This month we’re reading Philippians 1.
It’s one of those chapters that is full of truth, encouragement, instruction, and a couple of mysteries.
Here are three verses that are worth reading slowly and repeatedly, giving some thought to (maybe for a couple of days), and perhaps committing to memory.
Philippians 1:6
Philippians 1:21
Philippians 1:27
Paul says something helpful in Philippians 3:17
Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.
It’s tough being a guy. We understand manliness as a concept, but it is illusive because we are prone to be weak and foolish. Sure, we can puff up our chests, have bravado, have power over those under us, be aggressive, be mouthy, and push our opinion and will.
But that doesn’t make us a man, at least not in the way we men need other men to be. And not in the way God wants men to be around other men.
We men NEED men who can be examples to us. We need examples on how to be a husband, how to be be a father, how to manage our money, how to be a good employee, how to be a friend, how to walk with God, how to be brave and have courage, how to have humility, how to fear God, how to read and study Scripture, and how to love God.
This is Paul’s point in Philippians 3:17. Let us find such men and behave and think like them.
We all need this!
The Apostle Paul was an encourager. He had a way of saying things that generated motivation and confidence. Philippians 3:12-14 is an example of this.
Not that I have already obtained this or am 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 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.
Twice he says he presses on. And between those two times he says he strains forward. The Christian life is HARD. And Paul is no exception. He had to work at it.
But it is good to note that Paul had a motivation we sometimes miss out on. Paul saw Jesus as so great, so good, so loving, so magnificent, and so desirable that to to “press on” and “strain forward” had a lot of umph and grit behind it.
Keep your eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2).
Philippians 3:7-11 are some of the greatest things that Paul ever wrote.
7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
First, he was a man, in many ways, of great stature personally and religiously, yet when He met Jesus on the Damascus road (Acts 9) he realized Jesus surpassed everything he could ever be, ever want, or ever have.
Second, Not only did he realize it, he literally walked away from it all. And he did so gladly, without regret. Jesus was that superior to everything else in the world.
Third, this is all summed up in the Paul’s words, “the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”
Fourth, knowing Jesus was the quest of Paul’s life.
Fifth, the two words, “my lord” are both intimate and devotional. He says it with affection and reverence and depth.
Sixth, this is all through his faith in Jesus.
Seventh, In knowing Jesus, Paul wants to know the “power of His resurrection.” Paul knows that the same power will drive and fuel and motivate his own hatred of sin, his love and devotion to Jesus, his quest to know Jesus more and more and deeper and deeper. Paul knows the power of the resurrection is the power that drives and opens doors and changes hearts in his ministry.
Eighth, For Paul, the suffering life and the crucified life is the way of life as a disciple. He embraces it knowing that suffering and sacrifice is the way of love, the way of faith, and the way of obeying Jesus. He wants to be like Christ.
This is one the BEST commentaries on Philippians and it is only $16.00
The apostle Paul is good with words. And he is good at logical arguments. Philippians 3 is an example of that. His logic, time and again, drives home rich, rich, rich, spiritual truths.
The section in Philippians 3 that lists all his former accomplishments is impressive (verse 4-6). He had a life of prestige. He was born into it. He was raised in it. And then the last three in his list, says that he also earned it by his own focus and hard work. He was one of the POWERFUL men in Israel.
He would have been HIGHLY admired by any Jew. He was a Pharisee and the son of a Pharisee and trained under a famous Pharisee. He had kept the outward form of the Old Testament law perfectly. And he had such drive and zeal and commitment that he HIGHLY persecuted Christians.
He was a rare man. And was an elite. He was a superstar. He was powerful!
But at his conversion on the Damascus road he met Jesus and discovered that all the work and fame and prestige was worthless and pointless compared to knowing Christ.
Here’s the punch in the gut… It is very human to want power and prestige and notoriety. But Paul would say those three things are the very things that push us away from God. A lot of humility and a deep, sweet knowledge of Jesus is what Paul would say makes a healthy soul.
Sometimes big things can be said in small ways. Verse 3 of Philippians 3 is one those times.
For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh.
The Big Thing: Christians are right with God when they see and feel, from beginning to end, that everything about their faith and obedience is from God and for God.
Below are five quotes from one of the best commentaries on Philippians.
the circumcision: Because Israel lost sight of the spiritual significance of circumcision, focused on the external ritual, and failed to boast in the Lord alone (Jeremiah 9:23–25), it has forfeited its right to the title “The Circumcision.” The church of Jesus Christ, however, is the true Israel (Galatians 6:16), heir of all the rights and privileges belonging to it (Romans 9:24–26 and 1 Pet 2:9–10), including the right to the title, “circumcision.” “We,” says Paul emphatically, “are the circumcision.”
who worship by the Spirit: “by the Spirit of God,” stresses that the Spirit of God is the divine initiator at work in the depths of human nature, profoundly transforming a person’s life so as to promote a life of love and service, and generate a life for others; for “such a life is the only worship acceptable to God.
glory in Christ Jesus: For here Christians are rightfully described as possessing a triumphant, exultant, boastful attitude, not in themselves, however, nor in their accomplishments or personal goodness (Galatians 6:13), but in Christ Jesus.
put no confidence in the flesh: Their basis of pride, their reason for boasting, their grounds for full and exultant confidence is God himself, who acted in grace and mercy toward all people in Christ Jesus (Galatians 6:14; Jeremiah 9:23–24; 1 Corinthians 1:31; 2 Corinthians 10:17). Christians are the circumcision precisely because they take pride not in what they may do by themselves to earn God’s favor, but only in what God in his favor has already done for them in Christ Jesus.
