Transcript Slide 1

Presentation 08
The Structure of the Book
Opening and introduction 1:1-2
Paul and the Philippian Church 1:3-26
Exhortation and Examples 1:27-2:30
Warnings 3:1-4:1
The Danger of Ritual 3:1-6
A Better Alternative 3:7-11
The Danger of Perfectionists and Lawbreakers 3.12-4:1
Encouragement Gratitude and Final Greetings 4: 2-23
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Introduction
Having dealt with the danger of
selfishness within the Philippian
church in Chapter 2 Paul now draws
their attention to the danger of ritual.
This was not a new danger to the
Philippians. Paul had warned them
about it before. But there are some
areas in our Christian life where it is
particularly important and also “safe”
v1 to hear the same things over and
over again!
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The reality of Paul’s Joy
One of the amazing things about this chapter is that Paul prefaces all
he will say about the terrible danger facing the church with a call to
rejoice! Cf v1 “rejoice in the Lord”. We might think that this command
is strangely out of place. Why is it here? Because external threats
should not displace our enjoyment of God.
Here is one of the great strengths of the
Christian faith. It equips us to face danger
from a standpoint of joy – we know that we
belong to God. And we are able to rejoice as
we submit ourselves to his Lordship and open
our lives to his plan for us and trust in his
guiding and controlling hand.
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The reality of Paul’s Joy
The second thing that can promote joy is our
knowledge of God's love for us. Learn to
luxuriate in that knowledge! Think of his love in
the morning when you waken, remember it
during the day when you are getting frayed at
the edges, rejoice in it as you go to bed! Some
people go through life feeling the world is
against them. E.g. when no one remembers to
send them a birthday card they stand in a
corner and sulk. They sulk when they could be
praising God. For God has not forgotten them
and his love for them does not diminish. Cf 2
Tim 4.16-18. Paul would allow nothing to blind
him to the wonder of God's love and care.
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The Danger Revealed
Having established the priority of rejoicing in God, Paul
now describes the danger. A group of troublemakers
known as Judaisers followed Paul on his missionary
journeys and tried to persuade new converts that they
weren't true Christians until they were circumcised.
Historically, the Jews had always made a great deal of
the outward circumcision of their bodies which marked
them out as God's people. However, they angered God
because their circumcision was superficial – there was no
spiritual reality attached to the rite. We read in Jer. 9.25
"The days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will
punish all who are circumcised only in the flesh.” They
were lax and indifferent when it came to spiritual realities.
Similarly, the Judaisers were more concerned with ritually
cutting their bodies than with their spiritual health.
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The Danger Revealed
Paul’s concern at the harm the Judaisers did is seen
in the strong language he uses to describe them.
First, he calls them "dogs“ v2. Was he thinking of the
packs of wild dogs that roamed the cities always
spoiling for a fight? Secondly, they are called "evil
workers". They never missed a chance to stir things
up. They rocked the boat and tried to wreck gospel
ministry wherever they went. Finally, they are called
"mutilators of the flesh" almost "butchers". They
butchered people's experience of Christ saying it
was inadequate. They devoted their considerable
knowledge and abilities to negative causes. If you
removed from their preaching all their criticism of
others there would be nothing left!
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The True Circumcision
Over against the danger of the Judaisers’ empty ritual, Paul identifies
three areas to show that Christians are the true ‘spiritual circumcision’.
1. They worship God by the Spirit. For some the most important thing
about worship is its emotional, intellectual and aesthetic aspects. These
have their place but it is the spiritual dimension that makes worship
real. Cf Jn 4.23, Eph 2.1-6
How do we worship God in Spirit? By depending
upon the Spirit of God, now resident in our spirit,
to take the things of Christ and to reveal them to
us. This happens as we read or hear God's
word. As the Holy Spirit opens our minds to the
truth of inspired scripture, we grow in our
understanding of God and his plans.
That illuminated understanding draws out a
response of worship.
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The True Circumcision
God may reveal some great promise in his Word and as the Holy Spirit
applies that truth to our lives and we respond in believing faith – that is
worship. Sometimes the Spirit will speak a word of reproof and rebuke,
producing conviction. When we repent and seek reconciliation in
response to the enabling grace of the Holy Spirit that is worship!
Do you see how this response is totally different from
that of the person sitting in church, who is dead to the
Spirit. They may go through the motions of praise and
prayer but they are not really not worshipping. The
Spirit of God whom they do not know, is not revealing
to them things about God, or showing God's
promises, or rebuking them of things of which they
should repent. Such people may be seated in the
same surroundings as the true worshipper but they
are not worshipping in the Spirit.
