Only Jesus

Does anybody here still watch American Pickers with Frank, Rob, and Danielle? I guess Frank is gone… They search for rusty gold. Which sometimes looks like this.

Rusty Gold

Or the house make overs that tell you to treasure houses like this

Rich Makeover

The world seems confused AMEN? What is trash and what is treasure? Different people tell us different things. But at the end of our lives most peoples treasure looks like another popular reality tv show. Hoarders

Hoarder

God created us, and knows what we really need. He uses Paul to teach us us what we really need to treasure and how treasure Him. The title of the message is only Jesus, and the text is found in Philippians 3:1-14. A personal relationship with Jesus is the only way to have right standing before God at the final judgment and be given eternal life in heaven. Therefore, anything hindering your relationship with Jesus needs to be tossed in the trash.

Philippians 3:1–14 (CSB)

1 In addition, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord. To write to you again about this is no trouble for me and is a safeguard for you.

2 Watch out for the dogs, watch out for the evil workers, watch out for those who mutilate the flesh. 3 For we are the circumcision, the ones who worship by the Spirit of God, boast in Christ Jesus, and do not put confidence in the flesh—4 although I have reasons for confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he has grounds for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised the eighth day; of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; regarding the law, a Pharisee; 6 regarding zeal, persecuting the church; regarding the righteousness that is in the law, blameless.

7 But everything that was a gain to me, I have considered to be a loss because of Christ. 8 More than that, I also consider everything to be a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Because of him I have suffered the loss of all things and consider them as dung, so that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own from the law, but one that is through faith in Christ—the righteousness from God based on faith. 10 My goal is to know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death, 11 assuming that I will somehow reach the resurrection from among the dead.

12 Not that I have already reached the goal or am already perfect, but I make every effort to take hold of it because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, 14 I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus.

Only Jesus: The Text In Its Context

Philippians 3:1 (CSB) 1 In addition, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord. To write to you again about this is no trouble for me and is a safeguard for you.

Paul wrote this text to remind Christians to rejoice in the Lord. No matter how badly you are persecuted, or how difficult the trials are that you face, focus on Jesus. He has proclaimed the Gospel to them before, and he will continue preaching it as often as God gives him the opportunity. It is no problem from him, and it helps keep the people who hear the good news safe!

Knowing we are right with God we must rejoice- regardless of our circumstances.

Habakkuk 3:18–19 (CSB) 18 yet I will celebrate in the Lord; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation! 19 The Lord my Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like those of a deer and enables me to walk on mountain heights!

Philippians 3:2 (CSB) 2 Watch out for the dogs, watch out for the evil workers, watch out for those who mutilate the flesh.

Please don’t call PETA to report Paul was a dog hater. If Paul knew your pet in your context I am sure he would love the pup. You have to remember the time and culture Paul was writing too. Dogs were not pets. They either did a job or they were feral- wild, nasty, unclean, and dangerous often wandering in packs where they didn’t belong. The Jewish people often referred to Gentiles as dogs because they thought they were unclean.

The Judaizers were Jewish Christian teachers who tried to make people convert to Judaism and keep the Law so that they could be saved by Christ. Paul called them mutilators because they would make Gentile get circumcised.

[Judaizers: During the time of the early church many devout Jews were willing to accept Jesus as Messiah, but they wanted to hold on to forms of Judaism. They believed that Gentiles had to become Jews before becoming Christians. This involved the act of circumcision and taking on the law of Moses (Carson, Basics, 81). We read about them in Acts 15. They were saying, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom prescribed by Moses, you cannot be saved!” (Acts 15:1). But the leaders of the church, including Paul, Barnabas, James, and Peter, denied this claim and preserved the gospel of grace. Salvation comes through Christ and Christ alone, apart from works of the law. --Tony Merida and Francis Chan, Exalting Jesus in Philippians, ed. David Platt, Daniel L. Akin, and Tony Merida, Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary]

There is irony in Paul referring to them as the dogs- AMEN? They wanted to add keeping the Law as a requirement to salvation- and in doing so they become unclean!

Only Jesus leads to salvation and peace with God.

John 14:6 (CSB) 6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

The Judaizers added thing other than a saving faith in Jesus before a person can be saved. The biggest thing they added being the circumcision. And Paul describes that as mutilation! Under the Law it was a visible mark that the person belonged to God. Jesus offers salvation that us a free gift.

The Master’s Marks

Do you know what a master mark is? It is a mark or stamp that a master artisan put on his work. You see them in pottery, smithing (including gun smithing, even fine carpentry work. Sometimes apprentices or journeymen will do a piece that resembles the work of the master, but they don’t bear his mark. The shop may even sell some works the master made, but didn’t mark, because he feels that it isn’t representative of his best work. The mark affects the value of an object. The work of the master craftsman is better than the work of the people he is teaching. When you are buying a fine piece of art it is important to know that it is real- AMEN? That the master made it? and is satisfied with its quality.

