Jesus was the source of the fruit of righteousness

JESUS WAS THE SOURCE OF THE FRUIT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Philippians1:11 filled with the fruit of righteousness
that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and
praiseof God.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
The Apostle's Prayer
Philippians 1:9-11
T. Croskery
He had spokenof praying for them. This was the purport of his prayers:
"And this I pray, that your love may abound more and more in knowledge
and in all discernment."
I. THE INCREASE OF LOVE THE MAIN THING IN RELIGION.
1. The language implies the existence of this love as well as its imperfection. It
had been manifest in many ways; but there were socialrivalries and jealousies
and disputes at Philippi. Therefore the apostle prays that their love may
abound more and more.

2. absolutelythat he speaks of, the grand principle, the motive powerof
Christian life. Matthew Henry says it is the law of Christ's kingdom, the
lessonof his school, the livery of his family.
(1) It is Divine in its origin, for "love is of God;"
(2) it is the principle of the Divine indwelling, for "he that dwelleth in love
dwelleth in God, and God in him;"
(3) it is the spring of all holy obedience, for it is "the fulfilling of the Law;"
(4) it is "the bond of perfectness;
(5) it has no metes or bounds like law, for we are to love with all our powers.
The gospellays the believer under a weightierline of obligation than the Law;
for we are not to do this or that particular duty prescribed by the Law, but to
do all that we can do through the constraining force of the love of God.
3. It is love fed by knowledge andguided by judgment; for it is to abound "in
perfect knowledge anduniversal discernment."
(1) Knowledge here is the thorough grasp of theoreticaland practical truth.
(a) This is neededto feed love. We cannot love an unknown person; we cannot
love an unknown gospel;we cannotlove one another exceptso far as we know

one another. The more we know of our blessedRedeemerthe more shall we
love him. Love is not a blind attachment.
(b) It is neededto regulate love. Love without knowledge may lead a Christian
into mistakes, irregularities, improprieties, like a foolishly fond father who
spoils his child. Love may waste itselfon worthless or frivolous objects, or it
may attempt impracticable projects by unwarrantable means;but if
knowledge be the guide, these mistakes will be prevented.
(2) The love is in "all discernment." This is more than knowledge.It is more
even than the applicationof knowledge.It is that discriminating power, which
enables a man to appreciate the true nature of things presented to him in the
sphere of religious realities.
II. THE ENDS ACCOMPLISHED BYA LOVE THUS REGULATED.
1. Christian capacityto discern excellentthings. "That you may be able to
prove things that are excellent." Love, rightly guided, penetrates through all
disguises oferror. It is, in fact, a mighty preservative againsterror. The
Christian is able "to prove all things, and hold fastthat which is good." He
does not lose sightof the true proportions and relations of truth. But the
spiritual capacityof believers is found to differ like the natural capacitiesof
men. Some are very deficient in the power of spiritual discernment, yet this
may be mainly due to the weaknessoflove. Those who are strong maintain the
tranquillity of their own mind, and will be a stay to the timid and the weak.
Cecilsays, "A sound heart is the bestcasuist."
2. Sincerity. "Thatye may be sincere." Love, rightly guided, brings out the
deep reality of Christian character, and presents it in a holy simplicity without

stratagem, diplomacy, or manoeuvre. A sincere man has all the strength that
springs from an undivided heart: his love is without dissimulation; his
sincerity is a godly sincerity, which realizes the impossibility of uniting the
interests and pleasures and pursuits of the present world with those of true
religion.
3. The absence of offense. "And void of offense." It seems hard to be so in a
world to which the gospelitselfis an offense. Yet, though we are not to
compromise the principles of the gospel, we are to live peaceablywith all men,
to take wrong rather than give offense, to have a goodreport from them that
are without, to be "blameless andharmless as the sons of God." The duration
of this temper of sincerity and inoffensiveness is "againstthe day of Christ " -
the day of final accountbefore the Judge, as if to imply the undeviating
consistencyofa life thus divinely ordered.
4. Positive fruitfulness in Christian life. "Being filled with the fruit of
righteousness, whichis by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God."
There is more neededthan mere harmlessness:there must be a positive
development of Christian life.
(1) The fruit of righteousness. The righteousnessis not of nature, but of grace;
it is not of the Law, but of faith; and is essentiallyfruitful. Therefore those
who possessit are "trees of righteousness," andthe quality of the tree is
known by its fruit. The whole system of redemption has for its end to make
men "fruitful of goodworks."
(2) This fruit is by Jesus Christ, because it is bound up with the life of Christ.
"As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself exceptit abide in the vine, no more
can ye exceptye abide in me" (John 15:4).

(3) The end to which all is directed - "to the glory and praise of God." The
glory is the manifestationof God's grace, the praise is the recognitionby men
of God's attributes.
(4) It is implied that believers are to be "filled" with the fruit of righteousness.
Not a branch here and there, but all our branches are to be loaded with fruit.
Thus there will be the more glory and praise to God. - T.C.
Biblical Illustrator
Being titled with the fruits of righteousness
Philippians 1:11
Righteousness
J. Lyth, D. D., J. Lyth, D. D.
I.ITS NATURE.
II.ITS FRUITS.
III.ITS SOURCE.
IV.ITS END.
(J. Lyth, D. D.)
I.THE FRUIT.

II.THE POWER by which it is produced.
III.THE MOTIVE.
IV.THE MEASURE of righteousness.
(J. Lyth, D. D.)
The fruits of righteousness
H. Airay, D. D.
I. WHAT THEY ARE: goodworks, so calledbecause they spring from
righteousness as fruit from a tree. We must first be righteous, by the
righteousness ofGod in us before we can do the works that are good. What
this righteousness is Paul explains in Romans 3:9.
1. Learn to beware of them who tell you that our goodworks are that
righteousness wherebywe are justified before God. As well say that the fruit
is the tree.
2. Beware ofthem that tell you that men not begottenin the faith of Christ are
able to do the things that are goodand pleasing to God.
3. Let this teachus how to examine our works whether they be goodor no. Do
they proceedfrom a lively faith in Christ Jesus?

II. THEIR AUTHOR. Christ who is the author of every goodthing in us by
the grace ofHis Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:5; Philippians 2:13).
1. Let this warn us againstthem who would persuade us that we are able of
ourselves to do that which is good.
2. Let this teachus to give all the praise to Him to whom it is due (Revelation
5:13).
III. THEIR END (1 Corinthians 10:31; Matthew 5:16; 1 Peter2:12). Let this
try our motives. Do we do goodthat we may gain heaven or that we may
glorify God?
(H. Airay, D. D.)
Gospelholiness
J. Summerfield, A. M.
I. THE EXPERIENCE— "Fruits of righteousness."Righteousnessis right-
mindedness.
1. Integrity is the fruit towardGod and man.
2. Tenderness ofconscience.
3. With these and other virtues we are to be filled.

4. Although the world may reproachus.
II. THE MEANS — Union with Christ. Granted this, goodworks are
inevitable, as a good tree must produce goodfruits.
III. THE END. God can take delight in nothing but holiness. It is His own
nature.
(J. Summerfield, A. M.)
Spiritual attainment
G. G. Ballard.
I. RIGHTEOUSNESSOF HEART PRECEDESRIGHTEOUSNESSOF
LIFE.
II. RIGHTEOUSNESS OF HEART IS SELF-DISSEMINATING. Its fruit is
—
1. Living.
2. Of harmonious unity.
3. Luxuriant.

III. RIGHTEOUSNESSOF HEART, THE ONLY THING THAT CAN FILL
THE CAPACITIES OF MAN.
IV. FULNESS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS — fruit, is all Divine. It is Divine —
1. In its source — "God giveth the increase."
2. In its medium of communication — "which is by Jesus Christ."
3. In its end — "unto the glory and praise of God."
(1)To His "glory" before men.
(2)To His "praise" among men.
(G. G. Ballard.)
Fruits of righteousness
J. Hutchison, D. D.
Just as the fruits which men, with grateful and rejoicing hearts, gatherin at
harvest home are not only much in quantity, but also many in variety, so in
the Church, the gardenof the Lord, His planting that He may be glorified,
there are manifold goodthoughts and deeds and impulses, all springing up
from the one seedof love, and maturing to life eternal to be garneredin when
"the harvest of the earth is ripe."

(J. Hutchison, D. D.)
Abounding fruitfulness
J. Daille.
It is not enough to give no offence, you must edify; to abstain from evil, you
must do good. As the perfection of a tree is to bring forth goodfruits, and not
simply that it should not bear bad. For according to that, those which bear no
fruit at all might pass for goodtrees. Thus the praise of a Christian is to lead a
life which is not only exempt from the corruption of sin, but which abounds in
all kinds of virtues, which is coveredand enriched by holy acts worthy of the
name by which we are called. For He has snatchedus from the soil of the
world, or more properly of hell, where, like the plants of Sodom, we bore but
empty and useless fruits, and those which were poisonous and deadly. He has
transplanted us into the paradise of God, His Church; where, by the efficacy
of His blood, His Word, and His Spirit, He hath shed in us thoughts, hopes,
and affections totally different from those we had formerly, namely, hatred
and contempt for the world and sin, admiration and love for heavenand
holiness.
(J. Daille.)
Advantages of advanced piety
H. W. Beecher.
Fighting faults is the most discouraging thing in the world. When corn reaches
a certain height, no more weeds cangrow among it. The corn overshadows
and grows them down. Let men fill themselves full of goodthings. Let them
make their love, and purity, and kindness to grow up like corn. that every evil
and noxious thing within them may be overshadowedanddie.
(H. W. Beecher.)

