05-19-13 THE REAL THING

Phil. 3:2 Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision;

Phil. 3:3 for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh...

For the past several weeks

we have been chewing on Paul’s words

in this passage found in Phil. 3:2-3.

Paul is writing to his Christian friends in Philippi,

equipping them with the principles

and the attitudes he knows they will need in order to continue growing in their Christian lives.

Throughout this letter we have seen him

providing strong words of encouragement

and guidance to his readers.

But now here in 3:2 he shifts to offering them an urgent warning: BEWARE!!

And in the past couple of weeks

we have seen that he is warning his friends of some enemies

who will infiltrate the ranks of God’s people,

enemies who, like a pack of wild dogs,

have the power to cause great evil

in a Christian’s life

if we are not prepared for it.

I don’t know if anyone has made this clear for you or not,

but when we enter the family of God

through our submission to Christ

and our faith in His death for our sinfulness,

we are volunteering for both LOVE and WAR.

On one side we enter a relationship with our God

in which for the first time

we can begin to discover

the depth of His love for us.

Through Christ we have peace with God -

an end to the tension,

an end to the fear,

an end to the games and the running and the hiding.

In fact,

did you know that the Holy Spirit

has a specific underlying agenda

in everything He does in the Christian’s life?

Obviously we are dependant upon

the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives

for all sort of things -

He is our comforter,

our encourager,

He actively gives us leadership in our lives

on a daily

and hourly

and minute by minute basis.

The Holy Spirit is the one who equips us

with specific gifts,

gifts that allow us to contribute to the health and work of the Body of Christ.

The Spirit is the One who carefully

coordinates our whole growing and learning process,

the One who leads us into all truth,

and gives us the ability to recognize error in our own thinking

and deception in the input of others.

He is also the One who arranges

the discipline we need,

the One who makes sure we get caught

when everyone else seems to get away with it

because He wants us free from the power of the lies in our lives.

But underlying everything the Holy Spirit does

there is a secret agenda -

an underlying purpose

that is revealed to us in Romans 5:5.

The first 11 verses of Romans 5

describe for us the 7 birthday presents

God gives to each Christian

at the time we enter His family.

It begins by talking about how now,

for the first time we have PEACE with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

and it tells about how

we now stand before Him

with our feet firmly planted on the GRACE foundation,

along with a number of other remarkable gifts.

And in verse 5 Paul, of course, mentions the gift of the Holy Spirit,

given to each believer at the time we enter the family of God.

But he does it in a way that also reveals

the Spirit’s underlying agenda in each of our lives.

In Rom. 5:5 he says:

... the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Everything the Holy Spirit does in our lives

is done to aid us in discovering

the depths of God’s love for us.

The gifts,

the discipline,

the leadership,

the comfort,

the encouragement,

the truth and error He alerts us to,

all of it is done with one underlying goal:

to break down our suspicion

and fear

and distrust of our Creator

and replace it with an ever growing awareness of His love.

When we enter the family of God

we are volunteering for LOVE -

an eternal love union with our God.

And let me add just one additional comment here

concerning the work of the Holy Spirit within us.

This goal He has of communicating the love of God to us

is both universal and non-negotiable.

Which means that

whenever we encounter anything in our life

that does not reinforce the truth of our Lord’s love for us

we know with certainty that either it is not from God

or we have totally misunderstood it.

And this applies to everything - even to Scripture.

If we come across a passage of Scripture

that does not seem to communicate the depth of our Lord’s love for us

we know we have not correctly understood the passage.

One of Satan’s most effective weapons against the Christian

is the abuse of Scripture.

When he attacked Christ Himself

he did it with Scripture,

pulling it out of context and using it as a weapon.

And he certainly uses the same tactic with us.

So, here is your certain security -

if what you have heard or read

does not confirm the love of our God for you

then you have not yet heard it correctly.

But when we come to our King

we are not just entering into His love,

we are also entering into His WARFARE.

2 Cor. 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh,

2 Cor. 10:4 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.

2 Cor. 10:5 We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ...

Eph. 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Eph. 6:13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.

And it is in preparation for this battle

that Paul comes through with his sharp warnings: BEWARE! BEWARE! BEWARE!

Because, you see, the battle we are called to fight does not stop at the church door.

There will be those within the perimeter of the church world

who must be guarded against.

Paul doesn’t want us to live in fear,

but neither does he want us to be naive.

There are those within the body of believers

who have learned our language

and mastered our culture

and gone to the right schools,

people who quote the verses

and sing the songs

and offer all of the proper external credentials

and yet who are not the real thing.

