The Apostle Paul: Philippians 3:7-11

Whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss for the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Philippians 3:7-11

Aside from Christ, in my opinion one of the most influential people in the Bible was the Apostle Paul. Paul’s ministry was to the Church. The Church began on the day of Pentecost and Paul was the specific agent to expound on the church age. There is something quite different about Paul vs. the other Apostles. If only we knew what exactly occurred in those 3 years in Arabia following his conversion on the road to Damascus! It’s ironic how even though the original Twelve walked with Jesus and worked with Him for a large portion of their lives, it is evident that Paul was unique in comparison to the apostles. You would think that with all the time Peter spent with Jesus, that Peter would be instructing Paul…but the opposite was true…in fact, on occasion Paul had to rebuke Peter (Galatians 2-11-14). Also, Peter indicates that Paul’s writings are difficult to understand 2 Peter 3:16.

“All the Apostles (except Paul) accompanied the Lord and followed Him to the cloud (Acts 1:9). Paul sees Him on the other side of the cloud, and that it is this which characterizes his entire ministry.”                                                                        
-Miles Stanford

“Paul received all his teaching from Heaven, from the Lord Jesus Christ in Glory, rather than from Jesus on earth in His Pre- Cross connections. Paul’s Gospel is the Gospel of the ascended Lord Jesus Christ, and of God as the one who raised Him from among the dead and is now working on resurrection ground only."       

-William R. Newell

Whatever were gains to me.  Prior to that conversion on the road to Damascus, Paul was a disciplined Pharisee and religious leader. From an earthly standpoint Paul had the potential to boast much confidence in the flesh Philippians 3:4 regarding his achievements and yet sacrificed his worldly stature for Christ.  My dad once told me “Unfortunately, due to an earthly perspective, countless believers in the United States depend more on their 401ks, job status, and government entitlements than on the Lord”. This is a false sense of security.

“And they of the Church, and they of the world, journeyed closely, hand and heart. And none but the Master, who knoweth all, could discern the two apart.” 

-L.E. Maxwell

“If ever I become so one with the world, so tolerant of its spirit and atmosphere that I reprove it no more, incur not its hatred, rouse not its enmity to Christ – if the world can find in me no cause to hate me and cast me from its company – than I have betrayed Christ and crucified Him afresh in the house of His friends. On intimate terms with this world that nailed Him to the tree? Perish the thought!”

-L.E. Maxwell

I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss for the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.  Even with Paul’s incredible ministry and insurmountable influence on the Church (even 2000 years later), ministry was not Paul’s primary goal. His primary and ultimate goal was to know Christ and his ministry was the result and made possible because of the initial goal and yearning to know Christ. Paul’s great influence was only possible because of his commitment to know Christ.

“You are not called upon to commit yourself to a need or to a task or to a field. You are called upon to commit yourself to God.”                                    
-Major Ian Thomas

“Paul was not motivated by the flesh but by faith in Christ. Thus, it is faith in Christ and not works (legal obedience) that releases divine power to live out the Christian life."
-David M. Levy

I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law. The Law beneficial: Paul acknowledged that the law serves a purpose and has practical and moral implications for people. So then, the Law is holy and the commandment is holy, righteous and good. Romans 7:12. We would not know what sin was if it weren’t for the law Romans 7:7. Therefore, the Law is a tutor to lead us to Christ. Galatians 3:24. The Law definitely has practical benefits but also is a method used to exemplify our helplessness. God is absolutely perfect and holy and therefore cannot even look upon the slightest imperfection. As we match ourselves up with God, the law reveals our utter inadequacy. The Law not beneficial: Where the Law becomes an issue is when we depend on it instead of the Blood of Christ. Not only do these pathetic attempts not work, but they also imply a lack of faith in depending on Christ’s Blood only.

“The reason God hates your ‘good works’ is that you offer them to Him instead of resting on the all- glorious work of His Son for you at the Cross.”                                                  -William R. Newell.

“Victory, sanctification, revival, the fulness of the Spirit – these cannot be purchased at such a price, for the price has already been paid. To add anything is to repudiate the adequacy of the death of Christ.”                                           
-Major Ian Thomas.

but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. Since we were identified with Christ, He was identified with our sin so that we could be identified with His righteousness. Paul was willing to give up the self-righteousness he had when he was a Pharisee to gain the righteousness of Christ. By his identification with Christ he could share in the divine righteousness.  Like Paul, we need nothing more, only to reckon and affirm what God tells us is fact. By realization of these truths much pleading turns to praise!

God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21. “Christ is made to be what we were, that we might become in Him, what He is!” 

-William R. Newell

“Every great scheme to save man has failed on just one point: its success depended on man’s righteousness, when in reality there is no righteousness in man. This fact makes Christianity different from every other religion the world has ever seen.”

-Alva J. McClain

I want to know Christ, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. As united with Christ, Paul knew he had been crucified with Christ Galatians 2:20. The Christian life is not an imitation of Christ (our flesh would never let us get away with that) but it is a participation with Christ. Paul’s passion was to know Christ and have fellowship with Him. The only way Paul could have the fellowship he desired with his Lord was through the Cross. The only avenue we can enter in and have fellowship is the same way, through the Cross. The Cross which was once a symbol of suffering and death is seen as a symbol of peace and acceptance. Paul did not feel the pain of the Cross because his perspective was on Heavenly things (Ephesians 2:6). The Cross is what eliminated self and enabled Him to draw nearer to Christ, therefore he delighted in the Cross. By acknowledging his identification in Christ’s resurrection enabled the very life of Christ to work through him and make his ministry so productive. When Christ lived on this earth He showed us God in His life; Paul in yielding to a conformity and identification with Christ, shows Christ in his life. Christ who by being very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant being made in human likeness. He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to death – even death on a Cross! Philippians 2:6-8. Christ’s submissive nature, humility and oneness with the Father that is evident during His time on earth is the example and model Paul lived by.

“We who follow the Crucified are not here to make a pleasant thing of life; we are called to suffering for the sake of a suffering, sinful world. The Lord forgive us our shameful evasions and hesitations. His brow was crowned with thorns; do we seek rose-buds for our crowning? His hands were pierced with nails; are our hands ringed with jewels? His feet were bare and bound; do our feet walk delicately? What do we know of travail? Of tears that scald before they fall? Of heart break? Of being scorned? God forgive us our love of ease. God forgive us that so often we turn our faces from a life that is even remotely like His. Forgive us that we all but worship comfort, possessions and treasure on earth. Far, far from our prayers too often is any thought of prayer for a love which will lead us to give one whom we love to follow our Lord to Gethsemane to Calvary – perhaps because we have never been there ourselves."

– Amy Carmichael