PHILIPPIANS CHAPTER 3
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Phi 3-1,2
(172ab) Works of the devil
>>
Manifestations of the devil >> Tares among the
wheat >> Devils among the saints >>
False brethren among the people of God >> Legalists among the liberated – There were
evil people in the
days of the early church, so nothing has changed in that department. Those who would like to subvert the word of God usually don’t try
to actually edit the Scriptures, because it is easier simply to invent
new interpretations of the Bible to establish their corner on Christianity;
this is the reason for so many religions and denominations in the world. They
aim their sites on the gospel to pervert it for the sake of personal gain, but their actions also
affect the next hundred generations, making themselves the only ones to profit
from their treachery, like politicians who make decisions that benefit only
themselves at the people's expense.
(180d) Works of the devil
>>
Practicing witchcraft >> Wolves >>
Be shrewd as wolves and more innocent than they appear >>
Wolves in sheep’s clothing – These
religious reprobates don’t care how many people
they hurt in the process of getting what they want; their unbridled selfishness
ravaging the saints and leaving the people to care for themselves. They have a formula for doing
their dirty work that has been repeated many times without alteration throughout
the ages, since it works so well that it cannot be improved. They align
themselves with Satan who never changes, a spirit that operates through principles and not through
any kind of intellect that we would understand. They call
attention to themselves by promising the congregation things they cannot
deliver, promises that are designed to flatter their
audience to get them hooked, and then they reel in their prey through guilt and
shame.
Phi 3-1
(238i) Kingdom of God
>>
Pursuing the kingdom >> Pursuing the knowledge
of the kingdom >> Teachers >>
Teachers "remind" their students >>
Prevention against forgetting -- This verse goes with verses 18&19
Phi 3-2
(159e) Works of the devil
>>
Essential characteristics >> Counterfeit >>
Counterfeit godliness >> Counterfeit repentance –
If there is a false circumcision, then there is also a true circumcision. The
Spirit performs the true circumcision in the heart, cutting out sin and
setting us apart from the world (Col 2-11), but those who prefer physical
circumcision to spiritual circumcision are legalists, who append certain
observable requirements to salvation, which they trust to secure favor with
God, instead of trusting in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross.
Trusting in anything other than His blood sacrifice is the very definition of
a false religion, and for this reason Paul called them the false circumcision.
It is good hygiene to be circumcised, but spiritual circumcision is cutting away the foreskin of
the heart, referring to rising above our temptations that revolve around the
maypole of sexual lust. “Dogs”
represented gentiles in the days of the Old Testament, but the word has
taken on new meaning: unbelievers. They are not the true children of God but
are false Christians. The Church today
is full of people who want to go to heaven but don’t want to be disciples of
Jesus, and we are to beware of them.
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Phi 3,3-11
(88d) Thy kingdom come
>>
Faith produces works >> The function of works in
faith >> Faith doesn’t move God until it is
manifested in the natural realm
(177i)
Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Presumption (Hinduism) >>
Misunderstanding the word of God – The emphasis on the law was actually a
misconception of Israel, in that God intended the emphasis to remain on the
faith of Abraham, which was how their nation was born in the first place.
Israel in the days of Jesus somewhat shelved
Abraham, though he was
literally the father of their faith. The nation of Israel was born when
Abraham obeyed the voice of God by journeying into a strange country
in search of his own land and a nation that God promised him. Israel was
conceived the moment God whispered
in his ear, and the nation was born at his first step. Abraham was greater than a
patriarch, and his contribution to
their faith far outweighed anything the law offered. So, Israel's emphasis on
the law was arguably misappropriated for thousands of years until Jesus came
and preached to them the gospel of the kingdom, which they could not recognize
because of their distorted slant on the Old Testament. See also: We have inherited
God's promise to Abraham; Rom 8-16,17; 36k
(187h) Die to self (Process of substitution)
>>
Separation from the old man >> Die to the flesh >>
Spirit versus the flesh >> Deny the flesh to
walk in the Spirit >> More the flesh dies, more the spirit lives
(192c) Die to self (Process of substitution)
>>
Result of putting off the old man >> Gain by
losing >> Life for life >>
Losing your identity to gain God’s identity – Paul essentially burned his bridges and never
looked back. He changed direction and never thought again who he once was and
what he once believed. His old life was a complete loss; he was born again,
his life having become an utter waste of time and energy. However, God was
able to salvage his education and intellect for a ministry, as though from a burning house, but the things
that carried over were miniscule compared the loss he suffered. None of the things he
had worked so diligently had any application to his faith in Jesus, his old life
nothing more than a smoldering rubbish heap. Jesus came to Israel when the
people were utterly lost, and
not even a man like Paul could fix them, until Jesus fixed Paul. Even
then he couldn’t fix Israel, but as an evangelist he called the gentiles to
repentance and many obeyed the gospel and were saved.
Phi 3,3-8
(205h) Salvation
>>
Salvation is based on God’s promises >> New
covenant >> The old one is obsolete – Paul devoted himself to the knowledge of Old
Testament law, until Jesus revealed Himself in a way that was reminiscent to
God speaking to Abraham.
Phi 3-3
(111c) Thy kingdom come
>> Faith
>>
Spirit and the word >> Spirit of truth
– Jesus
is called the word of God, and He said in Jn 4-23, “Those who worship the Father must worship
Him in Spirit and truth.” Putting these two ideas together, the Spirit and
the word are commonly found throughout the New Testament.
(190h) Die to self (Process of substitution)
>>
Separation from the old man >> Circumcision >>
Circumcision is a sign of obedience >>
Circumcision is a sign of believing -- This verse goes with verse 5. Circumcision is an Old Testament sign that
represented faith in God, beginning with Abraham after he believed and was
circumcised according to the commandment of God. Therefore, the term “false
circumcision” refers to false believers, which is an oxymoron, being the first of many contradictions about
them.
Paul says that we are the true circumcision, meaning we truly
believe, and the “false circumcision” are those who don’t believe,
though they are circumcised. This would translate to people who go to
church every Sunday to seek favor from God through a religious construct, but
have no personal faith in God, using their religion
as a front to appease God for their guilty conscience. Paul is saying they are dangerous
people to faith, and they roam the Church halls, especially desiring leadership
positions. They have false motives for assembling with the saints, which could
only result in bringing down the spirituality of the people, unless they are
converted and join the faith.