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The True Circumcision
2. They desire to magnify Christ cf v3 "glorying in Christ Jesus". Many
people have something that is so important to them that they speak
about it with real enthusiasm! - a family member, a job, a possession, a
football team... Jesus is so important to Christians that they want to
boast about him. Some Christians feel uneasy talking about Jesus in
case they appear sanctimonious, [they are right in not wanting to give
that impression] cf 1 Pet 3.15. but if the reason for not speaking, is that
Jesus does not thrill their hearts, then there is surely something wrong?
The Judaising butchers at Philippi were not interested
in boasting about Jesus. They were more concerned
with outward ritual than with personal relationship!
Compare that with what Paul says in v8 "I consider
everything a loss compared with the surpassing
greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord."
Everything else was secondary to knowing Jesus!
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The True Circumcision
3. The next mark of spiritual reality is self-distrust cf v3 "putting no
confidence in the flesh." This word ‘flesh’ [Greek sarx ] is one that Paul
uses in different ways. An important principle of Biblical interpretation is
to determine the meaning of a word in the light of its context. ‘Flesh’
here cannot mean that part of us that hangs between bone and skin.
What is distinctively Christian about having no confidence in a flabby
stomach? The context makes it clear that Paul had no confidence in his
religious heritage v5ff, “Circumcised on the eighth day...” he no longer
trusted in external religious rites. “As touching the law a Pharisee...” he
no longer put his trust in his membership of this rigorous and respected
religious group he was once associated with. “Concerning zeal
persecuting the church... ” he was once a passionate member of the
religious police. “Touching the righteousness which is in the law,
blameless.” He no longer put his trust in the number of laws he
managed to keep and in his outwardly consistent lifestyle.
Presentation 08
Choosing a Foundation
Paul discovered the great danger of misplaced confidence. You cannot
build your life on two separate foundations. One site needs to be
abandoned in favour of the other. One claims to be a firm foundation
and it is a false claim. The claim may be religious, enthusiastic and
based on what others have taught. But any confidence that rests on
human performance no matter how religious it may appear is doomed to
collapse pulling us down with it. cf Matt 7.24-29
Presentation 08
The Structure of the Book
Opening and introduction 1:1-2
Paul and the Philippian Church 1:3-26
Exhortation and Examples 1:27-2:30
Warnings 3:1-4:1
The Danger of Ritual 3:1-6
A Better Alternative 3:7-11
The Danger of Perfectionists and Lawbreakers 3.12-4:1
Encouragement Gratitude and Final Greetings 4: 2-23
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Introduction
loss
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“I want to tell you a little bit about myself”. That’s
a sentence that often gains our hearer’s
attention. Doctrine without illustration can, for
some people, be difficult. When Paul warns
against the dangers of legalism, of trusting in
ones religious performance in order to impress
God, he has been sharing his personal
testimony. And now he describes the day when
he renounced any confidence in his own
achievement so that he could gain Christ and his
salvation. A day when he started using a new
accounting system, when he wrote “loss” over all
that he had once held dear. Why? Because only
by doing so was he left with empty hands that
could take Christ and make him his own.
A Better Alternative
The Sufficiency of Jesus is Increasingly Satisfying.
In v7-8 Paul may have in mind the sort of person who says, “Paul you
are talking about what happened 30 years ago. Was this not the hasty
judgement of youth?” We are all capable of making radical claims in
our youth but as we get older these claims are modified. Well, was
Paul's evaluation of the person of Christ, hastily conceived?
The tense of the verb 'consider' in v8 carries
the sense of, "I have made a careful
evaluation in the past and continue to make
that evaluation of Jesus in the present in every
circumstance of life". After 30 years Jesus had
not lost his lustre! He had not left Paul a
spiritual bankrupt!
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A Better Alternative
Indeed, Paul shows that his evaluation far from
becoming less extreme had become more
extreme look at the language he uses in v8, 'the
surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus
my Lord’. Paul can't find a word to describe or
measure the worth of Jesus and so he makes
one up literally - "super-surpassingness".
Fellowship with Jesus had eclipsed everything
else. Are we able to say that? Not only is his
evaluation of Jesus now greater, his evaluation
of all that would now compete with him is even
more repugnant. The word that he has used to
describe the competition ‘rubbish’ can literally
be translated as 'dung'.
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A Better Alternative
The goodness or ‘righteousness’ Paul had once been so proud of he
now calls ‘dung’. The accumulation of human goodness can be
compared to playing the game ‘Monopoly’. The object of which is to
collect as much money and property as you can. The game is
enjoyable but only a fool would take his Monopoly money to the bazaar
to buy groceries. Monopoly is a game, but a different currency is used
in the real world.
So too, in the spiritual realm there are people
who think when they are accumulating human
goodness, they are collecting valuable assets.
God tells us we must leave the play currency
behind and deal in God’s currency - perfect
goodness. Man's goodness does not have any
value in heaven.
