WWUTT 025 Friday Review

Philippians 3 Review and the Call to Rejoice in the Lord

The Apostle Paul wrote to the Philippians and said, To write the same things to you is no trouble to me, and is safe for you. Indeed, it is good for us to go back over what we have learned so far, as today we review what we have read in Philippians chapter 3.

It's good for us when we understand the text. This is When We Understand The Text. My name is Pastor Gabe Hughes. A blessing to be with you as we have been studying through the book of Philippians. I think this is the first time that we've polished off an entire chapter in one week.

We've done all of chapter 3 this week. I think every other chapter we've done thus far has taken a couple of weeks. But we've finished chapter 3. Today is our 5-point review. As we go back over everything that we looked at over the course of the week, then next week we're going to be jumping into chapter 4.

And I think that one will definitely take us more than one week. Some great, great stuff that we're going to see there in chapter 4. Toward the end of this broadcast, of this particular episode, we are going to take a question related to one of the what videos that we had on homosexuality, addressing the issue of same-sex marriage.

I think that is relevant because of things that are going on in our culture right now. Kim Davis, the county clerk in Kentucky, who has been thrown in jail because she would not issue same-sex marriage licenses.

Folks, the persecution of Christians, especially over this issue, even in the United States, is real. And we do need to pray for Kim Davis. So why don't we do that now and then come into the text here as we go back over everything that we've looked at in Philippians chapter 3.

Our great God, we want to lift up Kim Davis, who has stood on what Scripture says and has not issued same-sex marriage licenses in the county where she serves as a clerk in the state of Kentucky. Thank you for her courage and may she set an example for other Christians to follow.

I pray that we would stand principled on the Word of God. This is our authority, not the law of the land, but what God has written in His Word and has stated clearly. There is no reason for us to not know what God has said.

It is spoken clearly in the Bible. We submit ourselves to these things, and we ask God that you continue to convict us according to your Spirit. And we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Philippians chapter 3, we're going to read through the whole chapter and then do our review.

Starting in verse 1,. Finally, my brothers, Paul says, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you. Look out for the dogs. Look out for the evildoers. Look out for those who mutilate the flesh.

For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh. Though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh, also if anyone thinks that he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more.

Circumcised on the eighth day of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, as to the law of Pharisee, as to zeal, a persecutor of the church, as to righteousness under the law, blameless.

But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 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.

Not that I've 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. Brothers, join in imitating me and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us, for many of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears walk as enemies of the cross of Christ.

Their end is destruction. Their God is their belly, and they glory in their shame with mindset on earthly things, but our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

I want to read that again with the gusto that it deserves. By the power that enables him to subject all things to himself. We go back to Philippians 3 1 -3. Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord, to write these same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.

Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh, for we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh.

True Israel, Loss in the Flesh, and the Righteousness of Christ

And that led us to the first point that we made on Monday. So in our five-point review, here is point number one. There is only one Israel, and it is all who are in Christ. Paul says, we're the circumcision, not Israel, not ethnic Jews.

We are the ones who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ, putting no confidence in the flesh or who we've descended from. If you are a follower of Jesus, you are Israel. Israel failed to keep the law.

They failed to obey anything God told them to do. They failed to be faithful to God. Christ came and accomplished everything that Israel could not do. He fulfilled the will of God and became faithful Israel.

Revelation 1 .5 describes Jesus as the faithful witness. In Matthew 2 .15, he's called out of Egypt, inaugurating a new exodus. In Matthew 12, he's described as God's chosen. He is the true Israel. And over the course of his ministry, as we talked about in Philippians 2 .6 -11 and the hymn of Christ, he was obedient to the will of God, obedient when Israel was not.

Jesus is the true Israel. Now, this is not replacement theology. It is fulfillment. Christ fulfilled all that Adam could not do. He fulfilled all that Israel did not do. Then all who are in Christ are grafted into the vine, an illustration given in Romans 11, and they are Israel.

The church is Israel, not a replacement. They're a continuation under a new covenant. There is and only ever has been one chosen people of God. The church is the continuation of that calling out, and we are Israel.

Israel can still be Israel, but only if they are in Christ. Now, when God spoke to Abraham in Genesis 12 -3, he said that everyone who blesses you will be blessed, and everyone who curses you will be cursed.

And in you, all the families of the earth shall be blessed. The descendants of Abraham didn't understand how that was to happen. They thought Israel would be a powerful nation on earth, and everyone that supported them and lifted them up would be blessed, and everyone that did not support Israel or made war with them would be cursed.

