That I May Gain Christ (Phil 3:7-9)
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We are in a very powerful section in ch.3
the truths in here are key.
as you can tell from our title
“That I may gain Christ”
there is no better gain then Christ!
This section shows us how we gain Christ
Which is enough to look at for one Sunday.
I originally wanted to cover v.7-16
and had to divide more and more
as I kept studying.
to where today we are looking at v.7-9
but because there is still so much value
in reading all v.7-16
we will read it
to catch the direction Paul is going
because it is so good!
then zoom in to the part we will focus on.
to see how Paul will get there.
pray
read
7 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. 8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. 12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. 16 Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind.
Here we see in loosing self righteousness
but in gaining Christ
everything done in the past
whether its righteous or not
it holds no power.
so press forward to Christ His call
to know Him,
to where we will know the power of His resurrection,
and the fellowship of His sufferings
Press forward to what is ahead the upward call in Jesus!
What an amazing section we are in here.
with so much to dive into
Paul gets there by starting with
gaining Christ.
starting at verse 7
7 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ.
what does he mean what things were gain?
everything he had mentioned in the section above.
all his self righteousness.
being a Hebrew of Hebrews, a Pharisee, etc.
I say these are etc.
but these things were
once very important to Paul
its what his life was ALL about.
he now counts it as a loss for Christ.
so every good and righteous deed he had done
every act of devotion
every commandment kept
every part of the law He followed
loss for Christ
why???
this is kind of a shocking statement.
especially to anyone who claims to be righteous by their own merit
this is a shocking statement to any religious based person
to the many people thinking their good deeds
will balance out their bad ones.
because Paul was very religious,
dedicated, & in the eyes of man
a very good man.
If we had to compare self righteousness to Paul
we all would fall very short (v.4)
and he says he counts all his works,
all those good deeds, as loss
why is he counted it as a loss?
Here in verse 7 he says for Christ
but he explains more in verse 8:
8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ
so why does he call it a loss?
it is all a loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus..
we need to slow down here.
because his entire life has changed based on this.
he was living one way
and now calls the way he was living is a loss.
and is living in a new way, with a new life.
for a man extremely religious.... this is an extreme change.
it contains a message
that took one of the most religious,
self righteous men ever
to call all he had done a loss
this should grab our attention.
This means for us it contains a message of great change too.
“count all things loss, for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus”
Lets break this down:
excellence = surpassing
this shows this is far greater
much better, it excels
knowledge = “γινωσκω”
this knowledge is not just an intellectual knowledge
its a knowledge based on experience.
for example its one thing to
know that steak is good
its another thing
to know by experience that steak is good.
to taste it
that is the word knowledge here
its an experienced knowledge of Christ.
truly knowing Jesus
not just knowing Jesus is the Savior of sins.
as a blanket statement
knowing Him to being his personal Savior
So He really really KNOWS Jesus
I can tell people about Jesus
but I cant give people γινωσκω knowledge.
thats between the person and the Lord.
but my hope is that when
I share about Who Jesus is
that through the work of God in the Spirit
it turns into a γινωσκω knowledge
that they realize who Jesus really is
and truly know HIm
In a testimony you hear it described sometimes
as then the light bulb turned on.
or they may say
“then it clicked” “then it hit me” “and then I knew.”
“I realized my sin and need for Jesus”
I grew up in Calvary Chapel.
I heard God’s Word, and the gospel
but just because as a kid i could recite John 3:16
and tell you Jesus died for my sin
I didn't truly know it
until the end of HS
when it clicked and I knew Him.
When Paul realized who Jesus really is.
When he learned of Jesus
When it clicked
it changed everything.
When Paul encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus,
it wasn't just an intellectual revelation;
while there was a personal encounter
that left him blinded by the light of Christ
he was also enlightened by the truth of Who Jesus is.
This revelation changed the direction of his life,
from persecutor to proclaimer, from Pharisee to follower.
why? Because it became real on Who Jesus is
that He is:
the Son of God, Who became man
to be the sacrifice for our sins,
That His death on the cross
paid the price for our sins that we couldn't pay
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21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
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Jesus did the work we could never do.
He gave us a righteousness we could never earn.
Paul had tried to earn righteousness with God.
He lived his life for it.
Then Jesus paid the price for His sins.
and gave him righteousness.
Which is why he said I suffered the loss
Jesus has cost him everything.
a denial of every good deed, and religious tradition
he had previously lived for
that he dedicated his life toward
but this suffering is not a bad suffering at all
as he said Jesus is surpassingly better.
But how many of us can relate to have this thought
“If only I knew Jesus sooner”
Everything in the past could just feel like a waste.
We suffer in all that was wasted.
Whether it was sin, or some pursuit in righteousness living
Jesus, He is just so much better!
What He gives us is far beyond what we could earn
and we receive it free without earning it.
so look at what Paul says next in verse 8
that he counts his self righteousness as rubbish
“count them as rubbish”
Its important to note that he is NOT saying
righteousness IS rubbish here.
he is counting it all as rubbish
so this doesn't mean good works
or righteous living have no value in the Christian life.