The trees of righteousness blossoming, and bringing forth fruit
T. Watson.
I. HOW A CHRISTIAN BRINGS FORTHFRUIT. I answer:he brings forth
fruit "in the vine"; by nature we are barren; there is not one goodblossom
growing on us; but when by faith we are engrafted into Christ, then we grow
and fructify; "as the branch cannotbear fruit of itself, except it abide in the
vine, no more can ye except ye abide in Me." Jesus Christ is that blessedroot
which shoots up that sap of grace into His branches.
II. WHAT THAT FRUIT IS WHICH A GOOD CHRISTIAN BRINGS
FORTH.
1. A Christian brings forth inward fruit: "love, joy, peace, long suffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith."
2. A Christian brings forth outward fruit.(1) The fruit of gooddiscourse;"a
wholesome tongue is a tree of life." Gracious speechesfallfrom the lips of a
godly man, as fruit from a tree.(2)The fruit of goodworks. Godwill say at the
last day, Show Me thy faith by thy works.
3. A Christian brings forth kindly fruit. The godly man bringeth forth his
fruit; that is, he brings forth that fruit which is proper for him to bear. But
what is this kindly and proper fruit? I answer, when we are goodin our
callings and relations;in a magistrate, justice is kindly fruit; in a minister,
zeal; in a parent, instruction; in a child, reverence;in a master, goodexample;
in a servant, obedience;in the husband, love; in the wife, submission; in a
tradesman, diligence; in a soldier, innocence. A tree of God's planting brings
forth His fruit, that which is suitable and proper. I shall never believe him to
be good, that doth not bearkindly fruit; a goodChristian, but a bad master; a
goodChristian, but a bad parent, doth not sound well. The excellencyof a
Christian is to bring forth proper fruit; wherein lies the goodness of a

member in the body, but to discharge its proper office? the eye is to see, the
ear to hear, etc. So the excellencyofa Christian is to bring forth that fruit
which God hath assignedto him: what is a thing goodfor which doth not do
its proper work? what is a clock goodforthat will not strike? whatis a ship
goodfor that will not sail? what is a rose goodfor that doth not smell? what is
that professorgoodfor that doth not send forth a sweetperfume in his
relation? the commendation of a thing is when it puts forth its proper virtue.
Not to bring forth suitable fruit, spoils all the other fruit which we bring forth.
If a man were to make a medicine, and should leave out the chief ingredient,
the medicine would lose its virtue. Relative graces do much beautify and set
off a Christian; it is the beauty of a star to shine in its proper orb; relative
grace doth bespangle a Christian.
4. A goodChristian brings forth seasonable fruit, he that bringeth forth fruit
in his season;everything is beautiful in his time. That may be goodat one
time, which at another may be out of season. There is a greatdeal of skill in
the right timing of a thing; duties of religion must be performed in the fit
juncture of time.(1) Christian duties that relate to our neighbour must be
observedin their season. Our reproving others must be seasonable. Affliction
opens the earto discipline. Our comforting others must be seasonable;"a
word spokenin due season, how goodis it?"(2) Duties of religion that relate to
God must be performed in their season. To readat home, when the word is a
preaching, or the sacramentcelebrating, is unseasonable, nay, sinful; as
Hushai said, "the counselis not goodat this time": one duty is to prepare for
another, but not to jostle out another; fruit must put forth seasonably. Let all
the trees of righteousness bring forth seasonable fruit; in prosperity be
thankful, in adversity patient.
I. It shows us who is a Christian in God's calendar, namely, the fruit-bearing
Christian. As soonas the sap of grace is infused, it puts forth itself in
evangelicalfruit.

II. Here is an indictment againstthree sorts.
1. Such as bring forth no fruit; "Israelis an empty vine." O how many
unfruitful hearers are there, who evaporate into nothing but froth and fume,
being like those ears which run out all into straw I they give God neither the
early fruit nor the latter. To the unfruitful Christian let me say four things.(1)
Unfruitfulness is a shame: barrenness of old was counted a greatshame.(2)
What accountcan the unfruitful Christian give to God?(3)They that do not
bring forth goodfruit, shall never taste of the fruits that grow in heaven.
2. It reproves such as bring forth evil fruit.
3. It reproves such as bring forth goodfruit, but to a bad end; "Israelis an
empty vine, he bringeth forth fruit unto himself": a man had as goodbring
forth no fruit, as bring forth fruit unto himself. What is it for one to bring
forth fruit unto himself? Prayer is good;but when a man prays only to showy
his parts, this is to bring forth fruit unto himself. Works of mercy are good,
but when a man gives alms, not so much to feed the poor, as to feedhis pride,
now he brings forth fruit to himself, and this fruit is worm eaten.
III.
1. Let this exhort all to fruitfulness.(1) Fruit is that which God expects from
us, we are His plantations; and, "who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of
the fruit thereof?"(2)Fruitfulness is one of the most distinctive characters ofa
Christian; "the rootof the righteous yieldeth fruit." But may not hypocrites
bring forth fruit?(a) They do not bring forth fruit in the Vine they bring forth
in the strength of parts, not in the strength of Christ.(b) Hypocrites bring
forth something like fruit, but it is not the right fruit. The fruit they bear is

not sweet.(3)Fruitfulness adorns a Christian; the fruit adorns the tree; a
fruit-bearing Christian is an ornament to religion; the more fruitful the
branch is, the more fair to look on. A dead tree, as it is unserviceable, so it is
uncomely. A Christian, deckedwith the fruits of righteousness, is beautiful
and glorious.(4)Fruitfulness is a goodevidence to show for heaven; the fruits
of love, humility, goodworks, are, as St. Bernard saith, seeds ofhope, signs of
predestination, the. happy presages offuture glory. The righteousness offaith
is always accompaniedwith the fruits of righteousness. He that canshow good
fruit, goes full sail to heaven.
2. It exhorts them that do bear fruit, that they would bring forth more fruit;
do not think you have fruit enough, but bring forth further degrees of
sanctity; "every branch that beareth fruit, he pruneth it, that it may bring
forth more fruit."(1) This is the end why we have new costlaid out upon us,
that we should bring forth more fruit.(2) The fuller we are of fruit, the more
we are like Christ, who was "full of grace and truth." He receivedthe Spirit
without measure.(3)Bearing much fruit will usher in abundance of comfort
into the soul in these two exigencies. Store offruit will give comfort in the
hour of death: a little trace will make us above the fear of death. O what joy
will it be on the deathbed, when a Christian canbring his sheaves full of corn!
when he canshow his five talents that he hath gained by trading! when there
is not only a drop or two of oil, but his lamp full of oil! what though the devil
show God our debts, if we can show Him our fruit?(4) The more your fruit is
increased, the more your glory is increased;he whose pound gained ten, was
made ruler over ten cities.
IV. The last use is of direction. I shall lay down some means to fruitfulness.
1. Be sensible of unfruitfulness.

2. If you would be fruitful, remove those things which will hinder fruitfulness.
Cherishing any secretlust in the heart; sin lived in, is like vermin to the tree,
which destroys the fruit; grace cannotthrive in a sinful heart.
3. The third means to fruitfulness is weeping for sin. Moisture helps
germination in trees; holy tears do waterthe trees of God, and make them
more fruitful.
4. If you would be fruitful often apply the blood of Christ, and the
promises.(1)Apply the blood of Christ. Naturalists say, that blood applied to
the rootof some trees makes them bear better. Sure I am, the blood of Christ
applied to the heart, makes it flourish more in holiness.(2)Apply the promises.
5. Another means to fruitfulness is humility. The low grounds are most
fruitful: "the valleys are coveredwith corn"; the humble heart is the fruitful
heart.
6. If you would be fruitful in grace, be much in goodconference;"then they
that. fearedthe Lord spake oftenone to another."
7. If you would be fruit-bearing trees, be near the water of the sanctuary; "he
shall be like a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadethout the roots by
the river; her leaf shall be green, nor shall it cease from yielding fruit."
8. And lastly, if you would fructify apace, go, to God and desire Him to make
you fruitful; God is calledthe Husbandman, and He hath an art above all
other husbandmen; they canplant and prune trees, but if they be dead they
cannot make them bear.

(T. Watson.)
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(11) The fruits of righteousness is an Old Testamentphrase (see Proverbs
11:30;Amos 6:12), used also in James 3:18;Hebrews 12:11. It may mean (as
in these last two passages)“righteousnessas a result,” or (in the common
sense of“fruit”) the “resultof righteousness.” As the participle is properly
“having been filled,” thus referring, not to the future day of Christ, but to the
whole time which that day shall complete, the former sense seems preferable.
The righteousness whichis “through Jesus Christ,” “not” (as St. Paul says
below, Philippians 3:9) “our own righteousness,whichis of the Law, but that
which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness whichis of God,” is
clearly the likeness ofChrist, and therefore in itself an all-sufficient fruit.
Filled with it, we are (see Ephesians 3:19) “filled with all the fulness of God.”
Unto the glory and praise of God.—(Comp Ephesians 1:6; Ephesians 1:12;
Ephesians 1:14.)In accordancewith our Lord’s own teaching:“Let your light
so shine before men, that they may see your goodworks, and glorify your
Father which is in heaven.” (See also 1Corinthians 10:31.)
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
1:8-11 Shall not we pity and love those souls whom Christ loves and pities?
Those who abound in any grace, needto abound more. Try things which
differ; that we may approve the things which are excellent. The truths and

laws of Christ are excellent; and they recommend themselves as such to any
attentive mind. Sincerity is that in which we should have our conversationin
the world, and it is the glory of all our graces. Christians should not be apt to
take offence, and should be very careful not to offend God or the brethren.
The things which most honour Godwill most benefit us. Let us not leave it
doubtful whether any goodfruit is found in us or not. A small measure of
Christian love, knowledge, andfruitfulness should not satisfy any.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
Being filled with the fruits of righteousness - That which righteousness in the
heart produces. The fruits, or results, will be seenin the life; and those fruits
are - honesty, truth, charity, kindness, meekness, goodness. The wishof the
apostle is, that they might show abundantly by their lives that they were truly
righteous. He does not refer to liberality merely, but to everything which true
piety in the heart is fitted to produce in the life.
Which are by Jesus Christ -
(1) Which his religionis fitted to produce.
(2) which result from endeavoring to follow his example.
(3) which are produced by his agencyon the heart.
Unto the glory and praise of God - His honor is never more promoted than by
the eminent holiness of his friends; see the notes at John 15:8. If we wish,
therefore, to honor God, it should not be merely with the lips, or by acts of
prayer and praise; it should be by a life devoted to him. It is easyto render the
service of the lips; it is far more difficult to render that service which consists
in a life of patient and consistentpiety; and in proportion to the difficulty of it,
is its value in his sight.

Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
11. The oldestmanuscripts read the singular, "fruit." So Ga 5:22 (see on
[2378]Ga 5:22);regarding the works ofrighteousness, howevermanifold, as
one harmonious whole, "the fruit of the Spirit" (Eph 5:9) Jas 3:18, "the fruit
of righteousness" (Heb12:11); Ro 6:22, "fruit unto holiness."
which are—"whichis by (Greek, 'through') Jesus Christ." Through His
sending to us the Spirit from the Father. "We are wild and useless olive trees
till we are grafted into Christ, who, by His living root, makes us fruit-bearing
branches" [Calvin].
Matthew Poole's Commentary
Being filled with the fruits of righteousness;i.e. not only bringing forth some
single, yea, or singular fruit, but replenished, plurally, with the fruits of
righteousness, Acts 9:36 Colossians1:10;elsewhere calledthe fruits of the
Spirit, Galatians 5:22 Ephesians 5:9; in all goodness andtruth, as wellas
righteousness. Theseare suchgoodworks as are not (whatever the papists
conceive)causalofrighteousness, but are, through the Spirit, (who
regeneratesthe persons, and directs the internal and external actions of those
who walk in the steps of the faith of their father Abraham, Romans 4:12),
wrought by supernatural grace in the heart joined unto the Lord, with whom
they are one spirit, 1 Corinthians 6:17.
Which are by Jesus Christ; and without whom, from their own stock and
strength, till they be ingrafted into him, John 15:1,5, trees of righteousness, of
the Lord’s planting, Isaiah61:3, and his workmanship, createdunto good
works, Ephesians 2:10, they cannot bring forth fruits, and do such goodworks
as are acceptable unto God, 2 Corinthians 13:5; but Christ living and dwelling
in them by faith, Galatians 2:20 Ephesians 3:17, and God working in them

both to will and to do, Philippians 2:13, they can do all through Christ,
Philippians 4:13, so that they shall be acceptedin him.
Unto the glory and praise of God; not being empty vines, bringing forth fruit
to themselves, Hosea 10:1, but to the eternal honour of him who hath called
them, Matthew 5:16 1 Corinthians 10:31 Ephesians 1:6,12,14 1 Peter2:12 1
Peter4:11 Revelation5:13.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
Being filled with the fruits of righteousness,.... Goodworks. Some think alms
deeds, or acts of liberality and bounty, are here particularly intended; and
that respectis had to the generosityof these Philippians to the apostle, and
others: and true it is, that these are sometimes so called, as in 2 Corinthians
9:10, but rather goodworks in generalare meant, which are called"fruits",
because, like fruits, they spring from a seed, evenfrom the incorruptible seed
of grace in the heart, implanted there in regeneration;and because they are
owing, as the fruits of the earth are, to divine bounty and goodness, to the
dews of grace, the rising and bright shining of the sun of righteousness,and to
the south gale of the blessedSpirit, when brought forth aright; and also
because they are pleasantand delightful, they are well pleasing to Christ, and
are acceptable to Godthrough Christ; and likewise, becausetheyare
profitable, not to God, but to men: and they are styled fruits of
"righteousness",eitherof imputed righteousness,the righteousness ofChrist
imputed without works, the effects ofwhich are goodworks;for nothing more
strongly influences and engages mento the performance of goodworks, than a
view of their free justification by the righteousness ofChrist; hence there can
be no justification by works, since these are the fruits and effects of
justification, and not the cause:or of righteousness andholiness implanted in
the soulby the Spirit of God, the new man, which is createdunto goodworks,
and in or unto righteousness and true holiness;and which naturally tends
thereunto, and which stimulates and qualifies men for the performance of the
same:or goodworks are so called, because they are performed by a righteous
man; for as none but a goodtree canbring forth goodfruit, so none but a tree

of righteousness canbearfruits of righteousness;or none but a righteous man
do works of righteousness, whichare truly such: or because they are such as
are done according to the righteous law of God; for this is a necessary
requisite of a goodwork, that it be according to the command and will of
God; for otherwise, letit have never such a show of religion and goodness, it is
no goodwork. The Alexandrian copy, the Vulgate Latin, and Ethiopic
versions, read, "fruit", in the singular number, but other copies and versions,
read, "fruits"; and the apostle wishes, that these saints might be "filled" with
them; that is, that they might be like trees laden with fruit, which have fruit
on every branch, bough, and twig; that they might abound in the performance
of them, be ready to, and fruitful in every goodwork;not doing a few of one
sort only, but performing continually all manner of goodworks;and so be like
fruitful trees that yield their fruit in their season, and do not ceasefrom so
doing, but still bring forth fruit, and that in large quantities:
which are by Jesus Christ; who is the greenfir tree, from whom all fruit, as of
grace, so ofgoodworks, is found; for all goodworks, which are truly and
properly so, spring from union to Christ, and are owing to his grace:souls are
married to Christ, that they may bring forth fruit unto God; they are created
in him unto goodworks, and are ingrafted in him the true vine; and through
abiding in him, and deriving life, grace, andstrength from him, bear fruit,
which otherwise they could not do: without Christ no goodwork can be
performed; it is through him, strengthening his people, they do all they do; for
they are insufficient to do anything of themselves, but his grace is sufficient
for them, and his strength is made perfect in their weakness.He is the
exemplar and pattern, according to which they do their goodworks;and they
are motives drawn and takenfrom him, from his love, from the doctrines of
grace relating to him, which are the most powerful, and do most strongly
work upon the saints to perform these things; and which, under his grace, and
the influence of it, are directed
unto the glory and praise of God: they are done by believers in Christ, not in
order to obtain eternal life and happiness for themselves, which they know is
the gift of God, and entirely owing to his free grace and abundant mercy; nor

to gain honour and applause from men, but to glorify God; who is glorified
when his people bring forth much fruit, and which also is the occasionof
others glorifying him likewise:and this end is necessaryto a goodwork, that it
be done to the glory of God; for if anything else is in view and not that, let it
have ever such an appearance of a goodwork, it is none at all: and indeed,
here we have all the requisites of a goodwork;as that it should be done
according to the righteous law and will of God; that it springs from a
principle of grace and holiness; that it be performed in the name, grace, and
strength of Christ, and with a view to the honour and glory of God. The
Ethiopic version reads, "in" or "to his Christ's glory, and the praise of God";
and the Arabic version thus, "to the glory of God and his praise"; and so the
design of the clause is to show, either that both the glory of Christ and the
praise of God are concernedin every truly goodwork; or that the glory of
God secretly, and his praise openly, are to be soughttherein; even all honour
and glory, an abundance of it, and that continually; ascribing nothing to
ourselves, but attributing all to him, acknowledging, whenwe have done all
we can, we are but unprofitable servants.
Geneva Study Bible
Being filled with the {g} fruits of righteousness, whichare by Jesus Christ,
unto the glory and praise of God.
(g) If righteousness is the tree, and goodworks the fruits, then the papists are
truly deceivedindeed, when they saythat works are the cause of
righteousness.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Expositor's Greek Testament
Php 1:11. Critical evidence (see above) fixes καρπὸν… τόν as the correct
reading. We should, of course, expectthe gen. (see the v.1.), but one of the
most marked features in later Greek is the enlarging of the sphere of the

accus. It is quite common to find it with verbs like κληρονομεῖνand κρατεῖν
κ.τ.λ. Cf. in modern Greek γέμω χρήματα, “Iam full of possessions”(see See
Hatz., Einl (Hatzidakis, Einleitung in die Neugriech. Grammatik), pp. 220–
223;F. Krebs, Rectiond. Casus in d. späterenhistor. Gräcität, Heft i., pp. 3–4,
ii., p. 3 ff.).—καρπ. δικ. A frequent phrase in Prov. (LXX). A showing forth of
the results of righteousness. There is nothing here about justification, as
Moule supposes. It is right conduct the Apostle has in view. But it is hardly
needful to note that with Paul there can be no dissociationof the two ideas.
δικαιοσύνη is always with him the right relation betweenGod and man, made
possible through Christ, which asserts itself, under the Holy Spirit’s influence,
in righteous conduct.—διὰ Ἰ. Χ. The καρπός as well as the δικ. is due to Christ
(cf. chap. Php 4:13).—εἰς δ. κ. ἔπ. Θ. Cf. the refrain in Ephesians 1:6;
Ephesians 1:12; Ephesians 1:14, and Christ’s words in John 17:4, ἐγώ σε
ἐδόξασα ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς. The disciple must be as the Master.
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
11. Being filled] Lit. and better, having been filled. He anticipates the great
Day, and sees the Philippians as then, completedand developedas to the
results of grace. His prayer for them is that they may be then found “filled”
with such results; bearers of no scanty or partial “fruit”; trees whose every
branch has put forth the produce describedGalatians 5:22-23.
fruits] Rather, on documentary evidence, fruit; as in Galatians 5:22. The
results of grace are manifold, and yet a total, a unity; effects and
manifestations of one secret, ingredients in one character, which, if it lacks
one of them, is not fully “itself.”
of righteousness]The phrase “fruit of righteousness”occurs in the LXX.,
Proverbs 11:30; Proverbs 13:2; Amos 6:12; and in St James, James 3:18. By
analogywith such phrases as e.g. “fruit of the Spirit,” it means not “fruit
which is righteousness,”but “fruit which springs from righteousness.”—
“Righteousness” is properly a condition satisfactoryto Divine law. Thus it

often means the practicalrectitude of the regenerate will; and so probably
here. But often in St Paul we can trace an underlying reference to that great
truth which he was speciallycommissionedto explain, the Divine way of
Justification;the acceptanceofthe guilty, for Christ’s sake, as in Him
satisfactoryto the Law, broken by them, but kept and vindicated by Him. See
further below, on Php 3:9. Such an inner reference may be presenthere; the
“fruit” may be the fruit not merely of a rectified will, but of a person accepted
in Christ.
which are] Read, which is.
by Jesus Christ] Through Him, as both the procuring cause, by His merits, of
the new life of the saints, and the true basis and secretofit, in their union with
His life. Cp. Romans 5:17.
unto the glory and praise of God] The true goaland issue of the whole work of
grace, whichnever terminates in the individual, or in the Church, but in the
manifestation of Divine power, love, and holiness in the saving process and its
result. “To Him are all things; to whom be glory for ever. Amen” (Romans
11:36).—“God” here is distinctively the EternalFather, glorified in the
members of His Son.
Bengel's Gnomen
Php 1:11. Πεπληρωμένοι καρπὸν δικαιοσύνης,κ.τ.λ., filled with the fruits of
righteousness)The same constructionis found at Colossians 1:9, ἵνα
πληρωθῆτε τὴν ἐπίγνωσιν; and the fruit of righteousness is generallyused in
the singular number, Hebrews 12:11; Jam 3:18; also Romans 6:22, precisely
as Paul elsewhere speaks ofthe fruit of the Spirit, of light, of the lips. The
more common reading is πεπληρωμένοι καρπῶν, κ.τ.λ.[6]

[6] ABD(Δ)Gfg Vulg. (exceptFuld. MS. correctedby Victor of Capua), read
καρπόν. No old authority except Syr. supports the καοπῶνof the Rec. Text.—
ED.
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 11. - Being filled with the fruits of righteousness.The best manuscripts
read "fruit." He prays that their love may abound, not only in knowledge and
discernment, but also in the fruit of holy living. The fruit of righteousness is
sanctification, which springs from justification, and manifests itself in holy
living (comp. Amos 6:12; Galatians 5:22). Which are by Jesus Christ; rather,
through. The righteousness ofGod's saints is not that" which is of the Law,
but that which is through the faith of Christ" (comp. John 15:4). The branch
lives by the life of the vine; the Christian lives by the life of Christ. It is his life,
living in, assimilatedby the Christian soul, which brings forth the fruit of
righteousness. Unto the glory and praise of God. The righteousness ofGod's
saints, springing from the abiding presence ofChrist, shows forth the glory of
God. The glory of God is his majesty in itself; praise is the acknowledgmentof
this majesty by the voice and heart of man. The glory of God is the end of all
Christian effort.
Vincent's Word Studies
Fruit of righteousness (καρπὸνδικαιοσύνης)
The phrase occurs James 3:18. Compare Proverbs 11:30.
Glory and praise of God
For glory of God, see on Romans 3:23. That God's glory may be both
manifested and recognized. Compare Ephesians 1:6.

PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
BRUCE HURT MD
Philippians 1:11 having been filled (RPPMPN)with the fruit of righteousness
which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. (NASB:
Lockman)
Greek:pepleromenoi(RPPMPN)karpondikaiosunes ton dia IesouChristou
eis doxan kaiepainon theou
Amplified: May you abound in and be filled with the fruits of righteousness
(of right standing with God and right doing) which come through Jesus Christ
(the Anointed One), to the honor and praise of God[that His glory may be
both manifested and recognized].
KJV: Being filled with the fruits of righteousness,whichare by Jesus Christ,
NLT: May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—those good
things that are produced in your life by Jesus Christ—forthis will bring much
glory and praise to God. (NLT - Tyndale House)
Phillips: I want to see your lives full of true goodness, producedby the power
that Jesus Christ gives you to the praise and glory of God. (Phillips:
Touchstone)

Wuest: being filled full with the fruit of righteousness, whichfruit is through
Jesus Christ, resulting in glory and praise to God
Young's Literal: being filled with the fruit of righteousness, thatis through
Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
HAVING BEEN FILLED WITH THE FRUIT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS:
pepleromenoi (RPPMPN)karpondikaiosunes:
Phil 4:17; Ps 1:3; 92:12, 13, 14; Isa 5:2; Lk 13:6, 7, 8, 9; Jn 15:2, 8, 16; Ro
6:22KJV; 15:28; 2Co 9:10; Gal 5:22, 23; Eph 5:9; Col 1:6, 10; Heb 12:11;Jas
3:17 Jas 3:18
Philippians 1 Resources -Multiple Sermons and Commentaries
RIGHTEOUSNESS
OUR POSITION & PRACTICE
Having been filled - Paul has just described the coming Day of Christ when all
saints will see and stand before their Lord blameless. Fruit of righteousness
probably describes our position (blameless)and/or our practice (fruit that
brings glory to God).
Constable acknowledges the value of Paul's prayer as a model for the prayers
of all saints "What an excellentprayer this is! In our day when we tend to
voice prayer requests for physical needs primarily we need to follow Paul’s
example of putting the spiritual needs of others high on our prayer lists.
Christians still need God’s supernatural enablement to value highly the things

of greatestimportance as revealedin Scripture. Only then will we make
choices that will prepare us to give a goodaccountof ourselves atthe
judgment seatof Christ."
William MacDonald- filled with the fruit of righteousness,that is, with the
fruits which righteousness produces, orwith all the Christian virtues that
make up a righteous life. The source of these virtues is Jesus Christ(Believer’s
Bible Commentary)
KJV Bible Commentary comments on being filled - The word (Greek-pleroo)
means to make full, cause to abound, filled to the full. This Greek perfect
participle expresses the present results of a past action. They have been filled
and are still filled. There is no room for anything else;there is no room for
any other fruit. With the fruits of righteousness.Righteousnessfruit. Which
are by Jesus Christ. This fruit cannot be produced by human powerbut only
by the Holy Spirit as the believer is in vital union with Christ (Jn 15:4–5).
Unto the glory and praise of God. This is the spiritual purpose of all Christian
endeavor.
Robert Lightner comment on being filled with the fruit of righteousness -A
righteous stand before God, resulting from being clothed in Christ’s
righteousness, oughtto produce fruit for God. Such inner qualities, partially
describedin Galatians 5:22–23, willbe evident to others. The fruit of the
Spirit comes through Jesus Christ, for it is really His life lived out through
believers. Such fruit magnifies God, not self. So a life that exhibits such traits
is to the glory and praise of God. (Bible Knowledge Commentary)
Constable comments on being filled - This verse modifies the lasthalf of Php
1:10. The only way we will be able to stand (Ed: "Blameless" cfJude 1:24-
note) before God sincere and blameless is if we allow the Holy Spirit to control

us. If we do, He will fill our lives with the fruit that is the product of His
righteousness (Gal. 5:22-note, Gal5:23-note). This righteousness and its fruit
come to us through Jesus Christ, not as a result of our own gooddeeds (Ed:
And I would add our so-called"gooddeeds," deeds done in our strength are
wood, hay and stumble at the Bema Seat!). Therefore all the glory and praise
for our righteousness, ourfruit, and hopefully our flawless andblameless
condition at the judgment seatof Christ, goes to God. He is the ultimate
source of it all (cf. Eph. 1:6-note, Eph 1:12-note, Eph 1:14-note).
David Garland on the the fruit of righteousness - The unstated agentin this
case is God, who fills Christians with this fruit. The genitive “righteousness”
may be rendered “fruit that is righteousness”(genitive of apposition),
“righteous fruit” (attributive genitive), or “fruit that comes from or is
produced by righteousness”(subjective genitive). “Fruit” is related to ethical
behavior, and Silva, translates it “the fruit of right conduct.” Caird, asserts
that the state of being declaredright is a seedthat produces a Christian
harvest: “It is God’s free unearned gift through Jesus Christ, but it enables
man to bear the harvest he ought and so to give God the glory and praise that
are his due.” This theme reverberates throughout the letter, as Paul urges the
Philippians to obey, to work out their salvationin fear and trembling, and to
beware of the libertine lifestyle of the enemies of the cross. It always appears
with the corollarythat it is God who is working in them (Php 1:6, 2:13) and
that the fruit of righteousness comesthrough Christ. Paul picks up this theme
againin Php 3:9. (The Expositor's Bible Commentary)
J Vernon McGee -The “fruits of righteousness”are the fruits of the Holy
Spirit.
Muller - The church, however, canonly be pure and irreproachable, if it is
filled, like a tree heavily laden, with the fruits of righteousness, ifa holy life is
revealed, a life that is right before God and adapted to His will, a life

abounding in virtues and devoted to God. This subjective righteousness oflife
is, however, not the result of any human effort, but is only “through Jesus
Christ,” who enables the believers to attain it as He works it in them. They
who abide in Him (and He in them) bear much fruit (John 15:4, 5). (NICNT).
Gordon Fee explains that the perfect passive participle modifies “that you
might be.” (Ed: In Php 1:10 = that you might be sincere and
blameless...having beenfilled...) This is an excellentexample of the nuance of
the Greek perfect, which is not easily carriedover into English. It reflects the
present state of something that happened in the past; in this clause, whichis
from the perspective of the future day of Christ, the “past” is the present.
(Paul's Letter to the Philippians)
Some like John MacArthur interpret Paul's the perfect tense in this context to
picture the saint's standing at the Judgment Seatof Christ (2Co 5:10-note)
and looking back over their life so to speak. Others disagree,for example
Ralph Martin who writes "It is clearthat this is part of his prayer for their
present experience and influence, rather than a looking forward to their
future state at the day of Christ, as Moule takes it."
At the Judgment Seatthey are filled with spiritual fruit that has come through
Jesus Christ. MacArthur says that "when believers stand before the Lord at
the Judgment Seat, they alreadywill have been filled with the fruit of
righteousness. Thatrefers to a divinely completedstate, or condition, of
righteousness thatis basedon the love, excellence, andintegrity Paul has just
explained." MacArthur does not limit the significance ofour being filled with
fruit of righteousness to the future, but applies it practically to the present,
writing "It is God’s purpose to produce such goodworks in all believers
because “we are His workmanship, createdin Christ Jesus for goodworks,
which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them” (Eph.
2:10)."

How do we walk in and practice the "goodworks" that are in us, prepared
even before we were saved(Eph 2:10)? We can do so only as we jettison "self-
reliance" and learn to daily surrender to (and be filled with) the Spirit,
abiding in the Vine (Jn 15:5), trusting the Spirit to produce supernatural fruit
in our lives which will one day be assessedforauthenticity ("our" fruit or
"His" fruit?) at the Judgment Seatof Christ (1Co 3:12-15). The perfect tense
also speaks ofpermanence, which would suggestthat the fruit that endures
the Refiner's testing gaze (Rev 1:14-note), will endure throughout eternity. If
that is indeed the case, it begs the question - What will your (my) "harvest" be
beloved? Will we have a "bumper crop" (cp Lk 12:42-44, Lk 19:17-19, Da
12:3, Mt 24:45-47)or will we pass into eternity with relatively "empty fruit
baskets" so to speak becausethe majority of our righteous deeds even after
our new birth have been "our" deeds, not His deeds through us! May it be the
ambition of our life to continually strive and fight and seek to be pleasing to
Him (2Co 5:9-note)! Let us not miss this "once in a lifetime opportunity" to
bear fruit that endures for eternity (Jn 15:16)!
The passive voice (subject receives the action - in this context the "divine
passive")points out that believers do not fill themselves but are filled by an
outside Source, in this case obviouslyGod Himself.
Filled (4137)(pleroo from pleres = full) means to be be completelyfilled like a
net filled with a catchof fish or cup filled to the brim.
Fruit of righteousness - The question arises as whatPaul means by the phrase
“the fruit of righteousness”. Melick notes -The construction(of fruit of
righteousness)is actually capable of three possible translations of the genitive
“righteousness”:fruit which is righteousness (appositionalgenitive);the fruit
which righteousness produces (subjective genitive); the fruit which is
righteous fruit (descriptive genitive). Regarding the definition of

righteousness, there are two options: forensic (imputed righteousness)or
ethical (moral conduct). Some interpret it to mean the fruit produced by their
imputed righteousness. Most,however, understand the phrase to mean the
result of righteous activity as Christians. It refers to an ethical righteousness.
The Old Testamentsupports this conclusion(Hos 10:12), and it fits Paul’s
attitude expressedin Philippians. (New American Commentary)
The writer to Hebrews teaches thatGod uses the rod of discipline to train us
and to bring forth "the peacefulfruit of righteousness. (Heb 12:11-note)
Solomonteaches that "The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life and he who is
wise wins souls. (Pr 11:30)
Alexander Maclarenexplains that "The life which discerns keenly will bring
forth the fruit which consists ofrighteousness, andthat fruit is to fill the whole
nature so that no part shall be without it."
Paul is not interestedin ''churchianity'' but spiritual fruit produced by
abiding in Christ (Jn 15:5). Apart from receiving the desire and the power
from Jesus our Vine "we cando nothing". Paul reiterates this same idea with
the following clause which says that fruit comes "through Jesus Christ." Too
many Christians try to ''produce'' fruit in or through their own efforts and
then ask God to bless those efforts insteadof abiding in Him and allowing His
life to bear fruit as we "grow in the grace and knowledge ofour Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of
eternity." Amen. (2Pe 3:18-note)
GOD DESIRES A "BUMPER CROP"
OF RIGHTEOUSNESSIN OUR LIVES