Sound familiar? In Ephesians 3, 5, and 6, the Apostle Paul mentions that it was a mystery as to how the Gentiles were supposed to be fellow heirs, members of the same body and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

But here on this side of the cross, it's no mystery. That which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit, and the answer is Christ.

Christ is the one who reconciles Jews and Gentiles to himself. As we read in Colossians 3, in Christ there is not Jew nor Greek. There's just Christ. The problem with believing that there are two covenant people of God is it makes the nation of Israel, like today's nation of Israel, it makes them into being a kind of Savior.

But Israel is not a Savior. Christ the Savior is Israel. No one is saved because they are a Jew. They need the gospel, which is another dangerous thing about that theology when it leads someone, especially Jews, to believe that they don't need the gospel.

The nation of Israel, an apostate nation, needs the gospel of Jesus Christ, just as anyone does. The people of God are those who are in Christ. That's Israel. I've had people leave my church because I've stated that before, and God helped them.

I don't think it's an essential doctrine to understand that God has not put a covenant with Israel on hold while he has this covenant with his church, and then he's going to rapture his church and resume his covenant with Israel.

Nothing in the Bible says that, OK? It's not an essential doctrine, but it is important to understand because it affects how you view Christ as one who is the true Israel. Anyway, I don't want to spend this whole episode on this point.

I just hope you understand it. Study it. Don't get angry because our doctrinal views differ on Israel. If you disagree with me, obviously you understand dispensational theology, so pick up some resources that show you how Christ has fulfilled the failings of Israel.

I believe, though I'm not certain, but David Platt touches on it in his book, Follow Me. I know R .C. Sproul does in his commentary on Romans. Hank Hanegraaff also has a book called The Apocalypse Code that's very helpful.

Also throws cold water on all of that terrible late great planet Earth, Hal Lindsey theology that is somehow still sticking around. Anyway, coming back to the point, we are the circumcision group because we worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh.

If I might make another point, this is also why baptism is not a covenant sign. There are some out there who will know exactly what I am referring to. The sign of the covenant with Christ is in our faith, not in the water.

We worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh. I'll definitely be touching on that topic at a later time. Look for a what video on that in the future. OK, so number one, point number one that we made at the start of the week.

There is only one Israel and it is all who are in Christ. Here's point number two. Whatever we could have gained in the flesh. OK, so as we have talked about, we don't put any confidence in the flesh, all right?

So point number one, we are Israel if we are in Christ. So point number two, whatever we could have gained in the flesh, we count as loss for the cause of Christ. There is nothing that we can boast on in the flesh.

There is nothing that we could have gained in the flesh that puts us in a right standing with God. No work that we could have accomplished. No righteous way that we could have lived. Our worship in and of itself does not make us righteous before God.

Any human being is capable of volition, but they are incapable of holy volition. It is God who makes us worthy to worship. It is by His will that He subjects all things to Himself. And so we cannot gain anything by our works.

We cannot attain righteousness on our own. It takes the imputation of the righteousness of Christ to be acceptable before God. So therefore, anything that we could have gained in the flesh, we need to count as loss.

It goes in the loss column. And what's in the gain column is simply Christ. We must suffer the loss of all things for the cause of Christ. And I think, by the way, that's what Kim Davis is doing right now.

Suffering the loss of all things for the cause of Christ. Being thrown in jail because she is standing on the word of God. Continue to pray for that woman and that the eyes of this nation will be open to see how stupid we've become.

We are not seeking the wisdom of God. We are moral relativists. It's just whatever we feel like doing. That's what it is that we're doing. We need the word of God. And stand upon it. Be subject to it.

And pray that the Spirit of God would make you worthy of obedience according to Christ, not according to our own righteousness. So again, whatever we could have gained in the flesh, we count as loss for the cause of Christ.

We share in the sufferings of Christ Jesus. Here's point number three. Though we're not perfect, clearly we're not perfect, but we press on to make it our own. And that's what Paul says in verse 12. Though I have not already obtained the resurrection of the dead, nor am I already perfect, but I press on to make it my own because Christ Jesus has made me His own.

And this is sanctification. Here's something from Charles Spurgeon. He references 1 John 1 -7. If we walk in the light, we need to walk in the light as He is in the light. And Spurgeon goes on to say, Can we ever attain to this?

Shall we ever be able to walk as clearly in the light as He is, whom we call our Father, of whom it is written, God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all? Certainly this is the model which is set before us.

For the Savior Himself said, Be perfect, even as your Father who is in heaven is perfect. And although we may feel that we can never rival the perfection of God, yet we are to seek after it and never to be satisfied until we attain it.

