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Philippians 3.
Verse nine And be found in him not having my own righteousness which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.
That I may know him in the power of his resurrection, the fellowship of his sufferings being be conformable unto his death, if by any means I might attain under the resurrection of the dead.
Not as though I had already attained either. We're already perfect.
But I follow after if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
Brother and I count not myself to have apprehended but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth into those things which are before I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded, and if in anything he be otherwise minded, go on to reveal even this unto you. Nevertheless, whereto, if we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.
Brethren be followers together of me, and mark them which would walk so as he have us for an example.
For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you, even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ. Who then to destruction, who had God as their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things? For our conversation is in heaven, from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Who should change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body?
According to their working, whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto himself. Like to make a few remarks to bear with me as to the person of Christ, because that's the subject we have now. The apostle desires that he might know him. We know that the Lord Jesus came down into this world to reveal the Father.
That's John's gospel.
Because John's Gospel is the subject of life, all his writings are.
And the Lord Jesus came down to reveal the Father.
And so the Father has been made known to us in Jesus, both in what in his ministry and also.
In his person he could say, I am altogether that which I say unto you.
Marvelous person.
And yet we are told in the Gospels.
That no one knows the Son but the Father.
The mystery of his person is eternal.
A mystery surrounds his person that none can penetrate.
And yet.
We learn in Ephesians that.
Through the Spirit of God, where you enter into the unsearchable riches of Christ.
So that's another aspect of things.
But now looking back.
We learned in Corinthians 15.
Of the first Adam that he was of the dust. We're not Speaking of Adam who's fallen. We're Speaking of Adam now.
Who?
Was created.
He was of the dust, He was of the earth, earthly.
But the last Adam is from heaven.
So we have two distinct lines of things. We have the first one who was of the earth, of the dust.
Now the Lord Jesus is from heaven.
When he was born, it was said of him, That holy thing which shall be born of thee, Mary, shall be called the Son of God.
Adam was never holy. The Lord Jesus is holy and.
We find that.
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That the woman is of the man.
First Corinthians.
11:00 and 12:00.
But the man is by the woman, not of the woman.
Mary and Joseph had no part in the conception of Jesus.
He would conceived of the Holy Ghost entirely. I say that because that's one thing that's being attacked today. Men are saying that Jesus could sin, but the Lord Jesus did not have a nature like Adam. Even before Adam was created. That is when Adam was created, Adam was innocent.
But.
He had the possibility of sinning and he did sin. That was not true of Jesus.
He could not sin.
He did not sin. He knew no sin.
Is that holy one?
And all this person, the Holy One, so you see, although he is man and born of a woman.
Still, and because the children were partakers of flesh and blood, he partook of the same.
But not the same flesh.
You see, there was number sin connected with it.
With the his flesh.
But the time came when the Lord Jesus.
The apostle Paul could say of him.
We know no man after the flesh. We don't know Christ after the flesh.
We don't know him anymore in that way.
Is entirely new order in resurrection.
Life is in the spirit, not in the blood. His blood was poured out on the ground.
And.
As the Apostle Paul.
Saw the Lord Jesus on the Damascus Rd.
He saw the man because he said, I have seen the Lord.
He saw the man that you and I are going to be with for all eternity, the man Christ Jesus.
He had a vision that when he saw Jesus, that could not be erased from his mind and his heart.
The Man Christ Jesus.
And so.
This that the apostle is Speaking of here.
It's not simply that Jesus was a man, but he was a different man from any other man that ever lived.
He was holy, but now in resurrection life, He is the object and the life of every believer.
And the apostle Paul now wants to know him. He does know him as Savior.
But because his name is called Jesus, Jehovah's Savior, but all the apostles said, I want to know him and all how much there is to know him about him. But to know him personally is not simply know about him.
It's a different thing, and the apostle wants to know him.
To lay hold of his person. To be in the enjoyment of his person.
Is what we have coming up in this chapter. It isn't simply knowledge to gain knowledge so we can talk about it, but it's something that should affect our hearts and our walk down here, the person of Jesus Christ. I just wanted to make those comments because otherwise we might approach the subject to simply.
Something that.
We've heard so many times and.
We don't give the place it should have in our hearts and our affections. The apostle had only one thing before him, brethren.
And that was Jesus.
Only one thing before him, one person. That was Jesus. It was not just.
In 2nd Corinthians 5 verse 17 it says if any man be in Christ Jesus, he is a new creature, a new creation. All things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new.
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In our Little Flock hymn book, in the 73rd hymn, the last line is Jesus the Lords, my righteousness here where we began reading it says.
And be found in him.
That's in Christ, in Him, that person you're talking about.
The new creation.
It will be absolutely so when we are there in the glory. That's what Paul doubtless was thinking about.
To reach that goal, Christ in glory, and be like him fully.
According to this verse, I believe we can say.
That nothing that Christ has done is our righteousness, nothing that He does is our righteousness, but Christ Himself is our righteousness Be found in him. That was the longing of the apostle, and it's a completely new thing, this righteousness to have this best drove on.
Wonderful thought to think, to be found in him.
Now it will be so at the end, but isn't there a measure of practical truth here to attain more fully to that now in a practical way, to be found in him in practice, and then in the measure in which we are?
