The Cross and the Dynamic of Victory — T. Austin-Sparks

Now, Lord, we believe that Thou does not leave Thy work unfinished, and if there is something yet to be added by Thee, we ask Thee that it may be in just as much light as at any time during these days.

We pray that whatever the length of the message may be, it may all be to our real spiritual good and help. It may not be in a spiritual sense of tailing off and of fading out, of dropping away. Though many have gone, we do ask Thee to keep the level high, and the river of God full of water, and we the trees of God full of sap.

The Cross and the Dynamic of Victory in Philippians

So help us in our need this evening, for Thy name's sake. Well then, we come to the last of this present course of meditations on the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, as in some of the letters of the Apostle Paul.

And this evening, of course, in the sequence, we reach the letter to the Philippians, and the particular place, meaning, application of the cross, as we have it in this letter. And to give it a name, or a title, or a heading, in this letter we have what I believe is quite true, the cross and the dynamic of victory.

Once more, the phrase, the cross, may not be found here, but reference to it is quite definite. Perhaps the key to the letter might be the words to these Philippians, To you it has been given, in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but to suffer for his sake.

That is an undoubted reference to the place of the cross. Or later, the very familiar words, Paul's cry that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable to his death.

These and one or two other places imply very clearly, in a very short letter, comparatively, that the cross has a very real, a very real place in this letter. You want the references? Without our punning and reading them, they are chapter 1, verse 29, chapter 2, verses 5 to 8, chapter 3, verses 3 to 10, and verse 18.

Philippi's Triumph Through Adversity

These all bring us to the cross. Now no one who knows this little letter, this little big letter, or this big little letter, will have any doubt that this is a letter of triumph. It is undoubtedly and unmistakably a triumphant letter, right from beginning to end.

The apostle refers to the beginning of things in his relationship with these Philippians, and he refers to the suffering at the beginning. And you remember the story of his coming at length into Europe, Philippi, and what he met almost immediately on arrival.

That demon possessed woman, temple woman, and the result of the history of his own life. We say, are you minded to do so? Are you minded? A mindedness, a disposition, a disposition of Christ which was put in go, which undoubtedly gave, which God had taken away, and triumph.

I have got there absolutely, when some of these things happen, and I spontaneously say, blessed be the name of the Lord. No, there is agony and anguish, at least for the time being. There is spiritual enlargement and spiritual gain.

God is no man's debtor. Here in Philippi, do you notice how the apostle takes it up in his own case? He doesn't say it in as many words, that this mind that was in Christ Jesus is in me, and I followed it out.

Paul's Loss of All Things for Christ

But in what he says, he exemplifies it. He tells us that of all the things that were gained to him, all the advantages of birth, inheritance, upbringing, education, success, climbing to the top of the tree, in his profession, as a rabbi, and all that that meant of influence, and opportunity, and power, and possession.

What a fullness this man had, naturally, before his conversion. And then he says in this letter, the things which were gained to me, these have I counted, lost for Christ. Hold on. Hold on. Will you tell me, that letting go has been lost to him, to God, to the church, of what we should have lost, to all these centuries that Paul had held on, to all those advantages.

The things that he said were gained, were gained, if he'd held on, if he'd let go. But now do you notice what he says? After all that, and he says, I count them lost, a refuge, refuge, refuge. That's the value of them, as I see it now.

We'll see in a moment why I see it now. Just as he said, Brethren, I count not myself to have attained, neither am I, already, at this time, the end of my life, full life, all the age, of course that belongs to 20 centuries ago.

Paul was a young man, according to standard today. I'm a long way ahead of Paul's years, but for him, a long, full life. The end of it all, I count not myself to have attained, neither am I already complete.

The Cross as the Climax of Resurrection Life

But this one thing I do, forgetting the things which lie behind, I press toward the mark of the on high calling of God and Christ, out of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings. You notice the cross?

Resurrection, fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death. The climax of the risen life is the cross. You got that? The climax of the risen life is the cross. Because all our knowing of the power of his resurrection will only lead us further and further into the meaning of the cross.

Unto what? He made conformable unto his death. We attain unto the resurrection from among the dead. Something, something far greater than that initial experience of union with Christ in his resurrection.

Letting Go as the Way of Victory

You see, the way of victory is ever and always the growing capacity to let go to the law. While we hold on, stand our ground, claim our right, keep things in our hands, we're in defeat. There are a thousand ways in which this can be applied.