God is the master artisan- AMEN?

Isaiah 64:8 (CSB) 8 Yet Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we all are the work of your hands.

And we are all made in God’s image.

Genesis 1:27 (CSB) 27 So God created man in his own image; he created him in the image of God; he created them male and female.

But not every person has the Master’s Mark. God made them, and offers them the free gift of salvation through a saving relationship with Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. But they have rejected that gift. They fight and rebel against God as He tries to mold them into masterpieces.

So what are the signs of a person who is truly being molded by God? Paul identifies three very important traits that mark a true follower of Christ.

Philippians 3:3 (CSB)3 For we are the circumcision, the ones who worship by the Spirit of God, boast in Christ Jesus, and do not put confidence in the flesh—

Paul is saying that the covenant sign of belonging to God is no longer physical circumcision. The new sign of belonging to God is now a circumcised heart. He says it even more strongly in

Galatians 6:15 (CSB) 15 For both circumcision and uncircumcision mean nothing; what matters instead is a new creation.

It is harder to verify a transformed heart then it is to verify a circumcision. AMEN? But they can be seen in our lives.

Serving Through God’s Spirit

Philippians 3:3 (CSB)3 For we are the circumcision, the ones who worship by the Spirit of God, boast in Christ Jesus, and do not put confidence in the flesh—

Christians serve the Lord as led by the Spirit. This doesn’t mean simply going to church every week. It means ministering to people in God’s name, to God’s Glory, and through God’s empowerment.

The Greek word translated as worship was used in the used in the Greek translation of the Hebrew OT for Israel’s religious service to God (especially temple service) as His chosen people. Paul is saying that the Church has the privilege of worshipping God and doing His work on earth.

When you follow truly follow Jesus, step by step, everything in your life is surrendered to His Lordship. True disciples live a life that is focused on pleasing God and jettisoning anything that distracts us from that focus. Toss those distractions on the garbage heap where they belong.

The power to do this comes from God’s Spirit!

2 Corinthians 3:6 (CSB) 6 He has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

Ezekiel 36:26–27 (CSB) 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will place my Spirit within you and cause you to follow my statutes and carefully observe my ordinances.

Boast in Christ

Philippians 3:3 (CSB)3 For we are the circumcision, the ones who worship by the Spirit of God, boast in Christ Jesus, and do not put confidence in the flesh—

2 Corinthians 10:17 (CSB) 17 So let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.

Romans 3:27–28 (CSB) 27 Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By one of works? No, on the contrary, by a law of faith. 28 For we conclude that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.

Paul did not engage in self promotion. He gave the credit and the glory to God- right where it belongs.

Galatians 6:14 (CSB) 14 But as for me, I will never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. The world has been crucified to me through the cross, and I to the world.

Rely on God

Philippians 3:3 (CSB)3 For we are the circumcision, the ones who worship by the Spirit of God, boast in Christ Jesus, and do not put confidence in the flesh—

Who do you trust in tough times? Where do you go for help? Everyone has their confidence somewhere. Who do you trust can get you out of trouble. Christian’s place their confidence in Christ. Mature Christians realize their hope is in Christ, and Christ alone.

That is a sign of belonging to God- not trusting in our own effort or goodness and relying on Jesus. Paul lists this as the third sign, but it feels like our ability to boast and rejoice in Christ depends on us not trusting ourselves. AMEN? We can only truly boast in Christ when we have seen Jesus in action in our lives. The same goes for our ability to rejoice in Christ.

The human heart is prone to trust in other things, instead of Christ, for salvation. It is incredible how quickly people can manufacture idols in their hearts. But this important passage reminds us that our family name doesn’t provide us with any confidence of being able to stand before God’s awesome presence. When it comes to being accepted before a holy God, your country of origin doesn’t matter, your rituals don’t matter, your education doesn’t matter. We can stand safely, securely, and confidently before God because of the work of another, namely, Christ.

Do you think that you are a good person? That God is going to roll out the red carpet in heaven for you when you die because of all good deeds and right decisions you have made? Compare your resume to Paul’s before you answer.

Philippians 3:4–6 (CSB) 4 although I have reasons for confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he has grounds for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised the eighth day; of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; regarding the law, a Pharisee; 6 regarding zeal, persecuting the church; regarding the righteousness that is in the law, blameless.

If ever a man followed the Law- it was Paul. He was circumcised on the right day in the right way. He was a Jewish to the core. Not only following the Law, but preaching and teaching it as a Pharisee. Paul says he that according to righteousness that can be found by following the law he was blameless. He dedicated his life to following that law- and made every effort that those who were heretical were punished. He hunted down, and potentially killed, Christians in the name of religious purity.

Paul followed the Law was well as anybody could, and he was brought to his knees and blinded when meeting Jesus on the road to Damascus. His human self righteousness was not enough! Paul needed to separate the trash from the treasure.

