For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ.
God is called as witness to how greatly the longing is felt. The longing is for all the believers in Philippi, who were newly come to the faith. The phrase about the bowels of Jesus Christ means the longing is held with the tenderness and compassion of Jesus Christ. He has them in his heart and binds them to himself in affection because they are fellow partakers with him of grace both in his bonds and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.
The longing is joined to thanksgiving with joy upon every remembrance of them for their fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, and to confidence that He who began a good work in them will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. The longing is joined to prayer that their love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and all discernment, so they may approve excellent things and be genuine and blameless until the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness produced by Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God. With the verses that follow, the verse calls to constant, intelligent advancement in the knowledge of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness and reaching a higher standard. That advancement is both duty and privilege, requiring the use of God-given talents in His service and a greater interest in eternal things than in things that concern temporal wants.
Christ Himself, not any human messenger, gives the peace and joy and love that are longed for when He is sought with all the heart. The affection is an example of the tenderness and compassion Christians should show one another. It gives a lesson of tenderness and compassion for encouraging churches newly come to the faith, so their influence strengthens one another. Directed to a tempted brother, the longing carries night-season intercession and concern for his soul, received as encouragement to be a faithful doer of the Word.
God is called as witness to how greatly the longing is felt. The longing is for all the believers in Philippi, who were newly come to the faith. The phrase about the bowels of Jesus Christ means the longing is held with the tenderness and compassion of Jesus Christ. He has them in his heart and binds them to himself in affection because they are fellow partakers with him of grace both in his bonds and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.
The longing is joined to thanksgiving with joy upon every remembrance of them for their fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, and to confidence that He who began a good work in them will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. The longing is joined to prayer that their love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and all discernment, so they may approve excellent things and be genuine and blameless until the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness produced by Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God. With the verses that follow, the verse calls to constant, intelligent advancement in the knowledge of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness and reaching a higher standard. That advancement is both duty and privilege, requiring the use of God-given talents in His service and a greater interest in eternal things than in things that concern temporal wants.
Christ Himself, not any human messenger, gives the peace and joy and love that are longed for when He is sought with all the heart. The affection is an example of the tenderness and compassion Christians should show one another. It gives a lesson of tenderness and compassion for encouraging churches newly come to the faith, so their influence strengthens one another. Directed to a tempted brother, the longing carries night-season intercession and concern for his soul, received as encouragement to be a faithful doer of the Word.