(234c) Kingdom of God
>>
Pursuing the kingdom >> Seeking the glory of God >> Seeking the glory of His Spirit
(252f) Trinity
>>
You shall put no other gods before Me >> Worship
God >> Worship God who is Spirit >>
Worship God in the Spirit
(255e) Trinity
>>
Holy Spirit’s relationship between Father and Son >>
God’s word is Spirit >> God is Spirit
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Phi 3,4-14
(116m) Thy kingdom come
>> Faith >>
Rest in Jesus (Sabbath) >> Rest in His yoke by dying to
self >> Dying to self by the Spirit
Phi 3,4-11
(3a)
Responsibility >> Avoid offending God >> Get out of His way >> Do not seek your own
righteousness
(119a) Thy kingdom come
>>
Manifestations of faith >> Freedom >>
Law of the spirit >> Freedom from the law – When Paul talks about his past credentials
that he earned as a Pharisee, as a Hebrew and as a teacher of the law prior to
his destiny with Christ, it is amazing that he was able to say that he was a
persecutor of the Church and was also found blameless according to the
righteousness of the law. The law actually allowed him to martyr members of
God’s church according to its interpretation of the time. The law says, “Do not kill,” but Saul and his cronies
didn’t believe they were breaking the law by martyring God’s people.
Rather, they thought they were protecting their traditions from a growing sect
that was threatening the stability of everything they and their forefathers
had known. The old covenant law did not protect the Church from
persecution, since it wasn’t able to think for itself or instruct Israel not
to destroy the very people that God was creating through faith in His Son.
Paul felt justified in killing the saints, for Moses required Israel to act
swiftly against anyone who attempted to subvert people from following the
commandments of God (Deuteronomy 13-5; 18-20). If the
law so absolutely failed as an institution, then why did God establish the law
in first place? God never expected the law to be any more successful than it
was, yet He instituted it as a way of regulating human behavior until Christ
should come and established a new covenant in His blood.
Phi 3,4-10
(248h) Priorities
>>
God’ s preeminence >> Valuing God >> Knowing God is more important
than serving Him
Phi 3,4-8
(84e) Thy kingdom come
>>
Words of your mouth >> Boasting >>
It needs to be said and no one is saying it >>
boasting of my weaknesses
Phi 3,4-7
(1k)
Responsibility >> Avoid offending
God >> Carrying a false burden >> Weighs you down as you walk according to
the law –
Those who abide by the law are just like Paul, who had many merit badges and
was also a murderer of Christians. It is typical of those who seek righteousness
apart from God neatly tuck their
faults out of sight, but God sees them, and they are in the
line of fire of His judgment, which their righteousness
cannot appease.
Phi 3,4-6
(148d) Witness
>>
Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness to Jesus >> Evangelism >>
Natural advantage in the flesh regarding evangelism
– Paul was completely immersed in Judaism, and
God turned him 180-degrees, which forced him to throw away his life’s
work, yet God chose Paul because of
his life’s work, being highly educated and trained by some of the most
sophisticated and intelligent men of his time. He was completely devoted to
his faith, quite possibly unlike any other.
(155a) Witness
>>
Validity of the believer >> Witness of the
believer >> Conscience >>
Having a good conscience >> Doing right to the
best of our knowledge –
It is good for Christians to have a solid background of the Old Testament; the
stories are significant to the skeletal structure of our faith, and Paul was
an expert in this knowledge. Unlike many of the Pharisees that taunted
Jesus, Paul was a man who actually sought the truth. He appeared to be a
reprobate like those who ordered Jesus’ crucifixion, but looks
are deceiving. Paul was unlike many of his fellow Pharisees in that he had a
true faith in God and a clear conscience, but he was wrong in his thinking
about most things, which led him to persecute the Church. He was brainwashed
in the contemporary traditions of Israel, and had no other recourse but to
learn the ways of his time. God saw genuineness and zeal
in Paul that He wanted to employ in the proclamation of the gospel, and when God confronted Paul, he
repented and was
transformed, making all that zeal, sincerity of heart and experience in travel
available for
spreading the gospel of Christ. Paul from that point began comparing
and contrasting the truth in Jesus with the Judaism he once believed, and
discovered his old faith in ruins.
(162f) Works of the devil
>>
Being a slave to the devil (Addictions) >>
Bondage >> A slave to unbelief >>
Bondage to believing a lie
(173k) Works of the devil
>>
The religion of witchcraft >> Man’s Religion >>
Deeds that are not initiated by God >>
Traditions of men
(174d) Works of the devil
>>
The religion of witchcraft >> Form of godliness >>
Self righteousness >> Trying to please God by
your own good works
(176e) Works of the devil
>>
The religion of witchcraft >> Zeal without
knowledge (Spirit w/o the word) >> Devotion
without direction –
Paul’s
previous beliefs would not let him believe in Jesus; they were perverted by
centuries of misinterpretation and disobedience, and so they tweaked the
Scriptures, not altering the manuscripts themselves but their interpretation to make it say what they wanted. This happened over a period of
centuries, twisting and contorting the Scriptures until its original message
was lost, and the result they called Judaism. This same thing has also happened to
the Church in the new covenant; although
the New Testament is intact, it does most people no good to read it, in that over
the centuries religious liars have turned out denominations like the Federal Reserve
prints money, we interpreted and reinterpreted until we
misinterpreted the Bible, and now we are lost in a forest of ideas.
(198f) Denying Christ
>>
Man exercises his will against God >> Ordained
by man >> Men place themselves in positions of
authority >> Men who are ill-equipped to fulfill
the ministry
Phi 3-4
(63h) Paradox
>>
Anomalies >> Sarcasm >>
Ignoring the truth to convey the truth
Phi 3-5
(190h) Die to self (Process of substitution)
>>
Separation from the old man >> Circumcision >>
Circumcision is a sign of obedience >>
Circumcision is a sign of believing -- This verse goes with verse 3
Phi 3-6
(25e) Sin
>>
Poverty (Forms of fear) >> Murder >>
Persecution to the death >> Kill your neighbor
for God’s sake
(41l) Judgment
>>
Satan destroyed >> Be like Jesus >>
Blameless before God >> Prepare to enter His
presence
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Phi 3,7-17
(95l) Thy kingdom come
>>
Positive attitude about suffering >> Suffering
under the hand of God
Phi 3,7-15
(100c) Thy kingdom come
>>
Perseverance >> Persevere in abiding in Christ – Paul
is making it clear that he has not yet
received the whole promise of God, nor have we. Although we have received our
inheritance in the form of a
pledge in our Spirit, we will not receive the full promise until we unite
with Christ in heaven, and even then we will not receive the whole promise until
the First Resurrection, which is the very concept of laying hold of
it. Until then, we are like Abraham, who, "having gained approval through
[his] faith, did not receive what was promised" (Heb 11-39). We forge ahead, serving
the Lord, knowing
the prize is in our future. The harder we push to
abide in Him, the more we can share with the brethren our
confidence in Him. While we search for
perfection and one day find it in His kingdom, “let us
therefore as many as are perfect have this attitude,” in the
present tense. Those who seek perfection in Christ strive for it in
this life, though we will never achieve it, yet we already possess the essence
of perfection in our innermost being! We have already
laid hold of Him, “and if in anything you have a different attitude, God
will reveal that also to you.”