The youthful artist, as he grasps his early pencil, can hardly hope to equal Raphael or Michelangelo. But still, if he did not have a noble, beau ideal before his mind, he would only attain to something very mean and ordinary.

But what is meant by the expression that the Christian is to walk in the light as God is in the light? We conceive it to import likeness, but not degree. We are as truly in the light, we are as heartily in the light, we are as sincerely in the light, as honestly in the light, though we cannot be there in the same measure.

I cannot dwell in the sun. It is too bright a place for my residence, but I can walk in the light of the sun. And so, though I cannot attain to that perfection of purity and truth which belongs to the Lord of hosts by nature as the infinitely good, yet I can set the Lord always before me and strive by the help of the indwelling Spirit after conformity to His image.

That famous old commentator, John Trapp says, we may be in the light as God is in the light for quality, but not for equality. We are to have the same light and are as truly to have it and walk in it as God does.

Though, as for equality with God in His holiness and purity, that must be left until we cross the Jordan and enter into the perfection of the Most High. Mark the blessings of sacred fellowship and perfect cleansing are bound up with walking in the light.

We have not obtained perfection, but we seek to make it our own. That was point number three. Okay, here's point number four. We forget what lies behind and strain forward to what lies ahead. Now, part of what this means is not simply that we forget all the bad stuff that happens to us.

Okay, because you let negative stuff in your past weigh you down. You're not going to be able to make progress on a positive future. Okay, that would be the motivational speech aspect of it. And that's generally the way that people take that verse where Paul says, 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 that is in Christ Jesus.

Generally, they'll take that verse to mean I need to get rid of all the negative stuff and not dwell on that so I can focus on the positive and continue to press forward. Now, that's true, but that's not totally what Paul is saying here, and it's certainly not the context.

He is saying that he's not kicking back and relaxing on everything that he has accomplished thus far, though what he has accomplished has been pretty awesome. What Paul has done here, I can only hope to be called to do in my lifetime, but he's not just going to sit back and relax on it.

He's already said, I'm not going to die here in prison. I think the spirit of God is going to deliver me from this, and I get to be with you again. Okay, so he knows he's still got work to do. He is not relaxing on everything that he has accomplished thus far.

There's still work to do, so I'm going to forget what lies behind. Everything that I've accomplished thus far, to the glory of God, okay? And I'm straining forward to what lies ahead, pressing on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God that is in Christ Jesus.

The prize is heaven. The prize is glory and perfection, which Paul hasn't attained yet, so he's still pressing on to make Christ Jesus his own. Though we're not perfect, we press on to make it our own, that was point three.

Point four, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead. Now, here's point number five. We imitate the faith of others. As Paul said to the Corinthians, imitate me as I am of Christ.

He is an imitator of Christ Jesus, and so, therefore, Paul has set an example for us to follow. Now, as an apostle of Jesus Christ, of course, he is an example for us to follow. We should follow the example of all of the apostles, but we should also follow the example of those who have gone before us.

We follow the example of the saints that have lived before us and have exercised that faithfulness and that righteousness that comes only in Christ Jesus. We imitate their faith. We also imitate the faith of those whom we are serving with in church now.

There are people in your church that have been called to certain positions and are being given as examples for you to follow. In Hebrews, we're told to imitate the faith of those who taught us the Word of God.

And even here, Paul is saying in Philippians 3 .17, brothers, join in imitating me and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example that you have in us. So we have examples that have been set for us by God as to how we are supposed to walk in the light, how we are supposed to strive after that perfection that is in Christ Jesus.

We cannot gain anything in the flesh. Our righteousness does not come in the flesh. We are not a people of the flesh. We are the people of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord. So these are our five points that we review as we have gone through Philippians 3.

Number one, there is only one Israel and it is all who are in Christ. Number two, whatever we could have gained in the flesh, we count as loss for the cause of Christ. Number three, though we are not perfect, we press on to make it our own.

Number four, we forget what lies behind and strain forward to what lies ahead. And number five, we are to imitate the faith of others. We imitate the faith of the apostles. We imitate the faith of those faithful ones that have come before us who have lived and died and have set a good example and we imitate the faith of those who are in authoritative positions even in the church where we worship now.

Our great God, we thank you for this chapter. We thank you for what you have taught us through these things over the course of this week. Remind us of this and keep us faithful to it by the power that makes us able to worship you in the right way, in a way that is worthy and that is by the spirit that lives within us.

