The Hope that Drives Us On

As Derrick mentioned, Anchor Weekend Away is quickly approaching and there is only about a week left to book your room at the Brown County Inn in Nashville, Indiana! It will be a weekend full of preaching from the book of Jonah, singing, and fellowshipping together. All the details, rates, and schedule can be found on the app or website, or you can contact Derrick & Alyssa Winkler with any questions you might have.

New Member Sunday will be on September 17th. If you are interested in membership and/or baptism here at Anchor Bible Church you can find applications in the foyer and on the website. Once you’ve filled out an application, please reach out to an elder or deacon to schedule your interview.

Ladies’ Bible Studies are starting back up soon, and sign-ups are open now! Lisa Hughes will be leading a study through Joshua on Tuesday mornings at the Tallmans’ home, and Beth Ferguson will be leading a study through Hebrews on Thursday evenings at Carol Davis’ home. If you are interested in joining one of these studies, you can find the sign ups under the “events” tab on our app and website.

The ladies will be having their annual fall kick-off on Monday, September 11th from 7-9pm at the Crestwood Civic Club. Lisa Hughes will be teaching on "Divinely Powerful Help for You" from 2 Corinthians 10:3-6. If you’d like, you can bring a sweet or savory snack to share. The women’s committee is still looking for a few volunteers willing to help set up and tear down chairs and decorations that evening. If you’re interested in helping, please contact Bekah Mazza. And if you plan to attend, please sign up on the church app or website.

For the men, we will be having our first Bible and Bacon event of the year on Saturday, September 16th from 8:30-10:30am at the Bears’ home. There will be food and fellowship, and I will be teaching on Psalm 1. Men, please sign up this week on the app or website if you plan to attend next week.

The music and media ministry is looking for more volunteers. If you can serve with vocals, instruments, technology, setup, tear down, or are otherwise ready to be helpful, we would love for you to consider joining in. No experience is required; all that is needed is a willing, teachable, and faithful heart. Please talk to Lucas Henderson if you have a desire to learn more about serving the Lord and our church in this way.

With that the Anchor Kids can be dismissed to their classes, and the rest of you can turn to Philippians 3.

Scripture Reading (539)

Verses 20 and 21 will actually be our main focus for today. However, for our Scripture reading, I want to help you appreciate the context of this chapter within the flow of the book as a whole.

The Philippians had been with Paul since the early days of his ministry as his first and ongoing source of financial support. But now Paul was stuck in a Roman jail. He was suffering unjustly for the cause of Christ.

As a result, it seems like the Philippians were perhaps tempted to give up on Paul. His journeys were on hold, and the timeline for his imprisonment seemed indefinite. The Judaizers quickly took advantage of this situation. They wanted to lead the Philippians astray with the appeal of a comfortable and secure lifestyle.

In response, Paul sends this letter, persuading the Philippians that commitment to Christ will be vindicated. It will be worth it! All we need is an eternal perspective. Paul’s imprisonment was actually producing fruit and advancing the gospel. Christ had suffered even until death before He was exalted. Timothy and Epaphroditus suffered too.

Now in chapter 3, Paul articulates his own zeal for Christ and calls the Philippians to follow his example.

And that leads us to the main question: will you give in to the temptation of worldly comfort, or will you contend for the cause of Christ? Will you go astray after false teachers, or will you imitate men who have suffered for Christ?

When we get to verses 20-21, we will learn why knowing Christ is worth suffering the loss of all things.

Read Philippians 3:7-4:1.

Pray. Confess sin. Pray for Pastor Jack.

Final Song

Introduction (581)

Have you ever noticed how differently we treat things when we know we're going to get a new one? Imagine your 7-year-old comes up to you and they're crying because they tripped and fell, and it knocked their front tooth out. Of course, you’ll want to comfort them, give them a hug, and see if they’re okay otherwise. But in your head, the first thing you’ll try to remember is whether they already lost that tooth. You know, was it a baby tooth or is that one of their adult teeth? Because if it's their baby tooth, then things are going to be OK. They'll get another tooth; it'll grow back bigger and better; they'll be fine! But if that was one of their adult teeth, then they've already lost it. It grew back, and now it got knocked out again. Well, that's a lot more serious because, you know, that tooth is not growing back. That was the only one they had. And now you're going to have to go to the dentist to get that problem fixed.

