Is it agreeing to differ? The effect upon the individual is usually pride and the developing of a judgmental attitude.As the Pharisee who went in before the Lord and said, "Father, I thank you that I am not as other men. Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord ( Philippians 3:1 ). "If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection from the dead. "So Paul, he had done his best to clothe himself in righteousness by works, but then he came in to that glorious knowledge of Jesus Christ, and, "No longer," he said, "to be found in my own righteousness, which is of the law, my own making, my own work, but I will gladly exchange that for the glorious righteousness which God has accounted to me through my faith in Jesus Christ." Hence, says he, "I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice. Let us see to it that we walk according to the place which God has given us. WebBible Commentaries; Philippians 3:1-11; Philippians 3:1-11. But how can this be unless the heart is perfectly at ease as to itself? Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. Does he question the assurance of his salvation? Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. In Revelation the word dog stands for those who are so impure that they are debarred from the Holy City ( Revelation 22:15). John What then? Verses 1-21. Is it too much to say that many a groan would have gone forth from us that are here? There were not very many Pharisees, never more than six thousand, but they were the spiritual athletes of Judaism. I just can't rise above it. Hebrews 11:35 is instructive here. There will be a resurrection of the unjust, who shall arise to shame and everlasting contempt; and our care must be to escape that: but the joyful and glorious resurrection of saints is called the resurrection, kat exochen--by eminence, because it is in virtue of Christ's resurrection, as their head and first-fruits; whereas the wicked shall rise only by the power of Christ, as their judge. WebExodus 3:13-14 meaning. For God had made the world full of life; He "saw every thing that He had made, and, behold, it was very good," and Satan apparently won the victory over Him in it. Why, then, is it so in the next instance? The excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus.I think that we have to be the most blessed and privileged people in the world. He persecuted the church. He has written His word not to perplex, but to enlighten. This last is but a confirmation of the same truth. "For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ." They are always looking at their past and doing nothing now. Knowing him here is believing in him: it is an experimental knowledge of the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, or feeling the transforming efficacy and virtue of them. notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached." 1. WebFor we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit ( Philippians 3:3 ), Paul was constantly emphasizing that the physical rites had no value except there be a No wonder Paul opted for the new righteousness, though he had done pretty good up until this point. Beware of dogs ( Philippians 3:1-2 ). This was now among the last outpourings of the apostle's heart, as he himself had almost arrived at the end of his active labours, if indeed it was not absolutely their end. He was too much bent on what was before to be occupied with calling to mind what was behind him; it must have impeded him in the race. He makes it clear that he continues to pursue his goal just as a runner might continue to run in order to receive the prize at the end of the race. And so, when He is finished with me here, this robe of flesh I will drop and rise to seize the everlasting prize and shout while passing through the air. So when Paul uses the word in Php_3:12 , he is saying that he is not by any means a complete Christian but is for ever pressing on. It seems the church of the Philippians, though a faithful and flourishing church, was disturbed by the judaizing teachers, who endeavoured to keep up the law of Moses, No teacher must find it a trouble to go over and over again the great basic truths of the Christian faith; for that is the way to ensure the safety of his hearers. Here the King James Version is dangerously misleading. The only safeguard of the saints, of those that love the truth and Himself, is simple subjection to the word of God to the whole truth He has revealed in scripture. Work hard at doing that which is right. And so they go back to the past, and they pick up the failures of the past, and they are discouraged to try anything in the future. A burning zeal for God was the hall-mark of Jewish religion. The great basic problem of life is to find fellowship with God and to be at peace and in friendship with him. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site. Paul has already spoken of the surpassing value of the knowledge of Christ. WebPhil 3:10-11 (NIV) In our verses for today, the apostle Paul yearns for an experiential knowledge of Christ Jesus. The Gnostics were heretics who tried to intellectualize Christianity and make a kind of philosophy out of it. He has not only put aside religious ceremonies and national status, but he considers that all things in which he might boast are worthless. We shall see the importance of this elsewhere. This is wholly distinct from His own intrinsic eternal glory. We know well that as men have sarcastically said, gratitude is a kind of fishing for fresh favours. Will it be said that this is what the apostle felt, and did, and suffered in the freshness of his first acquaintance with Christ? To me," may each say truly, "to live is Christ.". Not in a figurative sense, the resurrection from the death of sin to a life of grace, of which Christ is