11. That I May Know Him

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If you could stay one age forever, which age would you chose?

Memory Verse

Memorized: Silas E, Abby Arseneau, Joseph B, Anneke B, Jakin E,

Chose this week: Elijah L, Logan S, (Younger kid)

Philippians 2:3 NKJV

3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.

Prayer

Lesson

Recap

We’ve been focusing on the example of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. Last week we talked about two people who exemplified Jesus’ character: Timothy and Epaphroditus. If people like them can follow Jesus, we can too.

But not everyone followed Jesus’ example. False teachers followed Paul wherever he went and would confuse Christians in what they believe.

So, in today’s lesson, Paul confronts them and warns the Christians.

Vs. 1

Philippians 3:1 NKJV

1 Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe.

Paul is about to remind the Philippians about something they’ve already heard before.

Are you the type that needs constant reminders? Or are you the one reminding people?

Does it ever get annoying having to remind someone the same thing over and over? (“I told you twice already!!” Shaylyn reminds me things all the time)

Paul’s got a reminder for these Philippians.

Was this a big deal for him? (No, he said it wasn’t tedious, it’s really not a worry to him)

Why is it no big deal? (Because it is safe/good for them to hear it again)

Vs. 2

What is the thing they need to hear another time in vs. 2? (Beware of dogs…)

Philippians 3:2 NKJV

2 Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation!

What’s the very first word in vs. 2? (Beware: Be vigilant, watch carefully, be on the lookout for)

Who do you think he is talking about here? (False teachers)

History:

Back in that day, dogs were not loved like they are today. Today we throw our dogs birthday parties and make youtube channels about them.

- In the first century, you wouldn’t even let a dog into your yard. They were wild pests, nasty street animals who ate trash and dead things. Who knows what kind of diseases they carried, nobody would approach them, you’d be unclean just touching one. To be called a dog was super offensive…

- We like to call each other dogs, “J-dog”. That wouldn’t fly in Paul’s time. Call Paul “P-dog,” and you hear ghasps.

Can you see why Paul would call false teachers dogs? (They are wild, unclean, looking for someone to harm; they are not to be approached)

What else are these false teachers? (evil workers and mutilators)

This verse and the next talk a fair bit about circumcision. We won’t go into detail about this… All you need to know is that this was a Jewish ritual done to people. If you got this done to you, you were marked off as a Jew; this has to do with your identity, “I’m God’s child!”

Now it says these false teachers were mutilating this. Basically, they were ruining this whole picture, they got it all confused.

Belief: I am God’s child because I did this ritual!

Do rituals and works make us God’s children? What makes us God’s child? (Accepting Christ by faith)

Vs. 3

So, in verse three, Paul says, “For we are the circumcision”, pretty much saying, “Oh yeah, you think you’re God’s child because of your ritual? I’ll show you what it means to be a child of God.”

According to 3:3, what are the three distinguishing marks of a genuine Christian?

Worship God in the Spirit

What kind of Spirit? (Capital S = Holy Spirit)

Where can you find the Holy Spirit? (Living in you!)

Rejoice in Christ Jesus

Do any of you have a different word than “rejoice”? (Glory in Christ Jesus)

What does it mean to “glory” in something? (Boast)

- I got a 98% on my finals!!

- Look at this 12 point buck I shot!

- Check out my huge library!!

Who do we glory in? (Christ Jesus. “Look at how Jesus changed my life!”)

No confidence in the flesh

In your life, you’ve got two choices…

Glory in Christ?

Glory in my accomplishments/strength?

What did the false teachers do? (They gloried in themselves)

Vs. 4

Paul wants us to know how foolish it is to have confidence in ourselves, so he plays their game for a bit here.

Philippians 3:4 NKJV

4 though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so:

“If anyone were to have confidence in the flesh, I’m the guy!”

Vs. 5

What things does he list in vs. 5?

Philippians 3:5 NKJV

5 circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee;

Circumcised the 8th day

Why is this a big deal?? Because he was brought up exactly the way Moses’ law told him to…

Stock of Israel

What comes to mind when you hear the word “stock”? (“Mooooooo”, I think of a herd of cows. This has to do with His heritage)

Who’s stock is Paul a part of? (Israel, his heritage is pure)

Tribe of Benjamin

Hebrew of Hebrews

He’s a pure Jew, there’s no mixed blood in this guy!!

So far, what has Paul been talking about? (His heritage. He thought his heritage brought him into a relationship with God)

Am I closer to God if I’m a missionary kid? A pastor’s kid?

