INTENSE CHRISTIANITY (Lesson Six)

Transcription

1 INTENSE CHRISTIANITY (Lesson Six) PHILIPPIANS 3: Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe. 2 Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision. 3 For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. 4 Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: 5 Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; 6 Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. 7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. 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, 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: 10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; 11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. 12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. 13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. In verse 9 of our text Paul speaks about two contrasting types of righteousness. He speaks about his own righteousness and he speaks about the righteousness of God. At this point, I believe that it would be helpful if we examined briefly a Biblical concept of righteousness before examining verse 9. INTENSE CHRISTIANITY (Lesson 6) Page 1 of 8

2 The word righteousness is a translation of the Greek word dikaiosune (dik-ah-yos-oo -nay,) which means what is right, conformable to right, pertaining to right. It refers to a state or condition conformable to order, apart from the consideration as to whether usage and custom or other factors determine the order and direction. In other words, that which is righteous in the Biblical sense is not determined by man nor by any external consideration but by the divine decree of God. To put it another way, righteousness is determined by God alone. Biblical righteousness must be a righteousness of God. God is the goal and standard of integrity. Righteousness in the Biblical sense is a condition of rightness the standard of which is God, which shows itself in behaviour conformable to God, and has to do above all things with its relation to God, and with the walk before Him. It is fundamentally based on knowledge of God and a relationship with Him. It follows then that the more intimate our knowledge of God and the closer our relationship with Him, the more righteous we will be. The righteousness which becomes ours when we are saved is that which God declares to be righteousness and imputes to us. Righteousness thus expresses the relation of being right into which God puts the person who believes. Thus, the righteousness which the gospel offers the sinner is God s own righteousness in which the person will stand as long as he continues in a right relation to God. His guilt is taken away because There was One who was willing to die in his stead, that a soul so unworthy might live. A positive righteousness, which is Jesus Christ, is given to him by the grace of God. The white linen curtains of the Tabernacle Court symbolized three things, the righteousness which God is, the righteousness which He demands of any person who wants to be in a right relation to Him, and the righteousness which He gives in answer to faith. The linen curtains keep the sinner out of God s presence, but the door or gate affords entrance to the Holy of Holies through the blood sacrifice. Now the same linen curtains that kept the sinner out of God s presence, keep him in God s presence. The righteousness of God that will condemn the sinner for all eternity, who rejects it, is the same righteousness that saves and keeps saved for all eternity, the sinner who accepts it. Many Christians only see the condemning righteousness of God, and they are scared of it, until they come to see that righteousness that condemns when it is rejected, is the same righteousness that saves when it is accepted. It is at this point that the light of the gospel breaks into their inner-most beings and they have peace with God. In Romans 1:16-17 we read the following: For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. Paul says that the righteousness of God, or God s plan of justifying people by faith, is revealed in the gospel. Here the great truth of the gospel is brought out, that people are justified by faith, and not by the deeds of the Law. It is called the righteousness of God, because it is God s plan, in distinction from all the plans set up by people. It was originated by him; it differs from all others; and it claims him as its author, and tends to his glory. It is called his righteousness, as it is the way by which he receives and treats people as righteous. INTENSE CHRISTIANITY (Lesson 6) Page 2 of 8