To some degree, that is like the thrust of our text for this evening. Remember, Paul writes these words from a Roman prison. He was in rough, iron chains. His body was sore and stiff and raw. Paul was suffering, his body was aching, and the Philippians were starting to wonder whether it was really worth it. Had they picked the losing team by mistake? What if they had to go to jail too? What if they were stuck with nasty food and physical abuse?

Paul begins to answer these questions in chapter 1, verses 27-30. In those verses, we are exhorted to live our lives in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. We are encouraged to stand firm in one spirit, with one mind, contending together for the faith of the gospel. And we are reminded that it had been granted to us, for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake just like we know Paul and many others have suffered also.

Paul even makes this explicit in 3:17, where he calls us to join in following his example, and to look for those who walk according to the pattern we have in them. This entails the loss of all things for the sake of knowing Christ. In verses 7-16, Paul even employs nearly 10 different phrases to describe how he has zealously endured loss.

All of that all seem a little bit surprising if you know Philippians as the Book of Joy. We are commanded more frequently in this epistle to rejoice than we are in any other book. In just the next chapter Paul bursts forth with the command, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!” The emphasis on rejoicing is a little bit confusing at first glance. All this happy-talk might leave us wondering, “How does this square with real-life problems?”

Our text is the missing link. It helps us connect loss and suffering to an eternal hope of glory.

It is okay to suffer, like Paul, the loss of all things, “20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by His working through which He is able to even subject all things to Himself.”

Pray with me now for grace to understand and apply this text appropriately.

Thesis & Beginning

In these two verses, we discover that Paul could endure physical suffering in a dirty prison because he knew his Savior was going to come and give him a new body. The one he had was like a baby tooth: here today, transformed tomorrow. Since Paul knew that better things were in Christ, he was emboldened to suffer loss valiantly.

These verses are the climax of Philippians. As I mentioned about 1:27, Paul exhorted us “to stand firm in one spirit, with one mind contending together for the faith of the gospel.” And here if you look down at 4:1, you can see Paul wrap up this extended theme by saying, “in this way stand firm in the Lord.” In between these two bookends, he has described the examples of Christ, of Timothy, of Epaphroditus, and of himself. Now, in 3:20-21, the Holy Spirit lays bare the hopeful motivations that stem from our heavenly citizenship.

The initial clause, “our citizenship is in heaven,” is the hook to hang our hat on. This Greek term for citizenship is unique in the New Testament, and it interacts with the historical context of Philippi. Philippi was a colony of Rome and everyone there enjoyed the privilege of Roman citizenship. In the same way, believers in the church today are like small outposts of individuals whose citizenship is not tied to their earthly residence but ultimately belongs in heaven. This heavenly citizenship presents a stark contrast with the enemies of the cross of Christ in verse 18, who are described in verse 19 as having “set their thoughts on earthly things.” This contrast clarifies what it means for us to have our citizenship in heaven. It means that we must set our thoughts on heavenly things.

And we are not left guessing which heavenly things. Three eager expectations ought to flow from the reality of our heavenly citizenship. Paul reminds us that we are eagerly waiting for a heavenly Savior, for our transformed bodies, and for his omnipotent rule. These three pillars comprise the hope that drives us on, even when we suffer loss.

And for just a minute, consider with me the pain of discipline, the loss you suffer in order to know Christ. The fact that we are all here in church rather than in prison means that we aren’t suffering the same way as Paul. But neither were the Philippians. They were all in church too. So we learn that you still suffer loss for Christ Jesus our Lord:

Every time you regard someone else as more important than yourself.

Every time you look out for the interests of others.

Every time you stop grasping for equality with someone else.

Every time you humble yourself through obedience.

Every time you refrain from grumbling and complaining.

Every time you show genuine concern for the circumstances of others.

Every time you serve submissively under someone else’s leadership.