And Paul wants us prepared

because one deceiver within the family of God

can do more damage

both to God’s people

and to the cause of Christ

than a thousand pagans

who openly curse the name of their Creator.

And then, to prepare us,

rather than attempting to describe

the endless shades and varieties of these deceivers,

Paul simply describes for us

three key characteristics of those within the church community we can trust.

Phil. 3:3 for we are the true circumcision,

who worship in the Spirit of God

and glory in Christ Jesus

and put no confidence in the flesh...

And as we look at these 3

we need to keep in mind that all 3 go together - it’s a package deal.

Taken together these three qualities present a picture of “safe people within the church”,

people we can trust.

I would also say that Paul is not suggesting that if one or more

of these qualities is not evident in a person’s life

it then means that they are not a Christian.

The truth is,

these are really three marks of maturity.

I see Paul telling us that

if our Christian life is growing

the way it is suppose to

these qualities will become increasingly evident within our lives.

OK, last week we began looking at the first of these three,

Phil. 3:3 for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God ...

And we saw that

Paul is not talking about styles of public worship.

He is not talking about whether people

raise their hands

or don’t raise their hands,

or whether they stand up

or don’t stand up,

or whether they clap

or don’t clap.

In fact, he is saying nothing about corporate worship whatsoever.

He is talking with us about one of the most fundamental truths

of the New Covenant our God has made with us through Christ,

the truth that the Spirit of God has now literally taken up residence within each of us,

and He is now living His life out through us,

transforming us from the INSIDE OUT.

And the first great characteristic

of the true believer

is that his or her life is now being lived

from the inside out.

We are not learning a form and then rigidly trying to cram ourselves into it,

but rather God’s Spirit indwells us at the deepest level,

and we will be able to recognize that inner Spirit in other believers.

Now this is a dangerous thing for me to say,

because in our dingy new-age world

it will be misunderstood by some,

but Paul is telling us

that the beginning of recognizing

THE REAL THING

is to learn to listen to the SPIRIT of a person

rather than listening to their words

or looking at their system

or examining the externals.

OK, that’s where we ended last week,

but it is not where Paul ends his comments.

And in fact

he continues on in this passage

to give us two additional evidences of the real thing,

and with these last two

he also gives us tremendous insight

into how, in a practical way,

we can go about hearing or seeing the spirit of another person.

So let’s see where he goes.

And the next characteristic on Paul’s list is this -

we are those who glory in Christ Jesus ...

And maybe I could explain this best

by giving you the three distinctly different messages we are likely to hear within the church world.

First, there are those who will say with their words or with their attitudes,

let me tell you about what I have done for God,

or if they choose to Christian-coat it,

let me tell you about what God has done through me.

The second message is closely related to the first,

and it is the message,

“let me tell you about what YOU should be doing for God,

or possibly let me tell you about what YOU should be allowing Christ to do through you.”

And then there is the third message,

the one we hear less often

the one in which the person says with their words,

or more often with their attitude,

let me tell you about my Lord.

Let me tell you about what He, in His grace

has chosen to do in my life

when there was no reason why He should,

and let me share with you

what He longs to do in and though you.

Would you like to hear the way David said it?

Psa 40:1 I waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined to me and heard my cry.

Psa 40:2 He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm.

Psa 40:3 He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; Many will see and fear And will trust in the LORD.

Psa 40:4 How blessed is the man who has made the LORD his trust, And has not turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood.

Psa 40:5 Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders which You have done, And Your thoughts toward us; There is none to compare with You. If I would declare and speak of them, They would be too numerous to count.

Only one of those glories in Christ Jesus.

And here again, this is where Paul is calling us to listen

not to the words of a person,

but to the spirit.

If we come away from a person

mostly impressed with THEM,

what they’ve done,

how much they know,

where they have gone,

what they’ve built,

my friends, back away from them.

It won’t feed your spirit,

and it certainly isn’t what our Lord calls us

to offer to one another.

If, on the other hand,

we come away impressed with their GOD -

who He is,

what He’s done,

and what He’s able to do in our lives,

turn up the volume!

The world doesn’t need more great religious leaders,

it desperately needs a great God

who loves very ordinary people very deeply indeed

and who can and will hold them close to Himself

and rebuild their lives.

And the 3^rd quality Paul mentions

reinforces the same message:

Phil. 3:3 for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh,

And for this to make sense

I need to give you just a little background

on the way Paul uses this term “flesh”.

I know that we typically think of the flesh

as being a term used to describe

that whole realm of fleshly sins

that form so prominently in the lists of things we are to avoid -

sexual immorality,

adultery,

dishonesty,

deceit,

hatred,

bitterness,

envy, etc. etc.

