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Philippians 3:7-11, But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, 9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; 11 in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
This is simply an amazingly personal, rich passage. Paul pulls back the curtain of his heart to allow us to see what moves him. We’re looking at the effect of the sovereign grace of God in a changed heart. He didn’t have this value system when he started out on that Damascus Road to arrest Christians and drag them to prison. But on his way he met Jesus Christ and everything changed. From that moment on, Paul’s heart passion was to know Christ more and more. As we’ll see, all Paul had, was, and possessed fell from his heart and hands as worthless garbage compared to this infinitely surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus his Lord. Paul was more than willing to dump everything of human value for the surpassing value, the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus his Lord. If Paul was worth 330 billion dollars, like Elon Musk, he’d easily count it all loss to know Christ.
What is of supreme value in your life? Would you leave 330 billion dollars behind for the sake of knowing Christ better? Paul writes from a heart for Christ, but also to win our hearts to this same devotion, this same spiritual value system. Is this your heart? Let’s ask four questions from this Christ-exalting testimony.
DO YOU PRIZE CHRIST ABOVE EVERYTHING ELSE IN YOUR LIFE?
Philippians 3:7-8, But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ,
I want you to see the contrast in these verses between the gains and losses in Paul’s new value system. Verse 8, “more than that” is full of Paul’s passion. Not only this but that, he says. Get this: I count all things loss in contrast to the “way beyond all measurement” value of knowing Christ Jesus MY Lord. Paul calls this stuff “things” in verse 7; “all things” in verse 8.
What was the source of this new heart attitude, this extreme value system to trade everything to know Christ? Paul didn’t work this up himself. You’re looking at the evidence or fruit of sovereign grace in this man’s heart. Thomas Watson describes that work for us: “The Spirit irradiates the mind and subdues the will. That will is like a garrison, which holds out against God. The Spirit with sweet violence conquers, or rather changes it; making the sinner willing to have Christ upon any terms; to be ruled by him as well as saved by him!”
That’s exactly what happened to Paul. When God’s grace thoroughly changed his heart through regeneration, he saw everything with new eyes. And now nothing counts in life but the infinite, surpassing value of knowing Jesus “my Lord.” The Amplified Bible translates “surpassing value” as “priceless privilege and supreme advantage of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” Jesus is the most glorious person this world has ever seen.
So over here is everything that was of value in Paul’s life: his religion, his religious status, (Paul may have been on a track to become the greatest Jewish rabbi ever), his family, his family honor, his family wealth. Kenneth Wuest says he was born into a Jewish home of wealth and culture in Tarsus, educated by the best with social and religious privilege. Paul adds it all up, draws the line, and writes, “Loss!” Then he looks at it all and says, “In fact, I regard it all as garbage.” The Greek word Paul uses for garbage is skubala, meaning animal dung, rubbish of any kind. This word couldn’t be more striking – abominable trash!
Then Paul gives the contrast, “But over here is Christ Jesus my Lord, and there is no comparison.” If knowing and following Christ Jesus means leaving this pile of skubala, he’ll gladly do it! No expense is too much, no loss too great, no pain too severe to keep him from pursuing Christ above all! This is Paul’s heart! This is the change God made in his life! True Christianity is not something you take up or add to your life. It’s a complete transformation of your life. Paul’s heart swells with love and devotion to Christ, much like the lady at Jesus feet in Luke 7:38. She so loved Christ because of all He forgave her that her tears poured from her eyes onto his feet. Then she wiped his feet with her hair, anointed Jesus’ feet with perfume, and kept kissing his feet. “She loved much because she was forgiven much,” says Jesus.
Remember the story of the pearl of great price? Here’s a merchant who went from market to market, seller to seller, looking for a beautiful pearl. Finally he cast his gaze upon the finest, most beautiful pearl in the entire world. What did it cost? It cost all his other pearls, all his wealth, everything he owned, including his house and estate. The title deed to his own life were in his hand. And he gladly parted with all of these to purchase this pearl of great price. Matthew 13:46 says, “and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all he had and bought it.” That’s Paul, trading all he was and possessed for the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus his Lord.
Compare this with Lot’s wife. The Lord said, “Flee Sodom and don’t look back!” There she was, trying to run but weighed down with trinkets and fine clothing she just couldn’t leave behind. She’s running out of Sodom, but her heart is going back to sparkling jewelry, her exquisite paintings on her walls, her fancy shoes in the closet, all her friends she met with for coffee and cards, those thrilling nights on the town. Her heart was in Sodom. Sodom was in her heart. She looked back. She turned into a pillar of salt! “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?” (Matthew 16:26).
For Paul, that surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus his Lord captured his heart! What surpassing value in your life captures you? Do you prize Christ clearly and obviously above everything else in your life?
ARE YOU TRUSTING IN CHRIST ALONE FOR YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS?
Philippians 3:9, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,
Here you have the book of Romans in one verse. Here are the riches Paul found in Christ – that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, plugged into union with Him. The word “found” is passive. Paul didn’t plug himself into Christ; God plugged him into His Son. And that’s where God places every believer, in Christ! That’s where you want to be when you die – in Christ! You may be in a good church or a good family, but that doesn’t mean you’re in Christ. When God saves you, He places you into His Son.
This verse is the key to Paul’s entire doctrinal teaching. He never got over the truth of justification by faith alone. Notice the contrast. On the one hand is a righteousness of my own derived from the law. On the other hand is the righteousness that is from God or out of God, a righteousness that has its source in God. And this God-righteousness is through faith alone in Christ alone. It’s not Paul’s righteousness; it’s God’s righteousness. This is the great doctrine of justification by faith alone. It doesn’t mean made righteous; it means declared righteous.