(117ga)
Thy kingdom come >> Faith
>> Eyes of your spirit >>
Vision >> Real-eyes God’s purpose for the Church >> Understand Jesus'
subordinate position with the Father
Phi 3,7-14
(43a) Judgment
>>
Satan destroyed >> Conform to the Resurrection
of Christ’s death –
We don’t come to know God based on human faith, but based on faith that we
have received from Him, from the Spirit He has given us, who will one day
raise our bodies from the dead. It is unlikely we will fully understand
these things even when we get to heaven, which will begin a learning curve that will
extend into eternity. If we want to fellowship
with God, we must do it through suffering by conforming to his death. That is, we cannot
become a participant of the resurrection unless we first die. This will
literally happen one day, but until then Paul is beckoning us to
become acquainted with Christ’s sufferings now by resisting the sinful
passions and desires that separate us from Him. What restrains us from serving
the Lord are the things we need to remove in order to relate to the Spirit
that He imparted in us to do His will.
(46aa) Judgment >>
Spiritual warfare >> Subjecting your flesh >>
Violent take it by force >> Taking the sinful nature by force
(102a) Thy kingdom come
>>
Ambitious to fulfill God’s calling >> To see
God’s will in your life – We
need to understand the level of zeal that Paul had. He was a leader of Israel
with a prestigious position, zealous for the Lord even
before he got saved, possibly the greatest zealot in all Israel, and God
wanted to harness that zeal for His own purpose. We
should also note the great zeal that Jesus had. It says in Jn 1-16 that He had the fullness of the anointing. He also had
a fullness of zeal, according to
Jn 2-17, “Zeal for Your house will consume Me.” This suggests that
zeal and the anointing are directly related, though not to say that every
zealot is anointed, for God anoints the truth in our heart, but not
every zealot believes the truth that is in Jesus. Paul was extremely zealous for the truth; some would say
he was a fanatic, but God wouldn’t say that. We cannot be too zealous for
the truth, anymore
than there is an excessive limit to pursuing the fruits of the Spirit. That is, we
cannot have too much love, too much joy, too much peace, too much patience,
etc.
(187f) Die to self (Process of substitution)
>>
Separation from the old man >> Die to the flesh >>
Dying to receive the glory of God >> Die to self
to know the revelation of God – When
Paul wrote about righteousness derived from the Law, he was referring to his
old manner of life as a Pharisee. He was once a teacher of Israel and a
Pharisee of the old covenant, being highly educated regarding the law and the
prophets. He didn’t suffer the loss of the Old Testament; he suffered the
loss of his interpretation of it. He had to abandon his previous beliefs in Judaism
before he could embrace the truth that he finally realized was in Jesus. Paul
counted his experiences and possessions to
be loss that made this life seem real, because they discounted the reality of
Christ. Paul
taught the concept of dying to self; he was figuratively dead to this world.
He perceived his flesh as having already died and his soul as already in heaven, and
when the circumstances made that difficult to believe, such as when tied to the
whipping post, the Holy Spirit took over and he was more in heaven than he was
during enjoyable circumstances. Although these things brought pain and suffering to his
body, he considered them mere figments. What was more real to
him was Christ and his heavenly kingdom. Dying to self is a process of substitution. He sacrificed all the so-called
benefits of this life for the one benefit of knowing Christ Jesus his Lord. When we
trust in God, He imparts something of Himself into us, which is translated as
knowledge that we comprehend in ways we don’t really understand, because it
bypasses the natural mind. We know, but we don’t know how we know. He envelops us in His presence, and
in that presence there is a sense of knowing that we cannot describe sometimes
until years later. Our task is to put words to the things we understand in the
Spirit. See also: God's faith; Phi 3,9-11; 98g /
Suffering evil fuels the anointing (Paul's thorn in the flesh); Act 14-3;
144h
(194a) Die to self (Process of substitution)
>>
Turn from sin to God >> Run to God >>
Run the race that is set before us
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Phi 3,7-11
(5i) Responsibility >>
Discipleship tested >>
God tests your loyalty >>
God tests your commitment to believe Him
(103m) Thy kingdom come
>>
Purifying process >> Purified by circumstances >>
Purified through faith – “He who comes to God must believe that He
is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Heb 11-6). To believe
that God will reward us for seeking Him is to believe in His goodness and
character. We must believe in God’s righteousness and justice, that God loves us no
matter what happens to us, no matter what happens to those we love. Above all,
we must believe
that God is good. If evidence points to the opposite, we must believe in Him
in spite of (and to spite) the evidence. There will always be
evidence in the world that points away from God’s goodness, making us
question why He allows evil, but if we continue to believe in
Him, our trust will satisfy His requirements,
answering all our questions in His time. Meanwhile, He imparts His
righteousness in us by a Spirit of
faith that we use to believe in Him beyond our ability, and He simply asks us to trust Him. It
is a small request, but not to God; to Him it is big. See also: God allows suffering and
evil to test us;
2The 1,5-10; 29a
(232b) Kingdom of God
>>
Pursuing the kingdom >> Seeking the kingdom >>
Count the cost >> The cost is more than you can
imagine so don’t count
Phi 3,7-10
(208jb) Salvation >>
The salvation of God >> Personal relationship >>
Being married to God >> Knowing God
>> We are bonded to Him –
This is one of Paul’s statements that has become the theme of entire books.
Unfortunately though, the concept of knowing God has been mostly replaced by teachings
that are highly nebulous and impersonal. The definition of God’s
grace today is simply forgiveness of sin, but that is only part of it.
Forgiveness of sin is our introduction into His grace that also affords us to know Him. He wants to save us in this
life just as much as He wants to save us for eternal life, and this is
something that is de-emphasized in the Church today, probably because the
teachers of Christianity are not experiencing these things, being a little
too personal for them. Most people don’t want to get too close to God because He is
scary, but if their hearts were wholly devoted to Him, He would be much less
scary. Paul heard a voice calling him from heaven, and he tuned and listened,
and He shook Paul's life to its foundations. He
pressed on striving in his heart to forget about the sins of his past, because his heart
was right with
God. We can’t help but sin; we are sinners; it is the reason Jesus died
for us. Hard as we try, we can't find righteousness in our hands or in our mouth
or on the tip of our toes. Paul is saying to forget what we have said
and done; it doesn’t matter; all that matters is the present and the
future.
