Well that hymn that we've just
sung, the last verse, is a prayer that God will preserve his people
while here we abide. We're in this life, this life,
on a journey to glory. Never remove thy presence nor
hide thy glorious salvation till each of us see with joy the blessed
vision completed. The idea is that it's a journey
from imperfect knowledge to that which will be perfected in glory
when we see him as he is. And that's what the message is
about this morning. I want to turn your attention back to Philippians
chapter three, the second half of the chapter. And I've given
this message a title which I hope will provoke some interest and
attention. I've called it Progressive apprehension,
progressive, not, you were going to think I was going to say progressive
sanctification, weren't you? I wasn't. Progressive apprehension,
because that's what it's about. and it's prompted by the term
progressive sanctification so let me explain what that is progressive
sanctification is this religious idea this religious doctrine
this teaching that is rampant throughout the orthodox christian
church those that think they've got the gold standard of calvinistic
truth and they have this idea of progressive gradually improving
sanctification what they say is that in the gospel of God's
grace in Christ all of his believing people are totally justified
entirely through none of their works whatsoever by what Christ
has done and with that we would wholeheartedly say yes we agree
it's what Christ did in the place of his people that justifies
his people but then they say ah justification is God's work
but sanctification becoming holy becoming fit for heaven is our
work, is the believer's work and they say how are you going
to do that? They say well you live in the mind reckoning yourself
to be right with God on the basis of the justification that Christ
has procured but you live your life as if you're under the law. You live your life as if you're
subject to the law of Moses. You live your life with the law,
the Ten Commandments, the moral law, you live it as if that is
your rule of life. So why don't you commit adultery?
Because there's a commandment that says thou shalt not commit
adultery. Why don't you go around killing people? Because there's
a commandment that says thou shalt not kill. Why don't you
covet those things that in your heart of hearts you really, really
long for because there's a law that says thou shalt not covet
and so on. Why do you go to church to worship
God? Because there's a law that says
remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy and Sunday's the Sabbath
day in its Christian form and we better keep it holy and therefore
we go to church to obey. So the law is what drives this
progressive sanctification. This is the teaching and the
law constrains behavior as I've just said. The law threatens
punishments. The law promises rewards for
those that keep it. That's what the law promises.
Do this and you shall live. The law promises those things.
The law puts fear in our hearts. The law puts the fear of the
judgment seat of Christ where everything's going to be opened
up and oh how... You know, you remember that day you lost your
temper? Oh, that wasn't good sanctification, was it? You would
have got an extra jewel in your crown, but you're not getting
one now because of that loss of temper. You see, this is what
they teach. It really is. You may think I'm exaggerating.
I'm not exaggerating at all. This is what is taught in the
majority of legalistic churches that have the law as the believer's
rule of life. And how do they organize their
churches? Well, they all have their elders.
don't worry, elders and deacons are good things in the right
situation but they all have their elders who basically act as a
troop of the pastor's henchmen going around disciplining the
members policing the members' behavior so they stick their
noses into the members' family lives and they stick their noses
into how much TV are you watching and what sort of TV are you watching
and they go and they interfere in how you're spending your money,
you know you really ought not to be spending your money on
this that or the other, there's this cause that you ought to
be spending your money on, or there's that issue that you ought
to be spending your money on. Or your use of your time, you
know, oh really you've got no right to pursue a hobby or you've
got no right to do this because you ought to be doing this thing
for the church. The police, they they put threats
around people's behavior and the result of it is this, three
things is the result of it. Worship is a mechanical exterior
form. If you've ever been in this situation
you know what I'm saying is absolutely true. Why do people go to church? Duty. Why are they there? Duty,
duty works, duty compels me to go to church, I must do it, the
laws, you know, fourth commandment, remember the Sabbath day, Secondly,
secondly, no joy. No joy. You know, just obligation,
just darkness, more like the Sinai experience than the experience
of grace. No experience of joy in Christ.