Eadie sees the fruit as that "which springs from this righteousness (and) is to
be possessednotsparingly, but richly ("filled"); and for such fulness does the
apostle presenthis prayer. His pleading for them is, that their life might not
be marked merely by the absence ofinsincerity and offence (Php 1:10), but
that they might be adorned with all such Christian graces as resultfrom the
new nature—the deeds which characterize the “new man createdin
righteousness.”(Eph 4:24-note)And this was the last subject or purpose of the
petition; for love increasing in knowledge and spiritual discernment, knowing
what genuine obedience is, and what is but the semblance ofit, appreciating
the gospeland cherishing communion with those who oftentimes in suffering
extend and uphold it, keeping the day of Christ in view and preparing for it—
moves and enables the whole nature to “bring forth fruit unto holiness.” (Ro
6:22KJV-note) (Philippians 1:9-11 Commentary)
Warren Wiersbe explains it this way - Paul also prays that they might have
mature Christian service. He wants them filled and fruitful (Phil. 1:11). He is
not interestedsimply in “church activities,” but in the kind of spiritual fruit
that is produced when we are in fellowshipwith Christ. “Abide in Me, and I in
you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, exceptit abide in the vine; no
more can ye, exceptye abide in Me” (John 15:4, cp Jn 15:5). Too many
Christians try to “produce results” in their own efforts instead of abiding in
Christ and allowing His life to produce the fruit.
H C G Moule - The phrase “fruit of righteousness”occurs in the LXX., Pr
11:30, 13:2; Amos 6:12; and in St James, 3:18. By analogywith such phrases
as e.g. “fruit of the Spirit,” it means not “fruit which is righteousness,”but
“fruit which springs from righteousness.”—“Righteousness”is properly a
condition satisfactoryto Divine law. Thus it often means the practical
rectitude of the regenerate will; and so probably here. But often in St Paul we
can trace an underlying reference to that great truth which he was specially
commissionedto explain, the Divine wayof Justification;the acceptance ofthe

guilty, for Christ’s sake,as in Him satisfactoryto the Law, broken by them,
but kept and vindicated by Him. See further below, on 3:9. Such an inner
reference may be presenthere; the “fruit” may be the fruit not merely of a
rectified will, but of a person acceptedin Christ. (Philippians 1 Commentary)
Fruit (2590)(karpos)is literally the fruit (as of trees, vines, etc)and then the
"fruit" of ones loins, specificallyhis or her offspring. Mostof the NT uses are
figuratively describing an effector a result = that which originates or comes
from something. The context determines the exactnuance as can be discerned
from noting the numerous ways karpos is translatedin the NAS.
Karpos - 67xin 57v- NAS translates karpos = benefit, 2; crop, 5; crops, 2;
descendants, 1;fruit, 43;fruitful, 1; fruits, 4; grain, 1; harvest, 1; proceeds, 1;
produce, 4; profit, 1,
Matt 3:8, 10; 7:16ff; 12:33; 13:8, 26; 21:19, 34, 41, 43; Mark 4:7f, 29; 11:14;
12:2; Luke 1:42; 3:8f; 6:43f; 8:8; 12:17;13:6f, 9; 20:10;John 4:36; 12:24;
15:2, 4f, 8, 16; Acts 2:30; Rom 1:13; 6:21f; 15:28; 1 Cor 9:7; Gal 5:22; Eph
5:9; Phil 1:11, 22; 4:17; 2 Tim 2:6; 4:13; Heb 12:11;13:15;Jas 3:17f; 5:7, 18;
Rev 22:2.
What fruit? See the Scripture references above for all the NT uses of karpos
(fruit, benefit, crop, produce) to obtain a better understanding of the
incredible privilege believers have to bear fruit that endures throughout
eternity! Spiritual fruit in contrastto (self righteous)religious activity (cp Isa
64:6) result in the glory and praise of God. If we produce the fruit in our
strength, our natural (fleshly) tendency is to boast. When the Spirit of Christ
produces fruit in a surrendered saint, the saint can only bow down in awe,
adorationand thankfulness that he or she was allowedto witness sucha
miracle and to experience God!

Remember, beloved that a fruit tree does not make a greatdeal of noise when
it produces its crop. It merely allows the life within to work its way out in a
natural way, and fruit is the natural result. Jesus gave us His "formula for
fruitfulness" in John 15 declaring...
I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides (present tense)in Me, and
I in him, he bears (present tense) much fruit; for apart from Me you can do
(absolutely) nothing. (Jn 15:5).
Comment: There can be absolutely no fruit of righteousness in anyone’s life
apart from a continual dependence on the sufficiencyof the indwelling Spirit
of Christ.
Lehman Strauss - The Christian is appointed to bear the fruit of
righteousness. Jesus said:"Ye have not chosenMe, but I have chosenyou, and
ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit
should remain: that whatsoeverye shall ask of the Father in My Name, He
may give it you" (John 15:16). The word "fruit" occurs eight times in this
chapter, and it is associatedcloselywith our relation to Christ and His
expectationof us. The branches on a vine are intended to bear fruit....The
glory of a vine is its fruit. How solemn a thought that the Lord is depending on
us for a display of His glory! The fruit of righteousness is a godly life as seen
in that ninefold cluster of the fruit of the Holy Spirit: "Love, joy, peace,
longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness,temperance" [orself-
control] (Galatians 5:22-23). (Philippians Commentary)
For a natural fruit tree to produce fruit, it needs (among other things) light.
By analogywe who are called to be "fruit bearers", are chargedby Paul to

walk in the light so that we might bring forth the fruit of light which is
righteousness...
for you were formerly darkness (Note:Not just "in" darkness, but the very
essenceofdarkness!Wow!), but now you are light in the Lord; walk (present
imperative = command to make this your generaldirection) as children of
light (God is light and in Him there is absolutely no darkness and those who
call themselves His children, demonstrate their family ties by walking as He
would walk - not speaking of perfectionbut of the generaldirection of our
life) for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness andrighteousness and
truth (Eph 5:8-note, Eph 5:9-note)
Thomas Watson...
DOCTRINE:Christians should above all things, endeavorafter fruitfulness.
The saints are called"trees of righteousness"in Isaiah61:3. These rational
trees must not only bring forth leaves—butfruit, "being filled with the fruits
of righteousness."To further amplify this, there are two things to be inquired
into:
QUESTION. How does a Christian bring forth fruit?
ANSWER. He brings forth fruit in the vine. By nature we are barren, and
there is not one goodblossomgrowing on us; but when by faith we are
engraftedinto Christ, then we grow and bear fruit. John 15:4: "Justas a
branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, so
neither canyou unless you remain in Me." Jesus Christ is that blessedRoot
which shoots up that sap of grace into His branches. The Pelagians tells us we
have sufficiency of ourselves to bring forth goodfruit; but how improper is

this? Does not the root contribute to the branches? Is it not of Christ's
precious fullness that we receive (John 1:16)? Therefore it is observable that
Christ calls the spouse's grace His grace. Song ofSolomon5:1: "I have
gatheredMy myrrh with My spice." Christ does not say, "your myrrh," but
"My myrrh." If the saints bear any spiritual fruit, they are indebted to Christ
for it; it is His myrrh. Hosea 14:8:"From Me is your fruit found." (Watson
goes onto address "Whatkind of fruit?" and then has a lengthy sectionon
Application of these truths to our life in his paper The Trees of Righteousness
- Which is a RecommendedRead)
WHICH COMES THROUGH JESUS CHRIST : ton dia IesouChristou:
Ps 92:14, 92:15; Isa 60:21; 61:3, 61:11 Mt 5:16; Jn 15:4, 15:5; 1Co 10:31; Eph
2:10; Col 1:6; 2Th1:12; Heb 13:15, 13:16; 1Pet2:5, 2:9, 2:12; 4:10, 4:11, 4:14
John Eadie reminds us that spiritual fruit "is not self-produced, but is “by
Jesus Christ,” in and through His gracious operations upon the heart by His
Spirit. Righteousnessis of His creation, and all the fruits of it are through
Him, not by His doctrine or by faith in Him, but through Himself.
(Philippians 1:9-11 Commentary)
Calvin - “We are wild and useless olive trees till we are grafted into Christ,
who, by His living root, makes us fruit-bearing branches”
A J Gordon writes that "our relation to Christ determines also our Christian
walk. This is obvious. A true Christian walk is a reproducing in our lives (Ed:
by yielding to the power of the Spirit) the righteousnesswhich is alreadyours
in Christ. Compare Col2:6 - we began by faith ["As you therefore have

receivedChrist Jesus the Lord"] and must now continue to live the same way
["so walk in Him"]! (from Gordon's book In Christ)
Boice comments that the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus
Christ "refers to what is seenexternally. The fruit of righteousness is the fruit
that righteousness produces. This is to be seenin the innumerable acts of
kindness and service to which every believer in Jesus Christis called."
Which come through Jesus Christ - The Greek literally reads "that through
Jesus Christ". The Source and the "conduit" of these virtues is Jesus Christ,
and their objectis the glory and praise of God.
Through Jesus Christ (14x in the NAS) = Jn 1:17 Acts 10:36 Ro 1:8 Ro 5:21
Ro 7:25 Ro 16:27 Gal 1:1 Eph 1:5 Php 1:11 Titus 3:6 Heb 13:21 1Pe 2:5 1Pe
4:11 Jude 1:25.
Relatedresource - Study on the phrase through Him = through Christ
"FAUCETS" FOR
GOD'S GLORY
Lawrence of Arabia once brought a group of Bedouins to London and housed
them in a beautiful hotel. The only kind of dwelling they had ever lived in was
a tent in the desert. They quickly became fascinatedwith the faucets in the
hotel. In the desertwater was hard to come by, but in the hotel they merely
had to turn a knob to get all the waterthey needed. When Lawrence helped
them pack up to leave, he discoveredthey'd takenthe faucets off all the sinks
and put them in their bags. They believed that if they possessedthe faucets

they would also possessthe water. Christians often forget that in the spiritual
realm they are like faucets. Unless they are connectedto the pipeline of
spiritual water, they are just as useless as the faucets the Bedouins had in their
bags. Spiritual fruit flows out of a Christian only when he or she is connected
to the source of spiritual power..."whichcomes through Jesus Christ"
You are a "spiritual" faucet
and must remain connectedto the Source
or you won't bring forth living water.
Electricity - There is an illustration of these relationships (in Php 1:9, 10, 11)
in the area of electricalscience. Anyone who has any acquaintance atall with
electricaltheory knows the basic formula: volts x amperes = watts. Voltage is
a measurement of pressure. Amperage is a measurement of flow. And wattage
is a measurement of power; it is the product of the pressure multiplied by the
flow of electricity. Everything that Paul says can be expressedin this
terminology. All goodworks depend on being filled with God's love, which is
the pressure behind goodworks. Goodworks also depend on a channel where
the amperage canbe high. Our lives must not be filled with resistors (which
impede the flow) or condensors (whichstore it up for private use). They must
be open. The love of God times a life free of resistanceequals goodworks.
(Boice ExpositionalCommentary – Philippians)
TO THE GLORY AND PRAISE OF GOD : eis doxan kaiepainon theou:
Jn 15:8; Eph 1:12, 1:14
Torrey's Topic "Glorifying God"

