Preached Sunday, July 15, 2012 from Philippians 3:12-16
Theme: Real joy is found in “pressing on” to “take hold” of all that for which Christ Jesus took hold of us.
(Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version; copyright 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc.)
As we continue our study of the Book of Philippians, I ask you to turn with me to the third chapter of that great New Testament letter. And as we come to this morning’s passage, I need to give you a very important warning about it.
The portion of Scripture that we are about to study is a very wonderful one. It has been a great encouragement to God’s people throughout the centuries. But it’s one that’s not intended for everyone. It’s intended only for people who have genuinely placed their faith in Jesus Christ for their salvation; and the action that it commands us to take is meant to be done only by those who are in Christ.
To try to live according to what this morning’s passage says apart from having placed one’s faith in Christ first would be to badly misapply it—and to persist in doing so would lead to the eternal loss of one’s soul.
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To help show why this is so, let’s review the context of this passage.
The apostle Paul, you’ll remember, wrote his letter to the Philippians while in a Roman prison for preaching the gospel. But even though he was in prison, he experienced prevailing joy through Christ. And he wanted to pass that joy on to his fellow Christians in Philippi.
He began this chapter by telling them that real, lasting, prevailing joy comes through being in Christ by faith. He wrote;
Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe. Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation! For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh . . . (Philippians 3:1-3).
He was warning his believing friends not to be taken-in by false teachers—those he calls “dogs”, “evil workers “, and “the mutilation”—who would try to bring them under the bondage of religious rules and regulations and rituals in an effort to earn God’s favor. Instead, Paul encourages his readers to make sure that their “rejoicing” is in the right place—”Rejoice in the Lord”. If they were careful to put no confidence in their own religious efforts through the works of the flesh, but to keep their trust in Christ alone, then they would experience ultimate joy.
Paul then goes on to show that, if anyone could have had confidence in the religious efforts of the flesh, it would have been him. He wrote;
. . . though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. 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 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; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead (vv. 4-11).
Real joy, then, is found—not in working hard to make ourselves righteous before God on the basis of our own religious works—but in resting completely on the work of Jesus Christ; who died on the cross for our sins, and was raised again to prove that God declares us righteous in Him. Paul was presenting himself as the greatest example that anyone could ever find of how we should abandon our efforts to ‘work’ for God’s favor; and trust instead that we are already in God’s favor through being “in Christ” through faith.
And it’s then that we come to this morning’s passage—that passage that I said would be spiritually harmful if applied out of context. He goes on in verses 12-16 to say;
Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 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. Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind (vv. 12-16).
Paul is encouraging his readers, then, to do what he himself had done—that is, to forget what was behind him, reach forward to what was ahead of him, and “press on” to “lay hold” of the upward call of God in Christ. But if anyone where to try to do that without, first, resting confidently upon what Jesus Christ had already done for them—just as Paul explained in the verses that preceded it—they would be trying to do nothing more than “press on” and “lay hold” of something that they were trying to obtain by their own efforts. That would be to do the very thing that the apostle Paul was saying cannot be done.
That’s why it is so important, when it comes to this passage, to first make absolutely sure you have placed your complete faith in Jesus Christ and are trusting in Him.
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But when we put this passage in its proper context, and when it is rightly understood by us, it then points out something else that we must beware of.
As Christians who have placed our faith in Jesus Christ, and who rest completely in full confidence in His work on our behalf, and rejoice that we are made 100% righteous in God’s sight, we can easily grow complacent. We can grow to think that, since Jesus has done it all for us, there’s nothing more that we need to do—that we can relax; and simply cruise on a puffy, billowy cloud to heaven without changing our lives one little bit.
But as this morning’s passage clearly shows us, complacency does not belong in our faith. It’s true that Paul rested completely in what Jesus has done for him. He trusted confidently that he had been made 100% righteous because of what Jesus has done for him; and rejoiced that he was acceptable in God’s sight. But that had to do with his spiritual “position” in Christ. When it came to his everyday “practice” in Christ, he was not content. He was not satisfied. He sought—with great diligence—to grow to be more and more like what Jesus saved him to be.
And because this is a book about “joy”, I believe we can take it that this is also a big part of the pathway to real joy in Christ. Real joy—the joy from God that Paul experienced, even while undergoing the trials he faced—is found in resting completely in what Jesus did to make us absolutely holy in the sight of God; and then, in laboring hard to live increasingly in practice like what He has made us to be in actual fact.
In other words, real joy is found in “pressing on” to “take hold” of all that for which Christ Jesus took hold of us.
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Let’s look closer at what Paul said about his experience in this passage. First, notice . . .
