Phil.
3:10-21: “Lay Aside What Lies Behind And Press On To The Future And The Upward
Call of God”
By
1.
In our last
study, we looked verses 1-9 of chapter 3.
1.1.
Speaking of the
Judaizers, Paul told the Philippians to beware of the dogs, or evil workers,
those who mutilate the flesh. Then, he
told the Philippians that we are the true circumcision who worship in the
Spirit of God and put no confidence in the flesh.
1.2.
We discussed what
Paul meant in this chapter when he spoke of having true knowledge of God. We saw that this involves knowledge that is
not just knowledge about God, but that which truly partakes of Christ and is a
knowledge that comes through faith in Christ not by trying to work to make
ourselves righteous in God’s sight through our own effort.
1.3.
We saw that Paul
was trying to get the Philippians to understand that the Judaisers, men who
were going around to the churches and telling the believers that there is more
that a person has to do in order to be saved than just have faith in Christ,
were actually by their own working and righteousness based upon self, hindering
true knowledge of God, and coming to saving faith in Christ.
1.4.
Paul showed that
if any Jew had a right to have confidence in his own righteousness before God
that it would be him, since he was a Pharisee of the highest order. Paul recounted all of his achievements and
pedigree, but then he proclaimed them all to be useless (or dung) in order that
he might gain Christ, and find in Him a righteousness that is not his own, but
a righteousness that is in Christ and based not upon work but faith.
2.
In our study
today, we are going to look at verses 10-21 of chapter 3.
2.1.1. We will discuss more of what it means to truly know
Christ, as Paul speaks of it.
2.1.2. Paul will tells us that he is forgetting what lies
behind him and instead presses on toward the upward calling of God, and thus he
is always moving forward and looking towards the future.
2.1.3. We will look at the many things that hinder the
Christian from pressing on to the future and fulfilling God’s will in his/her
life.
3.
VS 3:10-11 - “10
that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of
His sufferings, being conformed to His death; 11 in order that I may attain to the resurrection
from the dead.”
– Paul declares that he has counted all of his achievements and pedigree to be
useless so that he might know Christ and the power of His resurrection and
fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death
3.1.
In our previous
study, Paul had enumerated his achievements and pedigree to show that if anyone
could have confidence in themselves and their own righteousness to be accepted
by God, it would be him: Phil. 3:4-6, “If anyone else has a mind
to put confidence in the flesh, I far more: 5 circumcised the eighth day, of the nation 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 the
righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless.”
3.2.
Then, we saw that
Paul went on to say that he counted all of those things he had achieved to be
rubbish in order that he might gain Christ:
Phil. 3:7-9, “7 But whatever things were gain to
me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 More than that, I count all things to be loss in
view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have
suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain
Christ, 9 and may be found in Him,
not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that
which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God
on the basis of faith”
3.3.
Remember, when
Paul speaks of “knowing” Christ in chapter 3, he uses that Greek word “gnosko”
which indicates that he was speaking of experimental knowledge or real intimacy
and fellowship with Christ.
3.4.
Now, Paul begins
to discuss what “knowing” Christ involves, and Paul refers primarily to
two things:
3.4.1. ‘The power of His resurrection.’
3.4.1.1.We as Christians should not merely nor primarily be
trying to learn facts about Christ in order to know Him, rather we are to have
a personal connection through the Holy Spirit, and ‘the power of His
resurrection’ in our life as a result.
3.4.1.2.When we by faith die to our old sinful nature and
trust that Christ is living His life in and through us, then we are walking in
‘the power of His resurrection.’
3.4.1.3.Paul saw walking in the resurrection life of Christ as
truly living, and all else as being death.
He writes about being crucified with Christ and Christ as living through
him in Galatians 2:20: “I have been crucified
with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life
which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved
me and gave Himself up for me.”
3.4.2. ‘The
fellowship of His sufferings’.
3.4.2.1.There is no true “knowing” of Christ apart from
also knowing also ‘the fellowship of His sufferings.’
3.4.2.2.We know ‘the fellowship of His sufferings’ when
we:
3.4.2.2.1.Think about what He went through for us in dying for
our sins upon the cross.
