| |
The Experience of Christ in Philippians
Message Thirty-One: Pursuing The Upward, Onward Christ as Our Unique
Prize
Philippians 3:
13 Brothers, I do not account of myself to have laid hold; but one
thing I do: Forgetting the things which are behind and stretching forward to
the things which are before,
14 I pursue toward the goal for the prize to which God in Christ
Jesus has called me upward.
15 Let us therefore, as many as are full-grown, have this mind: and
if in anything you are otherwise minded, this also God will reveal to you.
After attaining to the high point of verse 12 in Philippians 3, it is
surprising that Paul would then write, “Brothers, I do not account of myself
to have laid hold, but one thing I do, forgetting the things which are
behind and stretching forward to the things which are before, I pursue
toward the goal for the prize to which God in Christ Jesus has called me
upward” (3:13). Such a strong statement has a surprising logic. He has just
said, “if even I may lay hold of that for which I also have been laid hold
of by Christ Jesus.” He has already arrived at the peak, and now he
discovers a plain at the very height, instead of a point from which he must
return. Once we arrive at the topmost experience of Christ, we find
unsearchable riches for us to abide in. It is not that we arrive at a peak
from which we can only come down. No, it is an immense plain! Therefore Paul
says, “I do not account of myself to have laid hold..”
The type of logic we live by generates our ideology. For instance, if our
credo is “I live for the Lord,” that determines how we make choices and live
our life, regardless how spiritual we may be. We will live according to that
logic. Paul here is saying, “No matter how spiritual I may be or how much I
have gained of Christ or how mature I have become as a believer, I refuse to
consider that my quest is over or that I have arrived.”
In creation, things are finite. Even a scholar of Shakespeare will find
there comes a point when everything has been mastered; there is little more
of real interest that needs to be studied. A brother who was wealthy once
said to me, “Titus, I have made so much money, but now I ask myself, ‘What
have I made all this money for? There’s not much value in it.’” In the
Christian life, however, you just continue to go higher and higher. At every
point, you think you have so much, even though you haven’t arrived at the
utmost peak yet. Then, when you arrive at the experience Paul speaks of in
verse 12, where you really have gained Christ, you discover Christ is truly
unsearchable!
Verse 13 becomes a crucial verse for anyone who desires to pursue Christ
life-long. Some spiritual men arrive at a place where they feel they have
mastered the Bible. Since they have read the Bible so many times, they feel
as though they really know what every verse is talking about. This
determination is the reason so many denominations have developed. They come
out of someone’s riches, but the living Christ disappears. Why? Just because
they feel like they have basically arrived. They believe they have received
and grasped the totality. Yet Paul, after ascending these seven stages we
have highlighted in this chapter, and after arriving at the peak, discovers
Christ is an unlimited expanse for us to explore. We are laying hold of
Christ, and He is laying hold of us! What an open door! What I have
experienced thus far is not sufficient, no matter how rich it seems to have
been.
Only those who have a limited experience of Christ declare that they have a
lot. Those who have passed through all the stages of pursuing and gaining
Christ until they can say “that I may lay hold of that which I have also
been laid hold of by Christ” can only say “not that I have already
obtained.” Once you arrive at the seeming peak of enjoying Christ, your
declaration is: “There is no way I can exhaust such an unsearchably rich
Christ!” Throughout eternity, we will still be discovering further riches of
Christ to be the substance of our enjoyment, and our everlasting reality.
Because of this Paul says, “After I have paid such a price and have passed
through all the levels of experience to arrive where I now am, I can only
say ‘I do not account of myself to have laid hold.’” The Lord’s riches are
beyond telling! Therefore Paul can only say, “Yet one thing I do…”
In this portion of three verses (vv. 13-16), we have further stages of
realization. First is to acknowledge that something is in view. It is
because of this Paul writes “I do not account of myself to have laid hold.”
Instead, he says, “One thing I now do… I forget the things that are behind
and stretch forward to what is before.”