Enjoying Christ and all he has done and this new position, it will be seen in us too, this righteousness down here, but fully it will be seen when we are there. For this first man has gone into the glory as man. To know him is a precious thing, but we're getting into something beautiful as our brother brought out to be found in Christ.
As we had in Corinthians Second 617. It's beautiful.
We're all in Christ if we're safe. We're in Christ and old things passed away and all things have become new. You see that in Ephesians 2. We had that last night. It's nice to see this, that that's our standing in Ephesians 2, verse 13. We were this way without Christ, having no hope, without God in the world, but now.
In Christ, the wonderful thing in Christ.
And we have that expression coming out again.
In fact, Romans 8 says there is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. That's where we are. One other place I think Galatians. It brings it off very beautifully in Galatians 3, Galatians 3 at the end, I think.
Verse 27 Well verse 26 ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ.
Jesus, for as many as you have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek. There is neither bond nor free. There is neither male nor female. Ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you be Christ, you are Abraham's seed heirs according to the promise. Now that's our standing in the new life for what we have here in Philippians.
Be found in him practically. And I think that's laid out so beautifully in the Song of Solomon in one place. Song of Solomon. And I think it's so beautiful the way he wants her to be found in him and he wants each one of us too. You see, she was in Christ when she described him so beautifully.
In the second chapter, but now down in the 4th chapter.
He's bringing her along and he says in verse 8.
Come with me, that's all your befound in him, in this world. Come with me from Lebanon. Notice at the end from the lion's den. Well, from the place of danger, that's this world. Come apart with him. And then it noticed. Look from the top of Amana, from the top of Sheena, from the top of Herman.
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What is he Speaking of?
Found in him. This is what he looks for in each one of us, and we can have it if we go on with him. Amana.
Constancy of your soul, one object. That's what we have in the third chapter, Christ. It's a constant settled soul in Christ. That's constancy. He wants you to have that look from that mount and then you'll have the real, the real view. And then he says also.
From Sheena.
The lamp bearer, that's what it means. The light. He wants us to be a light in this world of himself. There's only one way found in him. Come with me, he says. That's apart from this world. The last thing she Herman from Herman devotion, that's Mary and John 12 at his feet to vote Devotion. That's the highest.
And he wants it all from us that we can only have it one way called. Got it here.
That I might be found in Him. All brethren, everyone of us that are saved know Him. But to be found in Him daily is what we have here. A constancy in your soul, not just when you're with the Saints. Continual devotion and a light. A light isn't that beautiful? That's what He wants here in verse 6.
We read touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
Turn back with me to Deuteronomy 6.
Deuteronomy chapter 6.
Verse 24.
And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God for our good always.
That He might preserve us alive as it is at this day, and it shall be our righteousness if we observe to do all these commandments before the Lord our God, as He hath commanded us. Now in the verse we're looking at in verse in chapter 3 of Philippians.
Verse 9 to be found in him not having my own righteousness now had he kept the law perfectly.
As he says in verse six, touching the righteousness which is in the law, outwardly he was blameless. Now he says.
No, I don't want that kind of righteousness. I've learned, I've found as our brother Clem was bringing before us a righteousness now which is altogether of a different kind. It is Christ himself. And in the in the seventh verse of our chapter, he talks about the past.
What things were gained to me those I counted loss for Christ that was that was a past decision that he had made. And then we have in verse 8, the present, yeah, doubtless I count all things but loss for the Excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered past the loss of all things, and do count them present.
But dumb that I may win Christ.
And now we have in verse 9 the future, and He looks on to that day when he will be there in the glory. And he looks on to that day, and he says, And to be found in him not having thine own righteousness, which which is of the law. Had He kept the law perfectly, it would have been His righteousness, but no to be found in him.
Not having my own righteousness which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ.
The righteousness which is of God by faith. And then in the next verse he goes back to the present to know him. But verse nine is the future. He looks on to that day when he'll be there, and he delights in the fact that it will be Christ that will be His righteousness. Nothing of himself, nothing that he has done but looking on to that day when we will be.
Surrounding him, and in his righteousness, Christ himself being our righteousness. First Corinthians 130 of him of God are ye in Christ Jesus, who is made unto us, wisdom and righteousness, and sanctification and redemption, that according as it is written, he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.
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So to have Christ as the one who will be our righteousness, Who is our righteousness now?
But He looks on to that day when it will be complete, and it will be displayed in that day perfectly that it is Christ who is our righteousness. He didn't want any of His own. Rather, had he kept the law perfectly, all He could have said was, that's my righteousness. I've kept it.
But now he wants to lay that aside and to have a different kind of righteousness, Christ in glory as his righteousness. That's what we're on going on to now. There's a difference. We must keep things too in their place, and that is.
God has made him righteousness to us. It's the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.
It doesn't proper for us to say that we have righteousness in the sense that we have Christ's righteousness as a man down here.
That's a different thought. Be a transfer of the righteousness of Christ in his acts down here.
To us. But God has made him our righteousness. He is our righteousness, His person.
There's a difference there.
So we want to keep the two separate. You notice in that horse nut referred to in First Corinthians chapter one in verse 30.
There are four things mentioned there, but of him are ye in Christ Jesus who of God?
Is made unto us wisdom.
Righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Four things. Christ is our wisdom.
He's made to us wisdom by God.
And he is righteousness. He's made righteousness to us of God.
He is made of God's sanctification and redemption.
Now there's so much error.
In Christendom in connection.
