Straining Towards the Goal

If you have a Bible near you, go ahead and grab it. Philippians 3:12-16 is what we will be studying together during our time today. It’s an incredibly interesting section of Scripture and it is incredibly practical for every human being on the face of the planet and that is because it tackles the issue of perfection. I know of several people that claim to be what is known as a perfectionist, myself included, that want to do things as perfectly as possible. For me I always want to preach a perfect sermon or write a perfect book but I have yet to be able to do that and I do not see that changing any time in the future. There are things that we want to do externally that are categorized as perfect and there are things internally that we would love to do perfectly but the question comes down to this: Is that actually possible? Is it possible for a human being, plagued by sin, living in a culture of sin to live a perfect life? Is it possible for a Christian to live a perfect life? John Wesley certain thought so with his doctrine of perfectionism. Wesley said, “Absolute perfection belongs not to man, nor to angels, but to God alone.” But Wesley did believe that Christians could attain some level of perfection in this life. He believed that Christians could become completely free of sin and its influence through sheer grace and will power but as smart and gifted as a man as John Wesley was, this doctrine was one of his short comings. Because what we are going to see in this study, and what is seen in numerous other places in Scripture, is that Christians or non Christians, will never be perfect in this world. Paul tackles this head on in what we are going to read today so if you have a Bible near you, go ahead and turn to Philippians 3:12-16

Philippians 3:12–16 ESV

Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained.

Connecting Verses 8-11 to this Section

One of the first things that I want to do with our time together is show you how Paul connects what we just read to the verses in our previous video. Last week we talked about the greatest treasure in the universe: the Lord Jesus Christ and how Paul recognized that all earthly goods pale in comparison to the Lord Jesus. Paul would take the jail cell with Christ over the riches of the world without Christ and that is exactly what Paul is doing at the time of writing this and it is what Paul would continue to choose for the remainder of his life. Paul begins verse 12 by saying, “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect.” Now what Paul is referring to is what he wrote about in the previous verses. He is talking about obtaining the resurrection from the dead which he mentioned in verses 8-11. Now the first half of this verse can cause some confusion. What does Paul mean when he says that he has not already obtained the resurrection from the dead? Doesn’t Paul himself in the book of Romans speak of our salvation and future glorification in such certain terms that in the eyes of God it looks like it has already happened? What is going on with Paul? Is there a contradiction and the answer to that is no because the Bible is consistent across the board and never contradicts itself. I believe that Paul is talking about the future resurrection from the dead that is to come and the possession of the glorification that is to come. We as Christians are living in what many theologians refer to as the already, but not yet. We are already justified by Christ but we are not yet tasting of the glorification that is to come. We are a part of the Kingdom of God but we have not physically taken the first step into the Kingdom of God. The great reformer John Calvin compared what Paul is saying to receiving one’s inheritance. The inheritance is already secured but we don’t possess it just yet. Calvin wrote, “Paul insists on this so that he may convince the Philippians that he thinks of nothing but Christ, he knows nothing else, he desires nothing else, he is occupied with no other subject of meditation.… It is asked, however, what it is that Paul says he has not yet attained. For unquestionably, as soon as we are engrafted by faith into the body of Christ, we have already entered the kingdom of God, and, as it is stated in Ephesians 2:6, we already sit in heavenly places through hope. I answer that our salvation, in the meantime, is in hope, so that the inheritance indeed is secure, but we nevertheless do not possess it yet.” The inheritance is his and it can never be revoked but Paul isn’t yet experiencing the fullness of that inheritance. The main thing that I want us to talk about though in our remaining time is the topic of perfection.

Is Perfection Possible?

The question that we may be asking is this: Is perfection possible? If you want the quick answer, it’s no. Paul recognizes this in what we just read and it is expounded upon in Romans 7. Paul is writing as a Christian so he is adament that perfection in this lifetime is not possible. While we have been freed from the curse of sin, we are ultimately not yet free of its influence. None of us have arrived yet. None of us can say that we have done all that we can for Christ and none of us can say that we represent Christ perfectly. None of us can say that we are totally free of sin’s influence in our lives. We are what Martin Luther referred to as simul justes et peccator which translates to simulatenously justified and sinner. We are justified through faith in Christ but we still sin. We are no longer mastered by sin but we often still practice sin. Paul recognized that as hard as much as he may wish, he wasn’t perfect and he wouldn’t be perfect in this lifetime. Now this reality could bring out 2 mindsets: the first is that if we can never be perfect, there is no purpose for pursuing holy living. Why try to be perfectly holy if it isn’t possible and that is just a horrible mindset to have. The other mindset is what Paul was putting into practice and that was this: To press on to make it his own because CHrist Jesus mad Paul his own. It was to forget what was behind and to strain forward to what lies ahead and what lies ahead is perfection. It is perfection in body, soul, and spirit at our glorification and future resurrection and it is to be in the presence of He that is eternally perfect. Charles Spurgeon wrote, “He claimed no perfection in the flesh, but he sought after perfect holiness in Christ Jesus. He had laid hold of Jesus because Jesus had laid hold of him, and Jesus was to him his all in all.” We as Christians know that there is a finish line. We know that the day will come when we will see Christ face to face so what are we to do until we see Him? We strain to be like Christ. We strain to satisfy the Lord in all we do. We strain to know Him better. Paul said in verses 15-16, “Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have atttained.” We’ve attained Christ! If you are a Christian, at this very moment the spirit of the living God is dwelling in you. You are a living, breathing, moving temple of the Lord Jesus Christ. If that is what we are, how then should we present ourselves? If Christ is in me and I am in Christ, I want to look like the finest temple in the world. And while the outside may at this moment be covered with grafitti and grime, the inside must have all the grandeur of Buckingham palace because it is the Spirit of God that dwells inside it. This brings us down to the question that Francis Schaeffer famously asked: How should we then live? While we may not be able to achieve perfection, we should strain with all our might for perfection. If we will not be perfect until we see Christ face to face, we might as well position ourselves to obtain that. I love this quote from the Puritan Richard Baxter, “This life was not intended to be the place of our perfection, but the preparation for it.” Our lives as Christians should prepare us for the perfection that we will attain. If you are a follower of Christ, does it make sense for your life to do anything other than represent He that is perfect? We know what we are to strive for and we know He that we are going to, so shouldn’t our lives reflect that reality?

Application

I want to end this video with a question that Martyn Lloyd-Jones proposed as he preached through this section of Scripture and I think that it is a perfect question to reflect on as we end this video: Christians, are you satisfied with your life? Clearly, Paul wasn’t. He knew that there was something greater still for him to pursue, a greater love to strive for, a higher degree of sanctification to achieve. Paul wasn’t content to stay who he was. Paul wanted to know Christ to an even higher degree. Can we say the same? Are we content with what we have or do we want more? Paul didn’t want to settle for mediocrity. Paul wanted exactly what he said in Philippians 3:8-11

Philippians 3:8–11 ESV

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 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— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Looking at your life, are you satisfied? What we see from the Apostle Paul is that none of us should be able to say yes to that question. None of us should be content with where we are but we strain because we know He to who we are going. Is the life that you are living now the life that you want Christ to see if He were to return at this very moment? Reflect on that this week and next week I believe we will be finishing Philippians 3. Let’s pray.