WEEKLY SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON
An international Sunday school lesson commentary
For Sunday February 3, 2019
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THE PRICELESS GAIN OF KNOWING CHRIST
(To know CHRIST is to live the resurrection life)
(Philippians 3:1-11)
The Apostle
Paul was the first great Christian missionary and theologian, after the example
of CHRIST JESUS. He was born and raised in Tarsus of Cilicia, as Gaius Julius
Paulus, the son of a Roman citizen, under the strictest of Jewish tradition and
Judaism. He went on to become the first man to clearly show the distinction
between Judaism and the Gospel of CHRIST JESUS.
Paul presented
Christianity as the universal religion for all mankind, and clearly showed that
it was not just a tiny little spin-off of Judaism, that had been formed
expressly for the benefit of Jews. In his lifetime, Paul became widely known as
the apostle of the Gentiles. He solved, once and for all time, the issues that
arose concerning the problems people had with Christianity, and the biblical
and non-biblical traditions of the Jewish law.
While the other
apostles, with maybe the exception of Peter, continued on with a practical
attitude toward the law and Judaism, oftentimes not seeing far into principle,
Paul, on the other hand, preached that the issue was very much different than
Judaism. He insisted that the doctrine he preached concerning CHRIST was
defined by the cross. In other words, Paul keenly felt that one either had to
choose “Pharisaism”, or JESUS, or, quite literally, “Law” or “Love, as the
ultimate revelation of GOD.
All of Paul’s
known letters bear traces of the Hellenistic background from whence he came,
and he most certainly obtained many of his Greek ideas through the medium of Judaeo-Greek,
or, Hellenistic literature. In fact, a careful study of his letters gives us
some idea of this societal element in his early life, due to his Jewish birth.
They suggest Paul’s own youthful attitude toward the importance and
responsibility of being born Jewish.
In Philippians 3,
verses 1-11, Paul sought to exhort, or, urge with a strong appeal, that the
church at Philippi would continue to rejoice in the LORD. He also warned of the
work of the Judaizers, calling them “dogs” and “mutilators of the flesh” (a
reference to circumcision), who continued to preach that one must become a Jew
through circumcision, before they could be saved into CHRIST, or Christianity.
Paul had spent a
lot of time preaching to the Christian Church in its infancy, that, they should
place no confidence in the flesh. In fact, Christians should place no
confidence in their own effort at all, but instead, must only boast of their
faith in what JESUS has done for them. The Christian must worship GOD in the
SPIRIT, and thereby, experience a spiritual “circumcision of the heart” that
can only come by “knowing GOD by experience” (“gnoseos”) (v.8), and by “being
conformed inwardly in one’s experience” (“symmorphizomenos” –
sim-mor-phid-o-mee-os) (v.10).
Paul said that if
anyone could have confidence in their own background and training, it was him.
He once held in high regard, his boyhood studies under the great first-century
scholar, Gamaliel, at the famous “School of Hillel” in Rome. He himself, was a
pure-bred Jew of the tribe of Benjamin, and had been circumcised when he was
only eight days old.
Paul had also
been a member of the Pharisees, who demanded the strictest adherence to Jewish tradition and the Mosaic Law. However,
now, he had experienced the priceless gain of knowing JESUS CHRIST, and
everything else suddenly seems worthless by comparison.
Before getting to
know CHRIST, Paul placed all of his value on the things that he had achieved in
the past, but now, he understood clearly that his future of eternal life with
GOD can only be realized through his belief and confidence in what JESUS CHRIST
has achieved.
And so, like
Paul, all Christians must press ahead toward the highest goal that a man can
ever achieve in this life. It is a goal that can never be achieved through
human effort, but rather, has already been achieved through the vicarious
sacrifice of CHRIST. However, a man will never accept the free gift of
salvation in his heart (the gain), unless he first become willing to remove his
love for the things of this world from his heart (the loss).
PRESSING TOWARD THE GOAL
Philippians 3:12-21
Paul wrote
his letter to the Philippians from a prison in Rome circa A.D. 60, as a
response to his friends at Philippi, who, had shown him much generosity and support
while he was there. He is unaware at this time whether or not he’ll die in jail,
and so he wanted to express his confidence in them, and then, describe some of
the problems he faced in Rome. He wanted them to understand that, if death came
during his incarceration, he would rejoice in the presence of CHRIST JESUS,
but, as long as he lives, he will continue to serve GOD the best he could, with
what he had.
Throughout this
doctrinal letter we clearly see the theme of rejoicing in the LORD in our
present state, here on earth. If we live, we can rejoice because the LORD loves
us, and if we die, we can rejoice in the LORD’s OWN glorious presence forever,
literally. And while we must still experience problems here on earth, (there is
suffering in our obedience to GOD because it often goes against the world’s way
of doing things), still, we have to remember that, ultimately, we are citizens
of the Kingdom of Heaven, and must always strive to cling to that thought. In
fact, we must use that thought as fuel, and keep it constantly at the forefront
of our minds, as we travel along our Christian Walk, or, our Road to Salvation.
Although Paul was
a spiritual giant in the eyes of the Christian saints, he wanted everyone one
of them to know that he had not yet attained the goals that he felt he needed
to attain in the work of CHRIST. He knew that he had, by no means, reached the
final stage of his sanctification and was always willing to press on toward
higher spiritual grounds. He reminds us that there should never be a stall in
our Christian walk, or spiritual growth, for as long as we live. We must continue
on along the Road to Salvation, and as CHRIST says, we “must endure until the
end”.
In Philippians
3:12-21, Paul urges us to keep pressing toward the goal, and he tells us that
our concern for Heaven will enable us to live a righteous life here on earth.
We must pursue “CHRIST-likeness” with the enthusiasm and persistence of an
Olympic long distance runner who covets the prize at the end of the race. We
must forget about past failures and press on toward a more successful life in
CHRIST JESUS in the future.
In verses 15-21, Paul tells us that we must have an overall
walk that pleases GOD;
·
First of all, he tells us in verses 15-16 that we must have a
“walk of maturity”. One must have a desire to continue on in CHRIST-likeness,
no matter what the world around you says you should do, and then, trust GOD to
make things clear to those who disagree with HIM.
·
Secondly, in verses 17-19, Paul says that we should have a “walk
of watchfulness”. We should watch out for those false teachers, who are, by way
of their deeds, an enemy of CHRIST. Often, with tears in his eyes, Paul had
warned of those false teachers and spiritual leaders, who, try to lead people
toward themselves, and, thereby, away from CHRIST.
·
And finally, in verses 20-21, he reminds us that the Christian
Hope is that we will one day have a “walk that is completed”. Our Christian
Hope should motivate us to want to live a life on earth that conforms more
fully to the Word of GOD, using the examples set before us by CHRIST JESUS, as
we eagerly wait for HIS return.
We must always
fix our thoughts on what is true and honorable and right, always thinking about
things that are pure and lovely and admirable. We should think about things
that are excellent and worthy of praise, and keep putting into practice, all that
we learn and hear from the Word of GOD, and the examples of CHRIST. And with
that attitude, and, constant prayer, which manifests the heart of a yielded
life, we can be assured that “the GOD of Peace” will be with us every step of
the way.
A Sunday school lesson by,
Larry D. Alexander
LARRY D. ALEXANDER- Official
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