With at least the three last ones, Righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.
He himself.
Is that whole thing his person?
And you run into it all the time. There are those that are preaching.
What righteousness the Lord Jesus did is imputed to us. No, the Lord Jesus Christ of God is made unto us, righteousness His person.
It seems to me that is it is. It is a subtle thing.
A subtle thought that the enemy will bring in.
To get us away.
From glory in the Lord Jesus Christ, his person.
Oh, there's the most subtle things that will come up to rob us of that very thing.
That no flesh should glory in God's presence.
But glory in the Lord Jesus Christ, who is made by God. Righteousness. He is personally our righteousness, His person himself.
And I believe God wants to impress us with this, that the person of Christ is everything.
And when we have him, we have everything. We're even blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in Christ.
His person.
Without the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, we wouldn't have anything.
Oh, it's a wonderful thing to know that that we have Christ and I believe that's why we get in John's gospel as many as received him.
Him.
Not something from Him, but Himself. He is our life, He is our righteousness, He is our sanctification, He is our redemption. As many as received Him to them He gave the power to become the children of God.
Oh, what a wonderful thing to have it that simple that it's in the person. Why does God reveal it to us in this way?
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That we might be occupied with the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Not just with the gifts he gives.
Just what we have gotten that we can name.
But himself.
I'm struck with with little children.
11 Times.
That I've come home from a trip when the children were younger.
And they were waiting for me to come. Well, I gave them that little gift. From that moment on, they were occupied with the gift and not me.
So often we're like that. We're like little children.
We get occupied with the gift of eternal life that we've gotten, and we forget the person.
Oh, this is a very simple thing, but it's a very real thing. Are we forgetting him?
Do we spend time with Him every day? Do we value His person so much that we want to be in His presence? Do we value His person so much that we want to read in the Word about Him and get some food for our souls himself?
God wants to bring that before us, I believe, especially in this chapter that we're reading in, and we pray that we might really get the good of it, that we might have our eyes fixed upon Him as being All in all, everything.
And if we don't, we're missing it. The Lord is able to help us.
God by his Spirit is anxious.
To present Christ to us, to keep Christ before us. And we have the help of the Holy Spirit in it. We have have the help of the word of God in it.
We're not left to our own devices and if we are really exercised in these matters.
We can go to God our Father and present our case before Him.
And tell him help me.
By thy grace to be more occupied with the Lord Jesus Christ, because we get impressed.
From the word of God, that this is the important thing. I think this is so important especially for the young people and the children and those, any of us who are older who think you can look anyplace else.
We have the simplicity of Christ. That's what our brother was bringing out. We preached Christ and him crucified, and it's enough.
I was thinking of that prayer meeting we just finished. All of you that were there, did you sense the theme?
It was beautiful. It was an outreach. I know we don't use that term so much. It's a missionary term, but young people, I find are looking for an outreach, a broader base. And brethren, is there a broader base in what you heard in that prayer meeting with the arm of the Lord, reaching out from his assembly where his truth is and He is and the light is in this world?
That's the outreach, and I was so amazed at the request that went up all over the world.
The work going on all over the world, we don't need to count coup as the Indians say.
We don't need to know the results. We know Christ does the work and we preach Christ. It's that simplicity. We're not burdened with anything else of man and young people. I tell you, you don't need a broader base than you've got in the assembly where Christ is and the truth is, and the Spirit of God works and the arm of the Lord reaches out. It's wonderful to see it, isn't it?
And that's what our brother was saying. We have Christ, we need him, but we can give Christ.
And it's so precious in its simplicity. That's really what falls. Bring it out here, the simplicity of Christ. In Galatians 2, we have a verse that I'd like to just read in connection with our brother Anderson was bringing before us.
I'm going to read verse 20, but it's the last verse of the chapter that I have. I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.
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And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Now notice carefully verse 21. I do not frustrate the grace of God. For if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain, as is so commonly taught in many circles in Christendom. Is that the Lord Jesus? We fail to keep the law, none of us.
So we don't have that legal righteousness by our own keeping it, but Christ kept it perfectly and He did. He kept it perfectly, but that righteousness of His law keeping is now put to our account.
This verse the apostle says, no, that can't be. If righteousness come by the law, whether it's our keeping it ourselves or Christ keeping it for us, then Christ is dead in vain. Then we have a righteousness which is before Christ died, but rather Christ risen and glorified. The man in the glory has become our righteousness, as we've been hearing, and that's what Paul brings before us in.
Philippians 3 He says that I might be found in Him. We want to stress this because He's really we are in Him now and we have that righteousness now, but he's looking on to the full display of it in the future, to that full bright display of this whole thing He says to be found in him in that day, not having any righteousness of my own, but only that which.
Of God through faith. And what is that righteousness which is of God?
It's Christ, and so to be found in him is to have Christ as our righteousness, not something He's done for us, but rather himself as the glorified one. He there is the expression of our righteousness before God. I was thinking of the last words of Brother Darby. One of the things that he rejoiced in was he could say Christ is my righteousness.
And that's what we're going to say when we get home.
Will be in that scene around himself, and will be found in him, like him, in him altogether. He himself, our righteousness, nothing of our own. Oh, what a day, Oasis. Well, that is pictured in the return of the Prodigal.
That.
Younger son who had gone down into the far country.
And been converted. Turned his heart back and returned.
