Philippians 3:14-21

Truth in Love and the Goal of Growing in Christ

Hello, good morning. This is truth in love. I'm so glad that you were able to be with me this morning a little bit earlier than normal on a Saturday morning, but Needed to get started a little bit earlier because I've got a few things that I need to do this morning Gotta head out and do a few things.

So I want to Be able to do a video and join you so I decided to go a little early this morning. I Don't know how How many people are up already? I don't know how many people will be able to join us, but I'm so thankful for you they for your support for your prayers and your Like-mindedness and your love for the Lord and your love for God's Word.

And I appreciate you joining me and appreciate your support if I can if I can pray for you at all I'd love to be able to do that. All you have to do is type me. You can you can let me know now and and we will definitely be praying at the end of the video or If you watch the video when it's not live I just write it in the comments and and I'll get the notification and I'll see it and I'll be glad to pray for you then.

Thank you for those who watched and participated last night when pastor Jeff and I were Did a video so thankful for him and his willingness to To join me and and look at God's Word together with me and to share what God has to say through him In the videos, so just just very very glad to be able to do that.

Like I said, this is truth and love and we get that from Ephesians chapter 4 verse 15 and that verse says. But speaking the truth in love we are to grow up in all aspects Into him who is the head even Christ?

So that's our goal. That's what we want. That's what we want to do each time is grow in all aspects into him In our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We want to worship him. We won't worship the Father today and And this is the best way to start out our day is going to him in prayer going to him in the word and and worshiping him and and and loving him and Then and then applying what we learn from Scripture so without any further ado, let's let's go ahead and look at Philippians.

We're continuing in our look at Philippians this morning. If you if you have your Bible if you want to look along with me. We're in Philippians chapter 3 and we're going to go to the end of the chapter.

Philippians chapter 3 verses 14 through 21. Like I said if I can pray for you all you have to do is let me know. If you have any questions if you want to chat, you just want to say hi. I really appreciate that as well.

The floor is always yours if you would take time to just Put that in the comment section and and let me know that you're there. Let me know if you have any questions. And I'll be glad to address those if I can if I can't I'll be glad to do research and Maybe get some other pastors involved and we can discuss those questions and.

And we'll take a look and see what we can do with those questions. It's also good if we talk about what's going on in the world and applying our our attitude of Conforming our attitude to Scripture with what's going on in the world.

We like pastor Jeff said last night How we can Accumulate for ourselves a bit of an anxiety based on what's going on in the world, but we want to we want to conform to. Not what our flesh wants us to do.

But what the Lord would have us to do and conform to his word and conform to Christ. And of course, that's what we're we're going to be talking about today in Philippians. So if we can talk about that if we can be of any help to you.

And I know pastor Jeff would would say the same thing and I'm so thankful to have these friendships with local pastors so that you know if in ministering if there's anyone that needs help I can reach out to Pastors that I know that would love that are just like me that love the Lord that love people and want to help people and would definitely be willing to Help me to to help you in any way that they can or any way that I can so What a wonderful thing God does when he changes our hearts.

He he Unites us he knits us together in in love and love for the Lord and love for each other. And we can rely and we can depend on each other. It is a wonderful thing and it's so Contrary to what the world.

The way the world wants us to conform the world teaches us that we're that we're unique that we're. We want the the best To the quote is to be to be you be you that's what the world says. It's the focus in this world is just being it's just about yourself and being selfish.

And you don't get your way go riot but the way of the cross is Others centered and as full as Paul tells us in Philippians emptying yourself. That's the way of the cross. It's totally contrary to the world.

And so that's why I think Those of us who are our Christians, we're gonna stand out like a sore thumb When we're not being selfish, but we're conforming to Christ emptying ourselves and being other centered and We'll give the Lord the glory and the testimony to him when we live that way.

Emptying Yourself and Conforming to Christ

So let's uh, let's look in and dive into Philippians chapter 3. We're looking at verses 14 through 21 and just as a bit of introduction. Good morning. Thanks for the comment. Thanks for watching just a bit of introduction not too long an introduction.