This is the truth that rocked the 16th century world through Luther, Calvin, and the other Reformers. Romans 5:1, “Having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Luther declared, “The church stands or falls on this doctrine.” John Calvin said, “This doctrine is the hinge on which all religion turns.”
Paul knew all his human gains had no value in heaven. God doesn’t receive an imperfect righteousness. You can no more get to heaven on your own righteousness than you could fly to Philadelphia by flapping your arms. Your human righteousness, all your good deeds, all your personal efforts, are like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6), because we all have sin-cursed hearts, all of us.
Once you realize your own guilt before God, that you owe God an eternity of debt that you could never pay off, that your sins make you fully and eternally guilty before God, that God in His justice must punish your sins, once you realize this, like Paul did, then you’ll be overwhelmed to know there is a perfect righteousness God freely gives to sinners through His Son and that righteousness is received by faith alone. Let’s look at Paul’s greatest statement on this.
Romans 3:21-25, But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; 25 whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness.
In verse 24 “being justified” means declared righteous. Why? It is a gift, freely given by grace alone. You don’t merit it. How does God do it? Through the redeeming work of Christ. He purchased you from the slave market of sin. God displayed Jesus publicly as the propitiation, the sin bearer, the one who bore divine wrath in the sinner’s place! When we lived in South Carolina, we had a southern preacher, Mr. Jesse Boyd, who loved these truths. He described propitiation as a cosmic funnel focused over Christ on that cross where God poured out all his wrath against sin on His Son, and that punishment satisfied all of God’s holy demands against sin for all those He would save. God imputed your sin to Christ, and God imputed Christ’s perfect righteousness to your account. You are clothed in the righteousness of Christ. And you receive it by faith alone. Faith is the empty hand of the heart that receives the gift of righteousness. Your righteousness is in Jesus Christ
This is the exceeding, surpassing, infinite value of knowing Jesus Christ our Lord. I enjoyed watching a clip of the SpaceX Dragon hooking up to the International Space Station last week and then successfully bringing the Dragon to splashdown with pinpoint accuracy off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida. The technology to accomplish this blows me away. How do they do it? But no technology on earth will ever achieve what God accomplished for sinners through His Son, our Savior. There is no righteousness available in any laboratory that will unite you to Christ and assure you of an eternal landing with God forever. Only God placing you in Christ’s righteousness will give you an eternal landing with God forever.
Do you prize Christ above all? Are you trusting in Him alone, resting in Christ alone for your righteousness?
ARE YOU LONGING TO KNOW CHRIST MORE AND MORE?
Philippians 3:10, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death;
This was Paul’s heart, to know Christ more and more. He loved Christ with all that he was because Christ loved him. Galatians 2:20, “Who loved me and gave Himself for me.” James Boice wrote, “To know Him personally, intimately, and experientially is the first and greatest goal of the believer’s life.” When you come to Christ as your Lord and Savior, you know Him a little. But there is growing in knowing Christ. Like marriage, when you marry you think you know your spouse, but after several years you know him or her much more, hopefully for the better.
So what does Paul mean about knowing Him? It’s not so much about Him, although that’s important. But it is about trusting Him more, learning more about His mind through Scripture, thinking of Him, delighting in Him, talking to Him, spending time with Him in His Word, being like Mary sitting at His feet, wanting to please Him, and taking your sins and weaknesses to Him knowing he’s your High Priest. You trust Him through the storms, the dark times and the good times. You keep your eyes on Him, the author and finisher of your faith. You think about who He is and what He came to earth to do on your behalf. You remember that stupendous miracle and mystery of the incarnation and how he loved you and gave Himself for you, laid down His life for His sheep. You rely on His promise to never leave you nor forsake you and that He will come again for you! Paul would agree wholeheartedly with Psalm 73:25, “Whom have I in heaven but you, and besides you I desire nothing on earth.” Paul’s heart clings to the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus his Lord.
Added to this, Paul wants to know the power of Christ’s resurrection in his life. Whenever God promises us power to live the Christian life, what kind of power is it? It is resurrection power! All the power God gives us to handle trials, overcome sin, love our enemies, and all the power we need to become more like Christ is resurrection power. God energizes His church with overcoming resurrection power.
Ephesians 1:19-20, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might 20 which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,
Paul says I want to know and to live in the power of Christ’s resurrection. Resurrection power will never run out. Paul said, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me His resurrection power.” We need to know and depend on it more and more.
ARE YOU ANTICIPATING BEING WITH CHRIST?
Philippians 3:11, in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Paul’s not saying he’s earning or meriting this future resurrection. He lives with the assurance that at some point he will join with all God’s people and actually be with Christ in heaven. Matthew Henry said, “When souls depart we are immediately in the presence of the Lord, yet our happiness will not be complete until the resurrection, when our souls and bodies are together.” Paul will expand on this later in chapter 3:20-21.
SO WHAT?
Is Paul’s story your story? What in your life is worth more than Christ? What is your supreme value? What do you have if you have everything else but not Christ? What are you clinging so tightly to that you can’t let go? Are you that pearl seeker or Mrs. Lot with all your earthly stuff dragging behind you? Calvin asked, “Do you have to give up everything like Paul in order to become a Christian? All your possessions?” Then he writes, “No, but if it please the Lord that it should be so, you ought to be prepared to endure poverty.”
This little chorus summarizes Paul’s heart. Does it describe your heart?
More about Jesus would I know,
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