“And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment;”
And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and all discernment — love (agapē) is the foundational Christian virtue, but Paul prays it would grow in epignōsis (full knowledge) and aisthēsis (moral perception/discernment). Knowledge here is not intellectual abstraction but experiential wisdom in moral discernment. The progression from love expanding through knowledge suggests that mature love requires understanding, not mere sentiment. 'More and more' (mallon kai mallon) emphasizes continuous growth without final arrival.
Church Fathers on Philippians 1:9
He calls not God to witness as though he should be doubted, but does this from his great affection, and his exceeding persuasion and confidence; for after saying that they had fellowship with him, he adds this also, “in the tender mercies of Christ,” lest they should think that his longing for them was for this cause, and not simply for their own sake. And what mean these words, “in the tender mercies of Christ”? They stand for “according to Christ.” Because you are…
Read all 2 entries in the readerNicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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