Just wanted to remind you that as we looked at Philippians chapter 2, it was very clear what his theme was just as I was speaking about the difference between the world that we live in and the world we live in in Christ the difference is The theme in which Paul speaks of in chapter 2, which is emptying yourselves.

And I can't help but reread and I know I do it almost in every video as we're looking through Philippians but I can't help but reread this because it's so important to reiterate this theme that Paul is is Moving forward with as he continues in Philippians in chapter 2 starting in verse 3.

He says do nothing from selfish or empty conceit. But with humility of mind let each of you regard one another is more important than himself. Do not merely look out for your own personal interest, but also for the interest of others and There's no way that we could read that enough or be reminded of that too much.

Because we need to be reminded of that every day. That is that is our way of life being in Christ conforming to Christ and our Prime example Paul says in the following verses is Christ himself who emptied himself of his glory in Heaven to come to this earth to die on a cross even death on a cross.

So he is our prime example our primary example to follow in how to empty oneself and if you would so he's gonna carry he's gonna press on with that thing and. And so I like to remember that theme as I'm reading through the rest of Philippians because I'm sure Paul Continues to have that that theme in mind.

So once you move over from from chapter 2 and transition to chapter 3 I Quickly put together a little Divided up chapter 3 into two different sections to kind of kind of help me out To recognize what's going on so we move from chapter 2 with a theme of emptying yourselves and you look at chapter 3 verses 1 through 13 and I see the the theme there spiritual conformity to Christ.

So if we'll keep that in mind when we when we look at chapter 3 verses 1 through 13 it is speaking of spiritual conformity to Christ and what that looks like and Especially in Paul's life Paul here gives gives us a personal testimony and what it looks like he gives warnings of The Judaizers coming against them trying to keep them from this spiritual conformity to Christ they won't they won't the the folks of the Philippian Church to go back to the law of God.

And and think that it's the law of God is is necessary and appeasing God. They want them to go back to it and and Paul is warning them against that. He said that is not the case. It's not the way it's false teaching.

This is the way to spiritual conformity in Christ and then you have chapter 3 verses 14 through 17, which we're going part of what we're going to look at today. I kind of Titled the summary and conclusion of chapter verses 1 through 13.

So we're going to look at the summary conclusion of those verses and then verses 18 and 19 Paul gives another warning of Examples not to follow and then verses 20 20 through 21. It's a summary slash conclusion with with two motivations or reminders.

For for our living for our walking in Christ, so with those outlines being made Let's let me read. Let me read 14 through 21 and then we'll look at look at each verse together. He says I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward calling God in Christ Jesus let us therefore as many as are perfect have this attitude and if anything you have a Different attitude God will reveal that also to you.

However, let us Keep living by that same standard to which we have attained Brethren join in following my example and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us for many walk of Whom I often told you and now tell you even weeping that they are enemies of the cross of Christ Whose end is Destruction whose God is their appetite and whose glory is in their shame who said their minds on earthly things.

For our citizenship is in heaven from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior the Lord Jesus Christ who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of his glory by the Exertion of the power that he has even to subject all things to himself.

Amen to that Praise the Lord. Let's worship him for his for his word so the summary verses 14 through 17 the summary of verses 1 1 through 13, and if you remember 1 through 13 is Paul is speaking to them about conforming to Christ spiritually and It seemed to me that verse 10 was was kind of confusing where Paul is saying That I may know him and the power of his resurrection the fellowship of his suffering and being conformed to his death.

Those three words their resurrection suffering and death Kind of lead us toward thinking that he is he is speaking of a physical activity or the physical world but if you look at the context from my understanding it seemed Paul seems to be speaking of our spiritual growth and spiritual conformity.

And then the summary Paul says I press on so the goal there is is spiritual conformity to Christ and Paul says I press or Pursue like like an athlete running towards the finish line. Trying to keep up trying to catch up trying to move ahead.

In the race he is he is pursuing this. This mark this goal and when he says Toward it's interesting that the word actually means to press down. And so when I when I have the imagery of pressing down I'm thinking of something that I have to do that takes effort.

