Attaining the Resurrection

Philippians 3:1-16

Immanuel – Easter Sunday – 4/20/25

          Regardless of culture, upbringing, generation, we all want our lives to have meaning. We want to live for something significant. Perhaps there is one type of person that does not think this way: the shallow person. But I presume – because you are here this morning – you do not want a shallow life for yourself.

          The resurrection of Jesus Christ is history’s supernova of significance. Nothing compares. Nothing you could possibly do with your life compares to the significance of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Think about the consequences of that glorious Sunday morning 2000 years ago: somebody went from death to life!

          Death takes everything from us. Whatever you could accumulate with your life is gone at the grave. Your loved ones cannot follow you there. The joys of this life are over. Death plunges you into an abyss of nothing, a blackhole of meaninglessness. Yet defying what was unescapable for all others, Jesus rose from death to life.

          Astounding as that is, that’s not the end of the good news. There will be others that rise too; for Jesus was the firstborn from the dead (Revelation 1:5). Just before he summon Lazarus from the tomb, Jesus said,

          “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”  

                                                                                      -John 11:25-26

          To believe Jesus is the resurrection is to trust he can and will raise you from death to life. It’s so simple. If you trust him to do this for you, he promises he will. Though you die, yet shall you live! By faith your life becomes bound to his life, your significance becomes bound to his significance.

          I believe this is the very essence of what Paul writes in Philippians 3. Paul’s life became bound up with Jesus’ life. His significance became bound up in Jesus’ significance. This is what I pray you see this Easter morning; and may your life become bound up with Christ’s, your significance with his.

          And if this were to happen to you, your heart would flood with joy. It’s why Paul tells the Philippian church to rejoice.

          Read vs 1

          Joy is an emotion, isn’t it? And yet, Paul commands Christians to rejoice. He says, “Rejoice in the Lord.” This command is necessary because there are times we are not feeling joy. Sometimes it feels like everything in life is trying to steal our joy. And when our hearts are awash in gloom, in fear, in sorrow; it is for those moments that Paul writes, “Rejoice in the Lord.”

          The implication is powerful: Christian, you are not subject to your emotions, your emotions are subject to you. Similarly, your mind is not in charge of you, you are in charge of your mind. So there is something that each of us must set our hearts and minds upon. And Paul says that writing the command to rejoice provides a measure of safety for the church.

          But before we get to that, Paul offers another measure of safety; this time it comes in the form of a warning.

          Read vs 2-3

          Jews in the first century did not keep dogs as pets, regarding them as unclean scavengers. They also had a pejorative word for non-Jews, or Gentiles: dogs. They considered Gentiles, ignorant of the law of God, to be unclean evildoers.

          Paul, who is himself a Jew, flips that whole paradigm on its head. He says the ones who are the true evildoers are those who mutilate the flesh – referring to circumcision. To be a Jewish male was to be circumcised. It was part of the Jewish identity. But Paul says anyone who places their confidence in the flesh, or derives their significance from being a circumcised Jew, those are the true dogs. (Is it any wonder the Jews persecuted Paul all over the Roman Empire?)

          Paul issues a warning: Beware of them! True worshippers of God worship in the Spirit. As Jesus said,

“The hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.”

                                                                   -John 4:23

What an amazing statement! The Heavenly Father is actively seeking for those who worship him in spirit and in truth. And if you’re wondering what in the world that means, Paul provides help: those who worship in the Spirit glory in Christ – that’s what he says in verse 3. To glory in Christ means to recognize, with all of your life, the most significant truth in the universe is Jesus Christ, crucified and risen!

Paul then launches into a powerful exposé of what this looks like.

Read vs 4-6

          Do you hear what Paul is saying? He has all the reason to put his confidence in the flesh, to derive significance from his privilege. He belongs to the chosen bloodline – a Hebrew. He descends from one of the last remaining tribes of Israel – Benjamin. His was a respectable Jewish family – circumcising him on the eighth day. What privilege Paul was born into! What a reason to boast! Anyone would flaunt these things as evidence of their significance.

          Consider also his achievements. He endured an incredibly rigorous religious education to become a Pharisee. He was blameless, a fastidious law-keeper. No one could look at the exterior of his life and find fault. (This is not the same as claiming to be sinless). He radically maintained the purity of Judaism – persecuting Jews who broke off to follow Jesus. In light of the Jewish religious establishment, few had more reason to boast than Paul. Anyone would flaunt these things as evidence of their significance.

          And Paul did boast in these things. In the world’s eyes, he was a significant person. But one day, traveling along the Damascus Road, on his way to persecute Christians, he encountered the someone he was convinced was dead: the resurrected Christ. In that instant Paul’s paradigm of significance, his source of joy, forever changed.