Phi 3-7,8
(12f) Servant >>
Nature of a bond servant
(57e) Paradox
>>
Opposites >> World hates what God loves and
God hates what the world loves –
We can’t have Christ and the world at the same time; we must choose. Paul
counted this world and everything he once loved and valued to be trash in
order that he might come to know Christ. However, many Christians today think
they can have both Christ and the world. How many times have we heard it, “We are in the world but not of the world,” yet many who quote
this are in fact of the world, not just in it. The only difference between them
and the unbeliever is that they believe in a set of doctrines, and they don’t understand why Christianity doesn’t work for
them. They’re not happy in the world and they’re not happy in the Lord;
they have a foot in both worlds, straddling the fence and canceling each
other.
(78n) Thy kingdom come
>>
Putting your heart on display >> The result of
a renewed mind
(94o) Thy kingdom come
>>
Perspective is your personal reality >> How
your location influences you
(189b) Die to self (Process of substitution)
>>
Separation from the old man >> Holy sacrifice >>
Holy offering –
Paul is speaking to the center of our faith. What does it mean to give up
the world for the sake of Christ? Many people have come to believe in God
but have never changed; they added faith to their lives, but nothing was ever taken
away. Their religion is like a garnish, a mere ornament. They go to church, and it
makes them look and feel good. What needs to be taken from us in order to
have a fuller relationship with God? It goes back to Christ’s purpose and
calling in our lives. When we think about Paul’s calling to the ministry,
it was all encompassing. There literally was nothing else about Paul, just
his faith in Jesus and his ministry of evangelism and apostle to the Church. Paul
had to give up his previous belief system before he could embrace the truth
of Christ, and that required reordering his whole life. If we want to
fulfill God’s plan and purpose for our lives, we too must
sacrifice many things that we may currently believe and enjoy. It is one thing to believe in Jesus, but it is another thing
to live and work for Him. We will not receive honor from the world
for that, but we will receive honor from God.
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Phi 3,9-11
(98g) Thy kingdom come
>>
Endurance (Thorn in the flesh) >> (Faith à
Suffering à Glory of Christ) >>
The resurrection –
Paul
said that knowledge and power are essentially the same. The power of His
resurrection and our knowledge of Him are tied together, and we have already received
it: the Holy Spirit dwelling in us is the power of God, who teaches us
about Jesus. Paul is promising us
a revelation of Jesus Christ, and in receiving Him we also feel His power who dwells in us, the power that will one day raise our bodies
from the dead.
Along with this revelation comes the fellowship of His suffering as
a package deal. We cannot have a revelation of Jesus Christ without suffering,
because we live in a world of evil. The revelation itself does not bring
suffering; on the contrary, the revelation comforts us in our suffering, but
He does lead us into suffering. The comfort of knowing God and our
relationship with Him changes our lives and causes us to speak and act differently, and this
leads to persecution. We pattern our lives after Paul, who came to know God
who changed his life, and in the process suffered
persecution, and God responded by comforting Him through a revelation of Jesus
Christ, and the ultimate purpose of God for us is the resurrection from the dead.
See also: God's faith; Phi 3-9; 31l / God replaces our
belief with His faith;
Col 2,12-15; 205i
(113k) Thy kingdom come
>> Faith >>
The anointing >> Resurrection power –
Paul longed for his resurrected body. He would never attain
it in this life but pressed on toward the goal of perfection, living close as
he could to the way he will in heaven (Mat 6-10), though this was unattainable
in this life; still he didn’t stop pursuing it. He never came into physical possession of it, but he
sought to live as though he did. Being interred in sinful flesh, he spread the gospel, teaching and preaching
and building up the body of Christ, spiritually establishing the Kingdom of God
in the world, striving to lay hold of that which laid hold of him. Christ laid hold of
Paul along the road to Damascus when He appeared to Paul in a vision, and from
that point forward, he searched for Christ like a drug addict chasing his
initial high. Jesus is extremely elusive to sinful flesh. Paul tried to live
in the revelation, continually striving to decrease in sin that his
spirit might increase, always giving opportunity for Christ to manifest in word and deed.
Phi 3-9
(31l) Gift of God
>>
Gift of His grace >> Forgiveness is a function of
God’s grace –
The concept of faith is a stickler to many. It is not enough to look up the
word in a Bible dictionary; it will not tell us what we need to know. The only
way to understand the meaning of faith is to become a lifelong student of
God’s word and a disciple of prayer, and over a period of years cultivate an understanding of the
Scriptures to a single point of faith: it is a substance that comes from heaven. The righteousness of
God in His grace comes to us from heaven in the form of the indwelling Holy
Spirit on the basis of faith. We
have not received many gifts from God but one, and we don’t receive the heavenly gift through an earthly means, and
we don’t believe in God based on human volition. Although we may begin that
way, the moment God understands that we are sincere, He deposits His Spirit in
us, and we begin to believe in God through His faith. The only way we can receive
His faith is to have a sincere heart, and God knows when we’re not sincere. He
knows when we say we want the things of God when in fact we would rather have the world.
See also: God's faith;
41fc
(41fc) Judgment
>>
Satan destroyed >> Be like Jesus >>
Righteousness of faith >> Faith apart from the law – God asks us to believe in his character. He
doesn’t ask us to conjure up faith in Him; He promises that if we will trust
Him, He will give us a Spirit of faith (2Cor 4-13). He doesn’t ask us to appeal to Him by our own righteousness derived
from sinful flesh; any righteousness of ours is a wispy vapor that
comes and goes with our circumstances. To think we are good enough for God is
self-righteous delusional thinking, especially if we use it to replace His
righteousness of the indwelling Holy Spirit.
We are not right with God if He offers us
His righteousness and we reject it. God said about
Abraham, “And he believed God, and it was reckoned to him as
righteousness” (Rom 4-3). Paul is asking us to believe in God like Abraham
did, appealing to Him for His faith, which is tantamount to receiving His Spirit, who
is the very substance of divine righteousness. Very little has changed in terms of faith between the old and New
Testaments. The only thing that has changed is the object of our faith, Jesus,
who fulfilled the law and the Father's demand for blood in the propitiation of
our sins. See also: God's faith; Phi 3-15;
114f
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Phi 3-10,11
(38e) Judgment
>>
Jesus defeated death (Satan) >> Resurrection
anointing – People tend to interpret the Bible as though
it stood for something else. There is much symbolism in the Bible, but not all
of it is symbolic. For example, in this case Paul said he had the
opportunity to personally know Christ, not in the hereafter but in this life,
not symbolically but through His Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a
conundrum to most people. It is where we get stuck trying to figure out God
and His word and His will. People don’t understand the Holy Spirit;
we don’t know where to draw the line that divides the symbolic from the
literal. They don’t know how to interpret the Bible because of the Holy
Spirit, yet it is ironically through the Holy Spirit that we interpret the Bible.
