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I want to know Christ

Philippians 3:1-11

Key Verse 3:10-11

"I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead."

In the passage the Apostle Paul shepherds over the flock of God at the church of Philippi, so they would remain joyful in the Lord, and continue to serve the Lord willingly and joyfully. Living as a Christian in this world is never an easy thing to do. This is particularly true with the members of a church which sacrifices for the Lord's evangelical purposes. Unlike other churches Paul pioneered, the church of Philippi positively and sacrificially participated in serving the Lord's world mission purposes. Figuratively speaking this church is like a pick-up truck running on the 405 Freeway way beyond the speed limit, carrying full load. When you see a truck like this, it is not difficult to predict a lot of bad things that might happen to the car: the radiator might blow up; gas will soon run out; or more critically than these, the driver might have gone so exhausted that he might doze off, and boom! The car might hit the guardrail or center-divider, and roll over. Then what will happen? Casualties! Probably based on the report from Epaphroditus, Paul saw several red flags going up in terms of the spiritual conditions of the flock at the church of Philippi. Knowing this what did Paul do? Basically he encouraged them to do one thing: to secure Jesus Christ. With this in mind, let us think about this passage in two parts: I. Rejoice in the Lord; and II. Surpassing greatness of knowing Christ.

I. Rejoice in the Lord (1)!

Look at v. 1a. "Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord!"

First, rejoice!

What does "rejoice" mean? According to the American Heritage Dictionary "rejoice" means "to feel joyful or to be delighted." So rejoicing has something to do with joy or delight. What does then joy or delight mean? Joy means "intense or elated happiness." So joy means more than happiness. For example it means "intense" happiness. Delight means "great joy". 

This little observation indicates that the saints at the church of Philippi were not as joyful or delightful as they were supposed to be. Maybe some of them felt joyful on the surface but not truly joyful from the bottom of their heart. They felt happy every once in a while like after doing the daily bread early in the morning, but as the day wore on, the joy disappeared, and by the time they came back to the Bible center, they felt sullen. They made a long face. Or the situation might have been even worse with a number of people. In fact, as Chapter 4 suggests, most of them lost joy. They suffered from anxiety attacks. Some of them felt so "bitter" with fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord, that they might have considered taking extreme measures, such as not coming to any meetings except Sunday worship services or even going to other churches, or even running away to the world, abandoning the cross of mission altogether!

Let me ask you a question: Are you a Christian? If so, are you really happy? I mean, do you feel "intense happiness"? Are you really "delighted"? If the answer is no, then something is wrong with you. 

Second, rejoice in the Lord!

Why then did this happen? What went wrong with them? We can find a clue to an answer to this question in the little phrase, "in the Lord." Rejoice in the Lord. So let us stop for a moment and think about the import of the statement: "rejoice in the Lord." What does Paul mean by this, especially by "in the Lord"? First of all we can deduce from this exhortation the truth that when one is in the Lord it is impossible for one not to be intensely joyful. In other words, they lost joy because they were not "in" the Lord. So the remedy is this: for them to come back to "the Lord." Physically they were in the Lord, I mean, physically showing up at meetings, but they were not "in" the Lord, but "out" of the Lord. Describing the ideal picture of a Christian, in John 14:20 Jesus said, "On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you." Say, "You are in me, and I am in you." Here, we find two "in's". There is even a simpler way of describing the life in the Lord: Genesis 2:24 reads, "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh." In Ephesians 5:31-32, Paul unravels the profound mystery of the unity of love between Jesus and His bride (the members of His church) by saying, "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This is a profound mystery--but I am talking about Christ and the church." The key word to consider here is "one". Christ and each of the member of his church must be "one", even as Paul already said in Philippians 1:27, "Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel." It is not enough for the two to be one in faith, doctrine, purpose, mind, or body, but one in everything, especially in spirit! 

The church fellowship represents God's kingdom here on earth. In this world, we cannot find any sources of true happiness. It is only in the context of the church fellowship that the Lord God has made available the "delight" which Adam and Eve enjoyed before the Fall. But this delight is not going to flow freely among the members of the church, if they fail to secure true oneness in the Lord. 

Church fellowship consists of all kinds of people with all kinds of differences. When I attended the graduation ceremony for Becky at the Royce Hall on June 12, at 7:00 p.m., I was moved by the speech made by the Dean Claudia Mitchell-Kernan. In her speech she said something to the effect that a truly civilized person, knows how to accept "differences" from one another. When you think about it, it is not easy to accept those who are different from you. Maybe you can understand them but not really 'accept' them. 

Because people have difficulties in accepting those who are different from themselves, they choose to not even come into contacts with others. They do not want to have any "fellowship" with others, in the true sense of the word "fellowship." Rather, they end up having fellowships with their pet dogs, and they do so saying, "The more I meet people, the more I like my dog." But this is not God's idea. And in Jesus we can overcome our sin problems. We can forgive others and can expect others to forgive us of our sins. Then as we ask God for help, through the justifying and sanctifying work of the Lord, we can form a true unity of love. Then joy becomes complete. For this reason, Paul says, "Rejoice in the Lord!"

