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At age 43, I can nonetheless keep in mind instances after I felt like my physique was bettering. I may inform I used to be getting stronger, or operating quicker, or my total power was rising.
However now the latest and prevailing feeling has been that I’m getting older. I discover the incremental declines. I can really feel motion slowly however absolutely turning into tougher. New aches and pains come and linger. In recent times I’ve felt each the glory and the humiliation of the human physique on this age.
C.S. Lewis wrote in 1960,
Man has held three views of his physique. First there’s that of these . . . who referred to as it the jail or the “tomb” of the soul, [those] to whom it was a “sack of dung,” meals for worms, filthy, shameful, a supply of nothing however temptation to unhealthy males and humiliation to good ones. Then there are [others], to whom the physique is superb. However thirdly we’ve the view which St. Francis expressed by calling his physique “Brother Ass.”
Lewis says, “All three could also be . . . defensible; however give me St. Francis for my cash.” He continues,
Ass is exquisitely proper as a result of nobody in his senses can both revere or hate a donkey. It’s a helpful, sturdy, lazy, obstinate, affected person, lovable and infuriating beast; deserving now a stick and now a carrot; each pathetically and absurdly stunning. So the physique. (The 4 Loves, 93)
As Lewis noticed these three views sixty years in the past, so we see them at present. We’ve got those that really feel their physique to be a jail; they accent the humiliation of the physique. The physique holds them again; screens and digital actuality and cosmetic surgery create new prospects.
However, those self same screens present picture after picture of meticulously sculpted and enhanced our bodies — these for whom the physique is superb, or should be superb, irrespective of how a lot weight-reduction plan and train and surgical procedure it takes.
Third, we’ve maybe the highway least traveled. Saint Francis’s highway. Lewis’s highway. Our highway. The highway of the cross: humiliation now, however not humiliation eternally. And that combined with glory now, however not the glory that’s to come back.
I point out “Brother Ass” as a result of our passage this morning (surprisingly) mentions our our bodies — our current our bodies created for glory, now in a state of humiliation, with a spectacular glory nonetheless to come back — and since we stay in instances by which we’re particularly inclined to contemplate the earthly issues the true issues, and the heavenly issues to be pretense or hypothesis or wishful considering. What’s implicit on the planet’s mind-set is that the earthly is true now, and extra actual, and higher, whereas the heavenly is distant, and fewer actual, and fewer fascinating. However Philippians 3:20–21 says precisely the alternative.
Stand Agency Like This
Final week, we noticed on the finish of verse 19 Paul’s warning about “the enemies of the cross” who’ve “minds set on earthly issues.” This morning we flip to verses 20–21, the place Paul makes a distinction between these enemies of the cross and people who are associates of the cross and residents of heaven. Verse 19 speaks of mere residents of earth: “their finish is destruction, their god is their stomach, and so they glory of their disgrace” — and particularly important is the ultimate phrase “with minds set on earthly issues.”
What we’ll see this morning is the distinction in verses 20–21. Final week was the warning: “Don’t be like this.” Now we catch one other glimpse of true Christianity, of the chums of the cross, as we’ve seen different glimpses in chapter 3.
However earlier than we linger in verses 20–21, let’s not miss the primary level in 4:1: “stand agency thus within the Lord.” This concept of “standing agency” goes all the way in which again to 1:27:
Solely let your method of life [literally, your “citizening”] be worthy of the gospel of Christ, in order that whether or not I come and see you or am absent, I’ll hear of you that you’re standing agency in a single spirit, with one thoughts striving facet by facet for the religion of the gospel, and never frightened in something by your opponents.
The thought of “standing agency” marks off the center of the letter in 1:27 to 4:1. We’ve got the citizen-language and speak of opponents (be they legalistic Judaizers, 3:2, or worldly “believers,” 3:18–19), and the decision to stand agency — and accomplish that collectively (“in a single spirit, with one thoughts striving facet by facet”) and accomplish that “within the Lord.” At this structural stage, we would summarize the primary level of Philippians as stand agency collectively within the Lord.
