And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight. (Phil. 1:9)
Expanded Passage: Philippians 1:9-11
Some of the smartest biblical scholars sat around the dining table at Hampton Court Castle in Herefordshire, our international guests for a special conference in partnership with the British Library. Emanuel Tov led the robust team of scholars publishing the Dead Sea Scrolls. The prolific Dr. Walt Kaiser had been president of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Father Leonard Boyle was the Vatican librarian, Dr. Edwin Yamauchi was proficient in around thirty languages, and the late Bruce Metzger was likely the world’s leader in biblical Greek.
Our patron, who had purchased the use of the castle for us to organize these events, asked Dr. Yamauchi a simple question about a biblical passage in the original Greek. Dr. Yamauchi, who had worked in Greek and related languages like Coptic, immediately responded, “I will always defer to Dr. Metzger on such questions when in the presence of the master.” The question was elementary, but Dr. Yamauchi’s humility wasn’t. In his wisdom and because of the obvious stature of Dr. Metzger after a lifelong intense study of Koine (biblical) Greek Dr. Yamauchi deferred to Dr. Metzger.
Knowledge and discernment are desirable qualities, but not synonyms. The study of God’s words is related to our ability to recognize excellent things and, just as important, to recognize and refrain from contrary things. In an era forcing a near-complete separation of public education from biblical studies, we see the acute need to do our own homework with an ancient textbook.
Chart biblical principles and how they influence key life decisions.
Jerry Pattengale is a professor at Indiana Wesleyan University and the codirector and cofounder of the Lumen Research Institute. He has authored and edited over forty books including Faith Made Real (WPH).
© 2025 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.