Let us turn once again to God's
Word in the verses that we were considering this morning, Philippians
3, verses 10 and 11. Philippians 3, verses 10 and
11, that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection,
and the fellowship of his sufferings being made conformable unto his
death, if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection
of the dead." Here we see how Paul speaks of Christ's resurrection
and his desire for that true knowledge of the power of it,
not just a speculative, notional knowledge, but that saving, experimental
knowledge to experience the power of Christ's resurrection. But then also, having spoken
of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, he does go on at the end
of verse 11 to speak of the general resurrection, if by any means,
he says, I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. Christ's resurrection is, of
course, the guarantee of that general resurrection. Christ
is the first fruits. Now is Christ risen from the
dead and become the first fruits of them that believe, we read
in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 and then again writing here In 1
Thessalonians chapter 4 verse 14 Paul says if we believe that
Jesus died and rose again even so then also with sleep in Jesus
will God bring with him. If Christ is risen then we rest
assured that there is to be that general resurrection in the great
day when God brings in the end of all things. And I want us
tonight to consider something more of this doctrine of the
resurrection that we started to look at this morning. And
to consider it in terms of three things with regards to the way
in which Paul is writing in the text. First of all, to see something
of his desire. isn't the language that we have
in this portion very much that sort of language. It's something
that Paul is desirous of yearning after. Previously then we considered
the power of Christ's resurrection and now I said it is so necessary
to the whole of our salvation. The importance of this great
doctrine If Christ be not raised, your faith is vain, he says. Ye are yet in your sins. How important is the doctrine
then, so far as Paul is concerned, what is all he is preaching?
If Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, he says.
And your faith is also vain. But he wasn't just a doctrine
that the Apostle assented to in merely an intellectual fashion. As I say, he has such a desire
here. And we see it in this whole passage.
He says in verse 11, If by any means I might attain unto the
resurrection of the dead. What does he want? He wants to
know Christ. Going back to what he says in
the previous verses, in verse 8, that I may win Christ, he
says. And then in verse 9 he goes on
to say that he longs to be found in Him, found in Christ. And
then in the words of verse 10, this earliest longing after a
saving knowledge that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection,
and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his
death." As I say, it's not just of primal knowledge that this
man wants. He doesn't wants to have his
intellect informed with regards to these things and to ascend
to these great truths, he wants to know the reality of them in
the experience of his soul. And that's what we sought to
emphasise something of this morning. The importance of the doctrine
of the resurrection with regards to the salvation of the sinner. In the resurrection, remember,
God has set his own seal upon the work that the Lord Jesus
Christ has accomplished. When he came into the world,
he came as one sent by the Father in the fullness of the time.
That is the time that was ordained in the eternal decree from before
the foundation of the world, the fullness of the time God
sends forth his Son and he is made under the law, he is subject
to the law of God. He has a work to accomplish that
he has undertaken in terms of the eternal covenant of grace,
that council of peace that was between them both, between the
Father and the Son. And so whilst here upon the earth
repeatedly he says, my meat, is to do the will of him who
has saved them, and to finish his work. I must be about my
father's business whilst it is done. The night cometh when no
man can work. All is about that work that the
father had given him to do, and he will be obedient. He's under
the law. And he will obey it. He is obedient
in life, he is obedient in death. He honours the law in the obedience
of that sinless life. He honours the law in that great
oblation that he makes as the sin atoning sacrifice. And he pleases the Father by
his obedience. Obedient unto death, even the
death of the cross he has accomplished. that work, he has finished the
transgression, he has made an end of sin, he has made reconciliation
for iniquity, he has brought in everlasting righteousness. That's his work. And the importance
of the resurrection, as we said this morning, here is the Father
owning and acknowledging him as that one who has pleased him.
who is declared to be the Son of God. There in Romans 1 verse
4, and the word declared, as you'll see in the margin, it
indicates he is that one who is marked out, marked out by
the Father, he is pleased with the Father, declared to be the
Son of God by the resurrection from the
dead. The importance of the resurrection then with regards to the work
that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished. And then the importance of that
resurrection with regards to God's work in the soul of the
sinner. We need to know that faith that
is saving faith. From whence can we obtain saving
faith? All we need is that faith that
is in the operation of God. And how does God work that faith?
