That I May Win Christ
Our Bible passage, introduction to Sunday 16th August service and hymns are below.
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Our principal verses are:
Php 3:1 Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe.
Php 3:2 Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.
Php 3:3 For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.
Php 3:4 Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more:
Php 3:5 Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;
Php 3:6 Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
Php 3:7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.
Php 3:8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
That I May Win Christ
One spiritual privilege pre-occupied the personal ambition of the Apostle Paul. It was ‘the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord’. In times past the Apostle had excelled in other things, in the religion of his fathers. He had been a young, uncompromising Pharisee, distinguished among his peers and fêted by his superiors in the Jewish faith. His pedigree was second to none and yet what he had once proudly valued now meant nothing to him; it had become mere waste.
A mighty change
Things had changed. Paul had received grace from God and come to realise the emptiness and vanity of his old ways. He had been converted from his old life to a new life in Christ. Now, above all else, the excellency of knowing Christ as his Lord and Saviour stood supreme. In the balance of eternal value all he had given up and every loss he had endured was vastly outweighed by the blessedness of knowing his sins forgiven and God’s righteousness in Christ.
Beware
Paul had learned the excellent knowledge of Christ but he had also learned that the Jewish faith he left behind was vicious, wicked and deceptive. He cautioned the Philippian brethren to beware of those who would come amongst them subtly with the purpose of robbing them of their joy and tricking them into false religion, legalism and self-righteousness. It seems the apostle had warned them about this before and now he takes the opportunity to repeat his concern.
Children of the devil
Dogs, evil workers and the concision are references to all those who are outside the church of Jesus Christ and outside of the Kingdom of God. They are contrasted with those who are spiritual, the true ‘circumcision’, who worship God in spirit and truth. Circumcision in the old Testament was a symbol of spiritual cutting of the heart and the new birth. All who are in Christ are the true circumcision regardless of any marks or cuttings made in the flesh.
Spiritual people
Paul gives three characteristics of the true circumcision. First, they are those people who worship God in spirit. That means they are quickened and spiritually alive. They have been regenerated by God the Holy Spirit. This is a reference to the new birth and the transformative effect of conversion in the life of a believer. All who are of the family of God worship in spirit and truth. All true spiritual worshippers approach God upon the merits of Christ’s blood and righteousness.
Joyful people
Second, those who are circumcised in their heart, ‘rejoice in Christ Jesus’. This means they revel in the privileges of being in Christ and delight in the benefits of union with Him. They see the Lord Jesus as the sole way of salvation. They acknowledge Christ’s sacrifice as God’s appointed means of forgiveness and mercy. Seeing no good in themselves but what has been placed there by their Saviour these people rejoice in Jesus for present grace and future glory.
Holy in Christ
Third, the true circumcision, ‘have no confidence in the flesh’. This may carry both the narrow sense of having no trust in the Jewish rite of circumcision which some imagined made them heirs of the promises given by God to Abraham. Or, more broadly, it refers to the fact that believers in the true gospel of free and sovereign grace know there is no righteousness outside of Christ. They have learned that neither the will of man nor the works of man contribute anything towards our acceptance with God.
True excellence
Paul had once excelled in the rites and rituals of the Jewish faith. He had zealously persecuted the church of Jesus Christ and proudly, though ignorantly, believed himself blameless before God under the law of Moses. Now he knew his fleshy works held no value at all for righteousness. True excellence and personal acceptance with God was to be found only in a knowledge of Christ Jesus as Lord. This was Paul’s gospel and the unswerving message of grace in Jesus Christ that he loved to repeat time and time again.
Winning Christ
The Lord Jesus Christ had captured the Apostle’s affections. Paul was willing to forgo all he once held as precious for the sake of Christ. His human attainments were no longer of value. He calls them dung. Paul’s reference to winning Christ does not imply he was in any doubt of doing so. Rather, he rejoiced in having done so. The righteousness of the law, or as we might express it, the best holiness a man can manufacture for himself, is but dung and dross compared to the excellent perfections found in Christ.
Amen
Hymn 138
Jesus precious. 1 Pet. 2. 4, 7; Phil. 3. 8; Ps. 45. 17
P. Doddridge C.M.
1
Jesus, I love thy charming name;
’Tis music in my ear;
Fain would I sound it out so loud,
That earth and heaven might hear.
2
Yes, thou art precious to my soul,
My transport and my trust;
Jewels to thee are gaudy toys,
And gold is sordid dust.
3
O may thy name upon my heart
Shed a rich fragrance there;
The noblest balm of all my wounds,
The cordial of my care.
4
I’ll speak the honours of thy name
With my last labouring breath;
And, dying, clasp thee in my arms,
The Antidote of death!
Hymn 179
Jesus our All. John 10. 17; 1 Cor. 2. 2; Phil. 3. 7, 8
J. Hart 7s
1
Jesus is the chiefest good;
He has saved us by his blood;
Let us value nought but him;
Nothing else deserves esteem.
2
Jesus, when stern Justice said,
“Man his life has forfeited,
Vengeance follows by decree,”
Cried, “Inflict it all on me.”
3
Jesus gives us life and peace,
Faith, and love, and holiness;
Every blessing, great or small,
Jesus freely gives us all.
4
Jesus, therefore, let us own:
Jesus we’ll exalt alone;
Jesus has our sins forgiven,
And will take us safe to heaven.
It is good to be able to assess what is important in life. Too often we find ourselves pre-occupied with cares and concerns that really are not important at all. Here Paul teaches us to value the Lord Jesus and knowledge of Him as our Saviour. There is no greater privilege in life than winning Christ.