The Perfection of Christ

Transcript

Well, everyone, I’m very excited and quite honored and privileged to be bringing the word this morning for you. For all of us, honestly. If you weren’t aware, we’ve wrapped up our series in Genesis 1 through 11, and next week we’re going to be jumping into a series all the way through the entire Gospel of John. And before we dive into the new series, I wanted to take this time today to give you some encouragement as you walk in faith with our Lord. So we’re going to turn our attention to Philippians chapter 3, verses 12 to 16. Would you please join me in standing as we hear the reading of God’s word this morning as you’re able. Not that I have already obtained this, or I’m already perfect, but I press on to make it my own because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have already made it my own, but one thing I do, forgetting

what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. You may be seated. Would you join me in praying and asking the Lord for his help this morning? Lord, would you take all of our thoughts right now and capture them completely? Would your Holy Spirit move and speak through me, Lord, and speak to the hearts of all of us this morning? Conform us to your word, Lord, that we can live out and be faithful to what you have called us to be. We love you so much.

Setting the Context

And it’s in your name we pray. Amen. Well, in working on preparing for this passage, I realize I may have made a mistake. We jumped right into the middle of a train of thought that Paul is making, so let’s back up a little bit and set some context for why he’s jumping into this particular portion. Philippians itself is an encouragement to a church that Paul helped to minister to and evangelize and start, and so he is writing to encourage them in their walk of faith as they both deal with the joys of life, but also the struggles and false teaching that was going around in that time. Paul was very pleased with this church. This is a church that greatly encouraged him in his ministry, and he had deep love and affection for this body of believers. And so when you read this, I want you to hear his heart for this church, that he deeply

loves them. However, early in chapter three, if you look up to verse two, you catch the beginning of what he is starting to talk about. He’s telling them to beware. He says, look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. So he is instantly calling out some people who are trying to come in and coerce the church with false teaching, with false doctrine, and he’s reminding them of the truth. Following that in verse three, he says that we are different. We are the circumcision who worship by the spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh. So right there, he’s drawing a clear distinction between those who are truly in the church and those who are not in the church. Those who are trying to coerce and convince the church that there is other truth that

they need to follow. And he is saying, we are different. And so we get a little bit of a view of what this false doctrine could have been, that this group of people was somehow putting some sort of confidence in themselves that they had attained something that could only have been done through the power of Christ. And Paul is reminding the church that no, we cannot do that. We put all of our confidence, not in ourselves, but in Christ and what he has done. We worship him. In fact, Paul goes on to make this astounding statement, listen, if anybody has reason to be confident in the flesh, it’s me. Like look at all this stuff that I have done. I am a Hebrew of Hebrews. He throws out, I am with zeal, somebody who persecuted the church. I am righteous under the law. By human standards, Paul was perfect.

He was doing everything according to the law. When he was thrown to the ground by Jesus Christ, he recognized and realized that he was far from following God. He was far from living righteously as he thought that he was. And so at the end of this massive claim, he’s saying, I am willing to give up all of that. All of that I have accomplished by my own means, I count as nothing. It is worth nothing compared to being found in Christ Jesus. All of my works, everything that I have earned, I will gladly give up in order to gain that which can only be found in Christ. And that is righteousness, true righteousness. Paul had said that before he came to know Christ, he pursued righteousness of his own power through his own works. And he found that to be a failure, that he could not gain the righteousness that he

so desperately desired. So what Paul begins to offer in our section here is a different perspective, a view that is proper and orientated towards Christ alone. He is not willing to rest on his own righteousness, absolutely none at all. He continues to offer himself as this example, that he’s willing to do whatever it takes. Look at verse 10 in chapter 3, oh sorry, verse 11, that he says that by any means possible, I maintain the resurrection from the dead. He wants, he desires ultimately to be made perfect before God, to be restored fully to how Adam and Eve were before sin in the garden. So as Paul expresses how he made this switch, let’s walk through and say how does he have this perspective? Why is he saying what he is saying in these next few verses? I wanted to break our text up into four different sections to help us work through it a little

