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What really Matters: The Surpassing Value of Knowing Jesus
Philippians 3:1-11
I think we’ve all heard the saying, “No news is good news.” It strikes me that it seems at times we can interpret that differently: No news (that is, none of the news the media is reporting) is good news! What really matters, after all? We can be so addicted to our comfort and sense of security as Americans in the 21st century, that it is easy to forget that we are pilgrims in this fallen world, and even the best moments we experience today are only a glimmer of what God has for us! We were created for eternity. It is not a sin to have material blessings and to own property in the world. We want to remember that ultimately, we will live in the New Heaven and the New Earth! We can easily get so focused on the superficial and neglect what really matters.
Even in church we can start thinking about Christianity in terms of what we do (or don’t do!) and forget that at its core, our Christian faith is not based on our good works, rather is a living relationship with Jesus. In this letter to the Philippians, Paul shows us how central Christ is to our lives and the life of this church. He speaks of rejoicing in Christ, and glorying in Christ, and knowing Christ, and gaining Christ, and being found in Christ, and making Christ his own, and finally obtaining the prize Christ has for us in the last day. Just as we are thankful for the blessings God gives, we know we are not home yet. Our greatest source of JOY must be to know Jesus, and be found in Him. That is what Paul is talking about in this context. Jim Eliott, 0ne of the five missionaries who died as they attempted to reach out to the Auca tribe in Ecuador, famously wrote in his journal, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose.”
I counted in one English translation the verb “rejoice” appearing ten times in this short letter, and the noun “joy” four times (1:4; 1:18; 3:1; 4:4). That joy can be experienced only through a personal relationship with Christ. Paul was joyful, and he urged the Philippians to rejoice, because he held fast the Word of Life, the Gospel. He knew his salvation was not earned, it was received, by grace through faith. He also remembered where he came from. Commenting on these verses, Warren Wiersbe said,
“Like most religious people today, Paul [before he know Jesus] had enough morality to keep him out of trouble, but not enough righteousness to get him into Heaven! It was not bad things that kept Paul from Jesus—it was good things! He had to lose his religion to find salvation.”
That is stated in a deliberately startling way to make the point that salvation cannot be earned, we’re saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. That points to…
The BIG Idea: What really matters is knowing Jesus, the only way to True Life, the abundant life for which we were created.
I. Rejoice in the Lord Always (1). Here, Paul says again, “rejoice.” Later he will say,
“…I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:11-13).
Circumstances did not change Paul’s attitude and outlook. The passage today begins, “Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you....” (Philippians 3:1). Paul is writing as a prisoner. And we know from 2 Corinthians 8 that the Philippian church was not wealthy and that there had been affliction. So, we know this joy is not based on good circumstances. It is, as Paul says, “In the Lord.” In the Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, he is telling us: Consider Christ so precious, so valuable, such a great treasure, that whether in prison or in affliction or in poverty, or under persecution, knowing Him and belonging to Him and being with Him forever gives you joy. Some of you who have traveled to nations that are very poor, and have seen joyful people living in abject poverty and needy situations… Paul’s theme in this letter is “joy in the Lord.” Everyone wants to be happy, but even more important is to have real joy. In this passage he is reminding us that religious rigor isn’t the way to find joy and experience true life. Like the song says, “It is not because of what I’ve done, but because of who you are; it’s not because who I am, but because of what you’ve done…” It seems to me that the key to joy is developing a Gospel-centered mindset. We can rejoice that our relationship with God is not based on our goodness, but rather on His grace.” * What really matters is knowing Jesus, the only way to True Life, the abundant life for which we were created.
II. Keep the Faith and hold fast to the truth! (3:2-3).
…Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. 3 For we are the [real] circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh-
A Call for Discernment: Back up to verses 1b-2, “…it is a safeguard to you…” He urges them to exercise discernment. He warns them about those who make circumcision the basis of their acceptance with God. I contrast to these false teachers who are prideful of their ethnic heritage, Paul said true worshippers of God “…put no confidence in the flesh” (3). This is strong language – we see Paul’s passion for truth!
