Experiencing the Joy of the Spritual.
Philippians: Rejoicing With the Mind of Christ • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 45:48
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Remember, Paul wrote in chapter 1 Joy is Earned by a Single Mindset on Jesus Christ.
21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
22 But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not.
Chapter 2, Paul wrote Joy is Engrossed by a Submissive Mindset.
2 Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.
5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
and we saw the greatest example of this in the life of Jesus Christ.
However, Paul gave us 3 humanly examples to show to us that it can be done. These examples were found in Paul, Timothy, and Epaphroditus.
Now we come to chapter 3 and we see Paul explaining that Joy is Embellished by Spiritual Mind.
Philippians 3:1 (KJV 1900)
1 Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe.
Rejoice in the Lord!
Rejoice in the Lord!
As a Christian, when you are living and walking for Christ, two things are always confronting you: circumstances and false teaching.
No matter where you go, the trials of life, both minor and major, confront you. You have to stand face to face with the awful trials of life including …
• enticing temptations
• lust of the eyes
• lust of the flesh
• greed
• selfishness
• arguments
• divisions
• inhuman behavior
• criminal acts
• death
• accidents
• disease
The list could go on and on.
Noone escapes the trials of life—not if you walk upon this earth.
You are confronted with the awful reality of trials every day of your life.
Note another fact as well. No matter where you walk, the false teachings of this life confront you.
No matter which way the believer turns, you are confronted with different ideas about how to handle life and its great trials.
Guard yourself; and the first guard is to rejoice in the Lord. If you walk throughout the day rejoicing in the Lord, your mind will be upon the Lord.
Think about Christ.
Rejoice over what Christ has done for you—rejoice over the Lord …
• justifying you
• adopting you
• reconciling you
• saving you
• loving you
• delivering you
• guiding and directing you
• securing righteousness for you
• dying for you—bearing his condemnation and judgment
• arising for you—giving him a new life
• looking after you
• giving you the privilege of knowing God
• giving you victory over sin
• giving you an eternal hope and the glorious confidence of eternal life
If you as a believer are going to make it in this life and press on in this life, you must walk this life rejoicing in Jesus Christ.
Rejoicing in Christ while facing bad circumstances and false teaching will place you and keep you in the presence of Jesus Christ, our Lord.
No matter what comes upon you, you will never face anything that can separate you from Jesus Christ.
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Rejoicing is connected to a Relationship.
Rejoice in Jesus Christ, your Lord, no matter what you face in this life.
My life is in Christ’s control. Remember, He is Lord.
Accept the Safeguard!
Accept the Safeguard!
Philippians 3:1 (KJV 1900)
1 Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe.
Repetition of Truth is not a bad thing.
Paul is giving a safeguard.
The General Warning!
The General Warning!
Paul is repeating the issue brought up in
Philippians 1:27–28 (KJV 1900)
27 Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;
Our conversation is our lifestyle.
Is your lifestyle a portrait of the Gospel of Jesus Christ?
Remember, he gave us the example of Christ in chapter 2. Humility, Service, Single focus.
3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
28 And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God.
Philippians 1:29 (KJV 1900)
29 For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;
30 Having the same conflict which ye saw in me, and now hear to be in me.
Stay true, walk worthy, stay together in one mind striving for the faith of the gospel.
Don’t cave in to the opposition because Christ has called you to suffer for His sake and experience the same kind of conflict you see me going through.
That is the general warning.
Now we come to chapter 3 and Paul is going to get more specific.
The Specific Warning!
The Specific Warning!
Philippians 3:1 (KJV 1900)
1 Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe.
“not grievous” = to cause fear or reluctance.
Paul is saying, I am not fearful to do this and I’m not reluctant to do this.
Paul is saying, I am actually excited.
Why?
Because it is a Safeguard for you.
Paul is wanting to protect the members at Philippi and Paul is wanting to protect us today.
What do we need protection from?
False religionists and false teachers.
Christians that are fake.
The word “safe” mean to trip, to cause to fall, to overthrow.
Paul is not wanting us to fall or be tripped up. Here is your safeguard.
If ever was a time in history that we need someone to stand up and warn people about false teachers and fake christians, it is now.
Isaiah prophesied.
Isaiah 56:10 (KJV 1900)
10 His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, They are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; Sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.
Paul was faithful to warn and we need to warn people today.
28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
29 For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
30 Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.
31 Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.
So, who are we being warned about?
Philippians 3:2 (KJV 1900)
2 Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.
The last beware is the concision, which literally means the false circumcision.
Philippians 3:3 (KJV 1900)
3 For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.
Paul is warning of the workers of false circumcision vs. the workers of true circumcision.
