Pressing On

Introduction

Dan - Marathons, running, pushing forward. My thesis. We have a goal. And what’s the goal? A lot of people think it’s about doing the right thing. Sort of.

Question: Is Christianity about doing the right thing?

Answer: Yes and No

Philippians Overview

Philippians is about the gospel as it relates to church conflict. How does Jesus change the way we relate to other people in the church? The answer is in this beautiful poem in ch. 2 about humility. Jesus existed in the form of God, but didn’t care about his status as God’s equal, humbling himself to the form of servant, even to death. Then, in chapter three, we get some insight about the conflict. There are people in the church who believe there are certain things you have to do in order to be a “real” Christian. They brag and boast that they follow the Jewish law better than everyone else. But Paul shuts them down. He says, hey listen, if anybody can brag about being a baller Jew, it’s me. Let’s get out the stat sheet and see who the real MVP is.” (Hint: it’s Kevin Durant’s mom). Paul explains that’s not what it’s about. If we want to truly relate well to each other, we have to focus not on what we do right, but on what Jesus does right. Jesus humbled himself and suffered for us, so we suffer with him and that’s true “righteousness.” And this is where we get to the section I want to focus on tonight.

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What are “these things”?

Here’s what I think is interesting about the section before this: He says that he wants a bunch of different stuff, but somehow it’s all connected. So, he says that he doesn’t care about the law anymore but about righteousness through faith in Jesus. And immediately says, I want to know Christ and the power of the resurrection, and then that he wants to SUFFER (like, wut?) and experience resurrection. So for Paul, righteousness, faith, knowing Christ, suffering, and resurrection are all connected. Here’s what connects all of them, though: Christ. It’s faith in Christ, knowing Christ, suffering with Christ, being raised with Christ, and it all comes together.

It’s like a

For Paul, the whole point is to have a relationship with Jesus, to get connected to Christ, and that means getting everything that is his—joining him in humility and suffering, but also gaining righteousness and new life. But Paul’s not there yet. He hasn’t gotten these things. He doesn’t have righteousness or perfect new life yet.

Paul wants this kind of life, this perfect union with Jesus, perfect walk with the Spirit, perfect righteousness and new life, but he’s not there yet. (And honestly, I don’t really like the NLT translation here because I think “achieve” and “reach perfection” are contradictory to what Paul is trying to say, and that’s not exactly what the words mean. I think “received” and “been made perfect” are better). Which is crazy because he’s like, you know, Paul, who had a legit meeting with Jesus and 180-ed his life and planted a bunch of churches wrote half the New Testament.

That’s like Beyonce saying, I wish I was a successful singer/dancer/leader of the Bey-hive, but I haven’t gotten there yet. (Um, yes you have.)

Listen. I want the same thing Paul wants. I want the righteousness of Jesus. I want the power of the resurrection. I’m not sure I want suffering, but I think (pray) I’m open to it as as follower of Jesus. But I’m not there yet. None of us are.

Listen. I want the same thing Paul wants. I want the righteousness of Jesus. I want the power of the resurrection. I’m not sure I want suffering, but I think (pray) I’m open to it as as follower of Jesus. But I’m not there yet. None of us are.

For most Christians, we’re in this weird in-between where we are becoming more aware of what God has for us and the incredible glory that waits for us when Heaven comes to earth, but also more aware of how far short of that glory we are. I remember reading this quote about writing, that basically said “if you want to be a writer, you have to read a lot of great writers. You’ll realize that you write a lot of things that aren’t even close to great writing, but over time, your time with great writers will make you more like them.” The Christian life is kind of like that. We want to be like Jesus but we know we’re not there yet.

Pressing On

So, what do we do? Paul says that he presses on to “possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me.” Then, he repeats it. He presses on to reach the end of the race.

possessed me? or later?

What does it mean to press on? For Paul, it means that his focus is entirely on Christ and how he can move toward Christ. Paul knows that he is not perfect, but he also knows that perfection lies in Jesus, so he fights his way closer and closer to Jesus everyday. Knowing that we are not perfect doesn’t mean we sit on our butts and hope things fix themselves. It means we run as fast as we can to Jesus.

Pressing on means that Paul is uninterested in his past successes or failures and looks to the future, to continue to know Christ more, to share in his life and death and resurrection more. This part of the text is so encouraging to me, because it shows me that every day—every second—is an opportunity for a restart. He says, “forgetting the past.” What you did yesterday doesn’t matter. What you did two hours ago doesn’t matter. You can choose RIGHT NOW that you want Jesus, that you’re going to set your eyes on him, that you’re going to press on toward him and faith in him.

Smash Bros.

Pressing on means that your past doesn’t own you, and it doesn’t predict your future. Which should also drive humility. It’s not about looking at your past and saying look at all these incredible things I’ve done. It’s about working together to press on to the prize. And what is the prize?

He says that the prize is heavenly, and that God has called us to it. Which is just like what he says earlier about perfection. But this is not like perfect like we think of perfect—it’s more like complete, whole, finished. It’s the same word that Jesus uses on the cross: “it is finished.”

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Life in the New Kingdom

Paul writes that there are people who are not focused on this. They care only about physical things, not about spiritual ones. And when they act this way, focused only on the world and its definition of success, they are “enemies of the cross of Christ.” Which is a pretty intense things to say, Paul.

Here’s the thing: they are refusing to live out the new life that Jesus has given them. They are acting as if the cross did nothing for them, as if it changed nothing. That’s what makes them an enemy. Instead, they should act as citizens of heaven. Because the Christian life is all about living out heaven where we are right now. That’s the thing. Heaven is not some distant future. Heaven exists inside of you right now. We press on to possess the complete, whole, perfected lives that Christ has already given us. We’re trying to live up to the job we’ve been given.

Senior on the golf team. I felt I had a higher calling and tried to live up to it.

It’s like when ...

Because we know that God will finish the job. He will perfect us, complete us. This final verse is so good: “He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.”

When God brings heaven to earth, he will re-make us to be just like Jesus, with a brand new body, and not just a body, but a whole being, unbroken by sin and able to truly live up to the call he has given us. And this power, this re-creating power, will bring EVERYTHING under his control. This is the whole gospel message, that the world, you, me, all of creation, has rebelled against God. But it is God that brings goodness into their lives. And at the end, Jesus will bring everything back into perfect harmony with him, and goodness will reign again. And the world-changing event that makes this possible is the death and resurrection of Jesus. And Paul here is inviting you to participate in that death and resurrection, to live a new kind of life as a citizen of heaven.

Tyndale House Publishers, Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2013), .

We’re not there. I’m not there. Paul’s not there. But today, right now, you can decide to PRESS ON, to forget about the sin of yesterday, or the sin from years ago that you’re holding onto, to choose to live in humility and love and grace, and to fight for goodness everywhere you go.

Instead, they should act as citizens of heaven. Because the Christian life is all about living out heaven where we are right now. That’s the thing.