Forgetting the things behind is something that is apparently impossible.
First of all, the things behind us are the things that have become a part of
our constitution, and secondly, many of the things that are behind us are
cherished matters, or else we wouldn’t keep them in mind. While we may want
to forget the negative and troublesome things, we find it hard to leave
behind the things that we treasure.
Things that have become our constitution are a part of us. An overweight
person may love to lose what has become a part of his constitution, but it
is not going to go away no matter how much he determines to leave it behind.
I came to this country weighing just 95 pounds! I have considerably
“broadened” since then. I may wish to drop what I have added, but my wishing
can’t change my present constitution. Spiritually it is the same. All the
things you have enjoyed spiritually have become a part of you. Recall all
the wonderful times you have experienced the Spirit, all the where’s and
when’s. After you become a Jesus-lover, your spirit is made alive, and your
constitution has changed. Because of this, you begin to see other believers
as your dear brothers and sisters. Isn’t this good? You also remember times
of ministry and enjoyment. What wonderful times! Brothers and sisters, do
you realize that all such things have to be let go?
I recall when I first truly repented before the Lord, and the sweetness I
experienced. I remember the many times the Lord has touched me since then,
often bringing me to tears. The problem is that when I hold on to these
occasions and events and happenings, I am prevented from going on to new
experiences as I might. Yes, all these wonderful things have contributed to
the spiritual constitution I now possess. This constitution I carry forward
with me, but I must learn not to carry with me all the things that brought
me to this point if I wish to go on further.
Five Categories of Things To Be Left Behind
What are the things I must learn to leave behind me? They are of four
categories: religious experience, revelations, experiences of growth,
teachings, and our work.
1. Religious Experience
Paul could say, “I was a Pharisee, a Hebrew, a Benjaminite, successful at
keeping the law, instructed of Gamaliel, and in so many ways zealous in
pursuing the things of my religion” (see 3:4-7 and Gal. 1:13-14, for
instance).
2. Revelations
Paul could also say, “I know a man in Christ, fourteen years ago (whether in
the body I do not know, or outside the body I do not know; God knows) such a
one was caught away to the third heaven. And I know such a man...that he was
caught away into Paradise and heard unspeakable words...” (2 Cor. 12:2-4).
Paul himself never boasted in his revelations. Luke recorded his word to
Agrippa and his experience on the road to Damascus, but Paul himself never
goes into detail about what the revelations were in which he heard
“unspeakable words.” The reality the revelations imparted to him that became
his constitution never departed from him, but the happenings themselves he
did not hold onto. He preferred to boast in his weaknesses. He didn’t want
praise from men, because to entertain such a thing is to forfeit further
growth.
Many might consider such revelations as qualification to be somebody.
Wouldn’t it be reasonable to open up a “Third Heavens Training Center”? Paul
was taken to the third heavens and was shown things. As far as we can tell,
the Lord never told him he couldn’t do such a thing. He was never told he
couldn’t pass along such things for the benefit of others. To Paul, however,
to do such a thing would jeopardize his further pursuing of Christ. Even the
very event of a revelation can become a frustration to us when it comes to
pursuing Christ. That revelation may have brought about some growth of life,
but the event itself we must not lay hold on to. We have to learn not to
hold onto the event, or it will hinder us in our further pursuing. This is a
law.
3. Spiritual Growth
Thirdly, we must learn to forget about how much we may have grown
spiritually. We should not abide in our growth. If you are someone who feels
that so many others are spiritual infants when compared to you, you are
finished. Instead of celebrating, you should sing a dirge for yourself. Yes,
you may have grown. Thank the Lord. But abiding in such a realization can
frustrate you from growing further.
