Thoughts on Philippians 3:12-15:
Many of my devotionals are set up in this format. I do a study on a passage and begin to write my thoughts out. The book of Romans is just about finished and I may from time to time insert a post from some particular passage that has significant meaning to me for that day. Hope you enjoy it.
The reason Paul is able to press on in faith is because Christ has taken hold of Paul. Conversely, if Christ had not taken hold of Paul, Paul could not press on and in faith take hold of the things he previously talked about in 3:7-11. The sole factor that motivates Paul to strive for perfection is that he knows who he is because he knows to whom he belongs to. Christ has taken hold of (or called) Paul and gave him value and a lasting identity, which goes beyond the fleeting existence people have while on this earth. Because of that Paul has hope and eternal significance that is worth striving, fighting and dying for. He knows he is a child of the King. Nothing else matters in comparison. It is in this attitude; it is in this mind set that Paul points out that the spiritually mature have. The spiritually mature are not content with just getting by. They are not content with just keeping a pew warm; and they are not content merely being served, instead, they serve because of their love for the King.
I cannot adequately explain what my thoughts are regarding this image this passage has given me. I guess one explanation that comes to mind is the 24 elders prostrating themselves before the throne of God in heaven and casting their crowns before the feet of their Redeemer in the Revelation. Everything dims and falls away when we see our Savior face to face. Differences of doctrine will all be moot because when we see Him we will know Him as He is. But since we still remain on this planet, doctrine is our guide to staying on the right path. We are weak and so easily led astray. I know this by experience. I need the scriptures to guide me into all righteousness and truth simply because I might get puffed up and make a terrible fool of myself. I have before, that is for sure!
But we have a promise. That promise is at the end of verse 15. It says, "and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you." This shows that it is only the Lord who opens minds to understand. He will reveal more and more of who He is. This means He decides to disclose His character to us. Even though the scriptures are fulfilled and we have them before us, it still takes the Holy Spirit to enable us to understand what is in there. Otherwise all you have is "riddles" as a friend of mine had once said. This also means that Paul must have had just as much difficulty in explaining the things of God to those who did not have ears to hear for him to say this. It is human nature to think we must do something to earn God's grace. so when Paul explained to his hearers that you must not think the Gospel of Christ is like how you think; many dismissed Paul's message as a foolish "riddle".
Paul's "connection" is that he has tightly fastened his very existence onto the person of Christ. I would venture a guess that this maybe why he has no interest in marriage because he truly considers himself married to his Lord. His mission is so apart of the very fabric of his being, that to prevent him from it or to divide him in his devotion would destroy him. He is so intimately aware and intricately bound to his Lord, that whatever worldly gain and advancement, he can honestly consider "rubbish" compared to knowing more of his Savior. Can we (the modern western church) boast of such intimate love and devotion to our Lord as Paul did? What would it take in order for the church to "wake up" and love God's Word once again?
In verse 16 Paul mentions holding true to what we have attained. Holding true is an action. It is not passive. We gain ground in our knowledge of our Redeemer. We are like hungry infants wanting more and more of the good food. We don't forget what we have learned but we eagerly desire to know more of our Father - for we love Him so.
Can you grasp the passion in this passage with me? Can you see it? Can you taste it? Can you feel the frustration when human language breaks down in trying to communicate what can only be experienced spiritually? I think we can still know what Paul knew and feel what he felt. But in taking this stand it is a difficult commitment to choose simply because Christians are so easily offended. We are supposed to be committed to Christ but we are so wrapped up in the things of the world we cannot see the potential harm we are causing to ourselves and our loved ones. That harm translates into an unfulfilled spiritual life because we have failed to engage our faith in the real world. We cannot seem to figure out what we are supposed to do with Christ in our work and family. We have lost the "head". We have learned to depend on our own effort and power. WE have done a good job at separating our faith from our day to day affairs. We need to have the same kind of zeal that Paul did for his Lord. God was #1 in all things - temporal (work) and spiritual. He had a great knack for combining the two. It is quite fun actually to draw a spiritual connection with some mundane common thing. My son rolls his eyes (in fun) when I look at a plant, for instance, and begin to think of some spiritual application from it. So the maturity Paul is talking about is really about how we view the world at large. Is your view too narrow or is it as it should be, large and ripe for harvest? Lord grant us spiritual eyes that we might see clearer and humility that we might know more of you and less of us.
-Joe
No comments:
Post a Comment