There is virtually nothing symbolic about the Holy Spirit; what makes Him seem
symbolic is His intangibility. The Holy Spirit is just the opposite of symbolism
but the very substance of
the gospel. So, when Paul says that he knows Christ, he is saying it
literally. The
Holy Spirit is an extension of the cross; Jesus gave His life as the
means of availing God's Spirit to us, and now that Jesus has been
crucified, the Holy Spirit has come in the power of His resurrection.
Phi 3-10
(108h) Thy kingdom come >> Faith
>> Revelation of Jesus Christ >> Spiritual revelation
>> Revelation of His identity
(111f) Thy kingdom come
>> Faith >> Spirit and the word >> Word and the power
(meaning) of God >> Word in obedience cannot
evade the power of God
(188f) Die to self (Process of substitution)
>>
Separation from the old man >> Suffering righteousness
– There is only one thing standing in our way
of receiving all the blessings of Christ, and that is us, our flesh. Although
the body is not evil, it has a dark side that contains a terrible wickedness that never
ceases from sin; its evil desire is never quenched and its lust for control is never satisfied. Our flesh is the
apex predator species
on the planet. We have the body of an animal, and it has a separate will of
its own, though ironically we are not a body but a spirit. We must not let our
physical side control our spiritual side, or the promises of God will remain
elusive. Our spirit belongs to God, purchased by the blood of Christ. We don't
want to wait until we die and go to heaven before we receive all that God has for
us, for He asks us enjoy Him in this life. Therefore, God calls us to die to
the flesh, which is the symbolic part of the gospel, not literally
committing suicide, but starving our evil desires like POWs, until they become
too weak to remain a threat to our spiritual side. We should not
allow our bodies to dictate how we should live; it seeks to impose
its will over God's will, subverting our relationship with God and dominating
over us. The will of our flesh is tantamount to the will of Satan, and
for this reason we must kill its evil passions and desires, having no mercy on
it; this is what Paul means by being conformed to His death. God is calling us
to receive these things now, instead of waiting for the hereafter, for it
proves that we will
attain to the resurrection from the dead, and that we belong to Him and are going to heaven,
and that we have eternal life and plan to enjoy the
presence of God forever.
KJV
WEB
/ Navigation Bar
Phi 3,12-15
(43l) Judgment
>>
Satan destroyed in the absence of sin >>
Perfecting the will of God
Phi 3,12-14
(92c) Thy kingdom come
>>
The narrow way >> Trail of good works >>
Practice walking a straight line
(100h) Thy kingdom come
>>
Diligence >> Diligence in running the race that
is set before us
(233c) Kingdom of God
>>
Pursuing the kingdom >> Seeking the kingdom >>
Seeking the goals of the kingdom >> Seek the
goal of knowing God (faith) –
Faith and trust are in many ways the same. When we trust God, we believe He
has our interests in mind and is willing to act on our behalf, whereas faith is a substance we received
from heaven (Heb 11-1). People say that in heaven we won’t need faith. On the contrary, that is like the scuba diver who returns from the
depths and climbs back into the boat claiming he doesn’t need oxygen
anymore; it is all around him. Similarly, the Father created all things through
faith, speaking the universe into existence, and as a result we will be living in a
world that was born of faith and consists of faith.
Phi 3-12,13
(232j) Kingdom of God
>>
Pursuing the kingdom >> Seeking the kingdom >>
Embrace (Jesus during the storm) >> God embraces
us –
Paul presses on striving to laying hold of that which laid hold of him, “in
whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col 2-3). Jesus
revealed Himself on the road to Damascus, and Paul spent the rest of his life
trying to embrace the one who embraced him; he strove to comprehend the person
who came to live in his heart; he strove to fellowship with Him while living
in sinful flesh. In heaven fellowshipping with God will be easy, but in this
life our flesh is related to the devil, who is opposite of God. We find it difficult to
understand Him, because we live in a body that opposes His very nature. We understand things like war and revenge and sensuality… we
may know
they’re wrong, but that doesn't keep us from participating in them. Then,
when we seek fellowship with God, these same things get in the way of our
understanding of Him. When we get to heaven after we shed the sinful flesh, we will
fully realize that we are the Father’s children and brothers and sisters of
Christ. We are just like Him in many ways. We will
bear witness to His glorious divinity firsthand, having access even to His
throne. None of this has ever been given to any other creature!
Phi 3-12
(6e)
Responsibility >> Advocate God’s cause >>
Rest in Jesus’ yoke –
Paul knows that if he can get a better handle
on walking in the Spirit, it will free his mind. Therefore, Paul is not
pushing to
win the war of the flesh but of the mind, that he may improve his
relationship with God, and let God win the war against the flesh.
(216d) Sovereignty
>>
God overrides the will of man >> God’s will
over man >> Compelled by the Spirit >>
God takes advantage of your love for Him >>
Being addicted to the Holy Spirit
(219g) Sovereignty
>>
God overrides the will of man >> The elect >>
God chooses us as we choose ourselves >> God
chooses us as we fulfill His calling
Phi 3-13,14
(91g) Thy kingdom come
>>
The called >> Walking along the narrow way >>
Responding to the call of God
(161i) Works of the devil
>>
Carried Away >>
Condemnation >> Condemnation based on evidence
of sin
(232a) Kingdom of God
>>
Pursuing the kingdom >> Seeking the kingdom >>
Count the cost >>
Don’t look back to the past
–
Winning the spiritual battle against the flesh is like climbing a mountain; the
force of gravity is ever-present. We have the goal of the prize of the upward call of God
in Christ Jesus of reaching the summit, all the while knowing we will never
get there in this life, but we push forward anyway, never walking down the
mountain but always upward, depicting higher levels of obedience,
leading to higher levels of spiritual understanding of His will and purpose
for our lives and for the Church, understanding His plan for eternity and the
importance of faithfulness, always mindful of the power of sin to destroy our lives
and strip us of everything we have worked so hard to achieve.
Phi 3-13
(70f)
Authority
>> Sin of familiarity >> Familiarity-enemy of discernment >> Familiar
with the spirit of error –
How could this verse have any ties with the sin of familiarity and
discernment? It is very common for people to fail to understand the truth,
because they have too quickly decided on its meaning, and they close the door
on searching for it, but Paul said that he always left the door open and was
always searching and learning and striving to know the truth from God. He was
a lifelong learner, saying that he hadn’t laid hold of it yet but was always
striving to that end, diligently pursuing, and little by little understanding
more each day. Every Christian should be a lifelong learner, instead of
determining that they already know it all. So many people have closed the door
on searching out God’s truth, though the conclusions they have drawn are
false and incomplete. When they walk by their knowledge, they get tripped up
and fall into bondage and can’t get free; then they complain to God that His
word doesn’t work for them. Jesus said that the truth sets us free, so to
close the door on truth is to close the door on freedom, and opens the door to
discernment and familiarity of all things false.
