Philippians [Christ our Joy]: This Epistle was written to the first
church founded in Europe. Paul was
called there by the vision and the cry, “Come over into Macedonia, and help
us” (Acts 16:9).
Paul urges the Church to have unity and joy, even amid
trouble and problems. Remember, Paul and
Silas sang in the jail there at Philippi at midnight when their backs were
bleeding and sore! He is rejoicing now as he writes this letter, chained to a
Roman soldier, for he knows that his very chains are helping him to spread the gospel. He could reach some in Caesar’s household
that he never otherwise could have brought to Christ. So, he was urging the Philippian converts to rejoice
because they were allowed to suffer for Christ (Philippians 1:29). So, he said to them, Philippians 3:1: “Finally,
my brethren, rejoice in the Lord”. Philippians
4:4, he said, “Rejoice in the Lord always: and again, I say, rejoice”.
Rejoice is the root word chairo
(khah’-ee-ro), meaning, to be cheerful; calmly happy or well-off; be
well; be glad. The word joy,
or rejoice, occurs in this epistle sixteen times.
Text: Philippians 3:12: Not as though I
had already attained, either were already perfect but I follow after, if that I
may apprehend that for which also I am
apprehended of Christ Jesus. Vs
13: Brethren, I count not myself to
have apprehended: but this one thing I
do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those
things which are before: vs 14: I press toward the mark for the
prize of the high calling of God in Christ
Jesus.
Ultimate (from Latin, Ultimus [last]): beyond
which it is impossible to go; final; conclusive; beyond further analysis;
fundamental; greatest possible; final point or result. Synonyms (farthest;
extreme; maximum).
Goal is the place at which a race, trip, etc, is
ended; an end that one strives to attain.
Synonyms (object; end; aim; ambition; intention; arrival).
Paul said, “Not as though I had already attained
(achieved;
accomplished; reached), either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am
apprehended of Christ Jesus. Vs
13: Brethren, I count not myself
to have apprehended: but this one thing
I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those
things which are before: vs 14: I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in
Christ Jesus.
Paul is saying here, not as though he had already attained (achieved; accomplished; reached), neither were already perfect (complete [in labour, growth, mental and moral character], or come to full age), but he was following Christ that he may apprehend (eagerly; take; seize; comprehend; obtain) that for which also he was apprehended of Christ Jesus. Nor did he count (think or suppose) to have apprehended, but he had walked away from the Pharisaical life and was reaching forth the mark (goal) for the prize of the "high [upward; high place] calling [invitation; vocation]" of God in Christ Jesus, now that he had experienced the encounter with the Light (Christ) on the road to Damascus (Acts 9).
· James
1:4: But let patience have her perfect (tel’eios) [brought to its end, finished, wanting nothing; necessary to completeness] work, that you may be
perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
If Jesus said that we can be perfect, that settles
it and He did say it: Matthew 5:48: “Be ye therefore perfect (tel’eios)
[complete (in labor; growth; mental and moral character); of full age], even
as your Father which is in heaven is perfect”.
Then Paul wrote in Hebrews to the newly converted Jews:
Hebrew 10:14: For by one offering he hath perfected (teleio’o) [to
complete; accomplish, or consummate (in character); fulfilled] [made perfect] forever them that are sanctified: vs
15: Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he
had said before: vs 16:
This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, said the
Lord; I will put my laws into their hearts (kardi’a) [thoughts; feelings (mind)], and
in their minds (dian’oia) [deep thought; the faculty (mind or its
disposition); its exercise; understanding] will I write them: vs 17: And their sins (hamarti’a) [offenses]
/ hamartan’o) [to miss the mark (and so not share in the prize); to err;
trespass; your faults] and iniquities (anomi’a) [illegal violation of law or
wickedness; unrighteousness; transgression of the law] will I remember
no more.
What does the Word of God say about “deep things”
in 1st Corinthians 2:9: But as it is written, “Eye hath
not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered the heart of man, the things
which God hath prepared for them that love him”. Vs 10: But God hath revealed them
unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searches all things, yea, the deep
(bath’os) [profundity
(deep insight; great depth of knowledge or thought]; extent; mystery] things
of God.
