Pursue the Right Goal

Transcript

GR 634
2/20/1983
Pursue the Right Goal
Philippians 3:12-16
Gil Rugh

In Chapter 3 of Philippians, you remember, Paul is dealing with the danger that the Philippians confront from without the fellowship. He is talking to them about the joy that is theirs in Christ, the unity that is theirs in Christ that is to be expressed in their dealings with one another. But from the outside will come threats to this unity and joy in the form of false teachers and those who will take the truth of God and corrupt it, mix it with men’s ideas, take the grace of God and wed it to legalism, that will destroy the unity of the fellowship at Philippi, will also undermine the joy that is theirs in Christ.

The Chapter opened up with a strong section addressing false teachers. Paul hasn’t left that danger, when we get to the end of Chapter 3; Paul will come back to deal with those kind of people again. Down in verses 18 and 19; he will talk about those who are the enemies of the cross of Christ whose end is destruction. It’s important to keep in mind as we are moving through Chapter 3; the kind of context that Paul has his discussion set in; it is bracketed by this attention with false teachers, what he is doing is giving himself now as a patented example. He showed that he has these things out of Judaism that you could glory in, if human physical fleshly attainments mattered in relationship with God; Paul excelled most people.

He had been a very meticulous observer of the regulations with the law. Yet he says; I had to throw that all away as worthless, rubbish, dumb. It had no value in a relationship with Christ. In fact it was detrimental because it stood in the way of my trust in Christ alone and realizing it was solely a matter of His grace that is the theme as he continues to develop or emphasize. In verse 8; that he discarded everything so that he might know Christ because the knowledge of Christ supersedes in value anything and everything else.

So for knowing Christ he discarded everything. Knowing Christ is the soul, supreme value, thing of worth. Down two verses 9 and 10; that I may be found in him in verse 9 and verse 10, that I may know him, the power of his resurrection, the fellowship of his suffering, being conformed to his death in order that I may attain to the resurrections in the dead. We noted that the fullest developments of what Paul says in verses 10 and 11 is found in Romans Chapter 6 where we are told that when you come to trust Jesus Christ as personal savior, rely upon him as your savior, you are identified spiritually with Christ in what is called spirit baptism.

We are identified with Christ in his death, in his burial and in his resurrection to new life. That is what Paul is talking about; that personal relationship with Christ, that experiential knowledge of him, true faith and the faith aspects; would stress in verse 9, the righteousness which is true faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, what we need for acceptance before God, acceptance in the presence of God is not righteousness which we have earned. Not righteousness which we have strived by the keeping of the observances and regulations and rules but God’s righteousness given to us and God does that when we believe in his son Jesus Christ.

And he does that by identifying us with Christ in his death, burial, and resurrection. Now the aspect that is emphasized in verse 11 which is unfolded then in the following verses which we are going to focus on in our study today; is the resurrection aspect, that I was conformed to Christ in his death in order that I might attain to the resurrection from the dead. I think the context particularly in the verse 12 makes it clear what Paul is talking about is the resurrection life, the primary focus is not the future resurrection of the body which will take place at the rapture, either in a transformation of those who are alive or the resurrection of those who have died in Christ but rather the life that we now live as a result of our faith in Christ.

The climax will of course be realized at the time of the resurrection, that Paul’s focal point is on how we are living now. We have been joined with Christ in his death that we might be joined with him in his resurrection, that we might live new transformed lives. Turn back to Romans Chapter 6; is to establish again the basis Paul is working from because this is where he picks up with verse 12 and unfolds this theme of how do we live now in Christ and the whole issue of maturity for the believer.

In Romans Chapter 6 verse 4; therefore we have been buried with him through baptism, we noted that spirit baptism; the spiritual identification with Christ into death in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the father so we too might walk in newness of life; you see the stress. We are identified with Christ in his death so that we might live new life, that we might walk, stressing the step by step living of our life. We are to walk now in newness of life. So the stress in on how we live as a result of having been identified with Christ in his death and resurrection.