3 We must understand that God s righteousness and man s righteousness are two utterly different kinds of righteousness. Many Christians believe that God s righteousness and man s righteousness are merely two different phases of the same righteousness. They have the idea that the murderer s deeds are unrighteousness, but that he still may have a little good in him that might be counted for righteousness, and that better men may have a little more righteousness than the murderer, while God has the most righteousness of all. Eventually we get to thinking that there is a certain degree of righteousness in man that is acceptable to God and that if a man reaches that point he will attain Heaven by his own human righteousness. Everywhere the Bible repudiates such a concept. The righteousness of God is totally unachievable by human efforts. God does not ask men to behave in order to be saved, but to believe. In Titus 3:5 Paul wrote, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit. In Ephesians 2:8-9 he wrote, For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. And in Romans 4:5 he wrote, When people work, their wages are not a gift, but something they have earned. But people are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners (New Living Translation). The same truth runs all the way through the revelation of God, and may be considered to be the structural foundation of the entire gospel message. When Paul tells us that the gospel reveals the righteousness of God, it is saying that God must inevitably demand of man that which man can never accomplish by himself. Think how unjust it would be if God set a condition for entrance into Heaven that could be met by only a small portion of the human race. If God demanded a certain degree of intelligence, it would be unjust to fools like me. If He demanded wealth, it would be unjust to paupers like me. If He demanded moral righteousness, it would be unjust to dogs like me. God comes to us, however, on a basis that is totally apart from any standard set by man. We will never truly understand what God has done and is trying to do in our lives until we realize that the nature of God demands that He require of us that which he knows is impossible for us. When it has been thoroughly demonstrated that no man can fulfill the requirements of God, then He Himself intervenes and give us as a free gift that which He demanded of us. Unfortunately there are some people who spend their time trying to increase the percentage of their human righteousness, and thus fail to lay hold upon the totally different divine righteousness which is provided by the gospel. Paul says in Romans 1:17, that the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. The source of the gift of righteousness by God to man is faith. Faith is the means whereby righteousness is given. This expression is taken by some to mean that faith originates with God who is faithful and that the faithfulness of God results in the Christian s faith. Perhaps the phrase from faith to faith, is designed by Paul to express the idea, that God s plan of justifying people is revealed in the gospel, and that this plan is by faith, and that the benefits of the plan will be extended to all that have faith. It is also possible that the phrase may mean faith from start to finish. In other words, salvation is by faith from first to last, from beginning to end. In quoting Habakkuk 2:4, The just shall live by faith, Paul shows that righteousness by faith is no new idea, but found in the prophets. The just man, or the righteous man, shall live by his confidence in God. The primary context of Habakkuk s prophecy is the Babylonian captivity. INTENSE CHRISTIANITY (Lesson 6) Page 3 of 8

4 The Babylonians were going to come upon the land and destroy it, and remove the nation. But this was not to be a permanent situation. The exile in Babylon would one day be ended and they who had confidence in God would live that is, they would be restored to their country, and made happy. Their confidence in God would sustain them, and preserve them. This would express the doctrine which Paul was defending. It was not by relying on his own merit that the Israelite would be delivered, but it was by confidence in God, by his strength and mercy. On the same principle men and women are saved under the gospel. It was not by reliance on their own works or merit; it was by confidence in God, by faith, that they were to live. We will now consider what Paul wrote in Philippians 3:9. The words be found are probably used here by Paul to mean turn out actually to be. The idea involved is that of a revelation of character. Paul wants his life to demonstrate that he is in Christ. He wants to be found by those who observe his manner of life that his character has been radically affected as a result of his relationship with Jesus Christ. When Paul says he wants to be found in him, he means that he desires to be completely united with him. To gain Christ means to be completely united with him. Paul defines complete union by means of his understanding of what is generally known as the doctrine of justification by faith. In effect, he is claiming that to be in Christ is nothing else than having the righteousness which comes from God through faith in Christ. The formula in him is one of the most characteristic phrases of Paul. It points to the closest possible union between Christ and the saint. This close bond is best expressed in the apostle s own words: For to me to live is Christ (Philippians1:21). I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me (Galatians 2:20). Obviously Paul is now speaking as a converted Christian with a new perspective. The focus is on his present experience. The words not having mine own righteousness, seem to suggest that Paul had a personal righteousness, which was not the case. The idea is not having any righteousness which can be called my own. Paul did not desire to be seen to have any righteousness that would be the result of trying to keep a set of rules. He was done with that. He wanted persons to see in his life, the righteousness which the Holy Spirit produces in answer to faith in Christ. The righteousness which Paul speaks of is not a righteousness acquired by Paul s own efforts. Paul is saying in effect, No longer am I rightly related to God because of what I myself have done. Paul makes clear that the principle of law is not the means by which he received true righteousness. He insists, literally, but that which is through the faith of Christ. It is the principle of faith that really works. The initiative is with God. In biblical understanding, faith is basically, not a matter of intellectual assent, but of personal trust. It is an attitude of constant and total dependence on God, a response to the trustworthiness of God. Personal righteousness in the life is referred to here, rather than justifying righteousness, since only the former could be seen by men, the latter being the legal standing of the believer as in Christ and before God. The phrase, the faith of Christ refers to the faith which Christ originates and inspires, of which He is the Author, which also He nourishes and maintains. It is therefore the faith which is made available to every Christian by God and with which every Christian may appropriate the blessings of grace. INTENSE CHRISTIANITY (Lesson 6) Page 4 of 8