I'm pressing I'm pressing down into it. So I'm pursuing this mark and and and pressing into it or pressing down on it with with much effort because I know what the goal is and And I want to put as much effort into it as I can.

Pressing on to that prize of the upper call which is which is in Christ Jesus that call of God which is in Christ Jesus which is of course The can the spiritual conformity to Christ Christ himself and then the few things that he's going to speak of here at the end and versus 21.

So he's he knows what lies ahead he knows how beautiful it is and how wonderful it is and and He says right before that. I found this interesting in verse 12. He said but I press on a pursue in order that I may lay hold of That for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus so so the death on the cross, of course was was for the forgiveness of our sins and and so that we may be justified in Christ.

So we might be in other words. We might be saved however in in that death in that resurrection what was accomplished was this this goal of our spiritual maturity To this conformity to Christ and so it's not just Justification it's our sanctification and our glorification and Paul said he is pursuing this he is pressing down pursuing this because that which Christ has died for and has laid hold of he is pressing on to lay hold of that which Christ has laid hold of him laid hold of for him or Has in store for him and he Paul is pursuing it because he knows how great it is verse 15 let us therefore it so in because of this as many as are Perfect.

That's interesting that he uses the word perfect there because he just he just Reiterated and emphasized to us that he's he's not laid hold of this yet. He is not perfect yet. So that's why he is continuing to pursue this Avenue pursue this path.

So so why does he use the word perfect if he if he knows and he's confessing and Then later on in these verses where he tells them to to follow this pattern Of living why would they need to follow this pattern of living if they are already perfect?

Why is he contradicted himself when he says I'm not perfect. I've not obtained this. I've not attained this. I've not obtained it both words. He uses So what's the meaning of this this word perfect? The context and word uses word usage Helps us to understand what he means.

When he uses the word perfect earlier In verse 12, not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect the word usage there is is the verb tense and in verse 15 It's in the noun tense. The the word is a noun so so this perfection he's talking of in in verse 12, it's it's a Complete completeness where there is no more room for growth.

Then that's what he is obtaining to this conformity that Christ is gonna make in us where there's no more room for growth. He's he's made it. He's arrived this perfection. This perfection that he's speaking of here when he uses it as a noun.

He is speaking of spiritual maturity those those who are Have grown in Christ have gained great Spiritual maturity and and that's simply the case here. He's speaking of spiritual maturity and and those.

And. And there are folks, you know in our lives that that have obtained Spiritual maturity that we want to recognize in our lives. And those are the people that that Paul is exhorting them to look for here.

Those of you who have obtained spiritual maturity He says have this attitude in your hearts in your lives. What attitude is he talking about this this pressing on? Towards the goal of the upper call of God in Christ Jesus the spiritual conformity to Christ.

That's our that's our attitude. So it should overflow into every aspect of our life this attitude of spiritual conformity to Christ. You know In our theme verse in Ephesians chapter 4 verse 15 so that we may grow up into him in all aspects so it overflows and it spills over into Every aspect of our life at home at work at play.

Everywhere we are every decision that we make it it spills over that we have this attitude. That God is working in us and we want to press on in in in our hearts toward this goal. That Christ has laid out for us this this spiritual conformity to Christ and growing in him our sanctification and.

And how wonderful and merciful is God when Paul reminds us that if you have a different attitude God will reveal this to you also. Why would he do that so that we can repent so that we can apologize that we can turn so we can reorient ourselves.

If we have a different attitude God I'm sure through the Holy Spirit will convict us of sin righteousness and judgment. He will he will let us know if we if our attitude is changing if we're having a wrong attitude and that conviction will lead us to Repentance and turning from that and changing back to an attitude focused on Christ.

So we're thankful for that. We want to praise God for that conviction that work of the Holy Spirit. The work of the Holy Spirit, you know is is leading us and helping us in this process of sanctification and then he also when we get off track and when our attitude changes.

It's a conviction. To remind us where that's not the direction. I want you to go and we can repent and we can turn. We can turn back to that right attitude now in verse 16 however. Let us keep living.

