The Power of the Resurrection
March 27, 2016, 10:00 a.m. (Philippians 3:7-11) Command Baptist Church
But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead, (Phil. 3:7-11).
“There’s a feeling in the air that God is everywhere, and His resurrection power is moving in this hour that Jesus might be glorified.” This is the way we began our Easter worship service this morning. Let’s think about the thought of: “resurrection power.” What did Paul mean when he wrote to the Philippians, “That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection”? What does that have to do with any of us today? Is there something we need to take away from this message this morning that is wrapped up in the thought of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ?
There’s too much here for us to cover adequately. I want to share two thoughts with you and one main idea. The big idea is this:
BI – “The same veil tearing, ground shaking, stone moving, God honoring power that raised the Lord Jesus Christ from the grave is available to each of us for life and ministry.”
This passage of Scripture summarizes the attitude of Paul to the Philippian Christians concerning his feelings about the Lord Jesus Christ. Here, Paul wrote about two responses in his personal life since coming to saving knowledge of Christ. First:
1. He Counted His Losses – (vs. 7-8)
But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, (vs. 7-8)
These verses read like a broker of a financial institution. Paul used three terms that are associated with finances. The 1st term is “gain.” The 2nd term is “counted.” The 3rd term is “loss.” If you ever watch the stock market report on TV you hear these terms used. A gain is a “profit.” To count means to “calculate.” A loss is a “reduction” or “forfeiture.”
In the kingdom parable of (Mt. 25:14-30), Jesus told the story of three servants that were left in charge of their master’s business. He gave one servant five talents, one servant two talents and the last one talent. When he returned, he rewarded them according to how they traded the talents he left with them. The first gained five talents. He second gained two talents. The third gained no talents because he hid his talent in the earth. The master rewarded the two servants and rebuked the third. The first two servants had “gains” and the third servant had a “loss.”
In these verses, Paul says that the things that meant so much to him at one point in life no longer had any value to him since he began his walk with the Lord Jesus Christ. He names these things in (verses 4-6). What were they?
Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless, (vs. 4-6).
The things to which Paul referred are the things that men think are important. It was his ancestral heritage and religious history that motivated him before he met the Savior
.
First, he told about his ancestral pedigree. He was “circumcised the eighth day,” “the stock of Israel,” of the “tribe of Benjamin,” and a “Hebrew of the Hebrews.” Paul was proud of the fact that he was a true Jew. This was indisputable and meant the world to him. He was one of the elect. He was one of God’s chosen people. He had a corner on truth.
Second, he told of his religious history. It was as impressive as his ancestral heritage. “…as touching the law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless,” (Phil. 3:5b-6). Paul belonged to the strictest sect of Judaism. He was a Pharisee. He considered himself to be blameless as touching the righteousness of the Law or Moses. He followed the Law to the letter. If there was a way to keep the law; if there was a way to be “good enough,” if there was a way to work one’s way to heaven, Paul would have achieved it because he strictly obeyed the Old Testament Law of God. As far as man could see and was concerned, Paul had achieved perfect righteousness. However, as far as God was concerned he had not and could not, (Phil. 3:9,12).
And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith, (Phil. 3:9).
Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus, (Phil 3:12).
These were the things that Paul boasted in and of before he met the Master. These are the things that were “gains” to Paul before Christ. He counted them as gains and they did profit him dearly in his former life. Many are the stories that men can tell of the things they profited from before the came to Christ.
ILL: Dr. Jerry Falwell
I read the biography of Dr. Jerry Falwell and the Falwell family from which he hailed. His dad was a very rich man who knew how to turn a buck. When Jerry Falwell came to Christ he had to learn what was really important. I think he did okay, don’t you? The things that meant so much to him before Christ didn’t mean as much any more, and God used him to do amazing things in Lynchburg, VA and around the world!
So it was with the apostle Paul. He had a rich national and religious heritage, but the “things” he counted as “gain” or “profit” to him before salvation, he counted as “losses” after salvation. Interestingly enough, the first time Paul used the word translated “counted” in verse seven, it is in the (past tense) meaning that Paul counted these things as losses immediately after his salvation experience. However, the second time he used the word translated “count,” it is in the (present tense). This means that 30 years after Paul counted all loss for Christ, he was still counting it as loss. After everything he had experienced for the cause of Christ, he was ready and eager to say that it was worth giving all up for the sake of following Christ.