If we have become united with him in the likeness of his death certainly we shall also be in the likeness of his resurrection, knowing this that our old self was crucified with him, that our body of sin might be done away with that we should no longer be slaves to sin. So Verse 11; even so consider yourself to be dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus, therefore do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin and so forth. There is to be a transformed life style if you will, way of living.

Back to Philippians Chapter 3, so Paul says in verse 11; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead, he is talking about living now a life that is conformed in every way to the perfect character of Jesus Christ, that is the goal, that is the purpose that is what he is striving for, conformity to Jesus Christ. Now in verses 12 through 16; he is going to unfold the manner of conformity to Christ with the recognition that he has not yet arrived but that is the sole goal of his life, striving to be like Christ in every area and to have the character of Christ produced in him.

Let us have a word of prayer before we look into these verses. Father we rejoice in the greatness of our salvation that has not only provided forgiveness and cleansing from sin, as marvelous as that is, Lord has provided for transformed life that we might live in newness of life. Lord, that we might live reflecting and manifesting the glorious character of Jesus Christ, pray that it is true as we study them. Lord, be made part of our life, that we might indeed be reflection of the savior that we are considering, we pray in his name, amen.

Paul hasn’t changed anything as you come to verse 12, subject just flow, you take time to read through the whole third chapter, you read through the whole book of Philippians in one sitting several times, it will help fix the flow in your mind and particularly in Chapter 3 as we break it down piece by piece to see the flow that continues. Verse 12 picks up; not that I have already obtained it, obviously that is the connection with verse 11, in order that I might attain to the resurrection of the dead, not that I have already attained it, so that there be no misunderstanding.

Paul says that is the goal but it is not a realized goal for me, not that I have already obtained it. The goal of verse 11 hasn’t been realized and here he talks about; not that I have already obtained, uses an aorist tense which denotes to a point in time, that is the significance of what we call the aorist tense. It is action done at a point in time, probably here looking back even to his conversion at the Damascus road where salvation was complete for Paul in that instant when he trusted Christ but that did not bring the completion of what he is talking about here. While he experienced the conformity to Christ at that time in his person, in the way he lived; the process was not yet complete.

That is what he wants to talk about; how is that process realized. In verse 11 he says; in order that I might attain to the resurrection of the dead. That word "attain" means to arrive at a goal, you remember. Now in verse 12 it reads; not that I have already obtained it, this word “to obtain” means to appropriate or possess, [00:10:49] stress. The goal is to arrive at that goal, arrive at the appointed end to be like Christ. But I haven’t obtained or appropriated this yet, so that has not been realized for me. I don’t possess the goal at this point; is what he is saying.

Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, in case there is any question about what he is talking about, he clarifies it. I haven’t already become perfect, been made perfect; the idea here and here he uses the perfect tense. Remember the perfect tense is something that happens in the past; the results continue into the present. I haven’t been perfected with the result that I’m now perfect. In effect what you are saying here is God is not through with Paul yet.

This is a passive voice; it means something done to you. Paul in effect is saying; not that I have already been made perfect, would be to stress; something been done to him. He hadn’t yet been made perfect; is the stress. God wasn’t through with what he was doing in Paul. God has not brought me to completion yet. Words “to be perfect” here denotes maturity, denotes completeness, now in order to not have misunderstanding we will take a moment; that this idea of perfection is used in various ways in the New Testament. There is a sense in which Paul was made perfect the moment he trusted Jesus Christ the savior.

That perfecting process was complete and final the moment he trusted Christ. That is not what he is talking about here obviously, he says; that I haven’t already been made perfect but there is a past idea of perfection that occurs at the instant of salvation. Look in Hebrews Chapter 10 and I have just pulled out one or two passages on each of these three emphases in perfection to follow the idea of sanctification; past, present, and future. In Hebrews Chapter 10 verse 14; great Chapter on the finished work of Jesus Christ, whereby one offering he Christ has perfected, that is the word we are talking about, for all time those who are sanctified. Here we are talking about the perfection that we experience positionally the moment we trust Christ.