4. Teachings
Fourthly, the truths we have received also have the ability to prevent us
from going on with the Lord. Those who give a message on some matter know
how that matter can become formed in you as you minister on it. That portion
of truth then becomes “hard” in you. For instance, I gave a message in which
I actually was mistaken on a certain matter, and yet because I was sharing
on it, even that mistake then became a truth, as far as I was concerned! I
can even point to a saint who was very helped by my interpretation! How easy
it is for us to give a message on a certain verse, and then afterwards feel,
“That’s it!” We forget that the Bible is a divine speaking, and whatever is
of divine speaking is always fresh. If we simply are able to look at our
notes on a verse and then share only according to those notes, thinking that
we “have it,” then we are not someone who is “forgetting what is behind.”
Many times, the truth can be something we lay hold on instead of the present
Christ.
When I was giving that message in which I “misapplied” a certain type, some
were checking their footnotes and glaring at me for my “mistake.” It is good
to know what is in the footnotes, but it is even better to have the present
Christ! What I learned from that “mistake” is that in many matters the Bible
is very free. It is true that you have to abide by certain principles, but
too many feel like they know exactly what a verse means or how a certain
matter is to be defined, and thus cannot forget something that is behind for
the sake of stretching to what may lie ahead.
5. Our Work
Finally, something that can also easily stumble us in our pursuit of Christ
is our work. For instance, we had a glorious meeting upon the completion of
this hall. Many of you who are present were not even born yet! Can we forget
such things? Our constitution is what we take forward with us, but these
other things, such as the “good old days,” we must learn to let go. A
certain brother recently reminded me of a certain conference I spoke at. He
said, “I just felt as though I was flowing with divine water. Every saint
was just overflowing!” How we love to hear these stories! Since I gave this
conference, I enjoyed hearing this testimony even more than the person
enjoyed giving it. The problem is that such times are so difficult to
forget. When we dwell in these things, however, we are unable to find Christ
today.
Self Clings To and Is Secure in What Has Been Established
The frustration due to these five things—what we religiously practice, what
we have been given to see, our “maturity,” our knowledge of truth, and any
accomplishment in our work for the Lord— simply exists because our self
loves them. Our self is comforted by religious practice. It boasts in the
fact we have received revelation. It basks in any stature we have arrived at
spiritually. It takes pride in the truth we know. It draws a sense of
accomplishment from our work. I have been following the Lord for fifty
years. During these fifty years I have learned and experienced much. I could
write books relating to all five of these topics, yet I am saved by Paul’s
word here. “Brothers, I do not account of myself to have laid hold, but one
thing I do....”
The Five Categories Are Like Five “Wives” of Self
Our self is always seeking for something to boast in. It needs some capital,
however, before it can do this. (If it has no capital, things can even get
worse, for people in the religious realm will often spy on others and report
to those who do seem to have stature as if by pulling someone else down,
they may be brought up.) We all must realize we have such a self, and that
this self is married to five “wives”—religious practice, the desire for
revelation, the appearance of spiritual growth, knowledge of truth, and
accomplishment in our labor.
We must know that if we dwell in these things, we are in trouble. If we
feel, “Ha! Look what I am able to do! Look at what I have seen! Look at how
far I have come! Look at what I now know! Look at what I have
accomplished!”… then the Lord will say, “Ha! You are finished.”
The secret is simply this: “I do not account of myself to have laid hold.”
It doesn’t matter how rich you are. Would you dare compare yourself with the
apostle Paul? Yet it was he who said this. According to the Greek scholar
Frieberger, “on account” here refers to thinking according to a logical
rule.
Forgetting and Stretching
“Forgetting” is a word that indicates intensity, and accumulation even to
the point of fullness. It simply means, “I have become completely unaware.”
For instance, a brother recently had a good time with some trainees in
another country. If I were to ask that brother about it, his response will
reveal whether or not he is still within that, or whether he is beyond it.
In order to go beyond these things, we must be someone who knows how to
intensely leave them behind. Otherwise, our abiding in these things declares
we no longer hunger to go on further with the Lord.