It is by new birth, is it not? We cannot do anything of ourselves,
we're dead in trespasses and in sins. And we cannot of ourselves
believe savingly. Oh yes, all men ought to believe,
all men ought to be theists, all men ought to accept the truth
of God's Word, and to acknowledge what God has said concerning
His Son Jesus Christ. And it is the fool who says in
his heart there is no God, But we cannot give ourselves that
faith that is Satan. It is faith of the operation
of God and the power of it you see. This is Paul and his desire
that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, that power
felt in the soul. The exceeding greatness of his
power to us would he believe. according to the working of His
mighty power which He wrought in Christ when He raised Him
from the dead. Or think of it, friends, it's
the same power that was there in the resurrection of Christ
that has to come into your heart and my heart. Otherwise we can
never know faith. Man must be brought to the end
of himself, or the sinner must be born again. born from above. And there is a connection you
see between Christ's resurrection and saving faith in the soul. Because I live, he says in the
Gospel, ye shall live also. And as there is the connection
between Christ's resurrection and regeneration and faith being
Produced in the soul, sir, there is a connection with justification. The justification of the short
of the Lord Jesus Christ, is it not linked to the justification
of his people? As he rises from the dead, is
he not justified? Delivered for our offences, raised
again for our justification. All this precious doctrine there,
the doctrine of Christ's resurrection from the dead, we said also it's
associated with the mortification of sin. We certainly see that
in verse 10. It's not just the power of his
resurrection, but the fellowship of his sufferings being made
conformable unto his death, to be crucified with him. to
know in our experience something of crucifixion. And what is that crucifixion?
Is it not mortification, putting to death? I am crucified with Christ, says
Paul, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.
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. It's all from Christ, you see,
to crucify the flesh, to die, to sell. If ye through the Spirit
do mortify the deeds of the body ye shall live. This is the Christian's
calling, is it not? The putting to death of the old
man. That's what we should desire,
that we might live the more to Christ. We know that what is
born of the flesh is flesh. It never changes. But oh, we
want to die for that life and we want to live to the Lord Jesus
Christ. And then ultimately there is
that connection between Christ's resurrection and the general
resurrection. And that that follows, that is glorification. Now is
Christ risen from the dead, says Paul in 1 Corinthians 15, now
is Christ risen from the dead and become the first of them that believe. The first
fruits of the resurrection. What were the first fruits? They
were the pledge of the harvest, the full harvest. And Christ's
resurrection is that which brings assurance to the saints that
their dead bodies shall be raised again for life. All the glorification of the
saints. That is the last link, is it
not? in that golden chain that we
find in Romans chapter 8. Whom he did foreknow, he also
did predestinate, to be conformed to the image of his Son, that
he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom
he did predestinate, them he also called, and whom he called,
them he also justified, and whom he justified, them he also glorified. There is the end of it. the glorification
of the saints. And this is Paul, you see, writing
of himself. He does this, we know he does
this several times in the epistles, not that he is wanting to project
himself, his own eager, but we know he is a pattern to them
which should thereafter believe, as he says in 1 Timothy 1. And so in the epistles, besides
the doctrinal content and the practical matter that he deals
with time and again, we do have these portions which are, we
might say, experimental. He speaks of his experience,
he's speaking here of himself. And what does he say of himself,
if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the
dead? He not attained it, yet it was
something reserved. As he says, reserved in heaven.
Verse 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. Or we must keep
on pressing forward. forgetting things that are behind.
That's what he says. 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, I press toward them up for the prize of the high
calling of God in Christ Jesus. What do we see here? It's desire.
It's desire. It's such a longing. And the
yearning after the Lord Jesus Christ, a spiritual desire, is
a true mark of grace in the heart. We have to examine ourselves.