Third, it is a safeguard for you.

Look at v. 1b. "It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you." At first glance it sounds sufficient to say, "Rejoice in the Lord." And once upon a time, Calvin Klein opened his eyes about the beauty of the simplicity. So he came up with simple designs coming in simple colors like black or white. And he made a lot of money. So the Apostle Paul could have kept his message simple: "Brothers, rejoice in the Lord, period." But, he did not stop there. As we shall see in Chapter 4 further, he repeats the same message again and again. Why does he do this? The answer is found in v. 1b. "[I]t is a safeguard for you!" 

Here two words deserve our special attention: "safeguard" and "you." What does Paul mean by the word "safeguard"? In what respect is it going to be a safeguard for "you", not for someone else, but for "you"? The reasons are many. First of all, if you do not rejoice in the Lord, you will continue to remain bitter. And bitterness is no good to your health! But there is a greater harm Paul does not want his flock to sustain: tearing yourself from the fellowship with your brethren, and going your own way saying, "You mind your business, I mind my business." In fact this is what one brother I know use to say [not to everyone but] to his wife: "I want to enroll at LBCC, learn plumbing and welding, open my own businesses, and go on my own: I do not want to have anything to do with the ministry." What did his wife say? "Are you crazy?" Then this man prayed further to examine whether or not finally he went nuts. Then he realized that still he did not go crazy yet, but recognized that he thought about visible people too much. He lost Jesus Christ. Then he learned that in Jesus, he is able to not just accept the differences but also find these as God's profound provision for fulfilling kingdom purposes! Amen! So each time he sees anyone who is different from him, he shouts in his heart: "Thank God for putting him in my life!" 

II. Surpassing greatness of knowing Christ (2-11)

In vs. 2-11 the Apostle Paul elaborates further the surpassing greatness of knowing Jesus Christ, as well as his practical struggles to know Jesus Christ as fully as he should. We can divide Paul's struggles in two categories: his struggles in the past, and his struggles in the future. 

First, his struggles in the past - "I have lost all things" (8)

How had Paul been struggling to that day - the day on which Paul was writing an epistle to the Philippians? We don't know exactly how old Paul was. Perhaps he was in his early sixties. We don't know exactly when he came to be in the Lord - arguably in his late thirties, if not early forties. How then can we summarize Paul's struggles to know Christ during more or less two or three decades of his life in the Lord? According to Paul's own expression, we can sum it up with five words: "I have lost all things." What does "all" mean? All means all. It means everything. 

Practically what does this "all" consist of? Let us read vs. 2-8 responsively. "3:2 Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh. 3:3 For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh-- 3:4 Though I myself have reasons for such confidence. If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 3:5 Circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 3:6 As for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless. 3:7  But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 3:8 What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ..." 

Here Paul lists 7 items which on his resume would make Paul to be "qualified" as one of the finest Jews of all. I still remember the moment the president Ronald Reagan nominating George Bush Sr. at one of the Republican Party Convention as the candidate to run for the presidency. His speech was pretty short, and mostly it consisted of introducing Mr. Bush's resume like how he fought as a pilot during the World War II, how he successfully served as the CIA director, etc. and so forth. But when you think about it, all of his achievements are of human dimension. But it was not the case with Paul's. Paul's resume include seven A's on seven accounts which all concern God's spiritual dimension. For example, 1) the circumcision has to do with God's promise (about the Savior to come); 2) Israel represents a man who struggled with (or before) God and has won; 3) Benjamin has to do with royal origin, for it was out of the tribe of Benjamin that the first king of Israel came out; 4) Hebrew refers to the spiritual language which gave rise to the spirituality of human race; 5) law refers to the law of God like the Moses' Ten Commandments; 6) zeal has to do with the spiritual zeal to protect the sanctity of God's name; 7) righteousness is the foundation of the foundations of the throne of God (Pro 16:12). 

Indeed all these seven items are "valuables of valuables." Yet, Paul says, "I have lost all things!" 7 is a perfect number. Indeed he lost "all!" He lost perfectly. 

Why then did he lose all these? Was it because he was stupid? No. Why no? In the passage we just read, then, we see words like "profit", "loss", or "gain." We also see the word "consider" [in KJV, "count"] repeating 3 times. The choice of these words tells us that Paul is operating like an accountant, a CPA or an MBA, a  man whose spiritual eyes were opened, for in Jesus he opened his spiritual eyes to discern what is truly valuable and what is not, and if anything is valuable, why it is valuable and how much it is valuable. What is his own evaluation? The answer is simple and clear. As compared with the greatness of knowing Christ, all the valuable things that exist on physical realms or spiritual realms, are good for nothing: they are like rubbish. What is rubbish? Rubbish is rubbish. They are garbage. They stink. So all you do is to throw them into a garbage can! 