When he reached that place, his father really ran out to meet him. But then the father says bring forth the best drove and put it on him.
We were quoting from 2nd Corinthians 517. If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation or creature. All things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new, and the next words are all things are of God.
And then there in First Corinthians, those precious verses, how that of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, according that as it is written, he that glory, let him glory in the Lord.
Oh, all the glory is going to go to the Lord. Nothing that we have done or can do. And so when we arrived there.
Like that prodigal when he returned to the father. We're going to get that best role. That's the only thing that will suit us there for that place.
I like to make a comment on.
That I may win Christ. We know that we have Christ from the day that we are saved.
But Paul is speaking. Then I may win Christ.
I believe it's important for us to realize that if we do not learn to count like the apostle Paul did, we will lose out in winning Christ. But God does not expect us that we.
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Learn to turn our back on the things that we once considered worth going after before we can win Christ. It's like we find it in Genesis 24.
The servant brought the things of Isaac, which spoke of his wealth.
And that which would be hers if she would answer to this call.
To wean her away from the place where she was. This is God's way. The most beautiful example that I've ever heard.
Be used to illustrate this is if you have a child that is playing with something that is dangerous to the child.
To make the child drop it.
You put something beautiful and desirable before the child, and if the child plays with a knife, which is a danger for the child, you put a candy or an ice cream cone before the child will drop the knife and reach for the cone. That's God's way. And so I believe, beloved, there is such a thing as turning our back.
To that which we once esteemed valuable. But God will not do that without first showing us.
Something of Christ that is desirable so that these things of.
Time and sense no longer have the attraction to us that they once had. And if we do not want to turn our back to these things, if we do not want to count like the apostle Paul did, we will lose out, spiritually speaking, not our salvation, but we will lose out to enjoy the preciousness of Christ. Just like a runner, you know, who is running in a race and.
If he has the object before him, he doesn't look to the right hand of the to the left to see whether someone else is gaining on him.
The thing that inspires him is the object ahead of him.
And that's what we have here. Paul had only one object.
That's the theme someone suggested this chapter, the one object, and so he doesn't look around. He's running in a race and he has Christ before him. I was thinking as.
Some of you were bringing before us the person of Christ.
That He is our righteousness, That the one who enjoys John 316 enjoys this truth.
And that could be the youngest one here, because God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son. Now that's the gift of God, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. And so we say, thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift. Now that's the really the heart of the subject.
It's it's a gift from God. That gift is Christ.
And that is our righteousness, is our hope. He's everything to us. And so the apostle has his eye upon the one person, nothing else. Now, of course, remember.
Life is very practical and we have a responsibilities here and so just to make a statement to have your eye on Christ.
You may some may feel what is what are they talking about?
You have to go to work in the morning, you have to go to school and all of these things. But the point is, what is the object of the heart? It isn't simply that we don't do anything else but sit and look at the scriptures. It's very important that we do read the scriptures, but everything in our lives has.
Is towards one object, and that is Christ.
And whatsoever we do in Word or deed, we do it all for the glory of God. And so Christ is the object in it all, and we can do anything we have to do unto Christ.
In that tenth verse I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, the fellowship of His sufferings.
That's a lovely thought. Not just knowing Christ. Everyone that is a sheep of His knows Him. I know my sheep, they know my voice, they follow me. That's beautiful. But the power of His resurrection. Paul has that in simplicity in the 13th verse of the 4th chapter. I can do all things through Christ, which strengtheneth me. That's the power of His resurrection.
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Paul learned in myself there's nothing, but in Christ I have everything. I can do anything.
We have the same it's like more than conquerors.
In Romans 8, that's a beautiful thought more than conquerors.
You know when the when a ship is in the Gale and this mass breaks and everything falls apart, it's doomed, It's perishing in that terrible storm. But if a ship comes along and tows it into port?
It's saved. That's right. A lot of Saints are like that. They come in and they're brought in, but that's it.
But if that ship could turn about to the right way?
Put out its jib and let that Gale blow it into port. It's more than conqueror. That's what happens to a St. who is delivered and who has the power of his resurrection in him. Realizes it's really a Romans 8 Saint, isn't it? Compared to seven? But I was thinking of the sufferings, the fellowship of his sufferings. How much do we really know that?
Paul says that's our privilege. Peter says Turn to Peter just for that, because Peter knew something about it.
Two chapter 4 of I Peter, verse 13.
Rejoice in as much as you are partakers of Christ sufferings.
When His glory shall be revealed, you may be glad also with exceeding joy, if he be reproached for the name of Christ. Happy are ye for the Spirit of glory and of God are upon you. On their part he may be evil spoken on. On your part Christ is glorified. That's lovely, isn't it? Now we can have both.
Brethren, we can know the power of His resurrection in our life. That's deliverance from ourselves, really.
Its deliverance from ourselves.
And then let Him have the power of His resurrection in our life. But the sufferings, the fellowship of His sufferings, oh, how much do we know about that? The only way you can know about it is being conformable unto His death, being made conformable unto His death. You can't be popular in this world and enjoy the fellowship of His sufferings. It can be if you enjoy the fellowship of His sufferings. The world doesn't want you.
It will reject you like it rejected Christ. And what a blessing.
When they excommunicated the blind man in John nine, he was cast out into the arms of Jesus.
What a blessing.
