START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Philippians 3:17-4:1
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OBSERVE:
This passage is a good example of what is called paranesis. This is simply a fancy way of describing a passage that is full of moral exhortation — “live like this, and not like that.”
Curiously, Paul doesn’t invite the Philippian church members to imitate Christ, but to imitate himself! This cannot be coming from a place of arrogance and pride on Paul’s part. He has preceded this passage by pointing out his own shortcomings. He has said that he places his faith only in the righteousness that comes by faith in Christ.
What he seeks, he says, is this:
I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death (Philippians 3:10).
But he also points out,
Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own (Philippians 3:12).
So, what is he inviting the Philippians to imitate? I believe he is urging them to follow his example in striving toward the:
goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:14).
However, there is also a contrasting lifestyle that Paul wishes them to avoid:
For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ; I have often told you of them, and now I tell you even with tears. Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things.
This is a stern, solemn warning about the consequences of rejecting Christ. The kinds of sins he describes that lead to destruction are the fruit of false spiritual priorities. If their god is the belly, food and consumption have become an obsession; to glory in their shame suggests a perverse pride in calling evil good, and good evil; and setting their minds on earthly things suggests the kind of idolatry that Paul also describes in Romans 1:25:
they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
Instead, Paul says of Christians:
our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
This passage makes it clear where the Christian’s ultimate loyalty lies — within the realm that Jesus calls the kingdom of God. As Jesus says in his prayer in the Gospel of John:
I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world . . . They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world (John 17:14,16).
Paul also makes clear to the Philippians what will happen when they avidly pursue Christ, in imitation of Paul’s own quest:
He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself.
Seeking to be identified with Christ by faith means being transformed by the resurrection power that is manifested in Christ.
Finally, Paul exhorts the church with great affection, urging them to imitate this example:
Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved.
APPLY:
It has been said that imitation is the highest form of flattery. Here, Paul is inviting us to imitate him; but his reason for doing so isn’t egotism or narcissism.
He hopes that we will imitate his passion and zeal to be more closely identified with Christ:
this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:13-14).
The sober reality is that we have a choice to make. We can seek Christ and become citizens of his kingdom by faith; or we can pledge our loyalty to this world, which Scripture tells us is transient:
for all that is in the world—the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, the pride in riches—comes not from the Father but from the world. And the world and its desire are passing away, but those who do the will of God live forever (1 John 2:16-17).
To be a Christian is to imitate Christ — and the only way this is at all feasible is through the grace of God working in us and through us and for us.
RESPOND:
I have a friend with whom I went to seminary who is one of the best preachers I’ve ever heard. We were actually in preaching class together long ago.
I tried to figure out what it was that set him apart from the other preachers. And I was able to put my finger on it. When he preached about sin and sinners, I realized, “he preaches with tears in his eyes.”
He doesn’t talk about sin and sinners from a judgmental perspective. He literally cares about them, and prays that they might repent!
This reminds me of that phrase from Paul’s letter:
For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ; I have often told you of them, and now I tell you even with tears. Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things.
I have the impression that Paul isn’t gloating about the destruction of the sinner. He is deeply grieved that they have rejected the power of the cross of Christ.
Only when we preach the truth in love will those who have turned away from God truly see that we care for them. The secret is not to pretend that sin isn’t a reality. The secret is to love the sinner enough to tell them the truth!
If I go to a doctor and he detects a malignancy, it would be malpractice — both moral and medical — for him not to inform me. The most loving thing he could possibly do is to tell me the truth and then advise me to have the surgery that will save my life.
In the same way, when the Holy Spirit convicts me of sin, that is a sign of God’s love for me, for it drives me to repentance and to reconciliation with God.
Lord, thank you for men and women who are examples of Godliness, and who seek you with all their heart. By your grace, empower me to be shaped into the likeness of your Son. Amen.
SOAR Lectionary Bible Study 