Identity and Responsibility of Believers

Transcript

GR 637
3/13/1983
Identity and Responsibility of Believers.
Philippians 4:1
Gil Rugh

The Book of Philippians and the Third Chapter, really look through the end of the Third Chapter we’ll be looking at the beginning of the Fourth Chapter in our study today. Paul prepares to draw this letter to a close. In the third Chapter, he has given them strong warning and strong exertation regarding their lives as believers. What they have to watch out for, the danger that confronts them as believers, the unity, and the harmony, the oneness that they have being assaulted from without by the teaching of false teachers. That the Judaizers would come in and undermine the true doctrine of the sufficiency and finality of the work of Christ by encouraging the Philippians to add to what Christ has done, that what Christ did with only parts of what is necessary for salvation and for success in the Christian life, told them that really in Christ you find everything.

You have his righteousness, the righteousness of God and that what’s makes you acceptable before God. So Paul says that’s his one consuming passion to be found in Christ and to be like him in every way, to have that perfection of Christ, be lived out in all of his activities. A help given is in verse 7 that we follow the pattern or example of Paul and other mature believers that we not get turned aside and let us stray, one of the dangers for young Christians and immature Christians or they follow after those that they should not. And some of these can be very affective.

I was watching recently a teacher and listening to what was being taught and I to Merlyn they’re murdering the scriptures. And she commented yes, but it’s very convincing isn’t? And it’s done in a very convincing way and scripture is multiplied on scripture and yet they are destroying what the scripture says. And yet thousands of people gathered in the auditorium for that teacher drinking it all in. And yet it’s undermining the true teaching of the word of God. So Paul warns to follow and pattern after those who are matured.

The reason in verses 18 and 19 there are many who are the enemies of the cross of Christ not a few isolated incidences but many, are enemies of the cross and so their whole life and their whole ministries oriented against Christ. Now be careful, it is deceptive. Paul would not have to warn the Philippians if there was not deception involved. So these are the enemies of Christ with the ministry oriented against Christ but that is not obvious always to all believers. So you must be very careful and very discerning.

These are those who are earthly centered, have an earth-centered ministry even though they talk about Christ they undermine the truth concerning Christ. They set their minds on earthly things. And then in verses 20 and 21 he concluded that Chapter, that strong emphasis on where our citizenship is, our common wealth, where our place of residency is to be found and it is in heaven in the presence of God so it is to be expected that we will live differently than those who are citizens of earth for we are visitors here but are citizens of heaven. And as citizens of heaven, we have our attention focused on one ultimate goal, the coming of Jesus Christ for he will come from heaven to take us to be with himself.

So it’s from heaven that we eagerly await the savior the Lord Jesus Christ. And when Christ comes from heaven, he is going to transform these earthly bodies into conformity with the body of his glory. And we studied this in some detail in our last study where at the rapture of the church. When Jesus Christ descends from heaven he’ll come in the clouds, he will not come to earth at that point. But he’ll come in the clouds in the air and call all believers from the earth to meet him in the air. And in that instance of time First Corinthians Chapter 15 says in an atom of time, the twinkling of an eye we will undergo a transformation of our body called glorification.

With this physical body we’ll be changed to bring into conformity with the glorified body of Jesus Christ so that this physical body in its transformed state becomes a fit and true perfect vehicle for the expression of the perfect character of Jesus Christ. The new creations that we are in Christ will be perfectly presented through our glorified bodies. Now drawing our earthly life Paul talks about in the middle part of Chapter 3. We are growing to be more like Christ but the final realization of that process will not be until we are glorified in his presence.

So this physical body is destined to undergo a change, that change is supernatural. It’s accomplished by the exertion of his power, that word exertion means power at work. The exertion of his power, power or ability. You know we get the English word dynamite and dynamo from this word power. By the exertion, putting into action of the power of God.

We note in several passages such as Ephesians Chapter 1 with the same power that was at work in raising Jesus Christ from the dead is at work in us as believers right now. And that power will accomplish its attended intended into our salvation by glorifying us in the presence of God. That’s the destiny that we have, that’s the goal toward which we are going. That’s the attention centre for our life that means we are going to live totally different than those who are the citizens of this earth. We were looking and anticipating and expecting eagerly the return of Jesus Christ at any moment and then we will be glorified in his presence.

