Knowing Christ Above All
Pursuing the Prize • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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If you have your Bible and I hope that you do, please turn to Philippians 3 with me. We are talking about knowing Christ above all today and it is the main objective of the Christian’s life to know Jesus Christ.
Knowing Jesus isn’t just about learning about Him on Sundays or doing your devotions. It’s about abiding in Him, growing in your love of Him, persisting in Christ in spite of failure.
Many of us treat knowing Jesus like I use AI—pulling up facts about Him without really knowing His heart. But Philippians 3 shows us that true joy and purpose come from a deep, personal relationship with Christ. Today, we’re going to learn about the joy that is anchored in Christ, the false confidences we may trust in, and the surpassing worth of knowing Christ.
Please stand with me in honor of God’s Word as we read Philippians 3:1-11
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. 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— 4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. 7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
PRAY
Paul starts this section with a command; an imperative— rejoice in the Lord. Paul has been teaching a lot about rejoicing in this book.
Remember that he was rejoicing that Christ was being proclaimed in chapter 1, he was rejoicing in being poured out for their sake in chapter 2:17, He was calling the Philippians to rejoice with him in 2:18, not he gives the command to rejoice in the Lord.
We are tempted to rejoice in many things: a good report from the doctor, happy news from a friend, a promotion at work, a birthday party. There are lots of things that make us happy, and yet Paul instructs the Philippians to find their joy in something that will never change— the Lord.
This isn’t something new, Paul has hoped in the Lord to send Timothy to the Philippians, he has confidence in the Lord to visit them soon, now he is grounding joy not in whether or not he is liberated from his chains, not in the situation going on in Philippi, but in the unchanging, loving, and gracious God of heaven.
This leads us to our first point:
I. Our Joy Is Anchored in Christ
I. Our Joy Is Anchored in Christ
This is echoed in the Old Testament in Psalm 32:11
11 Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!
12 Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous, and give thanks to his holy name!
34 May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord.
But let’s be honest, rejoicing in the Lord is difficult when life’s circumstances aren’t the best. I mean, as a parent: how do you rejoice in the Lord when your kids are acting in a way that definitely doesn’t make you rejoice? Or what do you do when a call from a doctor doesn’t go well? How can we obey this apostolic command when joy is hard?
Well, we have to remember that joy is a God-given choice even when circumstances are dark. Paul is in chains, hungry, kept under guard and yet his joy and hope are so contagious that the whole Praetorian guard knows that his imprisonment is for Christ!
Also, we should know that the Gospel is what gives us the grounds for everlasting joy! One day all the things that weigh us down, stress us out, cause division and anxiety, the diseases that bring suffering and death, the sin that permeates us and our world will all be brought to a glorious end and Jesus Christ will reign on high! We won’t have to worry about any of the “stuff” that occupies so much of our minds right now! Thank the Lord! How much of a better reason do you have to rejoice in the Lord? I can’t think of one!
But Paul transitions from the internal threats of division in the church to external threats that exists and still threaten to this day. Paul warns against Judaizers in Galatians and in this book he has these three repeating phrases
2 Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh.
That can be understood as “watch out” or “see!” And he flips the script against these foes of the Gospel who said that “in order to be saved you must first become a Jew”. How? They had to be circumcised. In other words, submit to the Law of Moses. This was a common issue as Christianity began among the Jewish people and continued for years among a primarily Jewish audience and yet Paul received a call from God in a vision in Acts 16:9-10
9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
Now, the Jews used to call Gentiles “dogs” and yet Paul turns it against those that would pervert the Gospel. The truth is that while the Jews claimed to have privilege, they stand outside the new covenant blessings because they cling to fleshly markers instead of Christ.
Now, please remember that Paul is talking about those that pervert the Gospel, not Jews in general here.
Paul also calls these people Evildoers or evil workers. In other words, they present themselves as humble laborers of God but they believe in a works centered Gospel.
He calls them mutilators of the flesh. In other words, circumcision is of no value apart from Christ!
What’s crazy is that these people thought they were doing God’s work, when in fact they are ambassadors of Satan himself! Isn’t that the way it goes? So many times we may be tempted to place barriers where God hasn’t placed them for people to come to Christ.
What has God required for salvation? Repentance and faith. That’s it. You must turn away from wickedness and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.
It doesn’t matter if you come from a pagan background, a church background, a white background or black back ground or hispanic background. What matters is that we who trust in Christ are circumcised in our hearts. This is not a Pauline word, this is taken from Deuteronomy 10:16
16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn.
Look at the characteristics of people that are truly God’s people: They worship by Spirit of God, in other words they live a life of worship empowered by the Holy Spirit. This calls back to Jesus in John 4:23-24
23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
It’s not about ritual. It’s about relationship. It’s not about tongues as some may say, it’s about trusting in Christ. It’s not about observing rules and regulations, it’s about obedience to the Holy Spirit from a heart of gratitude and devotion!