A Better Perspective

bit. Paul is offering first a better perspective, and then he will offer better works. And three, he offers a better prize, and four, a better body. And that body not being a physical one, but he’s talking about a spiritual body. So what is that perspective? In verse 12, Paul states, not that I have already obtained this. So what is he saying he has not already obtained? He has not already obtained that righteousness. So he’s making a distinction, that in Christ we can find righteousness, perfection that we cannot gain on our own. And he’s saying he hasn’t already obtained this. He hasn’t actually gotten to be righteous yet. What he’s saying is that there is a process where we are now justified before God. We are made clean. All of our sins are wiped away before God, the perfect judge, that all who place their faith in Christ receive a standing of righteous and clean and pure before God.

But while we are still on this earth, we will still struggle. We will not yet attain that perfection, that perfect state that will only happen once we are fully united with God after our death. So it reminds me a little bit of how in Hebrews what is accounted to all the Old Testament prophets and people who pursued God is that their faith was counted to them as righteous. They had faith, they trusted that God would fulfill his promises, that he would be faithful to do what he promised that he was going to do in the future. And so Paul’s attempt to make this clarification and this distinction between justification before God that we stand in and then now this sanctification that we are in the process of. So the Christian life is one of pursuing perfection, one where we are working towards that goal of being made perfect and complete in God.

And we are affirmed that Jesus even instructs his disciples in Matthew, he instructs them how to pray saying, listen, I know that you’re not going to be perfect. He tells them, ask for forgiveness even as you forgive those who sin against you. And Paul’s reminder even from Romans chapter 7 rings clear and true that we are not perfect, that even indeed he still struggles with sin, the super apostle. As he does what he doesn’t want to do and he doesn’t do what he wants to do. Romans 7, 21 starts saying,

so I find it to be that a law that when I want to do right evil lies close at hand for I delight in the law of God in my inner being. But I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members

— Romans 7

(ESV)

.

So what is Paul saying? My status before God, I know that it is secure, but I have not yet reached that point. I am not yet perfect. But what is his reaction to that? But I press on. In verse 12, he continues saying, not that I have already obtained this or am perfect, but I press on. I keep going. I keep pursuing perfection. Why? Why can he continue to pursue perfection when he knows he will not attain it? At the end of verse 12, we get his answer, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Paul’s perspective is such that he knows he cannot attain righteousness on his own. He already tried that, and it was not enough. He could not attain perfection on his own will and his own power, but he recognizes that is what he has gained through Christ. So he is willing to push aside everything that he thought that he had beforehand and

chase after Christ, Christ alone, and that perfect status in Christ, because Christ has already secured for him that for which he is headed. Christ has secured his salvation so that Paul can press on with confidence and chase after righteousness, perfection, without fear of doing so from a mindset that seeks his own gain or attempt to add anything to the salvation that is only possible through Christ. So in our second point, how can we understand better works? How does Paul encourage us in this walk towards perfection, even though we know we will not gain it here? So again, Paul states, brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. He has not reached that righteous standing yet. But how does he do it? One thing I do, holding on to what Christ has done for me, I forget what lies behind, and I strain towards what lies ahead.

Forgetting his own works and not being tempted toward pride because of all that he has accomplished, Paul can pursue perfection in Christ with clear focus. Paul’s perspective says that he does not want to take any stock in what he has done. In fact, he forgets his works. Now does he actually forget, or is he practicing a sort of spiritual forgetfulness, a spiritual memory correction? He looks back and he knows what he has done. He hasn’t forgotten it. Clearly, he can still remember it. But he remembers that it is not by his power that he is saved. He lets it go and says, I cannot attain perfection in Christ, but because of what Christ has done, I can still strain forward, not being hindered by my own works, not being held back by what I think I can do with my own might, my own strength.

