Paul's hope and Ministry

Philippians 3:10-19

The Christian message is a dual message. It must present the way of salvation and it must show the way of Christian living after the soul is saved. On both of these points the false religionist disagrees with the Christian. The only successful defense against false religions is a clear presentation of both these great truths. In the first part of this study we set forth as clearly as possible the way of salvation. Now in this concluding portion of the study we endeavor to set forth through His grace the way of Christian living or the Christ-like life.

Before we turn to the Word let us venture a statement about the life of the false religionist. We believe that "self-expression" describes it quite well. The law keeper is expressing "his" ability as he keeps the law. The Christian Scientist expresses "his" ability in mind over matter. The Catholic glories in "his" faithfulness to his church. The pagan bows down to wood and stone. The modernist prides himself on "his" scholarship. In the heart of the Christian alone "self" has been dethroned and another humbly given the place. "Self-expression" is the key to one and "submission" the key to the other. The one must do, do, do, or he will be lost. The other has no fear of being lost, but realizes that his life as a Christian will be wasted unless it is presented to the Master for His use.

The key word of verses 10 to 16 is the word "apprehend." "I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus." The word apprehend means "to lay hold of." The Lord had laid hold of Paul. Why? Why had He apprehended him? To be an apostle? Very likely! To be an example? He says, "ye have us for an example." But even more likely. He had laid hold of him that He might first of all live through him. "Nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me" (GaL 2:20). Now we submit that if Christ laid hold of Paul for these things, Paul cannot say that he has succeeded in laying hold of THAT for which Christ laid hold of him until "these things" have been accomplished in his life.

Thus this portion of our study will give to every Christian the way of laying hold of the purpose for which God laid hold of him. How wonderful that God's laying hold of us did have a purpose. He has a plan for every life. If every Christian will attempt to find that plan he may.

We list the things Paul pursued in pressing toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

"That I may know Him."

"That I may know the power of His resurrection."

"That I may know the fellowship of His sufferings."

"Being made conformable unto His death."

"To attain unto the resurrection from among the dead ones."

"He followed after."

"He pressed toward the mark."

I'm so glad that he put knowing Jesus first. How little we as Christians know Him! And how very much we need to know Him! If it is true that knowledge is power, to know Him will bring the kind of power we need. If anyone is qualified to talk about knowing Jesus, John the beloved disciple is that one. The epistle of First John has for its subject "The Man Who Knows God." The word "know" appears more than twenty-five times in that one brief book. John gives a seven-fold description of the man who knows Him. The man who knows Him walks in the light (fellowship), keeps His commandments, does not love the world, practices righteousness, knows the spirit of truth, loves and overcomes. He often says, "hereby we know that we know Him." Yes, the man who does these seven things may truthfully say, "I know Him."

It is not sufficient to know about Him. We must know Him. There is a great difference. In Amos 3:2 God says to Israel, "You only have I known of all the families of the earth." Now He knew about all the families. He knew about Edom, Moab, Egypt, Babylon, etc. In fact He knew all about them. He prophesied their doom: But He says that Israel was the only family He knew. And she was. She was the only family He knew through the covenants and the promises; the only one He knew through gracious loving care. No it is not sufficient to say we know about Him. We must know Him through precious experiences. We must know what it is to fellowship with Him. We must know the joy of carrying out some command of His. We must know Him through practicing righteousness, and loving, and overcoming.

Then we must know the power of His resurrection. This deals directly with sin. "For in that He died, He died unto sin once: but in that He liveth. He liveth unto God" (Rom. 6:10). That's it. He died unto sin. As far as He is concerned sin is a settled issue. Its power is gone forever. He will never have to die again because of sin. This same chapter of Romans declares that as many of us as were baptized unto Jesus Christ were baptized unto His death, verse 3. The word "into" should be translated "unto." Why unto His death? When we were baptized we bore witness that we were declaring ourselves a follower of His. We were to stand together. He was dead to sin and we were being baptized unto Him. We, then, were entering a life of separation from sin and of "living unto God." Thus to know the power of His resurrection is to know the joy of being freed from the dominion of sin.

Next he speaks of the fellowship of His sufferings. What blessed paths of sweet experience lie before the Christian. Jesus said, "if they hated Me, they will hate you also." And somehow when the Christian receives the same treatment Christ received there is a warm glow within his heart — sort of a feeling that now he is worthy to say to Christ, "we stand together, don't we?" Acts 5:41, "And they departed from the council, rejoicing that they were worthy to suffer shame for His name."

"But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings: that, when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy." A blessed tie is formed between the Christian and his Lord through the fellowship of His sufferings.

All of this is much easier said than done. The Christian will find that desires for things in this life will constantly plague his path. There will be the temptation to be satisfied with what other folk have and never go on to enjoy these deeper experiences. They call for real sacrifices. They call for putting Him first in everything and letting Him have the preeminence. He said, "if any man will come after Me, let hirn take up his cross and follow Me." The cross — by which I am crucified unto the world and the world unto me, is not this that to which Paul referred when he spoke of being made conformable unto His death? We believe those who have gone through the experiences of these four, to know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings being made conformable to His death, have attained to the resurrection from among the dead ones.

"Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light" (Eph. 5: 14).

To have attained this is to have laid hold on at least a part of that for which God laid hold of us.

Paul had set this as his goal and he was working at the job. This is one place where we cannot just sit down and wait for it to come to us. We must go after it. Paul set it as his goal. He followed after it. He forgot the things that were behind. Whether they were mistakes and failures or the plans of other days, all had been left behind and he wasn't looking back.

I won't look back; God knows the fruitless efforts,

     The wasted hours, the sinning, the regrets:

I leave them all with Him Who blots the record.

     And mercifully forgives, and then forgets.

I won't look forward; God sees all the future,

     The road that, short or long, will lead me home,

And He will face with me its every trial,

     And bear with me the burdens that may come.

But I'll look up — into the Face of Jesus,

     For there my weary heart can rest, my fears are stilled;

And there is joy and love and light for darkness,

     And perfect peace, and every hope fulfilled.

                                     — Annie Johnson Flint.

I press toward the mark. No one will ever get there unless he does. Following the verses in v-J-hich these seven glorious steps toward finding God's place for us, Paul exhorts all Christians to follow his example.

The section ends with a warning that the law keepers were the enemies of the cross of Christ. He tells them even weeping. Yes, and today many are trying to gain the approval of God through their good works and self-expression. Meanwhile the only way pleasing to Him is the righteousness of God by faith in Christ, imputed to the believer for salvation and revealed in his life by Christ dwelling within and living through him. This is the defence against false religions, and where this is taught and practiced there will be no danger of the fellowship being broken up by false teachers.