          Read vs 7-9

          All former ways of finding significance, Paul counts as loss. Attractiveness: loss. Intelligence: loss. Sizable bank accounts: loss. Athletic achievements: loss. Large platforms: loss. Heritage: loss. Family: loss. Work ethic: loss. Reputation: loss. Position: loss. Wake up and see all these things are utterly insignificant.

          But doesn’t this beg the question, why are they insignificant? The world places so much meaning on these things, and we are prone to do the same; why does Paul count them as rubbish?

          Because not one of them – possessions, accomplishments, position, family – not one of them can add a single day to your life. And worse, the Bible teaches if we make these the most significant part of our lives, then we have forsaken the true and living God for our selfishness and pride. We take our selfish desires and proud determinations, and make idols out of them.

If with our lives we have forsaken God, God will not force us to love him. So he casts us from his presence, eternally, into the outer darkness. And there in the formless and void, we are free to be our own gods – alone, powerless, separated from the source of all goodness; always alive, never living. This is what Scripture calls the second death. No privilege you were born into, no accomplishment in this life, can save you from it.

          This is precisely why Paul says he counts his world of privilege and accomplishment as rubbish. He actually uses a word not for rubbish, but for excrement. He continues with shocking language: to trust in circumcision is to mutilate the flesh; those who derive significance from their bloodline are dogs; and only a fool would find significance in what death flushes down the toilet!

Paul uses such shocking language like cold water thrown to the face of someone who sleeps. Wake up! All those former boasts are shadows, like the delusions of a fever. Wake up to the reality of Jesus Christ. Before you fall to the shadows forever, rise up from your slumber and see what, or who, is truly significant.

          Listen again to Paul: I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may Christ and be found in him!

          Jesus’ worth surpasses all of life’s treasures! Nothing in all the earth compares to Him! Jesus is the Preeminent One, most significant! Therefore, the most significant thing you can do with this life is to gain Christ and be found in him.

          Remember Paul commanded us to rejoice in the Lord and to glory in Christ. If we are going to do this, then we need more information; we need to understand what it means to gain Christ and be found in him.

          Read vs 9b-11

          Paul lists five gains found in Christ, each one a source of our joy, each one revealing the glorious significance of Jesus our resurrected Lord.

1.      Through faith in Jesus, God makes you righteous.

2.      You will know the power of his resurrection.

3.      You will share in his sufferings.

4.      You will become like him in death.

5.      You will attain the resurrection from the dead.

Let’s step through these one at a time.

The first gain found in Christ: God makes you righteous.

          God the Father calls Jesus his most beloved son. The Father treasures Jesus above all else – most significant. Thus, by the grace of God, when you see Jesus as most significant, counting your sinful idols as loss, and you release control of your life to cling instead to Jesus, then Father looks at you and says, “Righteous! For the sake of my Son you have counted your idols as loss. I count you as righteous!” This is what Paul calls the righteousness from God that depends on faith in Jesus.

          To gain Christ and be found in him means God counts you righteous!

          The second gain found in Christ: you will know the power of his resurrection.

          Paul is not yet talking about what happens after the grave. There is resurrection power for your life right now. The writer of Hebrews says fear of death subjects us to lifelong slavery (Hebrews 2:15). We were born into fear of death. Satan wields that fear like a whip driving us to toil in our addictions, our anxieties, our sorrows, our self-hate, our mindless comforts.

          But Christ, by the power of his resurrection, has snatched that whip from Satan’s hand and turned to you with his strong embrace. You are cared for. You are secure. You are loved. Now nothing in all creation, not even death, can separate you from his love! Have you ever seen someone who knows how deeply they are loved: a beloved child, the recently engaged? Their life is filled with joy, there is a light about them. Somehow love has set them free. They feel like they can take on the world. Somehow love makes them fearless.

          Knowing resurrection power today means knowing God loves you so much he will not allow death to separate you from him. You are free to walk away from your chains. You are free to follow him. And wherever he leads, and whatever struggles come with that path, fearlessly take them on. He has your back. You literally have nothing to lose; for the resurrected Christ will ensure nothing of significance will ever be lost.

To gain Christ and be found in him means resurrection power allows you to live fearless and free!

          The third gain found in Christ: you will share in his sufferings.

          Though Jesus gives life, and life abundantly (John 10:10) that does not mean this life will be free of pain. But know this: your pain is a share in Christ’s sufferings.

          People scorn you? You feel their mocking? Jesus, too, was scorned and spat upon and hated. Your body is wracked with pain? Jesus suffered pain we can hardly imagine on that cursed cross. You feel abandoned? Jesus’ friends fled in his hour of greatest need, their promises of loyalty forgotten. You feel forgotten? As Jesus was dying in agony, he cried out, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”

          But Jesus’ sufferings were not without meaning, they are his glory. The tremendous worth of Jesus was revealed through his suffering. For it is in his suffering that his love for you is most powerfully displayed. It is in his suffering that you can see his unfathomable depth of obedience to the Father. It is because of his suffering that he is exalted above all others!