Now as come into Chapter 4 you note that the Chapter begins with therefore, the first verse. Therefore, my beloved brethren, and it’s always the case when we are talking about future things there is an intended presence application or responsibility. After when we study prophesy people say I don’t know why we have to study about the future, I trust God for the future and whatever God does in the future is fine with me. And I think we have to spend more time studying about our lives right now and less time studying about the future. The problem is God thought it better to do it differently. And one of the reasons he tells us so much about the future is so our lives can be properly oriented now. And a person who does not live with any plans or vision of the future is going no place.

We teach our young people to plan. They go to school, they go to college where they get technical training or experience why, because they are to be preparing themselves for certain goal or in to provide a living, to have a job to take care of their family and so forth the same for us as believers. If you don’t realize where you’re going you don’t know how to live. The citizen of earth has certain goals and aims for his life, to make as much money as possible, to be a successful in their job as possible, to become as influential as they can these are goals around which they orient and direct their lives, to have as much pleasure as they gave.

Now for us as believers we must realize who we are and where we’re going because that controls and determines how you live. So the recognition and awareness all that Paul has said in Chapter 3 about false teachers, about our salvation in Christ and our growth in him about our destined glory that becoming the focal point leading into the first verse of Chapter 4. As those who are citizens of heaven anticipating the coming of Christ, looking forward to the transformation of this body therefore, we are commanded to do something. And I take that as believer is ignorant of God’s purposes and plans for them in the future, it will mean a distorted lifestyle here and now. My life is to be conformed to the glorious destiny that I have in Christ that affects and determines the way that I live. Therefore my beloved brethren, whom I long to see my joy and crown so stand firm in the Lord my beloved.

And Paul is going to do two things with the Philippians here. He is going to talk about who they are as he sees them, their identity and then he’s going to zero in on their responsibility. So he does not the command until the end of the verse but he identifies them clearly in his relationship with them so that they can appreciate how he sees them and who they are and their relationship together as believers.

Let’s have a word of prayer before we go to the details. Father how we praise you that we are your people privileged to live in light of the glorious future. Father that we are looking for a savior to take us to be with himself in your presence; Lord we failed to even have the slightest glimpse and grasp it seems of the overwhelming glory that awaits us. Pray the spirit might unfold the truth of your word towards this morning. Father how we are to live in light of that glorious time when we will be gathered in your presence. We pray in Jesus name. Amen.
Keep in mind that as Paul writes to the Philippians he has the strong theme of them having the joy and rejoicing of the Lord being manifested and experienced in their life. He’s also stressing strongly the unity and oneness that they have in Christ. And this unity and oneness is threatened both by division from within among believers and from assault from without by unbelievers. Both work to undermine the manifestation of the unity that we have in Christ.

When we get into Chapter 4 Paul picks up again focusing on the danger to unity from within the body at Philippi. The tragedies of our lives as believers is that we are not only divided by false teachers and led astray but we are also divided among ourselves and set against ourselves so that believers battle against believers. And within local congregations and local churches instead of the unity of the spirit being manifested in the bond of peace we have believer nip picking, back biting; tearing down, criticizing, undermining the ministries of fellow believers. We get into that in Chapter 4.

So verse 1 forms a transition and that’s why the opening statements here. As Paul describes the Philippians in five ways how he sees them is important. That’s again an appreciation then of how Paul has had such a sense of oneness, such a bond with fellow believer. He have a right prospective on who they are, that does not mean they’re perfect because when we get into verses 2 and 3 Paul is going to talk about the divisions in the Church of Philippi. Believer against believer in the church of Philippi that’s a problem that had to be dealt with. Part of the problem was they did not see one another as God says they should see one another and so they got down on one another so to speak they became critical.

Paul has a fivefold description here of the Philippians which is a description of really who and what they are as God’s children and what’s Paul’s relationship is to them. And he give you the five ways then we come back. He calls them brothers, brethren. Second he calls them beloved. Third he calls them ones who are longed for whom I long to see, those who are longed for. Fourth he calls them my joy and fifth he calls them my crown.

So he calls five titles for them if you will. Five ways of identifying them you see something Paul’s affection and love for them through this. First he calls them brethren, my beloved brethren, the word here brothers and the stress in this is on the fact they have been born in the God’s family and that’s the starting point that we must appreciate that as fellow believers in Jesus Christ, we are the members of the family of God. We are brothers in Christ. We have God as father we have been born into his family. I have the strongest most intimate bond with you as a fellow believer because of our mutual relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ.