OUR HIGHEST
PURPOSE:
TO BRING GOD
GLORY & PRAISE
The WestminsterCatechismsays that man's chief end is to glorify God. The
Puritan author Thomas Watsonrightly reminds us...
"ThatGod in all things may be glorified." The glory of God is a silver thread
which must run through all our actions. 1Co 10:31. "Whethertherefore ye eat
or drink, or whatsoeverye do, do all to the glory of God." Everything works
to some end in things natural and artificial; now, man being a rational
creature, must propose some end to himself, and that should be, that he may
lift up God in the world. He had better lose his life than the end of his living
(Mk 8:35).
The greattruth assertedis that
the end of every man's living should be to glorify God.
Glorifying God has respectto all the persons in the Trinity; it respects God
the FatherWho gave us life; God the Son, Who lost His life for us; and God
the Holy Ghost, Who produces a new life in us; we must bring glory to the
whole Trinity.
When we speak ofGod's glory, the question will be moved, What are to
understand by God's glory? Answer. There is a twofold glory:

1. The glory that God has in himself, his intrinsic glory. Glory is essentialto
the Godhead, as light is to the sun: He is called the "Godof glory." Acts 7:2.
Glory is the sparkling of the Deity; it is so co-natural to the Godhead, that
God cannot be God without it. The creature's honour is not essentialto his
being. A king is a man without his regalornaments, when his crownand royal
robes are takenaway; but God's glory is such an essentialpart of His being,
that He cannot be God without it. God's very life lies in His glory. This glory
can receive no addition, because it is infinite; it is that which God is most
tender of, and which He will not part with. Isa 48:11, "My glory I will not give
to another." God will give temporal blessings to His children, such as wisdom,
riches, honour; He will give them spiritual blessings, He will give them grace,
He will give them His love, He will give them heaven; but His essentialglory
He will not give to another. King Pharaohparted with a ring off his finger to
Joseph, and a gold chain, but he would not part with his throne. Ge 41:40.
"Only in the throne will I be greaterthan thou." So God will do much for His
people; He will give them the inheritance; He will put some of Christ's glory,
as Mediator upon them; but His essentialglory He will not part with; "in the
throne He will be greater."
2. The glory which is ascribedto God, or which His creatures labour to bring
to Him. 1Chr 16:29, "Give unto the Lord the glory due unto His name." And,
1Co 6:20, "Glorify Godin your body."
The glory we give God is nothing else
but our lifting up His name in the world,
and magnifying Him in the eyes of others.
Php 1:20, "Christ shall be magnified in my body."

What is it to glorify God? Answer. Glorifying God consists in four things: 1.
Appreciation, 2. Adoration, 3. Affection, 4. Subjection. This is the yearly rent
we pay to the crownof heaven. (You might take a moment to read Watson's
detailed amplification of eachof these four points = Man's Chief End is to
Glorify God = Highly RecommendedReading)
To the glory and praise of God - This phrase parallels the words of our Lord
Jesus
by this is My Fatherglorified (doxazo - see discussionof glorifying God) that
you bear much fruit and so prove to be (Literally it reads "ye shall become")
My disciples. (Jn 15:8)
Comment: Notice the corollaryprinciple - Fruit bearing is one of the marks or
"badges" ofa genuine disciple. This begs the question dear reader -- Are you
bearing much fruit?
Genuine spiritual fruit brings glory and praise to God the Father. And so Paul
sets down the Christian aim which is to live in such a way that the glory and
praise are given to God and not to us. Christian fruit is not meant to bring
adulation to us but is meant to generate glory and praise to God.
John Eadie says us that...
The being filled with such fruits of righteousness—fruits grownonly through
Christ, redounds (results in, contributes) to the glory and praise of God—the
ultimate end of all His works. Glory is the manifestation of His nature and

character, and praise is that grateful homage which salutes it on the part of
His people. Eph 1:6; Php 2:11. (Philippians 1:9-11 Commentary)
See RelatedResources -
What are GoodDeeds?
Overview of the Glory of God (with emphasis on His "Shekinah" Glory)
Paul repeatedly emphasized the principle that although he was calledto work,
it was God Who alone was to receive the glory writing...
But by the grace ofGod I am what I am, and His grace towardme did not
prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them (Note:Man does have a
responsibility in bearing fruit), yet not I, but the grace ofGod with me
(Ultimately it is God's transforming powerwhich enables supernatural fruit,
so that in the final analysis as discussedbelow, He alone can receive the glory
and praise). (1Co 15:10-note)
As Homer Kent explains...
Transformedlives are the demonstrationthat God works in believers. Paul
desires that when his readers stand before Christ, their lives will have been
filled with the right kind of fruit. He is not talking about mere human
uprightness measured by outward conformity to law (Php 3:9-note). He is
rather speaking of the spiritual fruit that comes from Jesus Christ, produced
in them by the Holy Spirit sent by Christ (Gal 5:22-note). Consequently, all
the glory and praise belongs not to believers but to God, for He has redeemed
them by the work of His Son and has implanted within them His Spirit to
produce the fruit of righteousness.The thought is similar to that in Eph 1:6-

note, Ep 1:12-note, Ep 1:14-note, where Paul says that the entire plan of
redemption should result in praise of God’s glory. (Expositor's Bible
Commentary)
And so we see that highest purpose of Paul’s prayer was that God's nature
and characterwould be manifestly magnified for all to see. As the fruit in us
comes forth supernaturally, believers and non-believers alike are able to see
through this supernatural effect, the handiwork of the Supernatural One, the
only One worthy of our praise.
Jesus commandedhis hearers in the Sermonon the Mount to...
Let your light shine (aoristimperative = Command calling for immediate
response. Do this now. Do it effectively!) before men in such a way that they
may see your good works, andglorify (doxazo = in simple terms this verb
means to give a proper opinion of) your FatherWho is in heaven" (Mt 5:16-
note)
Comment: Observe that "your light" is practically demonstrated by "your
gooddeeds". Note also that "in such a way" which means that the "good
deeds" are to be performed so that God gets the "credit" not us. When that
transpires, others (lost and saved) will see visible evidence of the
"supernatural" ("your goodworks")whichin turn give cleartestimony to the
existence ofGod the Father. Maclarenputs it beautifully writing that "The
highest glory of God comes from the gradual increase in redeemed men’s
likeness to Him. They are ‘the secretariesofHis praise'...."
OAKS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
PLANTED TO GLORIFYGOD

Isaiahdescribes the believing Jewishremnant (all of whom are made
righteous by faith) in the end times, which is a beautiful picture applicable to
all of God's children of all ages...
(Context: Isa 61:1, 2 = Messiahis speaking)To grant those who mourn in
Zion, Giving them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness insteadof
mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be
calledoaks (cp Ps 1:3-note) of righteousness (Seerelatedpassage= Isa 60:21,
Isa 1:27. Isa 61:3 is the divinely enabled antithesis to their rebellious,
idolatrous state in Isa 1:29, 30, 31-note resulting from their efforts to
"glorify" themselves!), the planting of the LORD , that He may be glorified
(God is responsible for their spiritual planting and it is only right and proper
that He receives the glory for His supernatural work of making an
unrighteous people righteous in Christ!) (Isaiah 61:3)
John Oswaltcomments: Here is another of the greatparadoxes of this book
and of the Bible: try to make ourselves mighty, and we burn ourselves up (Isa
1:31); admit ourselves helpless and doomed, and God gives us his beauty (Isa
61:3)! We are made to be mirrors (cp Eph 2:10, Mt 5:16); when His beauty is
reflectedin us, we become beautiful.
The final result of growing in love and of living a wise and pure life that
overflows with righteousness is that God will be honored and pleased. All the
glory and praise belongs not to believers but to God, for he has redeemed
them by the work of his Son and has implanted within them his Spirit to
produce the fruit of righteousness.

In Christian Leaders of the EighteenthCentury, J. C. Ryle describes the
ministries of greatBritish Christian leaders--George Whitefield, John Wesley,
and others observing that...
"they taught constantlythe inseparable connectionbetweentrue faith and
personalholiness. They never allowedfor a moment that any church
membership or religious professionwas the proof of a man being a true
Christian if he lived an ungodly life. A true Christian, they maintained, must
always be known by his fruits; and those fruits must be plainly manifest and
unmistakable in all relations of life. 'No fruits, no grace,'was the unvarying
tenor of their preaching"
In our own time many have come to view spiritual fruit to be an optional
characteristic in the Christian life--not a natural product of salvation. Paul
said,
"my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of
Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raisedfrom
the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God." (Ro 7:4-note) .
Are you living a holy life that produces fruit "to the glory and praise of God"?
A Comprehensive
Prayer
Php 1:9, 10, 11

Alexander Maclaren
WHAT a blessedfriendship is that of which the natural language is prayer!
We have many ways, thank God, of showing our love and of helping one
another, but the best wayis by praying for one another. All that is selfish and
low is purged out of our hearts in the act, suspicions and doubts fade away
when we pray for those whom we love. Many an alienation would have melted
like morning mists if it had been prayed about, added tenderness and delicacy
come to our friendships so like the bloom on ripening grapes.
We may testour loves by this simple criterion—
Can we pray about them?
If not, should we have them?
Are they blessings to us or to others?
This prayer, like all those in Paul’s epistles, is wonderfully full. His deep
affectionfor, and joy in, the Philippian church breathes in every word of it.
Even his jealous watchfulness saw nothing in them to desire but progress in
what they possessed. Sucha desire is the highest that love canframe.
We canwish nothing better for one another
than growth in the love of God.
Paul’s estimate of the highest goodof those who were dearestto him was that
they should be more and more completely filled with the love of God and with
its fruits of holiness and purity, and what was his supreme desire for the
Philippians is the highestpurpose of the Gospelfor us all, and should be the

aim of our effort and longing, dominating all others as some sovereign
mountain peak towers above the valleys. Looking then at this prayer as
containing an outline of true progress in the Christian life, we may note:
I. The Growth In Keenness OfConscience FoundedOn Growth In Love.
Paul does not merely desire that their love may abound, but that it may
become more and more ‘rich in knowledge and all discernment.’ The former
is perhaps accurate knowledge, andthe latter the application of it.
‘Discernment’ literally means ‘sense,’and here, of course, whenemployed
about spiritual and moral things it means the power of apprehending good
and bad as such. It is, I suppose, substantially equivalent to conscience, the
moral tact or touch of the soul by which, in a manner analogous to bodily
sense, it ascertains the moral characterof things. This growth of love in the
powerof spiritual and moral discernment is desired in order to its exercise in
‘proving things that differ.’ It is a process ofdiscrimination and testing that is
meant, which is, I think, fairly representedby the more modern expression
which I have used—keennessofconscience.
I need spend little time in remarking on the absolute need of such a process of
discrimination. We are surrounded by temptations to evil, and live in a world
where maxims and principles not in accordance withthe Gospelabound. Our
own natures are but partially sanctified. The shows of things must be tested.
Apparent good must be proved. The Christian life is not merely to unfold
itself in peace and order, but through conflict. We are not merely to follow
impulses, or to live as angels do, who are above sin, or as animals do who are
beneath it. When false coins are being passed, it is folly to acceptany without
a test. All around us there is glamour, and so within us there is need for
careful watchfulness and quick discrimination.