Specifically then in what respect is knowing Christ surpassingly great? V. 9 specifies two items:

Gem No. 1. Finding yourself in the Lord (9a).

Look at v. 9a. "And be found in him..." When we combine v. 9a with 8b, the meaning emerges. "I consider them rubbish that I may gain Christ, and be found in him..." This passage suggests that finding one's true self is conditional upon satisfying two requirements: losing everything, and gaining Christ. These two requirements are also mutually exclusive, but first thing first, and second thing second. The deal then is this: unless you lose everything, it is technically impossible for you to gain Christ; and unless you gain Christ, it is impossible for you to know who you are. 

When Jesus came he expressed this truth in a simpler term, that is, in Mark 8:34-36, 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 and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?" 

Although expressions are different, the principle remains the same: losing everything is the key to gaining Christ, and gaining Christ is the key to finding one's true self. Let me ask you a question: so far what have you lost, to gain Christ? Let me also ask you another question: how do you define yourself? Or are you truly yourself? I ask these questions because people try to identify themselves by what they have in this mundane world, like the kind of cars they drive, the kind of houses they are living in, the kind of clothes they wear, the kind of make ups they are using, the number of sheep they have, etc. and so forth. And until one lets go of them, it is impossible for one to see who Jesus really is, and until one gains Christ, it is impossible for one to know who he really is. 

Gem No. 2. Securing true righteousness that qualifies for a permanent position in God's kingdom (9b). 

The next gem which one gains by gaining Christ is true righteousness. Figuratively speaking, gaining Jesus is like a man climbing to a high mountain like Mt. Everest. When one stands at the top of a high mountain suddenly he finds himself as a tiny person. He finds himself as insignificant as a speck of dust. This is especially true in terms of one's spiritual position before God, that is, a sinner, deserving nothing but eternal condemnation in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. 

This has been the case with many servants of God like Isaiah. Remember what happened to Isaiah in Isaiah 6. There when he saw the Lord God, he cried out, "Woe to me! I am ruined!" Then in God's mercy the Lord God cleansed him of his sins. Then he became a new creation. The same thing happened to Simon Peter. On seeing Jesus as the Son of God, the first thing he cried out was, "Go away from me, Lord, I am a sinful man (Lk 5:8)!" Then, Jesus forgave him of his sins. Then he became a new creation. The same thing happened to Paul when  he first met the risen Lord on his way to Damascus. There he fell flat on his face. He then remained blind for three days. Then as he prayed in all humility, the Risen Jesus forgave him of his sins. Then, he gained the righteousness that is by faith in the Lord. In the past he relied on his own righteousness, by struggling to keep the law. But the Bible says that our own righteous acts are like filthy rags. But God's righteousness is different. It cleanses us of all of our sins. Then it alone qualifies us to live in the presence of God for good. 

Second, Paul's struggles in the future - I want to know (10-11)

A lot of people struggle for what is not worthy of struggling. Mostly like Jacob at Paddan Aram they struggle with visible people to gain something like money or marriage partner. But God cut out men to struggle for something nobler than these. And as in the case of Jacob, as one struggles for what is noble, then God works to provide things like money or even marriage partner as God may or may not find necessary for him. 

What then should we struggle for? Vs. 10-11 offers an answer. What did Paul struggle throughout the remainder of his life's journey here on earth? 

The point of Paul's struggles in the future is summed up in four words: "I want to know." What does he want to know? Specifically he wants to know three: the Christ, the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings. 

Let us think about each of them briefly. 

(1) the Christ - Christ is the Creator and Savior (or "Re-Creator" if you will) of the Lord. So daily we must struggle to know Jesus not only as the one who gave us one life to live, but also the one who came to save us from our lost condition into the unfallen state. 

(2) the power of his resurrection

Resurrection refers to the fruit of our life in the Lord. It is ultimate gift from God, for it is here in a risen body that we will participate in the perfected age to come. 

(3) the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings

This then is the key for our daily struggles. One may wonder why one should suffer with Jesus. When we think about the marriage relationship however we can understand the reason well. In my marriage, I came to know my wife Rebekah far better through doing something difficult like serving the Lord's world campus mission than through having easy moments of life. What then did I know about her? Although as beautiful as she is, I recognized that she too is a sinner like me, a sinner who needs God’s mercy. But it is not so with Jesus. As we struggle to serve the Lord even braving hardships, we get to know the glory of our Lord far clearly than ever. In our practically life, we can then participate in the sufferings of Jesus by feeding sheep. So I have this to recommend: try to feed one or two sheep. Then you will know who Jesus Christ is far better than before. 

One word: I want to know Christ.