Phi 3-15,16
(137k) Temple
>>
Building the temple (with hands) >> Maturity >>
Stages of maturity are levels of accountability >>
It is our responsibility to be mature
KJV
WEB
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Phi 3-15
(70b) Authority
>> Righteous judgment (outcome of discernment) >> Sensitivity To The Spirit
(89k) Thy kingdom come
>>
God convicts us of sin >> Conviction makes us
conscious of sin
(95a) Attitude
(Key
verse)
–
Attitude lays the foundation for the direction of our lives like plotting a course on a map.
Attitude cannot help but spume from our lips as James
said
about the tongue (chapters
3-4), when he likened it as a ship's rudder. We are always moving, like little wind-up toys that pace about
the deck; even if they are heading for the edge, they do not slow down, nor are we capable of putting ourselves on hold while we see the course of our lives heading
off a cliff. We can only change direction as we crank out the products of our attitudes. We have power over our attitudes, but not over the effects they produce.
(105j) Thy kingdom come
>> Faith >>
Led by the Spirit >> To the truth >>
Led into the mind of Christ –
The best thing to do when we are lost is to sit
down. Don’t walk farther into the woods from the
designated trail. If we suddenly lose touch with our surroundings,
sit down and wait for God to reveal which way we should go. However long it
takes, the time is well-spent regaining a sense of direction; if
it takes two or three years, or even four or five to understand God’s
will, the things we experience in the process of discovery will have direct
applications to what He is calling us to do, seeking God through prayer, studying His
word
until He gives us the revelation. While we are sitting there asking God to reveal His will,
we are accomplishing more
than we would by doing our own will, for we are coming to know Him, and that is
the essence of His will.
To know Him and the power of
his resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings (v10) is the basis
of everyone's calling?
(106m) Thy kingdom come
>> Faith >>
Hearing from God >> Purpose of hearing from God >>
God gives us direction (Attitude)
(109g) Thy kingdom come
>>
Faith >>
Revelation of God's word >>
Revelation of the truth
(109i) Thy kingdom come
>> Faith >>
Spirit and the word >> Spirit the teacher >>
Spirit trains us to be like Jesus
(110j) Thy kingdom come
>> Faith >>
Spirit and the word >> Spirit of revelation >>
Revelation of the truth >> Revelation of the true doctrines
(114f) Thy kingdom come
>> Faith >>
Working the grace of God >> Obeying the Holy
Spirit >> Receiving a revelation from God through
obedience –
Paul filled his epistles with the concept of working (with) the grace of God as
one of the most important teachings of the Scriptures pertaining to our manner
of relating to God, yet it is virtually unknown to the Church today. The first thing
wolves did after infiltrating the Church was get rid of the teaching of working the grace of God, and replaced it with their teaching about grace that we now
embrace, as though we were passive spectators of God’s work, as though
we were on an operating table, unconscious and unable to participate; we awaken
from anesthesia miraculously fixed. Thank God we have the testimony of Scripture telling us
otherwise. The wolves of the Church had to get rid of the doctrine of working
with the grace of God because it was exposing their lack of faith. People in Paul’s day were
filled with the Spirit, and they would point at wolves, naming them as
frauds in front of everybody. The wolves knew how to keep from being
exposed by getting rid of the doctrine that taught the saints how to relate to
God on the most intimate level, through the obedience of faith (Rom 1-5). See also: God's faith; Phi 3,7-14; 187f
(129n) Thy kingdom come
>>
Manifestations of faith >> Unity >>
Being in one accord >> Having one mind
KJV
WEB
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Phi 3,16-19
(92h) Thy kingdom come
>>
The narrow way >> What kind of trail is this? >>
The wrong gate is wide and many enter by it
Phi 3-16,17
(11k) Servant
>>
Paul’s example of God’s standard –
Paul was the standard of behavior for the Philippians; so in the first
century they not only had
a standard in the written word, they also had a living standard of behavior
in the apostle Paul. Hopefully our pastor is a good example of Christianity at our local Church, and the next church has its standard in
their pastor, but without a central standard for the Church worldwide, we will continue
floundering until that standard is found. The closest we got to a central
standard for the Church in the last century was Billy Graham; at one time he
was the face of Christianity to the world. A standard is coming in the
restoration of Israel with a 144,000 Jewish Christians and
among them Two Witnesses; we should follow them when they come.
(93i) Thy kingdom come
>>
Following Jesus >> Through men >>
Follow the example of others –
The
Bible teaches how we ought to live and obey God; that has not changed
throughout the millennia, yet Christianity has changed. The
moral fabric of society is disintegrating before our very eyes since the
Church has been unseated from its position as salt of the earth and a light
on a hill.
There has never been a time in history when someone would take up a
semiautomatic rifle, apply a bump stock to it, turning it into a machine
gun, and use it to mow down innocent people like fish in a pond. We have a written
code of morals and ethics in the Bible, but we don't have many examples of
those morals and ethics in holy men committing themselves to the grace of
God and becoming a much needed behavioral standard for the Church, which in
turn acts as the standard of behavior for the world. Paul
expected the Philippians to live by a standard that he had instructed them,
suggesting that not only do we believe in the Lord Jesus, we also need to
follow Him. However, in today’s church we are taught that believing in
Jesus has nothing to do with behavior, that we can act anyway we want and it
doesn’t affect our faith. Nothing could be further from the truth. In
fact, the Bible outlines certain evidences of salvation and evidences of
being hell-bound, so we can say with relative certainty whether a person is
on his way to heaven or hell based on their conduct, not on their faith. We
say that behavior is directly linked to faith, for those who believe obey
and those who obey believe.
Phi 3-16
(11a)
Standard (Key verse) –
“Standard” is a unit of measure; there are many standards and measures;
they remain fixed constants; they cannot fluxgate. We strive
to live by a certain set of rules and rarely achieve it, so people
lower the standard to make it attainable; then society further deteriorates,
requiring us to lower it again. When we do, it proves that man apart from God
has
no real standard.