Every time you go the extra mile to fulfill what is lacking in someone else’s service.

Every time you give up confidence in the flesh and disregard worldly achievements.

Every time you know the fellowship of Christ’s suffering.

Every time you consider that you have not yet reached the prize.

Every time you weep over the enemies of the cross of Christ.

I do not list these twelve losses to discourage you. Yes, knowing Christ is expensive. It will cost you not only an arm and a leg but your whole body, soul, and spirit. You must be sold out for Christ. There is no holding back, no half-way commitment. But I only recount the cost so that we can more fully appreciate the glory of knowing Christ.

In each of these moments, the Holy Spirit commands you to wait eagerly—with excitement and anticipation—for heavenly realities. These eager expectations are the hope that drives us on as citizens of heaven.

Eagerly Wait for a Heavenly Savior

The first of our expectations is that we must eagerly wait for a heavenly Savior.

20b “From which [heaven] we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ”

We are here on earth, but our citizenship is in heaven. And the first thing we learn about our Savior is that He comes from heaven. This fits perfectly with what the angels told the disciples after Jesus’ ascension.

Acts 1:11 LSB

11 They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”

But we can learn more from the fact that Jesus comes from heaven than simply which way to look when he comes back. The heavenly source of our Savior indicates that this will be final and ultimate salvation.

By way of contrast, the book of Judges is filled with saviors from earth. Turn with me to Judges 2. I'm sure you're familiar with the cycles of sin and oppression and deliverance that recur throughout this book.

In 2:16, it says that “Yahweh raised up judges who saved Israel from the hands of those who plundered them.” We normally hear the term judge and think of a courtroom setting. But in the book of Judges, Yahweh defines judges as saviors—people who save or deliver Israel. We find the same thing in 2:18, where it says, “Now when Yahweh raised up judges for Israel, Yahweh was with the judge and saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge.” So we find that the judges were primarily saviors of Israel. This is repeated in chapter 3, verses 9 and 15.

Do you see the contrast between these earthly saviors and Jesus Christ, our heavenly Savior? None of these earthly saviors lasted very long. That's why we have the book of Judges. Each man eventually died, and Israel always fell back into sin and was oppressed. Once again, they needed to be saved. But Jesus, on the other hand, has died once for all for sins, and has returned as our resurrected and immortal Savior. He comes from heaven, so His salvation will be final and complete. Once Jesus returns to save us, Yahweh will never again need to raise up another Savior.

And there is even more packed into this penultimate title, Savior. For the Romans, the term savior was actually a synonym for Caesar Augustus. He was known as the Romans’ lord and savior because he had restored order and peace throughout all the territories he conquered. And consider Paul: suffering in prison, waiting to speak to Caesar. If there was anyone who could have saved Paul from prison, it would have been that man! And yet Paul deliberately snubs this earthly ruler and fixes his only hope of salvation on our Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, Paul was a citizen of Rome and availed himself of its judicial system, but more importantly, he was a citizen of heaven.

Paul's title for Jesus, Savior, carries with it a biblical weight that is heavier than the pop cultural understanding of the term in Paul's day. I'm sure you are all familiar with the famous lines in Philippians 2:9-11, where it says that “God highly exalted Jesus, and bestowed on him the name which is above every other name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.” Turn with me to Isaiah 45, where I want to show you the theological fountain that Paul is drawing from.

Throughout Isaiah 45, Yahweh pounds home the theme that He alone is Savior. Consider these verses,

8 “…Let the earth open up and salvation bear fruit,

15 Truly, You are a God who hides Himself, O God of Israel, Savior!

17 Israel has been saved by Yahweh With an everlasting salvation;…

20 “…They do not know, Who carry about their graven image of wood And pray to a god who cannot save.

This is Yahweh’s most severe inditement of the pagan idolatry. The idols are immoral and impotent.

21 “…there is no other God besides Me, A righteous God and a Savior; There is none except Me.

Because Yahweh is the one true Savior, He is able to make the fantastic declaration in verses 22-25,

Isaiah 45:22–23 LSB

22 “Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; For I am God, and there is no other. 23 “I have sworn by Myself, The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness And will not turn back, That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance.

