In our study of Philippians chapter three, we will look at the salvation and the sanctification of the apostle Paul. We will apply the lessons of his life in Christ to ours.
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In conclusion, my brothers: rejoice in union with the Lord. It is no trouble for me to repeat what I have written you before, and for you it will be a safeguard:
Paul assures the Philippians that he doesn't mind reminding them of the things that they have already been taught. He says, in fact, that it is necessary for their own protection from false teachings.
beware of the dogs, those evildoers, the Mutilated! For it is we who are the Circumcised, we who worship by the Spirit of God and make our boast in the Messiah Yeshua! We do not put confidence in human qualifications,
Now, Paul gets specific about the things that these men were teaching and once again it comes down to law versus grace. He calls them dogs just as the prophet Isaiah did (see Isaiah 56:10) in referring to prophets & teachers that just told the people what they wanted to hear instead of the word of God. You see, people want to hear that they can do something towards their salvation and so these false teachers would add a few rules to grace. The same sort of thing happens even today within the body of Christ as we see all kinds of denominations within the church. Most of these divisions (denominations) are based on some point or other of the law. Most pastors do not want to tell the people that they are free in Christ but instead want to control them through some set of rules and traditions.
even though I certainly have grounds for putting confidence in such things. If anyone else thinks he has grounds for putting confidence in human qualifications, I have better grounds: b’rit-milah on the eighth day, by birth belonging to the people of Isra’el, from the tribe of Binyamin, a Hebrew-speaker, with Hebrew-speaking parents, in regard to the Torah, a Parush,
Paul begins to list seven things that could have given him confidence in the flesh. He does this as sort of a my religion versus yours comparison. He is saying that, if there is anyone that thinks they are all that with regards to the law, they probably cannot even match his qualifications much less the standards of God. The first thing that he mentions is the fact that he was circumcised on the eighth day according to the law. This tells us that he came from a religious family who raised him according to the Mosaic Law. The second thing that he lists is the fact that he is a full blooded Jew unlike many of the Judaizers. The third thing he lists is the fact that he is not just from any tribe but was descended from Benjamin who was the son of Jacob's right hand. The fourth qualification that he lists is the fact that he was a part of the religious system and the fifth is that he was a Pharisee who was considered the best of Israel.
in regard to zeal, a persecutor of the Messianic Community, in regard to the righteousness demanded by legalism, blameless.
Paul's sixth qualification speaks of the fact that he was not content just to run the followers of The Way out of Jerusalem and quit like the rest of the religious leaders. He was, in fact, pursuing them to Damascus when he encountered Jesus. His final qualification speaks to the fact that he had brought all of the required sacrifices to the temple.
But the things that used to be advantages for me, I have, because of the Messiah, come to consider a disadvantage. Not only that, but I consider everything a disadvantage in comparison with the supreme value of knowing the Messiah Yeshua as my Lord. It was because of him that I gave up everything and regard it all as garbage, in order to gain the Messiah and be found in union with him, not having any righteousness of my own based on legalism, but having that righteousness which comes through the Messiah’s faithfulness, the righteousness from God based on trust.
Paul says that all of his religion is like trash compared to having his relationship with Jesus Christ. He had been one of the top of the heap as far as the religious system was concerned but his position in the system did not bring him righteousness with God. The same thing is true today even in "the Church" as many attend regularly and go through the motions, traditions and rituals without faith in Jesus. If we compare our actions with that of Paul, we even come up short and he said that all of his qualifications were as trash. Paul lost his religion and we need to as well because it does not have the power to save.
Yes, I gave it all up in order to know him, that is, to know the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings as I am being conformed to his death, so that somehow I might arrive at being resurrected from the dead.
In this passage, we see Paul's desire to be like Christ in all things. As we see, Paul did not completely understand how all of this happens but the desire of his heart was to follow in the steps of Jesus. This speaks of what is known as sanctification.