Mystery (muste’rion) [a secret]. Denoting, not the mysterious (as with
the Eng. Word), but that which, apprehension (understanding; grasp), can
be made known only by divine revelation, and is made known in a manner
and at a time appointed by God, and to those only who are illumined by His
Spirit.
The only way we can attain
the ULTIMATE goal God wants us to attain is in and by the Word of God! Jesus said, Matthew 4:4, “Man shall
not live by bread alone, but by every Word (rhe’ma) [utterance; a matter or topic (of
narration; command; dispute); saying] that proceeds out of the mouth of
God”!
God’s Word is a proceeding (beginning; set in motion) Word, meaning that when He
speaks something it has already advanced, progressed, moved forward in time or
space to bring to pass what He has spoken!
· Numbers
23:19: God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man,
that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken,
and shall he not make it good?
Word depending on what’s being said is how
it’s used whether rhe’ma or log’os. For example: Word in Matthew
4:4 (how man shall live) and Ephesians 6:17 (being the
sword of the Spirit) is RHE’MA, which is individual scripture the Spirit brings
to our remembrance for use in time of need, requiring studying and storing of
the Word in the mind. Whereas, Word St. John 1:1, is “log’os”,
which pertains to the entirety of the Word of God (Bible), as something
said (including the thought); a topic (subject of discourse); reasoning (the mental
faculty); motive; the Divine Expression (Christ).
RHE’MA: Luke 21:14: Settle
it therefore in your hearts (thoughts; will; feelings (mind), not to meditate
before what you shall answer: vs 15: For I will give you a mouth and
wisdom, which all your adversaries (antik’eimai) [to lie opposite;
be adverse to; be contrary; oppose] shall not be able to gainsay (antep’o) [refute
or deny; say against] nor resist (anthis’temi) [stand against; oppose;
withstand].
LOG’OS: Genesis 1:1: In
the beginning God (the WORD) created: vs 3: And God said, “Let there be”! Also, St. John 1:1: In
the beginning was the WORD, and the WORD, was with God, and the WORD was God:
vs 14: And the WORD was made flesh and dwelt among us!
Jesus said in Mark 13:9: But take heed to
yourselves: for they shall deliver you
up to councils; and in the synagogues you shall be beaten: and you shall be brought before rulers and kings
for my sake, for a testimony against them.
Vs 10: And the gospel must first be published among all
nations. Vs 11: But when
they shall lead you and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what you should
speak, neither do you premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that
hour, that speak you: for it is not you that speak, but the Holy Ghost.
[Also, Luke 21:14-15] [this is Rhe’ma at
work].
So, what is “the ultimate goal” we can and must
attain?
· Ephesians
4:11: And he gave some APOSTLES (apos’tolos)
[a delegate; an ambassador of the Gospel; commissioner of Christ [with
miraculous powers]; messenger; he that is sent], and some PROPHETS (prophe’tes) [a foreteller; an inspired speaker], and
some EVANGELISTS (euaggelistes’) [a preacher of the
gospel], and some PASTORS (poimmen’) [shepherds],
and TEACHERS (disdas’kalos) [an instructor;
master; doctor]. Vs 12:
For the perfecting (katartismos’) [complete furnishing] (repairing; adjusting;
mending; fitting; framing; preparing; restoring; perfectly joining together] of
the saints, for the work of the ministry (diakoni’a)
[attendance (as a servant, etc); teacher; ministration; administer; servicing],
for the edifying (enlightening;
educating; instructing; uplifting; improving; nurturing) of the body (so’ma) [the body (as a sound whole); bodily] of
Christ: vs 13: Till we all come in the unity (oneness) of the faith, and of the knowledge
(epig’nosis) [recognition; full discernment;
acknowledgement] of the Son (huios’) [a son
(s)] of God, unto a perfect (tel’eios)
[complete (in various applications of labor, growth, mental and moral
character, etc); completeness; of full age; perfect] man, unto
the measure (same degree of anointing Jesus had) of
the stature (maturity) of the fulness (ple’roma) [repletion
[filled; well supplied with] or completion] of
Christ.
This “body of believers” or sons of God (male/female) are those that has taken on the quality and essence of God Himself, so
much so that the distinction between the two are indiscernible.