5 According to the Pharisees, righteousness for man consisted in the minute and precise fulfilment of all the requirements of the Law. This was thought to be the only way to enjoy communion with God and the only guarantee of a person s right relationship with God. According to Paul as a Christian, faith alone is able to insure for him such a relationship. It is clear, then, that righteousness as used in the present context is not a result of one s moral attainment or quality. The significance is basically relational, that is, denoting a right relationship with God. In verses ten and eleven Paul reveals to the Philippians that he has forfeited the loss of all things not only that he might appropriate Christ as his Saviour and have others see by his life that that was the case, but in order that he may know Him. That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. The New Living Translation renders these verses as follows: I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead! The Message translates the passage thusly: I gave up all that inferior stuff so I could know Christ personally, experience his resurrection power, be a partner in his suffering, and go all the way with him to death itself. If there was any way to get in on the resurrection from the dead, I wanted to do it. The words to know, are to know by experience. The tense in the Greek causes us to translate, to come to know by experience. Paul wants to come to know the Lord Jesus in that fullness of experiential knowledge which is only wrought by being like Him. Obviously Paul is speaking about a personal experience. When he was living under the Law, all Paul had was a set of rules. But now he has a Friend, a Master, and a constant Companion! Now he has a relationship with God! Knowing Jesus Christ should be the greatest desire of a Christian. Every other desire should pale into insignificance when compared to this one. Is there in our hearts an overwhelming desire for God; not for what God can do but for Him? How hungry and thirsty are we for a relationship with Jesus Christ? We will consider the expressions of two Biblical characters who demonstrated this overwhelming desire, this hunger and thirst of which we speak. MOSES Exodus 33:1-3, And the Lord said unto Moses, Depart, and go up hence, thou and the people which thou hast brought up out of the land of Egypt, unto the land which I sware unto Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, Unto thy seed will I give it: And I will send an angel before thee; and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite: Unto a land flowing with milk and honey: for I will not go up in the midst of thee; for thou art a stiffnecked people: lest I consume thee in the way. And Moses said unto the Lord, See, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight. Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people. And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence. For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy INTENSE CHRISTIANITY (Lesson 6) Page 5 of 8

6 sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth. And the Lord said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name. And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory. And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy. And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live. And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by:and I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen. DAVID Psalm 27:4 One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple. Psalm 42:1-2 As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God? Psalm 63:1-2 O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. What is in Paul s mind when he speaks about knowing God? Paul says All I want is to know Christ and to experience the power of his resurrection, to share in his sufferings and become like him in his death. Knowing Jesus Christ involves experiencing the power of his resurrection. The power of his resurrection does not mean the power by which Christ was raised from the dead, or the power of Christ by which Paul would be raised from the dead. Rather, it refers to the power of the resurrected Christ which is at work in the life of the believer, through the Holy Spirit, raising him from death in sin to the new life in Christ. Paul wants to know in an experiential way the power of Christ s resurrection. That is, he wants to experience the same power which raised Christ from the dead surging through his own being, overcoming sin in his life and producing the Christian graces. The Greek word for power used here is the same one that is used in Romans 1:16. It means. that which overcomes resistance. But knowing Jesus Christ also involves experiencing the fellowship of his sufferings. This phrase is to be taken closely with the preceding clause the power of his resurrection, since it is linked with a connective and, and the noun fellowship shares the same definite article with the word power. This indicates that experiencing the power of the resurrected Christ and participating in his sufferings are not two separate experiences, but two aspects of the same experience. The Greek word for fellowship here means a joint participation. The sufferings of Christ spoken of here are of course not His substitutionary sufferings on the Cross but His sufferings for righteousness sake while on earth. To share in the sufferings of Christ refers not merely to outward hardships and persecutions but more fundamentally to an inward experience, in the same way that the experience of the power of the risen Christ is an inward experience. INTENSE CHRISTIANITY (Lesson 6) Page 6 of 8