Toss Out The Trash

Philippians 3:7–9 (CSB) 7 But everything that was a gain to me, I have considered to be a loss because of Christ. 8 More than that, I also consider everything to be a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Because of him I have suffered the loss of all things and consider them as dung, so that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own from the law, but one that is through faith in Christ—the righteousness from God based on faith.

Jesus’ impact on Paul made him toss that impressive resume of his into the trash. His abilities, accomplishments, and accolades gave Paul the idea that he was good enough on his own. He didn’t need help getting right with God. Meeting Jesus made Paul realize that everything he had ever done had been a giant load of fertilizer.

The “things” Paul valued before coming to Jesus seemed good. He lived a godly life and was obedient to the Law. He even attacked believes and people that thought brought shame to God. But none of these things satisfied him or gave him acceptance with God.

Like most “religious” people today, Paul had enough morality to keep him out of trouble, but not enough righteousness to get him into heaven! It was not bad things that kept Paul away from Jesus—it was good things! He had to lose his “religion” to find salvation — Warren Wiersbe

Paul valued his reputation as a scholar and zealous lover of God. He was proud of his Jewish heritage and his ability to follow the rules and keep the Law. They were treasures to him. But they were garbage to God. So Paul threw them out and replaced them with a true treasure- treasure that glorifies God.

Paul accepted the truth that Jesus Christ was the only true treasure in his life.

Because of him I have suffered the loss of all things and consider them as dung, so that I may gain Christ .....

Paul lost his belief that the way he acted made him right with God and that his abilities made him more special to God. In doing so Paul became a completed Jew. He was a true child of Abraham both spiritually and physically.

Galatians 3:6–9 (CSB) 6 just like Abraham who believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness? 7 You know, then, that those who have faith, these are Abraham’s sons. 8 Now the Scripture saw in advance that God would justify the Gentiles by faith and proclaimed the gospel ahead of time to Abraham, saying, All the nations will be blessed through you. 9 Consequently, those who have faith are blessed with Abraham, who had faith.

Nor did he lower his standards of morality because he saw that legalism can not lead to being right with God. Paul added to his morality by accepting the higher standard of living—conformity to Jesus Christ.

Romans 12:1–2 (CSB)1 Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

When a person becomes a Christian, God takes away the bad, but He also takes the good and makes it better. That was Paul’s experience, and it will be ours as well. Just toss out the trash and

Search Relentlessly For The Treasure

Philippians 3:10–14 (CSB)10 My goal is to know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death, 11 assuming that I will somehow reach the resurrection from among the dead. 12 Not that I have already reached the goal or am already perfect, but I make every effort to take hold of it because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, 14 I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus.

As a Pharisee Paul had followed a very long list of rules. As Christ’s Apostle he followed the Person of Christ! Who is always with us. Paul experienced the power of Christ’s resurrection, and the pain of Christ’s suffering, knowing all the while that his personal Lord and Savior had promised that He was preparing a place for Paul in heaven.

Seek And Keep Eternal Treasure:Contemporary Application

Salvation isn’t the finish line- it just seems that way because it feels so good. Salvation is simply a taste of being right with God followed by starting line of a long journey following Jesus step by step. Paul was radically transformed in this journey- always with the goal of an intimate personal relationship with Jesus Christ as His Lord and Savior.

How many different directions can you walk in at once?

Only one way at a time- AMEN?

How many directions do you think your life journey has taken?

If you imagine Jesus standing in front of you. Jesus is the best treasure on earth and heaven. Walk towards Him no matter what. Keep walking towards Him and see how He walks toward you! Sometimes you will feel like he must have sprinted to you while you were focused on walking to Him. These are the times that God’s Marks- the Maker’s Marks- have become more visible on your person.

Now look behind you- you will see Sin, lots and lots of sin. Some of it will look good, some of your personal sin will look like treasure even. But sin is trash, always was and always will be. Don’t walk towards trash thinking if you rummage around in it enough you will find treasure. If you glance behind you you will see that you are moving away from Jesus. You are loosing your true treasure- and start wearing the marks of other gods- your false idols. Walking towards sin leaves your filthy, smelly, and far from God.

Walking towards sin earns you the wage of sin- which is spiritual and physical death. The ultimate trash heap is hell, where God eternally incinerates all those guilty of sin.

if you find yourself walking towards sin this morning, and smell something funky, don’t try and explain it away. The problem isn’t your laundry detergent, or even your underarm deodorant, it is your destination. You are walking towards the wrong treasure. You need to realize that it is nothing but trash. You don’t want to end up in Hell do you?

Fortune smiles on you though. The gift of God is eternal life, God is merciful, full of grace, and wants you to choose to toss the trash in your life out- and to stop walking towards sinful treasure. If you decide to repent the Holy Spirit actually helps carry that trash out for you. There are times when the Spirit does a cleaning for you. The Holy Spirit is the Comforter and Counselor that helps you clear out that hoard of filth in your life by letting you recognize it is trash and not treasure.

