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for one. Last week we looked at verses
12 to 18, which are something of Paul's present situation. Remember that Paul writes to
the church in Philippi while he's in his first Roman imprisonment.
So the book of Acts ends in Acts chapter 28 in the years AD 60
to 62, the two-year imprisonment for the apostle Paul there. in
Rome, that's how the book ends, and then he writes Ephesians,
he writes Philippians, he writes Colossians, and he writes Philemon
while he's in the prison. So we call those prison epistles.
And the book of Philippians is similar, obviously, to those
other prison epistles. There's even more familiarity,
more of a love, more of an affection Not that it's absent in Ephesians,
for instance, but some have thought that Ephesians was more even
of a circular letter. I mean, there are personal references
in there, but not like we find here in Philippi. Same with Colossians. There are personal references
there. There's certainly some connection, obviously, but there's
something about Philippians where Paul really opens up his heart
to these brethren. So what he does in verses 12
to 18 is give an account or a report of what's going on in his present
situation. So notice in verse 12, I want you to know, brethren,
that the things which happened to me, that means his imprisonment,
the fact that he is in bondage, he is in chains, he says, have
actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel. And now he's going
to explain how that can be. I mean, Paul's in prison. Obviously
he's there. because he was perceived to be
a threat to the Jews and to the Roman Empire. So the idea being,
throw him into prison and he can no longer be a threat. We
can silence him, we can shut him up, we can cause him to not
be heard with that message of Jesus the Messiah. So notice
what he says, verse 13, so that it has become evident to the
whole palace guard and to all the rest that my chains are in
Christ. The palace guard was about 9,000 soldiers. This does
not mean that Paul was handcuffed to each and every one of them,
but it's circulated amongst that Praetorian guard that Paul the
Apostle was there not for the crime of murder, not for tax
evasion, not for insurrection, but he was there for preaching
the gospel of a man called Jesus. So the palace guard hears that.
But it's not only effective for the palace guard. Notice what
happens to the church according to verse 14. And most of the
brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains,
are much more bold to speak the word without fear. Sometimes
a whiff of persecution can actually be a benefit and a boon to the
people of God. When we see what's at stake,
when we see what the perceived or potential threat is, we man
up. We become men of God, courageous
and wanting to engage for our Savior. And that's what happens
there. Then notice that Paul goes on to say that not everybody
who preached was necessarily doing it at a proper motive.
He says, some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife. Again,
they're not preaching Christ incorrectly. They're preaching
Christ with bad motives. Paul, nevertheless, rejoices
that they're preaching Christ. And probably the bad motives
are owing to some sort of rivalry that these people had with the
Apostle Paul. Or perhaps they were ashamed.
This fellow's in prison. He can no longer be trusted.
We're not really sure why he's there. So they had that kind
of a motivation. So some indeed preach Christ
even from envy and strife, some also from goodwill. The former
preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add
affliction to my chains. Horrible people. I mean, Paul's
in prison. If they can make it even worse,
they're going to make it even worse. That's terrible. But the
latter, out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense
of the gospel. What then? Only that in every
way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached, and
in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice. So Paul doesn't care
about their bad motives. As long as they get the gospel
right, as long as they preach the truth of the cross, as long
as they call sinners to repentance and faith, Paul has not got some
delicate, sensitive ego where he feels badly because not everybody
in the world loves him. He doesn't care. As long as the
gospels preach, that's the main thing. So in that section, it
is a progress report concerning his present situation. Now, what
we're going to consider tonight is the future prospect of the
apostle in verses 19 to 26. And again, a letter that we would
expect from a man who loves a people the way that Paul does with this
people, and the way that this people loves this apostle. So
let's read 19 to 26, I'll pray, and then we'll look at this material.
For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through
your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according
to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall
be ashamed. But with all boldness, as always,
so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or
by death. For to me, to live is Christ
and to die is gain. But if I live on in the flesh,
this will mean fruit from my labor. Yet what I shall choose,
I cannot tell. For I am hard pressed between
the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is
far better. Nevertheless, to remain in the
flesh is more needful for you. And being confident of this,
I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your
progress and joy of faith. that your rejoicing for me may
be more abundant in Jesus Christ by my coming to you again. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our Father,
we thank you for the written and inspired word of the living
and true God. We thank you for this section
in Paul's letter to the church at Philippi. We pray that you
give us ears to hear and hearts to receive these things, May
we be encouraged and may we see Paul as an example to be followed,
as certainly he wanted the church in Philippi to continue to man
up and to continue to be faithful soldiers in the service of our
blessed Master and King. We ask again that you would forgive
us for all sin and everything that darkens our minds and hearts.