And the moment Paul trusted Christ the savior; he was perfected in Christ, as God the Father saw him in Christ, he saw him perfected, complete in every way. That is in my position in Christ but the practical living of that, outworking of that is a process, so there is a process of becoming more like Christ which is the maturing process. So there is a process of becoming perfect where the positional perfection that I have in Christ is more and more realized in the way that I lived my life and manifest Christ in what I think and what I do.

Turn back to Second Corinthians Chapter 7 for this progressive perfection. Second Corinthians Chapter 7; if you don’t keep these different emphases on perfection clear, you run into confusion because you either end up with the idea that your salvation was incomplete because you are not perfect yet or you come into the idea of perfection in this life that you have arrived. And Paul is going to make clear that is not true in the section we are looking at.

In Second Corinthians Chapter 7 verse 1; therefore having these promises beloved, let us cleanse ourselves, we have received cleansing in Christ. But here is a practical cleansing, where we remove ourselves from these things and disassociate ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting; here is that word. Perfecting holiness in the sphere of God, so you see in the practical aspect; I have been set up apart by God for himself from all sin in Christ. Now as I live my life; I’m to be perfecting holiness by cleansing myself, removing myself from any involvement and association with these defiling things, that is the practical aspect of my perfecting, that is the maturing process.

Look over in the Book of Ephesians just before Philippians, the Book of Ephesians and the fourth Chapter; the gifts given, verse 11, these gifts are given and so that, verse 12, for the equipping of the saints, for the work of service to the building of the body of Christ until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the son of God to a mature man and that word “mature” is the same basic word “perfect” that we are talking about in Philippians. We come to a perfect man, what is a perfect man, a mature man, one who comes to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.

You see I have that positionally but now I’m growing in the word and through the functioning of the body, the ministry of the various gifts so that I become more like Christ in the way that I live and the way that I function that is maturity, that is what we are talking about in Philippians. Now there is another aspect to this perfection and that is the ultimate perfection, the final realization where my position and my practice are brought together; so all that I’m in Christ is realized in all that I’m in practice.

While you are in Ephesians look down in Chapter 5 verse 27; Christ gave himself up to the Church, in verse 25, then he might sanctify her, having cleansed her, look here the emphasis is on the cleansing, is on what happen to us in Christ. Having cleansed her, verse 27, that he might present to himself the church in all her glory having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing so that she should be holy and blameless, so you see here the church presented to himself, to Christ without any imperfection. As we talk about, you can just jot down First John Chapter 3 and verse 2; that when we shall see him we shall be like him, so we shall see him face to face. So that time when we stand face to face with Christ as of the redeemed we will be conformed, we will be glorified in our bodies and we shall be like him so that my position and my practice will be brought together at that future time which we call ultimate sanctification or ultimate perfection.

Come back to Philippians Chapter 3; what Paul is talking about is the middle step, not the positional, not the ultimate but the progressive perfection that is lived out in my life, not that I have already obtained or have already become perfect; that means acquired this. God hasn’t made me perfect in all that I do and all that I’m in my life yet -- but, now note here, this does not cause him to be discouraged, it does not cause him to become lackadaisical. Again the two danger; that while I’m perfect in Christ I will be perfect in his presence in the future, why hassle the present. God will do what he wants to do and in his time it will be worked out, so hands off, sit back and do nothing.

