JEAN'S BIBLE STUDY COM

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1&2 Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you. 2 Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision;

Phi 3-1,2

(172ab) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Tares among the wheat >> Devils among the saints >> False brethren among the people of God >> Legalists among the liberated – There were evil people in the days of the early church, so apparently nothing has changed. Those who would like to subvert the word of God usually don’t try to actually edit the Scriptures, only because it is easier simply to invent a new interpretation to the Bible to establish their corner on Christianity, hence the reason for so many religions and denominations in the world. The ones to whom Paul was referring were aiming their sites at the gospel to pervert it for the sake of their own personal gain, but their actions would also inadvertently effect the next hundred generations, translating to millions of people being affected, even though the only people who would ever profit was their own.

(180d) Works of the devil >> Practicing witchcraft >> Wolves >> Be shrewd as wolves and more innocent than they appear >> Wolves in sheep’s clothing – These reprobates don’t care how many people they hurt in the process of getting what they want. This is how spiritual monsters affect the Church, and when their unbridled selfishness is loosed into the world they are dubbed psychopaths. They have a formula for doing their dirty work that has been repeated many times without change throughout the ages, partly because it works so well that it cannot be improved, and partly because it is the work of Satan, who never does anything differently, since he is a spirit that operates through principles and not so much through any kind of intellect that we would understand. First, these people call attention to themselves by promising the congregation things they cannot deliver, and these false promises are always designed to flatter their audience to get them hooked. Then they reel in their quarry (which always involves money) through guilt and shame, by telling the people that the reason none of their promises came true was because of them.

Phi 3-1

(238i) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Pursuing the knowledge of the kingdom >> Teachers >> Teachers "remind" their students >> Prevention against forgetting -- This verse goes with verses 18&19

Phi 3-2

(159e) Works of the devil >> Essential characteristics >> Counterfeit >> Counterfeit godliness >> Counterfeit repentance – If there is a false circumcision, then there is also a true circumcision. The Spirit performs the true circumcision in the heart, cutting out sin and setting us apart from the world (Col 2-11), but those who prefer physical circumcision to spiritual circumcision are legalists, who append certain observable requirements to salvation, which they trust to secure favor with God, instead of trusting in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Trusting in anything other than His blood sacrifice is the very definition of a false religion, and for this reason Paul called them the false circumcision. It is good hygiene to be circumcised, and in the old covenant it symbolized being a son of Abraham, the believer, who was chosen of God according to the flesh, but spiritual circumcision is cutting away the foreskin of our hearts, and the fact that it is performed in the heart means God grants us power to overcome temptation and to repent of various bondages to sin. “Dogs” represented gentiles in the days of the Old Testament, but now the word has taken on a new meaning: unbelievers. They are not the true children of God but are false Christians, and Paul is saying to beware of them. The Church today is full of people who want to go to heaven but don’t want to be disciples of Jesus, and this causes all kinds of problems. The things they say would try to lead us away from a full commitment to Christ, so we are to beware of them.

KJV    NAS  /  Navigation Bar

3 for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh,

Phi 3,3-11

(88d) Thy kingdom come >> Faith produces works >> The function of works in faith >> Faith doesn’t move God until it is manifested in the natural realm

(177i) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Presumption (Hinduism) >> Misunderstanding the word of God – The emphasis on the law was actually a misconception of Israel, in that God intended the emphasis to remain on Abraham’s faith, which was how their nation was born in the first place. Abraham was somewhat shelved, though they considered Him a patriarch; he was literally the father of their faith. The nation of Israel was born when Abraham believed and obeyed the voice of God by journeying into a strange country in search of his own land that God promised him, from whose loins God also promised would come a nation. Israel was born the moment God whispered in his ear. Abraham was greater than simply a patriarch. His contribution to their faith far outweighed anything the law offered. So, Israel's emphasis on the law was arguably misappropriated for thousands of years until Jesus came and preached to them the gospel of the kingdom, which they could not recognize because of their distorted slant on the Old Testament.

(187h) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Die to the flesh >> Spirit versus the flesh >> Deny the flesh to walk in the Spirit >> More the flesh dies, more the spirit lives

(192c) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Result of putting off the old man >> Gain by losing >> Life for life >> Losing your identity to gain God’s identity – Paul essentially burned his bridges and never looked back. He changed direction and never thought again who he once was and what he once believed. His old life was a complete loss; he was born again and his life up to that point was an utter waste of time and energy. However, he did take a few things from it, as though from a burning house, but the things that carried over were miniscule, compared to his loss. None of the things he had worked so diligently had any application to his faith in Jesus, because of the contrast. It wasn’t just Paul’s historical background in the Hebrew faith that suffered loss, but all aspects of life. He saw his old life as nothing more than refuse. Jesus came to Israel when it was utterly lost, and not even a man like Paul could fix it, until Jesus came and fixed Paul. Even then he couldn’t fix Israel, but as an evangelist he did what he could to take from the burning house who was willing to come with him before the nation went up in flames in AD 70.