Guide us now by that Spirit of truth who gave us the word, and
we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, as we come to his
anticipation concerning the future, I think there's three sections
that we find in this particular sub-unit. First, the expectation
of the Apostle in verses 19 and 20. Secondly, the conviction
of the Apostle in verses 21 to 23. And then finally, the anticipation
of the Apostle in verses 24 to 26. Again, this is what we would
expect from a man who's in prison, who's looking at the options.
He doesn't have a crystal ball. He doesn't have an absolute conviction
one way or the other what's going to happen to him. There is the
possibility that he could be executed. there is the possibility
that he could be released. So he's musing on those two things,
not in the position of the sovereign master and captain of his life,
who's going to deign to choose what it is that is best in his
own interests. But he's looking at these options,
I think ultimately, to magnify and glorify Christ, and as well
to set the Philippians' hearts at ease. Whatever happens to
me, he's saying to them, Don't fret. If I live, that means good
things. If I die, that means better things. So please don't fret about me. So let's look first at the expectation
of the Apostle in verses 19 and 20. Note the deliverance in verse
19. Bit of a Interesting statement
that he makes. Notice in verse 19, this is essentially
Job 13, 16 from the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the
Old Testament. This is what you'll find in Job 13, 16, at least
this first part. For I know that this will turn
out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of
the Spirit of Jesus Christ. In Job 13, it's, and this shall
turn to me for salvation. Now, when we look at that word
deliverance, it is the word salvation. And some might be inclined to
think that Paul's salvation, Paul's position with God, depends
upon his time in prison, depends upon his performance, depends
upon how it is he sustains his ministry. I don't think that's
what's in view here. When he says, I know that this
will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply
of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, it doesn't have to do with his
salvation. It has to do with his deliverance
or even his vindication in a whole host of ways. It could be the
deliverance of Paul from imprisonment. This is going to turn out okay.
He has that confident hope and expectation according to verses
25 and 26. So we might interpret it that
way. It could also mean the vindication of Paul from the pettiness of
his rivals. Those men described in the former
section that have this ill will toward the apostle, that preach
Christ out of bad motives. Basically, Paul is saying, I
know this is all going to turn out for my vindication. It's not the case that I'm here
because I'm an evildoer, I'm a mafioso, or a don, or whatever. I think ultimately, though, it's
the vindication of Paul before the tribunal of God. Again, not
in a salvific sense, but in the sense that he has accomplished
what Christ had called him to faithfully. Paul makes that sort
of an overarching concern in terms of gospel ministry. In
fact, he says as much in 1 Corinthians 4, too. He says, moreover, it
is required of stewards, after having just said, consider us
as stewards of the mysteries of Christ. What is necessary
for the stewards of the mysteries of Christ? That one be found
faithful. So as Paul's in a prison cell
with probably lots of time and a pen and paper and the Holy
Spirit to guide him, he's thinking, he's contemplating, he's musing,
he's reflecting. And he understands that up until
this point, he has carried out successfully the mission that
was given to him by our Lord Jesus Christ. In other words,
he's got a clear conscience before God Most High. So I would suggest
that this turning out from my deliverance or vindication through
your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ could
be freedom from jail, but it could also be, again, that clear
conscience before God that Paul had successfully and faithfully
carried out his ministry. But then notice he acknowledges
the means of prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit. I love this
about Paul. Paul doesn't think that he's
God's gift to the church. Paul knows that Christ is God's
gift to the church. Paul knows that he is simply
a steward of the mysteries of Christ. He knows that he is a
bond servant. He knows that he is a prisoner
of Christ Jesus the Lord. So with reference to Paul, he's
not a one-man show. He's not the celebrity guy that
bounces into town occasionally, preaches one of the best of his
three sermons, and then bounces into another town, and people
write blog posts about how wonderful he is. No, he understands the
prayers of the saints in Philippi and the power of the Spirit of
Christ by which eventually he may be released or by which he'll
stand before God being vindicated because of the ministry that
he has carried out faithfully according to the purpose and
plan and the mind of his blessed Savior. It is a wonderful emphasis. The church in Philippi had been
praying for Paul, Paul knew that the church in Philippi had been
praying for him. It'll turn out for my deliverance
through your prayer and the supply of the spirit of Jesus Christ.