And thirdly, depending on your outlook of how good your sanctification
is, either a hypocritical view that yes, you know getting better
and better I'm improving day by day hypocritical or if you're
honest despair that you know better today than you were a
year ago or five years ago because you're just the same flesh mechanical
external form of worship no experience of the joy of Christ and a growing
confidence in my sanctifying works And do you know those that
have got growing confidence in their sanctifying works? Do you
know Jesus says there will be those in that day of judgment
that will say to me, Lord, Lord, didn't we do this in your name?
And haven't we done these good works in your name? And he will
say to them, depart from me. I never knew you, you who work
iniquity. You see, that's the result of
it. Contrast those three standards with what Paul says in verse
3 of this chapter. We are the true people of God
which worship God in the Spirit, not out of duty. not mechanically,
worship God in the spirit we are the true people of God who
rejoice in Christ Jesus our hearts are lifted, our spirits are lifted
there's a there's a knowledge of eternal life and of possession
of something that the world and the natural man knows nothing
of and we have how much confidence in the flesh? I say it again
and again absolutely none for we know truly what we are now
Paul shows us In this passage, what true progression is, it's
not a progression in holiness and sanctification, it's a progression
in apprehension of the gospel of grace. Anybody listening to
this that's still in that legalistic religion, flee from it, is all
I can say. Flee from it, come out of it,
it's not where you should be. Don't say, well these are my
people and this is my church. It's telling you lies, it's telling
you that which is not the truth. You need to come out of it. Paul
shows us what true progression is. It's progression in apprehension
of the gospel with which Christ has apprehended us. Look at 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 he wants to apprehend that for which he is apprehended of
Christ Jesus this is going to be our focus as we look at this
passage but go back to verse 8 first of all go back to verse
8 and let me remind you let's trace Verse 8 Paul says, he's
been talking about his credentials in religion the things that people
in religion value and that he had more than anybody else who
could point, he says if anybody thinks they've got things in
religion of which they can boast he said I've got more I've got
more. He said, what am I? I'm a Hebrew
of the Hebrews. I was circumcised. Everything
was done right. I wasn't just an Israelite, I
was of the tribe of Benjamin and that was the best one in
terms of faithfulness. I was a Pharisee. Nobody could
accuse me. You know, when it came to the
things of the law which men look at, none of those men that were
his fellow Pharisees could bring any accusation against him that
he'd not lived exactly according to the law. But those things
that he thought were all things that he had in the bank of eternal
currency he counts loss he counts loss, get rid of them, you know,
imagine, I don't know if you've got any money in the bank but
you know just imagine, go to the bank clear it out, get rid
of it, that's what he's talking about in terms of that which
he valued in religion It's now worthless to him. It's loss.
Yea, doubtless, I count all these things but loss. Why? Because in place of them, because
you can't have them together, you can't value these things
and at the same time have the excellency of the knowledge of
Christ Jesus my Lord you can't have the two, two masters, the
Lord said you cannot serve God and mammon, you cannot serve
two things those things that once were of value must be counted
loss they must be counted he says, he goes as far, end of
verse eight to say that they must be counted as dung as dung
manure worthless utterly, I'm a gardener and it's quite it's
something of value to the gardener but we know what he's meaning
he's meaning that in terms of the currency that people like
to trade worthless absolutely worthless why? for the excellency
of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord that's true value that's
true true value that I may win Christ that he might win Christ
that's what he wants, he wants to win Christ he loses that he
might win he loses everything that he once valued that he might
win Christ all the preciousness, that's what Peter said to you
who believe he's precious Do you believe he's precious above
everything else? He is precious above your dearest,
most valued possession. He is precious above your most
dearest and most valued human relationship. Precious above
all of that. That I may win Christ because
I want to be found in him. I want to be found in him. Not
having my own righteousness. Those things I thought were earning
me righteousness. I don't want that. It's worthless.