Phi 3,3-8

(205h) Salvation >> Salvation is based on God’s promises >> New covenant >> The old one is obsolete – Paul devoted himself to the knowledge of Old Testament law, until Jesus revealed Himself in a way that was reminiscent to God speaking to Abraham. Paul’s encounter with God was not in regard to having faith as was Abraham’s, but was in regard to snapping Paul from his religious delusions.

Phi 3-3

(111c) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Spirit and the word >> Spirit of truth – Paul is saying what Jesus said in Jn 4-23, who is known as the word of God, “Those who worship the Father must worship Him in Spirit and truth.” Putting these two ideas together, the Spirit and the word is a common thought pattern throughout the Scriptures. We worship God in the Spirit and glory in the word of God, Jesus, and put no confidence in the flesh.

(190h) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Circumcision >> Circumcision is a sign of obedience >> Circumcision is a sign of believing -- This verse goes with verse 5. Circumcision is an Old Testament sign that represented faith in God, beginning with Abraham after he believed was circumcised according to the commandment of God. Therefore, the term “false circumcision” refers to false believers, which is a bit of an oxymoron when you think of it, being the first of many contradictions about these people. Paul says that we are the true circumcision, meaning we are the ones who truly believe, and the “false circumcision” are those who don’t believe, though they may be circumcised. This would translate to people who go to church every Sunday to seek favor from God through a religious construct, but have no personal faith in God. They are using their circumcision of religion as a front to appease their guilty conscience. Paul is saying these kind of people are dangerous to the Church, especially those who desire leadership roles. They have false motives for assembling with the saints, which could only result in bringing down the spirituality of the Church, unless they are converted and join the faith. 

(234c) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Seeking the glory of God >> Seeking the glory of His Spirit

(252f) Trinity >> You shall put no other gods before Me >> Worship God >> Worship God who is Spirit >> Worship God in the Spirit

(255e) Trinity >> Holy Spirit’s relationship between Father and Son >> God’s word is Spirit >> God is Spirit

KJV    NAS  /  Navigation Bar

4-6 although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more: 5 circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless.

Phi 3,4-14

(116m) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Rest in Jesus (Sabbath) >> Rest in His yoke by dying to self >> Dying to self by the Spirit

Phi 3,4-11

(3a) Responsibility >> Avoid offending God >> Get out of His way >> Do not seek your own righteousness

(119a) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Freedom >> Law of the spirit >> Freedom from the law – When Paul talks about his past credentials that he earned as a Pharisee, as a Hebrew and as a teacher of the law prior to his destiny with Christ, it is amazing that he was able to say that he was a persecutor of the Church and was also found blameless according to the righteousness of the law. The law actually allowed him to martyr members of God’s church according to its contemporary interpretation. According to their version, the law was silent and ignorant about martyrdom of the saints, but God wasn’t. The law says, “Do not kill,” but Saul and his cronies didn’t believe they were breaking the law by martyring God’s people. Rather, they thought they were protecting their traditions from a growing sect that was threatening the stability of everything they and their forefathers had ever known. The old covenant law did not protect the Church from persecution, since it wasn’t able to think for itself or instruct them not to destroy the very people who understood the next tier of God’s plan for the children of Israel and for the whole world. In fact, they got the idea to martyr the saints from the Old Testament law that required Israel to act swiftly against anyone who attempted to subvert Israel from following the commandments of God, let them be put to death! (Deut 13-5; Deut 18-20). If the law so absolutely failed as an institution, then why did God establish the law in first place? God never expected the law to be any more successful than it was, yet He instituted it as a way of regulating human behavior until Christ should come and established a new covenant in His blood.

Phi 3,4-10

(248h) Priorities >> God’ s preeminence >> Valuing God >> Knowing God is more important than serving Him

Phi 3,4-8

(84e) Thy kingdom come >> Words of your mouth >> Boasting >> It needs to be said and no one is saying it >> boasting of my weaknesses

Phi 3,4-7

(1k) Responsibility >> Avoid offending God >> Carrying a false burden >> Weighs you down as you walk according to the law – I suppose it is a true statement that those who do good things for other people and go to church and don’t participate in indulgences … are also the ones most likely to fall into the pit of walking according to the law, but just like a good law abider, Paul, who had many merit badges also was a murderer of Christians. It is typical of those who set out to find a righteousness of their own through the law that they neatly tuck their faults out of sight, but God can see them. They are also in the line of fire of God’s judgment, which all their righteousness together cannot subside. 