7 In Hebrews 5:1-10, the writer of the letter gives us a hint of the sufferings of Christ: Every high priest is a man chosen to represent other people in their dealings with God. He presents their gifts to God and offers sacrifices for their sins. And he is able to deal gently with ignorant and wayward people because he himself is subject to the same weaknesses. That is why he must offer sacrifices for his own sins as well as theirs. And no one can become a high priest simply because he wants such an honor. He must be called by God for this work, just as Aaron was. That is why Christ did not honor himself by assuming he could become High Priest. No, he was chosen by God, who said to him, You are my Son. Today I have become your Father. And in another passage God said to him, You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek. While Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could rescue him from death. And God heard his prayers because of his deep reverence for God. Even though Jesus was God s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered. In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him. And God designated him to be a High Priest in the order of Melchizedek (New Living Translation). Paul wanted to so completely identify with his Lord in all things, that he desired to participate in the same kind of sufferings that his Lord had endured! Paul wished to be just like Jesus. He felt that it was an honour to live as Christ did; to manifest the spirit that He did, and to suffer in the same manner. All that Christ did and suffered was glorious in Paul s view, and he wished in all things to resemble Him. Many persons are willing to reign with Christ, but they are not willing to suffer with Him. Many desire to wear a crown of glory, but they do not desire to wear a crown of thorns. Many ask to share in His glory, but they would never ask to share His grief or pain. This was not the feeling of Paul. He wished in all things to be just like Christ, and hence he counted it an honour to be permitted to suffer as He did. This is intense Christianity! The true Christian will esteem it a privilege to be made just like Jesus Christ, not only in glory, but in suffering. Is this how we feel? If we do, it is evidence that we love Him; if we do not, then perhaps we have never fully appreciated the true nature of our salvation. Knowing Jesus Christ in the Biblical sense is to have intimate personal knowledge involving experience and appropriation. Knowing Christ, experiencing the power of His resurrection and the sharing of His sufferings are not three distinctive events, but are all part of the same event. When the following four things are actualised in the life of Paul, namely, to be discovered by men to be in Christ by the very life he lives, by coming to know Him better all the time, by experiencing the same power that raised Christ from the dead surging through his own being, and by becoming a joint-participant in His sufferings for righteousness sake, then Paul will constantly be made conformable to Christ s death. The words made conformable mean literally, to bring to the same form with some other person. In its verb form the Greek word means to give outward expression of one s inner intrinsic nature. While not denying the possibility that the reference can be to physical death, the context appears to demand an interpretation which speaks of an inward transformation of one s nature. Paul s desire was that he might so come to know his Lord, experience the power of His resurrection operating in his life, and a joint-participation in His sufferings, that he would be brought to the place where he would become, both as to his inner heart-life and also as to the outward expression of his inner heartlife, like his Lord with respect to His death. As we have noted we are not referring merely to the physical death of Jesus which was for others, but His death to self, as illustrated so vividly to the Philippians in the self-emptying of the Lord Jesus in chapter 2, verse7. This self-emptying was true of our Lord not only in INTENSE CHRISTIANITY (Lesson 6) Page 7 of 8

8 His act of becoming incarnate and of stooping to the death of the Cross, but also one that conditioned His entire earthly life and made it the beautiful life it was. This was a death to self, a denying of self for the blessing of others. The following passages speak to this death to self which was so characteristic of our Lord: John 8:28-30 So Jesus said, When you have lifted up the Son of Man on the cross, then you will understand that I AM he. I do nothing on my own but say only what the Father taught me. And the one who sent me is with me he has not deserted me. For I always do what pleases him (New Living Translation). The Message renders these verses as follows: So Jesus tried again. When you raise up the Son of Man, then you will know who I am that I m not making this up, but speaking only what the Father taught me. The One who sent me stays with me. He doesn t abandon me. He sees how much joy I take in pleasing him. Mark 14:35-36 And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt. The Message rendering is very moving: Going a little ahead, he fell to the ground and prayed for a way out: Papa, Father, you can can t you? get me out of this. Take this cup away from me. But please, not what I want what do you want? This was what Paul was striving for. The most radical conformity is here indicated. It was not only the undergoing of a physical death like that of Christ s, but a conformity to the spirit and character of His life, the beauty, meekness, lowliness, and submission of Christ. Is this what we are striving for? If not, why not? In verse 11 Paul writes, If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. The expression if by any means is not an expression of doubt but one of humility. It is a modest but assured hope. Paul expresses a sense of expectation and hope with humility. Paul does not appear here to be speaking of the future resurrection of the physical body of the saint. That is assured him in 1 Corinthians 15. He seems to have in mind here the spiritual resurrection of the believing sinner, a resurrection out from a state in which he is dead in trespasses and sins to one in which he is alive with the divine life of God motivating his being. Paul desires the full operation of the divine life to surge through his Christian experience in such a manner that the fragrance of the life of his Lord may permeate his entire life. This is the goal to which he is striving and the goal to which he has not yet attained. When he attained this goal, he will experience what he longed for in his desire that he might he found by men to be in Christ, to have Him as his righteousness, to come to know Him in an experiential way, to feel the power that raised Christ from the dead surging through his being, to have a participation in His sufferings for righteousness sake, and to be made conformable to His death to self. Based on the analysis given above, one can restructure verses into two sentences: All I want is to know Christ, namely to experience the power of his resurrection and share in his sufferings. I want to know Christ by becoming like him in death, in the hope that I myself will be raised from death to life. INTENSE CHRISTIANITY (Lesson 6) Page 8 of 8