(204c) Denying Christ
>>
Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >>
Back-slider >> Practicing sin >>
Withdrawing from a righteous standard
KJV
WEB
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Phi 3-18,19
(19h) Sin
>>
Having the mental disease of the world >>
Worldly influence on the mind
(21d) Sin
>>
Disobedience will condemn you to hell –
There are many people who never make Jesus Christ Lord of their lives; they
will never receive the gift of eternal life, and for that reason their
destiny is not heaven, so when they die, they will go to hell, though Jesus
died for them. He took all their sins upon Him and deposited them in hell (Eph
4-9,10), but if they don’t receive Christ as Lord and savior, they will go
to hell and their sins will affix themselves to their resurrected bodies,
and they will remember every evil thing they ever did. Their sins will be
programmed into their hearts, and it will be the only thing they will know,
and God will assign them a place in hell that corresponds with the sins they
committed. Although God forgave them, the fact that they refused to
accept His forgiveness through the sacrifice Jesus made for them nullified
His mercy. See also: Reprobate; 22f
(22f)
Sin
>>
Lust (craving pleasure) >> Fleshly desire –
Paul is talking about people in this passage who don’t
know the Lord. We know the heathen act like this, but Paul was talking about people in the Church,
who are not saved
and have no intentions of getting saved or serving the Lord, who are incapable of
faith and have of a reprobate mind. They enjoy the environment of the Church, but why?
They probably like the social aspect of it, but primarily they go to church
to appease their conscience and to exploit the people. They have an
appetite for sin, but this is not true for those who
are born-again. We too once were enslaved to various sins, but we hated that
lifestyle; our
conscience tormented us day and night until we got saved, but these people
have never experienced anything like this because they are without conscience.
See also: Reprobate; 167d
(47d) Judgment
>> God Judges the world
>>
Hell is a place of destruction
(48m) Judgment
>>
Jesus’ enemies are destroyed >> Enemies of
His grace
(76l) Thy kingdom come
>>
Desires of your heart >> Desires of your
fleshly appetite
(153h) Witness
>>
Validity of the Father >> God bears witness
against the world >> Shame >>
Walking in condemnation >> Walking in
rebellion
(157a) Witness
>>
Validity of the believer >> Evidence of being
hell-bound >> Rejecting God >>
Rejecting the truth
(164i) Works of the devil
>>
Manifestations of the devil >> The world is at
enmity with God >> The world hates God
(167d) Works of the devil
>>
Manifestations of the devil >> Carnality/Secularism (mindset of the world) >>
The carnal mind is set on the flesh >> Bound
to the earth
– Paul encourages us to walk according to his
example, while he simultaneously warns that there are others who walk in
ways we should avoid. These are the dogs that he mentioned earlier in
this chapter, the false circumcision, people who are not saved, often in leadership
positions in the Church, whose end is destruction, and whose god is
their appetite. They follow their fleshly impulses instead of the Holy
Spirit and expect us to follow them, yet their glory is in their shame. They
are clearly visible to those watching for them. They speak of secular
matters in earthly tones, never rising above worldly considerations. Wait for a declaration of faith and
it may never come, though they
might quote a verse to sound biblical, but they are not the true children of
God. See also: Reprobate; 172d
(169k) Works of the devil
>>
Manifestations of the devil >> Seeking the
glory of man >> Stepping on people to get to
the bottom >> Ignoring Jesus to satisfy your
flesh
(171c) Works of the devil
>>
Manifestations of the devil >> Outward
appearance >> Vanity >>
Vain experience >> Things you do in the
absence of God
(172d) Works of the devil
>>
Manifestations of the devil >> Tares among the
wheat >> Communion between the world and the Church >> Worldliness in the Church
–
Christians often make the erroneous assumption that everyone who goes to
church is a Christian. On the contrary, there are
some who hide in church, putting on a façade as devout believers. Maybe they
lift their hands during praise and worship, making it appear that they love God, when in many cases there is nothing redeemable about them. Paul must
have talked to them about Jesus and got a response that made him weep. These
people need to be expelled from church, because they are a threat to the
saints. Confronting them is sure to generate hostility; nevertheless, we
need to protect God's people, because they deserve it. See also: Reprobate; 186g
(180b) Works of the devil
>>
Practicing witchcraft >> Wolves >>
Wolves lead people into a cult >> Wolves
bypass the cross
(186g) Works of the devil
>>
The result of lawlessness >> The reprobate >>
Man’s role in becoming a reprobate >> After
they reject God’s faith how can they believe? –
Researchers now say that people can actually be born lacking a conscience,
and this condition can be inherited. Many are born into a family whose
parents
lack a conscience and were treated inhuman from birth; what
little conscience they had was beaten out of them during their critical
years. God made man in his own image with a conscience, and people who go to
heaven are human in the most literal sense, suggesting that a person without
a conscience is subhuman, anchored to their self-serving violent nature.
Their flesh is at war for survival, being bound to the
earth, and they hold to the philosophy that
they are just another animal species, but the saints
are human. See also: Reprobate; 188k / Reprobate
(Psychopath)
devoid of compassion; 2Pet 2-12; 186f
(188k) Die to self (Process of substitution)
>> Separation from the old man >>
Sorrow >> Grieving over your own loss >>
Grieving over the loss of others
– Paul is exposing the folly of a person who
will not believe in God, who craves his futile desires over the hope of
eternal life, allowing his mindless
impulses to steer him away from the vast treasures of Christ for a few
moments of fleeting pleasure. It invokes a sadness in the
world that goes beyond tears, foolishness that transcends folly and deception
begets ignorance, human loss that traverses all
wars combined. To see the world follow after their own lust and hear its
shallow declaration of godless faith adds another layer of vexation to
the righteous, whose souls are already tormented by sin. For God to vindicate us with hope of receiving a body that is
transformed into conformity with his own does little to alleviate the pain
of watching a world turn its back on God and disappear into the void with no
way to avert their hardness of heart. See also: Reprobate; 21d
(195i) Denying Christ
>>
Man exercises his will against God >> Idolatry >> Worshipping other gods >>
Worshipping other gods as a god yourself
(200m) Denying Christ
>>
Whoever is not with Jesus is against him >> He
is against Christ who does not receive Him >>
Whoever receives the world is against Christ
(202c) Denying Christ
>>
Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >>
Running from God >> Running to your sinful
nature >> Run from God by running to your
flesh
(203f) Denying Christ
>>
Dishonor God >> Dishonor God by dishonoring
your own body
(238i) Kingdom of God
>>
Pursuing the kingdom >> Pursuing the knowledge
of the kingdom >> Teachers >>
Teachers "remind" their students >>
Prevention against forgetting -- These verses go with verse 1
KJV
WEB
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Phi 3-20,21
(39b) Judgment
>>
Jesus defeated death >> Characteristics of the
resurrection – God
will establish us in eternity
through the exertion of His power that He used to create the universe, and our
bodies will never pass away. When we think of the power it took to
create the universe to then focus it on creating a body for us in the likeness
of His own, no wonder it will be indestructible and full of glory. For the
rich in this life, their wealth lies in their money and in their assets and in
their shame, but
in the Kingdom of Heaven our wealth and power resides within our spiritual
bodies that will emanate the glory of God throughout eternity with a radiance that
speckles the night sky.