3.4.2.2.2.Walk in obedience to the Lord and under His leading,
and as a result suffer just as He suffered for us.
4.
VS 3:12 - “12
Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but
I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by
Christ Jesus.”
– Paul tells the Philippians that he has not yet obtained to knowing Christ or
becoming perfect, but that he was pressing on to lay hold of that for which he was
laid hold of by Christ
4.1.
Paul was the
Philippians hero and example in all that he did. They looked up to him and revered him
greatly. Therefore, he wanted them to
know that he had no ‘already become perfect,’ nor that he truly was
constantly walking in ‘the power of His resurrection.’ Here in this chapter he speaks of that for
which he strives.
4.2.
Paul realized
that he was just another guy and that though he was called in that all
important office of apostle, he nonetheless was not perfect in his conduct and
life.
4.3.
Ah, but it was
his goal and passion to truly let Christ live through him in the power of His
resurrection.
4.4.
Paul says that he
will ‘press on’ in his faith in hopes that one day he may truly ‘lay
hold of that for which’ he ‘was laid hold of by Christ Jesus’. Paul knew he had a commitment and fire within
him to complete those things that the Lord had laid hold upon Him. He also knew that the Lord was going to help
him to complete that calling that He had for him. God would be working in, through, and around
him to complete that calling. He was
laying hold of that for which he had been laid hold of.
4.5.
Paul saw his life
as always going forward, always continuing on the journey and in the calling
that the Lord had for him. In this
chapter, we see him hinting about his life for Christ being similar to the life
of an athlete constantly training and preparing his body to compete. The Commentary Critical and Explanatory
states the following about Paul’s use of this word translated ‘press on’
in this chapter: “reaching forth—with
hand and foot, like a runner in a race, and the body bent forward. The
Christian is always humbled by the contrast between what he is and what he
desires to be. The eye reaches before and draws on the hand, the hand reaches before
and draws on the foot [Bengel].”
4.6.
Jesus told His
disciples in Luke 9:62 that any disciple who looked back to his old like was
not fit or worthy for His kingdom, “No one, after putting his hand to the
plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” The Christian life is always to be one of moving forward,
stepping out, conquering for the Lord.
We must never be content nor satisfied, and never let a previous day’s
events hinder us from completing that which the Lord has for us today.
4.7.
A Commentary
Critical And Explanatory states the following:
“Looking back is sure to end in going back (Lu
9:62): So
4.8.
All of us as
Christians need to realize that we have a calling upon our lives from the Lord,
and we too need to be careful to complete that which we have been laid hold of
by Christ.
5.
VS 3:13-14 - “13
Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but
one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward
to what lies ahead, 14
I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in
Christ Jesus.”
– Paul says that the one thing that he does is that he forgets what lies behind
and reaches forward to what lies ahead, as he presses on toward the goal for
the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus
5.1.
The Bible
Knowledge Commentary says the following:
“Paul’s salvation experience had taken place about 30 years before he
wrote to the Philippians. He had won many spiritual battles in that time. He
had grown much in those years, but he candidly confessed he had not obtained
all this, nor was he yet made perfect (v. 12). He still had more
spiritual heights to climb. This testimony of the apostle reminded the saints
at
5.2.
None of us should
ever be content with what we have achieved for the Lord, none of us should ever
think that there is not more to apprehend of God’s calling of our lives. Warren Wiersbe, in his Genesis Commentary
states, “The life of faith must never stand still; for if your feet are
going, your faith is growing… Comfortable Christianity is opposite the life of
faith, for “pilgrims and strangers” must face new circumstances if they are to
gain new insights about themselves and their Lord. “Let us press on to
maturity” is the challenge (Heb. 6:1).”
Then, from his commentary on Hebrews, Wiesrsbe states, “Hebrews 2:10
calls Him “the Pioneer [captain] of their salvation,” for our salvation
experience must never become static. The Christian life is not a parking lot;
it is a launching pad! It is not enough just to be born again; we must also
grow spiritually (2 Peter 3:18) and make progress in our walk. In Hebrews 12:2,
Jesus is called “the Pioneer [author]... of our faith,” which suggests that He
leads us into new experiences that test our faith and help it to grow. One of
the major themes of Hebrews is “let us press on to maturity” (Heb. 6:1, nasb), and we cannot mature unless we
follow Christ, the Pioneer, into new areas of faith and ministry.”
