LIFE IN CHRIST JESUS
Philippians 3:5-11
V:5. "Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel
A. The Apostle Paul
gave us his genealogy and his education as a true Israelite.
1. He had all the
elements to be elevated in the Jewish System.
2. Because of his
Hebrew ancestry, he enjoyed every advantage of being a Hebrew.
B. He was trained in
the law by the best teacher of that time (Gamaliel). Acts 22:3
V:6. "Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching
the righteousness which is in the law, blameless."
A. Based on his
training and understanding, he did everything to comply with the law.
1. He jealously
guarded the law and persecuted the church because he believed it to
be against the
law. Acts 22:4
2. Paul lived what
he believed.
V:7. "But what things were gain to me, those I counted
loss for Christ."
A. Paul admits that
his ancestry, training and education was a gain to him while
he was in the
world.
Defn: lost= zemia=
detriment ( the idea of violence)
1. But when he met
Jesus, he gave all his worldly desires.
2. He had to lose
his worldly gain to gain Jesus. Matt 19:21
a. Not only
was it a lost but he suffered hardships as a result.
b. He was
stoned and left for dead in one city, beaten and jailed in another and
falsely
accused and imprisoned in Rome
c. Paul
concluded that his suffering for Jesus gave him his greatest delights.
d. In our
weakness, Christ provides strength. 2
Cor 12:9
3. He gladly gave
up his worldly desires for Jesus.
4. Things are
temporary, but Jesus is eternal.
B. Paul realized that
his soul was more important than the esteem of man.
1. Paul concluded
that to seek the esteem of man was violently detrimental to him.
2. God hates the
proud.
3. Eternal
separation from God is violence to the soul.
C. Paul did not say
that family, education and training was not important.
1. These things do not provide salvation but
they are part of who we are.
2. We must study
the Word to know Christ and to be useful in the ministry.
3. Our history,
education and training should be used to glorify God and not us.
4. Paul did say,
he would rather lose everything to gain Christ Jesus.
5. What we have
gained in life, we gained because of Christ Jesus.
a. All that
we have should be used to His glory.
V:8. "Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss
for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have
suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win
Christ."
A. When Paul
confessed Christ as Lord and Savior, he lost all of his official and social
standing in the
Jewish hierarchy.
1. Before Christ,
he was a Pharisee held in high esteem.
a. Both of
his parents were Hebrew with no mixing of other races.
b. He was
from the tribe of Benjamin who could trace their descendants back to
Abraham.
2. After
accepting Christ as his Savior, he was considered a traitor and was hunted
down to be
killed.
3. Paul was not
focused on his personal circumstances, but his eternal status
with Christ.
B. Paul considered
his knowledge of Christ more important than his status and
position in the World.
1. The word "lost"
in this verse has the idea of violence.
2. Paul
considered any hindrance to his love for Christ as violence.
3. He considered
every worldly loss as his gain for Christ.
a. Paul
considered anything he suffered as a result of his love for Christ, as gain.
C. Paul considered
his worldly pursuits before Christ as dung.
1. The word "dung"
means that which is worthless or what you would throw to a
wild dog.
2. We have to be
careful to not let our stuff become our god.
D. Every Christian
suffers lost for Christ.
1. There is a
change in our thoughts, habits and our focus.
2. Our thoughts
become more spiritual and less worldly.
3. We are
careful to give God the praise for our successes and thanks for our
failures.
4. We dedicate
our time to serve others rather than ourselves.
5. We are
careful to fellowship with other Christians.
6. Every lost is
a gain in our relationship with Jesus.
V:9. "And be found in him, not having mine own
righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of
Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith."
A. Now that we are in
Christ, our focus should be His will.
1. It is not any
goodness in us but the blood of Jesus that covers our sins.
2. Paul was
trained in the law and perfect in it's execution.
a. Yet Paul
knew the law could not provide the righteousness of God.
b. Paul
concluded that righteousness is obtained only through faith in Christ.
Rom 3:22
B. Jesus is the
author and the finisher of our salvation. Heb 12:2
1. The death of
Jesus on the cross is the atonement for the sins of the world.
Rom 3:25
2. His shed blood
continues to cover our sins.
3. We are
justified before the Father through our faith in Jesus Christ.
4. The
Righteousness of Jesus is imputed upon all believers. Rom 4:22-24
C. The faith we have
in Jesus originated in Jesus.
1. No man can
come to Jesus unless he is drawn by the Father. John 6:44
2. Each believer
was given to Jesus by the Father. John 6:37
V:10. "That I may know him, and the power of his
resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto
his death."
A. "That I may
know Him."
1. To know Jesus
is to suffer with Him.
2. We cannot
understand the suffering of Jesus unless we experience some suffering
in our lives.
3. We cannot know
the love of Jesus unless we love others unselfishly.
4. We cannot
understand the compassion of Jesus unless we are compassionate
toward
others.
5. We cannot
understand the forgiveness of Jesus unless we are able to forgive.
B. "That I may
know the power of his resurrection."
1. Jesus died on
the cross, was raised on the third day and is now seated at the right
hand of the
Father.
2. We have hope in
the resurrection powers of Jesus.
a. Jesus said to his disciples that He was
going back to the Father to prepare a place
for us. John 14:2
b. Jesus also said, "Where I am, there
you will be also." John 14:3
3. "That I may
know the fellowship of His suffering."
a. Suffering for Christ identifies us with
Him.
b. Jesus gives
each believer gifts to be used in edifying the body of Christ resulting
in glory to the Father.
c. The believer
should labor with his gifts to serve others.
d. Jesus said that "The poor will always
be with us."
e. There is
always work to be done for Jesus.
f. The world will
know we love Jesus when they see us love one another.
D. "Being made conformable unto His death"
1. The greatest desire
of a believer ought to be an imitation of Christ.
2. Jesus
sacrificed his life for us.
3. It is the duty
and the obligation of the believer to sacrifice his life for Jesus.
a. Luke 17:33 states,
"Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, and whoever
loses his life
will preserve it. "
b. The greatest
freedom of a believer is to be a slave for Jesus.
V:11. "If by any means I might attain unto the
resurrection of the dead."
A. What we believe
as Christians is that life in the spirit with Christ begins with
our death on
earth.
1. We have to
keep in mind that earth is not our home and that we are just passing
through.
2. Heaven is our
home which we have already been positioned with our first belief
in Jesus as
our Lord and Savior.
B. All believers
will be resurrected with an immortal body at the second coming of
Jesus Christ. 1
Cor 15:54 , 1 Thes 4:16 -17.
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