Even if you have never followed Jesus a day in your life you can reach the starting line of Salvation by surrendering to Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior today, right now. It is going to take more than a helper to clean out the filth, trash, and sin in your live. People cannot do that for you, no matter how nice, strong, or able they are. You need a savior to do that. And there is only one name that saves- the wonderful, powerful name of Jesus.

Romans 10:9 (CSB)9 If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

You cannot do that and keep on journeying towards sin and trash.

So repent and make straight the way for the Lord- Be Saved! At its core to repent means to turn your back to sin, and walk towards Jesus. Do it now! Where are you walking to right now in your head and heart.

Do you follow Jesus but still make occasional dumpster dives in the trash. STOP IT. Stop it NOW! We all have experienced that slide back towards sin, and if we haven’t it just means that we will do it later. Don’t take pride in your purity- sometimes that alone is enough to find yourselves on the trash heap.

1 John 1:9 (CSB) 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Dust yourself off- Jesus has done the work to cleanse us of that trash- and start following Jesus step by step. Seeking and keeping eternal treasure as the goal of our life. Knowing with certainty that a personal relationship with Jesus is the only way to have right standing before God at the final judgment and be given eternal life in heaven. Therefore, anything hindering your relationship with Jesus needs to be tossed in the trash.

Points To Ponder

“Do I Know You?” by Max Anders

Paul begins chapter 3 with knowing Christ as one’s Savior (3:1–11). Then he talks about knowing Christ in a deep, personal, intimate way (3:12–21). Paul wanted more than just fire insurance. He wanted more than a passport to heaven. He wanted to have a satisfying, intimate relationship with Christ.

Some time back, a fellow whom I knew only by acquaintance, listed my name as a reference on his resumé. I was happy to help him; but when the future employer called me and began asking me questions, all I could say was, “I don’t really know.” You see, I knew him, but I didn’t know him personally and intimately. Paul says in verses 8–9 that he knows Christ by acquaintance. In verses 10–11, he says, “But I am not content to leave it at that. I want to know him personally and intimately.”

After stating that he wants to know Christ personally and intimately, Paul mentions three things about Christ he wants to pursue, three ways to know Christ better—to lean on his power (v. 10), to learn from his pain (v. 10), and to rest in his plan (vv. 12–14). First, to lean on his power is God working in us and through us, rather than relying on our own ability. Second, to learn from his pain is to accept the comradeship we have when we suffer for him. Such suffering allows us to appreciate the pain he suffered for us on the cross. In addition, suffering weans us from affections to this world and bonds us with the priorities and values of eternity. Finally, to rest in his plan is to pursue his will for our lives rather than our selfish ways. When we do these three things, we get to know Christ better.

Augustine once wrote of God, “Thou hast made us for thyself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in thee.” A deep relationship with God, through Christ is the deepest desire locked up in the heart of every person. Focus entirely on knowing him and fulfilling his will for your life, and you will know the greatest joy in all the world.

[Max Anders, Galatians-Colossians, vol. 8, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1999), 249–250.]

“Desire expressed (3:9–11)” by Hywel R. Jones

Paul uses five verbs to express this (3:9–10). They are ‘gain’, ‘be found in’, ‘know’, ‘share’ and ‘attain’. As ‘attain’ is connected with ‘the resurrection from the dead’ it must refer to what he expects on the Last Day—the day of Christ. But the others relate to something ongoing and increasing in this life. The correlating of these two horizons of expectation, the eternal and the temporal, indicates that the genuineness of a desire to be with Christ in heaven is shown by a desire to be with and for him on earth.

Knowledge, whether intellectual or mystical, was highly prized in the Gentile world, as is made clear by the letters to the church at Corinth. Paul, however, is thinking of knowledge as a Hebrew would, and that was in the sense of getting to know someone, and not something, because the verb ‘know’ was (as it still is) a way of describing a relationship with another person that is enriching and transforming. So to know Jesus includes ‘gaining him’, ‘being found in him’ and ‘sharing in him’, in all his capacities and characteristics as the Christ. This has ‘surpassing worth’ or value (3:8). It transcends the enrichment obtained from every other relationship. Compared with it, every loss is no loss at all and every gain is rubbish.

The second verb he used, ‘be found in’, occurs earlier with reference to the incarnate Christ (see 2:8), where it may be an equivalent to ‘being’ human. The same meaning could hold good for this verse, and if it does then it means that Paul desired to be always in Christ. But perhaps what Paul actually had in mind was his being found in Christ whenever he was subjected to the divine scrutiny, and especially on the Last Day. Whichever is the case—and I prefer the latter—central to the matter is what he goes on to say about righteousness. There is no way in which anyone can be in Christ, either on earth or in heaven, for time and eternity, except by means of ‘righteousness’, for salvation is not at the expense of righteousness. The all-important question is: ‘Whose righteousness?’