Turn to Acts chapter 12, where we have an instance of the church
at prayer for a man in prison. Acts chapter 12. While you're
turning there, I'll just give you a quote from a commentator
that I think nails chapter 12. This man says, the chapter 12
opens with James dead, Peter in prison, and Herod triumphing. It closes with Herod dead, Peter
free, and the word of God triumphing. Such is the power of God to overthrow
hostile human plans and to establish his own in their place. Tyrants
may be permitted for a time to boast and bluster, oppressing
the church and hindering the gospel, but they will not last. In the end, their empire will
be broken and their pride abased. That's John Stott. I think he
nails Acts chapter 12 in a way that few have seen. But notice
in 12.5, Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant
prayer was offered to God for him by the church. And of course, we know how the
story turns out. Peter gets out. There's a jailbreak. Peter's free. The Geneva Bible
explains, the prayers of the godly overturn the counsel of
tyrants, obtain angels of God, break the prison, unloose chains,
put Satan to flight, and preserve the church. That is a good emphasis,
brethren. When we gather from 9.30 to 10.30
every other Sunday morning, or from that time of around 7.30
to 7.50-ish on Wednesday night to pray and to intercede for
the voice of the martyrs and the various churches that we
are in communion with and the various concerns within the life
and context of our church, that is a vital means of grace that
God has blessed the church with having. It is something to be
utilized. It's a privilege to be enjoyed.
It's a privilege to be seized upon and taken upon and go to
that throne of grace boldly. So Paul in this prison cell is
confident, not because he's the mighty apostle Paul, but because
the church in Philippi is praying for him. But not only is the
church in Philippi praying for him, he's got the Spirit of Jesus
Christ on his side. My deliverance is connected,
not to me and how great I am. My deliverance is connected to
the church's prayers and to the Spirit's power. And then he calls
the Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus Christ. I think he's underscoring
Trinitarian relations there. We see in Romans 8, 9 to 11,
the Spirit is called the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ.
Yet not two spirits, one spirit. One true and living God who exists
eternally as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Spirit of Christ
motif is Trinitarian language to underscore something of the
relations and distinctions amongst the persons of our blessed God.
So Paul is not confident that this is going to turn out okay
because Paul's great. Paul's confident in his God.
Paul's confident in his God's church. Paul's confident in his
God's spirit to vindicate him, to deliver him, whether it be
from the temporal shackles that he presently finds himself in,
or on that day when he stands before God most high, not to
be saved, but to be demonstrated as having been faithful, to hear
that well done, good and faithful servant. Note the expectation
of the apostle according to verse 20, still looking at verses 19
to 20. He says, according to my earnest
expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but
with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified
in my body, whether by life or by death. The absence of shame
to the apostle. I would suspect this connects
directly to his time in prison. I mean, when you're a little
boy growing up in the Roman Empire and you've been trained at the
feet of the Rabbi Gamaliel, probably prison is not in your thoughts
in terms of a happy, fulfilled life. I'm sure prison back then
wasn't looked upon any more favorably than prison today. So sitting in a prison cell,
as I said, you probably got a lot of time to muse, to reflect,
to think through, could I have done something differently? I
mean, we've got the record in the book of Acts. We've got his
presentation before each of the civil governors. We see how he
was treated by the Jews. No, he shouldn't have done anything
differently. And that's what he's musing on. I have no cause
to be ashamed. Paul's not claiming perfection.
Paul's not claiming sinlessness. Paul is not claiming divinity.
Paul is claiming faithfulness. Again, notice what he says. According to my earnest expectation
and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed. But with all boldness,
as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body,
whether by life or by death. I would suggest that Paul can
say what he says in this Roman prison cell in this particular
context because he has made it his aim to live that way prior
to this time. Look at 2 Timothy chapter 4.