Let us keep living by that same standard to which we have obtained so it's he's encouraging them continuing the same attitude. Keep the attitude and keep living in it. Keep walking in it that that path that that you're walking.

That that straight path keep walking on that path. Keep that attitude. Continue to live this way and keep that standard high. Don't lower your standards and take that standard with you wherever you go.

Home play work wherever you are. Keep that standard high and keep it in front of you and press on and stay on that path then verse 17 Brethren join in following my example is. It's curious that's to us or to me at least that comes across.

Hey, good morning, Tammy. I Appreciate you. Thank you. It comes across to me sometimes these statements that Paul makes as. You know if we were to say them It would come across as maybe prideful. But I have to think about Paul's Paul's heart.

What would what would my heart be if I was to you know? Say something like that when when Paul says brethren join in following my example. So the example that I think of is is like I Mentioned at the end of the video when I was with Pastor Jeff last night or other videos that that I may Say this in where I you know, I ask you and request of you, you know.

If this has been an encouragement if this has been a help to you. Would you mind to you know, like share comment on the video? And I feel weird saying that because you know, I'm not trying to push Anything that I have or anything that I'm doing or my name or or any kind of brand, you know I'm not trying to push myself and.

So that's my heart. But the way that the social media works is that to be able to reach more people you have to have likes and shares and and all that jazz and. So to request that for me is weird. But I want to reach more people for Christ and I hope you can see my heart in that and I think I think that Would reflect the heart maybe of Paul here and in other places where he says join in following my example.

You know, it's not so much that it's it's a prideful statement from him but in reality. Yes, we have Hebrews chapter 11, which we call the the hall of faith instead of the hall of fame. We call it the hall of faith.

We have all these Old Testament examples of what? How God worked faith in in these Old Testament people and and now they're used as a examples of what faith looks like and encouragements for us to look at as an examples for faith, but as far as this God Jesus bringing this new covenant bringing this.

That revealing himself. Revealing himself as the Messiah, you know for the first time and now you have his his command to the Apostles to Go out to all the nations to preach the gospel to To make disciples teaching them all that I have teach them to desert.

Observe all that I've commanded you. So you've got this this new thing from Christ and. And and they're now called Christians. We're called Christians now. And so this is this is new territory. And we don't have some people some people like to use.

You know in our day Billy Graham as an example of someone to admire or a Charles Stanley or a John MacArthur or an RC Sproul you know just examples of Folks that we can admire some folks that we can follow and and if we really think about it God has given us so many and People personally in our lives that that you know that are not famous some relatives that we may have that that God has as calls them to be to have spiritual maturity and have been Influences in our life and we look to them for guidance as an example for Christian living.

But at this time in Paul's time. This is the beginnings of the church and and they don't have this list of folks that they can admire that whom God has worked greatly in and So he says of himself. I'm pursuing Christ.

I want Christ and I want I want to be this example for you. So that you may know how to follow Christ and I think that's his heart. He wants them to follow Christ. And so he is pursuing and he's really pressing down as hard as he can.

So that he can not just can you know meet this goal of conforming to Christ, but that he can be this Example that they previously didn't have or they didn't have up until this time. He wants to be that example for them.

But as we're getting ready to see God is not just working in Paul praise the Lord. You know so that we don't We can see that God doesn't create celebrity pastors. That's a big thing now having that celebrity pastors or the pursuit of being a celebrity pastor.

God doesn't have celebrity pastors. So God is not lifting up Paul as the you know The single source of what our example should be and Paul acknowledges that He knows that he's you know humble In a in a humble state because of his sin because of who he is because of his past Paul empties himself and he can see I'm not the only one God is growing and God is using he says brethren join in following my example and observe those Who walk according to the pattern you have seen in us?

So he's not just saying in me. He's saying there's more than just me. Who's walking this path who God is growing in maturity? Follow them and also follow those who are in your midst who were Following the example that we give so Paul is not exhorting himself.