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Better Works

He desires with all that he has, that resurrection from the dead, that salvation, that full, complete restoration with God, his creator. He longs for that return to Eden where he will walk with his creator without the weight of sin and death clawing at him constantly. We get a picture here of Paul as a runner, as somebody who is striving to win at any cost the race that he is running. I don’t know much about running, but I’ve heard that if you’re trying to win a race and you look over your shoulder, you run the risk of tripping and falling. You can slow down. You can get distracted. So what Paul is saying is don’t do that. Don’t look back over your shoulder and be caught up with where you were. Have confidence in where you are going because where you are going is set, secure, and guaranteed

for you. Paul is the spiritual runner whose sole aim is fixed on eternity with Christ. Consider verse 14 where he gives us the better prize. He says, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call in Christ Jesus. Paul’s goal was not, hey, I’m looking forward to my retirement where I get to sit around seeking sipping cold drinks and fishing in the Mediterranean. No, my end goal is heaven. That is my end goal. My end goal is that when I die, I will be restored. I will be made whole and complete. Right now, I am not, and I cannot gain it on my own power. Those people who are trying to come into your church in Philippi and preach to you that you can somehow attain some sort of special power to be perfect right now, they are lying. They are not preaching the truth.

Do not listen to them, Paul says. Have your eyes fixed on your end goal and understand that you cannot do it on your own power. The end goal, that finish line, crossing into eternity where the prize is the very presence of God, his maker, the one in whom he has full and complete satisfaction. Paul tells the church that he is satisfied with nothing less than that perfect restoration. He will have relationship with God, his Father, through his Savior, Jesus Christ. Having this goal in mind, having this prize in mind, helps Paul, he says, to have a better perspective on his works, a better perspective on how he can indeed run that race with all of his strength. There is this picture here of somebody who is exerting all their effort with all that they have. They are striving to reach that state of perfection. Even though he understands he will not do it on his own power, he still reaches out

and is trying to take it over and grab a hold of it. He owns and takes hold of one thing that he forgets what lies behind and keeps his eyes focused on his Savior, on that prize. Because Paul can do this, now he can encourage the church in Philippi to do the same thing. In verses 15 and 16, he switches his language and he starts bringing it into a more corporate perspective. He says, let those of us who are mature think this way. Only let us hold true to what we have attained. What Paul is trying to communicate to the church is, listen, this isn’t just for the super apostle. This isn’t just for those who are somehow unlocking some sort of secret wisdom. This is for the whole church. This is for all of us to hold true to, that we can pursue perfection now as a body of

A Better Prize

believers. And that brings us to our last point, that there is a better body. As Paul switches from this I to us language, we need to understand that perspective is indeed for the whole church. And he’s making a clear distinction that he is not the only one who can attain that. And so let them beware, lest they hear the false teaching and give it any credence or any heed. Here in chapter three, verse 18, he talks about how many had fallen away who had once professed faith in Christ. And now they walk as enemies of the cross. He says that their end is destruction and their God is their belly and the glory in their shame with minds set on earthly things. Paul wants this warning to fall clear that they cannot at all hold onto a confidence in their own works as having anything to add to their salvation.

So in verse 15 he says, let those of us who are mature think this way. He’s not saying, hey, let those who are the best of the best or the more important or those who have special calling. The use of mature is his way of talking about somebody who’s growing spiritually. Just like a young fruit tree could produce maybe one or two pieces of fruit, but a mature tree, one that has been well tended, planted in good soil will bear tons of fruit. I just planted a couple of fig trees this spring and I already see some little buds of fruit forming. But I remember doing some work for Jan and Fran and they had these fig trees that were just loaded with figs. They had been there for ages and they were so good. Maturity is not necessarily something that marks somebody. It is not something at all that marks somebody as a better Christian, as somebody who is

more important than others. It is somebody who simply has been walking with Christ longer, who maybe has a deeper understanding or a better grasp on some of these truths. And at the same time, Paul doesn’t dismiss those who are struggling, who may be hearing some of the false teaching and going, is there some truth to that? I don’t know. He says, listen, if you have questions, if your understanding is not in line with what is true good doctrine, he says, God is going to reveal to you what is good, true doctrine. Now when I read this, it almost sounded like Paul’s just trying to dismiss him and say, listen, God’s going to take care of you. But I think he’s offering a better way. He is saying, listen, there is actually somebody wiser than me and better than me who will help you as you struggle to figure out what is good doctrine.