Circumcision was an outward ritual of Judaism, it served as a symbol of the Old Covenant. It became a point of controversy as Jews began to believe in Jesus, and then, Gentiles also confessed Him as Savior and Messiah. Believing Jews had always been circumcised, what about these non-Jewish converts? We know from Paul’s other writings (and the book of Acts) that the early church struggled with the question of observance of the OT Law – especially as to whether or not it was necessary for Gentiles to essentially convert to Judaism in order to follow Jesus. Acts 10 (and 15!) should have settled it. Galatians had been written some time earlier, that should have resolved any doubts. True Believers worship in the Spirit (3:3a) – Jesus anticipated this idea in talking with the Samaritan Woman in John 4:21-24. It is not a religious rite that is at the heart of worship, or even a specific physical place, but responding to the true God, the God who is: Father, Son, and Spirit. We are to worship Him in Spirit and in Truth.
Read verse 3 again, “For we are the real circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh…” Paul says we are to glory in Christ Jesus. Literally, “exult” or “boast” in Christ. In other words, some people take great joy in their moral achievements. They exult in them like the Pharisee who thanks God that he was not like other men because he fasts twice a week and gives tithes of all he has (Luke 18:12). That was his boast. But Paul says none of that matters, “Christ is our boast.”
If you have accomplished something that you are tempted to boast in, think of Jesus, and boast in Christ. We glory in Christ Jesus. We treasure him, not our achievements. In the church, we treasure Christ together. We help each other do this. We “…glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh…” And we can rejoice that our relationship with God is not based on our goodness, but rather on His grace. That points to the BIG Idea: What really matters is knowing Jesus, the only way to True Life, the abundant life for which we were created.
III. The futility of the flesh and the sufficiency of Jesus (3:4-6).
4 …though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness, under the law blameless.
Many of us have had the experience of putting together a résumé. Paul’s résumé was impressive, but it was not enough! (3:3b-5), Paul lists the religious and ethnic distinctives that he could boast in if he wanted to... Paul is not saying “I have no achievements, and so I don’t care about them, I care about Christ.” He had plenty of moral and legal achievements. He went to the right school, had the right teachers, he lived an exemplary life, but he is saying that it is not what matters – it is not the way to God – Jesus paid the price – He alone is the Way, the Truth and the Life…
In verses 5 and 6 Paul lists the distinctives he enjoyed before he became a Christian. He gives his ethnic pedigree as a child of Abraham, a Hebrew of Hebrews. Think back to the dispute in Acts 6 between the Hellenists and the Hebrews. They were all Jews, but the Hellenists spoke primarily Greek and had adopted a fair amount of Greek culture. The “Hebrews” spoke Aramaic (or Hebrew) and were more closely connected to the Temple in Jerusalem. Paul’s family was from Tarsus, but he was trained in Jerusalem, having studied with one of the most prominent rabbis of his time. He considered himself a Hebrew of Hebrews. This brought him great respect from the religious leaders, and a great sense of significance and assurance. He was an Israelite. Then he mentions three things that go right to the heart of Paul's life before he was a Christian (at the end of verse 5): "as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the law, found blameless."
This had been Paul's life. This was what gave him meaning and significance. This was his gain, his joy. He had been proud of his heritage and the traditions of the fathers—he belonged to the most respect of law-keepers, the Pharisees, and among them he was so zealous that he led the way in persecuting the enemies of God, the church of Jesus, and he kept the law meticulously (blameless!). He thought he was doing well, pleasing God by his religious zeal. We are not saved by “religion” or by rule keeping, we are not justified by zeal or by good works. Jesus did it all – we believe and receive.
Paul’s Religious Rigor was not enough! (3:6). Paul was zealous but he wasn’t saved. He was religious, and yet lost. And then he met Christ, the Son of the living God, on the Damascus road. Christ told him how much he would have to suffer (Acts 9:16). Even so, as soon as he could he preached Christ! The way he prepared himself is described in verse 7. "But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ." Paul looks at his standing in the highly respected religious elite, the Pharisees; he looks at the at the respect and praise of being a rising star in that group; he looks at the rigor of his law-keeping and the sense of moral pride he enjoyed; and he prepares to suffer by taking his whole world and turning it upside down, by reversing his values: "Whatever things were gain to me [that's verses 5–6], those things I have counted as loss." Its like Paul’s spiritual accounting system was suddenly turned upside down, his eyes were opened and he realized he had been fighting against God!