Isaiah 45 was the passage in Paul’s mind when the Holy Spirit inspired him to write Philippians. And this identity of Yahweh as Savior has now been transferred to Jesus, whose given name means “Yahweh saves.”

So I ask you tonight, are you eagerly waiting for this Savior? Are you eagerly waiting for the Lord Jesus Christ? For some of you, it might be hard to imagine living in a foreign country and longing for something from back home. But I'll tell you what, when you live somewhere that's not your home, even the smallest things become the greatest treasures. You know, it gets to the point where even the water back home tastes better. You long for an opportunity to receive a package or especially a person from back home. These things are sweet to you. And you wait for them eagerly with excitement and anticipation, and yet also with a measure of understanding patience.

And it is important to see here that we are primarily waiting for a person. We are not just waiting for heaven. We are not just waiting for our body. We're not just waiting for the world to be fixed. We're not just waiting to see some long-lost relative. We are primarily waiting for the person of our Lord Jesus Christ—our heavenly Savior. Everything else in the rest of our passage for tonight is just one long relative clause that describes this Savior.

So as God calls you to suffer loss in your pursuit of knowing Christ, remember that it will not always be this way. In this life, we do suffer loss. But one day our Lord will return from heaven, and He will free us from sin and suffering. We look forward to his arrival. And until then, the hope of a heavenly Savior is what drives us on.

Eagerly Wait for a Transformed Body

Now let us consider what our heavenly Savior will do when He arrives. This is our second point: we must eagerly wait for a transformed body.

21a “who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory”

I don’t need to convince any of you that our current bodies are truly in a humble state. Every time we experience or observe pain, we can’t get rid of it ‘cause we remember it all too well. The humble state of our bodies is obvious.

More importantly, we can focus on this verb transform. This is a literal transformation. I'm not talking about reincarnation, though, because we do not come back in the body of a rhinoceros or of a lizard, or of another mortal in a different social rank. Instead, our bodies are transformed into the body of Christ's glory.

In 1 Corinthians 15, which we're going to be studying eventually on Wednesday nights, Paul uses an analogy from nature to describe the transformation of our bodies. He describes our current form like a seed that is sown in death but raised to life. And when it grows it returns in the same kind, but just in a different state or condition. The seed does not look anything like the tree, but the adult form is always of the same kind or variety as the seed.

Theologically, this is known as an issue of continuity or discontinuity. To what degree will our new body be like our current body? And in what ways will it be different? What will we remember? What will our personality be like? What are we going to look like? If it is any comfort to you, the same problem applies to the physical universe and the Earth that we live on. Will it be completely incinerated and replaced? Or is it merely going to be reformed? I believe it will be renewed. Because if it were lost entirely, then Satan wins. But God proves the greatness of His power—not by simply replacing things and starting over with a new world and new people—but by redeeming and restoring and renewing that which was fallen and cursed. Perfect restoration is more glorious than new construction.

What we do know from this passage and 1 Corinthians 15 is that our new body will not be humble, mortal, earthly, corruptible, sinful, dishonorable, weak, natural, or earthly. Instead it will be transformed, glorious, changed, raised, immortal, holy, perfectly aligned with God’s will, incorruptible, powerful, spiritual, and heavenly.

Now just because you are going to get a transformed body does not mean that you may discard the one that you have now. This pending transformation is not an excuse for suicide. It is true that we do not need to be concerned about the durability of this body. We do not need to fear death or physical affliction. This body is going to get an upgrade! However, it has been given to us by God for a reason. And in 1:23-26, Paul says that God left us in this body of flesh for the sake of others. We remain so that we can proclaim the gospel and spend time with other believers for their progress and joy in the faith. So the hope of a new body means that you must die to self, not kill yourself.

One commentator pointed out that “Paul’s hope is not for redemption from creation but for the redemption of creation, including the redemption of our bodies.” Our bodies are not to be trashed, they are transformed. Another commentator explained that our salvation is not just from hell, as if we were okay right now. But our salvation holds out the promise of a dramatically improved body and situation. We are not saved just from hell, but to glory!