However important to this letter isn’t just that they stand agency however how. See the “due to this fact” at first of 4:1? It factors us again to all of chapter 3, and even to chapter 2, again to 1:27. Additionally, see that phrase “thus” in 4:1? “Stand agency thus within the Lord.” Which means, “Stand agency like I’ve been saying. Stand agency on this approach, like I’ve been displaying you. As I’ve been writing about Jesus in chapter 2, and Timothy and Epaphroditus, and like my very own testimony in chapter 3 [which he expresses in such a way that he means for us to imitate him], stand agency on this approach within the Lord.”
Stand agency like Paul stands agency: on the footing of Christ’s give you the results you want. Stand agency towards legalistic threats and worldly temptations, and press on to know Jesus now, and sit up for seeing and realizing Jesus face-to-face. And all that’s particularly captured and summed up in verses 20–21, which lead into 4:1 for a purpose.
So, let’s linger on this imaginative and prescient. And what’s placing is that Paul casts this imaginative and prescient by way of citizenship or civic belonging.
Our Commonwealth in Christ
The main declare in verses 20–21 is that “our citizenship is in heaven.” Our commonwealth, our homeland, exists in heaven. Our place of true belonging isn’t just elsewhere on earth, however it’s alive and effectively in heaven.
There’s a match right here between this citizenship theme in Philippians and what we find out about Philippi in Acts 16, when the gospel first got here to city. Philippi wasn’t initially Roman however had turn out to be a Roman colony, and with Rome being the good superpower of the day, the residents of Philippi naturally prided themselves on being Roman residents.
How does Paul converse into that civic consciousness in Philippi? He says to these within the church: “our citizenship is in heaven.” No balancing phrase right here about twin citizenship. Nothing like, “Ah, sure, you’re privileged to be Romans, after all (what an distinctive nation), and keep in mind you’re Christians, too.” He says merely, with out qualification or adjustment, “Christians, our citizenship is in heaven.”
Our commonwealth is heaven. Our homeland is heaven. Not “we’ve one other homeland additionally.” However our homeland, our one homeland, in Christ, is heaven. Which is our deepest and most basic id and place of belonging.
Ask your self: Am I actually extra deeply American or Christian? The spoken reply is simple. However what are the instincts of your coronary heart? And for those who can say in good conscience, “Oh, sure, Christian over American,” we would additionally ask, By how a lot?
As a result of we ourselves will not be Roman, we don’t get nervous if a first-century Christian says, “I’m a Christian ten thousand instances greater than a Roman.” Amen! That’s proper and good. However as People at present, with all of the socialization it includes — how we’ve been conditioned and songs we’ve sung and placing of our palms over our hearts and pledging our allegiance — can we hesitate to say, “I’m a Christian ten thousand instances greater than an American”?
Again to verse 20, the place the important thing distinction is earthly versus heavenly. Our homeland being heaven contrasts with those that have “minds set on earthly issues.” What does that imply to “set your thoughts on earthly issues”?
“Press on to know Jesus now, and sit up for seeing and realizing Jesus face-to-face.”
There’s a distinction between coping with earthly issues and setting your thoughts on earthly issues. Christians and non-Christians alike stay on this world and take care of earthly issues. However enemies of the cross “set their minds on earthly issues.” They awake to earthly issues, and reset to earthly issues, and default to earthly issues. They dream about earthly issues and meditate on earthly issues. They’re animated by earthly issues. They’ve the mindset of the world, of pure man, relatively than of the Spirit, and of heaven.
Three Marks of Heaven’s Residents
However in distinction to these enemies of the cross, with minds set on earthly issues, verses 20–21 give us three marks of heaven’s residents.
1. Heaven’s residents marvel on the energy of our King.
Verse 21 ends with “the facility that allows him [Jesus] even to topic all issues to himself.” In our homeland of heaven, a King sits on the throne, a divine-human king. We’ve got a king. In case you are in Christ, you might have a king — the King of kings. He already guidelines over all of the universe by proper. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to him by the Father. And he workout routines that energy as he chooses, and works primarily by means of his poured-out Spirit, indwelling his personal individuals. And sooner or later, when he returns, he’ll rule over all in conspicuous, indeniable, manifest energy.
In celebrating Jesus’s energy, Paul makes use of this curious expression “topic all issues to himself.” Within the background are two well-known psalms and a hyperlink between them.