I have a more intimate and strong bond with you than I do with my physical family; tickle here if they are not believers in Jesus Christ. Now that’s the foundation and beginning point to constantly remind myself of who you are when you irritate me. When you get under my skin so to speak, not at that whatever happens. When, we greet on another as does happen in families. In our family, I’ll tell a little tale in itself. We came to Church today; we had a little bit of a rub. Not everybody was functioning as they should, perhaps not even the father, I’m not sure there. Not going to carry this confession too far. I don’t mind confessing for Merlyn and confessing for the kids but I hate knowing it for myself.

You know what happens, in the family there’s a rub that has to be dealt with and we have to resolve it and take care of it. So it is in the family of God but you know often it happens within the body of Christ we forget that we’re a family and we go after one another with a butcher knife. Here wait a minute that is a brother in Christ. You know what that means, that means in spite of your problems, in spite of my rough edges, in spite of the conflict, I must approach you as a brother in Christ, a fellow child of God.

So that’s a simple basic truth that we are so familiar with but we so easily lose sight off; that we run around and tear one another down before others. It’s not the way we’re to handle our family responsibilities and relationships. We have to resolve that within the family. So if I have a conflict with you I am to resolve it with you not to ride around and see if I can get 20 people who agree that you are at loss but recognize you a brother in Christ. What can I do to help you, what can you do to help me, how can we strengthen one another and become more affective in our service together as members of the family, so important here. It’s like any truth that we use a lot it becomes almost over familiar so that we forget what the real thrust of it is.

So we read a word like brethren, and we almost go on, we don’t even give it a thought what that means in the way that we relate to one another and the way that we live with one another. Paul adds to this with his second way of describing them, it really modifies brethren here but he gives a second emphasis he calls them beloved and he does that twice in this verse. At the end of the verse he calls them my beloved again. And it’s simply the word for a loved one. We talk about the word love agape or agapao, that’s the word here. My loved ones, my loved brothers this word emphasizes that deep and abiding love. There is a strength of love in this relationship that Paul has with them as family.

This is the word that Christ uses of his son Jesus Christ. When he says this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased in Matthew Chapter 3 in verse 17 and several other times in the gospel of Matthew as well as the other gospel. This is my beloved son. It expresses, this is my loved son. The depth of love that the father had for the son us the kind of love that Paul is talking about having for Philippians. Now keep in mind the Philippians aren’t perfect, the Philippians aren’t even completely loyal. Paul is concerned that they are going to get twisted aside from the truth that he’s stopped them but he has the same deep and abiding love for them that God had for his son Jesus Christ.

Now that helps explain why Paul invested his life without reserve in them, why he had such a deep concern. You don’t find Paul writing a letter to another Church to the Thessalonians criticizing the Philippians for their weakness, for their shallowness, for their fickleness, for their divisiveness do you? No, you find Paul writing a letter to the Philippians to build up and encourage the Philippians why, if you guys would have done no good for Paul to write to the Thessalonians and complain about the Philippians and besides if he has this deep abiding love for them as fellow members of the family of God that would be counterproductive yet how often do we; we see believers with difficulty.

We take that as an opportunity to criticize to undermine, to talk to other people about their faults, to talk to other people about their weaknesses. Do you have a deeper biding love for fellow Christians? You really love them with the same kind of love that God as risen Jesus Christ? You love me with that kind of love; do I love you with that kind of love? Then my concern is to develop you, to build you up, to strengthen you where you are weak not attack you where you weak, we’re all weak. And the closer we are in the family, the more we are aware of one another’s weaknesses. No one recognizes my weaknesses as well as my own family.

You know one thing about family; you trust them to build you up in your weaknesses. Isn’t that the way it is in husband and wife relationship, my wife knows my weaknesses intimately but I trust her not to attack me in my weaknesses but to work, to strengthen me. To develop me that I might be stronger, that’s the way we have to function in the family. The tragedy when you see a husband and wife tearing into one another, tearing down one another, attacking one another in their weaknesses because they know what the weaknesses are. It’s just this tragic or even more so in the family of God in the Church of Christ. We are believers attacking one another’s weaknesses.

