by Larry Ferrell | March 9, 2018
Here Paul says that he learned to count all human effort as loss that he might win Christ. To state these truths he uses the figure of a balance sheet, showing assets and liabilities. He says that he has learned to reckon all the assets he had earned before he knew Christ as liabilities and to enter into his new column of assets the name of Jesus Christ alone. We must realize that human righteousness is nothing when measured against the righteousness of God revealed in Jesus Christ and that God is right to insist upon His standards.

In the first place, human righteousness falls short of the standards set by God, and anything short of those standards is unrighteousness. Righteousness is one of those things like perfection that loses its meaning entirely if you divide it. Perfection is a whole. Righteousness is exactly the same. You are either entirely righteous by God’s definition or you are not righteous at all. Jesus Christ said in what is undoubtedly the most important single verse in the Sermon on the Mount, “Be perfect, therefore, even as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt. 5:48). That is the standard! All fall short of it, and falling short of it, they miss it all. There is a second reason why human righteousness is not adequate when measured against the goodness of God. Human goodness, even at best, is polluted by sin. We do good things, but all of our good deeds, even the best of them, are contaminated by sin. And because sin is there, sin can always break forth into death. That is why the noblest ideals and the most sublime ideologies of human beings lead away from God. God must pronounce a curse upon them in order that true righteousness might be established through the work of Jesus Christ.

In verses 4-8, Paul illustrates these principles from his own experience. Humanly speaking he had acquired all the assets that anyone could imagine. He was a Jew, and Jews had always had a special place in God’s dealings with the human race. But in terms of salvation Paul came to admit that these things had actually kept him from God. He writes, “But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Phil. 3:7-8). Paul lists seven achievements in these verses, those that were inherited and those that were earned. That is a real list of assets from a human point of view. But the day came when Paul saw what this was in the light of the righteous God. Probably the most important word in the entire third chapter is the word that begins verse seven: “but.” That “but” marks Paul’s experience on the road to Damascus when Paul first saw Jesus and learned what God’s righteousness was. He thought before this that he had attained righteousness by keeping the law. But when he saw Christ he knew that all his righteousness was as filthy rags.

That is the work of God in a human heart. Paul came to the point where he opened his ledger book. He looked at what he had accumulated by inheritance and by his efforts and reflected that these things actually kept him from Christ. He then took the entire list and placed it where it belonged – under the list of liabilities. He called it “loss,” and under assets he wrote, “Jesus Christ alone.”

Philippians 3:4-8 Reflection Questions:
Have you exchanged your assets for Christ? Or are you trusting in the kind of goodness that will never be accepted by God?
What are the inherited assets that Paul had? What were Paul’s earned assets?
Have you reached the point in your Christian walk were you count all your inherited and earned assets as loss and put “Jesus Christ alone” as your only true asset?

Be the first to comment

by Larry Ferrell | March 2, 2018
The third chapter of Philippians is probably the most beloved chapter of Paul’s letter. In it he sets forth many of the cardinal doctrines of the Christian life and unveils in stirring language his own desire to know and serve the Lord Jesus. It’s interesting however, that these doctrines are included not so much for their own sake but as a natural outgrowth of a challenge to the Christians at Philippi to be joyful. Philippians 3: 1-3 suggest that joy is founded to a very large degree on sound doctrine.

Remember, Jesus promised joy for those who followed Him: The angel who announced Jesus’ birth to the shepherds said, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy”… (Luke 2:10-11). Jesus said, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete” (John 15:11). In John 17 Jesus prayed to his Father, “that they may have the full measure of my joy within them” (v. 13). This joy is the birthright of all true believers. It was this joy that Paul wished to see in the little congregation at Philippi.

What is joy? Joy is a supernatural delight in God and God’s goodness. And it is very different from happiness. Happiness is our translation of the Latin word fortuna and it is closely related to chance. Thus, if things happen to work out in a way that we approve, we are happy. If they do not so happen, we are unhappy. Happiness is circumstantial, but joy is not. Joy is an inner quality of delight in God, and it is meant to spring up within the Christian in a way totally unrelated to the adversities or circumstantial blessings of this life. Unfortunately, it is impossible to speak of the supernatural qualities of Christian joy without saying at the same time that many Christians fail to experience this joy, or they lose it after the initial joy of their salvation. Circumstances get them down, and instead of the victory Christians should experience, they suffer depression. This should not be. Instead of depression there should be joy in the Lord that goes beyond our circumstances.

Perhaps you are saying, “I know that I should have it, and I would like to rejoice in the Lord always. But circumstances still get me down. How can this joy be sustained?” The answer is in God’s Word, and we must follow it as we would a doctor’s prescription. The remedy can be summed up in several principles. The first principle is that you must begin by becoming a Christian. It may seem obvious to say this, but it is my experience that at least two classes of people need to face this squarely. The first class is composed of those who are not Christians and know it but whom think that the fruit of Christianity can be grown without the life of Christ. The second class of persons is composed of those who are not Christians but who think they are, perhaps because they have been raised in a religious home or because they attend church. They think they are Christians, but they do not understand the heart of the gospel and have not actually committed their lives to Jesus.

The second step is this: If you are to experience God’s joy, you must first know his righteousness and peace. This means that a life of holiness and trust are prerequisites. The order of these things is set forth in Romans 14:17. Many Christians do not know joy that could be theirs because their lives are not holy or they do not trust God for their future. Sin keeps us from God, who is the source of joy. Anxiety also works against joy. Instead of sin and anxiety in their lives, believers in Jesus Christ should experience a life of holiness and peace, and they should realize God’s peace as they submit all aspects of their future to Him.