Two kinds of righteousness are spoken of in verse 9. They are not only differentiated but contrasted. They are described in terms of their respective sorts and, by implication, their effects. As one of these is definitely rejected, they cannot be amalgamated in any way.

The first kind Paul describes as ‘a righteousness of my own that comes from the law’. This is the kind which Paul had (3:6) but which he came to reject. Part of the reason for his rejection of it is implied by what he says about his desire to be found in Christ—namely that such a righteousness will not avail for that purpose.

But he also rejected it because it was ‘[his] own’ and it ‘[came] from the law’. The possessive adjective ‘my’ is emphatic, and so the translation ‘my own’ is required in order to distinguish this righteousness from anyone else’s and to describe its quality as something that is peculiarly Paul’s. The words ‘from the law’ reinforce this and provide information about how Paul came by this righteousness. He got it by dealing with the law—that is, by doing what the law required. It was therefore by works of obedience, and so was something in which he could boast (3:4–6). It was indeed a self-righteousness. The inescapable conclusion from this is that if anyone is to be found in Christ it must be by a righteousness which belongs to someone else because salvation is ‘not as a result of works, so that no one may boast’ (Eph. 2:9).

Paul proceeds to describe this alternative righteousness. First, he records that it is ‘through faith in Christ’ (3:9). Though Paul will go on to speak about the relationship between this righteousness and God, the fact that he begins by speaking of Christ is consistent with the Christ-centredness of this passage of devotional writing and the fact that God is only known savingly through his self-revelation in Jesus Christ. Paul learned that on the road to Damascus.

There is some debate about the translation ‘faith in Christ’. The KJV has at this point ‘the faith of Christ’ and it has to be admitted that the Greek could be rendered in that way. But it does not have to be, and the choice between ‘in’ and ‘of’ has to be made on other grounds—for example, similar Greek expressions where ‘of’ is inappropriate (see Mark 11:22; Acts 3:16 and, most importantly, Gal. 2:20). Many scholars now prefer to read ‘the faith of Christ’, with the meaning that righteousness comes via Christ’s own faith(fulness) to God, which is received by a like faithfulness on the part of his people. But Christ’s own faith(fulness) to God is never spoken of in the New Testament in relation to ‘righteousness’, but rather to his own doing and dying (see 2:8; 1 Peter 2:23–24)—that is, to his obedience, actively and passively considered; and whenever the noun ‘faith’ is followed by a reference to someone it is the believer’s faith that is being spoken of, and not the faith (or trustworthiness) of the one believed in. This is in keeping with Paul’s teaching elsewhere about saving righteousness (see Rom. 3:24–25; 5:17, 19).

This righteousness which is ‘through … Christ’—that is, through his meritorious work—comes ‘from God’. He is its source. Its character is therefore divine and perfect. ‘From God’ contrasts with ‘from the law’ earlier in the verse. This contrast must be carefully understood. The righteousness which comes from God is not other than, or less than, the righteousness which the law expresses and requires. It is one and the same, because the law is the law of God. ‘From God’ means that he provides the righteousness which his law requires by another means—that is, on the basis of what Christ has done by way of obedience, and not what sinners may try to do (see Rom. 3:19–22).

This all-important righteousness is therefore linked both to Christ and to God in the way described. But what about the twofold reference to faith in this verse? Is this an example of needless repetition? There is nothing superfluous in the Bible that may be skipped over, though everything is not equally important. The words ‘that depends on faith’, which come at the end of the verse, are linked with the expression ‘from God’. They therefore emphasize that God, who provides righteousness through Christ’s life and death, determines that faith shall be the appropriate response, or means of reception, of it. Faith is not merely appropriate to what Christ has achieved, but to what God makes available. It ‘depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace’ (Rom. 4:16)—and not on works of any kind at any time.

Verse 9 is a definitive statement on the great doctrine of justification by faith alone which relates to the conscious beginnings of the Christian life. Its inclusion at this point, in what is the expressed desire of someone who was a believer, and for whom it was therefore a reality, demonstrates how foundational and influential it is for the ongoing and increasing life of a Christian. This is because it is by faith in Christ that anyone and everyone comes into the relationship of being ‘in Christ’—a great emphasis of Paul’s. Consequently, Paul’s desire exceeds being accepted by God through Christ. It extends to being conformed to Christ, increasingly this side of death and ultimately beyond it (3:10–11).

Three clauses in verse 10 indicate what is involved in knowing or becoming like Christ this side of death, and their interrelationship can be understood in the following ways. The first two, ‘the power of his resurrection’ and ‘[that I may] share his sufferings’, or ‘the fellowship of his sufferings’ (KJV), are to be correlated. They are the two parts of a single whole. They can be distinguished but are not to be separated, either chronologically or as two stages in experience. The third clause describes the process (‘becoming like him’ is a present participle) by which the participation in the ‘power of his resurrection’ and ‘the fellowship of his sufferings’ takes place. We now proceed to examine Paul’s statement on this basis.

