Thankful for Christ

Intro

Read text.

We have much to be thankful for in this life

personally

we spend much of our lives achieving accomplishments so that we can reflect on them so that we can be thankful and confident about who we are

as a church

In verse 1 Paul tells the church in Philippi “finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord”

this follows after Paul has already written in the previous 2 chapters to set up why they should be thankful and rejoice which he explains here in chapter 3

In ch. 1:

He lets the church in Philippi know that he is praying for them constantly and earnestly

He yearns for them with great affection

He encourages them that the Gospel is spreading like wildfire throughout the imperial guard BECAUSE of his imprisonment

He’s aware of those pursue the Gospel ministry for all the wrong reasons, but he’s thankful Christ is proclaimed, “and in that I rejoice”

He expresses how dying for Christ is a worthy cause that he would prefer though living means fruitful ministry for the Kingdom

In ch. 2:

the church should live selflessly and adopt the same attitude of Christ who gives us the ultimate example of humility that we should pursue and model for others

how the church should continue to devote themselves in faith to “work out [their] salvation” by means of sanctification

the importance of being unblemished, shining lights in this dark world or “crooked & twisted generation”

an assurance that there are godly men who Paul is sending to help them like Timothy and Epaphroditus

So, {church} rejoice.. be thankful.. be grateful for Christ..

{context} because there are those who will come to you (dogs, and evildoers, false teachers) who will have you place your confidence in everything of this world that is unnecessary and futile

We are the circumcision (spiritually circumcised) who worship because the spirit of God himself dwells IN US and we glorify Christ Jesus and put NO confidence in the flesh

in other words, we put no confidence in our pedigree, our accomplishments, our works

vs. 4-6

For no purpose of pride or boasting, Paul demonstrates that how futile and pointless it is to be confident in such things by showing how he has more reason for confidence in the flesh than anyone else.

Paul will tear you down in this arena

Look at Paul’s pedigree:

Per Genesis 17:12 “He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring,” & Leviticus 12:3 “And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.”, Paul was circumcised on the 8th day

He is a part of the ethnic/racial line of God’s people, belonging to the “people of Israel”

He could trace his lineage specifically all the way to the tribe of Benjamin.

This signifies that he is a real deal Jew tied to the homeland in language and culture and not a Jew who’s ancestry were adopted into other cultures, or even a Hellenistic Jew who.

You can’t be a more authentic Hebrew/Jew than Paul himself

Look at Paul’s achievements:

Paul joined the the strictest and most religious sect, the Pharisees.

Paul was a zealous persecutor of the church

The zeal was a part of his confidence

Phinehas was commended for his zeal in killing an unfaithful Israelite in Numbers 25, likewise Paul was a persecutor of “unfaithful Israelites” and expected the same recognition for it.

John 16:2-3 “They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me.”

Paul lived as one of the best examples of one who met the righteous requirements of the law.

Many of us can comparatively spout off our pedigrees and achievements. We boast in such things, but none of these things reconcile us back to God.

Reference to vs. 3 - does not happen by putting confidence in our ‘flesh’

PRAISE GOD

Where you place your confidence determines what you rejoice in and what you are thankful for.

So, what is your confidence in? What are you thankful for?

vs. 7-11

7 - everything mentioned Paul considers and regards as a loss

they are a loss because they get him no where in the Kingdom of God

It seems Paul understands that the nobler one’s heritage or lineage and the higher one’s achievements, the greater the temptation for pride and self-confidence

Luke 18:14 “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

Paul freely discards all sources of self-confidence and personal profit for Christ

8 - Paul gives clarity to this point as these verses are one long sentence in the Greek text.

for Christ Paul has “suffered the loss of all things” this is a willingness to forfeit every thing

He regards all the things he could place his confidence in as {σκύβαλα} so that he may gain Christ

Paul is fine with this because he sees none of it compares to the superior worth of knowing Christ Jesus our Lord.

nothing compares

superior worth

hold on to “knowing”

9 - and be found in him

To be found in Christ means to trust and take refuge in Christ who saves

Luke 23:30 describes how on the day of judgement, some will face the wrath of God and they will try to be hidden from him by calling for the mountains and rocks to fall on them and hide them.

Paul, however, will not try to be hidden from Christ because he will be hidden in him.

He describes the condition in which he desires to be found on the last day by contrasting two different types of righteousness

We see the contrast of confidence in the flesh (my own righteousness, from works) and confidence in Christ (faith in Christ)

The righteousness a holy God demands of us, he gives to us in Christ

We should be thankful; we don’t deserve it

This is the grace of God

10&11 - Paul gives us the greatest purpose of why we should consider all things as loss, the greatest thing to be thankful for - “that I may know him”

The greatest joy this life has to offer is to know Christ.

John 17:3 “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”

Knowing Christ means knowing him in both his death and his resurrection

This same power that raised Jesus from the dead lives in believers

But this power is experienced by sharing in the sufferings of Christ and “becoming like him in his death”,

Phil. 1:29 “For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake,”

God has ordained that we who are in Christ, that know him, we who are the circumcision, will share in the sufferings of Christ, which means becoming like him in his death.

We do not suffer for the sake of suffering as though suffering just makes us like Jesus

Paul is saying that we will suffer as Jesus did: for the sake of serving others in obedience to the Father

Sinclair Ferguson once said in a sermon that God makes us like Jesus the same way Jesus became like Jesus: through suffering.

We should be thankful that by putting our confidence and faith in Christ, we get to share in sufferings so that not only do we get know him, and identify with him, but we become more like Him.

An opportunity we don’t deserve

Where is your confidence? In yourself? or In Christ?

So, what are you thankful for and rejoice in? In yourself ? or in Christ? *present gospel*

Can we say with Paul that we consider the achievements of our lives to be “rubbish”?

Life under the gospel is a complete rejection of our own moral resume—not only the bad stuff, but even the good stuff too.

Christ is all. He alone has “surpassing worth”

Do you believe that to be true? Are you thankful for Christ that because of him we can place our confidence in him and be made right with God?