I want to be a part with him, don't you? That's the sufferings, the fellowship of his sufferings. And I mentioned to the young people, there isn't much time left. He's coming. We expect him today.
Whatever time you have here, that's why it says, let's see. I think it's in Ephesians, but I will turn to it. But the rest of your time, Peter speaks of Ephesians, speaks of redeeming the time. There isn't much and this is the only place and the only time.
Will ever have that privilege Paul speaks of and that joy that's very special Peter speaks of.
To be identified with Christ here in his rejection and sufferings. And that's only by going on with Him. You have that fellowship, you enjoy it of his sufferings. And that's only by going on with Him, you have that fellowship, you enjoy it of His sufferings. Oh, it's precious, I believe probably the finest singing.
That ever took place in Flip Eye was in the jail at midnight.
A duet fellowship of his suffering. They were learning, weren't they, a little bit about Christ sufferings. They were suffering for the name of Christ in bonds in the inner prison in the muck. And Meyer after being beaten, and Paul and Silas sang a duet. I'd love to advertise the prisoners heard, the prisoners heard and the jailer heard.
Rather, that's what we're talking about, and it's precious Paul's trying to tell us.
That I may know him.
How do we know him? What was Paul's thought?
To know Him as the one who's now in the glory.
To know him as the object altogether outside of this world.
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Not to know Him as He was here, that's very precious. We get that in Philippians 2, and that's so important, as we heard yesterday, that's feeding on the manna. But in order to feed on the old corn of the land, they had to cross the Jordan, which is a picture of our death and resurrection with Christ. And then to feed on the old corn of the land, which speaks of Christ in glory, to know Him there.
Well, Paul, when he talks about his conversion.
In Acts 9 he says a light from heaven.
And then when he talks about it in chapter 22, he speaks of it as a great light from heaven.
And in chapter 26, he says a light from heaven brighter than the noonday sun. And so that light from heaven eclipsed everything here. For him it was a glorified Christ. Who art thou, Lord? I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest. God had glorified his Son Jesus.
The world has rejected him and young people hear this this morning.
If you have your eyes gazing upon Christ in glory, all the offerings of this world, all its trinkets, all its tinsel, all its false promises of grandeur and glory, here you can count it as dung, as Paul did, because he found.
A glorified man on high whom the world doesn't want.
Whom the world has hated and rejected and cast out. And he says I want to know him.
The one that the world won't have.
The one who is my righteousness and then the power of his resurrection. It's only in the power of the resurrection that we can enter into these things.
Paul prays in Ephesians 1.
That the exceeding greatness, that you might know what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us word who believe according to the working of His mighty power which He wrought in Christ, when He raised him from the dead, and set him far above principalities, and powers and authorities. In every name that is named, not only in this world, but in that which is to come. And gave Him to be the head over all things to the Church, which is His body.
The fullness of him that filleth All in all.
And the New Testament speaks of that power over and over again. It's not the power that God used in creating the universe, but it's the power that put a man in the glory. AS2 aspects of Paul's gospel, the gospel of the grace of God. That's what you get in Philippians 2, That God was manifest in the flesh. He came down to where we were. But then there's the gospel of the glory. There's a man now that's been exalted to the glory of God.
God's power has put a man there. He wears our nature on the throne. He's now our object. He's now the one that we want to know. We want to know him there. That's where all our interests are. They're not here. We belong to heaven. And if death comes to us or to our loved ones, it just sends them home. They're home now, and we're soon going to join them.
What a Hulk, what an object, what a portion that enables us to suffer here.
To know the fellowship of his sufferings. What a privilege. We know Christ in glory now. We're privileged to share his sufferings. That's how he got there, through sufferings. What a privilege. And even to be conformed to his death. That's what Paul wanted.
Then turn to Ephesians 3 to continue a little.
Brother, what you're bringing before us?
Ephesians 3.
On the 16 first, that He would grant you according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, that she, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to apprehend. It should be with All Saints. What is the breadth and length, and depth and height?
And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that she might be filled with all the fullness of God.
Now we have.
Here that which should be our present occupation.
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In anticipation of the glory.
This is connected with the inner man.
So that you and I now can enjoy.
What the apostle has before him in this race is he's running with one object before him. It's Christ dwelling in our hearts by faith.
May I just make this comment? You and I could never attain to anything in the things of God.
Except the Spirit of God opens them to us, all of our efforts.
In ourselves will not avail.
But when one is in the position that we have in Ephesians, both in the first chapter that our brothers brought before us, and here we find the Spirit of God is the one who opens these things to us.
And we cannot attain to them by our efforts, but being in that state of soul, God is pleased to open the things of Christ to us, and that's the way we are able to enter into them, and also in connection with His sufferings, whatever it may be.
It's a privilege to suffer.
For Christ.
But here we have to know something of his sufferings.
And with him, that's a little different thought, isn't it? And so the believer now.
If he has Christ dwelling in the heart, that isn't simply an occasional visit, is it? It's the dwelling in the heart by faith. Now the Spirit of God opens to us those things and leads us into the paths of blessing that we have before us. Here. That the apostle was taken up with our brother mentioned a verse in Ephesians 319. I just come in a minute on it.
And to know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge.
Now we have in our portion to know Him and to be found in Him. That's true.
But this almost sounds like a contradiction. In a sense, it is to know the love of Christ. That's beyond knowing.
The beautiful thought.
The love of Christ.
