Resurrection: Living in Light of our Blessed Hope
Text: Philippians 3:1-14
I am so happy that you have chosen to gather with the Church this morning as we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead. For Christians – THIS is one of the most important holidays of the year! Resurrection Sunday and Christmas! Without the Birth of Christ, and the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ – you don’t have Christianity. You’ve got something that’s just like every other religion in the world. The Apostle Paul even tells us that if Christ be not raised, our faith is in vain and we are still in our sins. In other words, if Jesus was not raised from the dead, that would mean we are not forgiven, we are not saved, we do not have any hope of eternal life, and everything we do as Christians would be meaningless. But thank God – He was raised from the dead! And what that means is – ALL of those things – Forgiveness, having eternal life, being made right with God… all of those things are yours if you have put your faith and trust in Jesus.
That’s a short summary of 1 Corinthians 15:12-20 if you want to write that down and read it later… that’s not our text this morning… but it does help us wrap our minds around how important the Resurrection is, and why the Resurrection is an essential doctrine of the Christian Faith. No Resurrection = No Christianity!
So knowing that, the next question should be: “How should we then live?” If Jesus was raised from the dead, and you believe that – How should that impact you? How should that shape your thoughts, your mind, your behavior, your speech, your world-view, your spending habits… or habits in general? How should that impact the way you treat others? The way you treat your spouse? The way you raise your kids?
CHRIST IS RISEN – He is Risen Indeed: So… “How Should We Then Live?”
With that question in mind, let’s open up our Bibles to the Book of Philippians 3:1-14 (READ).
Church, when you look at the disciples – including the Apostle Paul… There is a vast difference between before and after. What I mean is – as we read through the Gospels, and the rest of the New Testament, we see a huge difference in their lives, in their thoughts, in everything. There’s a vast difference before the Resurrection and After.
Before the Resurrection the Disciples were pretty selfish dudes… They were so caught up on the world, and worldly things… Their focus was on themselves. They were like, “What can we get?”, “What can we achieve?”, “Jesus, let me sit at your right hand next to the throne.” And Paul… who was called Saul at that time… Man this guy was a real piece of work right?
We just read it in our Text, you’ll see it… Circumcised on the 8th day, Tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews… a Pharisee, zealous, persecuting the Church. Basically Paul was like a mob enforcer… He was working for the Pharisees, and going out and persecuting Christians… arresting them, and sometimes even watching them be put to death.
And really, for all intents and purposes – Paul was moving up the ladder of worldly success. In-fact, if you would’ve asked most Pharisees, they would’ve said, “Saul of Tarsus… yeah, he’s a good guy… he’s a moral and upright citizen… he’s probably going to be the head of the council one day.”
The world was his oyster so to speak.
But that was BEFORE. His life changed drastically after meeting the Risen Lord.
When Paul writes this letter to the Philippians, he’s writing to a congregation that he loves dearly… and they love him too. He’s writing to people that he knows well, and who he has built relationships with. And they would’ve been eagerly waiting for this letter, to see what Paul would tell them, and teach them… and in the first two chapters he’s said and taught them a-lot, but as he comes to chapter 3 he begins to give them a somber warning. He says, “Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh.”
Now I’m a dog guy (I like dogs) but you’ve got to understand that EVEN TO THIS DAY, dogs in many parts of the Middle East are usually more like scavengers… more like coyotes or dingos than family pets. And then he calls them “evildoers” and “those who mutilate the flesh”… And the reason Paul is doing this is because he’s like, “Listen… I was there… I was one of those guys. I was on the fast track for success.” And depending on where you live… what you do… the kind of people you’re around… that may look different, but the idea is still the same. The world has all kinds of ideas and wants to give you all kinds of input on what it’s going to take for you to “Make It!”
But like I said, that was before Paul knew the Risen Lord.
Look at verses 7 – 10 again (READ).
So… because Jesus is real. Because Jesus is alive! Because Jesus has saved me, and forgiven me, and given me eternal life. Because Jesus has paid for my sin and redeemed me by His blood. Because of those things and so many more… all of the things I used to think were important, I’ve now come to realize – they’re just rubbish – trash – garbage.
What does it matter if I have high standing among the world – if I spend eternity separated from Christ? What does it matter if I have wealth, and fame, and prestige and power if I spend all eternity in hell?
So, Paul says, “I count it as loss FOR THE SAKE OF CHRIST.” And then in verse 8 he says, “I count EVERYTHING as loss for the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord…”. That word “surpassing” is the Greek word “hyperecho” – it means the thing that is of most value, of most supremacy, of most worth. More worth than anything you can think or imagine.