1. THE PROGRAM (v. 12).
Paul saw himself as engaged in a divinely-initiated program of growth. He writes,
Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me (v. 12).
Notice carefully what Paul said. He said that he pressed on to lay hold of “that” for which Jesus laid hold of him. What is the “that” that he sought to lay hold of? It’s an important question. Paul is encouraging us in this passage to join him in pressing on to lay hold of this “that”—whatever it is. But if we don’t know what the “that” is, how can we “press on” to “lay hold” of it?
I believe Paul tells us something about the “that” he speaks of in verses 20-21;
For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself (vv. 20-21).
Just think of it! Jesus has given Himself for us—and, as it were, “laid hold” of us by dying on the cross for us—in order to one day transform our frail bodies at His second coming; so that it may be conformed to His own, and thus be made fit to live as citizens of heaven! And the prospect of being glorified in Christ one day moved Paul to strive to live the pure and holy life of someone who fully expected to—one day soon—be glorified like Jesus. In a similar way, the apostle John once wrote;
Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure (1 John 3:2-3).
I believe that Paul also ‘pressed on’ to live like someone who was in possession of an infinite inheritance in heaven. Practically speaking, he suffered poverty while sitting in a prison cell. But he nevertheless learned to be content—even in the midst of his earthly poverty—by rejoicing in the eternal riches he would share with Christ forever. In 4:121-13, he wrote
. . . I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:11b-13).
Jesus had laid hold of Paul so that he could enjoy those riches forever. This is very similar to what Peter wrote to some suffering Christians in 1 Peter 1:3-6;
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials . . . (1 Peter 1:3-6).
Paul even ‘pressed on’ to rejoice in the prospect of seeing Jesus Himself. Eternal fellowship with his beloved Savior was something that Paul sought eagerly to “lay hold” of. In Philippians 3:7-8, he wrote;
But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. 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 (Philippians 3:7-8).
Just the prospect of fellowship with Jesus alone is something that should motivate us to live radically different lives! As Paul wrote in Titus 2:11-14;
For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works (Titus 2:11-14).
Our future glorification; a rich heavenly inheritance; the promise of eternal fellowship with the Son of God—these, dear brothers and sisters, are the things that Jesus died on the cross to bring about for us. They are the things that He laid hold of us for! And if we are truly in Him, we’ll pursue them too. We’ll say with Paul, “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.”
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So; how did Paul go about doing that? In the next couple of verses, we find . . .
2. PAUL’S PROCESS (vv. 13-14).
Almost as if he were saying it all again—but with a bit more detail—he wrote;
Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
In these words, we can see four “steps” in the process of Paul’s continual program of growth.
First, he makes an important admission. He writes, “I do not count myself to have apprehended”—that is, he has not yet fully taken hold of it all and made it his own in actual experience. In verse 12, he admitted that he was not already “perfected”. Paul acknowledged that, even though he had been declared “righteous” in the sight of God through Christ, he hadn’t “arrived” to perfection yet with respect to how he lived. He was still growing to be more like Jesus Christ. Personally, I take great encouragement in knowing that even such a great example of the Christian faith as Paul—certainly the greatest Christian who ever lived—still had some growing to do. There are some professing Christians who believe (erroneously) that they can attain to a state of complete perfection during their lifetime on earth. But not even the great apostle Paul believed such a thing about himself.
To have the mistaken idea that we have “arrived” to perfection is something that actually stunts our growth. And all you have to do to be cured of it is to ask some of the folks in your own family whether or not they think you have arrived! In fact, one of the first ways that we can know that we’re beginning to grow in a particular area of life is when we begin to feel very badly about how short-fallen we are in it. That’s when we begin to experience a “sanctified discontent” toward ourselves, and a desire begins to develop in us to be where God wants us to be. So; Paul did not count himself to have laid hold just yet of everything for which Jesus laid hold of him.
But he didn’t wallow in that sense of discontent. The second step he took was to recognize that he was not bound to the past, and was no longer a prisoner of what he once was. He had been completely set free in Christ to forget “those things which are behind”. For example, he didn’t dwell on the fact that he once labored hard to make himself righteous by his own prideful efforts—things that could not do him any good; things that he now counted as ‘rubbish’. Nor did he dwell on the fact that, in spite of all his outward ‘religious’ efforts, he was still “the chief of sinners”. He at one time had been a blasphemer of Christ and a persecutor of Christians. But he had been completely forgiven of his past; and now affirmed that “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). What a wonderful thing it is that we can truly “forget what is behind”!