Paul is emphasizing that relying on his
own righteousness for salvation is rubbish,
Good works are important
but cannot replace faith in Christ.
and self righteousness compared to the righteousness
we receive from God in Jesus is rubbish
Now the word rubbish here is a nice translation.
it can be translated as dung, refuse, trash.
reminds me of
Isaiah 64:6 (NKJV)
6 But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags....
title slide
These are strong words
because this is a very important point
Our righteousness even our best efforts
has no value compared
to the righteousness of God given to us by Jesus
its garbage vs. glory.
Its in a way disgusting in comparison.
the difference of high end luxury to dung.
Jesus is just that much greater.
So when He truly realized who Jesus is
the light bulb clicked
Paul says I am done with me and my efforts... its all trash.
Give me Jesus
as he said:
“count them as rubbish that i may gain Christ”
in reading it i think these strong words
are backed by strong emotion
“all i lived for is nothing to
knowing who Jesus is”
Is there anything we need to count as rubbish
to gain Jesus?
is there anything keeping us from receiving Him
anything keeping us from truly knowing him?
count it as trash to gain Jesus.
we are either depending on
our righteousness or His
to that I say “Give me Jesus”!
which leads us to then....
How do we gain Christ and be found in Him?
the rest of v. 9 tells us
9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;
not by my own righteousness.
by faith in Jesus
a righteousness from God
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8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
title slide
As mentioned in our introduction:
This section shows us how to gain Christ
So how do we gain Christ?
By faith in Him
A faith in Christ that is a complete trust
and reliance on Christ and what He did to pay the price for our sins.
It's letting go of self-effort and embracing complete dependence
on Christ's work for our righteousness and salvation.
faith in Christ means we trust His work on the cross completely.
We understand that His sacrifice has paid the price for our sins,
and that our salvation is secure in Him.
It's not about adding our efforts, good deeds, or self-righteousness to the mix.
Instead, it's about relying entirely on what Jesus has done for us.
Thats how we gain Jesus
and that how as the beginning of verse 9 says
“be found in Him”
what a beautiful detail added there.
I once was lost but now found
I once was lost in my sin
I once was lost in my efforts to be right with God
Now I am found in Him.
There is no safer, better, more secure place
Then being found in Jesus
This shows us that our greatest gain,
our most valuable possession,
is not in earthly achievements
or human accomplishments,
but in gaining Jesus
and in being found in Him.
and if you are found in Christ...
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
so here we saw how Paul’s life was greatly changed by Jesus!
from destroyer of churches
to a defender of the the church
from persecuting to planting churches
as he no longer counted on his efforts and works of self righteousness
but on Jesus.
and has become a new man
since the section before in v1-3
carries a warning to not return to the law
I think that tone carries into this section
we should keep this in mind.
because after reading our verses today
how foolish would it be then for us
to after freely received Jesus in faith
to then try to depend on our own works, and righteous
in our relationship with God.
It happens so much!
Someone places their trust in Jesus for salvation
but then goes back to being focused on their works again.
maybe they are basing their standing with God on their efforts
I think our pride can default us making it about self again.
Church were free from the law!
Because we gained Jesus!
as Philippians repeats so Rejoice in the Lord!
let the good works then be done out of love,
and thankfulness, for what He has done
To wrap all this up
I want to share with you how the NLT translates this
so that we can
to zoom back out a little,
but to solidify the message this text has for us
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7 I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. 8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ 9 and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith.
As worship team comes forward
What are we counting on for righteousness?
If there is anything we are counting that is not Jesus
count it as garbage and put your faith in Christ!
Beware of our pride
as it seeks to want to bring self righteousness between us and God.
Are we ready to let go of the things
that hinder our relationship with Him?
Jesus is enough and will always be enough.
we dont need confidence in the flesh but
6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;
title slide
Jesus did the work, Jesus does the work!
So may we identify areas where you might be tempted
to rely on our own efforts or self-righteousness
to earn favor with God
Once you've identified these areas,
maybe talk with a friend
or pray with a prayer partner.
but may the ginosko knowledge of Jesus
bring us to faith in Him
and gain Jesus
being found in Him
no longer bound to law
or slaves of sin
but free, rejoicing,
in Jesus!
Thats why He says I suffered the loss for gaining Christ
it almost like saying, “I wish i knew Christ sooner”
this is why He said I count my old righteousness as rubbish
also be translated as dung, or trash.
Self righteousness vs. Jesus
it is almost disgusting in comparison
I know my life changed as I have been getting to know Jesus
Megan knew me before jesus
and she used to have to tell people
to stay away from me because I was trouble
But when Jesus became my Savior
and My Lord
that curiosity and desire
of knowing my Savior more
changed my life
because it brought the full person of Jesus into my life
to share with my problems, pains
to be given an a purpose an upward call
and to be equipped for that