There are some who pervert grace into that kind of teaching, that is not what Paul does. He says; but I press on, I press on, I want you to realize I haven’t arrived at the goal, it hasn’t come into my possession, God is not done with me yet but I press on. I think that is interesting when he says that I’m not yet perfect, he uses the voice of the passive, would indicate God hasn’t perfected me yet but he goes on to say; but I press on. God is going to do the perfecting but Paul is responsible to continue his pursuit of that goal and the word; to press on is a strong word here, going to come up again down in verse 14. It means to pursue something diligently, to give eager pursuit, the picture here and the way it is developed seem to be that of a runner in the Greek races who is running down the race course with his eye fixed on the goal and he is giving everything he has got to the pursuit of that goal, to realize the purpose for which God has called him in Christ.

So he says; I press on in order that I may lay hold of that for which I also was laid hold of by Christ. I press on that I may lay hold of that, it means to see, to win, to attain, to make your own. I press on to seize for myself, to lay hold of that for which I was laid hold of by Christ. Again he mentions the tense; that for which I was laid hold of; aorist tense, remember the aorist tense; appoint action usually in past time. Here it is the passive, something was done to him; God laid hold of him, God seized him, took possession of him for himself at a point in time in the past, talking about his conversion on the Damascus road I take it, Acts Chapter 9.

At that point God laid hold of Paul for a specific purpose, what is the purpose and the context here that Paul might be like Jesus Christ. One passage which we are going to come back to later but turn to it now, Romans Chapter 8. Stresses that God’s intention in saving us was to make us like Jesus Christ that is important because this whole discussion of Paul lays in proper perspective the overwhelming importance of how we live our lives here day by day as believers. We are not just marking time waiting for eternity, we are having things of eternal significance and importance accomplished in our lives every moment of every day as believers in Jesus Christ; it is an overwhelming important time and a mark of eternity, tremendously significant.

Romans Chapter 8, familiar verses, verse 28, and we note that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose; we are going to look at that word “called” in a few minutes in Philippians 3. For whom he foreknew he also predestined, to become conformed to the image of his son. You know what the goal of God is in those whom he has called, foreknown, predestined, conformity to the image of his son. When God laid hold of Paul, seized Paul for himself it was for the purpose that Paul might be conformed to the image of his son Jesus Christ, not just positionally but in every way because God’s ultimate eternal purpose for us is that we might be in every way positionally and practically conform to the glorious character of his son Jesus Christ.

That is why God laid hold of Paul for himself. Back to Philippians 3; now important to realize that is why God laid hold of you, that is why God laid hold of me. You look back to the time when you trusted Jesus Christ as savior, you can express it just like Paul does here, you were laid hold of by God, I believe that salvation is the sovereign work of God. You were seized by him so that you might be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ, you think of that; that is awesome; I didn’t realize all those entails when I trusted Christ some years ago. I couldn’t contain it then, I had to grow, realize that at that point in time God seized hold of me for himself, for the purpose of conforming me to the image of Jesus Christ, remarkable, and not just in a future eternity.

So to begin that process at that point and to carry it on until he calls me into his presence. That is why every moment of every day is of eternal significance for us as believers; it is part of God’s process in accomplishing that eternal purpose. Back to Philippians Chapter 3. Paul is going to come back to that point; that which I was also laid hold of by Christ Jesus, verse 13, brethren I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet, strong emphatic statement here. Try to often reproduce it, in translation in English the word “I” and the word “myself” appear together at the beginning of this sentence. It is brethren, I myself, when we said in the Greek language when you wanted to give something emphasis you just put it at the beginning of the sentence and that is what he does here and he reiterates it because he expresses “I” twice really. I, myself, he will tell you how I see myself and the contrast here is going to be with the way some at Philippi and some of these false teachers present themselves.

They saw themselves as having arrived, they put themselves on a platform and on a pedestal as having attained. Paul says; I want you to know how I see myself, I haven’t arrived, brethren I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet and that word “regard” we saw up in verses 7 and 8, commercial language, accounting word, it always has the idea of behind this by the process of thinking and considering, so it is not something done hastily. I do not regard, I have not accounted myself in the reckoning that I have done, I myself have not laid hold, I will not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet.