APP: Dear friends, may we always count it a joy and privilege to suffer whatever we have to for the cause the one who shed His blood for us, paying the ultimate price for sin! There is no cost too high to pay for what Christ did for us!
Allow me to go one step further. Not only did he count the former blessings as privileged losses, he counted the same things that meant so much to him before salvation as “dung,” (vs. 8). The word “dung” means exactly what you think it does. This is strong language. It has two meanings. First, it could mean “waste” or “excrement.” Second, it could mean, “table scraps only suitable for a dog to eat.” Either way, the point is taken. Not only did the “things” that meant so much to him
before salvation mean nothing to him now; these things became as “dung” to him, or in respectable language; they were now “offensive” to him!
==> Paul counted his personal losses. What an attitude! Do you and I count the things that once meant so much to us as being insignificant and possibly offensive? Please notice the 2nd attitude Paul displayed to the Philippian believers.
2. Paul Calculated His Potential Gains, (vs. 8-11)
Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.
Okay. We have seen what he gave up so freely and willingly. To keep from reiterating what he has already said, let’s say what he said, “I count ‘all’ things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord…” Everything that he counted dear in his past life he counted “refuse” in his present life. That’s what he gave up, but what did he gain? Why did he give up the things he counted so dear? What potential blessing did he see in cutting his losses? There were four potential gains that motivated Paul to cut his losses. The first potential gain was:
A. The Knowledge of Christ – (vs. 8)
“…I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord…”
This is not knowledge about of Jesus Christ, but the knowledge of Jesus Christ. To know Christ means to distinguish Him from all others. It means to be acquainted with His words and ways. To know Christ means we talk with Him and walk with Him. To know Christ means that we spend time in His House and with His family. To know Christ means to commit our lives to Him forever! Listen to the remarks Charles H. Surgeon made about knowing Christ.
"They tell me he is a refiner, that he cleanses from spots; he has washed me in his precious blood, and to that extent I know him. They tell me that he clothes the naked; he bath covered me with a garment of righteousness, and to that extent I know him. They tell me that he is a breaker, and that he breaks fetters, he has set my soul at liberty, and therefore I know him. They tell me that he is a king and that he reigns over sin; he hath subdued my enemies beneath his feet, and I know him in that character. They tell me he is a shepherd: I know him for I am his sheep. They say he is a door: I have entered in through him, and I know him as a door. They say he is food: my spirit feeds on him as on the bread of heaven, and, therefore, I know him as such." (Spurgeon)
==> Paul traded his personal losses for the knowledge of Christ. 2nd, he traded his personal losses for:
B. The Righteousness of Christ – (vs.9)
And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.
He traded his personal losses for the righteousness of Christ. This is not self-righteousness that was added by keeping the Old Testament Law of God.
For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them. (Rom. 10:3-5).
This is not righteousness earned by doing “good” works and being the “best you can be.” The righteousness of Christ is imputed righteousness. That means, that it has been added to your account. When we you spiritually bankrupt and could not add a single penny’s worth of anything to your personal spiritual account before God in Heaven, God added the righteousness of Christ to your account in your behalf.
What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness, (Rom. 4:1-3).
For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him, (2Cor. 5:21).
God took our sins and added them to the Lord Jesus’ account. He took Christ’s righteousness and added it to our account. Paul traded his personal losses for the privilege of experiencing the perfect, pure, and positive righteousness of Christ. He saw his personal losses as a powerful gain! He was right! Amen? What do we have from the past that can equal the blessing of having Christ’s righteousness as our own? What from our past can possibly equal the forgiveness of sin?
==> Paul traded his personal losses for the knowledge of Christ. He traded his personal losses for the righteousness of Christ. 3rd, he traded his personal losses for:
C. The Resurrection Power of Christ – (vs. 10)
That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death.
To know Christ means to experience the awesome power that raised the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead! It does not mean to know that power one day when we die, but to know it as we live! It won’t be ours one day: it’s ours now! To know Christ means to experience His resurrection power surging through our being, overcoming sin, and producing Christian graces! The resurrection power of Christ is:
• Verifying Power! The very fact the Jesus rose from the dead is evidence that everything He said and did is true! “And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead,” (Rom. 1:4).