They began with the principle that from the beginning of time there had always been two realities--spirit and matter. [Paul] also speaks positively in verses 1214 of what he is doing in light of the incompleteness of his spiritual journey. Let your moderation go along with it, because along with this joy there might be a certain enthusiastic spirit that would hinder calm judgment. It was not because of their own personal interest, though this was great and fresh, but they loved that it should go forth. Thus we know how on approaching Rome Paul was lifted up and comforted, as he saw those who came to greet him. Our citizenship isn't here. THE ATTAINMENTS OF PAUL ( Php_3:4-7 continued). And having determined then what is right and what is wrong, I may then seek to always do that which is right. And there is not now merely His riches of grace, but he looks forward into the glory where he was going, and can say, "My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.". Impossible that He could be made Jehovah. Surely he, most of all, must have felt the change the heart that took in the Gentiles, that swept the circle of lands from Jerusalem to Illyricum, that yearned over Spain, ever going out farther and farther, boundless in his desires for the salvation of souls. They say, that in training for the Olympics, you have got to go till it hurts, and you have to work yourself through the pain. They had him in their heart, as he says, "Inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers with me of grace," or "of my grace." Who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body: Our Savior can do and will do something that no Caesar can. Such did, such was, Christ. All who believe shall surely shine in His glory; and the universal creation, which, belonging to Him as His inheritance, He will share with His own, shall be reconciled and delivered in due time. So it was right for him to anticipate good and not evil, not as in the authorized version and other translations, because "I have you in my heart," which would be no ground of assurance for them, but because "ye have me in your heart," which showed their spiritual feelings to be true and sound. 1. 3:17-21 Brothers, unite in imitating me, and keep your gaze on those who live, as you have seen us as an example. The word is amemptos ( G273) , and J. "Let's not get too," Paul said, "involved in the world. In Philippians 3:1-21 it is not the display of intrinsic affection in Christ, or the gracious dispositions of Christ in the saints. Not the passive side of the Christian as being in the world, but the active comes before us. All these things Paul might have claimed to set down on the credit side of the balance; but when he met Christ, he wrote them off as nothing more than bad debts. Such is the meaning here. When Christ laid hold of us, it was to bring us to heaven; and to apprehend that for which he apprehended us is to attain the perfection of our bliss. We may see the depth of this word from a fact of Old Testament usage. This is what gives force to our affections, and rivets them on Christ. Thus easily do we fall into error, because the human mind likes to have either one thing or another, and thus avoid all difficulty in Scripture, having each squared according to our notions. It is not legal experience, for which you must turn to the chapter spoken of inRomans 7:1-25; Romans 7:1-25, the only bit of a saint's experience under law, as far as I know, that the New Testament affords (certainly in the epistles). but so it was that thus the gospel, the glad tidings of His grace, should reach the highest quarters. "A lot of people testify of an experience that they had in Christ years ago. If you do not want that we track your visit to our site you can disable tracking in your browser here: We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. ", And this nearness of Christ I take simply to be the blessed hope here made a practical power. Love feels acutely nothing so much; but it triumphs. Again and again he speaks of it ( Acts 22:2-21; Acts 26:4-23; 1 Corinthians 15:8-10; Galatians 1:13). So he could settle now about his life and death. Pastor Mark Schlamann. His language comes from the world of war and athletics and emphasizes the strenuous nature of his efforts to fulfill his vocation. If by any means I, might attain unto the resurrection of. In such places the citizens were mostly soldiers who had served their time--twenty-one years--and who had been rewarded with full citizenship. Jesus had to empty Himself to become a servant. The particular, electing love of God from before the foundation of the world is the reason why anyone becomes a Christian. It is not at all a question of ecclesiastical order, in which naturally the chief guides would have front rank. WebPhilippians 3:8-11 meaning Paul considers religious practices and custom meaningless compared to the far better value of serving Jesus Christ through the obedience of faith. 