Psalm 8 celebrates the majesty of God by marveling at his grace towards us lowly people. And Psalm 8:6, remembering the creation, says about man, “You’ve given him dominion over the works of your palms; you might have put all issues beneath his toes.” The difficulty is, as we noticed final yr in Hebrews 2, “we don’t but see all the pieces in subjection to him,” that’s, man. This world, its creatures, its climate, its disasters, and even our personal lives don’t function beneath our management. Not but.
“However,” says Hebrews 2:9, “we see him . . . specifically Jesus, topped with glory and honor due to the struggling of dying.” We ourselves haven’t but fulfilled the fee of Psalm 8, however Jesus is topped with glory on heaven’s throne. Already, in precept, he guidelines over all, and in operate, all is being put beneath his toes.
Which brings within the second psalm: 110. Verse 1: “The Lord says to my Lord: ‘Sit at my proper hand, till I make your enemies your footstool.’” Psalm 110 is King David speaking, and he says that the Lord God says to David’s Lord, the promised Messiah, “Sit at my proper hand,” on the throne in heaven, “till I make your enemies your footstool.”
This can be a image of what’s occurring on the planet proper now: God almighty is placing Christ’s enemies beneath his toes. And it’s not as if the Father has all the facility and the Son sits again passively. However Christ himself, even now, wields “the facility that allows him even to topic all issues to himself.”
His sovereign energy is unstoppable, uncurbable, unthwartable. He’ll, with utter certainty, accomplish his will within the methods he sees match and within the excellent timing he sees match. His energy — his potential to perform what he wills — is infinite energy, which he not solely wields over Devil and demons, and over nations and their rulers and their elections, and over expertise and algorithms, and over hurricane-force winds and tsunami-size waves, however he additionally amazingly makes use of this very energy, his infinite energy, to learn us, and never solely in soul however additionally in physique.
So, heaven’s residents marvel on the energy of our King.
2. Heaven’s residents anticipate the spectacular improve of our our bodies.
That is the primary a part of verse 21: Jesus “will remodel our lowly physique to be like his superb physique.”
The phrase “lowly physique” is the “physique of humiliation” we talked about earlier. On the one hand, our our bodies are “fearfully and splendidly made” (Psalm 139:14); they have been created with a glory, and so they have glories nonetheless. And however, due to human sin, God subjected all creation to futility (Romans 8:20), which we see not solely in pure disasters however in our personal our bodies.
And so, we “groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for . . . the redemption of our our bodies” (Romans 8:23). God’s superb design and constructing of our human our bodies has now turn out to be a “physique of humiliation” for us in varied methods. From getting old to incapacity to illness to illness, to the aches and pains that canine us or devastate us, our our bodies are actually not what they have been — and never what they are going to be.
Now, it is a younger church. A few of you might have essentially the most in a position, sturdy, wholesome our bodies that you just’ll have on this life. Quickly you’ll age, and your physique won’t ever once more, on this life, be what it was. Extra acute bodily humiliation is coming.
And plenty of on this room already take care of devastating incapacity and illness and weak point and illness on this fallen world. Oh, you understand effectively “the physique of humiliation,” and the way sweetly does this promise fall in your ears? Jesus “will remodel your physique of humiliation to be conformed to the physique of his glory.” You can be modified. In a second, within the short while, it should all be gone — all of the ache gone, all of the frustration gone, all of the humiliation gone.
The place the place Paul lingers longest over this superb, resurrection physique that can be ours is 1 Corinthians 15, particularly verses 42–49:
What’s sown is perishable; what’s raised is imperishable. It’s sown in dishonor; it’s raised in glory. It’s sown in weak point; it’s raised in energy. It’s sown a pure physique; it’s raised a religious physique. If there’s a pure physique, there’s additionally a religious physique [that is, a body fit for the fullness of human life in the Spirit]. . . . Simply as we’ve borne the picture of the person of mud [Adam], we will additionally bear the picture of the person of heaven.
Your resurrection physique can be spectacular. No extra aches and pains. No extra colds and COVID. No extra sprains, contusions, and damaged bones. No extra coronary heart assaults and strokes and most cancers. No extra devastating bodily and psychological disabilities.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, you’ll shine just like the solar, not as mere spirits floating like ghosts in heaven, however in your perfected, sturdy, imperishable, glorified, human physique.