2 Timothy chapter 4. I've preached this before with
this particular emphasis and I'm going to repeat it. 2 Timothy
chapter 4 at verse 8 or verse 7. I'm sorry, verse 6. Keep them guessing. If you can't
convince them, confuse them. For I am already being poured
out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at
hand. See, in Philippi, the letter to the Philippians, there's a
possibility. He knows he could die, but according
to 25 and 26, he's pretty confident he's not going to die. He's pretty
confident that he's going to live on in the flesh and there
will be additional fruit. That's not the tenor in 2 Timothy. He knows it's that. He's going
to die. This is mid to late 60s, just before mid 60s. Paul's going
to die. The empire is nuts. Nero's nuts. It's not looking
good. And he knows it. There's no,
yeah, if I get out, there's going to be fruit from my ministry.
No. Bring the cloak that I left in Troas. Bring the books, especially
the parchments. I want you to move guys strategically
in the various parts of the empire to be faithful and ready. He
knows he's not getting out, and this is sort of that swan song
statement. Verse 6, I'm already being poured out as a drink offering,
and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the
good fight. I have finished the race. I have
kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for
me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous
judge will give to me on that day and not to me only, but also
to all who have loved His appearing." The only way that Paul could
have ever uttered verse seven in the 11th hour was living that
way in hours one to 10. The only way that you and I are
going to be able to stand, or sit, or be in prison, or be in
a deathbed, or whatever the particular eventuality may be, gulags, whatever,
concentration camps, the only way we'll ever be able to say,
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have
kept the faith, is if we're doing it now. If we're not faithful
now, we're not going to have that confidence then. What an
impetus to live well for the Savior, so that we can die well
for the Savior. Again, it's not living well and
dying well by which we are saved. We're saved because Jesus lived
well. We're saved because Jesus died
well. We're saved by grace through
faith in Jesus. But having been saved by that
Jesus, don't you want to live for the glory of God? Don't you
want to be able to say, I have fought the good fight. I have
finished the race. I have kept the faith. There's
a crown of righteousness laid up for me. He can say that in
the 11th hour because he lived it in hours 1 to 10. I think
that's the emphasis here in Philippians chapter 1 at verse 20. Turn back
to the book of Acts. Acts chapter 20. Acts chapter
20. This is that sort of first pastor's conference
where he is in Miletus, he calls or sends to Ephesus and has the
elders of the church come there so he can address them. Notice
what he says. specifically Acts 20 at verse
22. And see now I go bound in the
Spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to
me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city,
saying that chains and tribulations await me. We don't know that, do we? I
mean, we get a little freaked out seeing, you know, the things
going on in the world around us, the various odd duck things
that are happening in terms of, you know, machinations and plots
and politics and ethical perversity. The Spirit tells Paul, this means
direct, special revelation. the way that God spoke to Moses,
the way that God spoke to the prophets, except that the Holy
Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations
await me. I'm not sure how I'd take that
from the Holy Spirit, to be quite candid with you. Oh, great. Let me just go there with gusto
and joy. Bring on the worst. Look at Paul's
response, verse 24, but none of these things move me, nor
do I count my life dear to myself so that I may finish my race
with joy and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus
to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. Look at 2 Timothy
1, 2 Timothy 1. Again, just illustrating what
I think is going on in this prison cell when Paul is writing to
the Philippians, talking about the reality that he may die,
talking about the reality that he may live, but understanding
that whatever his situation or his lot is, he has striven to
be faithful and to not be ashamed in the work of the gospel ministry."
Notice in 2 Timothy 1.8, he exhorts Timothy, Notice that, he's telling
Timothy not to be ashamed. Perhaps those guys in Philippians
chapter 1 and that previous subsection, they were ashamed of Paul. He
shouldn't be in prison. He's the mighty apostle. Paul,
he shouldn't be there. So Paul's writing to Timothy
in his second Roman imprisonment, not Timothy's, but Paul's, and
he's telling Timothy, don't be ashamed. We're on the right side
here. We're doing the right thing here.
It's not bad that I'm in prison. I'm in prison because I'm being
faithful to the ministry that God has committed to me. Notice
in verse 12, for this reason I also suffer these things. Nevertheless,
I am not ashamed. for I know whom I have believed
and am persuaded that he is able to keep what I have committed
to him until that day." It's that mindset, present with the
Apostle in this first Roman imprisonment, that he's expressing to the church
in Philippi in Philippians chapter 1. He is saying, I have an earnest
expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed. And then he makes this glorious
statement. But with all boldness, as always,
so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or
by death. Brothers, I just, and sisters,
I want to reiterate, he is not saying he is sinless. He's not
saying that he is perfect. He's not saying that he has no
struggles whatsoever in life. But he is saying that he is faithful.