· Hebrews
1:1: God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spoke in time past unto
the fathers by the prophets: vs 2:
Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir
of all things, by whom also he made the worlds: vs 3: Who being
the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and
upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged
our sins, sat down on the right hand of Majesty on high.
Jesus being on the Father's right hand is not God sitting off beyond the blue in some high back chair with the Son sitting in another chair at His Father's right hand. But Jesus being on the Father's "right hand" is the "place of power" the Father has placed (appointed) Him to abide or dwell in.
God is now speaking through His “sons”, the body
of Christ, called the Church! We are
now the many-membered body of Christ in the earth, with "Jesus’
anointing” that He had when He walked the earth!
·
Ephesians 5:30, “We are members (limbs; parts) of his body, of his flesh, and his
bones”!
·
1st Corinthians 2:12,
“For as the body is one and hath many members and all the members of that one
body, being many, are one body: so also, is CHRIST”. Vs 13: For by one Spirit are we
all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond
or free, and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
Therefore, the “ultimate goal” is for all
of us to come into the unity (henotes’)
[oneness; unanimity] of the faith (pis’tis) [persuasion; credence; moral conviction (of
truth); belief] of
who we are in God and all of who He is in us, by drinking
of this “one Spirit”! The one
SPIRIT being the very breath of God Himself.
What is the “breath” of God? His breath is
not just the air or oxygen that we breathe to stay alive in this universe,
but it is the inhaling of God Himself into ourselves!
Spirit in Hebrew is the root word ru’wach, meaning
breath, a sensible (or even violent) exhalation; life; spirit, but only of a
rational Being; Spirit or spirit; wind; mind; courage; to blow; breathe; to
smell or perceive; to anticipate; enjoy; accept; touch; make of quick
understanding.
That’s what happened to the man (Adam) when the LORD
God breathed into his nostrils (aph
[face; forehead (mind)], the breath (neshama’) [a puff; wind; divine inspiration [fill with the urge or ability to do or feel something; do
something creative]; intellect; spirit] of life and
man became a living soul (ne’phesh) [a breathing
creature; fig. sense (bodily or mentally), soul, life, person, mind,
heart, creature, body, with the will, desire, and appetite to have eternal life being God's representatives in the earth (Genesis 2:7).
This man
(male/female) was already in existence in a flesh body with a mind,
heart, and soul in it, but he was amongst the walking dead, but when the
LORD God breathed the breath of God into him, he became a living soul,
or he was made alive! This man (Adam) (male/female) inhaled the divine inspiration (creative thought; intellect; Spirit) of God that revived, quickened, nourished, recovered, repaired, and restored them to God life (immortality)!
That’s why
3rd John 2 states: “Beloved, I wish above all things that
thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospers”.
Spirit in the Greek is pneu’ma, a current of air, breath,
(human) a rational soul; vital principle, mental disposition; (superhuman);
(divine) God; Christ’s Spirit; the Holy Spirit; wind; life.
We know that within the breath (Spirit)
that was breathed into Adam was blood, and the blood is
what gives life. Leviticus 17:11,
“The life if the flesh is in the blood”! Blood in Hebrew is dam (dawm), meaning
blood (as that which when shed causes death) of man
or animal; the juice of the grape; blood guiltiness).
The “man” the LORD God formed in Genesis
2:7, this word “man” is the root word adam’ (aw-dawm’),
meaning, ruddy; a human being (an individual or the species
mankind; Adam; hypocrite; common sort; low; man; men; person (s). The
continued definition is to show blood (in the face); flush or turn rosy;
dyed red.
This man before he became a “living soul”, had
guilty blood within him. Within
his heart, soul, mind, and body, he was a mortal, driven by his own
desire, greed, lust, and appetite.
He was a hypocrite, of common sort, a man of low degree, without
status in the earth. But it was the breath of God that gave man (male/female),
the ability and quick understanding of knowing what it would be like to
be God’s representatives in the earth, with dominion, authority, and
power to rule and reign over creation!
That’s because the “innocent blood” of Christ was breathed
into him, that made Adam (male/female) a living soul!