Paul is saying – “All of those other things… All the things the world can offer you, are rubbish compared with knowing Jesus…”. And He counts those things as loss. Meaning he no longer pursues those things, but is instead pursuing his relationship with Christ, his walk with Christ, his life with Christ. Because none of those things were ever going to make him right with God or give him eternal life.
None of those things could give him the kind of righteousness he needed in order to be able to stand before our Just and Holy God who is Almighty, and All-Powerful, and Perfect in every way!
In other words church – it’s not about being something great according to the world, or even about all the external religious things that people think make you good, or holy, or righteous. Because even at our very best – our righteousness is as filthy rags. The only way to stand righteous before God is to have the very righteousness of God imputed to us, through faith in Jesus Christ.
Now I’ve gone through all of that to get to verse 10, “That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection…”
So remember – before and after. Here’s Paul before – He’s moving up the ladder of success, he’s on his way to being something that the world would heap praise and adoration on. He’s going to be someone with power, and prestige, and wealth, and authority in the world… maybe even one of the most influential and powerful people in the land of Israel. And had he continued on that track, he may have achieved all of that, and then he would have lived his life, and then probably died in the siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD and gone straight to a Christless eternity.
But here’s Paul after – after He encounters the Risen Lord. “All of that stuff before, it’s trash! It’s rubbish! I count it as loss. Because now I have the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus, and now… when I die – be it sooner or later – I’ll be raised up with Him. I’ll be with Him forever and ever. I’ll be with Jesus for all eternity.”
And it’s so interesting to me, because there in verse 10 Paul actually kind of gives it to us in a way that might seem backwards. He says, “That I may know Him and power of His resurrection, and may share in His sufferings, becoming like Him in death.”
When we think of Jesus, we think of Him suffering – going to the cross, bearing our sin, taking the punishment for our sin, having the wrath of God poured out upon Him for our sin… we think of Him dying on the cross – saying, “It is finished!” Having satisfied God’s demands for justice, and God’s demands for mercy, He died and was buried.
He wasn’t thrown into Gehenna, the trash pit, which is what happened to most criminals… He was placed in a tomb and His body laid there for 3 days. And on the THIRD DAY, the stone was rolled away and He arose!
That’s the order we think of… but here Paul says, I want to know the resurrection, and then he goes into suffering and death.
Basically; what Paul is saying here is: “Because He lives – I can face tomorrow. Because He lives – All fear is gone.” I can go through this life, with all its hardships, and all its suffering, because I know where I’m going. I can endure and persevere and face persecution, and sufferings, because I am found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the Law, or from doing good works, but the very righteousness of God that comes through faith in Jesus Christ, whom God raised from the dead.
And because of that – I press on – I press toward the goal for the prize of the UPWARD call of God in Christ Jesus.”
He hasn’t obtained it yet, because he hasn’t died yet. We can say the same thing… we’re not perfected yet, we haven’t obtained it yet, because we’re still on this earth. We haven’t gone to be with the Lord yet. But some day, whether it’s by rapture or rupture, we’re going to be with Jesus! That’s the UPWARD CALL by the way… that’s what Paul is saying here. That’s the prize he’s talking about. Being raised up in order to be with Jesus forever and ever.
Turn with me real quick to Colossians 3:1-4, “If you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.”
Every time Paul writes about the Resurrection, this is where he eventually ends up.
As Christians, everything we think, everything we say, everything we do is in light of eternity. It’s in light of being united to Christ in His death, and in His resurrection. That’s what Paul is saying here in Colossians… it’s what he says in Romans 6… and it’s what he’s saying there in our text from Philippians.
One more point and I’ll close. In Philippians 3:12 // He says, “I press on to make it my own – BECAUSE Christ Jesus has made me His own.”
That’s the key right there.
We can pretend to be religious. We can engage in all kinds of religious behavior and activities. We can fool ourselves into thinking that surely God would save us because we’re not “bad” people, and we’re nice to our neighbors, and we’re good ole boys who get along with everyone. But if Christ hasn’t laid hold of you and made you His own… all of those things are “rubbish” to use Paul’s own words from our text.
Yes – we are to count them as loss and as rubbish because when it comes right down to it, that’s what God does… Because that’s not what He’s looking at. I said it earlier and I’ll say it again, our righteousness is as a filthy rag. What matters to God is: ARE YOU IN CHRIST? Are you in His Son? Has the righteousness of God been imputed to you and reckoned to your account through faith in Jesus Christ?
Is Jesus your Savior and Lord? That’s how when Christ appears, we will also appear with Him in glory… and I don’t know about y’all, but I believe that day is coming soon. Do you have that hope within you? I hope so… I pray that you do.
CLOSING