There’s a deep assurance that for those who put their faith in Christ, God will help you. God will walk with you, even when you’re confused, even when you don’t understand why things are going the way they are. The Holy One himself is such a loving and incredible God who comes to us in our weakness and works with us, even when we are a bit behind. In John 16, Jesus promises his disciples that a helper would come, that he would send the Holy Spirit who will teach them and help them as they walk in faithfulness after Jesus ascends into heaven. And in 2 Corinthians 4, verse 6, we are reminded that just as God shone light out of darkness at the beginning of creation, so too has he shone a light in our hearts, giving us the knowledge of his glory in the face of Jesus.

God has promised to help his people, to help his church. He will help them line up with what is true and good doctrine. So when Paul says, let those of us who are mature think this way, and if anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that to you also, he’s encouraging them to continue to pursue good doctrine, what is right, what is true, and he tells that this is the job for the whole church. You aren’t supposed to be doing this on your own, in your own time, but this is a job for all of us. He makes it corporate saying, let us do this, let us participate in this. Look at verse 16, he says, only let us hold true to what we have attained. What have they attained? That righteousness before God, in Christ Jesus. Hold true to the right understanding that you do not contribute to your salvation.

A Better Body

Christ has completed it all, but run, run hard, run the race with all of your zeal, all of your passion, all of your strength, all of your power. Do not give any credence to the false teaching that says, hey, you can participate in your salvation. Hey, look at what you’ve done in the past. That contributes, that makes you a better Christian or a better person. Paul is emphasizing that in principle we are not perfect right now, but in Christ we should aim for perfection and this should rule the lives of those in the church. And as they strive for perfection, they know that doing so will not necessarily mark towards their salvation, but it is evidence of their faith in Christ because he has already done everything on their behalf. So they can strive hard towards perfection without fear, without concern. I was thinking about this and trying to think, how can we apply this to our lives today?

How do we take this and push it in? Maybe it’s obvious, maybe it’s not. But I want to ask perhaps some hard questions and understand, family, I ask these questions not as somebody who feels like I’ve got this and I’ve got this under control, but I need to hear these questions and I need to ponder this myself. So I’d ask you, is your Christian walk marked by a pursuit of perfect obedience to your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ? Paul is not saying that just in some areas we pursue Christ, not just on Sundays or on Wednesdays at our community group, but in all of our walk, in all ways. Are there areas where we are saying, no God, I’ve got this one under control, I’ll take care of this. I don’t need to surrender this to you. Are there little things, little issues, little sins that you’re like, those aren’t a big

concern. I can live with this right now. Or is your life marked by a holy pursuit of perfection in Christ? John Calvin in his book titled On the Christian Life has a little section and it says, the mark of a Christian life is not perfection, but a single-minded progress towards it. And he says later that we belong to God, thus let every part of our life strive for him as our only authentic purpose. I want to ask all of my younger friends in here a question. So do any of you, any of my young friends here, do any of you remember our very first catechism question? This was like over a year ago, so if you don’t remember, that’s okay. I’m going to read it for us and you can let me know later if this rings true, if you remember this. The question was, what is our only hope in life and death?

The answer to that is that we are not our own, but belong, both body and soul, both in life and death, to God and to our Savior, Jesus Christ. Christians, is there an area of your life where you’ve become complacent? Where you are not feeling a need to pursue perfection, pursue your Lord? Remember that a little sin will go a long way. Have you been taking your devotional time with God seriously? Have you been diving into his word to pursue correct doctrine, to pursue what is true and good and right? Have you been pursuing his truth to help fight and identify the lies of the enemy? Have you been digging into his truth that instructs us in righteous living? Has your prayer life been good? Have you been digging into that relationship with your Lord and Savior? I would encourage you, and I’m going to be doing this later as well, take some time to