And he didn’t just forget the past and leave it at that. He looked ahead to the future—and on to what Jesus Christ saved him to be. The third step was to reach forward to “those things which are ahead”. He set his heart on the future glory that would be his in Christ in terms of all those things that we mentioned earlier—that his body would one day be resurrected and conformed to the glory of Jesus Himself; that he would take possession of all the rich inheritance of the heavens that Jesus would share with him; and that he would dwell eternally in fellowship with the beloved Savior who gave Himself for him. In fact, the particular word that he used means that he “stretched out” for it and “strained” after it—almost as if he was standing on his tippy-toes and craning his neck upward as far as he could to capture a glimpse of it all.
And finally, as a fourth step, he put it all into practical action. Having acknowledge that he hadn’t arrived yet; but continually making it his habit to forget what is behind, and reach forth to what is ahead—just like a world-class track star who keeps his eyes constantly on the trophy—he continually pressed toward—sacrificing, straining, laboring—for the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
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I ran across a story a while back. It was told by Dr. Harry Ironside—a great Bible teacher from a few generations back. He said;
Some years ago there was a missionary in China who was translating the New Testament into the Chinese language. In this work he was assisted by a very eminent Chinese scholar, a Confucianist, who had never known anything about Christianity until he was engaged in this work. Day after day, week after week, month after month they sat together, but the missionary seemed to think that he ought not to speak to the Chinese gentleman about his need for Christ and salvation in Him. However, when the work was finally completed, he did go this far, saying to his Chinese friend: “You have been of great help to me. I could never have gotten along without you. Now, I want to ask you a question. As we have gone together through the New Testament hasn’t any of the beauty of Christianity touched you? Would you not like to become a Christian?
The Chinese scholar replied, “Yes, it does appeal to me. I think that it presents the most wonderful system of ethics that I have ever known. I believe that if I ever saw a Christian, I might become interested in becoming one myself.”
“But,” exclaimed the amazed missionary, “I am a Christian!”
“You?” the scholar replied. “You, a Christian? I hope you will not take offense, but I must tell you that I have observed you and listened to you from the very beginning. If I understand the New Testament, a Christian is one who follows Jesus, and Jesus said, “A new commandment give I unto you that ye might love one another.’ You cannot be a Christian, for I have listened to you as you have talked about others in such an unkind way. And I have observed, too, that whereas your New Testament says that God will supply all your needs, you do not trust Him. You worry about this and about that, and if your check is a day late you become dreadfully concerned. No, you cannot be a Christian. But I think that if I ever see one, I should like to be one.”
The missionary was so rebuked that he broke down completely and sobbed out a confession and asked God’s forgiveness and that of the Chinese gentleman for his coldness and carelessness. When he and the scholar parted company, the latter was heard to remark, “Well, perhaps I have seen a Christian, after all.”1
I don’t have much doubt at all that this missionary was truly a Christian. But clearly, he had not yet “arrived”. He had not yet laid hold of everything for which Christ laid hold of him. Even as a faithful servant of Christ, he had some growing to do. And his story illustrates to us that the whole process of admitting we have not yet arrived to perfection—but nevertheless strive diligently to “lay hold” of that for which Christ laid hold of us—is the nature of our Christian life! It’s an ongoing process for the genuine believer. It is what we are all—all of us who are made ‘perfect’ in Christ, but have not yet arrived—are supposed to be doing. It’s what marks us as genuine Christians.
It was certainly true for even the great apostle Paul—the greatest model of the Christian life we could ever find. And so far in our passage, Paul had only spoken of himself in terms of this process. But now, look with me in conclusion to what Paul says about . . .
3. OUR PARTICIPATION (vv. 15-16).
He writes;
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. Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind (vv. 15-16).
If any genuine believer thinks that he or she is too mature in Christ to have any need of further growth—if anyone among us thinks that they have truly “attained”—our good God will reveal the truth to them.
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I hope, now, that you appreciate why I said that it’s very important to make sure that you apply this passage correctly. If you have not yet forsaken your own efforts to make yourself righteous in the sight of God, and have not yet trusted fully in the cross of Jesus Christ, then this passage is not for you. You have not yet made the first and most important step; and to try to “press on” to “lay hold” of the promises of Christ in your own efforts will only lead to frustration, and failure, and ultimate eternal loss.
But if you have trusted fully in Jesus—if you have done all that Paul described in verses 1-11—then verses 12-16 are for you. Don’t give up! Press on and lay hold of all the glorious spiritual blessings that Jesus has laid hold of you to give you!
That’s the way to experience real joy!
E. Schuyler English, H.A. Ironside: Ordained of The Lord (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1956), p. 255.