          So in your suffering, cling to Jesus. The Father will see you, in faith clinging to his Beloved Son, and love swells for you in his heart. Yet he allows you to pass through the pain so you will know your Savior more. And if Jesus is preeminent, the most significant being in all creation, then sharing in Christ’s sufferings should be most precious to you! Your pain is a window into the soul of your Savior, and faith gives you the eyes to see in.

          As it is for Christ, the Father promises the suffering you endue will result in your glory. To gain Christ and be found in him means you will share in his sufferings, to know your Savior more intimately, to share in his glory eternally.

          The fourth gain found in Christ: you will become like him in his death.

          Not only will you suffer in this life, but this life will end. Just as Jesus died, so too shall you die. But more than that, before Jesus went to the cross, greatly distressed by the torment about to crash upon him, he prayed, “Father, not my will, but yours be done.” (Luke 22:42) Jesus laid aside his own will, his own self, for the sake of the Father.

          And we shall become like him in his death. Jesus tells us what this means.

“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”                                                 -Matthew 16:24-25

Every day Jesus calls us to die to ourselves. Though Jesus was without sin, when our sinful and selfish desires rise up, crucify them! When pride begins to take control, kill it! Lower yourself. Choose others over your self. Pray, “Father, not my will, but yours be done!”

Rejoice in being vulnerable, weak, needy; drawing your strength and significance from God. For when you understand your former life was utterly insignificant, you crucify it! Obedience to Jesus is everything, and anything that would take you from it must die.

To gain Christ and be found in him means choosing his will over your own, thus becoming like him in his death.

          The fifth gain found in Christ: you will attain the resurrection from the dead.

          Listen to Paul again: that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. It could sound like Paul has some uncertainty, that he has to make sure he attains the resurrection. But that is not at all what is going on here. For everyone who believes, God makes 100% certain that all of his children will attain the resurrection from the dead.

          Rather, Paul is talking about all the uncertainty before the resurrection. He will face sufferings, but which ones he does not know. He will face death, but how he will die he cannot predict. But wherever the Lord might lead him, whatever sufferings he must endure, however terrible a death he may face, Paul yearns for his life – and death – to be worthy of a person who will rise.

          Just as a star does not earn its place in the heavens, a Christian does not earn the resurrection. But Paul wants his life and death to burn with the brilliance of one who will rise. Every tear and joy, every pleasure and pain, with all of his heart and mind, Paul wants his life to be an announcement to the world: Jesus Christ is the infinitely significant one! It is why Paul commands the church: Rejoice in the Lord, glory in Christ.

          To gain Christ and be found in him means to attain the resurrection from the dead having lived a life of Christ exalting faithfulness.

          That’s exactly what Paul wants for his life.

          Read vs 12-16

          Again you can hear it, Paul choses to forget those old pulls on life, all the things he used to find significance in, and counts it as loss. He strains for what lies ahead; meaning, he strives for his life and death to burn with the brilliance of one who will rise. If the resurrection is the goal of our lives, which it must be, then all of life is lived to for that goal.

In a soccer match, some goals are sloppy, just barely making it in. Others come through a brilliance of play, flowing with intentionality and passion; then there’s the beautiful finish on the ball. I want to orchestrate my life so it doesn’t end in a sloppy, confusing heap. I want my life to be an intentional and brilliant announcement of the surpassing worth of Christ Jesus my Lord, and that I gained him and was found in him – that he was my significance.

          Like Paul says, by any means possible I will attain the resurrection from the dead, pressing on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus had made me his own. As I glory in him, may the glory of his resurrection spill through my life! Yes, I will rejoice in the Lord, because he who began a good work in me will bring it to completion!

          Shortly after I started this sermon I said, because you are here, it’s unlikely you are a shallow person. Scripture describes a shallow person as someone who hears the words of God and immediately forgets what he hears. Perhaps he felt a sense of conviction, inspiration, a warmness of heart, but nothing changes. He goes on living his life as he always has. Scripture calls such a person a fool. The one who lives a shallow life does not realize Satan is snatching away every good seed landing on the soil of life, as he continues to crack his fear-filled whip.  

          Wake up! Put no confidence in the flesh. Life without Christ is meaningless. Jesus is preeminently significant! He gave his life in love of sinners, and he rose to life so the dead can live.

“I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”  

                                                                                      -John 11:25-26

By faith you can gain Jesus and be found in him.

And the Father will call you righteous.

And today you will know the power of his resurrection.

And you will share in his sufferings.

And you will become like him in death.

And you will attain the resurrection from the dead.

All is loss compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Jesus Christ, the Lord of Life and Death.

By faith, bind your life to his life, your significance with his.