In verse 12; he talks about that I may lay hold of that for which I was laid hold of by Christ, you know that was an aorist tense, God laid hold of him, Christ laid hold him at a point in time. Now here Paul says; I have not yet laid hold of him; a perfect tense, it means that this is not yet come to completion for me. God’s goal in saving me was that I might be conformed to the image of Christ. Paul is conformed, Galatians 2:20; he says that I’m crucified with Christ nevertheless I live yet not I but Christ lives in me. Or what he is saying is that is not fully realized in every area in a perfect way in his life yet. Also Paul hasn’t arrived at that stage of sinless perfection, not there yet is to be part of the group that believe you could experience perfection in this life.

Paul says he has, he writes to the Philippians, years after his conversion he says I have not yet experienced that perfect conformity to Christ in every way yet -- but crucial statement here, one thing, you have to underline that, and it is important to see the balance of Paul, he can say; I have not yet arrived but he doesn’t lay back, no easing off. He say look it’s over. Is anyone ever in this life going to attain perfect conformity with character of Christ? God will do that when he calls us into his presence. I have never cared about coming up with a better plan than God, so what Paul says is; but one thing I do literally you note the “I do” is in italics, it’s a staccato kind of frame abrupt and brief, but one thing, with the idea Paul has exercised about what he is saying, you noted the passion that he has expressed and the way that he expresses himself.

There is one thing that my life is involved with, that it centers around, that I’m striving to accomplish, the one thing, will be down in verse 14, one thing I press on but to do the one thing, pressing on as Paul does, he elaborates; forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward what lies ahead. I think there is an indication here of why Paul excels in his service to Jesus Christ. He did not allow himself to become distracted and over here he is using the analogy of a racer and the racer that is striving. In our day of television we have always seen the races on TV where you have the runners and as they come down the track especially, as you near the wire, the goal, you see them; they are stretched out in every fiber in their being, the cameras catch it, you can just see the muscles, every part of their body is straining for that goal.

You think something is going to pop at any minute, that is the picture that Paul has here. Every ounce of energy, every bit of concentration is devoted toward one thing, the arriving at that goal and that is what drove Paul through his life, with that he says there are a couple of things you have to keep in mind. You must be forgetting what lies behind, present tense, something he is constantly doing; forgetting. Ever seen a race that was close and the runner turns to see where the person behind him is in his path. You just cannot keep that concentration and that continued force of forward momentum when you are looking back over your shoulders.

Even it happens to Christians, in the race they get distracted, there is all kind of distraction and we were like Paul who would say; one thing among the many that I do because I want to be like Christ but at the same time we are looking over here, we are looking back over our shoulder and we wonder why our progress in the race -- we are stumbling. You pull out and run full speed down the sidewalk, you better wear some padding, and you try doing that full breakneck speed and look over your shoulder at the same time and see how far you go, how fast. Not pretty soon you are stumbling why, just can’t do it, wonder why we stumble along in our lives as Christians. We are distracted, one of supposedly best players in tennis recently retired, you know what he said, couldn’t keep the concentration anymore, just couldn’t concentrate.

The remarkable thing about Paul was the discipline to concentrate one thing. I wonder if someone said to me, Gil what is the one thing you do in your life; I’d respond just like Paul, the one thing I’m doing, I want you to sit here, go on that one thing, everything else can fall into place because I know what I’m doing, I know where all my energies are channeled and anything else is a byproduct. He is the Messiah, I don’t have to worry about being wealthy, I don’t have to worry about being successful, I don’t have to worry about being influential because the goal of my life is not to be influential. The goal of my life is not to be wealthy, the goal of my life is not to be powerful, the goal of my life is not to be comfortable, the goal of my life is not to retire early. The goal of my life is to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ.