Because I know what my righteousness is. My righteousness, my righteousnesses
are filthy, disgusting rags. Vile, filthy, disgusting rags.
That's what comes by trying to keep the law. I cannot see why
these people apart from the teaching of God's spirit I cannot see
why they cannot see that their progressive sanctification is
other than works of the law that's what it is, it comes from the
law which is through he wants that which is through the faith
of Christ the righteousness which comes by what Christ has done
the righteousness which is of God by faith that's where he
wants to be he wants to be found in him verse 10 that I may know
him to know Christ, this is what he wants, not those religious
things, I want to know Christ, I want to know him and the power
of his resurrection, what is it to know God, what is it to
know God in Christ whom to know, John 17 verse 3, this is life
eternal, to know God, that they may know you Jesus prays to his,
that they may know you. This is life eternal. To know
God is life eternal. You who believe, said Jesus,
you have eternal life. Not you will have. It's a mild
thing. You who believe have eternal life. And what is it to know
him? You can know about someone But
that's not the same as knowing them. You can know everything
there is to know about a historical character, but it's not the same
as knowing that historical character. To know somebody, you commune
with them. don't you? That's the main thing
that marks out knowing somebody. Those people you count as people
that you know, you commune with them. You exchange ideas. You exchange secrets with them.
Jesus said, I have told you my secrets. You are my friends.
I've told you my secrets. We commune with him. We walk
with him as that old Corus used to say, he lives within my heart,
I walk with him and he talks with me, a long life's narrow,
you ask me how I know he lives, he lives within my heart, you
commune with him, we know him, we walk with him, we know his
mind, as Paul said, we have the mind of Christ. We know the power
of his resurrection. It's not just a fact that we
say, oh yeah, some say, oh you don't need to believe that to
be a Christian, and others say, oh yes you do, and yeah, do you
believe it or don't you believe it, but it's to know the power
of it. is to know the effect of it is to know the force of
where salvation is taking me to eternity he is raised from
the dead and as he is raised from the dead we shall be raised
from the dead who are in him just as he is the first fruits
we shall we shall be that fruit of that resurrection we shall
be raised from the dead he was delivered up for our transgressions
and raised for our justification to know something of the fellowship
of his sufferings to know, to sense, to feel somewhat of the
cost of redemption. to know, teach me as that hymn
says, teach me what it costs to save a soul, teach me what
it costs more and more that I might know the fellowship of his sufferings
being made conformable to his death knowing that as we saw
in chapter two not only did he lay his glory aside but he was
obedient, obedient even unto death and which death? The shameful
death that shameful death of the cross 2nd Corinthians 4.10
Paul says that as believers we are always bearing about in the
body the dying of the Lord Jesus. Why? That the life also of Jesus
might be made manifest in our body. Bearing about the dying,
Jesus said a corn of grain which looks dead and lifeless, he said
unless it fall into the ground and die it abides alone but if
it fall into the ground and die it comes to life you see the
death and life the death of Christ and the resurrection of Christ
his people's death to the law his people's death to the flesh
in him leads to their resurrection because of what he has done he
is the first fruits verse 11 if by any means you see he wants
to know he's got a desire hasn't he? he's desiring to know these
things. He's desiring more and more to
put off those things that he once counted valuable. He's desiring
more and more to value and to to value and to count as worthy
those things which are the things of Christ, the righteousness
which is by faith of Jesus Christ, the righteousness which is of
God by faith. He's got this desire to get somewhere,
but it's a journey. If by any means I might attain
unto the resurrection of the dead. There's no sense of him
doubting, you know, it's not a, I don't know whether I will,
if, maybe I will, maybe I won't, no. What he's talking about is
that this Christian life, this true life of faith, is a journey
in the flesh, a pilgrimage. Why Bunyan called his famous
book Pilgrim's Progress, the progress of the pilgrim from
From believing the Gospel of Grace to arriving at the Celestial
City, it's a journey in the flesh. And on the way, in the flesh,
there are enemies to fight. There are enemies. Paul says
we wrestle. We have a fight on. But we don't
wrestle with flesh and blood. You may think sometimes that
the enemies are human, circumstantial enemies. They're not. He said
they're principalities and powers, they're spiritual enemies, the
powers of darkness that would seek to rob us of our salvation.