But dear friends, in many, many ways the Lord waits for this principle to be applied or to work out. A wife is jealous of her husband and prays and prays and the Lord never answers. Never answers. She wants to hold him, keep him to herself, don't have him in her possession.

Prayers are not answered. Nothing happens. Till one day, the Lord says, let him go. Let go. If you will let go, I'll take hold. And it's when we learn, like I said, it may be the other way around. I only take that.

Not because all women are jealous in that way. But men can be just the thing you know. Jealous of their wives, of their children. Such a tight hold. Not going to let go. Hunting, anything. I've mentioned ministry.

No matter what it is. If you and I hold this to ourselves, even though it may be something not wrong, not evil in itself, not sin in itself, we've got hold of this. And we've got hold of our own positions.

The Corinthian Church and the Defeat of Possessiveness

And our own rights. And we are not going to let go. Now you know, that was the reason for the defeat of the Corinthian church. The awful defeat of Corinth, spiritually, was they would not let go. Their love for power, their love for worldly wisdom, their love for emotional gratification, drawing all these things, even spiritual things to themselves.

And it was not until they were broken on that, and you have the brokenness of the second letter of the Corinthian, where they are indeed broken, that their victory came. Victory. Why have you got this?

You want victory? It may be, you see, that there is some kind of controversy over letting go. To the Lord. Taking your hands off. Oh, it's a great lesson that we have to learn in the Christian life to keep our hands off of the ark, of people, with our own hands, direct people's lives.

Surrendering Rights and Releasing Others to God

Cause them to take the course that we think they ought to take. Impose our minds and judgments and wills upon people. Remember, so many years ago, the Lord said, take your hands off, and I'll do it. Take your hands off.

Oh, how we love, don't we, to put our hands on people's lives and on people. It's this love of power, inborn love of power, to have. And the way of the cross is the way of letting go even good things to the Lord, if He requires.

Now, you see, here, Philippi has referred to something that evidently was said. I have beseeched earlier and seem to see, to be of the same mind. One with another, to be a woman, women. I remember Catherine Wallace quoting there, misquoted it.

She said, I beseech odious and soon-touching to be of the same mind. Odious and soon-touching, well, it may be. But evidently there was something there between these two, and they were standing for their own right.

One was not giving way to the other, not saying, I'm at fault. Pride, pride, making them hold their ground, their own ground. Perhaps one was in the right, but that one was not going to let go of her right.

And that's why the apostle said, let this mind be in you between Christ and Jesus. He had right, unquestionably, his own right, in his own right. Yours may not be your right, after all, but whether they be or not, the point is, you let go.

You let go. You surrender. You put this in the Lord's hands and take your hands off. You'll be willing to suffer the loss of all this for his sake. And, while that is the cross, it's victory, wherefore God has highly exalted it.

Paul's Captivation by Christ

For now it shows that Mark is calling your attention then to this. How was it that the apostle Paul was able to do this, suffer the loss of all this, and count all the things which were gained as mere wretches?

Could he do it? You see, it was just a captivation of being of Christ. And that's the great cross, isn't it? For me, I have no other object or motive in living but Christ. Look at the large place that Christ has in this level of gain.

And for me to live is Christ. And I can do all things through him, Christ, through his presence with me. He was captivated by Christ. That captivation by Christ, Christ that he had seen, come to know, was so infinitely, infinitely greater than beyond all we knew at one time.

Possession in the world, possessions in the world, and everything. These are nothing when you see the Lord Jesus. And there's no other way of victory but seeing the Lord Jesus. But it's only crucified people who truly see the Lord Jesus.

Know that? Is that closing the conference on depression? No? I didn't mean that. I meant victory. Either way, victory. God is not just losing everything and having a miserable life, first of all. God is victory.

Gain Out of Loss and Life Out of Death

It's gain out of loss. It's life out of death. It's not out of living. That's the point. We place right into our hearts all that it has been by desire for us to really know in these days. And cover it there, protect it there, and give us grace to respond in obedience to every challenge, every call, and to make us people so self-empty, personal interest, and all that, so empty, and so taken up with thyself, Lord Jesus, so enamored of thee, so captivated by thee, that nothing is too much to let go for thee.

May this be the dynamic captivation of the Lord Jesus at every cost. And now unto him who is able to do exceeding, abundantly, above all that we are, all things. Unto him be the glory in the church by Christ Jesus unto all ages, forever and ever.

Amen.