You don’t have to run and point out my weakness to everybody, most people know quite a bit about my weaknesses. You don’t have to go out and point out to somebody else’s weakness to someone. What you need to do if you are aware of the weakness God how can I be used by you to strengthen them. If we’d all apply our energies to trying to strengthen the weakness we see we’d do a lot to cancel out the effect of those weakness wouldn’t we? We have a certain glumness and smugness and what it is there’s a lack of love. It’s that rather pointing out how weak you really are because that makes me feel strong when we really demonstrates how weak I am because I am functioning unbiblically.

Look over in First Thessalonians Chapter 4 I mentioned that Thessalonians, Philippians, Colossians. First Thessalonians other great Macedonian Church, the Church at Thessalonica, a neighbor Church to Philippi the same region Macedonia. In First Thessalonians Chapter 4 verse 9. Now as to the love of the brethren, note there the same expression, same idea love of the breather, concerning brotherly love; the love of the brethren; you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another. We studying in First John; that true believers do have a love for fellow Christian and it’s the teaching ministry of the spirit of God in the life of a believer regarding brotherly love. So you know what’s wrong, if we don’t have love and are not manifesting of the way we should, either we are not believers or we are resisting the ministry of the spirit of God in our life because when you are open to the teaching ministry of the spirit of God he teaches you to love fellow believers that’s why it’s so serious, a critical backbiting, tearing down spirit is not manifestation of the teaching ministry of the spirit of God in our life. It’s a manifestation of our resistance to the teaching ministry of the spirit of God in the life.

Verse 10 for indeed you do practice toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you brethren to excel still more, Paul wrote to the Romans and he says Oh no man anything except to love one another. There is one debt that I can never payoff that I can never excel enough and that is loving fellow believer. Point for me to remember that when I think I am to the end of the rope I loved them as much as I can Lord. I mean, there does come a breaking point; no, not for fellow believers, not in the family. I must continue to love you, work with you; develop you and you with me.

Back to Philippians Chapter 3 Paul has described then as they’re brothers, as the brothers who are the loved ones, the beloved. Third he describes them as the ones whom I long to see, those who are longed for, longed for ones if you will. And it’s a strong word, it denote any intense inner emotional longing. Paul writes we’re in the realm of feelings here that inner longing ever been away from a loved one for a period of time. Perhaps I was and my wife you have to be separated for a time or one of your children you have to be a separated for a time, what builds in that time.

That intense longing for one another, that is an emotional as well as a mental activity and your mental activity effects your emotions, the way you think about that person, the thoughts you have about them what, increases a desire that affects your emotions with that person. You just can’t wait to see them, to be with them. And that’s what Paul says we ought to be experiencing with one another as believers. And I think it’s crucial here that we see that what you think and how you think affects that intense longing you have for fellow Christians.

We think about getting together with fellow Christians in a meeting like this or in a study through the week or whatever. How you think about Christians, oh they’re boring those people and boss I think they got so many problems or besides he does this. So what if they are like that, pretty soon you have to drive yourselves to get together it happens in your marriage. The marriage is an example because it’s such an intimate closed relationship. We keep thinking about the weaknesses or things you don’t like in your husband to your wife.

You will be anxious to get home in the evening, you won’t be anxious to go out together and spend an evening together oh, she gets on my nerves, oh she constantly does that, oh she wears this, oh she does that, oh she’s going to talk about this, oh he’s going to bore with his job, oh he’s going; you know what, pretty soon you think oh boy maybe I can work late tonight. Oh boy maybe I can go out do something you know what happens, you are not intensely longing for one another. You know what happens in the church we think about one another that way. Instead of thinking on those positive things, seeing you as a child of God as I am one in whom God is working his purposes, one through whom God will work in my life. One in whose life God will work through my life zeroing in on what I see God has been in your life, and all the good things God will do as we are together. So, it affects the longing we have.

Even though Paul was a realist he’s going to have to deal to deal with the problems at Philippi. We get to those in our next studies. But he still thought about them in a proper sense and had that intense longing. Look in Philippians Chapter 1 verse 8 uses the same basic word for God is my witness, how I long for you all, I long for you all, read the rest of the word. With the affection of Christ Jesus and see what is at work, this is supernatural longing. So in other words how you think its thinking and seeing you as God sees you.