Just as we will have been created for
eternity, so we will be created for infinity. Only such a standard is
allowed in His kingdom.
(61a) Paradox
>>
Two implied meanings >> Waiting for a savior—To
come back spiritually / To come back physically –
We are waiting for a savior to spiritually return before He physically
returns. He will spiritually make His debut on the earth in an endtime revival
that will save a multitude which cannot be numbered (Rev 7-9),
who will invite His physical return as He sets foot on the Mount of Olives.
Would the Church today
welcome Christ’s return? They would if He returned according to
their expectations, but He will not return according to most people's
expectations, so they will refuse to be part of His welcoming committee.
Jesus has been gone for 2,000 years, and He said He wouldn’t be long,
so maybe He hasn't returned because He hasn't been properly invited. By
His own authority he will begin to spiritually reign among His people by
enacting a Great Endtime Revival that will save millions of people who will all obey Jesus Christ, and they
will effectively welcome their Lord’s return. See also: Great endtime revival;
66a / Great Endtime Revival (Harvest at the end of the age);
1The 4,13-18; 84c
(66a) Authority
>>
Lordship of Christ >> He is Lord over all
creation >> over life and death –
We know that the many curses, plagues and judgments of Revelation speak of
God subjecting the world to His wrath. The judgments of the
Book of Revelation are what He has in store for those who will not accept His
salvation. This indicates that God intends to save a remnant from this world in the
last days, which will entail millions of people. The Lord will orchestrate
a Great Endtime Revival using the Jews, written in Revelation chapters seven, eleven and twelve,
referred to as the woman. These will manage a global revival of the gentiles.
The Two Witnesses will act as adjudicators against those who resist God’s
will, and God will judge the world by performing whatever words proceed from
their mouths. They will be righteous and holy and speak the word of God and judge the world's resistance to God’s ability to subject
all things to Himself. The Two Witnesses will divert the world’s attention
off the woman and the gentile church, who will flee into the wilderness for
safety and protection from the antichrist, and these Two Witnesses will pound
the world into subjection. Whether by grace or by judgment, God will
subject all things to Himself. See also: Great endtime revival; 61a
(68e) Authority
>>
Jesus Delegates the Holy Spirit to us >> Sent
from heaven
(126k) Thy kingdom come
>>
Manifestations of faith >> Patience >>
Have patience for the return of Christ >> The physical return of Christ
(131jb) Thy kingdom come
>>
Manifestations of faith >> Unity >>
Many members but one body >> Many titles but one entity
(134e) Temple
>>
Your body is the temple of God >> Composition of
our bodies is from the earth >> We are
physically excluded from the spiritual realm
(135n) Temple
>>
Your spirit is the temple of God >> The body of
Christ >> Similarity in the body >>
The things we have in common >> Common Lord
(136g) Temple
>>
Your spirit is the temple of God >> The body of
Christ >> Jesus’ spiritual body
(210e) Salvation
>>
The salvation of God >> Jesus is our savior >>
Especially of believers
(213d) Sovereignty
>>
God is infinite >> God is all powerful >>
Christ subjects the creation to Himself
(224d) Kingdom of God
>>
Illustrating the kingdom >> Description of
heaven >> Describing the kingdom after he makes
all things new >> Children of God resemble
their Father
(226d) Kingdom of God
>>
Illustrating the kingdom >> Rewards of the Kingdom of Heaven >> Reserved in heaven >>
Our inheritance is reserved in heaven – There is more evidence to support God’s
existence as a good person whom we can trust than any so-called evidence
to the contrary; this is why God thinks trusting Him is not too much to ask.
The universe itself is proof that God exists. God must be at least as big as
His creation, which most cosmologists will say is infinite. Its immensity
doubles as evidence that He is a good person, for an infinite being cannot
possibly be evil, for wickedness would
hinder His ability to create
the universe in the first place. However, keep in mind that the universe does not reflect the nature of God, because it
is under a curse. Faith too is why he
allows evil, for it acts as the great equalizer. He plans to reward our faith,
so the more we believe in Him, the more He will reward us
in eternity. We could never fully appreciate His eternal reward in this life, but we will appreciate it
in heaven when God fits us with an indestructible body that will illumine the victories we won in this life.
See also: Creation is evidence of God;
Col 2,1-4; 80e
(229a) Kingdom of God >>
God’s kingdom is a living organism >> Kingdom
grows by itself >> Growing In Numbers
Corresponds With Spiritual Growth >> Kingdom
slowly spreads and overtakes darkness –
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,” and at some
point He created the angels and gave Lucifer stewardship over the universe;
and then Lucifer fell into sin and God cursed him and everything that belonged
to him, the entire
universe and gave him a new name, Satan, and He cursed
all the angels that followed him in rebellion. Then He created man and set him
in the Garden, but he rebelled too, so God cursed him and chased him from the
garden and made him live among Satan’s thorns and thistles. Man grew
depraved and his thoughts continually dwelt on evil and so God sent a
flood upon the earth and destroyed mankind, saving a single family of eight
persons, Noah and his wife and children, who repopulated the earth. Then God
called Abraham and He obeyed the Lord, promising to make him a great nation
through his son Isaac born to his mother, Sarah; Isaac had Jacob and Jacob had
the twelve sons of Israel through Rebecca. God called Israel to live in the land of
Canaan and dispossess the people who lived there, who would not worship the
Lord but sinned against him, kindling His anger as in the days of Noah.
Instead of destroying the whole earth again, He had Israel destroy them and make a nation for themselves in their land. Through the tribe of
Judah a Messiah was promised to become their king and Israel would reign over
all the people of the earth through Him, and so Jesus came and took away their
sin, so they would be acceptable in the sight of God, and for 2000 years
people have been added to the kingdom that will one day rule the earth. From the beginning
God has been at work subjecting his creation to Himself. After the
thousand-year reign of Christ, God will destroy this present universe and
create a new one in its place, making a new people and His Church will rule
over the new creation with Christ forever and ever, which
will eventually spread to the far reaches of the universe, but those who refused to
submit to His authority, He has subjugated to a place called hell. Can God subject all things to
Himself? Yes he can!
See also: History of mankind;
Heb 11-5; 90j
(231i) Kingdom of God
>>
God’s kingdom is a living organism >> Body of
Christ is the organism of God’s kingdom >>
Jesus is the head of His body’s kingdom >> To
be in Christ is to be in the great city
(237j) Kingdom of God
>>
Pursuing the kingdom >> Transferring the kingdom >> The Church is transferred to the kingdom
>>
Citizens of heaven
See
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