The word translated “stretching forward” combines the word for “stretch”
with a prefix that intensifies it. It is only found here in the New
Testament. The phrase “toward the goal” is also only found here. The picture
is that of a runner straining himself towards the finish line. His whole
being is geared towards running the race. He does not look around at who may
be watching. He does not wave to anyone in the stands. Even if people were
to try to distract him, he would give no heed to them. He is totally focused
on the goal that is set before him. And what is this goal? It is Christ! He
only sees that he must obtain Christ. He sees that his whole life is only
for gaining Christ, and the only danger is that he might miss Christ. What
Paul portrays here is the means and intensity of someone who is truly
pursuing Christ. Nothing else means anything to such a person other than
gaining Christ.
This is why we feel so energized after attending a certain time of ministry
or after touching the Lord in prayer or reading. We see Jesus! We feel our
life is new, and that our direction is as it should be: towards the Lord.
After such a time, we do not feel like we have reached the peak and that
everything afterwards must be an anticlimax. No, we see that Christ is a
broad place for us to abide in. In such a pursuit there is no such thing as
retirement. There is simply continual enjoyment, intense forgetting, and
stretching forward to what still lies ahead of the unsearchable riches of
Christ.
Pursuing is Persecuting
Paul says the goal for the prize God has called him to is in Christ Jesus.
The riches he sees are the riches that are in Christ Jesus. Therefore, he
pursues. As we have seen, the word “pursue” also means to persecute. To
pursue Christ is also to persecute ourselves, but to truly be able to
accomplish this, we have to see who we are.
Who are you? First of all, you are a big “I”. You have a soul, so you have a
soul-life. With the soul-life is what the Bible calls the old man. The
person of this old man is the self. If you see this, you will gladly
persecute yourself so that you might pursue and gain Christ!
Three Aspects of the World Fitting with Three Aspects of Our Make-up
The three aspects of the world are simply related to who we are. The
material world is related to our flesh, whether sinful or natural. The
psychological world is related to our soul. The religious world is related
to our spirit.
Don’t you have a big “I”? Don’t you have a strong soul-life? Are you not a
very hard old man? Don’t you live your self-life according to your natural
ability? Do you not also have a troublesome flesh? This is you, and this you
is related to these three worlds. The flesh of your old man is related to
the sinful world. The soul-life and your natural man are related to the
psychological world. Once someone becomes a Christian, the I and the self
are typically most strongly controlled by the religious world. Therefore, in
order to pursue Christ, we must know how to take care of these three aspects
of the world.
Of the three, the sinful world is normally the easiest to handle, because it
is the most obvious. The psychological world is more difficult, however.
Most believers have a hard time with the psychological world. The
psychological world, however, involves thinking about things in ways that
have nothing at all to do with Christ. Just consider all the ideologies that
exist today. But the most troublesome aspect of the world, when it comes to
pursuing Christ, is the religious aspect. It is the religious world that
becomes the closest comrade to our self-life, for it is always supportive of
the idea of being for Christ. The problem is that it doesn’t reveal that it
is actually taking you away from Christ even as it speaks of Christ. The
sinful world, on the other hand, makes no such claims. Since it leads to
sin, the conscience reacts, and this usually leads to repentance. In the
religious world, however, few see it as something to repent of, for their
conscience seems to remain peaceful.
The psychological world lies somewhere between. It best fits our natural
man. For instance, I was driven here by a brother in a late model Camry. It
is a comfortable enough car, but it is not a Lexus! This brother, however,
is a doctor, and when he meets others, they often drive new, luxurious cars.
In that realm it is difficult not to sometimes feel you should also get a
better car. That is how the psychological world operates. Another example
has to do with how people in the world take vacations. Does this not make
some among us envious? If you serve the Lord, you will get to see plenty of
places, as the Lord arranges. Yet it is easy to see what others have. We,
however, have set ourselves to gain Christ, and Christ alone! Therefore, we
must know ourselves and the world, and what must be “persecuted” in
ourselves in order that we may pursue Christ.