5.3.
Most of us have
some emotional baggage that we carry around with us from our past, and our
memories can hinder us. Here are ten
things that can keep Christians looking in the past instead of pressing on
towards the upward call of God and looking to those things that are future:
5.3.1. Failures.
5.3.1.1.We all have failed in the past, failed before and
after we came to know Christ. We can
allow some failure(s) in our lives as Christians to so discourage us in our
walk with the Lord that we cease pressing on.
In this place, we are only looking backwards at the failures of our
lives.
5.3.1.2.Sometimes it is a repeated failure in a certain area
that we keep giving to the Lord only to take away again.
5.3.1.3.Paul could have looked upon his having persecuted
Christians to the death at one point in his life as being such a failure that
he was stuck in the past thinking about those poor decisions he made and how he
had hurt God’s people so severely. In
fact, he refers to himself as the chief of sinners. But, instead he says of himself that he is ‘forgetting
what lies behind’ and looking forward to the future. His failures are not hindering his progress
for Christ.
5.3.2. Fear of Failure.
5.3.2.1.It may not be actual failures that keep us from
pressing on and looking forward but more so just the fear that we might fail in
some way.
5.3.2.2.I have know Christian men that I thought were gifted
to teach and pastor but who told me that though they sensed they had certain
giftings that they have never sought to be used in the ministry because they
were afraid that they might fall into some sort of sin, and thus cause others
to stumble.
5.3.2.3.I have know others who were afraid to teach kids in
Sunday School because they were afraid that they might fail and not do a good
job..
5.3.3. Unforgiveness.
5.3.3.1.Some Christians have had a bad experience in their
life, perhaps in their childhood, and they have never been able to forgive the
person who hurt and sinned against them.
The anger and bitterness that they carry colors everything that they do
and immobilizes from being able to grow spiritually. Their entire life can be tainted and framed
by that hurt that they are unwilling to forgive, and they are stuck looking
only in the past.
5.3.3.2.In an internet article
titled, “The Upward Call,” The Upward Call Stuart H. Pouliot, upwardcall@yahoo.com, written by a man I am not familiar with
named Stuart H. Pouliot, has what I consider to be some good
words about unforgiveness in a Christians life:
Unforgiveness is one of the greatest sins that
anyone can harbor in their heart. Why? Because it denies the very fact that
God, through the death of His Son, has forgiven all mankind of their sin. Jesus
is the Lamb slain for the sin of the world. On the cross, Jesus cried out to
His Father: Forgive them, for they know not what they are doing. If God
did this for us, how can we not forgive the sin or offense of another against us,
even if it leads to our own death? Paul wrote that we should forgive each other
as God in Christ has forgiven us (Ephesians 4.32). Consider the heart of
Stephen, a man full of the Holy Spirit. As he was about to be martyred, Stephen
cried out: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (Acts 7.60). This
was a man who was being stoned and all he had in his heart was forgiveness for
his murderers. Being full of the spirit of God will lead a believer in such a
fashion.
The problem is that many do not forgive but
instead allow a hurt or an offense to fester like a boil within their heart
until it becomes so ingrained in the person that it becomes a bitter poison
that eats away all that is good. Paul warned against bitterness. Let all bitterness and wrath and
anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. (Ephesians
4.31 NASB) See to it that no one
comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up
causes trouble, and by it many be defiled…. (Hebrews 12.15 NASB)
The
Greek word for bitterness is pikria, which means “acridity (especially
poison).” In other words, it is like a poison that eats and destroys. Have you
ever watched strong acids eat away at metal or even human flesh? Acids are so
powerful that they cause irreparable damage to many things. Bitterness is like
acid that eats away all that is good. This is what unforgiveness leads to if
not reversed through a heart of forgiveness.