Isn’t that so overwhelmingly simple, we as Christians of all people ought to be able to live effective lives because we have a simple, single goal, to orient our lives to and to strive to it with every ounce of energy and strength. When Paul says forgetting the things that are behind; I take it what he has emphasized here would be in the context back in Chapter 3 verses 5 and 6, the thing to Judaism, its past religious life and experience; he has forgot that, he has to constantly be forgetting that. I think that is interesting, I’m constantly forgetting the things which are behind and in verses 7 and 8 he expanded that to anything else that he might accomplish.

Some Christians of our time going forward because [00:34:08] breaking the ties of the past and we talked about this. They are constantly looking back to their former religious life and what they did there and what they have there and the family ties they had and all these things. Paul says I’m constantly forgetting them all and you don’t realize I was raised in this but Paul was raised in Judaism too. But you don’t realize that my parents did this, Paul’s parents did it for him too. But you don’t realize that it is hard to break those ties when they are ingrained in your mind, it was hard for Paul too that is why he says; I’m constantly forgetting.

And why you have to be constantly forgetting maybe the constant pressure, the calls and demands. You have family and friends and others who want to constantly drive it into, make you remember and I’m running toward a race -- I’m running a race toward a goal. I got to be constantly forgetting. Some Christians are bogged down over their past religion, their past sin, they can’t forget it, they are sure they committed the unpardonable sin, they are mired down about this sin and that sin.

I think they will be forgetting it, past is past, I’m running a race now toward this, doesn’t matter what I was then, this is what I’m now, I’m a runner going towards the goal, doesn’t matter that three years ago I was 40 pounds overweight and couldn’t run 30 steps, now I’m in the race toward the goal. I need to be remembering what I was in my failures then, one other thing that Paul has emphasized here, but it is, your past accomplishments that Paul has. But some Christians get mired down in what God has done in their life in the past; we have to praise them for that. Some Christians are always looking back on what happened to them 30 years ago, it is constantly forward and winning those things.

Now the forgetting does not mean they are obliterated from your mind in one sense because Paul just enumerate it, didn’t mean he couldn’t remember them but there was no reliance upon, there was no dependence upon them, there was no place in his life for them as far as his relationship with Christ was concerned. So he could enumerate all the details of what he was, but he was forgetting those as far as having any influence or any part in his serving Jesus Christ now, but with a difference, but he just break the past, break the ties with the past.

# how Christianity just cleans things up. Praise God for what he has done, I have to be mired down in yesterday. I have to # bringing those things into my life, one goal and I have to put all my energy, so he says forgetting the things which are behind and reaching forward, present tense again, reaching forward to what lies ahead, again the picture of a runner. This picture here is one of someone straining forward, used like when you are getting to the tape and you have that stretched out everything looking, it is not the time when you are looking back wondering where everybody is.

That is not the runners that win as here you have the picture of Paul, how he is putting everything into that goal and the liberty in that, there is only thing that I got to concentrate on, devote all my energies to. That frees me up, to be what God wants me to be, to do what God wants me to do, just jot down these verses, we have enough time to go to Acts Chapter 20 verse 24. Paul says that his goal was that he might finish his course with joy, same kind of analogy, Paul is fond of these athletic metaphors. In Acts 20:24 he tells the Ephesians; now that his goal is to finish his course with joy.

In First Corinthians 9:26 he says; I run not without aim, there are some Christians running who are around on the track but it is all a waste. They are zigzagging back and forth and they are skipping round and it is a race for the goal, how will I run not without aim, you know where I’m going. The goal is fixed, to verse 14; I press on, that is the expression we had up in the middle of verse 12, I press on towards the goal means to pursue, to zealously seek after, so there is an eagerness in what is expressed here. I press on, present tense, I’m continually pressing on.

Paul’s attention is given toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ. The upward call of God, remember, in Romans 8:28 and 29, we talked about those that God called, those that God called is predestined to be conformed in the image of his son has the call here. This call always refers, in Paul’s writing, to the effectual call to salvation. God’s call that results, because of his grace, in the salvation of those who are called. Now what he is talking about here is the goal or prize for which we have been called to salvation in Christ. We saw that in Roman’s 8:28 and 29. Why were we called to salvation in Christ that we might be conformed to the image of his son that is the goal, the prize of the call. Another passage on that line.

