Pursue Christ, The Source of our Joy

Paul ends the last section with an exhortation of Timothy and Epaphroditus, praising their great faith and work in the Gospel.

He takes that line of thought and runs with it as he looks to conclude the letter. He gives an example of the type of person not to follow in the church and who to follow.

Judaizers - Bad

Paul and co. - Good. Sounds arrogant and prideful, but Paul reasonings are essentially “not because I am great, but because I pursue the one who is.” ~ “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”

Point 1: Be confident in the Spirit, not in yourself.

Philippians 3:2–3 ESV

2 Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. 3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh—

- Judaizers, or Jews who want gentiles to adopt their practices, are who Paul is talking about in these verses.

They were teaching that certain practices were required in addition to faith and repentance in order for Gentiles to be saved.

Judaizers described as dogs, evildoers, and mutilators of the flesh.

True Christians walk and worship by the Spirit. They “put no confidence in the flesh” because they know their deeds apart from Christ are like filthy rags like Isaiah 64:6

Isaiah 64:6 ESV

6 We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.

Application1 : Boast in Christ alone.

That’s what it means to “glory in Christ Jesus”

The Judaizers were probably not blatantly heretical. They were probably pretty subtle with it.

Colossians 3:17

Colossians 3:17 ESV

17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Application 2: Guard who you allow to influence you.

Especially at your age where your minds and personalities are so moldable..you don’t want to devote your time to people who are false teachers or divisive or immoral..you need to surround yourself with good examples. 1 Corinthians 15:33

1 Corinthians 15:33 ESV

33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”

Point 2: Don’t stop chasing profits.

Three parts to this section:

v. 4-7 Paul gives his laundry list of reason to brag about how awesome he is if our good deeds apart from Christ meant something. We’ve seen this on a few other occasions (2 Corinthians 11:18ff).

v. 8-9 Paul essentially says that all of that “good” that he did, he considered the equivalent of used toilet paper to the “surpassing worth of knowing Christ”.

v. 10-14 What is knowing Christ, you ask? Gaining this knowledge of the love, power, holiness, and glory of Jesus through our lifelong pursuit of Him. The word know means to know from experience. Experience is not experientialism (knowledge only comes from experience and not teaching and study, etc)

power of his resurrection - no greater power we can experience. You have been raised from the dead if you are Christian. Maybe not physically yet but you will be.

and sharing in his sufferings - not that we could bear what he did on the cross but suffering for the sake of righteousness as we have already seen this week.

becoming like him in death - dying to our sin everyday.

Paul this is what it is to pursue Christ, to pursue Christlikeness. These are the things you invest in and experience…and it is a never-ending pursuit (v. 12). Pursue it your whole life and hope that Jesus returns so you can reap the reward (v. 11). Chase the prize like the athletes only your prize is far great. (v. 12-14).

Illustration if you can think of one..

Application: The profit gained from knowing Christ is far greater than all others. Pursue that passionately.

Any other profits you chase are like stinky doodoo rags when you compare them to Jesus.

Point 3: Run from the Dogs. v. 15-21

v. 15-16 - continuing to call the Philippians to unity and explaining what that looks like…Mature Christians pursue Christ, knowing Christ, and trust in the righteousness they gained from Christ..not themselves.

v. 17 Follow Pauls example because, as he has explained, his example is not one that highlights his personal accomplishments but one that magnifies the glory of Christ in pursuing Christlikeness.

v. 18-19 this mirrors v. 2. These descriptors in v. 19 can be tied back to those

dogs/their god is their belly - literally the wild animal that is a dog is driven carnal, fleshly desires.

evildoers/they glory in their shame - those who Paul calls evildoers are the ones who thought their self-righteousness deeds were worth something. but those deeds are actually their shame.

those who mutilate the flesh/minds set on earthly things - I can contribute to my righteousness by my actions. I do not gain any merit for my good deeds apart from Christ.

ref back to v. 4-7; 8 : all of our “good” ; anything we consider “good” apart from pursuing that Christlikeness, is rubbish..which means they lead to death and destruction.

When we pursue Christ it is his righteousness that gives our good deeds any merit.

v. 20-21 As ones clothed in righteousness, we are citizens of Heaven. Pursue that. Live like you are a citizen of Heaven not the World until you die or Jesus returns.

Paul’s high point in v. 17, I believe is one of the larger application points of this whole chapter.

Application 1: Pursue Christlikeness.

Application 2: Surround yourself and invest time in people who are pursuing Christlikeness.

Conclusion:

As we wrap up, I want to talk about verse 1.

Philippians 3:1 ESV

1 Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.

“Rejoice in the Lord” then it seems like what he talks about in the following 20 verses has nothing to do with rejoicing. Having joy in the Lord. Delighting in the Lord. Being Glad in the Lord. On the surface that seems true but consider this thought, when you are investing time in people who are divisive, immoral, causing trouble, or leading you astray…do you tend to be more or less joyful or happy?

Who we surround ourselves with affects all parts of our Spiritual walk. It affects our actions whether public or private and it affects our attitude (joy). One of the best things you can do as a young Christian is to find an older more mature Christian that is willing to invest time in you..and listen.

Pursue Christ with likeminded people and your joy will be a lot harder to disrupt.

Let’s pray.