This journey in the flesh is littered with trials to encounter. We have to go through trials.
God takes us through trials of chastisement, of teaching, of
refining. He puts us in the furnace. He
puts us in the furnace to refine us, to burn off the dross. He
takes us through these situations. In God's own good knowledge and
grace and mercy it has pleased him to order things these ways
this way I don't know why so that we see salvation and grace
and the blessings of grace more clearly and more sharply and
standing out more clearly in glory look what he's done he's
brought us through this you know if you have a if you have a nice
easy journey with no incidents You know, it doesn't stick in
the memory, but if you remember the one where you were going
along this road and the car skidded off the road and went down a
ditch and you all survived and the breakdown truck came and
dragged you out, well, you'll remember that journey, won't
you? I know that's a pretty poor illustration but I think you
know what I mean it has pleased God to take us through this journey
in the flesh which culminates in resurrection glory for his
people this is where he's that which began began is wrong because
it's a term of time but you know that which was fixed in eternity
when God the Father chose a people in his son will culminate in
resurrection glory when he takes all of his people to be with
him in a state that we don't know what it will be like, John
says we don't know what it will be like but then we will be like
him, we shall see him as he is. Verse 12, we're on this journey
but look not as though I, now he's talking personally Paul's
saying not as though I, Paul, had already attained, I, Paul
haven't got there yet either were already perfect in my apprehension
of the gospel he, the great apostle, the greatest apostle, this last
apostle, born out of due time, he, this one, his testimony of
himself as a man in the flesh, because he's still in the flesh,
is that that's where he is, in the flesh, having an imperfect
apprehension of the gospel of grace, having an imperfect understanding
of the truth because he's in the flesh. Oh, be in no doubt,
when he's writing scripture under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit,
everything he writes is accurate and perfect and the word of God
but what he's saying is he as a believer in the flesh is not
there yet he's still in the flesh he's still on this journey he
says I haven't got there yet I haven't already attained I'm
not already perfect but I'm heading in the right direction I follow
after I know which way I'm pointing I know which way I'm going and
what I want this is my desire that I may apprehend that for
which also I am apprehended of Jesus Christ. I'm on this pilgrimage
and I want to grow in apprehension of gospel truth and gospel reality. Now we better explain what this
word apprehension really means because it's got three distinct
meanings. Firstly if you read in the paper
that a police officer apprehended the criminal Well, we know what
they mean, don't we? Arrested. Stopped them in their
tracks. Hand on the shoulder, as they
used to say, you're nicked mate, you know, that's apprehending,
it's arresting, it's stopping them in their course of what
they were intending to do. It means that, it means arresting.