Look over in First Peter Chapter 5 and verse 10; after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory in Christ will perfect, conform, strengthen and establish you. You see we were called to his eternal glory in Christ, talking about that call to salvation, takes place in Christ. What is he doing, be conformed to the image of Christ, that is another way of saying that. Called to his eternal glory, remarkable, the call that we have as believers. Remarkable, the work that God is accomplishing in our lives right today and conforming us to the image of the glory of his son Jesus Christ, to his own eternal glory, he is talking about.

Back to Philippians Chapter 3; press on towards the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus and that is the upward call. That call to be like Christ; that is the prize, the goal, conformity to him. You see what happens, people come along that is why these teachings are so disastrous, they talk about salvation; is complete and that is wonderful but the idea then that sanctification or perfection in your practice is also complete leads to stagnation. I have not yet arrived at the goal, I do not yet possess it, I’m not yet in every way in every part of my life like Jesus Christ, but that does not mean it is a reason to back off. That’s not a reason to become discouraged #.

That is simply a motivation to drive myself on in the power and grace of God, to strive even more strenuously for the attainment of that goal, which will be reached in his presence. So in verse 15; he says let us therefore as many as are perfect have this attitude, he is already set up in verse 12; I have not already become perfect, now he says; as many as are perfect. Only they are two different kinds of perfection, there are three kinds, the last two; the progressive and the ultimate.

Those who are perfect are those who have a relative maturity. So even though I’m in the process, I can’t say I have obtained the ultimate perfection, there is a relative maturity that I do posses. So as many as are mature to have grown, he said, who have grown in Christ is distressed on this word perfection. You are in Colossians Chapter 1, it is just the next page or so in your Bible and verse 28; we proclaimed him, admonishing every man, teaching every man with all wisdom that we may present every man complete; that is the same word for perfection as you have in verse 15 of Philippians 3.

We may present every man perfect in Christ that is the goal and that is the process going on, the ministry we have in one another. There is a relative maturity we recognize in the body. We will talk about believers and say; this believer is a pretty mature Christian and say this believer is a relatively immature person, so there is a recognition of maturity. If you have been a believer for 20 years and growing in that time you ought to be a mature Christian even though you are not perfect in very way as yet, you can be spoken of as mature.

So as many as are mature who have grown in Christ, have this attitude and what he is talking about is; think this way, you will agree with what I have said, in verses 13 and 14, of striving for maturity and growth in Christ but not having arrived. As many as are mature have this attitude think this way and if in anything you have a different attitude; God will reveal that also to you. And note as you function in maturity in Christ you have to agree with what Paul says and the spirit of God will unfold the truth of it, will reveal this by the spirit in the word to you.

So Paul is confident if you are a mature Christian open to the truth of the word; the spirit of God will reveal to you the truth of what he said and it is true as we believers are open to the word to teaching ministry of the spirit through the word, the spirit of God reveals to us, the truth that is here. The truth is here, all the truth is here yet I don’t understand it all yet but I’m growing in my understanding of it and the spirit of God reveals it to me not directly but through the word as he gives us understanding even as it occurs with this kind of the word like today. So verse 16; however now again Paul keeps bringing in the balance lest these Christians say; well I’m going to just stop here and wait for God to reveal to me.

However let us keep living by the same standard to which we have attained, in other words, each should exercise fully the degree of maturity which he has acquired, which he already possesses. We have to be faithful to what we understand. Let us keep living by the same standard, march in the same line literally to which we have attained, in other words I’m to be growing and as I respond to the level of maturity I have to what I do know in the word, and all this is, Christians tend to this danger, we are mired down but we don’t understand. We say; O there is so much in the word I don’t understand, I guess there is no sense of studying, yet no. What God requires in me is that I respond to what I do understand and once I submit myself to what I do understand, I grow and understand I understand more.