This keenness ofconsciencefollows onthe growthof love. Nothing makes a
man more sensitive to evil than a hearty love to God. Such a heart is keenerto
discern what is contrary to its love than any ethical maxims canmake it. A
man who lives in love will be delivered from the blinding influence of his own
evil tastes, anda heart steadfastin love will not be swayedby lower
temptations. Communion with God will, from its very familiarity with Him,
instinctively discern the evil of evil, as a man coming out of pure air is
conscious ofvitiated atmosphere which those who dwell in it do not perceive.
It used to be said that Venice glass would shiver into fragments if poison were
poured into the cup. As evil spirits were supposedto be castout by the
presence ofan innocent child or a pure virgin, so the ugly shapes that
sometimes tempt us by assuming fair disguises will be shown in their native
hideousness whenconfronted with a heart filled with the love of God.
Such keenness ofjudgment is capable of indefinite increase. Ourconsciences
should become more and more sensitive:we should always be advancing in
our discoveryof our own evils, and be more consciousofour sins, the fewer
we have of them. Twilight in a chamber may revealsome foul things, and the
growing light will disclose more. ‘Secretfaults’ will cease to be secretwhen
our love abounds more and more in knowledge, andin all discernment.
II. The Purity And Completeness OfCharacterFlowing From This Keenness
Of Conscience.
The Apostle desires that the knowledge whichhe asks for his Philippian
friends may pass overinto character, and he describes the sort of men which
he desires them to be in two clauses,‘sincere and void of offence’being the
one, ‘filled with the fruits of righteousness’being the other. The former is
perhaps predominantly negative, the latter positive. That which is sincere is so
because whenheld up to the light it shows no flaws, and that which is without
offence is so because the stones in the path have been clearedawayby the

powerof discrimination, so that there is no stumbling. The life which discerns
keenly will bring forth the fruit which consists ofrighteousness,and that fruit
is to fill the whole nature so that no part shall be without it.
Nothing lowerthan this is the lofty standard towards which eachChristian
life is to aim, and to which it can indefinitely approximate. It is not enough to
aim at the negative virtue of sincerity so that the most searching scrutiny of
the webof our lives shall detect no flaws in the weaving, and no threads
dropped or broken. There must also be the actualpresence of positive
righteousness filling life in all its parts. That lofty standard is pressedupon us
by a solemn motive, ‘unto the day of Christ.’ We are ever to keepbefore us
the thought that in that coming day all our works will be made manifest, and
that all of them should be done, so that when we have to give accountof them
we shall not be ashamed.
The Apostle takes it for granted here that if the Philippian Christians know
what is right and what is wrong, they will immediately choose and do the
right. Is he forgetting the great gulf betweenknowledge and practice? Notso,
but he is strong in the faith that love needs only to know in order to do.
The love which abounds more and more in knowledge and in all discernment
will be the soulof obedience, and will delight in fulfilling the law which it has
delighted in beholding.
Other knowledge has no tendency to lead to practice, but this knowledge
which is the fruit of love has for its fruit righteousness.
III. The GreatName In Which This CompletenessIs Secured.

The Apostle’s prayer dwells not only on the way by which a Christian life may
increase itself, but in its close reachesthe yet deeper thought that all that
growth comes ‘through Jesus Christ.’
He is the Giver of it all, so that we are not so much calledto a painful toil as to
a glad reception.
Our love fills us with the fruit of righteousness, becauseit takes allthese from
His hands. It is from His gift that consciencederives its sensitiveness.It is by
His inspiration that consciencebecomesstrong enoughto determine action,
and that even our dull hearts are quickened into a glow of desiring to have in
our lives, the law of the spirit of life, that was in Christ Jesus (Ro 8:2-note),
and to make our own all that we see in Him of ‘things that are lovely and of
goodreport.’ (Php 4:8-note)
The prayer closes with a reference to the highest end of all our perfecting—
the glory and praise of God; the former referring rather to the transcendent
majesty of God in itself, and the latter to the exaltation of it by men.
The highest glory of God comes from the gradual increase in redeemed men’s
likeness to Him.
They are ‘the secretaries ofHis praise,’and some portion of that greathonour
and responsibility lies on eachof us.
If all Christian men were what they all might be and should be, swift and sure
in their condemnation of evil and loyal fidelity to conscience,and if their lives
were richly hung with ripened clusters of the fruit of righteousness, the glory

of God would be more resplendent in the world, and new tongues would break
into praise of Him who had made men so like Himself.
JACK ARNOLD
For The Fruit OF RighteousnessTo Evidence Love (11)
1. Filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through
Jesus Christ -- The fruit of righteousness is in the singular; therefore, it may
be referring to the fruit of the Holy Spirit which comes to the Christian as he
is depending on Christ by faith (Gal. 5:22-23: But the fruit of the Spirit is
love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and
self-control.) This is practical, experientialrighteousness whichcomes
through the Holy Spirit by means of trust in Jesus Christ. This fruit is
produced “through Jesus Christ.” This fruit is produced by abiding in Christ
(John 15:5: I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains (abides) in
me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.).
As we abide, trusting, occupy ourselves with Christ, we will (not may) bring
forth spiritual fruit, and the very first fruit of the Spirit is love. NOTE:
Paul’s great thesis in the Book ofPhilippians is that living is Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ is life. A living one imparts life, and that life will reproduce itself
in one who lives. The fruit of righteousness is the product of the life of Christ
in the Christian. Paul desires that Jesus Christ, the Living One, may so
manifest His life in the lives of these believers that His righteousness may be
produced in them. We cannotget this righteousness inour own strength but
it comes through a life of trust and dependence on Christ.

Pole Climber Depending on Christ
is like someone trying to climb a telephone pole. We have all seentelephone
men climbing a pole. He has spikes on his shoes and a belt around the pole
and him. When the beginner tries to climb he gets about three feet and slips
down and bumps at the bottom getting splinters all up his legs. So up he goes
againand he gets about two feet further and has the same experience. He
can’t climb the pole in his ownstrength. But that’s where the belt comes in,
and the whole keyto it is to climb, relying on the belt, leaning on the belt. We
have to produce love; we canonly do it as we rely on Jesus Christ. We put
one footin front of the other, leaning on Christ. Trusting in Him to produce
fruit through us and in us, it will happen.
2. To the glory and praise of God. -- Whatever
righteousness the Christian may produce is produced ultimately by Christ
and for the glory of God. It is all of God and He receives the glory for it.
JOSEPHBEET
Philippians 1:11. A collateralelementin Paul’s prayer, placing beside the
foregoing negatives, withoutmixture and without stumbling, a positive

blessing. He desires them not only to stand erectin the Day of Christ but to be
then full of fruit.
Righteousness:right doing, conformity with the moral standard, as in
Romans 6:13; Romans 6:18; Romans 6:20.
Fruit of righteousness:the goodresults growing naturally, in the moral order
of the universe, out of right doing. Same words and similar thoughts in James
3:18, Proverbs 11:30. This harvest of blessing, only to be had by right doing,
Paul desires his readers to have to the full. [The difficult accusative καρπον
specifies the remoter objectof the desired filling. The Philippian Christians
are its immediate object. The fruit of righteousness is, as matter of fact, that
with which they are to be made full. But perhaps the accusative case
represents the fruit rather as the extent of the fulness, or as the aim of Paul’s
prayer. He desires his readers to be made full in the sense, and to the extent,
of obtaining the fruit of righteousness. Same constructionin Colossians1:9.]
The fruit is through Jesus Christ. For only through His agencycome good
works and their goodresults. They thus show forth the glory and praise of
God, i.e.
His splendour evoking admiration (see under Romans 1:21) and verbal
acknowledgment. And this ultimate result of the blessings which Paul asks for
his readers is also the final aim of his prayer for them. He prays for them the
more earnestlyand confidently because he knows that the answerto his
prayer will reveal the greatness ofGod and evoke in earth and heaven a
louder note of praise to Him. Cp. Romans 15:7.
As usual, Paul’s first thought about his readers is praise to God for them. But
the incompleteness ofthe goodwork for which he gives thanks moves him at
once to pray that the work begun in them may make progress. So goodis the

work that Paul needs only to pray that it may advance in the same direction.
For in their spirit of brotherhood he recognisesthat love which is the essence
of the Christian character. Especiallyhe prays that, as hitherto so in greater
measure, their love may be rich in generalChristian intelligence and in the
faculty of discerning moral excellence,suchexcellence being a condition of
spiritual purity and safety and of that right doing which will produce a
harvest of blessing and thus make the Philippian Christians rich indeed. This
harvest of blessing can come only through Christ, and will reveal the
splendour of God and thus redound to His praise.
CHRIS BENFIELD
Their Liberty (11a) – Being filled with the fruits of righteousness,whichare
by Jesus Christ,
unto the glory and praise of God. Paul prayed that they might overcome the
cares and
distractions of this life and be filled with the fruits of righteousness.Paulknew
the pitfalls and
hindrances that many had fallen victim to. He knew that some lived their lives
bound by sin and
disobedience. He prayed that the saints might overcome the temptations of sin
and be fruitful
for the Lord.
 You would have to agree that we could all be more fruitful for Jesus. We too
face the
struggles oflife. Often we stumble and fall, being defeatedby the adversary.
Let us commit to

pray for one another that we might be able to rise above the temptations of
life and bear fruit
for the Lord.
F. Their Light (11b) – Paul closes this powerful prayer with a desire for them
to bring glory
and praise to God. He has summed it up with one thought, that all they do and
say might
glorify the Lord Jesus Christ.
 We are living in dark and difficult days. The world around us is seeking
something to
provide a little ray of hope in the midst of this darkness. Theyare watching
our lives in hopes
of seeing something that is different. I pray that we will be a light for Jesus in
all that we say
and do. May Fellowshipbe a place that is recognizedfor its love and devotion
unto the Lord.
May we as God’s people let our lights shine in the world around us.
Paul prayed because ofa love and concernfor the church. He wanted to
ensure that
they continued to prosper in the Lord. How is your concernfor our church?
Do you desire us to
grow and prosper in the Lord?
BRIAN BILL

Filled with Fruit.
What we think about in our heads must move to the heart and finally must get
expressedin our hands. Look at verse 11: “Filledwith the fruit of
righteousness thatcomes through Jesus Christ.” When we love more and
more we will serve more and more. Our increasing love leads to a bumper
crop of indebted service. Notice that the ability to be filled with fruit is only
possible through Jesus Christ. That’s exactly what Jesus saidin John 15:5: “If
a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you
can do nothing.” We are to exhibit the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23)as
we boldly proclaim the goodnews both here and around the world as
Colossians 1:6 says:“All over the world this gospelis bearing fruit and
growing…”
When Paul thought about the Philippians and prayed that they would have an
overabundance of love that led to being filled with fruit, he no doubt
remembered how generous they were to him. When they were new believers
and the church was just getting started, they exhibited the fruit of financial
support.
And Paul was extremely grateful as he writes in Philippians 4:15-19:“…not
one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you
only; for even when I was in Thessalonica,you sentme aid againand again
when I was in need. Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am looking for what
may be credited to your account. I have receivedfull payment and even more;
I am amply supplied, now that I have receivedfrom Epaphroditus the gifts
you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to
God. And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in
Christ Jesus.”That’s why we emphasize that our serving should involve our
time, our talents, and our treasures. A portion of what we make with our
hands we are to give back with our hands to God.