What does it mean to persecute yourself? It means to take the route nobody
else would take. Others dance, buy things, go places, seek after
entertainment, and yet we have nothing to do with those things because we
persecute ourselves that we may gain Christ. Then others say they have
success, money, and a name, and yet we don’t, because we are persecuting
ourselves that we may gain Christ. Nobody knows us! Paul said they were even
considered the scum and off-scouring of all things. Jesus said, “Woe to you
when others…” (name). We pursue Christ by taking care of our being. Even
though we may have the “legal” right to enjoy certain things, we persecute
ourselves.
And even more so, we realize the danger of the religious world. We may not
have the things of the sinful or material or psychological world, but we
have the church life! Therefore, many think “Can’t I at least become someone
in the church life?” We have no right to become anything. The Lord never
gained anything. The apostle Paul never sought anything other than to gain
Christ. We only have the right to persecute ourselves so that we might gain
Christ. Watchman Nee wrote “I only want to be lonely and hidden; in this
sinful world, may Christ alone be honored.” He only desired to follow the
Lord faithfully to the end. There is nothing for us in the sinful world, the
material world, the psychological world, or even the religious world. We are
not aiming at being considered a good brother or sister in the church life.
We are not aiming at gaining others’ recognition or appreciation. Our goal
is Christ and Christ alone. Why? We have seen upon the mountaintop the open
field of Christ for us to enjoy. Therefore we forget whatever is behind us,
and stretch forward to what is before us. What we see is too precious.
Therefore we persecute ourselves to pursue Christ, saying goodbye to the
world. All that is of my flesh, my talent, my reasoning, and even my
religious gain is gone. Only Christ is left for me to enjoy, and only Christ
becomes the substance of my life. I don’t care about what price I pay, or
what will be the appearance of my life to others. What I do care about is
Christ. Therefore I pursue. If in anything I may satisfy these three worlds,
I say no! I am here to pursue and gain Christ, and Christ alone.
[Another message begins here ]
We realize we must remain upon this wonderful expanse we find at the “peak”
in verse 12. Therefore we determine to do one thing—to pursue towards the
goal for the prize for which God in Christ Jesus has called us upward (v.
14). This is now our living. How do we pursue in this way? It is by a stand
and by a practice. Our stand is now to forget the things that are behind and
our practice is to stretch forward to the things that are before. Our living
is now a life of pursuing.
Christ the Goal Is Never Beyond Our Reach
The goal of our pursuit is Christ Himself, and the one who is overseeing our
pursuing is also Christ! A. T. Robertson, a renowned Greek scholar, stated
that meaning here is that as we continually press forward, the goal also
presses forward. Christ is not a “fixed” goal. Instead, He keeps Himself
just ahead of us, based upon our pursuing. If He allowed Himself to be laid
hold of according to our concept, we would stop our pursuing! Because we
need to be continually growing and maturing, Christ as our goal always
remains just ahead of us, calling us onward to a deeper, richer union with
Himself. He continues to reveal Himself as the goal to draw us after Him,
and therefore we continue to run! This is why even Paul could not say, after
all his hard “running,” that he had arrived.
Christ Our Director and Our Goal
The word “upward” in the Greek original can refer either to a place (the
heavenlies) or a direction. We have a place we are going to, and we have a
direction in which we are going, and the goal before us is always moving
onward, always keeping itself in sight.
When you first become a Christian, perhaps your goal is to make the
meetings. Then you grow a bit more, and your goal then is to enjoy the Lord
in your daily life. As you pursue this, you see something further. Saints,
there is no such thing as retirement for a Christian, for there is always
something further for us to pursue in our experience of Christ. The
interesting thing is, the goal for each one of us, regardless how different
our levels of growth, seems to remain just ahead. In a sense, the distance
to the goal is the same for each of us.