consider how your walk with Christ is going. Consider ways where you need to pursue Christ with absolute devotion, where you need to turn your gaze from what lies behind towards what lies ahead. How many of us can claim the same thing as Paul, that we are a Hebrew of Hebrews when we practice that selective memory where we don’t look back and take dependence on what we have done? We look forward and we keep our eyes fixed on Christ, on that end goal of being made perfect in him. We understand that there is nothing in any way, shape, or form that we offer to pay the debt that we owe. There is this hymn, it’s named His Mercy is More, and one of the lines goes, we stood neath a debt we could never afford. When we look back, we understand that salvation through Christ is something that only he could

accomplish. We cannot actually pay back the debt that we owed. We don’t actually put a penny towards it. He on his own power, his own strength, has already accomplished all that is needed and sufficient for salvation. If anybody here has been under a big debt before, maybe you can empathize with that a little bit more. I remember when I was starting college, I had to take out some rather big loans and I was terrified. I had no idea how I was going to pay that back. I wasn’t sure if I was making a right decision, if I should continue pursuing college or if I should just like say, no, this is it, I’m not doing that. I remember I was at a family function and my grandmother was there and I talked with her and I told her my fears and my concerns. She kind of thought about it.

She listened for a second and she goes, if this is where God wants you, he’s going to take care of you. Don’t worry about it. Don’t stress about it. God has a plan and you can rest assured that he will take care of it. Right away, I was reminded of the gospel, that in Christ, I can have full confidence that our debt is paid. There is nothing more to accomplish. So I can work hard. I can dedicate everything I have to pursuing perfection in Christ because he has already done all the work. I am not worried about taking stock in my own strength. There are two sort of major dangers that I’ve been seeing in this. One is the sort of complacency, the saying like, no, I’m doing pretty good. I’m all right. I don’t need to work on much. We’re doing good in that area.

And if we fall into that trap, it’ll leave us having to always cover up our mistakes so that we don’t end up eating our words later. I think the second danger is by becoming ensnared by guilt and shame. When we look back over our shoulder and we don’t keep our eyes on Christ, we see the monster of our failures peering over and looming over us, threatening to crush us any second. It is so tempting to fall into like, I am not good enough because of where I have been. I can’t follow Christ. I cannot serve Christ because of the failures that I’ve had in my past. I’m too broken. I’m too afraid. Beloved, whatever that is, turn away from it and turn your eyes towards Christ. He has crushed whatever is lacking. He has put to death any sin that continues to try to entangle you.

Do not continue to serve it and look towards it. Look towards your Savior and His all-sufficient victory. His life, His death, and His resurrection is enough. You can turn away from trusting in yourself and trust in Him in full that He has you, fully and completely. I love how Paul says it in verse 12, but I press on to make it my own because Christ Jesus has made me His own. Are you here this morning, and you would say you’re probably not a Christian. You’re not sure why you’re here, but you came. You’re coming to church to spend time with people, to maybe hear some encouragement. I would like to ask you, what is your confidence in? We will all of us face eternity. Is your confidence that in eternity you will be covered by Christ’s work? The gift that is offered to you this morning is forgiveness, full and complete in Christ

Jesus, and you can turn to Him now and surrender all that you have and run the race as Paul did with confidence that He has you covered. If you’re not sure what it means to follow Christ or how to do that, come talk to anybody here. Turn to your neighbor and say, hey, are you a Christian? Can you help me understand this? This is really confusing. Josh didn’t make any sense this morning. Another way that I would like to think about application is cherishing or pursuing good doctrine. What is healthy and true perspective for the Christian life? This doesn’t mean don’t ask good questions, it means ask good questions and pursue answers. Pursue growing in your relationship with Christ. There are so many lures that are dangled in front of us constantly that tempt us to turn away from the truths of Christ. I know a thing or two about lures.