Look at the name Adam (aw-dawm’), remembering that
blood in Hebrew is dawm, so he’s the man Adam (awdawm’) [male/female]
with God’s blood in him.
Remember what Judas said: Matthew 27:4: “I have
sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent (ath’oos)
[not guilty] blood”.
Keep in mind, Christ has always been. Revelation 1:8: I am Alpha and
Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was,
and which is to come, the Almighty. Therefore, the blood of God has
always been in existence!
That same God that moved for the Adam race in
Genesis is doing the same thing for His people today. That same innocent blood is within us,
that are CHRIST’S and have accepted the Spirit of Christ!
· Romans
12:5: So, we, being many, are one body in Christ, and everyone members
one of another.
· 1st
Corinthians 12:12: For as the body is one, and hath many members and
all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also, is CHRIST!
John wrote 1st John 5:7: For there
are three that bear record in heaven, the Father,
the Word, and the Holy
Ghost: and these three are one. Vs
8: And there are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit, and the water,
and the blood: and these three agree (eisi- i-see’) [they are; is] in one.
The “ultimate goal” is for us to be ONE
with God:
We are ONE with Him in Christ Jesus!
·
2nd Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore,
if any man be in CHRIST,
he is a new creature (creation); old things are passed away, behold, all things
are become new”.
·
Colossians 1:27, “To whom God would
make known, what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles,
which is CHRIST in you,
the hope of glory”.
Jesus prayed for this:
John 17:20: Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also
which shall believe on me through their word:
vs 21: That they all may be ONE, as thou Father, art in
me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast
sent me.
So, the ultimate goal for us is as
our main scripture Ephesians 4:13 says:
Till we all come in the
unity (oneness)
of the faith (persuasion) that we
are Christ’s body in the earth now: We’re
members (parts; limbs) of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones (Ephesians
5:30).
And of the knowledge (epig’nosis)
[recognition, full discernment; acknowledgement]. This is the people of God coming into the awareness, understanding, and acknowledgement of who God is in us in His
fullness; and the understanding and acknowledgement of who we are in God
in the fullness of Him! These are the sons
(male/female) that has taken on the quality and essence of God
Himself, so much so that the distinction between the two are indiscernible.
· 1st
John 4:17b: As he is, so are we, in this world!
This happens for us here and now, not out
in the sky somewhere.
Of the Son of God: Adam was
the son of God by creation (Luke 3:38) Which was the son of
Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son
of God.
Jesus was the Son of God by birth of the spoken
Word into the womb of a woman –
· Matthew
1:21: And she (virgin Mary) shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call
his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins:
· Matthew
3:17: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, “This is my beloved Son, in
whom I am well pleased”.
We are sons of God by birth of the Spirit:
· St.
John 1:11: He came unto his own, and his own received him not. Vs 12: But as many as received
him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe
on his name: vs 13: Which
were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man,
but of God.
· St.
John 3:3: “Except a man be born gain, he cannot see the kingdom of God”: vs 5: “Except a man be born of water
and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God”: vs 6:
That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit
is spirit.
· 1st
John 3:1: Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us
that we should be called the sons of God: therefore, the world knows us
not, because it knew him not. Vs 2: Beloved, NOW are we the sons of
God and it doth not yet appear (phanero’o)
[to render apparent (evident; plain; obvious); show; be manifest; show (one’s
self)] what we shall be: but we know that when he shall appear,
we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
This appearance (manifestation) is not out
in the sky, but in His people. That’s
because He can’t appear without us, because we are His flesh and bones
in the earth now (Ephesians
5:30). Therefore, we that have been brought into this revelation know that we "already see Him as He is" when we see one another!
Our goal is for
the body of Christ to reach spiritual maturity as a perfect (tel’eios) [complete in labor,
growth, mental and moral character, of full age] man (the man Jesus in the earth as His flesh and bones).
Those of us
that have this revelation are fulfilling 1st Corinthians 13:9:
For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. Vs 10: But when that which is
perfect IS COME (present tense), then that
which is in part shall be done away.
Vs 11: When I was a child (ne’pios)
[an infant (minor); simple minded; an immature Christian; babe] I
spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I
became a man, I put away childish things.