You're never exhausted, not even in eternity.
There's three things in Ephesians 113 Faith, hope, and love. Now the greatest is love.
Because faith is grommeted. Be needed when we're there. We have sight. We'll see him as he is. Hope won't be needed either. We'll have fruition. It'll all be in fruition. Love just begins. You'll just begin learning the love of Christ. It passes knowledge. It's so deep, it's so vast, it's so beautiful.
And we're going to have that school of knowledge forever.
It's only going to be one subject in postgraduate school. Glory, Love.
And we're going to learn it and learn it and learn it. And the more we learn, the grander is going to get and the better our praise. And we'll never reach the crescendo. We'll always be reaching out and going greater and greater. And the first lesson I believe in, correct me if I'm wrong, I may be, but I thought of this as the first lesson. He's going to sit us down to meet and gird himself in service.
Now, if you're not going to Start learning about the love of Christ, you'll never learn. That's it. That's the first lesson in glory.
And how long? Forever.
I can't take that in, brethren, but I know it's true. It's beyond me, and so is His love. Oh brethren, to know the love of Christ, we're getting into it here in our portion. It's so wonderful, but I love it in that verse. Pass this knowledge. What are you going to be doing in glory? I don't worry about that. We'll never be done learning of His love. That's enough for me.
Brother brought out this once in a very simple way.
The love of Christ is past knowledge. I stand at the ocean shore and I take my pale and I dip it in the water and fill it up and hold it up. And I say I have ocean in my field, but I don't have the ocean in my field.
I have what's genuine ocean in there, but all to think of how many pales for that's endless.
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I suppose the thought in that in Ephesians is unto.
Really. If you're referring to that verse, the fullness of God.
It's unto it not a question of comprehending.
Its apprehension, but the love of Christ and feeding on Christ is what brings us into it.
Now you'll notice that that's connected with the riches of his glory. It isn't simply.
The glory, but it's the riches of the glory, it's the higher part of the glory, and then it brings us into or unto all the fullness of God.
May I just make this comment when you think of the fullness of God?
There are two scriptures. One is in First Corinthians 15 I believe.
Where Christ is seen as the first fruits of them that slept, Christ is the first fruits, that is.
There wasn't any before him in the New Order. He's the 1St.
It's entirely new race that you belong to if you're a Christian.
We've already had those verses before us in Second Corinthians.
New creation entirely, but Christ is the first fruits.
There was, there were none before him.
But then we have the expression first born. It's a different thought.
He's the first born one.
That's mentioned even in the Old Testament in Psalm 89. I'll make him my first born higher than the kings of the earth.
Well, the thought of first born, I believe, is simply this, that Christ is the beginning.
Of the manifestation.
Of the power and the glory of God.
That's the first born.
Now you see, rather than that, Christ is the key to it all.
In the Gospels, he told the Pharisees that they had taken away the key of knowledge.
The key of knowledge, It's Christ.
Is the key of knowledge. Men talk about knowledge today. They don't know what knowledge is. Christ is that knowledge is the key to it. There's no real knowledge outside of Christ, and it's his person.
That brings.
And so we have then the one who is the center and the Son of that coming glory. And when you speak of the fullness of God, well, Christ dwelling in your hearts by faith gives us to enter into, to apprehend these precious things. Wonder if we might.
Be able to.
Use a word that Brother Hendricks used.
Eclipse.
I've enjoyed the thought that.
Philippians is a man who just went through Ephesians.
And his feet are on earth, but his heart he left up in glory.
And he has found something that has eclipsed all that he was and fought and desired.
He's found a person.
And when he saw this person, he says that person is worthy.
Of every movement of heart and mind, he's worthy to be motive and object of every movement.
And he sees that in the worth of that person.
Such beauty that he recognizes that.
Any movement of anything else.
Is only a stench.
And so he begins a path. He's walking with a person.
And in a certain sense, he has a way to gauge.
The stench and that is whatsoever things are gained to me.
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Or could he be a competitor with God himself? Could he be a rival for the glory of God?
And so as he would walk through this path here below, he would recognize things that kept coming up, that he was taking credit for it. They became gain to him.
And he would see that doesn't suit the presence of this person.
And he was ceased negotiating.
He would stop negotiating with God. He would stop trying to introduce.
Oh, even after having Christ for righteousness, as we've heard, you want nothing to interfere with that. You wouldn't want to negotiate to get anything out of God after he's saved. Now to gain Christ. He would want none of his own thoughts because he wants all of Christ he can possibly have, and whatever the cost is is negligible.
Because he's had a taste of something that's better.
Beloved, we get in this epistle to the Philippians that which is better discerning the things that are more excellent.
Satan would come along and offer us, can we not say something good to rob us of something better? And we'll never have any better than Christ himself.
And as he walks along, he say, oh, I just want to know what it is.
What did He do? How did He suffer? What did he assess in the way of strength? Every day to know Him and the power of His resurrection, the fellowship of His sufferings, only one thing set before Him.
To know that person better and better.
And it's a path that is set before us, that has glory before us.
It has the glorious men before us.
But all you know, we have it on Earth.
And we walk in a step at a time, and each of us are learning to know him.
And he's very active in winning my heart, gaining me over that. I love him more than I just simply say with the apostle Paul, just one thing.
The soon will be home in glory as we've heard and justice. Think of what it will be to be in His presence forever and ever.