You get apprehended, you get stopped in your tracks. Secondly,
it means to grab hold of, same idea, grab hold of some facts
in your mind. you grab hold of the reality
of something, you apprehend it, you capture it in your thoughts,
you understand the facts of it. So it's to arrest, but it's also
to arrest facts in your mind, to stop them and grab hold of
them and grasp them in your mind. Apprehension. There's a third
one which is not really relevant to this but it's that it's to
do with it it's when we say I am apprehensive about something
we mean that we're nervous about something you know apprehend
but the basis of it is some experience from the past which tells us
what might go wrong and therefore we're apprehensive you know we've
got an understanding of what might go wrong that that's the
meaning there but we're focusing on this the idea of arresting
the idea of grasping in the understanding. Okay, so it's progressive understanding
experienced see the gospel is not just about facts and doctrines
and understanding in the mind it's about understanding in the
experience it's experiencing it Paul says to the Corinthians
1 Corinthians 4.20 for the kingdom of God is not in word only it's
not just precepts, in fact. The Kingdom of God is not in
word only, but in power. What does he mean? In the effect
it has upon you, in the effect it has upon the emotions and
the feelings and the experiences. And all of this is driven by
desire. As I've already said, Paul is
desiring to be out of this flesh, he says I'm in a straight between
two back in chapter two he says I'm in a fix he said, chapter
one isn't it, he says to depart and be with Christ
he knows he's going to die he knows before long his time as
a house prisoner in Rome is going to come to an end and Nero the
emperor is going to order his execution and that's going to
be it and Paul is going to depart and he says I want to stay to
minister to you but for me to live is Christ while I'm here
but to die is gain because I go into his very presence to go,
and he has a desire to go there, and he says he wants to be found
in Christ, not having his own righteousness, which is by the
works of the law, but that which is through faith of Jesus Christ.
He has this desire to be there, he has this desire, you know
when you're thinking about a journey, and you have a desire to be there,
and you want to go, and it's a motivating thing. It motivates
you. He has a desire, as all God's
people do, for eternal bliss, for freedom from the flesh, the
constraints of the flesh, the constraints of indwelling sin.
the consequences, the impact of indwelling sin which mars
everything that we do while we're in this body. It's a state that
we want to get to. You could illustrate it by talking
about young lovers and it's much more relevant in the days not
like the days that we're in at the moment where morals seem
to be so free and unconstrained and easy everybody thinking they
have such freedom when in actual fact they don't but you know
in the days you think back to the days of Jane Austen novels
and you know the courtship of a young lady by a young man who
is strongly desiring the affection of this young lady and she's
returning that and she's finding out is he is he fit to be a husband
is he honorable enough to be a husband is he virtuous enough
to be a husband and you know and they're driven by desire
to be married and that's what they want to get to and that's
the day that they're looking forward to God's people are the
same there's a marriage that is set in heaven called the marriage
supper of the lamb and we long for it in the spirit we long
for it We long for that day to come. Oh yes, enjoy things here
and now. Have ambitions to do things here
and now. Don't be, as people used to say
to me, so heavenly minded that you're no earthly use. I mean,
I think that's a misunderstanding. of the situation but you know
what they were meaning, yes we live here we have things to do
if you don't have ambitions to do anything you will never achieve
anything you will be a very unprofitable servant but nevertheless the
true child of God has his heart and mind set on eternity and
on that day of marriage of the marriage supper of the Lamb when
all of this will be brought to an end this is the goal You know,
this is the hope. People that live in this world
without Christ live without hope in this world. There's no hope.
Because even if the best things happen, you know, you get to
the stage of your life when you can, as we're just doing, starting
to enjoy retirement and starting to enjoy all that extra time
to do what we want to do. And in the best of situations,
how long is it going to last? 20 years? 25 years? And then
what? death, and then what? It's appointed
to man to die once, and then the judgment. You know, without
hope in this world, without Christ, the believer's hope is on glory.
But, what Paul wants, what believers want, is while we are on this
journey, if by any means I might attain to the resurrection, if
I, as I go through this journey, I want increasing experimental
knowledge of that for which I am apprehended by Christ. You see
that? I want to apprehend, I want to
grasp and understand the reality of that for which I have been
arrested, apprehended by Christ. What is it for which I have been
apprehended by Christ? It's gospel salvation. It's the
truth, the reality of gospel salvation. If you're saved, you've
been apprehended by Christ. You've been stopped in your tracks
by Christ. You've been apprehended by him.