In order to understand this contrast, we need to understand circumcision. I don’t mean the process but the importance.
The Jews looked at circumcision as a sign of God’s favor.
The physical act of circumcision was an external identification that they were of the seed of Abraham and thus were God’s people and were blessed.
Somehow along the way the Jews missed the point that outward circumcision was only to be a symbol of the circumcision on the inside.
The Jews departed from the reality of circumcision’s symbolism and left themselves committed only the symbol.
Today, christianity sees the same thing with the 2 symbols or ordinances of the church.
Baptism as the means of salvation.
The catholics do it with the Lord’s supper.
Baptism does not save you.
The Lord’s Supper does not connect you with the body and blood of Jesus Christ.
Therefore, the Jewish community believed in circumcision as the mark that is necessary for God’s people to be God’s people. They also believed in the economy of the Old Testament laws, rituals, and ceremonies. Therefore they felt they were bound to keep them.
Along comes the Apostle Paul, He comes to the Gentile world preaching salvation by grace plus or minus nothing. No works at all. There is nothing you can do but believe. Nothing you must do but believe.
Salvation is by GRACE alone.
In a simply act of faith you simply receive the gift of grace.
Ephesians 2:8–9 (KJV 1900)
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Many gentiles were saved, by grace, Jews were saved. The Jews believed Jesus was the Messiah, that Jesus died on the cross, that Jesus rose from the dead. However, they also believed that in order to be pleasing to God adn to have God accept you, you have to be circumcised and keep all the ceremonies of Moses.
Paul is preaching the old covenant has been set aside, circumcision is unnecessary, Mosaic ceremony is unnecessary, you cannot do any externals to please God or gain your salvation, they got upset.
These Jews got downright mad.
Now, Paul after establishing churches in these cities would leave town and these Jews would rise up and say to the church, you must be circumcises and let me show you why, and they would go to the Old Testament.
These new converts would get confused, not understanding the Old Covenant and the New Covenant, and they were being lead to believe that they must be circumcised in order to be saved. They must do certain ceremonial things and perform good works.
This teaching makes the gospel very confusing.
However, this is in contrast to the true gospel of by grace through faith.
These teachers are referred to as the Judaizers, because they were Judaizing. In other words, they were saying you can’t come in to Christianity unless you go through the foyer of Judaism.
If you want to be saved, you have to be circumcised and follow the Mosaic economy.
This battle was fought in Acts 15.
They concluded, with the Apostles
Acts 15:7–10 (KJV 1900)
7 And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.
8 And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;
9 And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
10 Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
This was the threat going on in many of the churches and here in Philippi also.
So Paul states,
2 Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.
How many of you are faced with the dilemma of I rejoice in Christ and I do what the Bible tells me but I am still struggling with doubt, anxiety, worry?
We live in a world of what I call Joy Killers.
Paul is going to sum up what he has taught us thus far by helping us determine What exactly is being Spiritual? or What makes you a Christian? or better yet Who is Spiritual? or Who is a Christian?
Paul is going to give us the answer in
Philippians 3:8–9 (KJV 1900)
8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
Philippians 3:17 (KJV 1900)
17 Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample.
But before we get there, Paul makes a contrast between Joy Killers and Joy Proclaimers.
Philippians 3:2–3 (KJV 1900)
2 Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.
3 For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.
Understand the Contrast
Understand the Contrast
What exactly is the Contrast?
What exactly is the Contrast?
Philippians 3:2–3 (KJV 1900)
2 Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision. 3 For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.
dogs vs. worshipping God in the spirit
dogs = legalizers and judiaizers. Those nipping at the heels of Paul.
certain rituals and certain ceremonies.
The term dog doesn’t mean a cute little house pet. He’s talking about those cruel, vicious, snapping, snarling, barking, biting, and filthy alley dogs—that’s what the word is here. And he says, “You watch for dogs.” That’s the way he characterized false religious teachers.
evil workers vs. rejoice in Christ Jesus
evil workers as opposed to good workers.
the concision vs. no confidence in the flesh
“concision” equals mutilators. It is a play on the term circumcision.
Philippians 1:27 (KJV 1900)
27 Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;
There are those dogs, evil workers, and mutilators who really do attack the church with their false premise of salvation and their false criteria of salvation.
Philippians 1:28 (KJV 1900)
28 And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God.
What exactly is the Comprehension?
What exactly is the Comprehension?
What is Paul teaching?
God wants everyone to be saved, but He also doesn’t want anyone deceived about the reality of your spiritual condition.
The Spiritual Reality:
You can’t Worship God in the Flesh.
You rejoice in the Work of Jesus Christ.
You are confident in Christ not self.
Why are you here to Worship?
Who does the Work?
Where is your Confidence?
