INTRODUCTION:
One of our customs is to have an annual “state of the church” message around the first of the year. These messages vary—sometimes they address the state of the evangelical church generally, and other times they are more geared to the circumstances surrounding our particular congregation. This message falls into the latter category, but it should be noted that if we think in terms of principles, applications can always be made in other settings.
THE TEXT:
“Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing” (Phil. 3: 8-18).
OVERVIEW:
The apostle Paul despises all his covenant attainments, if compared to the worth of Christ, as dung (v. 8). He rejects every form of righteousness that a man might possess in his own name, and opts for that which is through the faith of Christ (v. 9). Since he was joined to Christ in death, he wants the same fellowship in resurrection (vv. 10-11). He doesn’t believe he has attained to that resurrection, but he still strives for it. He wants to apprehend that for which God apprehended him (v. 12). He is profoundly oriented to the future (v. 13), and presses toward the prize (v. 14). All mature Christians think this way (v. 15). Although we are not oriented to the past, we are to be oriented by the past (v. 16). Paul urges the Philippians to imitate him and others who are worthy models (v. 17). Those who don’t walk in this way are enemies of the cross of Christ (v. 18).
ORIENTED TO, ORIENTED BY:
In the comment on v. 16, we noted that Paul wants the Philippians to live up to what they have already attained. But he says this in the midst of a profound exhoration to lean into the future, striving for the resurrection of the dead. Too many Christians think that we are approaching the eschaton, the final resurrection, because we are gliding toward it on a conveyor belt. But Paul here teaches that human behavior matters in history, and that the way we behave here and now affects what we attain to in the resurrection. There is a delicate balancing act involved. Paul says that he is an example for us (v. 17), and that he forgets what lies behind (v. 13). At the same time, he tells us to live up to what we have already attained (v. 16), which is not at all the same thing as jettisoning what we have already attained. There is clearly a forgetting which does not forget in the crucial respects, and there is a remembering the past which forgets the future.
THE OLD PATHS:
The apostle is quite plain about what should motivate us in the remembering, forgetting, and striving toward the future. We are to stay on the old paths, but we are to be running on a section of the old paths that is new to us. Die hard conservatism that stands on the old paths is faithlessness. Progressive running ahead that ignores the old paths is called getting lost, and will land you in the castle of Giant Despair.
The old paths are, first, a personal knowledge of Christ, and love for Him (v. 8); second, a rejection of every form of works-righteousness (v. 9); third, an ongoing replication of His death and resurrection in our personal lives (v. 10), and fourth, friendship with the cross of Christ (v. 18). Any form of future orientation toward the resurrection of the dead that lines up with these is spiritually healthy.
WHAT CHRIST CHURCH HAS ATTAINED:
We know that we have nothing that was not given to us as a gift. And if a gift, it is useless to boast as though it were not a gift. The one who boasts should boast in the Lord. But when the Lord has done something in our midst, it is ingratitude to refuse to talk about it. And this is what God has given us—the Word of God was given to us, not so that we would put it on a shelf of honor, or study it in order to create doctrinal schematic diagrams. The Scriptures were given to us so that we might obey them. We are to obey with our minds, our hearts, and our lives. We are to obey God in our worship, in our marriages, with our children, with our parents, in our voting, and with our money. We reject all false dualisms that might create theological reservations where disobedience can flourish unmolested. Note that I am not claiming that we are actually obeying God as we ought in every area. It is not that we have already attained (v. 12). What I am saying is that God has given us the gift of taking away all our theological excuses for disobedience. And this allegiance to the old paths has created new problems for us—it has brought us to a new section of the pathway.
WHAT CHRIST CHURCH NEEDS TO WORK ON:
The goal in the text is obvious—we strive to attain to the resurrection of the dead. But to keep this from becoming that famous Sunday School answer—”God! Jesus! Bible!”—we need to flesh it out a bit. The apostle Paul has some very practical things in mind when he tells the Philippians to imitate him (v. 17). In this spirit, and keeping the coming resurrection before us always, what do we want to do in the months and years to come? Where should we give our attention?
Parish life: we need to remember that churches grow for a reason, and often it is perilously easy for the church to outgrow their reason for growing. For example, what happens when a church grows big because it is small?
Generational faithfulness: the dilemma of consistent faithfulness over generations is one of the central dilemmas of God’s covenant people. Add to this standing problem the difficulties created by the transformation of the world around us, and parents are having to teach their children in areas where the parents often know less than their children do.
Building a church: bricks and mortar are exciting, but not nearly as exciting as living stones. God has given us property downtown, and we have to be praying that we would be wise as we develop it.
Not becoming ingrown: once you have a good situation, it is easy to stack a bunch of sandbags around it. But the outward focus of our church needs to be constantly attended to—may God grant the time come when our publication ministry and mercy ministries explode. The goal of of a ministry is not to pay the bills of that ministry. This is nothing less than maintaining the vision. As a church institutionalizes, a certain level of aging always happens to the old wineskins, and so a prejudice develops against the new wine individuals. And who might that be? He is the “great guy, but . . .”