It’s submitting myself to the spirit of God so I have God’s perspective, so that the same longing that Jesus Christ has for you as his child in whom he wants the work and accomplish his purposes characterizes me. You have any doubt that God loves his children? You have any doubt that Jesus Christ loves you as one that he has redeemed? Then I need to stop and evaluate my actions in light of mythology. Do I have the same affection for you the Jesus Christ does? I say well, wait a minute I am only human, that’s right that’s why we don’t want your affection; we want the affections of Christ through you.

And so you see what it becomes it ends up with not your problem, not that all these with a 32 reasons why I didn’t like you, you know the problem is my submissiveness to Jesus Christ and the development of his character in my life and what you are seeing in my backbiting critical sour spirit if you will, is a believer who is resisting the development of the character of Christ in his life and you don’t see that affection of Christ manifesting itself with the longing for a fellow believer.

Over in Philippians Chapter 2 verse 26 Epaphroditus was longing for you all. Note that same expression concerning Epaphroditus he was longing for you all that’s the affection of Christ and Christ’s character was being developed in Epaphroditus become more and more convinced that the divisiveness, the critical spirit, to the unrest within the Church of Jesus Christ, within a local congregation bring it down into the family that we relate to and rub shoulders with is not so much of a problem of one person with another person as it is a problem of my stubbornness into the spirit. We deal with people, person to person problems in our study next time but the foundational need it’s for me to allow the character of Christ to be produced in my life. That enables me to have strong affection and love for you regardless of your weaknesses and shortcomings.

Jot down Second Corinthians 5:2 we won’t turn there this morning. In Second Corinthians Chapter 5 in verse 2 Paul has said and he uses the same basic word he longs for his glorified body. We are longing to be close with our heavenly body same word. Now I will tell you the same kind of intense longing and desire that I have for my glorified body in the presence of Christ, is to characterize me in my desire for you. So you see the work of Christ and the intensity as it’s directed in various ways.

And one other thing on this before we move on back in Philippians 3 Paul longed for them, he didn’t longed for their money, he didn’t long for their support, he didn’t long for their loyalty he longed for them, and that’s important; he cuts through everything that way. It was the people, the Philippians that he longed for as they were God’s children in whom God was working, in whom God was going to use Paul to work.

All right back in Philippians Chapter 4 he calls them my joy, my joy they themselves were Paul’s joy. People today have joy over many things, they have Joy over success in business, they have joy over accomplishments in the family, they have joy over promotions whatever. Paul’s joy centered in fellow believers now that’s a distraction for us getting together with believers is some kind of bother because we find our real joy in another things and you know what Paul says he is focused in fellow believers .

We say oh my real joy is get out on the golf course I don’t mind taking an hour at the church if you are limited to an hour but, I really, my real joy that’s the golf course or my joy that really gives me joy and pleasure that’s my job. We’re really, wait what about fellow believers? Paul says you know my joy in my life the Philippians, fellow Christians. It’s easy how our life get re-oriented when it’s submitted to Christ? Now the joy of my life is the Philippians are these fellow believers. And maybe you think you don’t enough joy in your life, maybe I have to invest your life even more fully in fellow believers.

Interesting as look over attitudes often that people. And it’s often it’s agreed that we invest our lives in fellow Christians the satisfaction we’re getting, the joy that we have in our walk with the Lord. And when we are on the fringe there is less joy and satisfaction. We look forward in other places. Paul says my joy are you Philippians. So naturally I want to be with you kind of like joy, you are the cause of joy in my life and he associates this with the fifth thing my crown. And they go together my crown. I want to spend a little bit of time on this with you.

The area of my crown I take it ties to when he talks about in verses 20 and 21. They are his crown. The word crown here is the word stephanos. We get the English names Stephanie and Stephen from stephanos. Word that was used of a victors crown they are two words, primary words for a crown a diadem, diadema the Greek word we just carried over in English a diadema, a diadem. A diadem is a crown of rulership or kingship. It signified a thrown, the rule of a king. That’s not what we have here, we have here is stephanos it was the victors crown.