Here Paul uses accounting language. Before he was a Christian, he had a ledger with two columns: one that said, “gains,” and another that said, “losses.” On the gain side was the human glory of verses 5–6. On the loss side was the terrible prospect that this Jesus movement might get out of hand and this “heresy” would continue to spread. When he met the living Christ on the Damascus road, Paul took a big red pencil and wrote "LOSS" in big red letters across his gains column. And he wrote "GAIN" in big letters over the loss column that only had one name in it: Christ. Cf. Acts 9:20,22.
And not only that, the more Paul thought about the relative values of life in the world and the greatness of Christ, he moved beyond the few things mentioned in verses 5–6 and put everything but Christ in that first column: Verse 8: "More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord." He started by counting his most precious accomplishments as loss, and he ended by counting everything as loss, except Christ. We can rejoice that our relationship with God is not based on our goodness, but rather on His grace. *What really matters is knowing Jesus, the only way to True Life, the abundant life for which we were created.!
IV. What really matters: knowing Christ, and the trusting Him (3:7-11).
For Paul, the things of the world meant nothing to him compared to knowing Christ. Less than nothing. They were garbage—dung—compared to Christ. Look first at 3:7-8,
“But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ… 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.”
Notice how Paul expresses the supreme importance of treasuring Christ…
1) First, in verse 7: Paul counts everything as loss for the sake of Christ. He is worth more than everything else in Paul’s life. Verse 8a: “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” To know Christ is more to be desired than anything else. Verse 8b: “I count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.” Gaining Christ—knowing Him, and having an authentic living relationship with Him—is better than gaining the world and everything in it. Paul treasured Jesus above everything. We can help each other grow to know Christ like this.
2) Paul continues in Philippians 3:9, he explaining again why Christ is so much more precious than all Paul’s moral achievements. He wants to
“…be found in him [Christ], 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.”
Being found in Christ—united to Christ by faith, in a permanent relationship of identity with him—is infinitely more valuable than all of Paul’s righteousness based on law. Paul called himself “blameless” in verse 6 “as to righteousness under the law.” But all that work was worse than useless. It was condemning. Only one thing will count before God: being found in Christ—in Christ—with a righteousness that comes from God not ourselves. Paul treasures Christ above all things because only in Christ does he have a righteousness that counts with God. That is what it means to treasure Christ together. We help each other trust him like this.
3) Suffering with Jesus Together – Finally, in verse 10, Paul says again that his passion is to know Christ, this time to know him in his suffering and resurrection. “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.” Paul knows what resurrection will mean: It will mean everlasting fellowship with Christ in a new body, on a new earth, without sin, and filled with joy. So, he is eager to walk the very path that led Christ to glory—the path of suffering with him. Being with Christ in the end will be worth any price of suffering here. So, we treasure Christ together. We help each other love him like this. In the world you will have tribulation… But He also said, “Lo, I am with you always…” We are in Christ, experience some of the hardships of life in a fallen world. We have an assignment! We are pilgrims in a fallen world, but in Christ we have the promise of True Life, the way life should be!
What is God saying to me in this passage? We can rejoice that our relationship with God does not rest on our goodness, but rather on His grace. What really matters is knowing Jesus, the only way to True Life, the abundant life for which we were created.
What would God have me to do in response to this passage?
1) In Christ alone, my hope is found… Is that the song of your heart? It changes everything! In every situation, we can have joy. He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. Jim Elliot lost his life as he sought to bring the message of Christ to the Auca tribe. Following Christ is not a guarantee for a prosperous, easy life. But He is God – He has a plan – and His way is best. Jesus said, “I have come that you might have life, and that you might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10b). There is a reason we are saved by grace – that is the only way it could be! If you know Him, you can rejoice, no matter what the circumstances might be in your life. We are secure in the grip of His grace. That is reason to Rejoice!
2) Do you sometimes think, “There is no way God could love me, after what I have done?” We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone! God commended His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us! That is grace! Think about David, how many commandments did he break? And Paul, he was there approving when Stephen was stoned. Yes, that young pharisee Saul actively persecuted Christians. Yet God saved Him. Did he deserve it? No. Neither did we. It’s not about our goodness! It is all about His grace. Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe… AMEN.
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