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In the book of Philippians Paul uses certain unusual expressions that are not found elsewhere in the Bible. Some of these expressions are the excellency of the knowledge of Christ, the power of His resurrection, the fellowship of His sufferings, and being conformed to His death. Although these expressions may be familiar to us, we may not understand them adequately. In this chapter we will consider another peculiar expression, the out-resurrection. This refers to the resurrection that is outstanding, not the ordinary resurrection. This resurrection is like graduation with highest honors. Hundreds of students may graduate at the same time, but only one is the valedictorian, one whose graduation is outstanding. We may call this kind of graduation the outstanding-graduation, or the extra-graduation. When Paul wrote this Epistle, he probably realized that he would soon be martyred. Believing that there would be a resurrection at the time of the Lord’s coming back, he was assured that he would participate in the resurrection. However, he desired to attain to the out-resurrection from the dead, the outstanding resurrection.
In Philippians 3:11 Paul says, “If by any means I might attain to the out-resurrection from the dead” (Gk.). The words by any means reveal that Paul was desperate. He was like a runner in a race who is desperate to be first. Paul’s concept was that of a race in the Olympic Games. By any means, he wanted to arrive at the goal of the out-resurrection. We all need to have this sense of desperation infused into us. We need to be desperate to attain to the out-resurrection.
A student becomes valedictorian by doing outstanding work in his studies and by being filled with all he has learned. In order to be valedictorian, you must be the graduate most filled with learning. Likewise, in order for Paul to attain to the out-resurrection from the dead, he had to be filled with Christ. Today many young people are good at shouting and releasing the spirit. However, when the Lord Jesus comes back, what will count is how much we have been filled with Christ. It is possible to shout and release the spirit and yet be short of Christ. There is nothing wrong with shouting and releasing the spirit, but inwardly we need to be filled with Christ. When the Lord Jesus comes back, He will be concerned with the degree to which we have been filled with Him, not with how much shouting we have done. How much Christ have you obtained? How much Christ has filled your being? If you are filled with Christ, then you will be qualified for the out-resurrection.
We should not only shout in the meetings but be filled with Christ and express Christ in our daily living. God does not want shouting or release. He wants His Son, Jesus Christ, to be wrought into our being to become our life and our living. Christ must be our everything. The more we receive of Christ, the more qualified we will be to attain to the out-resurrection from the dead.
Paul’s concept in Philippians 3 is that of gaining and obtaining Christ. As I have pointed out, the word obtain implies both experience and enjoyment. Thus, Paul wanted to experience Christ and enjoy Christ. This means that he desired to participate in Christ, to partake of Christ, and to have Christ wrought into the fibers of his being.
In verses 13 and 14 Paul said, “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.” Paul was stretching forward to Christ. In order to understand Paul’s meaning here, we need to realize that every age has a trend, a current, a tide. The trend of the age is always versus Christ. There are many things in the current of the age that can carry us away from Christ. Christ leads us upward to the heavens, but the current of the age leads us downward. Everything during Paul’s time, including Judaism, Greek philosophy, Gnosticism, and Roman politics, was versus Christ. It is not easy to move upward when there is such a strong current to pull us downward. Therefore, like Paul, we need to be desperate to move against the current of the age.
Paul was desperate to stretch forward upward to Christ. In the Lord’s recovery we also need to fight against the downward trend. Satan is subtle, and he can use anything as a substitute for Christ. He can even use pray-reading, praising, or the release of the spirit to replace Christ. Satan’s intention is simply to keep us away from Christ. If he can accomplish this, he is satisfied. As long as we do not obtain Christ, Satan is happy with our shouting, calling, and pray-reading. Thus, in all our activities we need to check whether or not we are obtaining Christ. Do we obtain Christ in our release of the spirit, in our pray-reading, or in our meetings? The test, the standard, is the gaining of Christ. It is not calling, shouting, or releasing the spirit. We need to be assured that in whatever we do we are gaining more of Christ. The growth of life is simply the increase of Christ. It is the daily addition of Christ into our being.
Do not think that I am now opposed to shouting, calling on the name of the Lord, or pray-reading the Word. I took the lead to practice these things. I even encouraged others to make a joyful noise in the presence of the Lord. But I wish to point out that merely calling, shouting, pray-reading, or releasing the spirit without Christ is an offense to God. Again and again we have pointed out that to be religious is to do something to please God without Christ. If you shout, release the spirit, or pray-read without Christ, that is religion. It may be a new religion, a religion invented by us, but it is nonetheless a religion, for we are trying to please God without Christ. To do these things is to be carried downward away from Christ. To receive Christ is to move upward, but to miss Christ is to be carried downward. If you desire to shout, you must check how much of Christ there is in your shouting. If you do not have the assurance that Christ is in your shouting, you should be quiet. The same is true with the release of the spirit and with the calling on the name of the Lord. Anything we do to worship God without Christ is religious. Like Paul, we need to be desperate to obtain Christ.
By the time Paul wrote the Epistle to the Philippians, he was matured. Nevertheless, he was still hungry to obtain Christ and experience Him. He had no assurance that he had already attained. Thus, he said that he was forgetting the things behind and stretching forward to the things before. He wanted to set aside everything of the past, whether it was good or bad. Both his Jewish experiences and his Christian experiences had to be left behind in order that he might obtain Christ. Paul seemed to be saying, “Not only my attainments in Judaism can frustrate me from seeking Christ, but even my experiences in the churches can do this. Anything old can keep me from experiencing Christ today. Therefore, I am forgetting the things behind and stretching forward to the things before. Every aspect of the things before is just Christ Himself.”