He's not lifting himself up he is just saying that God is graciously worked in us and You guys need examples. Follow our example follow Follow those that are around you that are following our example.

So that you can have some encouragement so you can have something to look at as an example. And and I know that if you've been a Christian for any amount of time I'm quite sure that you've appreciated those examples in your life those mentors those those folks that you've looked up to in your life.

So we want to praise God for for working in those people and putting them in our lives. Verse 18 and this is where he transitions. Paul gives us another warning. If you remember in the beginning of chapter 3 He gives us a warning and he's going to give us another warning here.

So he gives us all this teaching this exhortation. This theme of emptying yourself and this theme of so that you can conform spiritually to the image of Christ, but he also Has a balance in his teaching where he he gives us the teaching the positive teaching of what we should look for of what we Should do but he's also aware of the attacks that come against us or our temptations.

That may draw us away. So this is another example verses 18 through 19. He says for many walk. Of whom I often told you so he wants us to walk down this path as Christians. But there are folks who are walking down a different path.

He says and he is often told them about these people and Listen to the heart of Paul here. The heart of a pastor the heart that that God gives Paul for these people. He says I now tell you even weeping as he's as he's Putting the pen to paper or having someone else put the pen to paper as he as he speaks it.

He is doing so weeping with tears. Because he doesn't want these these beloved Christian brothers and sisters in Christ to fall into temptation. Through these people that are that are trying to lead them astray.

Or even in their own personal hearts. Dealing with their flesh and and struggling against their flesh. He doesn't want them to to to fall away into that temptation and to listen. And to be drawn away by these folks who would easily draw them away.

So his his heart here is just opened up where he says I'm weeping as as I write this. Because of these these folks who would draw you away from Pursuing and pressing down towards this goal. He says I I tell you even weeping that they are enemies of the cross of Christ.

And who are these folks? Well at the beginning of chapter 3 the enemies at that time that we were talking about were the Judaizers who were the folks who thought they needed to it was necessary to continue in the law.

To go along with this new Christianity to appease God that you must be circumcised to please God. And so you had you had to Maintain keeping the law to appease God and and Paul addressed that and said, you know This is false teaching and he warned them against the Judaizers.

This is a different group of people and and we know that because of how he describes them this is a group of people called the Epicureans and Listen to how he describes them in verse 19. They're they're enemies of the cross of Christ he says in verse 18 verse 19 whose end is Destruction so that there's your warning their end is destruction Destruction.

So if you're tempted to Follow their path that they're walking. If you're tempted to go that route be be aware their end is destruction. So while you while you are because because we do that when we're tempted to do something We try to justify it.

We weigh out the options. And so Paul is saying, you know in your heart where where you are. Where the Holy Spirit is convicting you and working in your heart saying no don't do that. But your flesh is saying It's okay.

It will give you peace. It will give you pleasure and fulfillment. He says keep this in mind their end is Destruction because we need to remember the end result the end result of the of this this path with Christ.

Is that Christ died? So that you would Obtain this this perfection this conformity of him. When he states as I was laid hold of by Christ. So when Christ died he died so that you could obtain this and that's that's our goal that's our pursuit.

And that's what he is. Trying to lay hold of that's his goal. So when we're trying to Delegate or deliberate within our minds, which path should we take? We've got to we've got to remember what has Christ died for in my life and also If I follow this path I've got to remember.

It may seem pleasurable now, but it's end is destruction and that that's the warning here. That's what what Paul is doing. Remember their end is Destruction he says whose God is their appetite and whose glory is in their shame who set their mind on earthly things, so that's how we know that these are the Epicureans because That's exactly who they were they their God was their belly and they sought to please themselves and That was their whole world and their whole mindset was was this is the end-all be-all The things here on this earth and that's where they found their pleasure and they made their belly their God and Pursuing earthly pleasures and their glory was in their shame.

What an amazing way to live. What an amazing way to live and and of course in the moment, it seems pleasurable but their end is destruction and Paul is weeping weeping that they may not fall and follow this way of life.