Always Pursuing, Never Arriving
This is not at all like it is in the world. In the world, after you get your
Bachelor’s degree, you are finished with college, unless you get an advanced
degree, in which case you are considered an expert or specialist. Why is it
that, after some have run for many years, and others but for a short while,
each seems to be pursuing the same goal? This is a mystery, but in following
Christ you can never declare, “I have attained!” There is no graduation from
the Christian life. No one can say to anyone else, “I have achieved the
top-level ‘black belt’ in following Christ. How about you?” No matter how
much we have pursued, Christ remains ahead of us, and runs ahead according
to how we ourselves are running. He never runs too fast for us or gets too
far ahead of us. He is always urging us on according to where we are at.
This goal we run towards is Christ, and it is overseen by Christ.
Being Mature Means Having The Mind to Pursue Christ Above All Else
In verse 15 we read, “Let us therefore as many as are full-grown have this
mind, and if in anything you are otherwise minded (meaning you think too
wildly) this also God will reveal to you.” There is such a thing as coming
to a certain stand based on your growth. A number will arrive at a stature
that Paul calls “full-grown.” This doesn’t mean they have laid hold; it just
means they have arrived at this kind of mind—the mind that seeks to lay hold
of Christ by forgetting what is behind and stretching forward to what is
before.
Perfection a Matter of Quality, not Quantity
The Greek word for full-grown means “being perfect.” Perfection in this case
is not related to quantity, but to quality. Maturity is not a matter of
quantity. For instance, maturity is not a matter of how many verses you
know. It is not based upon how many conferences or messages you have
attended. Being full-grown or mature has to do with something divine that
has, by the Lord’s mercy, developed within.
Paul’s word is to “as many as are full-grown.” There should be a number of
brothers among us like this.
Maturity Means Having The Desire to Match God’s High Call
Those who are mature have the desire to match God’s high calling. They
desire to win the prize. Therefore, they use their mind to consider things
with this goal in view. They aim at the best and the highest. They are with
the Lord to obtain whatever is best. They are able to tell the Lord in a
bold way, “My living on this earth is for one thing: to gain Christ!” Paul,
as one comparatively full-grown, was able to say “I only have this mind in
me.”
The Mind in Philippians
In chapter one of Philippians the terms “mind” and “soul” were used instead
of mind. The strongest part of your soul is your mind. It is your mind that
determines your soul. The heart is another word that also approximates the
soul, with the mind. In chapter one of Philippians, Paul told the saints
that they had him in their heart. He also said they should strive
together in one soul for the gospel of Christ. The gospel has to do
with the mind.
In chapter two, the mind advances. It is not merely a matter of having
someone in mind or preaching the gospel with a certain mind. In chapter two
we have the mind of Christ Jesus, a mind which we can also have, to humble
ourselves for the sake of the Body of Christ. This mind came from the
heavens to be a man. A person with this mind humbled Himself, even to the
point of suffering a shameful death. A person with this mind eventually was
exalted by the Father. It was not a mind that said, “What do I get for all
that I have sacrificed?” Yet the Father exalted Him and gave Him a name that
is above every other name.
In chapter 3, the mind is again stressed. As we have the brothers in our
heart, as you are endeavoring to live unto the gospel, as you are blending
yourself with all the brothers in the principle of death, we need to
remember one thing. We are for gaining Christ. Christ is our unique goal and
prize. Christ is God’s high calling. After advancing through Philippians,
the mind becomes saturated with one thought: I want to gain Christ! The goal
of my life is Christ alone!
Don’t think this is as easy as simply saying it. Is a brother who raises up
a congregation willing to drop it if the Lord is leading him to do so? Or
does he reason with something else in view, such as his obligation or the
seeming need of his congregation? Only those who are spiritual mature are
able to say, “I only care for Christ and nothing else.” Our labor must
simply become whatever it takes for us to gain Christ, to accumulate more
Christ. If we are full-grown, we should have this mind.
Then Paul says, “But if in anything you are otherwise minded, God will
reveal this to you” In other words, if we remain veiled to how surpassingly
excellent Christ is, God will eventually be able to reveal Christ to us to
such an extent that we become mature enough to desire Christ and Christ
alone.
From Messages shared by Titus Chu in Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio, in
April and May of 2004.
|
|