Vs 12: For now, we see through a glass darkly (obscurely [not
discovered or known; uncertain; unclear; difficult to understand] (when we were
bound by religious order)]; but then face to face: now I know in part; but
then shall I know even as also I am known.
Now that truth
has (is) come to us, now we see face to face! When I see you, I
see Him! When you see me, you see
Him! When you look into the mirror, you
see His face. That’s because with
us being His flesh and bones in the earth, we are His face, in
the earth!!
The
ULTIMATE GOAL is for the Body of Christ to come unto the measure of the
stature (maturity; full
age) of
the fullness of CHRIST (in equality) [total agreement with His truth].
When we, the Body of Christ become this perfect man
in the earth that God has ordained us to be, the same anointing the Father gave
to Jesus Christ, we shall have (or now have) also.
· John 3:34: For he whom
God hath sent speak the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure
unto him.
God’s sons (male/female) also have His Spirit
without measure!
This equality is:
In mind:
1st Corinthians 2:16b: But we have
the mind of Christ: Philippians 2:5: Let this mind be in you,
which was also in Christ Jesus: vs
6: Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery (thievery) to be equal (in total agreement) with God.
In
Power: Matthew 10:1: And when he had called unto him
his twelve disciples, he gave them power (exousi’a) [ability; force;
capacity; freedom; mastery; control; jurisdiction; authority; liberty;
strength]; against unclean spirits, to cast them
out, and to heal all manners of sickness and all manners of disease.
·
Luke 10:19: Behold, I give unto you power (exousi'a) [ability; freedom; jurisdiction; authority] to tread on
serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall
by any means hurt you.
·
Acts 1:8: But you shall receive power (du'namis) [miracle working enablement], after that the
Holy Ghost is come upon you: and you shall be witnesses unto me both in
Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the
earth.
How
do we get to this goal? Ephesians 4:11: And he gave some apostles (apos’tolos) [a
delegate; an ambassador of the Gospel; commissioner of Christ [with miraculous
powers]; messenger; he that is sent], and some prophets (prophe’tes) [a
foreteller; an inspired speaker], and some evangelists (euaggelistes’) [a
preacher of the gospel], and some pastors
(poimmen’) [shepherd], and teachers (disdas’kalos)
[an instructor; master; doctor]. Vs
12: For the perfecting (katartismos’)
[complete furnishing] of the saints, for the work (er’gon) [toil (as an effort or occupation); act; doing;
labor] of the ministry (diakoni’a)
[attendance (as a servant, etc); teacher; ministration; administer; servicing],
for the edifying (educate; instruct;
teach; build up] of the body (so’ma)
[to body (as a sound whole); bodily] of Christ: vs 13:
Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge (epig’nosis) [recognition, ie full discernment;
acknowledgement] of the Son (huios’) [a son
(s)] [of God, unto a perfect (tel’eios)
[complete (in various applications of labor, growth, mental and moral
character, etc); completeness; of full age; perfect] man, unto the
measure of the stature (maturity) of the fulness
(ple’roma) [repletion or completion] of Christ.
We also attain this ultimate goal through prayer:
1st Thessalonians 5:17: Pray without ceasing.
Through study: 2nd Timothy 2:15: Study
to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that need not to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the word of truth.
We know that this is all by faith: Hebrews 11:1: Now
faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not
seen. Vs 6: But without
faith it is impossible to please him: for he that comes to God must believe
that his is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
We can and must (not
optional) attain this ultimate goal, because reaching this goal
gives us eternal and everlasting life (St. John 3:15-16).
·
1st John 5:7: For there
are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost:
and these three are one. Vs 8:
And there are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit, and the water, and
the blood: and these three agree in one. Vs 9: If we receive the
witness of men the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God
which he hath testified of his Son. Vs
10: He that believes on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believes not God hath made him a
liar; because he believed not the record that God gave of his Son. Vs 11: And this is the record,
that God hath given to us eternal life,
and this LIFE is in his Son. Vs 12: He that hath the Son hath LIFE;
and he that hath not the Son of God hath
not life.
Our ULTIMATE GOAL is to
live!! Psalm 118:17: I
shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD. John 10:10: I am come that they
might have life; and that they might have it more
abundantly.
Pastor Gracie Perry