In Philippians 3:14 Paul says, “I pursue toward the goal for the prize to which God in Christ Jesus has called me upward.” The Greek word for pursue is of the same root as the word for persecute. Anyone who persecutes others is desperate. Paul was desperate to follow after Christ and to seek Christ. We all need such a desperation.
The meetings of the church should be a testimony of our daily living and our daily walk. What is the testimony of our meetings? What do the visitors see when they come to the meetings? Do they simply see us shouting, pray-reading, and calling on the name of the Lord? In our meetings we need to have some genuine testimonies of our experience of Christ and enjoyment of Christ. Thus, whenever the visitors come to our meetings and observe what is taking place, they will be convinced that this is the testimony of Jesus Christ. My present concern for all the churches is that we would have the experience of Christ. If people can see only our shouting and excitement, then we must be short of Christ. If so, we have lost the Lord’s testimony. In the meetings we must have something real, solid, practical, convincing, and subduing. The visitors need to be impressed with the riches of Christ. Whenever a visitor comes to the meeting, he should be convinced and subdued and say, “Here is the testimony of Jesus. This is not just a group of people shouting, singing, and praising, for the reality of Christ as life is among them. In their testimonies they all tell of how they are experiencing Christ in their daily life. Thus, when they come together, they have much of Christ to present to God.” If we are like this, our meetings will be the exhibition of Christ. What God desires today is such a testimony of Jesus.
In Philippians 3 Paul did not think that he had yet reached the goal. Thus, he pursued Christ by forgetting the things past and stretching forward to the things before. Paul’s goal was the top experience of Christ, the fullest portion of Christ. Our goal in the church life should be the best experience of Christ. If we reach this goal, we will be filled with Christ. Then we will receive the reward of the out-resurrection from the dead. Because we are outstanding in the experience of Christ and are filled with Christ to the uttermost, we receive the reward of the out-resurrection. This is the accurate meaning of this portion of the Word.
Verse 15 says, “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.” In chapter 2 Paul charged the Philippians to think the one thing. The one thing we need to think is forgetting everything of the past and stretching forward to pursue the goal of the best experience of Christ so that we may receive the prize. Let us all think this one thing. We need to be occupied with how to be filled with Christ and how to take the lead in the experience of Christ.
In 3:15 Paul says also, “If in anything you are otherwise minded, this also God will reveal to you.” This indicates that it is quite possible for us to think something else. If we do, God will reveal even this to us. We may be willing to let go of the one thing, but God is not willing. We may forget about the experience of Christ and become occupied with things such as shouting and releasing the spirit. We may even compete with others in these matters. However, we need to be like Paul to pursue the goal of the experience of Christ and the enjoyment of Christ. We do not want to talk about Christ without having the experience of Christ. However, we may turn from pursuing Christ and seek to have our own way regarding certain things in the church life. When we do this, we have no joy within us. When we are like this, we are in the flesh, and we are not experiencing Christ. The mysterious Christ seems to disappear.
If we exercise our mentality instead of our spirit, we will not experience Christ. If we argue with one another and compete with one another, we do not experience Christ, because we are not in our spirit. We need to have Christ not in terminology but as a reality. We need to be centered not on things but on Christ Himself. We all need to see the vision that what the Lord desires today is Christ. If we learn this lesson, we will not care for our way or our success. Rather, we will say, “Lord, we are here to gain You. Show us the way to gain You more. We don’t want to simply have meetings. We want to have You. We have been laid hold of by You so that we may lay hold of You. Lord, what is the way for the saints in this locality to experience and enjoy You more?” This is the right attitude to have before the Lord.
What the Lord desires today is not simply meetings, work, or activities. Furthermore, He does not desire any practices. What He wants is for us to be living and full of Him. Then whatever we do and are will be the living testimony of Jesus Christ. This is what the Lord needs today.
In verse 16 Paul says, “Nevertheless whereunto we have attained, by the same rule let us walk.” No matter the degree of our experience, we need to walk by the same rule. This rule is to think the one thing. Do not say, “Brother Lee, you have been in the Lord for more than fifty years and have a great deal of experience. You are matured and on a high level. But we have been in the church life a short time.” No matter on what level we are, we need to walk by the same rule and to think of nothing other than the experience of Christ for the church life. To walk by the same rule is simply to think the one thing. For this reason, Paul besought Euodias and Syntyche to think the same thing (4:2). No matter what our age may be — young, middle-aged, or elderly — and no matter how long we have been in the church life, we need to walk by the same rule by thinking the one thing. If we do this, the situation in the church life will be wonderful. By thinking the one thing we will be kept in oneness and in life. Instead of divisions or opinions among us, there will be the genuine oneness with life.
Throughout the recovery we all need to think the one thing — to pursue Christ toward the goal for the prize. If we do this, we will be in oneness, and we will be full of life. This is my burden in these days. I hope that you all will be infused with this burden and from now on will not care for anything other than the best enjoyment of Christ. We all want to be filled with Christ so that we may attain to the outstanding resurrection, the out-resurrection from the dead. We want to think the one thing so that we may be one not only in spirit but also in soul. Furthermore, by thinking the one thing, the reality of the riches of Christ will reach its fullness. This is the Lord’s recovery.
