The Christian's Standing, Object, and Hope
1. The Christian's
Standing
Brethren, be ye followers together of me" (Philippians
3:17). "Those things which ye have both learned and received and heard and seen
in me, do" (Philippians 4:9). It is interesting to note the character in which
Saint Paul, by the Holy Spirit, speaks to us in the passages quoted. In the
Epistles to the Romans, I and II Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, and I and
II Timothy, he calls himself "Apostle". In I and II Thessalonians he uses no
term at all in regard to himself. In Philemon, he is "a prisoner of Jesus
Christ," and in Philippians, only, "a servant of Jesus Christ."
So
that when he writes and speaks here, and says, "be ye followers of me," he
speaks not as one endowed with extraordinary gifts, or one privileged to see
unspeakable visions, not as a laborious Apostle, nor as a gifted vessel, but as
the "Servant of Jesus Christ," the simple Christian. We could not follow him in
his labours as an Apostle, in his rapture to the third heaven and Paradise; but
we can follow him in his simple Christian character as a servant, and this
Epistle where he exhorts us to follow him, is the only Epistle in which he thus
describes himself simply as a servant. It is true that in Romans he styles
himself a "servant of Jesus Christ," but he adds, "called to be an Apostle";
and in Titus, "a servant of God, and an Apostle of Jesus Christ."
We
can follow him when he sets the pattern as he does in I Timothy 1:16. "Howbeit
for this cause I obtained mercy that in me first, Jesus Christ might, show
forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe
on Him to life everlasting." What a pattern! What a hope-inspiring pattern!
What an encouraging pattern! What a blessed pattern! What a pattern for poor
lost sinners (I Timothy 1:13)! What a pattern for such as have been
"blasphemers, persecutors, injurious"! The Apostle couples himself with another
servant of God when he says to Titus (3:3), "We ourselves were sometimes
foolish disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in
malice and envy, hateful and hating one another." But he touches the lowest
depth of all when he says, "Sinners; of whom I am Chief" (I Timothy
1:15).
What a pattern for Pharisees, for all who are seeking to be
saved by works! He refers to this in Philippians 2:3, where he declares that he
has no confidence in the flesh," although possessing all the advantages
enumerated in verses 4-6. So that, however far any may go in working out a
righteousness of their own, so that they may have confidence in the flesh, they
hear a voice from a higher height saying, "I more" (verse 4). No one could
excel Saul of Tarsus. Hear him in verses 5, 6. The point here is not about sins
as in I Timothy 1, but about his "gains". Hence in verse 7 he is not speaking
of his needs as a sinner, but of his advantages as a religious man; it was not
that Saul as a sinner needed righteousness, but that Saul as a Pharisee
preferred the righteousness of God because it was infinitely better and more
glorious than any other. It would be a positive loss for anyone to have a
righteousness of his own, seeing God has provided "that which is through the
faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God through faith." This brings
us to the first of three things which are revealed in this chapter as making
the perfect character of a true Christian. They are like the three things of I
Thessalonians 1:9,10.
1. The Christian's
Standing - Turning from idols (verse 9)
"Found in Him"
(Philippians 3:9). This is the Christian's standing. Nothing less, nothing
lower, nothing different. Not partly in Christ and partly in a church, but
"found in Him." It is in Christ that we must be found, in His righteousness.
Like stones in the Temple, hid in Christ. If we are not found in Him, it
matters little where else we are. If we are found in Him, it matters little
where we are not found. Oh. to be found "in Him," in our own experience! This,
then, is the proper Christian standing. See also Galatians 2:15-24.
2. The Christian's Object - To serve the
living and true God (verse 9).
"That I may know Him" (Phil.
3:10). Here, again, true Christianity throws us back on Christ, and takes up
the thoughts from verse 8. Our object is not this or that church, or this or
that work, but Christ Himself in His own glorious Person.
As to the
natural man, all is different. The ancient philosophy had a motto continually
sounding in its ears, "Know thyself." This saying was introduced by Solon, one
of the seven wise men of Greece, and the wisest of them all. A lawgiver, a
great reformer, and a great patriot, 638 years before Christ, Solon gave this
as his most precious wisdom. It was carved over all the schools and seats of
learning, its letters may be seen today carved in the marble ruins of Greece.
It was good, so far as man's wisdom went; it was the best that man could do!
But oh! how impossible to obey it! It is the one thing man never could do. It
is the one thing none of us know." The heart is deceitful above all things and
desperately wicked. Who can know it?" And if we could know ourselves thus, what
then? When we came to this knowledge, and saw ourselves and our ruin, would it
not end in despair ? No, we can only know ourselves by the knowledge of
Christ.
Christianity came and brought with it a loftier motto, a
heavenly wisdom, a Divine truth: "That I may know Him." And why ? Because it is
only by comparing ourselves with that which is perfect that we can form a true
judgment (II Corinthians 10:12). How can we know whether anything measures what
it ought to?
Only by bringing it to the standard. How can we tell
whether a weight is correct ? Only by putting it in the balances. How can we
tell whether anything is perfectly upright or perpendicular ? Only by applying
a plumbline to it. How can we tell whether anything is perfectly straight or
horizontal ? Only by applying a straight edge, or a spirit level to it. We
could never tell, though we tried for years, unless we applied the true test.