And we heard yesterday that's all we'll have. We'll have himself. Well, he's enough for time and enough for eternity. But as the brother was Speaking of this word, eclipse, the glimpse of Christ should have eclipsed everything else.
And if someone would have come along and say yes, but look how good of an education you have all look at all these advantages you had, He says don't mention it, don't mention it, it stinks, throw it away because he had found something to eclipse all else.
And I believe that's the sense of the stability of our souls and our joy in life is that everything is eclipsed by him as Christ. I found him looking for brother, mentioned Mary. At the feet of Jesus. She had found what she was looking for. She stopped looking. Maybe so with us that all these things were finished with. They don't bother us anymore. They don't attract us.
They're not attractive. It's only himself.
Being made conformable unto his death, I thought of in the sense of obedience.
Had it before us yesterday. Obedience unto death. All the Lord obeyed until he had nothing left to obey with.
That's where we're calling Mr. Walk those steps with him, alongside him, conformable unto his death. We walk with him until there's nothing left to obey with. And then what do we have?
Or himself in glory.
If by any means this next verse here verse 11. If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. Looking over at the 2nd chapter and seeing what Paul is talking about himself there helps to explain that in the 17th verse 217.
Yeah, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy and rejoice with you all.
If by any means it didn't matter if he was poured out as a libation offering in his life, what was the end of it? It was Christ in glory. He wasn't concerned about the means, the way of arrival there. It was getting home to that person that He had before him.
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And the power of his resurrection we have there in that tenth verse.
We find in our last verse of our chapter that power belongs to this man.
Who shall change our bodies of humiliation?
May be fashioned like unto his own glorious body. That's the power of his resurrection to arrive there, and that power will be exercised for we who are living when the Lord comes too, we'll get the change of the body without going through death. So we ought to be like Paul, he says here in verse 17, be followers together of me.
Who had this object before him?
And was really desirous to be there.
With Christ, and in Christ, and like Christ wholly.
That's what we will be every believer.
Can say now that he is in Christ.
And one day we shall be with Christ, and one day we shall be like Christ. The whole thing. That's what Paul is looking forward to. So the means doesn't concern him, but the arrival there. Don't you think too that in this thought we have?
If you wanted to be conformed to.
His sufferings, he wanted to be like him, even in passing through death, and raised out from among the dead just like his master, to follow the whole pathway all the way through. And Paul was martyred.
And.
He will be raised out from among the dead and that day of resurrection, but he wanted to pass through the very experiences that his master passed through. So it all fits together, does it not? In this chapter, we might benefit by looking at Acts Chapter 9.
Doing three things in connection with what we've been speaking about.
Here we find.
The record.
Of the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, who was later named Paul.
And we notice in verse three that as he was journeying, there was this light from heaven that we've already been reminded of.
That Shinedown on him, he fell to the earth.
That was a remarkable thing. Something happened there that was so strong that knocked him down. He fell to the earth.
And that's when you heard this voice speaking to him. Saul. Saul, Why? Persecutors tell me.
Well, persecution was suffering, but here Saul of Tarsus finds out.
That it's Jesus that he thought was dead.
That he was persecuting.
Although he was persecuting those Christians, that is, he was inflicting what he thought was righteous judgment upon them, But he finds out now that he's persecuting them. And since he's touching these Christians, he's touching Christ. What a revelation to him. He learned something about persecution in reverse order here. He's the one that's giving it.
And then he trembles, and his astonished, and says, Lord.
What would thou have me to do?
So the Lord tells him.
And.
In verse 8, Saul rose from the earth.
And when his eyes were open, he saw no man. He was blinded.
He saw no man.
You cut off from man and you had to be LED around like a little child.
Just think of what he was going through. That arrogant man, he speaks of himself in that way.
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Three days without sight.
We don't know really what Saul of Tarsus was going through there, but I believe it was deep, deep exercises. We find the number three given to us quite often in Scripture, and it's connected with testing and no doubt so all of Tarsus was going through all kinds of thoughts within himself.
A real trial. A real testing.
And he didn't eat or drink. He was cut off from any desire of the flesh.
Any natural desires cut off from everything?
And then God wants to send somebody to be a help to him.
And he says to Ananias.
The Lord said unto him, Arise, go into the street which is called straight.
And inquire in the House of Jesus for one called Saul of Tarsus. For behold, he prays. To whom was he prayed to? That one that had appeared to him immediately. He's in touch with him, he's in contact with him, he's talking to him, not just saying a prayer. Perhaps you went through a lot of that ritual and ceremony before.
But now it simply says, Behold, he prayeth, and it's the Lord.
God that's telling him Ananias this.
But Ananias is afraid of him. He's heard what Saul of Tarsus had been doing, what he'd done to his Saints at Jerusalem. Verse 13.
And now he had authority from a chief priest to bind all that called on the name of the Lord.
But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way, you just go, Ananias, for he's a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel, for I'll show him.
How great things he must suffer for my name's sake. There is the fellowship of his sufferings, a fellowship of Christ's sufferings. There it is.
Saul of Tarsus was to be shown what he should suffer for the sake of the Lord Jesus.
And he did suffer, and it was for the sake of the Lord Jesus.
He entered into the fellowship of the Lord's sufferings. Well, he gets more of it, and we read further down.
That verse 20.
Straight we preached Christ. It should read Jesus in the synagogues that he is the Son of God.
