Lessons in Philippians - Discernment

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.
Philippians 1:9-11 NIV

In the previous post love was discussed as a choice to do things as God would do them. We are able to love because God first loved us and because he has poured his Holy spirit into us. As our decision to love others grows we begin to experience more and more of God’s love. Through this love we desire to draw closer to God in prayer and Bible study. Which will lead us into more of God’s truth. This helps us understand how to treat people in a loving manner. But it also teaches us the difference between what pleases God and what does not please God.

Now may the God of peace, … equip you with everything

good for doing his will, and may he work in us what
is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 13:20-21 NIV

It is God who teaches us to do what is pleasing to him. We are not able to understand what to do on our own. We must rely on God to work into us what is pleasing. This work of God, is given to us over time as we learn God’s ways through prayer and Bible study, Gradually, we become more aware of the things God wants and gradually with God’s help, we incorporate these things into our daily habits. We begin to see more clearly our behaviors that please God and our behaviors which do not please God.

A good Biblical example of what pleases God is the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Gal, 5:22-23 NIV). These are the behaviors the Holy Spirit instills in us. As we draw closer to him these behaviors become a common part of our life and we become more aware of when we are not exhibiting these behaviors.

In comparison, the work of the flesh is displeasing to God. These are behaviors God wants to remove from our lives. The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like (Gal. 5:19-21 NIV).

An example is the contrast between fits of rage and self-control. Have you ever lost your temper in traffic? Becoming embarrassed at the words flowing out of your mount while yelling at the person who cut you off? This is a work of the flesh. A temper tantrum from not getting our way. Or perhaps being put in danger by the recklessness of another driver. Whatever the problem on the road was, we decided to trust our own ability to navigate safely rather than relying on God to clear a path in front of us. We yelled in an attempt to control the other person instead of allowing God to control us.

Rather than engaging in a fit of rage, we could pray quickly to God. A prayer as simple as an outburst of his name, like a child crying for papa to come help. This is a more disciplined and mature response to danger and anger rather than a temper tantrum.

Self-control in these situations is pleasing to God while fits of rage are not pleasing. But self-control must be developed before the traffic incidence happens. God will not suddenly give us self-control the instance a car veers into our lane. We must develop self-control over time in many simple situations before we are able to express self-control in emergencies.

If we recognize our problems with fits of rage and begin a habit of praying for God to help us develop self-control, then during the emergency we will find ourselves behaving differently. Then God may suddenly impart self-control to us when chaos happens.

God is pleased to transform us from exhibiting works of the flesh to exhibiting fruit of the Spirit. As we are transformed we learn the difference between what is good and what is bad. We begin to see the world though different eyes. We develop discernment to know what is pleasing to God. We become capable of distinguishing holiness from sinfulness. We grow in holy wisdom.

Pay attention and turn your ear to the sayings of the wise;

apply your heart to what I teach,
for it is pleasing when you keep them in your heart
and have all of them ready on your lips.
Proverbs 22:17-18 NIV

A good place to learn good from evil is to read the book of Proverbs. There are 31 chapters in Proverbs. If you commit to reading one chapter a day you will finish Proverbs in a month. In Proverbs 1:1-7, the author tells us that the book is intended to teach the ways of the wise, to give instruction in prudent behavior, and to learn what is right and just and fair. Proverbs 8 gives us the call of wisdom. It tells us to get wisdom and about the blessing of God’s wisdom in our lives. Proverbs 6 & 9 explain the difference between foolishness and wisdom. Chapter 31 tells us how to be a woman of noble character. In today’s culture of image and personality it is good to know God’s ways of judging a noble woman. Proverbs 10 through 29 contain the wise sayings of Solomon. These are short verses which are easy to learn and beneficial to remind yourself of ways to behave that will please God.

Solomon was considered the wisest man in the Bible. He was not given this great wisdom at birth. When King David died and Solomon became king of Israel, God asked Solomon what he wanted from God. Solomon was so overwhelmed with the responsibility of ruling Israel that he asked God to give him wisdom and understanding (2 Chronicles 1 &1 Kings 3).

God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight,

and a breadth of understanding as measureless
as the sand on the seashore.
1 Kings 4:29 NIV

Solomon was able to distinguish good from evil. He had insight into why things happen and what response pleases God. He was able to distinguish between behaviors which pleased God and those that displeased God. The Queen of Sheba said of God, “he has made you king to maintain justice and righteousness.” (1 Kings 10:9). The queen was stating that Solomon had not only wisdom but also Godly discernment.

The Bible often calls discernment insight and understanding. We need wisdom about God and his ways to fully embrace insight and understanding. These go together to allow us to separate what is good from what is bad. To know what pleases God and what displeases God.

Once we have chosen to treat people with Godly love, prayed to develop the fruits of the Spirit in our lives, and prayed for the Holy Spirit to give us wisdom and insight then Godly discernment becomes a normal part of our life. We no longer sit and wonder what is right or wrong, good or evil. We learned the ways of God so we can distinguish what is pleasing to him.

Godly love leads to godly discernment which leads to godly integrity. As Paul wrote integrity is to be pure and blameless until the day of Christ. In the next post we will explore the meaning of integrity as a pure and blameless life.

Did you enjoy this post? Did you learn something new? Please comment and let me know what you think?