And the very best a part of all of it isn’t what your physique can be like, however who our imperishable our bodies and souls will assist us to know and luxuriate in and be close to and reward: “the person of heaven.” Our focus within the new heavens and new earth received’t be our our bodies. Our perfected our bodies will get the distractions of our earlier humiliations out of the way in which. They are going to improve and assist our making a lot of our King. However the focus in glory would be the one which we as Christians eagerly wait proper now — the person of heaven.
So, we marvel on the energy of our King, and we anticipate the spectacular improve of our our bodies.
3. Heaven’s residents wait eagerly to see Jesus face-to-face.
Again to verse 20: “our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Heavenly citizenship issues as a result of Jesus is there as heaven’s King. And glorified religious our bodies matter as a result of they allow us to take pleasure in Jesus with full focus and with out distraction. As Christians, our hope doesn’t terminate on excellent human societies or excellent human our bodies. Our prevailing hope, as Paul says in Philippians 3:10, is “that I’ll know him and the facility of his resurrection.” Seeing him face-to-face. Listening to him. Praising him. Understanding him. Having fun with him.
When he returns, the partial realizing of verse 10 will turn out to be the total realizing of verse 11 as we ourselves “attain the resurrection from the lifeless.”
Do you await him? That’s, do you eagerly look ahead to him? Romans 8:19 says, “The creation waits with keen longing for the revealing of the sons of God.” And Romans 8:23 says, “We wait eagerly for adoption as sons.” Galatians 5:5: “we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.” And Hebrews 9:28: “Christ . . . will seem a second time . . . to avoid wasting those that are eagerly ready for him.”
Let me ask you this: What would you like greater than Jesus coming again? Ask your self; question your coronary heart. The place are your instincts? How has your coronary heart been conditioned by the conversations you might have, the articles you learn, the exhibits you watch, the podcasts you take heed to, the allegiances you pledge, the anthems you sing? Have your habits of life produced a coronary heart and thoughts that actually are set on earthly issues?
Do you say, from the center, “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus”? What’s it that makes you hesitate? What relationship(s)? What comforts and luxuries? What joys appear to you want they are going to be higher if Jesus delays relatively than returns this week?
Are you eagerly awaiting his coming? And the way does it, or how may it, form our lives as we await his coming?
Depart Right here Wanting There
Let’s shut with the “mindset of heaven’s residents.” The principle distinction on this passage is that there are these whose minds are set on earthly issues and people who eagerly await Jesus’s return. Enemies of the cross set their minds on earthly issues, whereas associates of the cross, residents of heaven, set their minds — the place? Not merely on “the issues of heaven” however on “the person of heaven.”
I need to supply two methods to set our minds on the person of heaven. Simply two amongst many: one each day, one weekly.
Day by day, we get up and switch our early morning religious starvation to God’s excellent news, not the world’s information. Within the phrases of Colossians 3:1, we search the issues above, “the place Christ is, seated on the proper hand of God.” We open God’s phrase and set our minds on issues above, not on issues which are on earth. And never simply early mornings. However the man of heaven, and his issues, animate us, woo us, captivate us, spur us on in life.
Weekly, we collect right here every Sunday to worship the person of heaven collectively. Which brings us again to Philippians 4:1, the place we began. Isn’t it superb how Paul talks with such over-the-top affection for his fellow believers in Christ?
My brothers, whom I really like and lengthy for, my pleasure and crown, stand agency thus within the Lord, my beloved.
We’re not lone residents of heaven. Heaven is a society. Our love for Jesus, and eager for Jesus, and pleasure in Jesus, turns into a love of and eager for and pleasure in those that likewise eagerly await his return.
See Him Face-to-Face
We don’t come alone to this Desk week in and week out. And we don’t come alone to know and luxuriate in Jesus. Collectively we come to him, love him, lengthy for him, search pleasure in him, and eagerly look ahead to him — spiritually now, by religion, on this bread and cup, and totally and at last and bodily at his second coming.
Brothers and sisters, we are going to see him face-to-face. As absolutely as you maintain and eat this bread, and as absolutely as you are taking and drink this cup, you’ll stand earlier than him face-to-face. And so, at this Desk, the chums of the cross eagerly await his return.
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