Following Judah's Lion

Seeking His Holy Place

Phil.3:1-12 - Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe.
2 Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.
3 For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.
4 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:
5 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;
6 Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.
8 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,
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:
10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.
12 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.

This is perhaps the greatest whole section of what it means to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ. I have often thought that the greatest one sentence on discipleship came from John the Baptist who said, “He must increase, but I must decrease”. But in this third chapter of Philippians the Apostle Paul delves into the mysteries of the Incarnate Christ and His profound redemptive labors, and against those sacred truths Paul presents a challenge, not just to all of us, but to himself as well.

The chapter begins with a warning about evil men, and Paul uses some pretty harsh language. We would all do well to heed his advice since we also live in an age where spiritual sedition and powerful deceptions abound. And with television and large auditoriums this deception has been made immensely alluring through extravagance and the power of imagery. The eye gate is no friend to faith, and when something can be made appealing to the eye then the other senses are dulled. Just ask Eve.

Verse three alone outlines true worship which has no confidence in the flesh. And yet today with the glitz and glammer of makeup, expensive clothing, high tech sound systems, and the captivating aura of earthly success, generations have been completely hoodwinked into believing a false gospel. And the drawstring to the entire religious extravaganza is the massive influence of a positive message. In this modern day of preaching, success sells, sin does not.

But if pedigrees were compared, Paul would have no problem in that competition. But as Paul correctly points out, and with a startling simile, his accomplishments in the flesh are, well, dung. I guess the Holy Spirit really wanted to get our attention about the uselessness of the flesh! And let this be a schoolmaster to us all. You can know all doctrines and have PhDs behind your name and write dozens of books, but that can still be done in the flesh. The spiritual warfare in which we live is very insidious and sophisticated.

It isn’t enough to find error in Joel Osteen or compromise in Rick Warren or false teachings in Rob Bell. And all those things are surely true, but if we are not vigilant about our own spiritual condition we can easily be defeated even while appearing to be standing for truth. Let me lift the veil a little so no one can hide. There have been times where my spiritual life has been dry and unenthusiastic and painfully mundane, but if I get all revved up about false teachers I can divert the attention from myself and appear to be filled with God’s Spirit. I suspect all of us can succumb to different forms of that deception.

So the flesh lurks with great cunning within our own hearts. But Paul denies the flesh and all his accomplishments just for the excellency of knowing the Lord Jesus Christ. And although we have become familiar with those words, their depth and meaning are unfathomable. So often the church has made those words shallow and even relegated them to evangelism, but when they are meditated upon with prayer and fasting we find the deepest of spiritual treasures.

That I may know Him. That comes from the mouth of someone who saw Christ and was taught of Him, face to face. And yet he yearns to know Him more completely and with more intimacy. Have we lost that kind of passion to know Him? Does the pursuit of knowing Him consume our beings and inconvenience our earthly lives rather than our earthly lives inconveniencing our spiritual passion? And what does a life look like when its paramount passion is to know Christ and His resurrection and His sufferings?

Does that kind of life appear leisurely? Is that life thirsty for comfort and entertainment? Does that life see things as wonderful blessings or as temptations to the flesh? It is reported that John Wesley asked for prayer for his brother Charles since Charles had bought a comfortable couch for his enjoyment. Legalistic, to be sure, but today there is nothing too gaudy or too extravagant and every single material addition is considered a blessing from God and every material loss is from the evil one. And when the word “sacrifice” is used it is rejected by the modern western mindset.

But it is these very material things that keep us chained to a paltry spiritual existence and drown us with false contentment that keeps us far from Christ. And the time we have been given by God is used to acquire and maintain these earthly accoutrements instead of spending that time seeking the Person of Christ. The woman who broke the alabaster box and lavished Jesus with expensive ointment would be considered extreme and out of touch with reality. We can spend hours before a football game or a television show or in a movie theatre, but we can only give Jesus a few meager minutes as we hurry to the next appointment.

And with those priorities, we may be saved, but we will never know Christ any deeper than a ticket to heaven. And anchored to the dictates of this present world, we will become spiritually desolate even while remaining ecclesiastically active. And we will have traded the surpassing glory of His knowledge for a mess of earthly pottage. And yet, most of the church walks in that vacuous reality. And to be clear, just knowing the great doctrines of the church is not knowing Christ. And knowing the original languages does not aid in knowing Him.

To know Christ more intimately requires spending time with Him. And for all our fear of eastern mysticism we have rejected deep and penetrating prayer, time consuming meditation, fasting, and sacrificial times of personal worship and devotion. In fact, we no longer know what that means or entails. The church has become a slick religious machine that feeds the masses with a steady stream of shallow, redundant mantras and activities fueled by preplanned excitement. Rare is the western believer who not only rejects such hollow religiosity, but also is committed to a secret life of pursuing and knowing Christ.

But therein lies the glory. And what do we mean when we use the term “glory”. Well, it is difficult to put into words. It’s like a heroin user attempting to explain his high. He can define his euphoria but only to a limited extent since only those who have injected heroin can fully understand the depth of his words. And so it is with being in the presence of Christ and experiencing that glory. And so many are afraid of experience since so many abuse it and manufacture fleshly and self elevating experiences. But if our faith is nothing but a set of well worn doctrines and practical rules, then in truth it is nothing.

But read the words of Paul. That I may know Him…and being made conformable to His death. Are they just some poetic imagery meant to stimulate the imagination, or are they real and authentic spiritual experiences? Can our wonderful Redeemer be known like that or is He just an aloof monarch who is disinterested in any fellowship with his subjects? And that conformable to His death thing, well that could never fly as a church advertisement. “Come in and die with us” is not nearly as eye catching as “Come in and enjoy abundance.” But in reality, the abundant life is death to self.

Millions of people watch Easter pageants and movies and see the recreation of Christ’s death and resurrection. And millions are blessed by such a vision. But what would it be like to leave being a spectator, and die and resurrect with the Lord Jesus? Is that just some doctrinal hyperbole? Can such a truth be so diluted that it is just another way of saying “Do unto others”?

Or is there a reality that transcends this one? Is there a place of His presence that is located not by geography but with the depth of a believer’s heart? And if there is a treasure, a pearl of great price, that awaits those who dare to seek it and lay hold of it, then what else can matter? And with what can we compare such a place? And in this place there is peace beyond words, and joy unspeakable, and life changing holiness, and infinite love, and there is a glory unknown to this present world.

And even with all that and more, there is one more thing that surpasses them all.

There is Jesus, and He is all in all.