• Vindicating Power! The fact that Jesus rose from the dead is the receipt or proof that the payment He made on behalf of our sin was acceptable to God for a full, acceptable payment! “Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification. Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,” (Rom. 4:24-5:1).
• Varying Power! The fact that Jesus rose from the dead is a fact that has changed millions of lives throughout the course of the course of history. We might not be able to explain what has happened to us that would make us the way we are. It is only explainable by the power of Jesus Christ over the grave. Experiencing this kind of power produces life-altering changes. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new,” (2Cor. 5:17).
• Victory Producing Power! The resurrection power of Christ is mountain moving power! It produces victory in the life of the believer. If God can raise Jesus Christ from the dead, what can He not do in your life? If He can raise Christ from the dead, what obstacle can stop you from living for Him?
• Valedictory Power! The fact that Jesus rose from the dead assures us that we too will depart from this life, but not in defeat. We are assured that just as Christ arose from the dead so shall we. We are assured by His resurrection power that one day we shall depart to a far better place than we have experienced while living on earth!
If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first-fruits of them that slept, (1Cor. 15:19-20).
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the first-fruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming, (1Cor. 15:22-23).
Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory, (1Cor. 15:50-54).
But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself, (Phil. 3:20-21)
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord, (1Thess. 4:13-16).
==> Paul traded his personal losses for the knowledge of Christ. He traded his personal losses for the righteousness of Christ. He traded his personal losses for the resurrection power of Christ. Lastly, he traded his personal losses for:
D. The Fellowship of Christ’s Suffering, (vs.10)
That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death.
The word fellowship means “partnership.” Paul counted his personal losses as a gain to experience fellowship with Christ in His sufferings. Fellowship with Christ in His sufferings is:
i. A personal experience – “That I might know Him…”
His fellowship with Christ was personal. He walked with Christ and talked with Him. He followed Christ and obeyed His will. Jesus was his master and Lord. Jesus was His constant companion.
ii. A powerful experience – “and the power of His resurrection…”
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me, (Gal. 2:20).
iii. A painful experience – “and the fellowship of His sufferings…”
Paul was a servant of Jesus Christ. He loved the Lord with all of his heart, mind, soul and body. While it was a great privilege to be a Christian, it also cost Paul much, but that didn’t bother him. Like his fellow laborer James, Paul counted it a joy to suffer for Christ, (James 1:2).
iv. A practical experience – “Being made conformable unto his death.”
Paul lived for Christ and died to self, (1Cor. 15:31). Paul took up his cross and followed Christ daily.
CON: All the things that Paul once held dear were really nothing in comparison to what he had in Jesus Christ! His own treasures brought him personal glory, but they did not bring God glory. They were gains to him, but not to Christ.
APP: So many of the things we count dear, precious, relevant and important are not really that important in the scheme of eternity. Calculate your gains and losses carefully! Will they benefit in eternity? If not, cut them loose! Count them as losses!
Illustration 10531. Raleigh's Trust
After Sir Walter Raleigh was beheaded in the tower they found in his Bible these true and striking lines, written the night before his death:
Even such is time, that takes in trust
Our youth, our joys, our all we have,
And pays us but with age and dust;
Who in the dark and silent grave,
When we have wandered all our ways,
Shuts up the story of our days.
But from this earth, this grave, this dust,
My God shall raise me up, I trust!
All the things of this world he had lost, but he had kept his faith; and faith spoke to him of a hope and life beyond the grave.
—C. E. Macartney
Encyclopedia of 15,000 Illustrations: Signs of the Times.
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow;
Because He lives, all fear is gone.
Because 1 know He holds the future;
And life is worth the living just because He lives.
Sometimes the problem is not facing tomorrow. Sometimes it is facing yesterday. The past may trouble as much as the future may make anxious. But because He lives, we can face both the past and the future, both yesterday and tomorrow.
BI – “The same veil tearing, ground shaking, stone moving, God honoring power that raised the Lord Jesus Christ from the grave is available to each of us for life and ministry.”
