Title: The Noble Things / Philippians 3:1-9
Content: The noblest / Philippians 3:1-9
A few words from the Apostle Paul to his beloved saints are recorded in today's text. The apostle Paul did not only exhort him once, he exhorted him many times before. It's an important issue, and it's because we love the saints.
Philippians 3:1 “Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord, for it is no trouble to me to write the same thing to you, and it is safe for you.”
1. Rejoice in the Lord.
Verse 3:1 reads, “Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord, for it is no trouble to me to write the same thing to you, and it is safe for you.”
The most important thing in the life of a saint is gratitude and joy. The reason is that we are enjoying the great love and grace of God. That is why we should rejoice as believers who have received grace.
“In the Lord” is not joy based on the world, but joy that comes from the Holy Spirit because of Christ. This joy is not dependent on circumstances. The joy of the saints is eternal. Because it is the joy of being saved. The joy that comes from the world is always changing. Little and many, but all in vain.
So, in Ecclesiastes 2:2, the evangelist said, "I talked about laughter, saying, "It's crazy," I talked about joy and said, "What does he do?"
But he who rejoices in the Lord is not only saved but also tribulation itself is joy. That's why Elder James said in 1:2, "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you meet various trials."
There was a very poor butler in Seongnam, Gyeonggi-do. The butler is a hard-working woman with children alone, but her job is to push the dirt in the bathroom. It is said that even in such a difficult environment, seeing how much joy and grace he lives every day, he is immediately moved to the extent of being touched. That is why it is said that dozens of people a year are moved by the deacon and the number of people who come to church is increasing. “How can I live with such joy and gratitude in an environment like yours?” It means that you are moved and led to the church. But the church was struggling to build the chapel, and the female deacon donated 4 million won. With money earned in the bathroom.
Friends, when you live for the Lord, joy comes from above. So, no one can take away his joy.
This is not the love that a husband pats, nor the joy that is filled with material things, but only the joy of the Holy Spirit. As the Christ who lives in me, I am living with this joy, testimony, and praise. This is the power that the Holy Spirit gives, and this is the joy that the Holy Spirit gives. And God gives him the strength to live by the power of the resurrection and makes him live as a witness of the resurrection.
2. I'm talking about things to refrain from.
First, he told them to refrain from dogs.
Verse 2 says, “Beware of dogs, beware of evildoers, beware of the circumcision of the hand.” ‘Dogs’ here refer to false teachers and Judaists who do not preach the pure gospel as it is. Why are false teachers called dogs? This is because they go around as teachers to satisfy their material greed.
The second is to beware of those who do evil.
Those who do evil are those who do harm, not benefit others. Of course, the dog-like people mentioned above are also included here, but the wicked are not those who plan for good, but those who plan for evil. It's not about making peace, it's about setting people apart and making them discord. make them fight each other. It destroys families and makes children disobedient.
It causes complaints and dissatisfaction within the church, disturbs the order of the church, and makes the church not united, making it unhappy even if it causes the members to pour out the grace they have received. This is the history of Satan. Therefore, if Satan enters into the heart, no matter who it is, it becomes evil. It is to avoid these people.
Third, refrain from hand circumcision.
In the original Greek, it is called katatomen, and in direct translation it is called 'Hwasangdang'. It is a faction that prides itself on being circumcised after being wounded.
Circumcision is the same as baptism today. But once upon a time, there was a heresy called re-baptism Pharah. They said, "If you do not come to our church and be baptized again, you cannot be saved." So it messed up the church for a while.
Baptism is nothing to be proud of. What does man have to boast about before God? Actually nothing. However, they boasted about circumcision as if it were the evidence of salvation.
There are some people we should refrain from in our religious life. In a word, they are people of unbelief and untruth that destroy personal faith and destroy the church.
The characteristics of these people are always full of resentment and complaints. There is no such thing as gratitude and joy. If you associate with one of these people, you will suffer great spiritual loss. If it goes wrong, you can even sell your faith.
That's why I've been admonishing you before, but I'm telling you to be grateful and rejoice.
3. It is to serve with the Holy Spirit.
Verse 3 says, “Serving by the Spirit of God…”.
This is because all problems are not initiated by the Holy Spirit, but are centered on humans. Or do it with your own experience or knowledge. Also in a secular way. This is because we do not do it by the Holy Spirit, but under the command of Satan.
Gentlemen, as the prophet Zechariah said, “Not by human power, not by might, but by the Spirit of God.”
Why do you have no joy, no gratitude, only tiredness and pain while serving for the Lord's work? It is not neo-capitalism, but self-centeredness, because of the humanistic attitude of faith.
In James 3:15 it says, “This wisdom does not come down from above, but is worldly, lustful, and devilish.” So it is not because the Holy Spirit is pleased, but because the devil is pleased.
When we are moved by the Holy Spirit and serve as we follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we are filled with new energy. Joy abounds. Through these services, the saints receive grace and God is glorified. That is why the church gains strength and accomplishes a greater work.
4. He told us to boast in Jesus.
In verse 3 it says, "...we are the circumcision, we who boast in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh."
Ladies and gentlemen, we know very well how much the Apostle Paul had to be proud of both physically and in the world. He is truly a man to be proud of.
But he said that he would boast only in the Lord and only in the cross. The reason is because I have come to realize that the message of the cross of the Lord is the most wise, blessed, precious, and beautiful thing.
It says, “But I also have confidence in the flesh, and all the more so if anyone thinks that anyone else has confidence in the flesh, I was circumcised on the eighth day, of the house of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as for the law, a Pharisee. and persecuting the church in zeal, but blameless for the righteousness of the law.”
Besides, he has a lot to be proud of. But he found something more precious than this. What is that? That is the cross of Jesus Christ.
So he boldly declares in a tone full of conviction.
Philippians 3:7-8 says, “But whatever things that were useful to me, I counted all things as loss for Christ’s sake, and all things as loss because of the noblest knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, because for him I lost everything. Forsake it and count it as excrement, you gain Christ.”
Calvin, the founder of the Presbyterian Church, compared our lives in this respect to a ship in a storm. When a storm hits, the things in the boat are precious, but in order to save people's lives, they have to be thrown into the sea.
In order to save the religious knowledge of Christ to the people who are in the midst of this sinful storm, you must throw away everything in the world that you liked like rags.
Because our life in the midst of a storm must choose between the two. Therefore, in order to save lives, all other things must be treated as dung. A person who goes out toward the heavens like this cannot serve two masters.
And verse 9 tells us why we should count everything as excrement.
First, he said, “to win Christ.” Second, he said, “that I might be found in Christ.” What does ‘to be found in him’ mean? It is through spiritual union with Christ that we obtain spiritual righteousness. This meaning is well explained in the next verse. “I want to be found in him, which I have not righteousness from the law, but through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God by faith.”
It is telling you what kind of being you are in the state of being found in Christ. It is not through one's own works and efforts, but through faith in the righteousness of Christ. It means that I have found myself built up by the total grace of God.