that I had overlooked. It had to do with the “affection of Christ” that Paul had for the Philippians.
Philippians 1 Introduction
Paul opened this letter like he did most providing encouragement. I love the first verses.
Philippians 1:3-6 (NASB)
3 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 4 always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all, 5 in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now. 6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
What an excellent introduction letter. With a start like that, it would be hard to have a bad day. But Paul does not stop there. He goes on to further define this Love that he has for the Philippians.
Philippians 1:7-8
This encouragement continued in this first chapter, but he shifted the focus a bit. He wanted them to know how much he loved them. So, in verses seven and eight, Paul elaborates on how much his love for the Philippians is.
Philippians 1:7-8 (NASB)
7 For it is only right for me to feel this way about you all, because I have you in my heart, since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers of grace with me. 8 For God is my witness, how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.
This passage is so remarkable. Paul’s Love for the Philippians is so vast that he compares it to the affection of Jesus in the end.
Reflection
Just looking over these verses, you can see how much Paul loved the Philippians. In verse eight, Paul speaks of affection. Webster defines affection as “a feeling of strong or constant regard for and dedication to someone.” John MacArthur, in his study bible, explains it a bit differently using the original text.
(MacArthur Study Bible with NASB, 2nd Edition Notes)
1:8 affection. The word lit. refers to the internal organs, which are the part of the body that reacts to intense emotion. It became the strongest Gr. word to express compassionate love-a Love that involves one’s entire being.
I look at that definition, and I am shaken. The feeling Paul has for the Church at Philippi is affection. That affection is a compassionate love that involves one’s entire body.
That affection is for the Church. I think about that today, and I wonder if the Church today would receive such a letter from Paul.
The other point that keeps poking me in the ribs is could I love any group or individual with that kind of compassion.
Affection
Just take a moment to consider this word affection as MacArthur defined it. The last part shakes me up: “a love that involves one’s entire being.” Can you love a group of people that you do not know with your “entire being?”
I loved my wife Pat with that kind of affection and maybe my parents and some family but not everybody I know. But as I sit here considering this word affection, I realize that there are many more than there were years ago. Also, the Love for those that are close has grown deeper.
When I consider all these things, I realize that my relationship with Jesus is the one constant and His Word. As my understanding of God’s Word grows, so does my Love and compassion. I like what Paul has to say about this growth in Colossians 1
Colossians 1:9-12
In Colossians 1, Paul speaks of praying for the Church, as he did in Philippians 1. It is filled with praise, but he also says of bearing fruit and increasing in knowledge.
Colossians 1:9-12 (NASB)
9 For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.
I read this passage, and I was filled with joy because Paul reminds us of the need for knowledge that we might “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord.” And, that he qualified us, which reminds me of Ephesians 2, where Paul reminds us of his mercy.
Ephesians 2:1-7 (NASB)
1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. 3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great Love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
These passages together give me a better understanding of our Heavenly Father. Both speak to the need to be qualified of sorts. Colossians tells more of knowledge and experience, while Ephesians says more to grace.
Love Plus-1Corinthians 13
In all these passages, Paul speaks of wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. Some are very direct and some implied. But it is vital to get back to the “Love” component of “affection.” I think there is no better place to do that than chapter 13 of 1 Corinthians. I will not provide this whole chapter, but I would encourage you to look it up and read it. The chapter is concise. I will only include this verse
1 Corinthians 13:13 (NASB)
13 But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is Love.
So, we are back to Love. The whole reason for this post. A love that I believe we do not possess naturally. I could argue the question as to whether we ever loved without God.
Love
Just looking through the passages that I felt lead to today, it is clear that “affection” and “love” have different meanings to Christians than to the world. To the world, you have affection for a friend or a puppy. It is something less than Love, but to a Christian, it is a love “that involves one’s entire being.”
This Love is not natural to man either. One of the places I go for understanding about this is 1John 4. I have always thought that John was the apostle that shared the heart of Jesus. I am always filled with emotion when I listen to what he must share. But anyway, 1John 4:15-21 illustrate the need to grow our understand and Love of God. 1John 4:19 nails it.
1 John 4:19 (NASB)
19 We love because He first loved us.
That, in a nutshell, tells the truth of our understanding. We would not even know how to love if God did not love us first. But John gives us so much more to internalize.
1 John 4:15-17 (NASB)
15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 We have come to know and have believed the Love which God has for us. God is Love, and the one who abides in Love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this, Love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world.
So, if we believe and confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in us and us in him, then we look at 19-21.
1 John 4:18-21 (NASB)
There is no fear in Love; but perfect Love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in Love. 19 We love, because He first loved us. 20 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.
As I consider these verses, it is clear that the affection of Christ is more than just one thing.
Closing Thoughts
Looking at these verses and all these passages, Love is a fundamental requirement. But it is more than just a word. It is “a love that involves one’s entire being.” I had an example of that kind of Love in the life I had with my wife, Pat. We loved each other this way every day, good day or bad day. I know that was why God brought us together over thirty-one years ago. He wanted us to understand how to love. This passage is how we lived…
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NASB)
4 Love is patient, Love is kind and is not jealous; Love does not brag and is not arrogant, 5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, 6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
It was not always easy. We were passionate people, and we did not always agree. So, it was not unusual for someone to stop an argument in later years and ask the other to pray. But the only reason we grew to be like this was because of God.
Can you love a group of people that you do not know with your “entire being?” I believe it is possible with God. Pat and I were working on that and did not realize it.
We believed that we needed to live 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 with everyone because we could never know what another person might be carrying. None of us know the burden another person deals with, and you have the choice to accept them as they are or not. I am thankful that Jesus chose me, warts and all.
Prayer
Father, please help me to live a life treating people with affection as Paul did in Philippians. Help me to live a life filled with a love that is patient, kind, and is not jealous; Love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not consider a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Give me strength to live a life filled with affection for others in Jesus’ name, Amen.