Offenses
can become something a person dwells on and, if not checked, can become an
obsession that eats away at the heart of the person. It is not uncommon to
watch news reports of bad situations and to hear victims rail against their
assailant, even screaming that they hope the person will rot in hell. Divorces
are often very bitter separations in which one or both partners become so
consumed with hate and bitterness toward the other that they cannot settle
their disputes without the courts intervening. Bitterness blinds a person. Pour
sulfuric acid in the human eye and all vision will be lost. Pour bitterness due
to unforgiveness in a person’s heart and all spiritual vision will be lost.
Simply, the person will not see beyond the hatred.
5.3.4. Failure To Trust God.
5.3.4.1.Sometimes something really bad can happen in a
Christian’s life that causes them to wonder why if God loved them, and truly is
on His throne and in control, that He would allow such a thing to happen in
their life. Then, they are caught
looking only backwards in time.
5.3.4.1.1.For instance, about 35 years ago when I first began
sharing the gospel with my grandfather, my dad gave me some insight into his
life. He told me that at one time my
grandfather had gone to church and prayed and believed in God. But, after his 18 year old daughter had died
in a car accident after being hit by a drunk driver, he was told by a priest
that it must have been God’s will. He
couldn’t understand how a loving God could allow or desire such a thing to
happen and so for decades he quit going to church, praying, and believing in
God.
5.3.4.1.2.Many people have had difficult things happen in their
lives that caused them to doubt God’s love, and thus they have pulled away from
the Lord. The apostle Paul could have
looked at his own persecutions, five times receiving 39 lashes, being stoned
and left for dead a couple of times, etc. as well as his own difficulties of
being ship wrecked a couple of times, and as a result pulled away from the Lord
and quit pressing on to what was ahead in following and serving Christ. Yet, Paul never doubted a minute that God loved
him and was in control of his life.
5.3.5. Self Pity.
5.3.5.1.Sometimes Christians can get stuck thinking about
their misfortunes, trials, and difficulties and see themselves as a victim, or
as having gotten the short end of the stick on things. Seeing ourselves constantly as being victims
is paralyzing to our faith and keeps us from fulfilling God’s calling for us.
5.3.5.2.In order to be healthy spiritually, Christians need to
concentrate upon their blessings that they didn’t deserve, the grace of God given
to them in spite of their sin and failures.
They must learn to have thankful hearts.
5.3.6. Our Past Achievements.
5.3.6.1.Some Christians were once in a place where they were
blessed and used greatly by God, and their thoughts often go to the glory days
of old and how mightily God once moved in their life. However, they are not doing what He wants for
them to do today. They are stuck looking
backwards.
5.3.6.2.We Christians need to realize that God’s will for our
lives is always be achieving for Him, always being led and used by Him. We must never be content with what we have
done in the past.
5.3.6.3.Paul previously stated his great achievements, but
then he said that he counted all of those things to be rubbish in view of
gaining and knowing Christ. Paul never
let his great achievements of the past keep him from pressing on and looking to
the future and what God had for him to accomplish.
5.3.7. Laziness.
5.3.7.1.Some Christians are just slothful and lazy when it
comes to pursuing that which God has pursued them for. They read their Bibles sometimes, pray
sometimes, share their faith sometimes, etc.
They are content with the status quo in their life even though they may
be told or know that God could do so much more through their lives if they were
just to step out and let Him do it.
5.3.7.2.The scripture has much to say to the one who is not
pressing on towards the upward calling of God due to laziness, including:
5.3.7.2.1.Proverbs 15:19:
“19 The way of the lazy is as a hedge of thorns, But the path
of the upright is a highway.”
5.3.7.2.2.Proverbs 18:9: “9
He
also who is slack in his work Is brother to him who destroys.”
5.3.7.2.3.Proverbs 19:15:
“15 Laziness casts into a deep sleep, And an idle man will
suffer hunger.”
5.3.7.2.4.Proverbs 20:4:
“4 The sluggard does not plow after the autumn, So he begs
during the harvest and has nothing.”
5.3.7.2.5.Matthew 25:24-30 (parable of the talents): “24 And the one also who
had received the one talent came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard
man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. 25 ‘And I was afraid, and went away and hid
your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’ 26 “But his master answered and said to
him, ‘You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and
gather where I scattered no seed. 27 ‘Then you ought to have put my money in
the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with
interest. 28 ‘Therefore take
away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’ 29 “For to everyone who has, more shall
be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have,
even what he does have shall be taken away. 30 “Throw out the worthless slave into the
outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”.