The Christ whom Paul desired to know is the one who suffered, died and rose again. His devotion is not therefore a flight of fancy or a baseless mysticism. It has a foundation, being directed towards one who had a time-and-space, flesh-and-blood history. But it is more than an acknowledgement of events, or even a recollection of them. It is a living communion with the one who suffered, died and rose again and, what is more, with him in his suffering, dying and rising again. It is rooted in time and space, but not limited to time and space, because it is focused on one who transcends the time and space which he created. This is the spiritual world—‘Christ in you, the hope of glory’ (see Col. 1:27)—a reality to all except those who think that the physical world is all that exists.

It is surprising that Paul mentions resurrection first, and also that he brackets it with sufferings and not with death. Why did he do this? The explanation I would propose for the variation from the more usual pattern of death and resurrection is along the lines stated earlier (see 1:19–20). There the Spirit’s supply is seen as the fortifying preparation of Paul for whatever may lie ahead. In an identical way, the power of the resurrection enables the sufferer not only to cope, but even to rise above the sufferings which are to be endured. This power belongs to God, and it is manifested in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead (see Eph. 1:19–20), but is also operative in believers. As it dealt with death, it can deal with every limitation and opposition (see also Rom. 8:31–39; 2 Cor. 4:7–11).

What about ‘sufferings’ instead of death? Paul’s choice of the plural noun means that he is thinking of more than the suffering of death alone and, from the fact that he speaks of them as being shared in, they are certainly not those which are a punishment for sin that Christ bore alone. Paul uses the term ‘cross’ (3:18) or ‘blood’ to refer to the suffering of Christ as a sacrifice for sin. What he has in view here are those sufferings which came to Christ in the course of his earthly ministry in a fallen world. Those adversities and afflictions are not entirely exhausted. He bore the worst and the most of them, and bequeathed the rest to his servants who serve him in their generation (see 1:29; Col. 1:24; 1 Peter 2:20–24).

Communion with Christ means union with him ‘in his death’. It is neither possible to experience Christ’s power nor to suffer for him without experiencing death, time and time again. What kind of death is this? It is a death like Christ’s own—a hard, demanding one, a death to self, a bearing of one’s own cross, for Christ did not please himself but suffered for God’s glory and the good of others (see Rom. 15:2–3). To know Christ and to refuse to die daily is not possible.

We come now to what is said in verse 11 about knowing Christ on the other side of death. Paul has made it clear that to die would bring him a gain beyond what is possible in this life, namely being ‘with Christ’ (1:21, 23). He has also spoken of the power of Christ’s resurrection being experienced in this life (3:10). What more exists? Much more! There is the inexpressible reality of what is referred to at the end of this chapter, but there is something amazing in this verse, and to express it Paul coins a word. To be exact, he strengthens a word he has already used, the simple word for ‘resurrection’ (3:10). He adds an extra preposition to the ‘re-’ part of resurrection, which of course means ‘again’. Resurrection is rising again. What Paul wrote was ‘rising from again’. This means that death will be totally left behind. The believer will be shot of it. His heels will be clear of what dogged his steps throughout his earthly life and pilgrimage. He will have reached LIFE.

But, to be exact, what Paul says is ‘from the dead’, and not ‘from death’. While the latter is included in the former, resurrection from ‘the dead ones’ means the general resurrection at the end of time and the day of Christ. Paul, having died, will rise from among the rest of the dead. The expression attests the reality of the physical resurrection.

But is this astounding confidence not somewhat dented by the words, ‘that by any means possible’? A more literal rendering of the Greek at this point might even seem to express a doubt—namely, ‘if by any means I might …’ (KJV). But if Paul had been expressing a doubt about whether he would be raised, he would have been contradicting what he had previously written (see 1:19, 23). The Greek expression involved does not express doubt but hope (see Acts 27:12; Rom. 1:10; 11:14), the attainment of which was not within the power of the one hoping. This holds good here because Paul was not able to bring about the resurrection which he was sure would take place. If, however, this interpretation should be deemed inadequate because it does not do justice to the element of doubt perceived to exist in these words, reference may be made to the fact that Paul did not know what lay between him and the resurrection. While he was sure that he would be raised, he was genuinely unsure of how he would die, or indeed whether he would die at all (see 1 Thess. 4:15).

[Hywel R. Jones, For the Sake of the Gospel: Philippians Simply Explained, Welwyn Commentary Series (Darlington, England: EP Books, 2010), 123–129.]