We submit ourselves to the authority of your word. By the name of Jesus we pray. Amen. Jesus never said anything condemning homosexuality, so that must mean it's okay, right? Well, based on that argument, you could also say Jesus never condoned it either, so that must mean it's wrong.

There's actually a lot of things Jesus didn't say, but on the subject of marriage he said everything he needed to say in Matthew 19. It's there he reiterates God's design for marriage. Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female and said, Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother, hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.

So they're no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let man not separate. And there you go, in three sentences Jesus has just given the definition of marriage, which He created, by the way, and anything contrary to that definition is sin, including adultery, divorce, polygamy, pedophilia, and homosexuality.

A few verses later he says that those who are not capable of keeping with this design for marriage should not get married. And he addresses sexual sins in other places like Matthew 15, 19, where he says that all sexual immorality is evil.

Something else worth noting here, whatever is written in red letters is no more important than what appears in the Bible in black and white. After all, 2 Timothy 3 .16 describes all Scripture as being from God.

And in John 16 .12 -13 Jesus said to His disciples more teaching was coming through the Holy Spirit, who is God, just as Christ is. So passages such as Romans 1, 1 Corinthians 6, and 1 Timothy 1, which condemn homosexuality as sin, are also the words of Christ.

The Old Testament, the Gospels, and the Epistles are all God's Word. It's imperative to receive the Bible this way when we understand the text. Got a question from Felipe. He says, Dear What, I spent an entire day watching your What videos, and two things in particular I really needed.

One of them was 2 Corinthians 10 .5, and that's the verse that says take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ. The other, he says, well, I didn't note the verse down and only remember your comment on it, where you say that if a man can't be faithful in a marriage to stay single or something along the lines of that.

I can go ahead and just watch everything again, but hopefully you can help me out here. Again, very grateful for what you do and look forward to more material and podcasts. Felipe, thank you so much for your email.

Yes, the video that you were thinking about is the one that just played, and it comes from a teaching that we read in Matthew chapter 19. The Pharisees come up to Jesus and test him by asking, is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause?

And Jesus answered, have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female and said, therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife and the two shall become one flesh?

So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let man not separate. And that is the definition of marriage. One man and one woman for life. And the Pharisees said to him, why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?

Jesus said, it's because your hearts were hard. That's why Moses allowed you to divorce your wives. But from the beginning it was not so. In other words, he's saying to the Pharisees, that's not the way marriage was meant to be.

It's always meant to have been one man and one woman together for life. And Jesus said, I say to you, whoever divorces his wife except for sexual immorality and marries another commits adultery. And the disciples said to Jesus, if such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better to not marry.

In other words, the disciples are listening to this and going, well, marriage is hard. If marriage is that tough and you got to remain that faithful and there is no out, then it would be better to just not get married.

And Jesus replied to them, not everyone who can receive, I'm sorry, not everyone can receive this saying, but only to those to whom it is given. In other words, some people are going to feel called to get married and others are not.

And if you know that God has called you to get married, then get married and remain faithful to your vows. You said till death parts you. So you stick to that vow. You know the definition of marriage, the way that God defined it in Genesis and in Matthew chapter 19.

So you remain faithful to what God has designed. Not everyone can receive this, but only those to whom it is given to those who understand it. They're the ones who are able to keep it. With the mind of God, Jesus goes on to say, for there are eunuchs who have been so from birth and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men.

And there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it. A eunuch is a person who does not have reproductive organs.

Either they were born that way or they were made that way by someone else. In other words, they were castrated or there are eunuchs who have taken a vow of celibacy and made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven.

So they cannot get married. They are unable to fulfill the vows of marriage. So only let the one who is able to receive this receive it. If you feel called by God to get married, then get married. But if you're too selfish to get married, don't get married.

Now, I'm not saying that all unmarried people are selfish. I'm just making a point that you have to have a selfless attitude when you enter into a marriage. It is not for your benefit. You must consider the other person's needs ahead of your own.

Parenting especially is also the case. You cannot be a selfish husband or wife or a selfish parent. It simply doesn't work and you will not be able to maintain the vows that you laid down if you're out for yourself.

May our marriages be to the glory of God. God, convict us in these things. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen. You've been listening to When We Understand the Text with Pastor Gabriel Hughes. Our ministry was born out of a local church and we rely on the contributions of our viewers and our listeners to keep this ministry going.

If our videos or this program has ministered to you, would you consider a donation? All gifts go directly to our church, a non-profit ministry. Give with card or check at our website, www .tt .com. Join us again next week as we continue our study through Philippians, rejoicing in God's truth when we understand the text.