And the more we suffer loss, by dying to self out of love for our Savior, the more confident we may be that we will attain to this resurrection. Paul says in 3:10-11 that he counted all things loss, “that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings being conformed to His death, (Why?) in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.” As we also know from Romans 6:8 “If we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him.” The sacrifice of our body for Christ’s sake just guarantees its salvation later.

This is why a wise man said, “The combination of a redeemed spirit and a glorified body will enable all believers to perfectly manifest the glory of God. Sin, weakness, sorrow, disappointment, pain, suffering, doubt, fear, temptation, hate, and failure will give way to perfect joy, pleasure, knowledge, comfort, and love.”

This is why Romans 8:29-30 says that God predestined us to be conformed to the image of His Son, and that those whom He predestined, he also called, justified, and finally glorified. In Christ, we have the hope of transformation.

So remember that you are a citizen of heaven. Eagerly wait for your heavenly Savior. Look forward to the day when He will transform your body from humble to heavenly. This new set of wheels will be all you need to love and live for Him throughout all eternity. And in the meantime, if you suffer the loss of comfort, health, safety, or even life for the sake of knowing Christ, then know that you’re getting a good deal. One faithful man lost his life serving Christ, and this was found in his journal, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”

Eagerly Wait for an Omnipotent Ruler

Now we turn to our final point. We have seen that we must eagerly wait for a heavenly Savior and for a transformed body. In the same way, we must eagerly wait for an omnipotent ruler. Look at the second half of verse 21. In the NASB it says, “by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.” The grammar in this clause is challenging, so the LSB offers a helpful revision. It says, “by His working through which He is able to even subject to Himself all things.” But the reading is still pretty complex either way.

We don't have time right now to get all down in the weeds with the grammar. But what I want you to notice is that we are talking primarily about Jesus’ ability to subject all things, not just the time when he will subject all things. The time can be implied, but the emphasis here is on Jesus’ power as an omnipotent ruler. That’s the idea.

Specifically, His ability is demonstrated in the subjection of all things. The concept of subjecting things to Jesus is found in several other texts as well. 1 Corinthians 15:20-28, Ephesians 1:19-23, and Hebrews 2:5-18 all say that God will “put all things in subjection under Jesus’ feet.” In all three cases, Paul or the author is directly quoting from Psalm 8. Let me read a few verses from Psalm 8 for you now, verses 6-8,

6 You make him to rule over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, 7 All sheep and oxen, And also the animals of the field, 8 The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea, Whatever passes through the paths of the seas.

It may seem surprising that Jesus’ rule is not described in relation to a nation but to creation. Yes, we look forward to the day when Christ will crush His and our enemies. But even more, we anticipate His rule over the cosmos.

Isaiah 11:3-8 provides a helpful balance of both themes. Listen as I read and highlight key themes,

3 And He will delight in the fear of Yahweh, … 4 … with righteousness He will judge the poor, … with the breath of His lips He will put the wicked to death. 6 And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, And the leopard … with the young goat, … the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; … a young boy … 7 Also the cow and the bear … the lion … the ox. 8 … the nursing baby … the cobra, … the weaned child … the viper’s den.

Jesus’ rule of the world will be unlike any other king, czar, president, or emperor. To one degree or another, all of them have rendered judgments, judged the poor and afflicted, and slain the wicked or their enemies. To be sure, Jesus will do this more righteously, and justly, and faithfully than any of them. But beyond this, Jesus’ rule is going to be differentiated by His authority over nature. To this day we marvel at His manifestations of walking on water, multiplying bread, calling fish into nets, restoring broken bodies, and turning water into wine. But when your Savior comes back again, you’ll become convinced that you haven’t seen anything yet. All creation will submit to Him!

And in fact, it longs to do so! Turn with me to Romans 8. The Greek verb in our text for “eagerly wait” is used three times in Romans 8:18-25. Let’s look at these verses so that you will be reminded of creation’s longing for Christ.

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the anxious longing of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, … 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.