5.3.8. Apathy.
5.3.8.1.One has to wonder whether the person is even saved who
claims to be a Christian and yet is really just apathetic about God and
pressing on to fulfill God’s will in his life.
Yet, I suspect that there are multitudes who attend churches and take
the name of Christian for themselves are in this category. Apathy causes us to look backwards instead of
forwards.
5.3.8.2.Jesus’ words to the church in Laodicea ought to be a
warning to all who call themselves Christians and yet are apathetic: Revelation 3:15-16, “15 I know your deeds,
that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. 16 ‘So because you are lukewarm, and
neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.”
5.3.9. Forgetting What We Have Been Saved From.
5.3.9.1.It appears that some Christians may shrink back from
pressing on towards the upward call of God because they simply have forgotten
how awesome the Lord is for having forgiven them of their great debt of sin.
5.3.9.2.Christians sometimes get the idea that God owed them
some sort of favor or that they were somehow deserving of God sending His only
begotten Son to come to the earth and suffer and die for their sins.
5.3.9.3.When we consider what Jesus went through on our
behalf, each of us ought to realize that we have a debt we could never repay,
and thus we are more than willing to persevere in our faith and fulfill God’s
calling and will for our lives..
5.3.10. Failure To Keep Focused (as an athlete must keep
focused on the goal).
5.3.10.1.Sometimes Christians simply lose their focus and
perspective, and thus they quit pressing forward towards the upward call of God
for their lives. Any athlete who trains
seriously for a sport realizes that his life must be one of disciple and
training.
5.3.10.2.When athletes competed in the Olympic games it was
imperative for them to keep their eyes upon the goal as they ran their
race. Running a race is an act of
futility of one does not cross the finish line and do his best to win the
prize. For Paul, the prize was to hear the
Lord’s, “Well done thou good and faithful servant.”
5.4.
The Bible
Knowledge Commentary states the following about this ‘upward call’ of
God that we as Christians have been apprehended by God to fulfill, and the
reward that awaits us when we do fulfill it:
“high calling—literally, “the calling that is above”
(Ga 4:26;
5.5.
The Bible
Knowledge Commentary further states: “Paul
pursued Christlikeness with the enthusiasm and persistence of a runner in the
Greek games. Unlike the Judaizers, whose influence was prevalent among the
Philippians, the apostle did not claim to have attained spiritual maturity. He
was still pressing on, pursuing that for which Christ Jesus took hold of him.
Nor had he yet taken hold of it, that is, he had not yet attained
perfection or ultimate conformity to Christ. But he was determined that he
would forget the past and, like a runner, press on toward the goal. Paul
refused to be controlled or absorbed by his past heritage (vv. 5-7) or his
attainments (v. 8). Vigorously and with
concentration Paul sought to win the prize to which God had called him
heavenward (v. 14). Again the Greek games must have been on his mind as
he wrote of the prize. The winner in those games was called to the place where
the judge sat in order to receive his prize. Paul may have referred to ultimate
salvation in God’s presence, or to receiving rewards at “the judgment seat of
Christ” (2 Cor. 5:10).”
5.6.
As I was doing my
study for this message I was thinking of our own Marcus Reynolds when he
competed this past week at the state track meet in hurdles. In the race he was running, he hit one of the
hurdles, but he didn’t look back when he did so. He kept focused on the finished line and ended
up in 5th place. If he hadn’t
hit the hurdle he would have placed much higher, however because he didn’t look
back and kept pressing on towards the finished line, he was able to place. This is just how we should do as Christians when
we stumble. We shouldn’t look backwards.
5.7.
I think that
contrary to what some preachers have said, Paul is not saying that we should never
let for one microsecond our minds think about anything in our past. In fact, he would be considered hypocritical
if he meant this because he has already looked back for us and recounted all of
his achievements and pedigree. Not
thinking at all of the past doesn’t really work reality, and probably isn’t
even possible. Plus, Psychologists say
that Holocaust survivors remember every detail of the horror that they went
through in the Nazi concentration camps of WWII, and yet they have been able to
move on in their lives. Even Corrie Ten
Boon wrote “The Hiding Place” detailing her hiding under the floor of a house
in Nazi Germany as the Nazi’s were rounding up Jews. It is the case though that we who are
Christians are not to allow those things in our past to dominate our
lives. They must not be our
concentration nor our focus. We must put
foremost in our minds the Lord and following and obeying Him and His calling
for us, and we must let go of the past and leave it in God’s hands as we
forgive all of those who may have harmed us.
