Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Philippians 3:1-11 (The Prayer Of Every Believer)


Alright guys, let's jump right in to today's passage.

"Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.

2 Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. 3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— 4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. 7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead." ~ Philippians we should look out for 3:1-11

There's a lot of stuff here, but I'm gonna deviate slightly from what I usually do, and I'm gonna summarize the first 6 verses. In 1-3, Paul says to look out for "dogs" and "evildoers." What are these? These are those who believe in salvation by works. And then in verse 3 Paul says that we put no confidence in the flesh. This is because we believe in salvation by faith alone.

Verses 4-6 are used to emphasize the point that we cannot earn salvation by works. Paul says that if anyone could do it, he could. He was a religious leader, circumcised, and blameless under the law of the Pharisees. If Paul can't earn salvation, then obviously we can't.

Verse 7 is an often quoted verse and for good reason. Paul says that he counts everything he had before as loss for the sake of Christ.

Think about that for a second. Paul had all the accomplishments a person could want. People looked up to him as a leader in the Jewish community. But all that he gained during that time, he now thinks of it as useless in comparison to Christ. As verse 8 says, knowing Christ is superior to all of tat stuff. Paul counts all the he had as rubbish and gave it all up so that he could know Christ. He now has the righteousness of Christ, not the righteousness of works.

I am always convicted when I read this passage. Do I count all the worldly things as loss? No, I don't. I love my video games, my computer, my television, and all kinds of other things that are completely worthless when compared with Christ. I know I should count those things as loss, but that's easier said than done. I pray that God would teach me to love Him more than anything else.

Verse 10 is the big one in my mind. Here it is again, "10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death." First, it starts with "that." If we look at it properly, Paul is saying that he has "suffered the loss of all those worldly things, that he may..." So, what does Paul want?

First, he wants to know Christ. Paul wants to know Christ personally. Second, he wants to know the power of his Resurrection. We can be pretty certain that Paul is talking about the power of the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit is what raised Christ from the dead according to Romans 8:11 ~ "If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you." So in my mind, this verse explains the power that Paul desires. Paul wants true life in his body.

I should mention that Paul has given up his worldly things already, therefore; he has already attained these things, and so can we.

Thirdly, Paul wants to share in Christ's sufferings. Why would he want that? Who wants to suffer? Well, Paul did. But why is the question. The answer is not concrete, but there is an idea that Paul wants to suffer in order to come closer to Christ, and then be able to comfort other believers who go through the same thing.

Lastly, Paul wants to become like Christ in His death. What he means is that he wants his life and death to have the same purpose as Jesus. Obviously Paul would not save anyone through his death, but he wanted to point others to God through his life and death, just like Jesus. Now I get it!

Finally, verse 11 says that Paul wants to attain the resurrection from the dead. That's a little confusing huh? Paul is saying that by any means possible, he wants to be resurrected when Jesus comes back for the church at the rapture. If you don't know what that means, then contact me at my e-mail address kirkgee09@gmail.com and I will try to explain it.

Thank you guys for sticking with me through this long section, but there was a lot of good truth in there. The big takeaway messages are in verses 7-10. The things of this world are rubbish when compared with Christ, and I believe verse 10 should be the prayer of every believer. That we may know Christ and the power of His resurrection, and may share in his sufferings, becoming like Him in His death. That is the Christian life in one verse.

Don't forget what you've just read. I pray that God will use these words to encourage someone, convict someone, or whatever He sees fit to use them for. Pick one thing that stuck out and focus on it. Let it sink into your soul and change your heart. ~ the disciple Jesus loves.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Philippians 2:19-30 (Timothy and Mr. E)


Hey guys, we have a long passage today so let's read it as a whole, and then delve into it.

"19 I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you. 20 For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. 21 For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22 But you know Timothy's proven worth, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel. 23 I hope therefore to send him just as soon as I see how it will go with me, 24 and I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also.

25 I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need, 26 for he has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill. 27 Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. 28 I am the more eager to send him, therefore, that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious. 29 So receive him in the Lord with all joy, and honor such men, 30 for he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me." ~ Philippians 2:19-30

When I read passages like this, I come away remembering that Paul was a real person, and that the Philippian church was a real church. Paul is telling the believers at this church that he is sending Timothy and Epaphroditus. I have trouble spelling that, so we are just gonna call him Mr. E.

Lets' talk about Timothy first. Timothy was Paul's protege. Paul had been a mentor to Timothy throughout the last few years. He was training Timothy to follow in his footsteps as a disciple of Jesus Christ.

We can see from the passage that Paul really cared about Timothy and thought highly of him. Paul thought of Timothy as a son in the faith.

As for Mr. E, he was also a follower of Jesus, and Paul calls him a fellow worker and soldier. We see that he was healed of some type of illness, and now is ready to go out and minister.

There really isn't much more information in the verses, but I think there is a message behind them. The message we can find is this: they were real people. Paul was a real person, with real friends, writing to a real church. We often place Paul and everyone else in the bible in a world of ideology (look it up) where they were perfect, always followed Jesus, and never had any friends. We think that all they ever cared about was their faith and although it was their main purpose in life, they still had other people to encourage them.

The take home message is this. Don't think that you have to be a perfect person with no friends who spends their lives alone on the street preaching the gospel. Be a real person. And never forget how important it is to have friends to help you along the way. ~ the disciple Jesus loves.