You've been arrested by him in eternity when his father chose
a people in his son in foreknowledge. You know those verses in Romans
8, 29, 30, 31, that sort of area? foreknowledge in eternity apprehended
when God the Father chose a people for himself in the Lord Jesus
Christ. By grace are ye saved, by grace,
entirely sovereign grace, and predestined his people to be
conformed to the image of his Son in eternal glory. He's going
to conform the people to the image of his Son apprehended
in marriage betrothal, called with his name in eternity, called
and therefore justified from all eternity through union with
Christ. Because if he is going to come,
if he in the covenant of grace as God our Saviour is going to
come and do everything that is necessary to secure the salvation
of his people, his people are saved in him. his people are
justified from all eternity justified on the basis that the father
and the son struck hands in eternity and the spirit struck hands to
bring those people out of darkness into his marvelous light justified
them because he was made sin that we his people might be made
the righteousness of God in him that union with him that's what
justifies his people that's what makes us right before the law
of God he glorified his people he arrested us so that he did
all of these things in eternity so that the Son so that our Lord
Jesus Christ can say behold I and the children whom the Father
gave me that's what he is looking forward to that time when this
is culminated when the The consummation of the ages comes about. Behold,
I am the children whom the Father has given me. He's apprehended
me in saving grace, in saving grace, in time, in my flesh,
by His Spirit coming to me and giving me a desire to know Him. to increasingly apprehend what
he's done in saving me. He's come and made me willing
to trust Christ in the day of his power. He apprehended me
with the gospel. He apprehended me first with
the law. Cliff mentioned it in his prayer.
A sinner is a sacred thing. The Holy Ghost has made him so.
The Holy Spirit came and arrested his people by making them aware
through the law of their sin, giving the gift of repentance.
God has granted unto the Gentiles repentance, it's a gift from
God, by His Spirit, to give that gift of repentance. He's arrested
us, He's apprehended us by the law, making us conscious of what
we are in the flesh before the law of God, and how it condemns
us, and where it puts us. He's arrested us then, when that
conscience is broken, and without hope, and without any self-confidence,
by the gospel of grace coming and showing how everything has
been fulfilled by Christ, by opening the prison doors for
the one who is brought under that conviction of sin making
us willing to trust Christ in the day of his power putting
a new man within where there was just the old flesh with its
reasoning with its rationality putting a new man which can see
the things of God that can see with the eye of faith the truth
of the gospel of grace putting a new man within a new manager
in the office to be in charge of the works so there's the works
of the flesh, the flesh striving against the spirit but the spirit
has the desires of eternity a new man to subdue the works of the
old man by the word of the gospel by the word of the gospel precepts
that are throughout the new testament so that Paul writes to the Colossians
in chapter three verses nine and ten clear instructions to
them clear instructions to whom? to the new man who has these
desires who has this understanding he says lie not to one another
you know one thing I would say marks the day in which we live
above all other things is the ease with which men and women
these days with seeming impunity can be dishonest You know, we
hear about internet fraud and internet crime. There always
used to be dishonest people, but never on the scale that there
were in these days. These liberated days that they
tell us that we're living in, these wonderful liberated days
where all sorts of good things happen and children don't have
to go into the workhouse and sweep chimneys and all sorts
of wonderful things like that, yet in the day in which we live
I don't think people have ever been more dishonest with each
other and less trustworthy. So Paul says to the new man,
why not to one another? you know, lie not people think
it's all right, they think there's no accountability, they think
there's no day of reckoning coming lie not to one another seeing
you've put off the old man with his deeds and have put on the
new man which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created
him he says to the Ephesians, put on the new man which after
God is created in righteousness and true holiness again in Ephesians
talking about this growth in knowledge he says that ye may
be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth
and the length and the depth and the height and to know the
love of Christ which passeth knowledge that ye might be filled
with all the fullness of God this is what Peter writes, Peter
writes the same thing The last verse of his second epistle,
chapter 3, verse 18. Grow in grace and in the knowledge
of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Grow. Progress. Follow after. Go in that direction. Not in my own righteousness.
