Four Lessons of Life From Philippians 3:8.

At the close of Philippians 3:8 Paul adds up all the things which had been his advantages, his profits, his ‘financial gains’ as a highly successful religious leader in the nation of Israel and “considers” them but ‘piles of dung’ {“rubbish”} so “that” he “may gain Christ.”  When he says this he means to ‘gain as a matter of permanent profit, acquire personal possession of.’  One writer I consulted many years ago said the verb kerdaino speaks “of so practically appropriating Christ to oneself that He becomes the dominating power in and over one’s whole being and circumstances.”  There is much for us to learn here... and emulate.

 I.  Sooner or later in our growth as Children of God, “all things” temporal must be subordinated to the spiritual.  This is what Paul meant when he said, “I keep on having to count all things loss for the sake of Christ.”

II. It is impossible to consider the things of this world as your ‘advantages,’ and at the same time “gain” the Son of God {appropriate Him as the defining value and dominating power of one’s life}.  What you hold onto in the temporal realm, what occupies your mind, attention and affection, and turns your focus away from the Person of Jesus, is not only a distraction but a ‘disadvantage.’  If you cling to it long enough it’ll become your curse.  James say’s, “Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world [an ‘intimate companion of The Matrix’] makes himself an enemy of God,” 4:4b.

III. Every step of faith taken in the Kingdom of Grace requires us to ‘lose’ a little more of self so as to ‘gain’ a little more of Christ.  There is excruciating pain involved here.  And I’ll tell you why.  Because self dies hard …and there is no spiritual anesthesia for the crucifixion of self.

Notice how in Galatians 5:24-25 Paul wrote, “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature [past tense { . } = at the Cross] with its passions and desires [Here ‘passions and desires’ is used in an evil sense, the sinful ‘passions and desires’ of the ‘flesh.’].  Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”  When Paul say’s, “those who belong to Christ ...have crucified the sinful nature,” what he’s saying is, “If you’ve rested your faith in Jesus you have overcome the flesh eternally— the victory is yours— and now you have the means to overcome it experientially!”

Therefore, “since we live by means of the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”  “In step” is stoicheo, a military word meaning- ‘march in ranks.’  I.e., we have to line up with our Lord, we have to ‘order our lives’ after the divine pattern.  And this is found in Jesus.  We don’t ask, ‘What Would Jesus Do?,’ we ask, ‘What Did Jesus Do?’  ‘Would’ is the wrong question.  Then we look to the Gospels for our answer.  How did He walk?  By means of divine power, by the power of God’s Spirit.  The power which perfected us in salvation is the same power which will perfect us in experience.

Galatians 6:14 is another place where Paul said, “May I never boast except in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”  Notice the figure of crucifixion permeating both passages, the implication being ‘crucifixion to self’— which means the arrogant desires of the sinful nature, and the arrogant schemes of a self-centered, self-directed life— is accompanied by pain and even agony.

IV. The Child of God who loses all {even himself} on account of Christ, gains Christ.  The perspective which takes Eternity and eternal reward into constant consideration is the perspective of an overcomer in the Conflict!  In Matthew 16:24-25 Jesus said, “If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.  For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Me will find it.”

HJC	Ric Webb  |  Shepherd Heart’s Journey Community 9621 Tall Timber Blvd. |  Little Rock, AR 72204 t +1.501.455.0296
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