Do we have this sort of spiritual desire? We see it in that most
experimental of all the scriptures, in the book of Psalms. Are these
things written for our learning? that we, through patience and
comfort of the Scriptures, might have hope. Let us examine ourselves
in the light of what the psalmist says, Psalm 42, as pants the
heart, he says. As the heart panteth after the
water brooks, so panteth my soul after the old God. My soul thirsteth
for God, for the living God. When shall I come? and appear
before God. Again, look at David in Psalm
63, O God, Thou art my God, early will I seek Thee, my soul thirsteth
for Thee, my flesh longeth for Thee, in a dry and thirsty land
where no water is, to see Thy power and Thy glory so as I have
seen thee in the sanctuary, like Paul the saint. He wants to know
something of that power, that glory, or to know Him, the power
of His resurrection. Friends, are we those who can
say in all honesty that we have such desires as His? Or we see
in Job, in the midst of all his sore trials, in the midst of
all his terrible afflictions, or that I know where I might
find Him, that I might come even to His seat. Is that true with
us? We long to come to history, to
the mercy seat. Or we can say our prayers. But
do we really pray? When we say words, are we really
in earnest with God? Are we those who truly desire
us to know Him? We do want to come before Him,
we want to enjoy communion with Him. Christ says, Blessed are
they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they
shall be filled. When we come into the services,
do we come with that spirit, hunger and thirst? Oh, I'm sure
often times in the comfort of our own homes, maybe we have
friends around, and entertainment to a meal, and don't we look
forward to that, and to enjoy the meal together, to share it
with our friends. Oh, but do we know anything of
what it is to come and to share that spiritual meal with our
God, to eat the flesh of the Lord Jesus Christ, to drink His
blood, and to know that we are one with Him. are with those
who have any desire. This is what Paul has here, and
this is what he is speaking of throughout this passage. The
one thing that he desired above all other things, everything
else was done. Doubtless I count all things
but loss, he says, for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus
my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and you
count them but dogs. That is the stuff you tread on
sometimes in the street and you feel it, a foul thing. And that's how Paul considered
the things of this world, dogs. That I may win Christ and be
found in Him that I may know Him. But when is it that these longings
and these yearnings come from? They are not natural to us, these
spiritual longings and yearnings. Where do they come from? They
come from God. They come from God's dealings
with us. They come often times from those
trials and troubles and tribulations that we experience. They come
from the difficulties that we find in the wife, and those times
when we do feel somewhat deserted, alone. They come from God, you see,
and the way in which God deals with us. Look at David again,
Psalm 38, he says, I am feeble and sore-broken, I have wrought
my reason of the disquietness of my heart. or David was in
a low place so feeble, so broken how his heart was so disquieted
within him but what does he say next? Lord all my desire is before
thee and my groaning is not heard from thee that's where the desire
came from you sir because he was made to feel what he was
as a sinner, and he felt his feebleness, and he was broken
before God. But he had such a longing after
that knowledge of his God. We see then here something of
Paul's desire, his desire for Christ, the knowledge of Christ,
the experience of the power of the resurrection of Christ, if
by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.
All deadness in his own soul there might be, but there's all
life in Christ, and that's what he wants, that life of Christ.
But see also in the second place here, besides his desire, the
difficulties. What does he say? If by any means
If. If. Remember how the devil attacked Christ after
his baptism, in the temptation. If. If thou be the Son of God. If. We have an if here. If by any means But the if, you
see, is not to suggest any doubt that Paul might not attain the
thing that he desires. It's not an if of doubt, it's
an if of difficulty. It's somewhat like what Peter
says in 1 Peter 4.18, if the righteous scarcely decide, Where
shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? That scarcely doesn't
mean that there's some doubt as to the salvation of the righteous
man. That righteous man is the justified
sinner. And his salvation is secure.
This if, you see, doesn't suggest that there's any doubt with regards
to the apostle attaining what he desires. What does he say
in chapter in chapter 1 concerning these Philippians, verse 6, being
confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good
work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. God's work cannot be overturned,
God's work cannot be frustrated. He brings to the earth, He brings
forth I have spoken it, I will also
bring it to pass. I have purposed it. I will also
do it. But there's difficulty. Oh, there's
difficulty in the why. There's trial, there's trouble
to be confronted. But there's no doubt of God accomplishing
this gracious purpose. The guy, look at what The Apostle
says there in the 8th of Romans, Who shall separate us from the
love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress,
or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or swords,
as it is written, for thy sake we are killed all the day long,
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these
things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For
I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities,
nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height,
nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us
from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Do
you not love the language of the apostles? or the language
of Paul, the richness, the fullness of it. Now he just piles the
words together, nothing to say. Nothing is going to separate
him from his gods, death, life, angels, principalities, powers,
things present, things to come, height, depth, any other creature,
nothing. Nothing. We know, he says, that
all things work together for good to them that love God, to
them who are called according to His purpose. If by any means He is not speaking in any sense
of doubts here, not to be those who would encourage doubts, or
the devil will seek to assault us, He'll come with his ifs and
his buts and his maybes, but we're to resist the devil. But we need to recognise, you
see, that the way will be a way that's difficult. It was so for
Christ, was it not? Ought not Christ to have suffered
these things? and enter into His glory. What is the way to the crown? The way to the crown is the way
of the cross. God has joined these together
and we are not to separate what God has put together. If Christ must suffer, We are not to be surprised if
that is also the appointed lot of his children. Shall Christ my Lord suffer?