Not in my own righteousness at all. No. Sometimes driven by
the situation that God puts us in, sometimes drawn by the warmth
of Christ's love in the heart. But progress, progress, following
after, not in my own righteousness, not in my own works of sanctification
as if there were such thing. We're sanctified in Christ. Christ
is made unto us. says Paul in 1 Corinthians chapter
1 verse 3 Christ is made unto us wisdom from God and righteousness
and sanctification yes and sanctification and redemption he is all our
sanctification when he says this is the will of God your sanctification
in Thessalonians when he says it doesn't mean it's your responsibility
to do it he said the will of God is that you would be holy
that you would be made holy you're made holy in Christ and the more
you look to Christ the more even this you know within this flesh
living this new man living in this flesh bears the fruit of
the Spirit of God no not by the law not by the works of the law
as he's already said but in grace and knowledge of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ verse thirteen verse thirteen he wants to make
progress apprehending and he says brethren this is the great
apostle you know, the greatest of the apostles. In terms of
the quantity of what he wrote, the clarity with which he wrote,
brethren, brethren, same level as you and me, same level as
the Philippians to whom he was writing. Brethren, I'm just like
you. I know God has given me this
ministry. It has pleased God who separated
me from my mother's womb. to reveal his Son in me. Brethren, I count not myself
to have apprehended. I haven't got there yet. Even
I, the great Apostle Paul, I haven't got there yet. But this one thing
I do forgetting those things which are behind and reaching
forth to those things which are before I press toward the mark
for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus brethren,
he says, Paul in the flesh with his imperfect apprehension in
the man in the man the perfect inspiration when he's writing
scripture he has one ambition he says, forgetting which means
he's in a race, he's describing, running in a race, aiming for
a line he's not looking back to measure his progress with
respect to the other runners, he's not, am I ahead of them,
are they ahead of me, no he's heading for the mark, he's single-minded
in his determination he's reaching for the mark, verse fourteen,
I press toward the mark, the idea being the finishing line
which is when he'll be taken to glory with a desire for the
prize, what's the prize? The prize is Christ. The prize
is the fullness of the knowledge of Christ, fully apprehending
the gospel of God's grace in all of its glory, fully there
beholding the fullness of the glory of God in the face of Jesus
Christ. This is what he's aiming for,
this is the finishing mark, this is the prize, as God said to
Abraham, I am your exceeding great reward. This is the prize
that he's aiming for. This is the culmination. This
is the consummation. This is the accomplishment of
all of these things in his experience. So verse 15. let us therefore
as many as be perfect, he doesn't mean already perfected in knowledge
because he says I'm not already perfect, verse twelve he says
but what he means is those of us that are made perfect in the
gospel of grace those that have got some measure of maturity
in the things of God be thus minded and if in anything we'd
be otherwise minded because we're on that journey and we haven't
all reached the same level we haven't all reached the same
clarity of vision you know when Jesus healed that blind man you
know we're all like that blind man to some extent, the one who
he said, do you see anything? And the man said, well I see
men but they're just looking like trees, you know if I take
my glasses off, I mean I can tell there are people in this
room but I couldn't be able to pick you out of a crowd, I can't tell
who you are, it's just smudgy blobs that I can see for faces,
I have to put my glasses on. Jesus said to him, do you see
anything? And he said, well I do see but it's not clear, I can't
see. Well go and wash again. and so
it is, our clarity of understanding, our apprehension is that which
grows it grows and it matures, he says therefore as many as
be perfect, he doesn't mean have a perfect knowledge but those
that are perfected in the Lord Jesus Christ and are on this
journey be thus minded and God will teach you the things that
you haven't understood, God shall reveal even this to you nevertheless
verse 16 where to we have already attained the knowledge that we
have the knowledge that you have, each one, some great, some less,
the knowledge that you have, let us walk by the same rule,
let us mind the same thing, brethren, be followers together of me."