Focal point seems to be and is used in the new testament of what was awarded in athletic contests. Now again this is in kind of crown you see on TV but it was woven of vegetation all of leaves Oak leaves various kinds of vegetation. So it was a temporal crown but it symbolized victory, it portrayed victory. So if you had one and the athletic contest you were to come and receive your prize, you would have been given the stephanos which portrayed the victory that you had accomplished.

Now, what Paul says, note this concerning the Philippians is that they are his crown, his stephanos. Now what that does is carry us to the time when we will stand in the presence of Christ, we’re not glorified bodies that we haven’t gone through in our study of Philippians the details but what happens is we are rapture, cut up from the earth into the presence of Christ we received glorified body. On that occasion, we stand at the Bema Seat of Christ. The Bema Seat is the judgment seat where Christ rules where believers are rewarded for their faithfulness. So we come and stand before the Bema Seat to be given our stephanos, our crows were faithfulness in serving him in this life.

Now Paul says concerning the Philippians you are my crown. So as he talks about the time, when he will be called into the presence of Christ and receive a glorified body, this excite him about the Philippians because he says on that occasion you are going to be my victory. Remember back in Chapter 2 verse 16, turn back here quickly. Colossians 2:16 he writes to the Philippians holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ, I may have cause to glory, because I did not run in vain or toil in vain.

And the same picture, an athletic contest, he is laboring and running and when he comes to be rewarded he wants to find out it wasn’t to no availed no aid. And how the Philippians turn out will affect the crown that Paul gets. We talked about this in Philippians 2. That’s why you are overwhelmingly important to me in the eternal context because when I stay in the presence of Christ how you turn out will affect the stephanos that I receive.

So Paul was concerned to be with the Philippians. I’ve got to develop them more. You know what that does to me? Instead of want to tear down that makes you want to build up because if I tear you down that doesn’t help me be the victor. But the more you are develop, the more you are matured then the more cause I have to glory in his strength selfish goals but the proper kind of glory in his presence who have run and labored in toiled in vain.

This same Idea flip over to Hebrews Chapter 13 where one another we as believer are in view as we give an account before God. In Hebrews 13 verse 17. Obey your leaders and submit to them for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account where, when I stand in the presence of Christ I will be accountable for how you turned out and the faithfulness of my ministry to you and you will be accountable for your response to the ministry.

If I have to give an unprofitable account that will be profitable for you on that day, so you see how there is a mutual tie? You have an eternal vested interest in my development as a believer. I have an interest regarding eternity in your development as a believer. And I should sit around tearing you down my goodness the one thing I do want is you to look good and turn out right because I have to give an account.

You are going to be my Joy and my crown in the presence of Christ. And I shall would be tarrying(no, I want you build you, the more mature the stronger you get the better it’s going to be for me on that day. I really think we had a vision that. A proper perspective that we’d spend a lot less time tearing one another apart and spend a lot more time thinking oh God, how can I be used to you make them stronger, how can I may be used of you to develop them to more maturity. I think we want to stand in the presence of Christ and ramshackle tattered body no, strong and healthy and mature you’re your stephanos depends on and my depends on.

You better be careful how you relate to one another, how we build one another up. Turn over to First Corinthians. I’ve got assured if we went to one verse we could have a short message today folks. First Corinthians Chapter 3, First Corinthians Chapter 3. And the context here is Bema Seat starting in verse 10 foundation that’s laid in Christ. Then the testing that will take place of all of life’s labor as we stand before Christ at the Bema Seat and the discussion there and its tested by fire in verse 14.

If any mans work which he has built up on it remains he shall receive a stephanos, a crown, a reward. He shall be crowned as the victor. So you see rewarded crown for faithfulness of service in the presence of Christ. If any man’s work is burned up he shall suffer a loss but he himself is saved even by fire. My salvation is not in question of the Bema Seat, but the rewards are.

Now going into this a little bit more, turn over to First Corinthians Chapter – Second Corinthians Chapter 5 verse 10 for we must all appear before the judgment seat, there’s our word bema. The Bema Seat of Christ only believers appear to Bema Seat. What more in order that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body. So you see here it is for reward, for faithfulness of service we are rewarded and crowned on this occasion.