Conclusion: So in Paul’s memorable words, in a modern key, we are his people. We worship as the Holy Spirit moves in us; we place our only hope in Christ, and in that act we renounce all claim to being accepted by God on the basis of ethnic or cultural superiority. Here, then, is a thumbnail sketch of what Paul’s gospel is all about as far as human relationship to God is concerned.
The commentary from where these quotes comes from is… Word Biblical Commentary (Revised Edition), by Gerald F. Hawthorne & Ralph P. Martin, 2004, Zondervan Publishing.
Paul is at his strongest and most pointed in Philippians 3:2.
“Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh.”
Why is he so strong, so blunt, and so harsh?
In Philippians and in Galatians and in Romans Paul in dealing with a belief some Jews held that believers in Christ had to be circumcised. Paul will have none of it.
It wasn’t a simple problem. It had seriously infiltrated the church. And it went against what the central tenant of the gospel, that we are saved by grace, through faith that Jesus took our place on the cross and that he rose from the grave. In other words, it is a spiritual felony to add circumcision as a requirement to be saved. We are saved by faith in Jesus, not a physical act done to the male body.
Dogs: This term can have two potent meanings. The Jews often called non-jews dogs. It was derogatory and it was meant to be blunt. Now Paul uses the term back against the Jews. These Jews felt superior because it was part racial to them. Circumcision came from the jews, and to force people to be circumcised enhanced jewish identity. But because of Jesus, the church was no longer Jewish centered. It was now Christ-centered. They are dogs for having an inferior and incorrect and corrupting belief and practice. Second, dogs were scavengers, ill-tamed, often wild and sometimes feared. Paul is saying these jews are behaving like unwanted dogs.
Evildoers: It is evil to go against God. It is evil to alter the gospel. And it is evil to push or ask or demand believers in Christ to do something God does not require.
Those who mutilate the flesh: Circumcision has been done away with. Why? Because faith in Jesus’ death for us on the cross and His resurrection is what saves us. Circumcision, as a religious requirement, is a forced and spiritually harmful mutilation.
Wow! Paul is strong. But it is good to see Paul and Peter and John and Jesus himself be strong. We need to be reminded some issues can do great and lasting spiritual harm, not only to individuals, but also to churches.
Philippians 3 begins with Paul giving the Philippian church a reminder. Peter does the same thing in 1 Peter 1:12-15.
It’s a something we might normally read right past.
Paul and Peter, and God, know something we are prone to downplay. Most of the basic truths in Scripture are truths we need to constantly remind ourselves of.
That’s what Paul is doing in Philippians three. He is reminding us of how very important Jesus is. That truth needs to be put into our heads every day, several times a day.
Keeping our eyes on Jesus changes us. And we all need to change our thinking and our hearts.
This video will point you to Jesus (If you’ve never heard of Andrew Peterson this song might draw you to more of his songs. He is deep and tender and honest.)
This sermon will point you to Jesus (If you’ve never heard Tim Keller this is a good introduction to his heart and his style of preaching. Oh, it’s different. And it is good.)
Philippians three is one of the chapters with great depth and great perspective.
It starts simply and plainly, which is easy to read over and take for granted, but it is, in a nutshell the theme of the chapter.
“My brothers, rejoice in the Lord.”
The first two words are important. The word rejoice is important, but the last three words are what God, through Paul, will emphasize and magnify and proclaim in the rest of the chapter.
Life is to be lived “in the Lord.”
Huh?
Take a moment and read the rest of the chapter and you’ll see it.
This is a really good chapter to spend a month with.
We’re coming to the end of the month and to the last days of reading Matthew 13. For me, it has been an unexpectedly rich month. I have seen and felt more in Matthew 13 than in other chapters in other months. I praise God for that. I am grateful for that.
One of the things that has stood out to me, that has affected me is Matthew 13:23.
“As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
What made the good soil good? And what does it mean to understand the word? I want to grasp such things. The good soil is the only soil that bore fruit. One soil is fruitful. The other THREE are not. These are God’s words. This is what He is telling us. It’s a lesson, a warning, and an insight.
Here’s a bit of what I think this means. The seed only fully grew in a certain kind of soil. That one soil was receptive and it was fertile. I think someone who loves God, seeks Him, feels a longing for Him and feels a joy in Him, who is quick to pray, who finds pleasure in reading, studying Scripture, and finds obeying God wise and right and enjoyable is the soil that receptive, fertile, and fruitful.
This is hard stuff. Most everything in our human nature does not lean this way.
This doesn’t happen by will power or natural giftedness. It happens by a miracle of God softening our hearts.
Pray for that. Join me in praying for that.
This is one of those videos that by watching it more times you get more out of it
The Men's Bible Reading Idea 