Do you see the intensity here? Creation is anxiously longing. Creation is eagerly waiting. It was subjected to futility unwillingly. It is groaning. Creation is suffering the pains of childbirth. Just stop and think about that. Can you imagine being nine months pregnant, driving to the hospital, and then contracting in labor—not for six hours—but for over six thousand years?? Creation has been groaning in agony and laboring this whole time!

And it longs and eagerly waits in verse 19, not for its own redemption, but for our revelation, as sons of God.

That is a mind-blowing reality. Our soul has been redeemed, and we are waiting for our body to be redeemed. And all creation is waiting for the same thing! Why? Because our hope is that Jesus the Savior will rewind the clock and rule over all creation as the perfect Adam. He will establish restored bodies in a restored paradise. The curse of sin and death will be unraveled. Christ will occupy His rightful place as Ruler of creation, as the second Adam.

And the key point in Philippians 3:21 is that if Jesus can redeem and restore the entire cosmos, if He can subject all things to Himself, then surely He is able to transform our humble bodies. That is just icing on the cake! Have you seen how small humans are in relation to the Earth, or to the universe? Jesus says that “all authority has been given to Him in heaven and on earth.” These truths should inspire faith in us like that of the centurion, “Just say the word, Lord, and our bodies will be healed!” and like that of Mary, “For nothing will be impossible with God.”

This is the confidence which we have before Him: if we suffer for the sake of knowing Christ, then Jesus the Savior will come from heaven. He is both able and willing to transform our humble bodies into conformity with the body of His glory. So when you are grieved by loss, when you give up the desires and ambitions of your heart, when you humble yourself to serve and love one another, when you avoid grumbling or complaining, then you must eagerly wait for this all-powerful Ruler. He is able to vindicate your cause and to set all things in order.

Final Illustration

Before we close, I want to drive these points home in an example. Remember that the primary command in our passage from Philippians 3 was in verse 17, where Paul says, “Join in following my example, and look for those who walk according to the pattern you have in us.” Our text in verses 20-21 supplies the theological rationale for this command. And so because Paul exhorts us to look for examples, I want to point one out for you.

Turn with me to Daniel 3, where we will look at the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. These three young men were just like us. They were living in Babylon, but their citizenship was in Israel—just like ours is in heaven.

You might be familiar with this story from your childhood. In short, King Nebuchadnezzar sets up an idolatrous image of himself and orders everyone to bow down and worship it. These three Jewish youths refuse the king’s command, and in his anger he orders them burned alive. But Yahweh miraculously protects them, and in the end Nebuchadnezzar winds up acknowledging the supremacy of their God above all others.

But look at verse 16, where Shad and his buddies respond to the pagan intimidation,

16 [They] answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to respond to you with an answer concerning this matter. 17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to save us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will save us out of your hand, O king. 18 But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods, and we will not worship the golden image that you have set up.”

These three men were about to suffer loss for the sake of knowing Yahweh. And do you see their confidence? They believed that their God would save them. So too, Paul teaches us to wait for our Savior as well.

Then we find in verse 27 that after they were cast into the furnace,

27 “The fire had no power over the bodies of these men, nor was the hair of their head singed, nor were their trousers damaged, nor had the smell of fire even come upon them.”

Their reward for trusting God as their savior was the temporary provision of bodies that were immortal and indestructible. This was accomplished by the subjection of fire to God’s omnipotent power. The flames were left powerless to consume these three men. They escaped the king’s wrath unscathed.

Nebuchadnezzar acknowledges their boldness in verse 28,

28 “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who has sent His angel and saved His servants who put their trust in Him, violating the king’s word, and gave up their bodies so as not to serve and not to worship any god except their own God.”

This is the confidence we discover in Philippians 3:20-21. And really, we have a better hope! In verse 18, the three men acknowledge that God might not save them. They knew they might get torched, but that did not shake their confidence. We on the other hand, have the guaranteed promise of God that Jesus will come to save us! These men only received the blessing of an indestructible body for a limited time. They eventually died another way. But the bodies that we are promised are truly immortal. They will last for all eternity without sickness or death. And finally, here we only see Jesus the angel subjecting fire to His rule. But in Philippians we are promised that Jesus is able to subject to Himself all things. The whole of creation will bow down trembling before its magnificent King.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego suffered loss for God with less knowledge and more faith. So how much more accountable are we for our actions? In Philippians 3:20-21, we have far better promises than they had.