He is the Son of God.
The very thing for which the Lord Jesus Christ was crucified rejected claiming to be the Son of God.
And that's what he is preaching.
He sees Christ in resurrection. He knows him in resurrection.
His eyes are open to see the Lord Jesus up there alive in glory.
He's occupied with his resurrection now.
And then he's occupied with his sufferings. And before we go any further, we read in verse 23.
After that many days were fulfilled, the Jews took counsel to kill him.
We find that the Jews, the Pharisees and all the the council together to kill the Lord Jesus.
They are taking counsel together to kill him. Is that the fellowship of his suffering?
I believe it is, and if anyone is killed or persecuted for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ, for the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, he is having fellowship.
In his sufferings, I must tell the story.
Of the young man.
Over in the Congo that accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior.
I usually had a few young men travel with me to carry my things and he was one of them.
He was the son of a chief.
And he gladly went along. I treated them well. I paid them. I saw to it that they had food. I had my gun along to shoot wild game and they always had some meat. And they were glad to go along. I never had any problem getting any to go along with me.
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And when I preached the gospel.
In the village, the people would gathered around in a circle, like they would sit around their chief when he had something to tell them. And I sat down and just gave them the gospel.
These men, young men with me.
They listen to the gospel, too.
This young man, his name is Puma Kanda.
He listened and he got converted. He got saved.
After we'd finished that trip.
It was a long trip, several weeks. We traveled through the villages preaching the gospel.
Living in those simple, primitive circumstances.
The Lord sustaining us by his grace.
But it was a hard trip for these young men.
And after we'd been home a little while, I heard that this young man was sick.
He was in a nearby village nearby where we were staying. Mission station.
So I went to see him.
And I was amazed when I saw him lying on a mat outside of his Hut in the sun, trying to get a little warmth into his body.
All emaciated, sick, hey looking.
I said funk and what has happened to you?
He says when I came home.
I tried to testify of Christ to them, to my own people.
And they hate me now.
And they poisoned me.
I said, how could that be? Why should they do that?
Always says you don't know how they hate me.
He went through the fellowships, the fellowship of the sufferings of Christ, suffering for Christ sake. And I said, how could they do this? How could they poison you?
Always says you don't know what these people do. You don't know what my people can do. You don't know what I've been taught being aligned to be chief. I've been taught what poisons to use.
And he says they can carry enough poison under their fingernails to kill a person.
And I know how that poison acts.
And it's acting that way on me.
I said, well, how did they get it into you? Well, he says, you know how we sit around after dark after our mother has cooked the food made from the manioc flour that's mixed with water and mixed into a ball of food? She puts it in a basket. And usually some of us young fellas, we sit around that basket and we partake of that food, eating it with our fingers.
He says. I surmise that that night.
One night.
There were some young fellows with me eating out of that basket. There must have been one of them that was an enemy.
And he had this poison under his fingernail and he just deposited over on the side where he saw that I was pulling out my little bit of food.
And it got me, he says. They got me. I'm poisoned. I'm going to die. Oh, I said no, you're not going to die. That bad to see you go.
Always says don't worry about me.
Don't think about me, think about that. I'm going to be with Jesus.
I'm going to be with Jesus in a few days. He died. They killed him. Is that the fellowship of his suffering? Fellowship of the sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ, I wonder.
How much we are willing to suffer for Christ's sake. May God give us grace to mean business with the law.
To really go on with Him, to yield to Him, surrender to Him, and make Him our All in all. Are we really exercised about this? I trust we are and we are God, by His grace and by His fear, will help us to be real and to go on with Him for His glory. For we think. Could I just bring it up to date on that? I think it's beautiful to see.
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Up in the on the trees, Brother Bateman suggested that they go to a village and see.
10, lone child who was saved three months before, 27 years old, single. We found him. He was working on the whole Carpenter. He was sad and we talked a little bit and I said, brother, you've just been saved, how come you're sad? He said I told all my friends about Jesus and I've lost all my friends.
And he said. I'm confused and troubled now.
That's the same thing you're talking about. Brother Bateman wrote me a letter about four months later and said I went back to encourage Ken Lone Child and I can't find him and no one.
Pretends to know anything about him, any place up there.
The reproach up there is physical too, right here in this continent, right here in this land.
We have a dear sister, Darlene Bird, who came to Christ at the conference.
Two years ago, her husband was a wife feeder, an alcoholic, and she was all right as long as she went along with him. Three children once she was saved.
She went back with him, with her children.
Physical approach, yeah.
He dug her by her hair, across concrete, ripped up her face because she wouldn't do what she did before. This is going on now here, Marshall Ross.
He said he went for a family reunion. It's a matriarch tree up there because they have one mother, but not always the same father.
And all of them came together.
And their custom is the first Kiss Mother.
And he's the head of the family, the oldest. When he came to kiss mother, she turned her head. Can't kiss me. He belongs to Christ. Before that reunion was over, a big man came up and threatened him. Marshall was a small man.
He said. I thought he was gonna kill me.
One of his brothers stepped between, just like Gamaliel, you know, and protected Marshall and that brothers saved now. But I'm just reminding you, the approach is here in this land and young people, it may be subtle and not physical, but you're going to feel it.
That's the sufferings of Christ. You're going to feel it.
And that's how you know the glory of God rest upon you. It's wonderful, isn't it, that this is real?