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A Better Alternative
When Paul speaks of ‘gaining Christ’ in v8 he is using the language of
an athlete. He is not suggesting that Christ had eluded him rather this is
the language of a man who is running after more and more of Jesus.
Paul wanted to be wrapped up in Jesus. He wanted Jesus to be his
permanent address.
And in order to achieve that Paul needed to be persuaded of the
deficiencies of legalistic righteousness which encourages men to
measure themselves against one another. cf. Luke 18.9ff. the story of
the Pharisee and the publican. Legalistic righteousness feeds a spirit of
self-congratulation. However the measure of righteousness which God
uses is not a human measure but his own divine standard of perfect
righteousness. Paul had been aware that despite all his outward
observance of the law which gained him the reputation of being a good
Pharisee, there were things going on in his heart which God would not
be happy with cf. Rom.7.7.
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A Better Alternative
Isaiah tells us that "all our righteous acts are like filthy rags." [Is. 64.6] In
contrast with that picture is the one drawn by Isaiah of the Messiah in
Is.11 v.5 "righteousness shall be his belt." And then in Is. 53.5ff. we
read that the Messiah would bear the ‘punishment’ of his people. In
other words bear the price of their unrighteousness.
But there is one further significant benefit
promised in Is.61.10ff... where the writer
speaks about being clothed in the garments
of salvation and clothed in a ‘robe of
righteousness’. Note also that the title given
to the Messiah in Jer 23.5-6 is 'Jehovah
Tsidkenu‘ [Hebrew] - 'the Lord our
righteousness'. God himself was going to
provide the goodness/ righteousness which
man so desperately requires.
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A Better Alternative
This forms the basis of what the early church fathers called ‘The Great
Exchange'. There is a sense in which the gospel does not ask for
righteousness but rather provides men with it. What Paul describes in
Rom 3.21 as "a righteousness which comes apart from the law". - not
the product of human achievement but a gift from God. Marvellous!
“I grasped the truth that the righteousness of
God is that righteousness which through
grace and sheer mercy, he justifies us by
faith. I felt myself to be reborn and to have
gone through open doors into paradise...
Previously the righteousness of God had filled
me with hate, [he thought it something he had
to produce] but now it became to me
inexpressibly sweet.” Martin Luther
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A Better Alternative
Luther stressed receiving this righteousness by
faith, a point Paul makes in v9. A gift accepted
with an open hand. In Matt 22 Jesus tells the
parable of the wedding feast. As the guests arrive
they are all provided with a wedding garment at
the king’s expense. It covered the worn and
stained garments of the guests. But one guest
refused to accept the gift. His proud heart saw
the offer as an insult – his clothes were fine!
What happened next? When the king challenged
him v.12 we read that ‘the man was speechless’.
All his prepared arguments evaporated and the
king told his attendants, “Tie him hand and foot
and throw him outside into the darkness, where
there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” v13
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A Better Alternative
The point of the parable is quite clear. Jesus came to make a robe of
righteousness available by his death on the cross. There he paid the
price of our unrighteousness, our sin. We, for our part, are called upon
to recognise our need of this covering and make his gift our own by
faith. But some will refuse. They will dig their heels in and say,
“We are good enough, we have been very
religious, we have a reputation for helping other
people. We are good people! We are not sinners,
who need to be saved. We do not need to be
rescued by a saviour”. That is a scary response
because by rejecting Christ’s righteousness we
determine our eternal destiny and cut ourselves off
from the presence of God.
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A Better Alternative
Paul was not content to say, “I have made
Christ’s righteousness my own” cf v10 He
discovered an insatiable appetite for more of
Jesus. Not mere intellectual knowledge but to
know more of ‘the power of Christ's resurrection’.
That is another way of saying he wanted to
experience more of the power of the Holy Spirit’s
energies, who raised Jesus from the dead.
He longs to see more and more of the
resurrection power of Jesus is his own life. Many
Christians want that but there can be no increase
in resurrection life of Jesus without a
corresponding daily dying to self and without a
fellowship of sharing in his sufferings and so
becoming like Jesus in his death.
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Conclusion
Remember the parabola? The way up is down! Fruitfulness comes
through dying to self. This dying for Paul and entering into Christ's
sufferings includes a willingness to suffer physically for Christ's sake.
He is not uncertain about the glory that awaits him when he says he
wants “somehow to attain to the resurrection from the dead”. What v11
points out is that at the time of writing, he is uncertain about the route
he will have to take to that glorious destination. It may be sudden death
by order of a Roman court, it may be at the end of a long earthly
pilgrimage. Whatever the route glory is what lay ahead.
God intends his children who are clothed in the righteousness of Jesus
to be confident about their final destination. It is not presumption. It is
confidence in the accomplishment of Christ.
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