“Cultural Stumbling Blocks” by Frank Thielman

In the early days of the church, the Judaizers were unwilling to recognize that with the coming of the gospel, the literal observance of this rite had been made unnecessary. In a famous incident, a group of them marched off to Antioch to tell the Gentiles there: “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved” (Acts 15:1; cf. 11:1–3). Those who understood what Paul calls “the truth of the gospel” (Gal. 2:5, 14) responded to this challenge with clarity: God had given the Holy Spirit to uncircumcised Gentile believers and so had provided undeniable proof that they had been included among his people (Acts 11:15–18; 15:7–11; Gal. 2:11–5:6). Like the Jews, they stood under the law’s condemnation, and, like the Jews, the death of Christ on the cross effected redemption for as many of them as believed (Rom. 1:18–5:21; Gal. 2:11–5:6). Other signs of belonging to God’s people were unnecessary.

Because the Judaizers were insisting that Gentiles could not be saved apart from accepting circumcision, Paul charges them in Philippians 3:3 with placing confidence in the flesh. This term is fraught with possibilities for misunderstanding. Some may not understand the term within this context at all. Flesh to them is a part of human anatomy, and the concept of placing confidence in the flesh is as baffling as the notion that someone would place confidence in “the hair.” Others may know that the term has been used figuratively in theological circles to refer to humanity in general or to the created order, but they may believe that Paul is calling God’s creation evil. Both groups need to see the connection between Paul’s understanding of the flesh and the Old Testament understanding. In the Old Testament the term is sometimes used to refer to the frailty of humanity in comparison with the strength of God (2 Chron. 32:8; Isa. 31:3; cf. Gen. 6:3). It is not a great step from this idea to the notion that humanity, because of its frailty, is prone to sin.

Paul takes this step in numerous passages where the flesh is closely allied with what is worldly and sinful rather than with what is spiritual and good (see, e.g., Rom. 7:5, 18, 25; 8:3–13; Gal. 3:3; 5:13–24). Yet Paul clearly did not believe that the flesh itself is sinful. Sin entered the human scene after the creation of Adam, not at the time of his creation (Rom. 5:12), and Jesus himself could come in “sinful flesh” (Rom. 8:3) but not be tainted by sin (2 Cor. 5:21). In summary, “the flesh” for Paul is humanity in its fallen frailty, unable to help itself and in need of God’s redemption. Because it is God’s creation, however, it is not sinful in itself.14

God’s answer to human sin, Paul says in Philippians 3:9, is the righteousness that comes from God through faith in Christ. The adjective “righteous” is not commonly used today, and when it is used, it usually means “morally right, just, upright, virtuous, law-abiding.”15 This understanding of the word is derived from the use of the term in classical Greek literature to mean “observant of custom,” “fair,” “deserved.”16 In the law courts of ancient Greece and Rome and in the law courts of modern Western democracies, the righteous judge condemns the guilty and acquits the innocent in accord with their just desserts. The problem with transferring this understanding into Paul’s use of the term without further ado is that “the righteousness that comes from God” might then be understood as God’s willingness to suspend his own righteousness as a judge and, by a legal fiction, claim that we “deserved” to be considered righteous when we did not.

Unlike most English speakers, however, Paul’s understanding of the term was rooted in the Old Testament. There the term can certainly be used in legal contexts, but even in those contexts the notion of God’s covenant with his people Israel often lies beneath the surface. The purpose of the covenant was to confirm and guarantee his relationship with his people. A breech of the covenant, therefore, was not merely a deviation from custom or fair play but breaking faith with God—trampling on the relationship God wanted to have with his people. Similarly, the righteousness that God gives to those who have faith in Christ is not a legal shell game but God’s willingness to break his relationship with Jesus during the time he was on the cross (“made him who had no sin to be sin for us,” 2 Cor. 5:21a) and to establish a relationship with us (“so that in him we might become the righteousness of God,” 5:21b).

There is surely a forensic element to all this—Jesus suffers the penalty we deserve—but the relational element between the judge and the accused is equally important.17 Laying stress on the relational element allows us to understand more clearly the multiple ramifications of the atonement and helps us to comprehend the character of God more fully. The atonement does not only mean that when God looks at us he sees Christ, and it does not only mean that an exchange has taken place between our guilt and Christ’s innocence. It means that God acknowledges us to be innocent and, like the father in the parable of the prodigal son, runs to embrace us (Luke 15:11–32).

The passage does not stop with verse 9, however. In verses 10–11 Paul says that he has counted all things loss that he might know Christ (cf. v. 8). “Knowing Christ” is often understood as having a personal relationship with the risen, living Christ, of experiencing the presence of Christ in the day-to-day affairs of life. Paul certainly knew Christ in this way, and this passage is properly understood as an expression of the close relationship that Paul had with the crucified and risen Lord (cf. 1:21; Rom. 14:8; 2 Cor. 5:16; Gal. 2:19b–20).