We might think a thing was right measure; we might believe a thing was right
weight; but we could not possibly know it. So it is with ourselves. We might
study ourselves all our lives, we might compare ourselves with others - I might
fancy I was this, or hope I was that, or believe I was the other, but apart
from Christ's perfect standard, I could never know it.
Hence we see the
highest earthly wisdom is at fault. This was the best it could do, but it was a
failure! Not until Christianity came, could a man know himself. Why? Because
Christianity is Christ. Tried by other standards we might compare more or less
favourably, but tried by Christ, God's standard, tried by Christ, God's glory,
there is only one result for all. "All have | sinned, and come short of the
Glory of God." That is why we must be "found in Him," not having our own
righteousness, but covered over with His righteousness. But the desire of the
Apostle here is the object of the Christian, and this is Christ, always CHRIST,
only CHRIST. Alas! How many have other objects, how many are occupied with
lower objects!
Paul's spiritual
gain
We have considered St. Paul's natural advantages, which he
once considered his gains, but which he had learnt to count as loss. We now
come to his real spiritual gain. In Philippians 3 we learn what this was, viz.,
"The power of Christ's resurrection." Paul knew he had died with Christ, and
had risen with Christ, but he wanted to know (to get to know) what the power of
Christ's resurrection was, what it meant to his own life and service. Too many
are occupied with the church and its service; Paul wanted to be occupied with
Christ's service, with the things of Christ. Even the Word of God is useless
without Christ, for "the letter killeth." The one great reason of the lowness
of Christian walk is that the eye is taken off from Christ, and rests on some
lower object, either on one's self, or on others, or on one's service. Now
Saint Paul's object was one (verse 13). "This one thing I do," whether he was
resting or travelling, making tents or planting churches, Christ was his object
(verse 10). At home or abroad, by sea or by land, by night or by day, alone or
with others, "This one thing I do;" and this, remember, not as the Apostle, not
as the enraptured Saint, but as the Servant, the one who addresses us in the
words of the passages quoted.
Nor should we ever be satisfied with
anything lower than this. True, we all fail sadly. Why do we fail in other
things? What were we told when we learned to write? "Look at the copy." The
copybook had a line of perfectly-shaped letters printed at the top, we looked
at it, and perhaps our first line was fairly well done, but what was our
tendency? Each line we looked at the last we had written, instead of looking at
the copy, so the writing grew worse and worse. This is our tendency in the
spiritual life. We copy one another: we are copies of copies, instead of copies
of Christ. No! Christ must be our object, and this includes all else. In this
way alone can we walk worthy of the vocation wherewith we are called (Ephesians
4:10.)
Christ is our strength as well as our righteousness, "In the
Lord have I righteousness and strength." This being so, it is our adversary's
one aim to keep us from Christ. To accomplish this, he will occupy the sinner
with his sins; he will occupy the penitent with his repentance; he will occupy
the believer with his faith, as though it and not the Object of it were the
ground of his salvation. He will occupy the servant with his service; and the
saint with his holiness. It matters not what it is, anything can be used for
the same end, and if the end is not gained by one thing it is by another:
Christ is shut out of view.
How many Christians are taken up with
something short of Christ! They are occupied with their holiness instead of
with the Holy One; they are occupied with the promises instead of with the
Promiser; they are occupied with the blessing instead of with the Blesser. And
yet having Him we have everything. The promises of God "in Him are yea and in
Him Amen." His holiness is mine. His blessing is mine. The full occupation with
a Heavenly Object will alone make us Heavenly without an effort. We have not to
try to be this or that: we "beholding ... ARE changed" (II Corinthians 3:18).
Nothing else will form our character. It is the object that forms the
character; therefore let us run with patience the race that is set before us
looking unto Jesus" (Hebrews 12:1,2). And now, to help us and make us look to
Christ we have a blessed Hope given to us, a hope in Christ. This will ensure
our looking to Him. This brings us to the special object of Philippians 3. (See
I Thessalonians l:10, "to wait for His Son from heaven.")
3. The Christian's Hope - To be like Christ (verses
20,21)
"Our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look
for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our body of
humiliation that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body " (verses 20,
21).
Here our hope is presented in a manner quite as characteristic as
our standing and our object. If our standing is to be found in Christ, then our
object is to know Christ, and our hope is to be like Christ. Our hope is not
the glory of the Kingdom, but "the Saviour"; not the "Restoration of Israel,"
but Israel's King; and when we see Him, we shall be like Him (I John 3:1,2).
That is the hope presented here.
Here we have a "body of humiliation,"
but we shall be changed. There we shall have a body like His own glorious Body
-- for we shall be like Him.
Here we have a body in which we groan, but we
shall be changed. There we shall be free from all sin and sorrow, for we shall
be like Him.
Here we have a body of suffering and death, but we shall be
changed, There we shall have a body of immortality and life, for we shall be
like Him.
This is our hope. No sooner do we find ourselves in Christ as our
righteousness, than we desire to know Him as our Object, and look for Him as
our Hope.