And look at the faithfulness expressed by this brother. Look
at this. Could any of us ever say something
to this degree? But with all boldness, as always,
so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or
by death. With reference to magnifying
Christ, Paul does not think for a moment that he can make Christ
better. There's no betterment to be had
for Christ. Perfect doesn't get better. Perfect
doesn't get worse. One of the beautiful perfections
of perfect is that it doesn't change. Perfect is perfect. So when Paul speaks about Christ
being magnified in his body, whether he lives or he dies,
he's not talking about essentially improving the glory of Jesus,
but manifesting it, demonstrating it, declaring it, and revealing
it. In other words, if Paul is released,
Christ is magnified. Why? Because Paul is going to
go out and preach Christ. If Paul is not released and he
has his head chopped off by the civil government, Christ is magnified. Why? Because Paul had his head
chopped off, not because he was an embezzler, not because he
was a terrorist, not because he was an insurrectionist, but
because he was a servant of Jesus Christ the Lord. What does that
do? It causes the rest of us to magnify Jesus Christ the Lord. When we read of those brethren
in Acts chapter 5, who having been scourged, having been beaten,
having had their backs opened up, and then they leave that
place and they're rejoicing? They're rejoicing? That is counterintuitive,
brethren. If I had my back opened, I'd
want salve. I'd want ointment. I would be
whining. I would want ice. I'd want whatever
you could put on it to alleviate the pain. You know what they're
doing? They're rejoicing because they were counted worthy to suffer
shame for the name of Jesus Christ. Paul is saying that if I live
on in the body, Christ is going to be magnified. If I die, Christ
is going to be magnified. And how does Paul know that?
Because that's always been the way that Paul has lived. As always. Even so now. He has no doubt
whatsoever that whatever the circumstances bring, Christ is
going to be magnified. It is a wonderful posture that
he assumes. It is a wonderful disposition
that he has by the grace of God, through the church of Christ,
and through the power of the spirit of Christ. It is wonderful. Notice, he has this boldness
that Christ will be magnified. And he has this boldness that
Christ is going to be magnified, whether by life or by death. In my body, whether by life or
by death, Paul's service to Christ was total in its orientation. Everything about Paul was in
the service of our Lord Jesus Christ. Great place for an apostle
to be. Great place for a pastor to be.
Great place for all of the people of God to be. Understanding the
ability that we bear to shine the light of glory upon our blessed
Savior in the way that we live and in the way that we die. And
then notice, that brings us to the conviction of the apostle.
We're not going to finish the whole section tonight, so you
don't have to worry. You'll get to bed sometime. But
we want to finish verses 21 to 23. I think this is the heart
and soul of what I want to bring out here. So notice, end of verse
20, So now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether
by life or by death. As if he's anticipating the question,
what do you mean? What do you mean by that? Christ
is going to be magnified in your body whether you live or you
die? Could you explain that? Okay, verse 21. For to me, to
live is Christ, and to die is gain. The live here is the life
in the body of verse 20. For to me, to live is Christ. I would suggest that emphasizes
the present, current union that Paul has with the Savior. He's
been saved by grace. He's been justified freely. His
sins are forgiven. He's received that imputed righteousness,
received by faith alone. He has union with Jesus. So,
for to me to live is Christ, he says. This is a convention
that I think we're kind of all familiar with. Fishing is the
life. I just love bowling. It's living. It's that which you really enjoy,
right? You might like baking sourdough.
I mentioned that this morning. I don't have some secret yearning
for sourdough. Honestly, I don't know where
sourdough came from, but let's employ it again. You may have
the best sourdough, and that may be life. It's whatever makes
you happy. It's whatever fulfills you. It's
whatever brings you satisfaction. It's what brings you joy. Again,
it's not wrong to fish. It's not wrong to bake sourdough.
It's not wrong to fix cars. It's not wrong to play ball.
It's not wrong to bowl. But when you are able to say,
for to me to live is Christ, union with Christ is everything.