It is not that I have already obtained it or already reached the goal — no, I keep pursuing it in the hope of taking hold of that for which the Messiah Yeshua took hold of me. Brothers, I, for my part, do not think of myself as having yet gotten hold of it;
Paul stated two times that he has not achieved the goal of being Christlike. He says that he continues to strive for that goal (even though he was under arrest in Rome at the time). There are those who miss his point and take this to mean that, if we do not work at it, we will fall away from the faith and lose our salvation. That is not what Paul was saying as he was not pressing on to achieve salvation through his works but was seeking to be more like his Savior because of his salvation. This passage speaks of sanctification and not salvation. Salvation happens the moment we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Sanctification is a process that continues until we go to be with Him.
but one thing I do: forgetting what is behind me and straining forward toward what lies ahead, I keep pursuing the goal in order to win the prize offered by God’s upward calling in the Messiah Yeshua.
How do we run this race that Paul speaks of? He gives us the answer here as he says that first he forgets what is behind. This speaks of forgetting our past failures in listening to the Spirit of God as He leads us through this process of sanctification. This is important because, if we dwell on our past failures, we will become discouraged and ineffective which is not of God. The second thing we do is to strain toward the goal meaning we actively look for and listen to the voice of the Spirit. We expect God to lead us through everything instead of just going to Him when we feel that we need a little help. So, what is the "prize" that Paul speaks of? There are many who confuse this with salvation but that is not what he was talking about. We see the answer to this question from Jesus' own words in the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25). We see that the man who took what was given to him by his master and made it grow was given three things and we are reminded that the number three is associated with the earthly display of God's will. First, the man was rewarded by hearing his master say "Well done, good and faithful servant!". Personally, I think that hearing those words from my Lord will be the greatest reward of all. The second thing that the man received was that he was put "in charge of many things" and this speaks about what we are going to be doing on the New Earth when Jesus returns. The third thing that the man got was to "share your master's happiness" and this speaks to the fact that we are going to be able to see the fruits of our labor on this earth. We are going to know those that we have brought to faith in Jesus Christ and we will get to join with Him in welcoming them into His presence.
Therefore, as many of us as are mature, let us keep paying attention to this; and if you are differently minded about anything, God will also reveal this to you. Only let our conduct fit the level we have already reached.
Paul explains that this teaching is for those who are mature in their faith meaning that they are firmly grounded in the knowledge of the grace of God through Jesus Christ. He also trusted God to show the truth to those who were less mature and disagreed. He urges the Philippian believers to simply strive to live like Christ as He has saved us and even given us the power to do so through the Holy Spirit.
Brothers, join in imitating me, and pay attention to those who live according to the pattern we have set for you. For many — I have told you about them often before, and even now I say it with tears — live as enemies of the Messiah’s execution-stake. They are headed for destruction! Their god is the belly; they are proud of what they ought to be ashamed of, since they are concerned about the things of the world.
Paul reminds the believers that it is important to have the "right" friends. He tells us to join with those who are walking the talk as he did. We see that it made Paul sad that there were those who would not accept the gospel. Many times, I have heard that we must hang with the lost in order to earn the right to share the gospel with them but Paul tells us the opposite thing here. We are to share the gospel with people and trust God to use it to change their hearts. This is what Jesus was speaking of when He compared the kingdom of God with a man scattering seed (see Mark 4).
But we are citizens of heaven, and it is from there that we expect a Deliverer, the Lord Yeshua the Messiah. He will change the bodies we have in this humble state and make them like his glorious body, using the power which enables him to bring everything under his control.
Paul reminds us that the earth that we see today is not our home, if we are in Christ. We are waiting for Him to renew all things and that includes our bodies. We will not reach the goal of being Christlike in all things until He returns and changes us. But, that does not mean that we conform to the ways of this world. Those that are at home (citizens) of this world will stay here until the day of judgment while those that are citizens of heaven through Jesus Christ will go to be with Him.
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