They also Glory in Christ Jesus. We boast in Christ alone by embracing His humility and pointing others to the work of Christ.
Those who are God’s people put no confidence in the flesh. In other words, it’s not about our effort, rituals, baptisms, membership, giving, or heritage, it’s about your relationship with Jesus Christ.
This leads us to our second big point
II. False Confidence Exposed
II. False Confidence Exposed
Is there an advantage to being a part of Israel? Absolutely! Paul affirms this in Romans 3 and Paul himself is a Jewish Jew. I mean that in the best possible way because he obeyed the Law. He goes through and points out all the different ways that he was qualified to think he was a good person in God’s sight.
Paul is pretty bold because he says “If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more:” In other words, any way that you think you’re good enough for God, I thought I was better and he had the evidence to back it up.
Look at this: Circumcised, Israelite, Pharisee, zealous, blameless.
Can anyone compare to this? You may have heard it put this way, “I was born into a Christian family. I was baptized as a baby or dedicated. My family comes from a strong heritage of faith. My family are all believers. My family name is respected in our area and we have a strong legacy in the church. I was raised going to church, I know the lingo, sing the hymns, I know theology and know the Scriptures better than most. I lived according to my convictions, corrected errors, fought heresy. I was a moral person. I didn’t drink, cuss, or smoke. I went on mission trips, served in the church, and did all the right things.”
Sound familiar?
What does all this gain? What does it amount to? What did all his rigid religiousity gain him? He says Philippians 3:7
7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
It’s loss! All of it! The morality and goodness is loss! All of it! Paul uses accounting terms here of gains and losses. All those things were not neutral. They weren’t good. They were all liabilities! All things. Verse 8 says “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”
All things? The Roman citizenship? The success in ministry? All the possessions? All the good things? All these are loss compared to knowing Jesus Christ. This leads to our third point:
III. Counting All Things as Loss
III. Counting All Things as Loss
In fact Paul continues “For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ” He counts all those things from his past. All his “righteousness” as rubbish. Not just garbage, but that word is the English equivalent of dung and many commentators even say it’s the vulgar word that’s common in our world.
In other words, what is our good works and deeds? What is our heritage? What is all? It’s poop. All of it. It’s not worth anything in comparison to knowing Christ and yet so many live their lives for dung. Back in the 1700’s when ships were crossing the Atlantic, sailors would throw cargo overboard to lighten the load on the ship in order to save their lives. What use is fur or gold compared to a life? ultimately its garbage compared to the salvation that is in Christ.
Paul continues by saying “and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ,” Paul begins to walk through the complete salvation of the Christian which when we talk about being saved we mean generally being justified.
Paul contrasts these two different kinds of righteousness: there’s a righteousness that comes from his obedience to the law which is worthless. It’s like a giant cubic zirconia ring. It may look like a diamond. It may have all the glimmer and sparkle. But it’s not. It’s not the real thing.
Salvation is a precious jewel! God’s righteousness is a gift that is received through faith in Jesus Christ. And it’s a righteousness that is gifted to us. It’s imputed to us the moment we are born again.
21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
And we are united with Christ by being found in Him.
16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.
Martin Luther said, “For Paul …”flesh” means the highest righteousness, wisdom, worship, religion, understanding, and will of which the world is capable. Therefore the monk is not justified by his order, nor the priest by the Mass and the canonical hours, nor the philosopher by wisdom, nor the theologian by theology, nor the Turk by the Koran, nor the Jew by Moses. In other words, no matter how wise and righteous men may be according to reason and the divine Law, yet with all their works, merits, Masses, righteousnesses, and acts of worship they are not justified.”
Salvation is entirely a gift from God in Christ Jesus. You may be tempted to trust in your own works or righteousness and other’s opinions of you. Don’t be deceived! Nothing apart from faith alone in Jesus Christ saves.
John G. Paton, the Scottish missionary to the New Hebrides, was translating the Bible into the local language. He struggled to find a word that would adequately translate “faith” or “believe.”
One day a native came into his hut exhausted from a long journey. He flopped down into a chair, stretched out his legs, and said in his own tongue, “It’s so good to lean my whole weight on this chair.”
Paton immediately realized that was the perfect expression for saving faith in Christ — leaning your whole weight upon Him. He used that phrase in his translation to convey the meaning of faith: not a partial trust or superficial belief, but a complete resting of oneself on Christ for salvation.
Paul returns to this idea of knowing Jesus Christ. Oh that we would understand the joy and everlasting hope of knowing Jesus and growing in Him!
IV. The Surpassing Worth of Knowing Christ
IV. The Surpassing Worth of Knowing Christ
When Paul says “that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,” He is talking about that ongoing, fruitful building of sanctification. Where we know Christ and grow in Christ and Paul’s desire— his supreme desire above all desires— is to know Christ and this knowledge is
Relational. There is a covenant of intimacy of knowing Christ. Knowing Christ means belonging in a relationship of mutual love, like that of family. Believers are fully known by God
3 But if anyone loves God, he is known by God.
12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
and come to know Christ personally
16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer.