That's what I mean. If you're asking the question,
what does it mean that Christ will be magnified in my body,
whether by life? Consider the apostle Paul, for
him to say, for to me to live is Christ, is an amazing statement. See, we don't just have Paul
parachute into the scriptures as an apostle. I say that because
Elijah the Tishbite kind of just parachutes into the end of the
text. You got all these horrible kings in 1 Kings 16, and just
wretched one after another, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, 1 Kings chapter
17, and then there was Elijah the Tishbite. We don't get anything
of backstory. He was a humble brother. He had
a farm. He had a wife. He had a few little
Elijahs. We don't get that. He's just dropped right into
the text, and I think the emphasis is, when evil flourishes, according
to 1 Kings chapter 16, God has his man, and he's going to send
him to rebuke them and to set things in order in the kingdom.
We don't have that with Paul. He doesn't just parachute in
as an apostle. We know what he was. We know
Saul of Tarsus. We know he had papers to extradite
believers that were gathered together in Damascus in Syria.
He had marching orders to go and lay his hands on men and
women, to take them from their places of worship, take them
back to Jerusalem so that they could be punished according to
the laws of the land in which the Christians were looked at
as blasphemers. We know the story. He tried to
persecute the church. He tried to destroy it. He says,
I was more zealous than all of my contemporaries. I was the one that was animated
with this drive and desire and design to eradicate these Christians
from the face of the earth and to get rid of this knowledge
of Jesus the Nazarene. So Christ comes to him on that
road to Damascus and radically revolutionizes his life. In fact,
Paul tells us as much in Philippians chapter 3. You can turn there.
When Paul says, for to me to live is Christ, this is an amazing
statement on the part of a man who at one time wanted to exterminate
Christ and everything that Christ had his hands on. Notice in Philippians
chapter 3 verse 2, Though I also might have confidence in the
flesh. If anyone else thinks he may
have confidence in the flesh, I more so. Circumcised the eighth
day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew
of the Hebrews, concerning the law, a Pharisee, concerning zeal,
persecuting the church, concerning the righteousness which is in
the law, blameless. What he is doing right here in
offering us up his religious resume is showing us that even
the most accomplished religious man could not be accepted by
God. That's what his purpose is. If
ever there was somebody that could commend themselves to God
based on their resume, it was me, he says. I ticked all the
boxes. Everything in the checklist for
religiosity in the first century. Everything. That's what he's
saying. I had the potential to have confidence
in the flesh. In fact, prior to that Damascus
Road experience, I'm sure he had that confidence in the flesh.
I'm a pretty great guy. I've done a lot of great things.
I've got a wonderful resume. Notice what he says in verse
7. But what things were gained to me, These I have counted loss
for Christ, yet indeed I also count all things loss for the
excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. So everything
that at one time was profit is now loss. Everything that presently
should be profit is loss. I don't want any of that stuff.
I don't want any of that attainment or that religiosity. Some suggest
that Paul lost everything. Paul lost reputation. Paul lost
occupation. Paul lost everything. But we
know he didn't. And that's not what he's saying
here. He's not saying, I lost all this and I gave it up for
Jesus. I gladly gave up all this for
Jesus. For to me to live is Christ,
he says. So notice again, verse eight. Yet indeed, I also count all
things lost for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus
my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count
them as rubbish. that I may gain Christ and be
found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is from
the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness
which is from God by faith." That is the sum and substance
of Paul's gospel, the sum and substance of Paul's message.
Paul is a very clear teacher of truth. And Paul's truth, we
do that today, my truth, his truth, Paul's truth actually
matters. And Paul's truth is quite simple.
God's holy. God is righteous. God is pure. As the prophet said, his eye
is too pure to approve of any evil whatsoever. But Paul goes
on to tell us that man is sinful. Man is wretched. Man is wicked. Man's heart is foul. It's polluted. In fact, spiritually speaking,
man's not even alive. He's dead in his trespasses and
sins. Well, if you're following Paul
at this point, you're going to conclude that this isn't good
news. God's holy and I'm a wretch.
How am I ever going to stand in his presence? Well, the good
news is that God's Son takes on our humanity, lives a life
of perfect obedience to the law of His Father, and then goes
to the cross and dies, not as an example, but as a substitute,
as penal substitutionary atonement, the Lamb of God who takes away
the sin of the world. And of course, because death
had no dominion over him, he's raised the third day, he ascends
on high, he sits now enthroned at the Father's right hand. So
basically, sinners, you and I, dead in our trespasses and sins,
by the grace and the power of the Holy Spirit, we pray, comes
to the preaching of the Word, opens the heart, causes us to
see God's holiness, causes us to see our sinfulness, and then
causes us to see Christ's beauty. So when we believe on Jesus,
we get the benefits of Jesus' death. He's the lamb of God who
takes away the sin of the world. It's blood atonement. The blood
of Jesus Christ, his son, cleanses us from all sin. So we're forgiven. We're wiped clean. We are now
able to stand in the presence of God in that respect. But we also need a righteousness. We need to have a positive movement
toward God. Of course, we don't because we're
wretches, but Jesus did and does because he's the Son of God who
took on our humanity. The 33 years of Christ's righteous
life are not simply an example for us. They are actually for
us. We need that righteousness. We need to stand in the presence
of God, cleansed in His blood, clothed in His righteousness.