And shall I repine? Asks good John Newton. Oh God
forbid it. We are to take up the cross.
We are to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. And we have that assurance
if we suffer, We shall also reign with him. Oh, let us not doubt then the
fact that there will be these difficulties in the way. This
is what God himself has said is to be the Christian's pathway.
He enters a straight goat, he walks in a narrow way. It's the way of tribulation.
The word tribulation has that idea of being enclosed in on
every hand, shot in, on every side. It is a narrow way. How often does it pinch the flesh
to walk in that blessed way of life? We must, through much tribulation,
enter into the Kingdom of God. Oh yes, there will be tribulation
when we first enter, when God begins with us, when God deals
with our souls, when God works conviction in our souls and brings
us to the end of self and makes us to see and feel what we really
are as sinners, our utter inability, our sad total depravity. Before
ever we enter the straight gate, you see, there'll be lessons
to learn but even when we come to the end, you see, The end
of that narrow way that leads to life. We must rematch tribulations,
tribulations all the way through us, as God is teaching His children. Just as we said we see Him teaching
David there in Psalm 38, bringing into David that earnest
desire after death, all my desires before my groaning, so he groaned,
as he was so feeble, so sore-broken, how he groaned. And so too with the apostle here,
that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and
the fellowship, the fellowship of his sufferings. He says, at the end of the first chapter,
unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe
on him, but also to suffer for his sake, having the same conflict
which he saw in me, and now here to be in me. God gives faith,
you see. It is given in Christ's behalf
to believe. his faith. We have to be looking
on to Jesus who is the author and finisher of our faith. But
what comes hand in hand with faith is the suffering for his
sake. It is given not only to be learned,
but also to suffer. Where there is faith there is
that great crying of the fight. Don't be surprised if you have
faith, you'll know something of the trying of your faith.
And if you know nothing of the trial, ask yourself, do I really
have faith in God? What is the faith that I possess,
if my faith is never trying? The faith of God's elect is that
that Paul is speaking of to these Philippians. And what Paul himself
experienced in his own life, having the same conflict which
he saw in me, and now here to be in me. And he sees, you see,
he sees the necessity of all of this, that he might have that
true knowledge of Christ, to know him and the power of his
resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made
conformable unto his death. All those difficulty, friends,
if we're going to know anything of the truth, of that resurrection
power in our souls, we'll have to feel our need of it. We'll have to feel that we need
life, new life, the life of God constantly ministered to us,
brought into our souls, made to feel what we are of ourselves.
And then what do we see thirdly here? Well, the difficulties,
the disappointments, what do they do? They make the believer
look for and long after his destination. His destination. If by any means
I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. The Puritan Richard
Sibbes says this resurrection is the beginning Oh, it's the beginning of glory,
the resurrection. I have not seen nor ear heard,
neither hath entered into the hearts of men the thing that
God hath prepared for them that love Him. Oh, we cannot begin
to conceive what God has laid up for His people, the glories
of heaven itself. What is the believer's present
experience in comparison with these things? Look at the Apostle
again as he writes to the Corinthians
in 2nd Corinthians chapter 4 and verse 17 he says, and light
of fiction, which is but for the moment worketh for us a far
more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." What is this affliction? It's life, he says. It's just
for a moment. And it works a far more exceeding
and eternal weight of glory while we look not at the things which
are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things
which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not
seen are eternal. That's what the believer has
his eye fixed upon, that glory that God has appointed. I reckon
that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared
with the glory which shall be revealed in us. How God deals
with the believer then, in this life, in this day of grace. What is this grace of God that
comes into the soul of the sinner? It's really God's, it's the glory
of God, but it's God's glory in the bodies. But then what
is glory? Glory is that grace in full flower. God's dealings with us now, you
see, it's all lapse, message, preparation. God is preparing
the people for Himself in all His ways, in all His dealings
with them. He puts such a desire in their
hearts, such longing, such yearnings after these things, and He appoints
a way that is fraught with many dangers. and difficulties on
every hand and so the believer is one who increasingly longs
and yearns after that blessed destination. He wants to arrive.
He presses toward the mark for the prize of that high calling
of God in the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh God help us to look to ourselves
in terms of this great truth, this great doctrine. of the resurrection
of the Lord Jesus Christ. To know the power of His resurrection,
experiencing it in our souls, or giving us such spiritual yearnings
after God. We cannot create it of ourselves.
God must give it. God must work it. That I may
know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship
of his sufferings being made conformable unto his death, if
by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. May the Lord bless his words
to us.