1Pe 5:4, "a crown of glory that fadeth not away." Heaven is the prize of the high calling; to brabeion--the prize we fight for, and run for, and wrestle for, what we aim at in all we do, and what will reward all our pains. Is He really so far from any of those that call upon Him? It means full-grown in contradistinction to undeveloped; for example, it is used of a full-grown man as opposed to an undeveloped youth. There were in the Church at Philippi men whose conduct was an open scandal and who, by their lives, showed themselves to be the enemies of the Cross of Christ. The apostle had his heart upon heaven as his happiness: If by any means I might attain to the resurrection of the dead,Philippians 3:11; Philippians 3:11. This is unfortunate, since his works contain priceless gems of information that are found nowhere except in the ancient writings of the Jews. There is no getting to heaven as our home but by Christ as our way. Because you can drive a Cadillac, and you can live on Lido Island. There is not one of these things but may in itself become the veriest snare; and so much the more dangerous because each looks fair. Not so Paul. But the phrase, the resurrection of the dead, also might be used, in a more limited sense, to denote the resurrection of the righteous as a most desirable object; and this might be secured by effort. We have only begun to see the work of God; we have only begun to see the glory of God poured out. But it frequently happened that they forgot their own language. This separates from all, and judges the best of man to be dung, as the former conforms the heart after His love. He too in love still keeps up the servant-character, and gives them as it were the Christ-character. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind." He had his heart on these two great peculiarities of the Christian religion. Is there the struggle of the old with the appearance sometimes of the new? The apostle takes up, no doubt, the sweet affections of chapter 2, but then they are strengthened by the energy that Christ seen in glory imparts, as in chapter 3. "It pleased God," wrote the father, "not to cut him off in his sins. In Deuteronomy the Law brings together the price of a dog and the hire of a whore, and declares that neither must be offered to God ( Deuteronomy 23:18). But with the Philippians there was increased jealousy for Christ. They were more obedient in his absence than in his presence. Hence he calls upon them, as one that could not be with them to help them in the conflict, to work out their own salvation. B. Lightfoot remarks that the verb memphesthai ( G3201) , from which it comes, means to blame for sins of omission. The name of Christ Himself is the true centre of the saints; unto this the Spirit gathers. No further discipline and no further effort were necessary. And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith; that your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again. It was not merely their calling in Christ, their being Christians, that was before him, but a walk as it became the gospel of Christ. He is God equally with the Father. He must have felt that he had been setting a high challenge before the Philippian Church. Much akin to Pauls straining toward what is ahead; this racers concentration on What might you and I have thought of such? Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.". He is regarded as the true adversary, working, of course, by human means; but none the less is it his power. "Beware of the concision.". Paul sets down two very important things. It was a calm, fixed, cordial habit of their souls, which indeed had distinguished them from the first. For he longed after you all, and was full of heaviness." [Note: Idem, "Raised to Run," Grace Evangelical Society News 6:8 (August 1991):2.]. Thus with salutations of love he closes this most characteristic and cheering even of Paul's epistles. The apostle had his heart upon Christ as his righteousness. I have transcribed this note at length, because it is a fair sample of Dr. The expression intimates that we have need to strive for him and after him, and that all is little enough to win him. And they were a sort of a hated animal. 7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. Their mind isn't after the Spirit and after the things of the Spirit, they are more concerned and interested in the types of cars they drive and the things of the flesh and the earthly things, than they are the things of the Spirit. 9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: 10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; 11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. It is called the resurrection of the just, and the resurrection of life (John 5:29), and they are counted worthy to obtain that world and the resurrection from the dead,Luke 20:35. Then Paul urges his followers to continue the Christian race as they have been taught. What a word, and how calculated to make us ashamed! They contributed to his. Paul means something when he applies the title to Jesus in the context of citizenship. You see for yourself whether the meaning is really there. 11:24-28). 7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. Wednesday of Fifth Sunday in Lent Our Savior/Redeemer Pettibone/Woodworth, ND: Wed, Mar 31, 2004 cold and nakednessbesides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches" (2 Cor. No; but "because that ye had heard that he had been sick." He is my Savior. "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself." This is one of the main features of our chapter. Their very name means The Separated Ones. Remembering that, we try to paraphrase this passage and to set down, not so much what Paul says, as what was in his mind. "You know, if you only had enough faith, you could be jetting across the United States also in your own Lear Jet." The other is what suits it, but a conferred position. and here I am in my little pompous righteous throne, judging everybody else who isn't living by my standards. The effect of it usually on the individual who has obtained such a thing: I keep the rules; I never do anything wrong; I always do what is good; I am a doo bee; I am just living by these righteous standards. And so the rule of the Christian life is: forgetting those things which are behind, and pressing for those things which are before, or reaching for those things which are before, pressing towards the mark. In Philippians 3:1-21 there is no coming down from glory in the power of divine love, resulting in His exaltation by and for the glory of God the Father after a new sort. 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