Problems arise, however, when we limit the term know to this relational meaning. To know God in the biblical sense is also to be aware of his will and to be willing to obey him. Paul’s union with Christ’s death, therefore, involved a costly obedience to the commission God had given him to establish and shepherd predominantly Gentile churches (2 Cor. 4:7–12; cf. Rom. 15:17–19; 1 Cor. 9:16–17; Col. 1:24–29). Paul’s union with Christ’s resurrection, at least in the present, likewise meant God’s gracious rescue of Paul from desperate circumstances that the apostle encountered in his efforts to carry out this commission. It also meant God’s use of Paul’s ministry to produce spiritual life among those to whom he preached the gospel (2 Cor. 4:7–15). In bringing this passage out of Paul’s context and into our own, we should stress that knowing Christ means not only feeling his presence but especially living in faithfulness to God and his word day to day.18

[Frank Thielman, Philippians, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1995), 175–178.]

Question Needing Answers

What trash are you treasuring? What areas of your life lead to disobedience, disloyalty, and distraction in your faith? What can you dump to increase intimacy with Jesus?

How do you foster intimacy with Jesus? How has your level of intimacy changed over the years?

Using the image of an accounting ledger in the pursuit of right standing before God, what things did Paul have in the “asset” column prior to his conversion to Christ? What did he put there after his conversion?

What would you have put in the asset column prior to your conversion? What do you put there now?

Explain the difference between “my own righteousness” (3:9b) and “righteousness from God” (3:9c).

Explain what “knowing Jesus’s resurrection power” looks like practically in your life.

What does “sharing Jesus’s sufferings” mean, and what does it look like in your life?

A Week’s Worth of Scripture

Monday Habakkuk 3:16–19 (CSB) 16 I heard, and I trembled within; my lips quivered at the sound. Rottenness entered my bones; I trembled where I stood. Now I must quietly wait for the day of distress to come against the people invading us. 17 Though the fig tree does not bud and there is no fruit on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though the flocks disappear from the pen and there are no herds in the stalls, 18 yet I will celebrate in the Lord; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation! 19 The Lord my Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like those of a deer and enables me to walk on mountain heights! (For the choir director: on stringed instruments.)

Tuesday Galatians 6:15–18 (CSB) 15 For both circumcision and uncircumcision mean nothing; what matters instead is a new creation. 16 May peace come to all those who follow this standard, and mercy even to the Israel of God! 17 From now on, let no one cause me trouble, because I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. 18 Brothers and sisters, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

Wednesday John 4:19–24 (CSB) 19 “Sir,” the woman replied, “I see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem.” 21 Jesus told her, “Believe me, woman, an hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know. We worship what we do know, because salvation is from the Jews. 23 But an hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and in truth. Yes, the Father wants such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and in truth.”

Thursday 2 Corinthians 3:4–6 (CSB) 4 Such is the confidence we have through Christ before God. 5 It is not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God. 6 He has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

Friday 2 Corinthians 10:12–18 (CSB) 12 For we don’t dare classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. But in measuring themselves by themselves and comparing themselves to themselves, they lack understanding. 13 We, however, will not boast beyond measure but according to the measure of the area of ministry that God has assigned to us, which reaches even to you. 14 For we are not overextending ourselves, as if we had not reached you, since we have come to you with the gospel of Christ. 15 We are not boasting beyond measure about other people’s labors. On the contrary, we have the hope that as your faith increases, our area of ministry will be greatly enlarged, 16 so that we may preach the gospel to the regions beyond you without boasting about what has already been done in someone else’s area of ministry. 17 So let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord. 18 For it is not the one commending himself who is approved, but the one the Lord commends.

Saturday Romans 6 (CSB) 1 What should we say then? Should we continue in sin so that grace may multiply? 2 Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Or are you unaware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be in the likeness of his resurrection. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be rendered powerless so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin, 7 since a person who has died is freed from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him, 9 because we know that Christ, having been raised from the dead, will not die again. Death no longer rules over him. 10 For the death he died, he died to sin once for all time; but the life he lives, he lives to God. 11 So, you too consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, so that you obey its desires. 13 And do not offer any parts of it to sin as weapons for unrighteousness. But as those who are alive from the dead, offer yourselves to God, and all the parts of yourselves to God as weapons for righteousness. 14 For sin will not rule over you, because you are not under the law but under grace. 15 What then? Should we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? Absolutely not! 16 Don’t you know that if you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of that one you obey—either of sin leading to death or of obedience leading to righteousness? 17 But thank God that, although you used to be slaves of sin, you obeyed from the heart that pattern of teaching to which you were handed over, 18 and having been set free from sin, you became enslaved to righteousness. 19 I am using a human analogy because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you offered the parts of yourselves as slaves to impurity, and to greater and greater lawlessness, so now offer them as slaves to righteousness, which results in sanctification. 20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free with regard to righteousness. 21 So what fruit was produced then from the things you are now ashamed of? The outcome of those things is death. 22 But now, since you have been set free from sin and have become enslaved to God, you have your fruit, which results in sanctification—and the outcome is eternal life! 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.