How many of you are 1st generation Christians? 2nd? 3rd? 4th? 5th?

Does your family make you righteous? (Of course not, but many believed this to be true)

Concerning the Law, a Pharisee

What were the Pharisees known for? (Strict law followers, the strictest actually)

When it comes down to being a moral person, he was the best in town!

Vs. 6

How about vs. 6? What are his accomplishments there?

Zealously persecuting the church

What is zeal? (Eagerness to do something)

“Austin was zealously paging through his bible to find a name to write on the whiteboard.”

Does zeal make us right before God? (It doesn’t, but it sure is tempting to see it that way when you see a zealous person)

Zealous muslim or buddhist following their religion…

- “How could God punish them? They are so sincere!”

Q: What would you say to that question?

No matter how sincere you may be, you can still be sincerely wrong.

If I don’t have the truth, will my zeal save me?

Ill: My goal is to fly across the ocean…

- I pour 1 year of my life building the best car I can make…

Q: Am I going to accomplish my goal? (No, you built a car)

But I was sincere! I spent hundreds of hours on this… What do you mean I can’t cross the ocean?

I can’t fly if I don’t have a plane, no matter how passionate I am about my car.

What’s the last thing on Paul’s list in vs. 6? (Righteousness which comes from the law)

What’s his standing? (Blameless)

Is he saying he’s sinless? (No, but if you looked at his life, there was no doubt that he was a shining example of a law follower)

Vs. 7

Based on vs. 7, what value do these things have to Paul? (They are loss, worthless)

Why are these things worthless? (Because they are compared with Christ. Jesus is infinitely more valuable than any accomplishment I can make on this earth)

Vs. 8

What else does Paul count as loss compared to Christ? (All things)

Philippians 3:8 NKJV

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

Whiteboard:

Jesus - Everything = Nothing

Nothing + Jesus = Everything

What does he say is excellent about Jesus? (Knowledge of Jesus)

This is not speaking of a “book smart” kind of knowledge of Christ. This is a relational, “I know him!” kind of knowledge. I’ve responded to God’s call to humble myself and receive Christ, now because of that I enjoy the all surpassing relationship with Christ.

How much has Paul lost for Jesus? (Everything! All his status as a Jew, all his prestige as a Pharisee, it’s all gone)

But what was that worth anyway? (Rubbish or dung)

When I compare the best accomplishments of this life to knowing Jesus, my best accomplishment is no better than a pile of poop.

Imagine getting that instead of a gold medal… That’s all its worth though! Knowing Christ is far better!

Think about your salvation…

What are my works worth in God’s eyes? (Garbage)

Isaiah 64:6 NKJV

6 But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away.

All we need to gain eternal life is to know Christ.

Vs. 9

Philippians 3:9 NKJV

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;

Verse 9 is giving us a picture of a moment we’re all going to face one day, what is it? (When we stand before God for judgment)

When Paul stands before God, he says he wants to be found in Christ.

How is that possible according to the rest of the verse? (We’ve been given the righteousness of Jesus)

Ill: Dirty t-shirt vs. spotless t-shirt

- Dirty = Our righteous works

- Spotless = Christ’s righteousness

On our own, we stand before God with this dirty shirt… But when we trust in Christ, we are given Christ’s spotless shirt (righteousness).

Q: How does God see us now? (Innocent, righteous, more than worthy to enter heaven. Why? Because Christ made us worthy)

Vs. 10-11

What else does Paul want to know in vs. 10? (Him and the power of His resurrection)

Why is Jesus’ resurrection important to us? (It gives us hope for the future)

If Jesus didn’t have the power to rise from the dead, does He have the power to raise us from the dead? (He does not)

But Jesus did rise from the dead, so we will too.

How does the resurrection affect your life right now? (The same power that rose Jesus from the dead is the power that empowers us to live godly lives)

What else does Paul want to know at the end of verse 10? (The fellowship of His sufferings, conforming to His death)

What does fellowship mean? (To have something in common)

Paul wants to share in the suffering that Jesus had, and when that happens, he says he will get to know Jesus even better.

How does suffering with Christ enable us to know Him more? (He is the Man of Sorrows, when we suffer, we get to know a little bit of what He experienced; we have that in common)

Philippians 3:11 NKJV

11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

In other words, Paul is saying, “When I reach heaven, I want to have gotten to know Jesus as much as I could while I was on earth.”

Application

Should we trust in our own strengths, accomplishments, or righteousness? Why not? (Because they are useless to God)

Knowing Jesus is the best pursuit of this life, we should want that more than anything else.