Philippians 3:10-11
“I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of
his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his
death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.”
As we seek to have mature Christian influences in
our lives we should seek out people who are continuing to grow spiritually. If
our role models are not continuing to grow, how will it set an example for us
to continue to grow in our relationship with God for our entire lives?
Now in the physical world it is easy to see the
effects of something that is stagnate, that is not moving and growing. A body
of water that has no movement is not appealing to look at. There is a canyon
near our home, and at times I will go down into the canyon with my kids. And in
the summer there are pools of water that have just been sitting there, because
there is not enough water to connect those pools with a stream to go out to the
ocean. And while those pools may be appealing to the swarms of mosquitoes and gnats
in the canyon, they certainly are not to me!
Unfortunately, when it comes to spiritual
stagnation, Christians can be quite good at covering it up. An individual may
appear to be growing and strong in his or her relationship with the Lord, but
in reality they are as stagnate as the pools in the canyon. But despite our
best efforts to hide our lack of spiritual growth, there are still signs that
may reveal our true heart condition. We can vocalize our belief but it makes
little to no difference in our day to day lives. We acknowledge the wisdom of
God’s Word but we are resistant to godly counsel. We celebrate God’s love for
us but show no love or care for the world around us. We acknowledge the
importance of community but we isolate ourselves, or only surround ourselves
with people who will affirm us (which I would argue is just as bad as
isolation, and in some cases, worse). Just digging a bit below the surface
reveals the true condition of one’s relationship with God.
Thankfully in the midst of the spiritual
stagnation we see Paul continuing to strive to grow in his relationship with
God. Philippians 3:10-16 are not the desires of Paul the new believer, young
and passionate and wanting to grow…these are the desires of Paul who has been
walking with the Lord for decades, planting churches around the Roman Empire,
and suffering regularly for the sake of the gospel. And yet Paul still wants to
grow more. What a wonderful example for us! And so the spiritual goals that he
sets for himself in this passage are goals that we can and should take on
ourselves, and they are marks that we can and should look for in any potential
role model. Consider the following marks of continued spiritual growth from
verses 10 and 11:
1. Seeking to know Jesus more and more (v.10)
Obviously there is always more we can know about
an infinite God. And after decades of serving Jesus, Paul still wants to know
him more. And so should we. If we get to a place where we feel that we know
what we need to know about our Lord and about the Christian faith in general,
then we are standing on very shaky ground. Sadly too many Christians settle for
a bare minimum knowledge of Jesus, and when that happens, spiritual stagnation
is soon to follow. We should always seek to know Jesus more and more.
2. Knowing
and experiencing God’s power in your life (v.10)
Paul mentions knowing the power of Christ’s
resurrection. It is staggering to think that the power that raised Jesus Christ
from the dead is the same power that is available to those who believe in him,
because the Holy Spirit dwells in the hearts of each and every believer. But
how many Christians have truly known and experienced that power? Do we enter
difficult circumstances knowing the power of Christ’s resurrection? Do we ever rely
on that power? Or do we just rely on ourselves and our own strength?
Thankfully I got a lesson in Christ’s resurrection
power early on in my ministry career. One of my first pastoral assignments
after seminary was to lead a grief support group, and I knew I was in way over
my head. There was nothing that I could offer personally in that situation that
would minister hope and comfort. But I was able to share God’s Word, and reveal
who God was in the midst of suffering (it really was the only thing I had to
offer!). And God worked powerfully, bringing deep peace to people who based on
their circumstances should never have had peace. Through God’s Word, every
person in that group knew and experienced Christ’s resurrection power!
3. An
ongoing willingness to suffer (v.10)
Paul desires to continue to participate in
Christ’s suffering. And clearly he has suffered significantly up to this point
in his life and ministry. He does write this letter from prison after all! But
there is no sense in which Paul feels entitled to a break from suffering
because of what he has already endured. He is willing to continue to give
everything for the sake of Christ and the gospel.
And while we should never actively want suffering
in our lives (that would be weird), we should always be willing to suffer for
Christ. In his book, The Mingling of
Souls, Matt Chandler highlights a willingness and ability to suffer as one
of the character traits that we should look for in someone that we are
attracted to and are considering dating. And the same goes for any potential
mentor or role model for our faith. The reality is that we will suffer in this
life as Christians, and we can either run from that suffering and in doing so
run away from Christ, or we can accept that suffering, and in doing so run
towards Christ. One approach leads to spiritual stagnation, the other to
spiritual growth.
4. An
ongoing willingness to die to yourself (v.10)
Paul wants to become like Christ in his death. In
other words, just as Christ completely and fully sacrificed his life for us,
Paul wants to completely and fully sacrifice his life for Christ. For us this
is nothing short of following Jesus’ command to daily deny ourselves, take up
our crosses and follow him (Luke 9:23). We may or may not have a chance to
actually die for our faith. But we daily have a choice to live for Christ or
for ourselves.
Now it is easy to look as if you have died to
yourself on Sunday morning, when we come together in corporate worship,
praising God through singing and the Word. But the real evidence of a
sacrificed life is seen on Monday through Saturday, and whether we die to
ourselves in our work, our families, our social lives, our finances, and our
relationships. Jesus calls us to take up our crosses daily, which means a
complete and full surrender to Jesus and to his Lordship over our lives.
5. Focusing
on where you are headed, and living in light of that target (v.11)
Paul knows that eternal life lies ahead of him. He
does not know the when and how, which is the reason for the seeming uncertainty
in this verse. But he knows with complete certainty that one day he will be
with God in heaven for all eternity. And in the new heavens and new earth,
there will be no more sin, no more pain, no more death, no more suffering. And
there will be a perfect relationship with God (Revelation 21:1-4).
This is what Paul is focused on. This is his goal.
This should be our goal as well. But goals do not just give us hope for the
future, they shape our present realities. They shape how we live. If you have a
goal to get into better shape, you do not sit around and wish and hope to be in
better shape. You work towards that goal. You exercise, you make choices like
taking the stairs instead of the elevator, and you change your diet to eat
healthier foods. And the same is true of our spiritual goals. If heaven is our
goal, where there will be sinless perfection, perfect relationships with God
and others, and perfect justice, then we should work towards that future
reality in our lives now. What does that mean for you? Kill sin in your life. Don’t
settle for ongoing sin in your life just because sin is still a reality that we
face this side of heaven. Work towards better relationships with God and with
others. Do the hard work of reconciling with those you are in conflict with. Look
for injustice in the world around you and fight for justice in those
situations. When you know where you are going, it helps you live in light of
that target, which will lead to a deep, vibrant, growing relationship with God.
So which of these areas challenge you the most?
How can you begin to take Paul’s desires and make them your own? And do you see
these desires in the lives of the people you allow to influence you? As we seek
to have mature Christian influences in our lives, seek out those people who are
continuing to grow spiritually.
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