When you pray, ask Godto lavish His love on people so that they will abound
in giving that love away to others. This limitless love will affect their heads
through deepening discernment; their hearts through Christlike character;
and their hands as they become filled with fruit.
The Overriding Reason
Paul ends his prayer in verse 11 in a very theocentric, or God-focused, way.
This is a greatreminder for us. Prayer is ultimately not about us; it’s about
God. It’s not about us getting something; it’s about giving God glory: “…to
the glory and praise of God.” The word “glory” here is the Greek worddoxa,
from which we get“doxology.” As Paul wraps us this letter, he breaks into
praise in 4:20: “To our God and Father be glory for everand ever. Amen.” I
have a question: When people look at you, do they naturally think about God?
I like Ruth Bell Graham’s definition of a saint: “A saint is a personwho
makes it easyto believe in Jesus.”
God is to receive all the recognitionand praise. This is especiallyevident when
we bear fruit according to John 15:8: “This is to my Father’s glory, that you
bear much fruit…” and in Matthew 5:16: “In the same way, let your light
shine before men, that they may see your gooddeeds and praise your Father
in heaven.” Art Mikesellbeganhis sermonlast week with one of the most
beautiful doxologies in the Bible from Romans 11:36: “Forfrom him and
through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.”
At a practical level this means that we are to intercede for others because it
brings glory to God. And we are to pray for ourselves because it provides a
reminder for us to praise the One who holds all things together. We must
remember the first law of the Christian life: “He’s God and we’re not.”

Friends, guard againstpride. Don’t take the glory that is reserved for God
alone. I’m reminded of what happened to King Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4
when he startedbragging about all that he had done: “Is not this the great
Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty powerand for the
glory of my majesty?” These words were still on his lips when God answered
in a voice from heaven: “Your royal authority has been takenfrom you. You
will be driven awayfrom people and will live with the wild animals; you will
eat grass like cattle…” Whenyou’re fruitful; be careful to give thanks to the
Father or you may end up eating alfalfa. God will not share His glory with
another.
CALVIN
Verse 11
11Filledwith the fruits of righteousness. This now belongs to the outward life,
for a goodconscience produces its fruits by means of works. Hence he desires
that they may be fruitful in goodworks for the glory of God. Such fruits, he
says, are by Christ, because they flow from the grace ofChrist. Forthe
beginning of our well-doing is, when we are sanctified by his Spirit, for he
restedupon him, that we might all receive of his fullness. (John 1:16.) And as
Paul here derives a similitude from trees, we are wild olive-trees, (Romans
11:24,)and unproductive, until we are ingrafted into Christ, who by his living
root makes us fruitbearing trees, in accordancewith that saying, (John 15:1,)
I am the vine, ye are the branches. He at the same time shews the end — that
we may promote the glory of God. For no life is so excellentin appearance as
not to be corrupted and become offensive in the view of God, if it is not
directed towards this object.

Paul’s speaking here of works under the term righteousness, is not at all
inconsistentwith the gratuitous righteousness offaith. Forit does not
immediately follow that there is righteousness whereverthere are the fruits of
righteousness, inasmuchas there is no righteousness inthe sight of God,
unless there be a full and complete obedience to the law, which is not found in
any one of the saints, though, nevertheless, theybring forth, according to the
measure, the goodand pleasant(50) fruits of righteousness, and for this
reason, that, as God begins righteousness in us, through the regenerationof
the Spirit, so what is wanting is amply supplied through the remission of sins,
in such a way that all righteousness, nevertheless, depends upon faith.
ALAN CARR
V. 11 Their Completion - Paul final prayer is that they will be fruitful in their
walk with the Lord. He desires that they bring forth fruit that will glorify God
through their ministry. Friends, that ought to be the goalof every savedheart
this morning! We ought to want to bring forth fruit to the glory of God! If we
will do the things we have alreadymentioned, the Lord will produce His fruit.
When He does, He will be glorified and we will have been successfulas a
congregation.
(Ill. Remember that when it comes to bearing fruit, some things are necessary
and other things are true.
1. If we will produce fruit, we must abide in the Vine - John 15:5.
2. If we will abide in the Vine, we will not have to struggle to bring forth our
fruit, it will happen naturally - John 15:5.

3. As we abide in Him and bring forth fruit, we will not draw attention to
ourselves. After all, whoeverheard a branch on an apple tree make a lot of
noise about the fruit it was producing? All the glory in the orchard is enjoyed
by the tree and the farmer. So it will be for us. When we are bringing forth
fruit for Him, He will get all the glory - 1 Cor. 10:31.
RICH CATHERS
11 Being filled with the fruits of righteousness,whichare by Jesus Christ,
being filled – pleroo – to make full, to fill up, i.e. to fill to the full; to cause to
abound, to furnish or supply liberally; I abound, I am liberally supplied; to
render full, i.e. to complete;to fill to the top: so that nothing shall be wanting
to full measure, fill to the brim; to consummate: a number
the fruits – karpos – fruit; that which originates or comes from something, an
effect, result
righteousness -dikaiosune - in a broad sense:state of him who is as he ought
to be, righteousness, the condition acceptable to God; integrity, virtue, purity
of life, rightness, correctness ofthinking, feeling, and acting
(Phil 1:11 NLT) May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation--
those goodthings that are produced in your life by Jesus Christ--for this will
bring much glory and praise to God.
When we let God work in our lives in this way, it will bring glory to the Lord
– and that’s what our lives should be all about, causing others to give praise to
God.
Lesson

Let Jesus do the work
If we’re not careful, we canfall into a trap of keeping a list of things we have
to do today to be pleasing to God.
In reality, we simply need to be close to Jesus.
Jesus wants to do the work in us. The goodthings that happen in our lives
happen as a result of our relationship with Jesus.
(John 15:4-5 KJV) Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannotbear fruit
of itself, exceptit abide in the vine; no more can ye, exceptye abide in me. {5}
I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the
same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
Jesus produces the fruit in our lives.
STEVEN COLE
GODLY LIVING INVOLVES BEARING FRUIT THROUGH JESUS
CHRIST.
“... having been filled with the fruit of righteousnesswhich comes through
Jesus Christ, ...” The instant we trust in Christ as Savior, God imputes His
righteousness to our account, so that we have right standing with Him. But the
Christian life is a process ofgrowing in righteous characterand deeds. As the
word “fruit” implies, this is a process, notsomething instantaneous. The word
picture also implies that it is the life of Christ working in and through us that
produces the fruit (John 15:1-6). As we grow in the true knowledge ofGod
and in discernment through His Word, the fruit of the Spirit, whose first
characteristic is love, is produced in us. We will become “zealous for good
deeds”

THOMAS CONSTABLE
Verse 11
This verse modifies the lasthalf of Philippians 1:10. The only way we will be
able to stand before God sincere and blameless is if we allow the Holy Spirit to
control us. If we do, He will fill our lives with the fruit that is the product of
His righteousness (Galatians 5:22-23). This righteousness and its fruit come
to us through Jesus Christ, not as a result of our own gooddeeds. Therefore
all the glory and praise for our righteousness, ourfruit, and hopefully our
flawless and blameless condition at the judgment seatof Christ, goes to God.
He is the ultimate source of it all (cf. Ephesians 1:6; Ephesians 1:12;
Ephesians 1:14).
"The growing-point for the Christian, as Paul discerns it, is love, a seedfrom
which he anticipates vigorous growthas it abounds more and more. Its
upthrusting shoots are receivedand held by two stakes,knowledgeand all
discernment, and under their control begin to put forth leaves and blossoms:
first the distinctive life-style of the Christian as we approve what is excellent
and then, at the very heart of this life-style, the fair blossomof holiness in both
the inner person(pure) and the outer behaviour (blameless). Finally there is
the perfectedfruit, a righteousnessadequate evenfor the great Dayitself."
[Note:Motyer, p53.]
What an excellentprayer this is! In our day, when we tend to voice prayer
requests for physical needs primarily, we need to follow Paul"s example of
putting the spiritual needs of others high on our prayer lists. Christians still
need God"s supernatural enablement to value highly the things of greatest
importance as revealedin Scripture. Only then will we make choices that will
prepare us to give a goodaccountof ourselves atthe judgment seatof Christ.

"Pauluses three thoughts in Philippians 1:1-11 that describe true Christian
fellowship: I have you in my mind ( Philippians 1:3-6), I have you in my heart
( Philippians 1:7-8), I have you in my prayers ( Philippians 1:9-11)." [Note:
Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible ExpositionCommentary, 2:64.]
JOHN EADIE
Verse 11
(Colossians1:11.)The first clause, though its purpose is designatedby the
following εἰς, has a close connectionwith the preceding. It describes that
peculiar spiritual condition in which believers bring forth fruit, and grow, and
thus walk worthy of Christ. The poweris not indigenous; the fertility is not
the outburst of innate and essentialvitality. It comes from imparted strength-
the might of God lodged within us. As His own nature is for ever outworking
in ceaseless acts ofbeneficence,so His strength, lodgedin a believer, loses not
its original and distinctive energy.
᾿εν πάσῃ δυνάμει δυναμούμενοι. This verb occurs only here in the New
Testament, though it is found in the Septuagint as the representative of two
Hebrew verbs, Psalms 68:29;Ecclesiastes10:10. Neitherdoes it occurin the
classical, thoughit is used by the ecclesiasticalwriters. The common form in
the New Testamentis ἐνδυναμόω. The use of the correlate noun and participle
intensifies the meaning. The apostle refers to the impartation of the Divine
strength to believers. Fallen humanity is feeble, but rises under this gift into
prowess and majesty. The semblance of moral omnipotence is communicated
to it, and it easilysurmounts frailty, pain, sorrow, and death, for the apostle a
fourth time employs πάσῃ. Philippians 4:13. And the measure of this gift is-

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