What a powerful example of faith! What a tremendous encouragement to stand firm in the Lord. This is how we may rejoice even when we may be called to suffer loss.

Conclusion

As Jesus said in Matthew 10:28, “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul.” It doesn’t matter that you’re not in a Roman prison like Paul or in Nebuchadnezzar’s fiery furnace. Like the Philippians, we suffer for Christ in many smaller ways. These trials may prepare us for a greater sacrifice some day. But every time we die to self and walk by the Spirit, every time we submit in obedience, then we are suffering loss. And that is good! If we suffer loss the loss of all things for Christ, then He will bless us with all things in the resurrection.

So find and follow examples of bold confidence. Remember that your citizenship is in heaven. Eagerly wait for a heavenly Savior, for a transformed body, and for an omnipotent Ruler. This is the hope that drives us on!

Lord’s Supper

As we approach the Lord’s Supper this evening, I want to address a small but delicate theological issue from our text for tonight. In chapter 3:21, we read that Jesus will “transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory.” And if you flip back to chapter 2:7-8, it says, Jesus “emptied Himself, by taking the form of a slave, by being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” These two passages share similar terms.

Jesus took the form of a slave so that, among other things, we could be conformed with the body of His glory. There is form and conformity. You can hear the similarity between the cognate words in English, just like Greek.

And so the question might arise, “If Jesus took on human nature, then will we get to take on divine nature?”

The answer to that question is a firm, “No.” The terms are not identical. Jesus took on the literal form of human nature, fully and completely. However, we will only take on conformity, or form-likeness, with his glory. This means that we will have a glorious body that is like His, but we will not take on full and complete divine nature.

The heresy that claims we do become divine is called theosis, and it is based on 2 Pet 1:4, where it is said that by God’s promises “we may become partakers of the divine nature.” The correct interpretation of that passage takes into account the context, which is focused on morality and ethics. We become like God as we love and obey His will. It does not mean that we actually become God ourselves. Instead, we seek the holiness that He exemplifies.

But let’s go back to Philippians. In particular, Paul’s declaration in 3:7-11 brings clarity to the statements about forms and conformity in 2:7-8 and 3:21. In 3:7-11, we learn that we must count all things as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus our Lord. We desire to gain Him. We want the righteousness which is from God upon faith in Christ. And as we approach the table, I ask you, “Do you have this righteousness from God? Or is your righteousness of yourself and from your obedience to the Law? Do you merely believe you are a good person, or do you have faith that God has transformed you into a new person? Have you repented and believed?”

This is no small matter! If you would attain to the resurrection from the dead, then you must be conformed to the death of Christ. Otherwise, you will be resurrected not from the dead, but to the dead. The bodies of unbelievers will also be raised. However, their transformed bodies will only be good enough to endure the torment of eternal fire without the relief of annihilation. Their bodies will not participate in the immortal glory of God.

So seek a heavenly Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. And do not participate in this supper in an unworthy manner. It is no small thing to scorn Christ’s death. You dare not reject conformity to His death by participating with hidden sin. Confess your sin and prepare to approach this table in holiness, without which you will never see the Lord.

This table is meant to be a sober celebration of the death of Christ. But it also implies the hope that drives us on. We are to proclaim the death of someone who will return. So that means He must be alive! It hints at a heavenly Savior who will return to transform our bodies and subject all things. This supper is a memorial of eager waiting.

Now I’d like the men who will serve us to come forward. If you are new with us, there will be two stacked cups. When you pull them apart, the bread will be in the bottom cup. Before the men serve us, let’s have a moment of silence and prayerful reflection.

Silence

Prayer

Men serve, take mine

1 Corinthians 11:23–26

23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was being betrayed took bread, 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.”

Let’s remember His broken body together.

25 In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

Let’s remember the New Covenant in His blood together.

26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until He comes.