09 - The Windshield And The Rearview Mirror 2008

Saw last time that nothing made Paul more righteously angry than when someone tampered with salvation by grace alone.

The Judaizers were the ones in his crosshairs. They tried teaching church folks that you must be circumcised in order to be saved. “Who has bewitched you!” was Paul’s response to those that began to accept this heretical teaching.

We also saw that the N.T. deals with two kinds of truth: Positional and experiential.

Positional truth: What God has done for me.

“AND YOU He made alive, when you were dead (slain) by [your] trespasses and sins.”—Eph. 2:1

“For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus.”

All of these things—raised from the spiritual dead, seated in heavenly places in Christ—were done by God for us. These are positional truths.

Experiential truth: What happens to me in the framework of time; my earthly experience with God.

“For we are (right now, in this life) God's handiwork, His workmanship, recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may (right now in this life) do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us, that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live].”

This verse is all about our experience with God in our brief lifetime on earth.

Positional truth looks back to what Christ did for us.

Experiential truth looks forward to what Christ is doing and is going to do in the now of our lives!

Now let’s look at Paul’s attitude about the past.

First, His passion:

Paul’s passion was to grow in his KNOWLEDGE of Jesus.

“I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead; and that I may so share His sufferings as to be conformed [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death …”

KNOW: To grow in knowledge, to come to know something or someone better and better.

Is this POSITIONAL or EXPERIENTIAL truth?

Now, what does Paul mean, “That I may so share in His sufferings as to be continually conformed in spirit into His likeness…”?

First, Paul does NOT mean that something needed to be added to in Christ’s sufferings on our behalf.

He is saying that to know Christ is to be a partaker of 3 things: Fellowship with Him, the power of His Spirit, and the same rejection from the world that He experienced.

As you walk with Him you will be ongoingly conformed to His likeness.

Then he says:

“…so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!”

Either by martyrdom or dying of old age, Paul will experience a resurrection from the dead. And so will you!

The Christian’s pursuit

“Not that I have now attained [this ideal], or have already been made perfect, but I press on to apprehend and make my own, that for which Christ Jesus (the Messiah) apprehended me and made me His own.”

This makes it plain that we didn’t find Jesus one day. Not only did He find us, we were “apprehended” by Him!

APPREHENDED is captured, seized, laid hold of. On the road to Damascus, Paul was captured, seized by Christ.

Bible examples:

“As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught (same Gk. Word) in the act of adultery.”—Jn. 8:3-4

“And whenever this spirit seizes him, it throws him violently to the ground.”—Mk.9:18

So the Christian was “seized, laid hold of, captured” by Jesus Christ for the purpose of salvation in eternity, and for good works on earth.

Paul says in vs. 12, “I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me.”

He’s saying, “I want what He apprehended me for. I want for me what He wants for me!”

“I haven’t arrived at the full level of maturity He’s called me to, but I’m growing there.”

What it takes to get there

13 “No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.”

FORGETTING:comes from word meaning “to choose to put out of mind.” It’s a choice.

Many Christians have trouble forgetting and going on beyond their sinful past. They can’t seem to accept Christ’s forgiveness.

Principle: You can’t move on until you let the past go.

Never give up control of your life to a memory.

You can’t walk backward into the future.

Your past mistakes should not become memorials, they should be cremated.

Misery is a yesterday person trying to get along with a tomorrow God.

You will never see the sun rise in the east looking west!

The Christian life is progressive and daily. We mature progressively through successes and failures, good times and bad until finally taken home. Even Paul had not arrived!

Our Citizenship

As a citizen of heaven, we are to hang on to what we have experienced in God:

16 “But we must hold on to the progress we have already made,” Paul said.

Paul is saying, “Live up to your position in Christ.” You are a child of God seated in heavenly places; live like it!

17-19Stick with me, friends. Keep track of those you see running this same course, headed for this same goal.”

It’s not your talk, it’s your walk that confirms the authenticity of your faith. When you see someone walking their talk, hang with them.

“There are many out there taking other paths, choosing other goals, and trying to get you to go along with them. I've warned you of them many times; sadly, I'm having to do it again. All they want is easy street. They hate Christ's Cross.”

These people are described by Paul elsewhere:

“They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!”—2 Tim. 3:5

Paul makes it clear that there are only two ways to go: The way of the cross or the way of the flesh. The way of the flesh he calls “easy street.”

“But easy street is a dead-end street. Those who live there make their bellies their gods; belches are their praise; all they can think of is their appetites.” Vs.19

It may look easy, but fleshly people are enslaved to their lower natures and are being destroyed by sin.

The way of the cross is difficult, but it is the way to life. Jesus said:

“If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me.”—Mk. 10:34

The gist of these final verses in Chapter 3 is to live according to who you are in God—a citizen of heaven.

“But there's far more to life for us. We're citizens of high heaven! We're waiting the arrival of the Savior, the Master, Jesus Christ, who will transform our earthy bodies into glorious bodies like his own. He'll make us beautiful and whole with the same powerful skill by which he is putting everything as it should be, under and around him.” 20-21

Verse 21 is like a glorious summary of where it’s all going. It’s as if Paul saw the end of it all and couldn’t stop writing!

Next time: The Peace that comes from Christian living.