Look over in Revelation Chapter 3. Revelation Chapter 3 verse 11 word of warning here to the Church of Philadelphia. Revelation 3:11 I am coming quickly, hold fast what you have in order that no one take your stephanos you see that? There is the danger that you’d lose your crown not your salvation, your crown hold on. Lest someone deprived you of your stephanos and I don’t know all the crowns entail and I am always confront of the argument look I am saved, and there’s no sadness in heaven so I am satisfied to go to heaven I don’t care if I get a crown or not. You’ll find out the Bema Seat that you care. God says it’s important, God says it’s worth investing our lives in then he knows best. He’s told me that the crown is there. He’s told me that the crown will have to do with my glorifying him in eternity.

Here in Revelation look in Chapter 4. We have the 24 elders that 24 elders represent or symbolize the Church of Jesus Christ in heaven. They have pictured you; they’ve pictured me in the presence of God in glory and note verse 4 of Revelation 4. And around the throne we’re 24 thrones and upon the thrones I saw 24 elders sitting clothed in white garments this is the righteousness of the saints and golden stephanos up on their heads, a crown now of the temporal leaves and vegetation but golden stephanos what, we’d been crowned rewarded.

There we are in the presence of Christ with the crowns he’s given not to put everything else that we’ve accomplished in this life in proper perspective. It won’t matter whether you were President or whether you were Janet, it won’t matter whether you were rich or poor, it only matter your stephanos and what is going to happen to these stephanos we are going to sit around and boast to one another, look at my stephanos. Do you see my # case? No, not at all.

Look down in verse 10 of Revelation 4. And the 24 elders will fall down before him who sits on the throne and will worship him who lives forever and ever and will cast their stephanos before the throne and out stephanos relate to our ability to worship and glorify God in eternity. And I should tell God it doesn’t matter whether I get one or not, that I really don’t care, what a fool I mean so sad of Christian fool.

That these stephanos are going to be cast down before throne as I worship him and it relates to my worship and glorifying him in eternity and I shouldn’t be investing my life to becoming President of a company and making $200,000 a year or $2 million a year what’s going to matter on that day when we are crowned in his presence. The stephanos you have will matter and no matter a hundred billion years.
There are number of places where the Bible talks about or stephanos. In the New Testament we are going to turn and read them quickly starting with First Corinthians 9 if you can’t keep up jot down the passages. First Corinthians 9 verse 25 the analogy you hear of the race, do you not know that those who run in a race all run but only one receives the price. Run in such a way that you may win verse 25 and everyone who competes in the game exercises self control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable stephanos we but we an imperishable.

We saw the golden stephanos in Revelation Chapter 4. Therefore I run in such a ways not without aim, I box in such a way not beating the air I beat my body and make him my slave. Literally I beat my body black and blue; I discipline myself because I am in a race for any perishable crown. Lest after I have preach to others I myself should be disqualified. Nothing you’d lose the salvation but you’d be disqualified from the crown. What Christ warned the Church of Philadelphia to hold on lest somebody takes away your stephanos.

Paul says I don’t want to be disqualified so I run according to rules and I beat my body, I discipline my body, races me how many people don’t come after the fellowship of the word. Don’t come to Sunday school for the study of word, don’t come to Sunday evening, don’t get involved through the week you know why, oh I don’t feel like it, oh I don’t want to go out in contact this person, oh I don’t’ want to get involved in this ministry I just don’t feel like you better get beating on your body we pamper our body. Virtually we need to beat ourselves black and blue because we are in a race for the eternal stephanos.

First Thessalonians Chapter 2, First Thessalonians Chapter 2 verse 19 for who is are our hope or joy or stephanos of exaltation; is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus that is coming. Very similar to what we have in Philippians Chapter 4 verse 1. You are ours stephanos in the presence of Christ. Anyone did the Paul when so all out had such an intensity in its ministry with fellow Christians. When he had to stand before Jesus Christ, when I have to stand before Jesus Christ it will be fellow believers that I’m a stephanos.

Look in Second Timothy Chapter 4 verse 8. Second Timothy Chapter 4 and verse 8 I have fought a good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith in the future there is laid for me the stephanos of righteousness which the Lord will give to me and not to me only but all those who love his appearing and Paul is there at the end of his life and what is he still focusing on, the stephanos. Here the stephanos of righteousness.

James Chapter 1 after the Book of Hebrews look at James Chapter 1 verse 12 blessed is the man who perseveres under trial for once he has been approved he will receive the stephanos of life. That’s to motivate you and keep you going when the difficulties are there, when you are under trial and pressure the reward is the stephanos of life.