We see the flesh as being

this broad term describing

the cesspool of human corruption

and rebellion

and failure

and evil.

But I want you to listen carefully

to Paul’s description of the flesh in his own life,

and what the flesh produced.

In Phil 3:4-6 he says,

Phil. 3:4 although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more:

Phil. 3:5 circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee;

Phil. 3:6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless.

Now look at where the flesh took Paul -

it was not into the back allies of Jerusalem,

to smutty little porn shops

or slimy drug dealers

or street corner flesh peddlers.

It wasn’t into adultery

or deceit,

or greed,

or dishonesty.

In Paul

the flesh led him to become BLAMELESS as measured by the righteousness which is fond in the moral law of God.

HUH?

He tells us that through the flesh

he had followed every requirement of the Jewish system perfectly.

In fact, it was his flesh abilities

that equipped him to do it.

His zeal,

his commitment,

his determination,

his self-discipline,

his productivity,

his knowledge and schooling

all were spotless,

blameless,

unequaled.

Not only did the FLESH in Paul

not lead him into gross sin,

but it actually made him a glowing,

successful,

confident,

respected,

apparently righteous member

of the Jewish society.

And yet Paul tells us

that it is this very flesh

that stands as the great enemy

of true Christian living,

and of the life of Christ within us.

WHY?

Because it was powerless to produce

even one ounce of true godliness

or righteousness in his life.

In fact, it is fascinating to take this self-portrait of Paul here in Philippians

where he describes what he generated

through his flesh,

and set it next to the self-portrait of himself

that he offers us in I Tim. 1:15-17:

1 Tim. 1:15 It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all.

1 Tim. 1:16 And yet for this reason I found mercy, in order that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience, as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.

1 Tim. 1:17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

You see, when Paul looked at himself

through the eyes of the flesh

and measured himself

on the basis of the religious system

in which he had been raised

he said, ‟I’m blameless! I’m righteous! I’m good!”

When the world around Paul

looked at this man through the eyes of the flesh

and measured him by the highest standards it had to offer,

it too proclaimed him the best of men.

Because, you see, the flesh always, only looks at the externals -

the outward image,

the good, self-righteous face

presented to the world.

But when Paul allowed God

to show him his heart

he said simply, ‟I am the greatest sinner

who has ever lived.”

Now let me offer you my definition for the flesh

and then see if I can bring this home a little more for us.

First, the definition...

As Paul is using the word “flesh” here,

he’s talking about everything we bring with us into this world,

and everything we develop and produce

with what we have brought into this world.

Every one of us enters this world

with our own allotted group of gifts

and attributes that are uniquely ours.

They include our unique physical bodies

with all that that involves-

things like our athletic potential,

our genetic strengths and weakness,

our physical appearance,

whether people think we are pretty or ugly or somewhere in between,

whether we can sing or play an instrument,

the size of our brain and our basic IQ.

We also enter this world

with our own unique, eternal human spirit and soul,

which includes things like our creative abilities,

and sense of humor,

and temperament,

and mechanical aptitudes,

and our determination and tenacity.

The FLESH, as Paul is talking about it here

involves all those things

that we bring with us into this life,

and everything we produce with those things.

And what he’s telling us

when he calls us to put no confidence in the flesh

is that none of those can ever get us to God,

or lead others to God,

or accomplish the healing of God in our lives,

or give us the ability to love the people God gives us,

or in any way fulfill the work of God in us, for us, or through us in this world.

Our hope for all things

is never in our flesh abilities,

our hope is Christ in us.

Now, before I close I need to make two crucial qualifying statements.

First, that is not to say that our flesh abilities are of no value or no significance.

Each of us bear within us unique images of our Creator

and much of that is visible through the unique gifts He has given to each us.

Each of us in our own unique ways

proclaim the majesty and creative genius of our God.

And it is indeed something worthy of celebrating and thanking our God for.

And second,

it is also true

that frequently God does choose to use those unique gifts within us

as channels through which His Spirit chooses to work.

But here’s the deal - when that happens

it is the Spirit of God who is accomplishing the work,

not the flesh gifts He has chosen to use.

And if we ever find ourselves beginning to believe it is our flesh gifts that are accomplishing His work

because He loves us

He will find effective ways of reminding us of the truth,

which in one way or another

will involve the utter collapse of that portion of our life

that we have built upon our flesh abilities

so that we finally discover or once again rediscover

that our only hope of anything good coming out of our lives

is Christ in us and His ability to work through us.

Joh 6:63 “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing...”