Why? Because we know Him!
9 But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?
Experiential. Knowing Christ involves firsthand experience. Just as Christ “knew no sin” in the sense of never committing it, Paul longs to experience Christ deeply.
3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
And finally, Participative Knowing Christ means sharing in His life. Paul seeks to live out the “Christ-pattern” — suffering with Him like Good Friday and rejoicing in Him like Easter Sunday. 2 Tim 2:19
19 But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”
For Paul, knowledge of Christ is not abstract; it is lived out daily in the salvation known as Sanctification. For Paul, it began on the Damascus Road and continues as the Spirit empowers believers to endure suffering, grow in Christ, and look forward to resurrection. For you, it begins the moment you are justified and God begins to work that salvation out in you.
And this knowledge is made full by the power of His resurrection. It is a transformation of the life with victory over sin, new life Rom. 8:11–13
11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. 12 So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
This is more than affirming the historical fact of Easter; it is experiencing the Spirit’s resurrection power in daily life. The same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead now dwells in believers, enabling us to put sin to death and live in newness of life. That resurrection power guarantees our future bodily resurrection and empowers our present growth in holiness
Paul seeks to share in Christ’s sufferings. To follow a crucified Lord is to walk a path marked by suffering. Paul does not see his suffering as redemptive, but as the inevitable result of being united with Christ. Just as Christ’s obedience led to the cross before glory, so too believers share in suffering now with the assurance that they will one day share in His glory at the resurrection.
Paul says “becoming like him in his death,” which is the third way Conformity to His death — daily dying to self until resurrection glory.
Which is the last or final salvation called glorification. As Paul writes here in verse 11 “that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.” Paul looks ahead to the bodily resurrection which becomes the completion of our salvation. This is the final link in that golden chain of redemption that Paul writes about in Romans 8:29-30
29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
Paul says “if by any means possible I may attain to the resurrection of the dead”. This is a beautiful tension that shows assurance in God’s promise and yet personal vigilance and perseverance in the faith. 1 Corinthians 9:27
27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.
1 Cor 9:27 doesn’t threaten loss of justification but disqualification from the prize; perseverance is real, and assurance rests in God’s preserving grace
So what does all this mean? Philippians 3:1–11 stands as a warning against every attempt to add anything to faith in Christ as the basis of salvation. Whether circumcision in Paul’s day or baptism, rituals, or moral performance in ours, salvation rests in Christ alone. Works-righteousness is both common and deadly—even among professing Christians—and Scripture insists it cannot save. Only the righteousness that comes from God in Christ will stand in the judgment.
This truth also shapes how we live. If justification is by grace alone, then we must not divide the church along external lines of race, class, or status. Sadly, many churches remain segregated and shaped by worldly divisions rather than gospel unity. To do so contradicts the very doctrine of grace we profess.
Finally, the passage reminds us that we must place no confidence in “the flesh”—not only in salvation but also in ministry. Churches that lean on business models, marketing strategies, or cultural appeal to “sell” Christianity risk shifting trust away from Christ. The gospel of a crucified and risen Savior will always be offensive to the world, but it is the only true message of salvation. Our task is to hold fast to this gospel, proclaim it faithfully, and trust the Spirit of God to work through it.
At the heart of Paul’s testimony is this truth: everything he once considered gain—his heritage, his morality, his zeal—he now counts as loss for the sake of Christ. This is the same starting point for every true believer. We must be stripped of confidence in ourselves, whether in our goodness, our reputation, or even our religious practices, and rest in Christ’s righteousness alone. Yet Paul’s words are not just about his conversion—they are his present conviction. Even after decades of ministry, he still clings to Christ as his only foundation.
This challenges us in two ways. First, do we hold our comforts, possessions, and honor with open hands, ready to surrender them if faithfulness to Christ requires it? Second, are we actively using all that God has entrusted to us—our homes, resources, influence—for His glory, counting them as nothing apart from Him? To truly prize Christ above all else also means longing for others—our children, our families, our neighbors—to know Him.
The surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus is that it humbles us, sanctifies us, delivers us from sin, and gives us a life of nobility in Him. Unlike earthly knowledge or accomplishments, this knowledge cannot be lost; it will only grow throughout eternity. For this reason, with Paul we can say: “I count everything as loss compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”
Head: God wants you to know that knowing Christ is worth more than anything, because only His righteousness counts before God.
Knowing Jesus and the power of His resurrection is the most valuable knowledge in the world. We should pursue it!
Heart: God wants you to believe that Christ alone is your righteousness—your standing with God rests fully on Him, not on anything you do.
So abide in Him and grow in Christ.
Hand: God wants you to live with open hands by pursuing Christ as the greatest treasure.
Imagine a life where every moment—every joy, every struggle—draws you closer to Jesus. That’s the life Paul invites us to in Philippians 3. Let’s step forward today, counting all else as loss, and pursue the surpassing worth of knowing Christ our Lord.