And then the last two verses Which is he brings it brings it back to a place of encouragement. So he says in verse 20 the first word in in my version says for So if I circle the word for It helps me to remember that it's it's in comparison or it is It's following the thought of the previous verse.

So he's speaking of the Epicureans and the Epicureans were there in Philippi with the Church of Philippians. Philippi was a Roman colony, so therefore the Philippians had Roman citizenship and This was the this was the culture in which they lived in where you had these Epicureans who lived this this life of self pleasure and self-seeking and selfishness and It was and I'm sure the temptation was all around them to pursue and follow this path.

This The citizenship and where they lived here on this earth. This was their culture the Roman culture in Philippi but Paul says For our citizenship is in heaven or in other words our our citizenship being in heaven.

Which help us to understand that this is this is a fixed state that it cannot change. We don't go back and forth. We're not one of the other our citizenships what once God has saved us and Transformed our hearts and give us a new heart and he saved us.

We're his child. We are born again our citizenship changes from an earthly citizenship to a heavenly citizenship and it's it's a fixed place and our citizenship there is is a fixed state so it doesn't change and So our We don't conform to the culture around us here on this earth.

But we conform to the culture of where our citizenship is. Which is in heaven and it reminds me of the Lord's Prayer our father. Who art in heaven? Hallowed be your name holy and separate is your name.

Thy kingdom come thou will be down on earth as it is in heaven. So as we conform to the culture where our citizenship is it will change how we live here on this earth. Isn't that amazing thing how God works in us?

For our citizenship is in heaven from which also we eagerly and that's a good word there. That's a good translation eagerly wait for a Savior. Just just think of some synonyms for for eagerly and and and magnify that because the the in the Greek the the understanding or the meaning of the word is this.

The this eagerness. Anticipation for. Or waiting for Christ to come and waiting for him to come for what. Well, he's you know, he's already changed us. He is he has given us a new heart our soul our spirit has changed there's there's been a change that's happened on the inside and and it's begun this process of sanctification and There's this process or this process will end when we've laid hold of that which Christ has died for us and it's called Glorification our souls when when we pass from this life to the next our souls will be made.

And incomplete we have obtained that perfection to where there's no more room for growth. So what are we? What are we further waiting for when it comes to Christ? Coming what are we eagerly waiting for as We continue to conform to the culture of our current citizenship verse 21 who will transform the body.

So Paul brings us from in the first part of chapter 3 this spiritual conformity to Christ and now he's speaking of the completeness of our salvation we move from the spiritual conformity to Christ to Our whole body are the the physical conformity to Christ.

So our whole selves will be changed eventually who will transform the body and in the word the word transform Means it has the meaning of that which is happen on the inside Will have an outward effect.

So so the change that God has made on the inside of us Will happen to our bodies as well. There will there was there will be a completion a perfection for our spiritual state in our soul. And then there will be a completion and a perfection for our body as well.

Isn't that amazing? No more sickness. No more tears. No more pain. We will we will be there. We will make it and we will have that we will obtain that in Christ. So that's why Paul says we eagerly we eagerly await Christ to come to change our bodies in Conformity from he says from our humble state.

Which he's referring to our our frailness our weakness. Our sickness and our pain and the the tragedies that we go through. That's our humble state into conformity. Not just he's not just gonna make our bodies better.

No, he's not just gonna make our bodies better. Listen to what he's going to conform our bodies to he's in conformity with the body of his glory. So in lightness and nature of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

That's what he is going to make our bodies into. Isn't that amazing? With the body of his glory by the exertion. Now you remember you remember spiritually in In verse 10 that I may know him and the the power.

The supernatural power of his resurrection. Paul wanted that that power to be working in him to conform him to the likeness of Christ spiritually and Paul brings up that power again Into conformity with the body of his glory by the exertion so he's going to exert the exertion of the power that he has and This is this power that he's describing.

Is a supernatural power. The the power only God can have and that's that's the that's the word that he's using here. Describing a power that only God can have. But by the exertion of the power that he has even to subject All things to himself we may we may think that they're you know, they're people that are above the law that have so much money that You know, they they can do whatever they want to.