Beloved, I am glad to share with you today the above theme from Phil 3:1-2 and following. Indeed, beside men of God like Timothy and Epaphrodite who were to be received and honored (Phil 2:24-30; 1 Co 16:15-18), there were also evil workers from whom one had to guard kept. They preached this religion of works that trusts in the flesh and feeds on the consideration of men. But precisely if anyone had human titles to assert, it was Paul, an elite Jew, all that is most orthodox and zealous about the Law… It aligns all these benefits, as in a ledger, draws a line below and writes “loss.” Just as it is enough for the sun to rise to make all the stars pale, only one name, that of the glorified Christ, now eclipses in his heart all the poor earthly vanities; they are “estimated” not only worthless but ruinous. And it’s not a great sacrifice to give up garbage! May the Lord teach us to joyfully strip ourselves, as Bartimaeus threw away his mantle, of all that we still have a reputation and justice for. It is at this price that we will be able to “know Him…” by following him on his path of renunciation, suffering, death, but also resurrection (Mt. 16:21; 24 Mt 16:21-28).
In general, the men who on earth achieve something important are those inhabited by a single passion. Whether it’s conquering Everest, winning a Nobel Prize, or fighting an invader, there are always men of action ready to sacrifice everything for a grand design. Such was Paul, ever since Christ had grasped him (Jer 20:7-9). He knew he was engaged in the Christian race and, as an accomplished athlete, supported his effort without detour or look back, thinking only of the final price (read 2 Tim 4:5-8). Well, he offers himself to serve as our coach, and invites us to follow him in the same vein. Let us forget like him the things that are behind: our successes from which we would draw vanity; our failures, because we would be discouraged. And let’s reach the goal with effort, because this “all-terrain” race is certainly not a walk. It is serious and its stakes are crucial.
If the knowledge of the true living Christ, presented in this way objectively, penetrates our hearts subjectively through the Holy Spirit, this leads to a third thing: to know Him, Him, by experience and in practice. This is what Paul alludes to at the end of verse 10. The historical order, in the case of our Lord, was: suffering, death and resurrection. Here, the resurrection comes first. Neither Paul nor any of us can contemplate suffering and death without being strengthened by the knowledge of the power of His resurrection. His resurrection is the model and guarantee of ours. Indeed, our resurrection depends entirely on His.
While the apostle understood in his mind the power of Christ’s resurrection, he looked at “the fellowship of His sufferings” as something truly desirable. He even desired to be “brought into conformity with His death”! Until the Lord comes, we can only know the power of His resurrection in an inner and spiritual way, but the fellowship of His sufferings and conformity to His death are very practical in nature. Paul wanted to taste the sufferings for the cause of Christ and according to the model of Christ—sufferings of the same order as those endured by Christ Himself at the hand of men. He even wanted to die as a witness to the truth, seeing that Christ had died in this way. That was all he actually wanted.
The following verses have been compiled for your edification and grouped together for your better understanding.
The true way to be righteous in God’s eyes:
- Warning, guard ed from harm
Dt 6:12 When you eat and satiate yourself, be careful not to forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Lk 12:1:15 In the meantime, the people having gathered by the thousands, to the point of trampling on each other, Jesus began to say to his disciples: First of all, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 15 Then he said unless he said to them: Beware carefully of all greed; for the life of a man does not depend on his possessions, even if he is in abundance. Acts 13:40 So beware that what is said in the prophets does not happen to you; Phil 3.2 Beware of dogs, beware of bad workers, beware of false circumcised. Col 2:8 Be careful that no one makes you his prey by philosophy and by vain deception, relying on the tradition of men, on the rudiments of the world, and not on Christ. 2 Pet 3:17 So you, beloved, who are warned, put yourselves on your guard, lest you be led by the bewilderment of the ungodly, come to lose your firmness.
