Reflecting the Image (by Carla Sunberg)

Scripture: Phil. 3:12   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. 13 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, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.   Observation: The Roman world was always reaching out to obtain finite goals. Paul had discovered that knowing Christ was an infinite goal, one which would always have a new horizon every day, for God in Christ stretches out to the eternal. Therefore, he could not boast in having reached the goal, for he had come to realize that there would always be more. He continually pressed on to know Christ as his own, because he saw the sacrificial work of Christ as that which made all of life possible.   Paul reaffirmed that he had not yet mad...

Scripture: Phil. 3:7   Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. 8 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 9 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. 10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, 11 if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Observation: Paul speaks from his heart about his own experience with Christ. We must remember that the New Testament did not exist and these letters were shared among the community to provide a framework for discipleship. Paul often used his own life as an example for these ne...

Hadrian's wall. That was certainly a dead-end street for many! Scripture: Phil. 3:4b If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: 5 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; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. Observation: Paul has just warned the Philippians to beware of the Judaizers; those who wanted to make all Gentile Christian believers adopt the Jewish practices. This was pressure to live life “in the flesh.” Paul then began to list his own pedigree of all the actions that he had done “in the flesh” and assured them, this was a dead-end street. He was not a proselyte into the Jewish faith, but was born a Jew. Let’s listen in on the great 4th century preacher Chrysostom as he describes Paul’s pedigree: He was, he says, “circumcised on the eighth day.” So he makes it clea...

Scripture Phil. 3:1   Finally, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord.    To write the same things to you is not troublesome to me, and for you it is a safeguard. Phil. 3:2   Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of those who mutilate the flesh! 3 For it is we who are the circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and boast in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh— 4 even though I, too, have reason for confidence in the flesh.   Observation While we find a “finally” here, it doesn’t seem that Paul is quite finished with this letter. However, there are important items that he feels that he needs to interject as he continues his thoughts. Again, he brings them back to an attitude of rejoicing. He seems to be concerned the possible despondency of the Philippians, and quite possibly, this is because they thought that he was dead. Maybe they find following Christ difficult, but again, he encou...

My 'unsung hero' -- my grandpa, C. B. Johnson Scripture Phil. 2:19   I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I may be cheered by news of you. 20 I have no one like him who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. 21 All of them are seeking their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22 But Timothy’s worth you know, how like a son with a father he has served with me in the work of the gospel. 23 I hope therefore to send him as soon as I see how things go with me; 24 and I trust in the Lord that I will also come soon. Phil. 2:25   Still, I think it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus—my brother and co-worker and fellow soldier, your messenger and minister to my need; 26 for he has been longing for all of you, and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill. 27 He was indeed so ill that he nearly died. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, so that I would not have one sorrow af...

Little Halston is teaching us about joy. He finds most everything in life joyful, unless it's dinner time and you're not feeding him fast enough! Scripture Phil. 2: 17 But even if I am being poured out as a libation over the sacrifice and the offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you— 18 and in the same way you also must be glad and rejoice with me. Observation We don’t find agreement on what Paul meant about being poured out here, but we do know that it meant sacrifice. Whether it meant his eventual martyrdom, or the way in which he sacrificially worked as a missionary, we don’t know, but no matter the circumstance, Paul had found a way in which to be joyful. Paul mentions his joy on several occasions but here, he invites the Philippians church into his life and he wants them, too, to be glad and rejoice.   Paul had learned that he could be rejoice in every circumstance of life, and he wanted the church in Philippi to join him in...

Scripture Phil. 2:14   Do all things without murmuring and arguing, 15 so that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine like stars in the world. 16 It is by your holding fast to the word of life that I can boast on the day of Christ that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.   Observation Paul continues his letter to the Philippians. His heart has been troubled by their arguing and murmuring, but he has laid before them the source and the pattern. Jesus is the source into whom they are all to be connected, having the same mind that is in Christ Jesus. Being connected to the source, the pattern of Jesus is to flow directly from their lives. Therefore, they are to live the pattern of Jesus in the world.   If they truly have the mind of Christ, there will be no murmuring or arguing among the members of the church. The language here harkens back to ...