As the believers in Christ, the New Testament charges us many times to “love one another”; in fact, it does so fourteen times, by my count. For example, the first instance of these is the commandment given by the Lord Himself on the very night He was betrayed:

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this shall all men know you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.
— John 13:34-35

(You can see a complete list of these verses, as well as the other “one another” verses, here: “The ‘One Another’ Passages in the New Testament.” I thought this was a very good and helpful study of this topic.)

However, this does not mean we should love without any discernment. So many Christian denominations have been turned away from their initial stand for Christ for just this reason, that they loved in an unregulated way; as a result, they eventually became focused on the social gospel, rather than the gospel of Christ. And today, the world tells us that “love is love,” so we must love even things that are condemned by the Bible; in reality, that kind of love is terrible!

So, in Philippians, which I have been spending time in recently to prepare for our Wednesday night online Bible study, (and yes, you can still sign up!) the apostle prays for the saints, that our l0ve will “abound yet more and more.” But he also adds that this love must be “in full knowledge and all discernment” (Phil. 1:9-10); for only then can our love be protected, so that it develops in a genuine way, rather than corrupting us and turning us away from Christ.

In the excerpt below from his study of Philippians, Brother Titus Chu reminds us that to have such a discerning love, in full knowledge, we need to be brought into a deep “knowing” of God Himself, and that means we must also be constituted with the truths of His holy Word, the Bible.

— Titus Chu—

Loving in Full
Knowledge &
All Discernment

And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in full knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are more excellent, that you may be pure and without offense unto the day of Christ.
— Philippians 1:9-10

The Greek word used here for “knowledge,” epígnōsis, denotes “exact or full knowledge, discernment, recognition, and is a strengthened form of (gnōsis), expressing a fuller or a full knowledge, a greater participation by the knower in the object known, thus more powerfully influencing him” (Vine, 2:301). It is not a knowledge based merely on intuition but a knowledge of divine revelation according to the living Word. The fullness of this knowledge brings us into participation with who God is, what He desires, how He operates, and the consummation of His work. Full knowledge not only encourages, regulates, and leads us, but also becomes the base of our walk and service, especially pertaining to God’s interest and the church’s benefit.

This full knowledge becomes ours as we are constituted with the Bible and all its riches, because full knowledge is related to the living Word. To have this knowledge, we must spend time in the Bible and be constituted with its riches. If our knowledge has such a broad scope, including who God is, what He desires, how He operates, and the consummation of His work, it will be a solid base for our Christian life and church life.

Knowledge regulates us, equips us, and protects us. This is why we need to be in the truth, in the Bible, and in spiritual writings. We need this as our base. We need to be equipped and constituted with spiritual knowledge so that we can stand against anything that isn’t healthy. With such knowledge we can stand against everything that would distract us from a pure love for Christ.

For example, if someone suggests that Christ is not the Son of God, we will know how to react. Knowledge protects us and enables us to follow the Lord properly.

— Philippians: That I May Gain Christ, page 47; Good Land Publishers, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 2013.

Sent to our mailing list on
— 25 April 2026 —