- Moving away from evil
Jb 28:28 Then he said to man, Behold, the fear of the Lord is wisdom; Moving away from evil is intelligence. Ps 34:15 Get away from evil, and do good; Seek and pursue peace; Ps 97:10 You who love the Lord, hate evil! He keeps the souls of his faithful, He delivers them from the hands of the wicked. Pr 4:27 Do not tilt to the right or to the left, and turn your foot away from evil. Pr 14:16 The wise man has restraint and turns away from evil, but the fool is arrogant and full of security. Zec 7:10 Do not oppress the widow and the orphan, the stranger and the poor, and do not meditate against one another the evil in your hearts. Rom 12:9 Let charity be without hypocrisy. Abhor evil; attach yourself strongly to the good. 1 Co 10:6 Now, these things have happened to serve as examples to us, so that we may not have evil desires, as they have had. 1 Th 5:23 May the God of peace sanctify you whole of you, and may your whole being, mind, soul and body, be kept irreprehensible at the advent of our Lord Jesus Christ! 1 P 3.11 Let him walk away from evil and do good, seek peace and pursue it;
- Christ, our righteousness
Rom 10:4 for Christ is the end of the law, for the justification of all who believe. 1 Co 1:30 Now it is through him that you are in Jesus Christ, who, through God, was made for us wisdom, righteousness and sanctification and redemption; Phil 3:9 and to be found in him, not with my righteousness, that which comes from the law, but with that which is obtained by faith in Christ, the righteousness that comes from God by faith,
- Suffering for Christ
Acts 5:41 The apostles withdrew from before the Sanhedrin, joyful that they had been judged worthy of outrage for the name of Jesus. Acts 9:16 and I will show him all that he must suffer for my name. Rom 8:17:36 Now, if we are children, we are also heirs: heirs of God, and co-heirs of Christ, if we suffer with him, so that we may be glorified with him. 36 according to what it is written: It is because of you that we are put to death all day, let us be looked upon as sheep destined for slaughter. 2 Co 1:7 And our hope for you is firm, because we know that if you share in suffering, you also share in consolation. 2 Co 11:23 Are they ministers of Christ? -I speak as a man who extras gags. -I am even more so: by the works, much more; by blows, much more; by imprisonment, much more. Often in danger of death; Phil 3:10 In order to know Christ, and the power of his resurrection, and the communion of his sufferings, becoming conformed to him in his death, to come about; 2 Tim 2:12 if we persevere, we will also reign with Him; if we deny Him, He too will deny us; Hb 11:25 loving better to be mistreated with God’s people than to have for a time the enjoyment of sin; John 5:10 Take, my brethren, as models of suffering and patience the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 1 P 2.20 Indeed, what glory is there in enduring ill-treatment for making mistakes? But if you endure suffering when you do what is right, it is a grace before God. 1 P 3:14 For that matter, when you suffer for righteousness, you will be happy. Have no fear of them, and be troubled; 1 P 4:16 But if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed of it, and rather glorify God because of that name. 1 P 5:10 The God of all grace, who has called you in Jesus Christ to His eternal glory, after you have suffered a little time, will perfect you himself, strengthen you, strengthen you, make you steadfast.
From all of the above, we note that our knowledge of Christ is through the Holy Spirit, and first through the Scriptures. If we had been on earth in the days of His flesh, we would have known Him for a short time “according to the flesh.” But even so we should have said, “Yet now we no longer know Him that way” (2 Co 5:16). When His disciples spent these short years in His company, they had a most wonderful experience, but they had not yet received the Holy Spirit, and therefore could not understand very little of it. It was only after they lost His presence among them, and gained that of the Holy Spirit, that they truly knew the meaning of all that they had seen and heard. Everything we know about Christ objectively is presented to us in the Scriptures, but the Holy Spirit who dwells in us makes us live it in our hearts subjectively. To have one’s thoughts on earthly things, what inconsequence for those who have their citizenship in heaven, what are two compatriots talking about who meet abroad? From the country! We will always have the same feeling if we talk among Christians about the joys of the heavenly city. We encourage you all in your efforts in your walk to the city of heaven.
PRAYER OF ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR
I now invite every person who wants to become a new creation by walking in the truth, to pray with me the following prayer:
Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lusts of the world ignoring your love for humans. I admit to having sinned against you and ask your forgiveness for all my sins, because today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as Lord and personal Savior. I recognize that you died on the cross of Calvary and rose from the dead for me.
I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lead me every day to the eternal life that you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal yourself to me and strengthen my heart and faith, so that your light may be shining in my life right now.
Thank you, Lord Jesus for accepting me into your divine family, so that I may also contemplate the wonders of your kingdom.
I will now choose a nearby watering point to baptize myself by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All adoration, power and glory are yours, now and forever and ever. Amen!
I would be happy to react to any questions and comments you may have, before sharing with you tomorrow “the various exhortations; Paul thanks the Philippians for the donations.”
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you abundantly.
David Feze, Servant of the Almighty God.