He's not saying, you know, I'm superior, I've cracked it, but,
you know, in the sense that he has this understanding and this
revelation from God, follow him, and mark them which walk so as
you have and have us for an ensemble he's saying watch how you walk,
watch how you live in the flesh follow good examples of faith
this isn't legalism this isn't works religion the works that
we do add nothing or take nothing away from our relationship with
God in Christ but it is talking about the fruit of the spirit
living in the flesh as a new man of the spirit of God and
he says This has serious consequences. This is not just non-practical
theory. He says there are those that
claim to be believers who don't walk in this way. Verse 18, for
many walk. of whom I've told you often and
now tell you even weeping that they are the enemies of the cross
of Christ. I think he's particularly referring to people who had made
a profession, who had claimed to be somewhat in the kingdom
of God but by their actions, by their settled attitude of
life reveal that there's no new man within at all, whose end
is destruction, whose God is their belly, whose God is not
the true God of scripture, but is their own desires, is purely
physical, material things, whose glory is in their shame. The things that they do are shameful,
and yet they glory in them, who mind earthly things. As I said,
it's not saying that we don't have to think about the things
of this earth that we have to focus on and concentrate on but
our minds should be in heaven on heavenly things for our conversation
is in heaven it's like being on holiday in a country where
they don't speak your language you don't speak any of their
language I once remember going to Germany I know a bit of French
but I know no German next to no German and I remember being
in a taxi in Bremen going to the airport and the lady who
was driving the taxi was trying to talk to me and I was trying
to talk to her but we had to admit everything she said I hadn't
got the foggiest idea what she was talking about and anything
I said she hadn't got the foggiest idea what I was talking about
because my conversation was in Britain where they speak English
And her conversation was in Germany, where they speak German. Apply that to this. He says that
those that are Christ's people, our conversation, our thoughts,
our attitudes, our desires, the things that turn us on, is in
heaven. heavenly from whence we also
look for the savior he's coming we're looking for him the lord
jesus christ you know desire for this thing to come because
look in the end in the end he we're in this flesh now with
all of the trials but he will change what will always to the
very end be nothing more than a vile body those who talk about
progressive sanctification have this idea that they're getting
better and better and better as they get nearer and nearer
to heaven and it's their getting better that is preparing them
for heaven and when they've got so holy that they're really obeying
the law of God perfectly then they'll be fit for heaven without
realizing that true believers are fitted for heaven nowhere
other than in the Lord Jesus Christ. The body that we're in,
as long as we live in this flesh, right at the very end will never
be anything other than a vile body, a sinful body. What did
Job say? You know, who thought he was
so righteous and by comparison to other men was righteous as
God said to Satan, have you considered my servant Job? There's none
like him. But when Job saw what he was really like, I am a worm,"
he said. I am vile. I abhor myself. Now I see I abhor myself and
repent in dust and ashes. He will change that vile body
come the end of this journey, that it may be fashioned like
unto his glorious body. It doth not yet appear what we
shall be, but we know this. When we shall see him, we shall
be like him, for we shall see him as he is. It may be fashioned
according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all
things unto himself. He will accomplish it. He will
accomplish it. In the end, he will accomplish
it. We'll cast off this robe of flesh with its sin and we
will have perfect apprehension, understanding of all that God
has done. Meanwhile, we have progressive
apprehension. We gradually, we learn more and
more. How do we do it? How do we progress? Reading the Word of God. attending
to the ministry of God and there's never been a better time for
attending to the ministry of God we have so much opportunity
to hear preachers online reading good books by faithful men from
the past taking time to meditate not filling your life so full
of the things of this world that there is no space for meditating
on the things of God taking time to pray and commune with God
and seek his guidance concerning this apprehension and understanding. All apprehension is in Christ
and in him alone. Nowhere else. Not in any theology,
not in any books with all sorts of theories. It's in Christ. Books are good as they point
us to Christ. In him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and
knowledge. So Paul said, As we should say,
oh, what's my desire? That I might know Him, that I
might know Him, because He really is all in all. Christ is all.