October 8, 2017 (Updated for October 4, 2020 – video here)

In his letter to the church at Philippi, Paul describes a life of discipleship. He tells us in no uncertain terms what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. But he begins by telling us what a disciple is not, and he uses his own life as an example.

Paul writes:

If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.
Let those of us then who are mature be of the same mind; and if you think differently about anything, this too God will reveal to you. Only let us hold fast to what we have attained. -Philippians 3:4b-16

“I regard everything as loss
because of the surpassing value
of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” (v.8)

Paul was a Jew’s Jew. He belonged to the most elite and religious sect within Judaism. In this letter to the church in Philippi, Paul addresses a growing concern among the  churches. The big question then was, “do you have to become a Jew in order to become a Christian?” As more and more non-Jewish believers joined the church, this question became a point of deep discord, and the division it caused threatened the order of this new movement. Members were more focused on their disagreement over circumcision than on following Jesus.

So Paul sets out, in this letter, to remind the Christians in Philippi that adhering to strict Jewish laws means nothing. And he ought to know, because he himself had lived like that. The kind of life that was bound up in rules was “rubbish” – a nicer word than the one Paul actually uses, by the way. The only thing that has any value is “knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”

Paul is willing to give up everything that was important to him before, “… in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, …” (vv 8b-9)

Knowing Christ, gaining Christ, … this is what matters. Not how many times we pray each day, or how many chapters of the Bible we read, or how much we put in the offering plate, as good as all those things are. Knowing Christ, in order that I may gain Christ. This is the goal toward which we run as followers of Jesus. “I want to know Christ,” Paul writes again, “and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings, by becoming like him in his death.” (v 10)

Whoa, Paul. Hang on there a minute. Knowing Jesus, that’s all well and good. I like that part about the power of his resurrection. But what’s this stuff about sharing in his sufferings and becoming like him in his death? Do you remember the passage from last week, back in chapter two, that included the ancient hymn to Christ? Here’s a refresher:

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross. – Philippians 2:5-8

Sharing in Christ’s sufferings, becoming like him in his death – this is how we gain Christ, how we come to really know him. Christ emptied himself, humbled himself, and became obedient, even to the point of death on a cross.

Bishop of the Minnesota and Dakotas Conference Bruce Ough has described his own experience of coming to know Christ. He grew up attending church, and his parents were faithful Christians, but it was not until he was a teenager that he gave his life to Christ. Bishop Ough sums up that experience in one word: surrender.

This is what Paul is talking about when he says, “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection, and the sharing of his sufferings, by becoming like him in his death.” Becoming like Jesus in his death means giving our all to obeying God, no matter what it costs us. A life of following Jesus is a life of surrender.

Even a super-Christian like Paul has a long way to go when it comes to complete surrender. “Not that I have already attained the goal …” he writes, “but I press on to make it my own…” And why? What motivates Paul to this kind of surrender?

Because Jesus has made me his own.

It might sound like Paul is describing his own effort, his own striving to become like Christ. But the truth is that Paul is “pressing on” – or leaning into the realization that he belongs to Jesus.

People have often come into my office to tell me about the particular struggles they are experiencing. When I ask if I can pray for them, they almost always respond with eagerness. As I pray, I ask God to remind them that they are God’s own beloved children. I can’t tell you how many times people respond to this simple prayer with sobs. No one has ever told them before that they are God’s beloved children.

They have never experienced what Paul is describing here, what we who claim to follow Jesus should also know: Jesus has made us his own. That’s a truth worth leaning into. That’s a reality worthy of our complete surrender.

The next sentence Paul writes is full of prepositional phrases that drive deep into this truth:
I press on
toward the goal
for the prize
of the heavenly call
of God
in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 3:14  

This is what discipleship means, friends. It is answering the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus with full surrender. Pressing on toward this goal yields a prize, and that prize is God calling us in Christ Jesus. You see, it isn’t what we do that makes us good disciples – it’s what Jesus did. All our effort, all our striving to be righteous and live according to the “good Christian” rules, is just like Paul’s former life as a Pharisee – it’s rubbish.

If you want to be a follower of Jesus Christ, answer the call God extends to you. Press on toward the goal of knowing Christ – not just knowing about Christ, but developing a personal relationship with Jesus. And as that relationship grows, the evidence of your maturing faith will be seen in the way you live your life.

Paul writes, “Let those of us then who are mature be of the same mind; and if you think differently about anything, this too God will reveal to you. Only let us hold fast to what we have attained.” (vv15-16) Paul brings us back to unity of thinking, having the same mind as Christ Jesus, as he encourages us to hang onto the level of maturity we have reached in our faith.

Discipleship is not what we do, it’s who we follow. All the marks of a mature follower of Jesus are evidence of following, not the means by which we follow. In his book, From Membership to Discipleship, Phil Maynard identifies six areas of discipleship that contribute to this picture:

• A life of worship
• A life of hospitality
• A life open to Jesus (spiritual practices)
• A life obedient to Jesus
• A life of service
• A life of Generosity

But we don’t necessarily arrive at full maturity in all of these areas at the same moment. If you were to plot your spiritual development the same way a pediatrician tracks a growing child’s physical development, you would notice that you grow faster in some areas, and others take longer.

But let me emphasize that none of these areas of discipleship come about by our own effort or design. Our efforts to become more hospitable or more generous can’t be sustained for any length of time by our trying. They aren’t the means to become better followers of Jesus. They are the evidence of a whole-hearted surrender to Christ.

This is going to sound counter-intuitive, but …

• If you want to become more generous, you don’t do it by giving more – you do it by knowing Christ more intimately.
• If you want to improve your worship life, you don’t do it by singing louder or lifting your hands higher – you do it by surrendering your life to Jesus.
• If you want to experience a life of more effective spiritual practices, such as prayer and Bible study and fasting, you don’t do it by scheduling more prayer time or signing up for another Bible study group or skipping more meals. You do it by drawing near to the heart of God in Christ Jesus, and centering your life in him.
• If you want to engage in more meaningful service, you don’t do it by signing up for every serving opportunity that shows up on the bulletin board. You do it by diving deeper into your relationship with Christ, and letting him guide you into a more profound awareness of how he wants you to use your gifts.
• If you want to be more obedient to Christ, you do it by listening more closely for his direction, and leaning into a life of full surrender to his will.

And as you devote yourself completely to following Jesus, you will find yourself growing in faith, developing into a mature and robust way of living that reflects Christ more and more in your worship, your hospitality, your service, your spiritual practice, your obedience, and your generosity.

I invite you to consider how you might become more Christ-like in the coming year. How might you grow in faith through the promises that we make in the baptismal covenant, to offer our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service, and our witness?

You could decide on concrete ways of fulfilling your commitment to develop a more mature faith – things like committing to attending worship a specific number of times each month, engaging in a specific number of serving opportunities during the year, and inviting a specific number of people to join you in worship or service.

But any numbers you choose won’t make you a better Christian. They aren’t the means for you to grow in your own discipleship, and they aren’t the goal of your walk with Christ. They represent a promise you make every time we renew our baptismal vows. It’s a promise to press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly calling of God in Christ Jesus. It’s a promise to grow into a mature follower of Jesus. It’s a promise to want to know Christ, who has made you his own.