5.8.
I read a blog
post by a man named Allen Townsend whom I know nothing about, but he speaks of
how Paul must have been haunted by the fact that he once persecuted the
church. Allen writes, “Paul seems never to have
been able to forget his persecuting activity, based on that misdirected zeal
for God (Acts 22:3; cf.
6.
VS 3:15 - “15
Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in
anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you;” – Paul says
that as many as are perfect, let them have this attitude, and that if in
anything that they have a different attitude that God will reveal that to them
6.1.
This word
translated ‘perfect’ here more closely means “mature.” The believer who is spiritually mature in
Christ and no longer a spiritual babe, he will be one who understands Paul’s
exhortation about the importance of laying aside everything in the past and
pressing forward to fulfill Christ’s calling on our lives.
6.2.
It is interesting
here to note that Paul states that if you have a ‘different attitude’
about these things that God will reveal it to you. God is in the business of causing His people
to always be moving forward in the walk with Him, and therefore He will bring
about conviction in our lives if we are not pressing forward for Him.
7.
VS 3:16-19 - “16
however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have
attained. 17 Brethren, join in
following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you
have in us. 18 For many walk, of whom I
often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of
the cross of Christ, 19 whose end is destruction,
whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame,
who set their minds on earthly things.” – Paul tells the Philippians to keep living by that
same standard which they had attained, and to observe those who walk according
to the pattern that Paul had set, then he says that there are many who walk
differently who are enemies of the cross of Christ, those whose end is
destruction and whose god is their appetite, their glory is their shame, and
they have set their minds on earthly things
7.1.
Paul begins to
talk about patterns here. He tells the
Philippians to ‘keep living’ by that same standard which they ‘have
attained.’
7.2.
Further, Paul
admonishes them to follow his example.
What a great thing it is for a Christian when he can say, “Do as I do.”
7.3.
Then, Paul tells
the Philippians to observe those in the church both who ‘walk according to
the pattern’ that Paul set down for them, as well as those who do not and
walk in a different pattern.
7.4.
Paul weeps and
has great sorrow knowing that there are ‘many’ in the church who are actually
‘enemies of the cross of Christ.’
These ones will not do well in the end, for instead of inheriting
eternal life, their ‘end is destruction.’ Paul describes their ‘god’ as being ‘their appetite,’ and he
says that they ‘set their minds on earthly things.’ This reminds me of the Faith teachers and
televangelists of our day. Making the
ungodly amounts of money that they make in preaching the gospel, it is obvious
that their ‘god is their appetite’ and that they are setting ‘their
minds on earthly things.’
8.
VS 3:20-21 - “20
For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a
Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; 21
who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the
body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all
things to Himself.”
– Paul tells the Philippians that our citizenship as Christians is in heaven,
from which we also wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, and He when He
returns will transform our humble bodies into conformity with the body of His
glory
8.1.
We who are
genuinely saved Christians are strangers and aliens on this earth, for ‘our
citizenship is in heaven’. Further,
we ‘eagerly wait for a Savior’ in Jesus Christ.
8.2.
I love the
promise for the believer of a resurrection body like that of Christ’s that is
given in verse 21.
9.
CONCLUSIONS:
9.1.
Are you laying
aside the things that are behind you and not letting one day’s events hinder
you from pressing forward and completing God’s calling in your life?
9.2.
Do you realize that
can never be content of feel like you have completed the things that the Lord
has for you to fulfill, and that you always are needing to press forward and
complete more for Him?
9.3.
Are you keeping
your eye upon the goal and the rewards that you will one day receive for
faithful service for the Lord?
9.4.
Can you trust
your life completely into the Lord’s hands, being willing to forgive if
forgiveness is needed, and thus be able to press on towards the high calling of
God?