I understand more about the word this year than I did last year and as I grow in the word and respond and submit to the word I don’t understand as much this year as will next year. Your responsibility is not to live to my level of maturity. My responsibility is not to live to your level of maturity but we are to live to the level of maturity which we have attained. A word of caution here, lest you decide you are going to sit back and wait for revelation; there is to be marching in line with what you do know and the maturity that you do have which is relative compared to other believers and as you respond to the knowledge of the scriptures that you have and submit yourself to it then the spirit of God will enable you to continue growing.

That is the danger of even a Christian coming and hearing the word, of knowing the facts of the word but not submitting himself to it. He does not mature, he may go in the knowledge of certain facts but even that knowledge of facts about the word is misused and causes problems and divisions, problems in his own life and divisions in the body because the knowledge that is required is not used with maturity. But he says; I submit to the word and live according to the level of the maturity that I have in Christ. More of the word is unfolded to me by the spirit as I study it and I’m taught it, I function with other believers.

And then I’m responsible there we have all experienced that in our growth. You can look back and see the development in your life that is the maturing process, that would mean, that would have to do with what Paul writes to the Romans about recognition of weaker believers and not pressuring them to live according to your level of maturity but you have to grow in maturity, so is Paul’s emphasis been here. Through this whole section he has been talking about maturity in Christ. God’s goal in saving us is to make us like Christ in the way that we live; now that becomes important; how you lived your life this week.

I have been striving toward that goal, he says, this one thing I have been doing, has it even been in your mind. Have you been distracted, caught up in other things, maybe you have pursued with every ounce of fiber the goal but it is not the goal that Paul says is the goal that we have as believers. He really being doing that one thing, everything you are involved in but they should all fit toward carrying it to that one goal. You realize you are not everything that you are going to be, praise God that is encouraging isn’t it. That is God working in me and he has called me to his eternal glory as I submit to him and his word that process will be realized, there could be no higher calling, it will be blasphemous if God had to say; that I’m in the process of becoming like Jesus Christ.

Being conformed to his glorious character so that the way I lived my life, the way I submit to the word, the goal that I pursue every moment of every day becomes overwhelmingly significant because it is part of God’s eternal purpose in making me conformed to his glory. The process there begins at salvation, you must be laid hold of by God, you must become his and you are laid hold of him for a purpose that begins when you trust Jesus Christ the savior. You have to come to the point of recognizing that Jesus Christ, the son of God died to pay the penalty for your sin.

Recognize that he was raised from the dead, the payment has been paid, you have to trust in him alone as your savior, recognize that your own religious activity, your own good works hold no value but you are simply rested in the fact that Jesus Christ died for you and that is sufficient, you are going to trust that and nothing else, if not you can’t, and at that moment you became God’s possession and he begins that work from within that will ultimately end in his presence for the people that are like his son Jesus Christ.

Let’s pray together. Father, how we praise you for such glorious destiny. Lord, to realize that even as we live our lives in these physical bodies or seemingly so often plodding along with mundane tasks, experiencing difficulties, and suffering, and hardships and heartaches and to realize the God of glory is working every moment of every day. Lord, to produce in and through us an eternal glory, the glory which belongs to yourself. Lord, how privileged we are to be your children. Lord, I pray that you give us that singleness of mind and purpose that characterized your servant Paul, Lord that we might say one thing; I do, I press on, that I might attain to that which I have been called in Christ Jesus.

Give us honesty and openness before you. Father, is this really the goal toward which all our energies and efforts are expended. Lord, pray that we might respond to the truth as we have learned it this morning to allow you to bring about the changes that will make us more effective in striving toward that goal. Father, I pray for those who are here today who are not your children. Lord, that you might seize hold of them even this morning that they might come to trust in Christ, and you might begin that work of redemption and the outworking of redemption in them. We pray in Christ’s name, amen.