Image: "Intersections", 2021, Severna Park, Md
Philippians 3:3 For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh,
Philippians 3:7–11 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. 8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Philippians 3:15–16 Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. 16 Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind.
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Paul's emphasis on having the "mind of Christ" as the distinctive hallmark of our lives continues in this chapter. We see this explicitly in verses 15-16 and this ties everything in this chapter to the previous chapters. (cf. 1:27; 2:2,3; 2:5-7; etc.)
Here we are called to "have this mind..." Now that means a very specific mind. Paul says that we are to conform to the outlook on this present life that he, himself, possesses and as he describes it in the previous verses. We are also to aspire to the same aspiration, the same motivating desire, the same hope.
At the core of this godly mindset is an intense longing to "know" Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ of God, and the "power of His resurrection." (vs.10) Let's zero in on that.
Paul is affirming here that in a deep and conscious manner, through faith (vs.9) we can grow into a degree of certain knowledge regarding Jesus Himself. Jesus, in the manner of modern speech, becomes very "real" to us. He is everywhere with us. We become conscious of His warm and loving presence. He comforts us and encourages us and enlightens us in our daily conduct.
And, amazingly enough, along with His Personal Presence, Jesus also opens up to us the "power of His resurrection." We become attuned to the out-workings of His Kingly authority. He not only works in and through our circumstances, but He also opens up vistas of service that we would never have considered. As some theologians say, we begin to live in the sphere of "possibility." This inspires our zeal, offsets the debilitating effects of sin, and enables us to rise to new heights of our own humanity. We not only know Him, but we also know the power of His resurrection which ushered in a new era in human possibility.
With Paul (vs. 12ff), we humbly confess that we never achieve the fullness of understanding in these things. We are still mortal, still hindered by residual sin, still tentative in our steps, still dim in our understanding. But, as virtually any Christian of advanced age will testify, we can grow to see, with 20/20 hindsight how God through Christ worked in us, through us, and for us, in our previous years. As this cumulative experience is deepened in us that certainty of our knowledge is more and more confirmed.
Our testimony becomes: we count all things loss, or rubbish, for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, our Lord. (cf. vs. 8)
And, like icing on the cake, our "mind" is filled with the same hope. We view ourselves as "citizens" of a heavenly city (vs. 20) and this conditions us to see our present environment as "not our home." We see the pitiful pretensions of happiness, security, and contentment that is all this world can offer and we are saddened by those who only have these things. We know that joy, lasting joy, fulfilling joy, is only to be had in our "home city." We have a measure of it here through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, but we anxiously await the fullness of that city. We know that one day (v. 20) our Lord will return and, "joy of all joys", He will "transform our lowly body" to be truly conformed to His. (v. 21)
On that day He will "subdue all things to Himself." The realm of "possibility" will be replaced by "reality." That which is "perfect" will now become the actual state of our lives along with His. I can only speculate on how our continued life with Him will be manifested. I know this: it will be the fullness of what we can have now. There will be an organic relationship between our life "with Him" now and our life "with Him" then. Thus it truly behooves us to long to KNOW that life now. With Paul, we don't want to take mere sips of that life, we want to drink deeply of it.
Here is our prayer... Lord, this day, open my eyes to know You and the power of Your resurrection ever more clearly. Grant that I, we, may rejoice with You, today, in some semblance of how we will do so with You in that glorious day when we are finally brought home to Your glorious city.
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