The third step to a life of continuous, supernatural joy is to steep ourselves in the teachings of the Bible. When I first began to study what the Bible has to say about joy I was surprised to discover how many times joy is associated with a mature knowledge of God’s Word (see Ps. 19:8, Ps. 119:14, John 15:10-11). These verses teach that joy is to be found in knowledge of God’s character and commandments and that these are to be found in His Word. If you have not known much of this joy, the reason may be a neglect of a study of Scripture.

In this life neither you nor I will ever master all the great truths of Scripture. The Word of God is inexhaustible, like God himself, and if our joy depended on such mastery, we would never actually experience it. Instead, our joy depends on our relationship to God and our life with Him. However, if there is to be the joy in the Christian life that there ought to be, there must be a deep and growing experience of the basic truths upon which that life is founded. We must understand the nature of the atonement made for us by Christ. We must strive to know God better and to love Him. We must attempt to live obediently before Him as His children. There is a great deal of unrest in this world, and there will always be unrest for those who do not know Jesus. Apart from Him there is no true peace, no joy, and no real happiness. This should never be the case with a Christian. If you are a Christian, you should draw close to God, you must feed on Scripture, and God will “fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him” (Rom. 15:13).

Philippians 3:1-3 Reflection Questions:
Do you know this joy? Have you actually committed your life to Jesus Christ?
Have you submitted all aspects of your life to God?
What place does the Bible have in your life as a Christian? Are you feeding on Scripture daily?

Be the first to comment

by Larry Ferrell | February 23, 2018
Of all the men Paul honors in his Epistle to the Philippians, it is the layman named Epaphroditus who gets the most attention. Here is a man who is almost unknown to us. Yet Paul selects him as deserving highest honor because of his self-effacing service to another Christian. Paul spells it out clearly in the first verse that mentions him (v. 25). Epaphroditus is said to have been four things. He was a brother, a fellow worker, a fellow soldier, and a messenger of the Philippian Christians who ministered in their absence to Paul’s needs. These things build toward the final statement. Together they are an important summary of what the Christian life should be.

In the first place, Paul calls his Christian friend a brother. This is striking simply because the ideal of brotherhood was such a new thing in Paul’s day. To be sure, some aspects of ancient life and culture bore a faint resemblance to Christian brotherhood; but these, even at their best, were exclusive. For the most part the ancient world was sharply divided between Greeks and Romans, Jews and Gentiles, aristocrats and plebeians, citizens and soldiers. There was nothing that genuinely united all branches of this greatly polarizes society. Into this world came the gospel of Jesus Christ and with it Christian brotherhood. Christians knew that they had all been under the curse of God because sin and now were brought into a new relationship to God through their relationship to Christ. Due to this new relationship to Christ; regardless of their place in society, the Christians simply overlooked their differences.

Second, Paul praises Epaphroditus for proving himself to be a fellow worker. This reminds me of the praise Jesus Christ had for the little church at Ephesus. This was a working church, and it was praised for it. In Revelation Jesus says to the church, “You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary” (Rev. 2:3). Epaphroditus was this kind of worker. We need to reconstitute a working church in our day. We need to recapture a spirit of hard work in the social realm, for this is where the greatest action has taken place. We also need to work with renewed vigor in the area of evangelism. Perhaps you are saying that this is too much work for you. That may be true. But that is why we are to work with other Christians.

The third term that Paul uses to comment Epaphroditus is “fellow soldier.” Epaphroditus did not only work with Paul; he fought side by side with him also. Paul uses the words “fellow soldier” to say that the work they were doing was more like a battle than the normal labor of a citizen in peacetime. The Bible says, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Eph. 6:12). This warfare requires the shoulder-to-shoulder, aggressive forward motion of all Christians. We are to work together in harmony against the spiritual powers arrayed against us.

The climactic phrase of Paul’s tribute to Epaphroditus tells us that he was a messenger of the church at Philippi and that he took care of Paul’s needs. Paul says in verse 30 that Epaphroditus nearly died in fulfilling this ministry. Epaphroditus was a man who, Paul says, was to be held in the highest honor. Yet he grew sick in the midst of the most unselfish Christian service. Moreover, he was sick for some time, at least for three months. If the case of Epaphroditus is to teach us anything, it must teach us that sickness is often a badge of honor for God’s children.

This was the high point of Paul’s praise for his friend Epaphroditus – praise for the kind of life that sacrifices its own interests for others. But we must not think that Paul is praising a type of life that he himself did not practice. Paul was in prison, and most of his friends had deserted him. Only Timothy and Epaphroditus were left. These men were in Rome to help Paul. Yet Paul writes that he is going to send Timothy back to the Philippians because he thinks it is necessary for their well-being. He is willing to give him up. He is sending Epaphroditus back also, even though he thinks most highly of him. What was Paul thinking about during the dark days before execution? About himself? About his future? Not at all! He was thinking about the needs of his fellow Christians.

Philippians 2:25-30 Reflection Questions:
Do we have brotherhood and sisterhood in the church of Jesus Christ today?
Have you recently asked the Lord to enable you to become a fellow worker with other Christians?
Do you have challenges with your health that maybe you can work with still doing God’s work?
Are you willing to sacrifice your own interests for the concerns of other Christians?

Be the first to comment