Look at what Paul says in 3.9. This is his emphasis. and be
found in him not having my own righteousness, which is from
the law." That stuff he just described in verses 2 to 6, that
religious resume, the Pharisee, the tribe of Benjamin, the circumcision
on the eighth day, the zeal persecuting the church. I had all of that,
but notice what verse 9 says. I am gaining Christ, be found
in him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that
which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from
God by faith. That's how Paul has life. It is Christ. This is the emphasis. It's a union passage. But then
he points forward to the glory that he will have in his death. And we'll stop here. We're not
going to even go past 21. But in 21, notice how he ends
that verse. What does he mean by that? Well,
in his current life, everything about his orientation is in Christ. If he dies, how is that gain? Simple, he gets more Christ.
Right? What's Jesus say to that thief
on the cross? Today, you shall be with me in
paradise. What's Paul say in 2 Corinthians
5? To be absent from the body is
to be what? Present with the Lord. So Paul
says, for me to live is Christ. Right now, presently, union with
Christ in a Roman prison cell. But if I die, I get more Christ. I get to go be where He is. I
get to be near Him, in proximity. Not that union with Him presently
spiritually is bad, but to have more Christ. This is why He says,
for to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. Now brethren,
that's a powerful statement. It's a powerful way to approach
death. Death is scary. Death is supposed
to be scary because death is unnatural. Death is the wages
of sin. It wasn't the case in the original
creation or God's intention in creation for death and dying. That's a consequence of sin and
rebellion. It is the murky waters that we
don't know a lot about and it certainly strikes fear into our
hearts. But as God's people, we have this knowledge that to
be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. So
that whether we live or we die, Christ is magnified in our bodies. If we live on, we faithfully
serve Him. If we die, we're in His presence.
We join the voices of the multitudes there that cry out, salvation
belongs to the Lord and to the Lamb who sits upon the throne.
The Apostle Paul understood that in life or in death, his only
hope and his comfort was the Lord Jesus Christ. That shaped
him, that moved him, that affected him, that benefited him, it stabilized
him and it steadied him. When he's in a Roman imprisonment,
possibly facing death, he is not wondering, oh, what's it
gonna be like? He says, and he knows that if
I die, I gain more Jesus. What do you do with Paul? If you're his persecutor, you're
his punisher, you're tasked, you've got him on your desk,
you've got a few files in your inbox, and you're the guy that
has to make life miserable for Paul. Roman soldiers were good
at making life miserable for prisoners and such. How do you threaten Paul? We're
gonna let you go. Great, I get Christ. We're gonna
kill you. Great, I get more Christ. The
man cannot be kept down. The man cannot be hindered. The
man cannot be stopped or swayed. Why? Because he's great? No,
because his Savior is great. The way of, verse 21, the way
for any of us to be able to say, for to me to live is Christ and
to die is gain, is to look unto Jesus in faith. That's what Paul
does. That's what Paul did. He looked
to Christ in faith, he received the forgiveness of sins, and
he received that righteousness. He gained Christ. And for him,
that was everything. For us who have him, that is
everything. And may God indeed increase our
hearts and the supply of the Spirit of Christ so that we can
live like Paul, so that we can die like Paul. Magnifying. the Lord Jesus Christ. Well,
let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank
you for these wonderful words of this man that you use so mightily
for the good of the church. We thank you for the Savior that
he served and that Savior that is ours. And may we say it with
absolute conviction, for to me to live is Christ, and to die
is gain. May you be glorified in our lives,
may you be glorified in the salvation of more and more sinners, may
you indeed bring many to a saving knowledge of our blessed Lord
Jesus. Go with us, watch over us in this coming week, look
with favor upon all of your people and their various needs, and
we pray in Jesus' name, amen.