Walking Together

I’ve done a lot of fishing. You see that it is not something to mess with. Be in His Word. Be consistent in reading Scripture and not on your own. Be in fellowship with others who are doing the same so that you can look out for each other and encourage each other. Beloved, the last point I want to make is that we pursue perfection with the body of Christ, not on our own. As we work on fixing our perspectives and focusing our eyes on Christ, we need to be doing this with one another. Paul’s call is for those who are mature to continue thinking in this way, to not be dissuaded from their thinking, and those who are not mature yet to look to those who are mature. Look in verse 17 here of chapter 3. He says, brothers, join in imitating me and keep your eyes on those who walk according

to the example you have in us. Paul is saying that there should be those that we can look up to. It is good to have role models, to have examples of those who are walking faithfully with Christ. So this is for us something I think that we can really take, and I want to encourage if you do not have somebody that you are walking with in a discipleship kind of relationship, ask somebody who’s a little further down the road than you. Ask somebody who’s got a little bit more miles in the car and say, hey, can you show me how to drive this thing a little bit better? What are some ways that I can grow, that I can work on my faithfulness to Christ? And those who maybe you consider yourself to have some more miles on the road, let this be an encouragement to you to stay faithful, to stay faithful to Christ alone, to keep

your eyes fixed on him and continue to pursue perfection and grab brothers and sisters along with you and carry them along. Help one another out. We should be looking around and finding ways where we can pursue one another. If we see somebody tripping up or lagging behind or looking over their shoulder, grab them. Don’t let them just continue to spin out. I remember I grew up doing competitive swimming, and when I got into high school, there was a lot of fresh swimmers who had not really done a bunch of swimming before, and they were awful. But I wasn’t that great of a swimmer, probably mediocre, right? But these guys knew nothing. But as we practiced, as we continued to work hard, I saw them improve. I saw these guys beating their times over and over again and just getting better at swimming. I am so encouraged by that.

As we walk this walk of faith, I am so encouraged when I see people pursue Christ, when I see people growing, when I see people putting sin to death. Trinity Church, I have seen this happen here. I have seen you grow and pursue perfection in Christ, and I will tell you, I am so lifted up and encouraged by you. I see people who are struggling, struggling with concerns or with fears or with doubt, and you don’t let go of Christ. I see saints who are struggling with the difficulties that life offers. We pray about this every single Sunday, about the physical ailments that we suffer, the mental and emotional crisis that we can fall into, and I see you looking towards Christ. Beloved, I am blessed to be a part of this church, and I don’t just say that because I like saying it. Last week somebody asked me, hey Josh, like I see you smiling, why are you always smiling?

It’s because of the saints of the church here. You all give me a picture of the gospel. I see in you the image of God put on display as you love one another, as you pursue faithfulness to Christ alone. It is such a joy to be here, to be a part of this body. Let us continue to pursue perfection in Christ alone, above all else. Let us continue to teach and encourage one another, to pray for one another, to chase after one another. Brothers and sisters, let our goal and our prize be nothing less than perfection, that we will attain in Christ Jesus when God restores all things. We haven’t done this in a while, but I wanted to, because this content is really self-reflective, to take a few moments to offer a chance for you all to just spend some time praying, thinking and contemplating what the scriptures have talked about here today.

If you need to ask yourself some hard questions, then do so. And if you need to make some changes, make a plan to act on it. If you need to go talk to somebody later and ask them for help, do so. Don’t just think about it right now, but make that a priority. So I’m going to be quiet. I’m going to give us some time. And then I want to close us with some scripture and a prayer. So would you take the next minute or so, pray for yourself, and reflect on what we have discussed this morning.

Family of God, let us close with the encouragement that Paul gives the church at Philippi. This is from later in chapter 3, starting in verse 20. Paul tells the church, hear this being read to you.

Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown stand firm, thus in the Lord, my beloved

— Philippians 3:20-4

(ESV)

. Would you please pray with me? Heavenly Father, we prize your word and your instruction. We know that in so many ways we do not live as we ought to, but we ask, Lord, that you would help us, help us in our weakness. Help us when we do not run as we ought to, when we look over our shoulders and we take

our eyes off of our prize. Holy Spirit, help us. Help us to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, and help us to pursue perfect submission and obedience in this life, as he has enabled us to. We love you so much, Jesus. We are so thankful for all that you have done on our behalf, and we pray all of this in your mighty name. Amen.