In First Peter Chapter 5 verse 4, First Peter 5 verse 4. For elders and those ministering to the flock when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading stephanos of glory. You know how he constantly emphasis, imperishable stephanos, unfading stephanos because the people of this day were familiar with the stephanos’ the victors crown but it perish. The vegetation dies quickly. Well this is a victors crown but it’s the one that won’t perish. They will be endured through eternity.

Come back to Philippians Chapter 4. Remember that extended diversion on crown was part of the way that Paul saw fellow believers. When you look around the fellow believers in this body you see them as your crown. They are your rewards for eternity. The next time you are tempted to criticize one or tear down, you want to tear down or find false with one you see them as your crown in eternity and see that it doesn’t the way you want to invest your life in it. Instead of tearing them apart to someone else, you find you want to get involved in building them, in making them what they ought to be so that you can stand and receive that crown in his presence.

Now Paul started out therefore, in light of what we are in Christ and what we are going to be in Christ he gives a command in verse 1. Stand firm in the Lords; stand fast in the Lord. Back in verse 27 of Chapter 1 Paul said only conduct yourself in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ so whether I come and see you or remain absent I may hear of you that you are standing firm, same expression. What’s it mean to stand firm, in one spirit, with one mind striving for the faith of the gospel striving together for the faith of the gospel.

You see two things involved in standing firm, unity, and oneness among believers in standing against the assaults of false teaching and false doctrine. Are we standing firm. Some Christians tried themselves that oh yes I wouldn’t tolerate false doctrines and they don’t tolerate other Christians either but they are proud. There are other Christians who think that they can be proud oh yeah I accept everyone and they have know the sermon and they accept false teaching and false doctrine too. Standing firm means united and joined together in oneness with believers against the enemy.

That’s the expectation here. Now after this fivefold description of believers, after this discussion of Paul’s teachers compared to our true relationship to Christ and our ultimate destiny we have to see it’s important that we stand together. We are brothers, we are beloved, we are going to be one another’s crown and the false teachers are the enemies of the cross. We must stand fast, stand firm. The context is important here because we are going to comment into this next week. He’s is in the context of unity as believers against false doctrine and unbelievers not that’s important.

You know if you are standing fast as God says standing firm, do you have the unity with believers? Are you joined together with them? Some Christians are just visitors, just hangers on. Are you really involved, united joined together with believers in the ministries that God’s given us or not. Are you standing against to the false doctrine and false teachers? The command is present tense present imperative be constantly standing firm in the Lord but to be true to the Lord and live in light of our relationship with him, this means of a unity We are standing in the Lord with the people of the Lord, the Lord doesn’t stand against himself boss.

He doesn’t tear down his own body, he builds it up. So we‘ll be standing firm in the Lord, that’s the realm and clear that our firm stand takes place. Where are you today? Are you one of these that we are talking about? Foundation here is to be a believer in Jesus Christ that was Chapter 3. You’ve come to recognize your sinfulness, recognize that Jesus Christ paid the penalty for your sins and you’ve come to trust him as your savior has that happened to you, if not you can believe him right where you are sitting.

God I know I am a sinner and I believe Jesus Christ died for me and that simple instant of time you are transformed in one destined for hell into one destined for glory. If you have believed in Jesus Christ, go over this fivefold description of believers and this is how you see the believers in this congregation. This is how you look at them through the eyes of Christ himself what they are in Christ, what you are to them in Christ, is that how we relate to one another. Are we standing firm as God commands us to by doing all we can in the power of the spirit, to develop one another, to produce the unity of the spirit in our daily relationships? Are we standing against the onslaughts of those who would attack from above to disturb and disrupt the harmony of the body, to undermine the work of Christ.

Let’s pray together. Father we praise you today for such salvation. Lord, help us to see one another as we redeemed through your eyes. God help us to set aside the silliness of the flesh, the foolishness of the flesh. Lord where we undermine and tear down one another. Lord, the foolishness of when in your presence we’ll be one another’s crown. Lord, may we be a body of believers that function in love to build up one another. God you more than anyone else know our imperfections, know our inconsistencies. God work in our lives to build us for further maturity in Christ, that we might be a body that stands fast in unity against the onslaughts of the enemies of the cross. We pray in Jesus’ name, amen.