Phi 3,4-6

(148d) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness to Jesus >> Evangelism >> Natural advantage as an evangelist regarding the flesh – Paul was completely immersed in Judaism, and God made him do a 180-degree turn, which forced him to throw away his life’s work up to that point, yet at the same time God chose Paul because of his life’s work. He was highly educated and trained by some of the most sophisticated and intelligent men of his time. He was completely devoted to his faith, quite possibly unlike any other Pharisee or any other man for that matter.

(155a) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Witness of the believer >> Conscience >> Having a good conscience >> Doing right to the best of our knowledge – Unlike many of the Pharisees that taunted Jesus, Paul was a man who actually sought the truth. He appeared to be a reprobate, no different from those who ordered Jesus’ crucifixion, but looks are deceiving. Paul was unlike many of his fellow Pharisees in that he had a true faith in God and a good conscience, but he was wrong in his thinking about most things, which led him to persecute the Church. He was brainwashed in the contemporary traditions of Israel, and had no other recourse but to learn the ways of his time, any more than we have an option other than to believe in our own contemporary belief systems. God saw genuineness and zeal in Paul that He wanted to employ in the proclamation of the gospel. God knew that if He were to confront Paul, he would repent, because he was seeking the truth, so when Jesus confronted Paul on the road to Damascus, he was literally transformed, making all that zeal and sincerity of heart available for spreading the gospel of Christ. Paul from that point began studying, comparing and contrasting the truth in Jesus with the Judaism he once believed, and found his old faith lacking. This is what made him a great leader of Israel and of the Church; he had a wonderful background that we too can read in the Old Testament. It is good for Christians to have a solid background of the many ways God worked with Israel, so we too can understand how they came to believe in God through Abraham. These Old Testament stories are significant to the skeletal structure of our faith, and Paul was an expert in this knowledge, so it made him a perfect candidate for God’s calling and choosing him.

(162f) Works of the devil >> Being a slave to the devil (Addictions) >> Bondage >> A slave to unbelief >> Bondage to believing a lie

(173k) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Man’s Religion >> Deeds that are not initiated by God >> Traditions of men

(174d) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Form of godliness >> Self righteousness >> Trying to please God by your own good works

(176e) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Zeal without knowledge (Spirit w/o the word) >> Devotion without direction – Paul’s previous beliefs would not let him believe in Jesus; they were perverted by centuries of misinterpretation and disobedience. People wanted to disobey the word of God so they could live the way they wanted, and so they tweaked the Scriptures, not altering the manuscripts themselves but their interpretation of it to make it say what they wanted. This happened over a period of centuries, twisting and contorting the Scriptures until its original message was lost. This same thing has also happened to us in the new covenant, though the New Testament is intact, it does most of us no good, over centuries of slicing and dicing and turning out denominations like the Federal Reserve prints money, we have interpreted and reinterpreted until we have utterly misinterpreted the Bible, and now we are lost in a forest of ideas.

(198f) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Ordained by man >> Men place themselves in positions of authority >> Men who are ill-equipped to fulfill the ministry

Phi 3-4

(63h) Paradox >> Anomalies >> Sarcasm >> Ignoring the truth to convey the truth

Phi 3-5

(190h) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Circumcision >> Circumcision is a sign of obedience >> Circumcision is a sign of believing -- This verse goes with verse 3

Phi 3-6

(25e) Sin >> Poverty (Forms of fear) >> Murder >> Persecution to the death >> Kill your neighbor for God’s sake

(41l) Judgment >> Satan destroyed >> Be like Jesus >> Blameless before God >> Prepare to enter His presence

KJV    NAS  /  Navigation Bar

7&8 But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ,

Phi 3,7-17

(95l) Thy kingdom come >> Positive attitude about suffering >> Suffering under the hand of God

Phi 3,7-15

(100c) Thy kingdom come >> Perseverance >> Persevere in abiding in Christ – Paul’s making it clear that he has not yet received the whole promise of God. He has received a portion in the form of a pledge in His Spirit, but we will not receive the full promise until we die and meet God in heaven and receive our incorruptible bodies that cannot sin. There, we will always be with the Lord. This is the concept of laying hold of it. When we finally lay hold of that which we seek, we will be in the literal presence of God in His kingdom, but until then we keep forging ahead in this life, serving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, knowing that the prize still lies ahead of us. The harder we push forward in the spirit to abide in Him, the more confident we become in the understanding and knowledge of God, and the more we can share with our brothers and sisters in Christ the confidence we have about our eternal destiny. Since we are searching for perfection and will one day lay hold of it in the Kingdom of Heaven, “let us therefore as many as are perfect have this attitude,” saying this in the present tense. Those who seek the perfection of Christ strive for it also in this life, though we can expect to attain a mere simulation of perfection in our flesh, yet on a spiritual level we have already arrived as a result of God Himself dwelling in our innermost being! We have already received a gift that is perfect from God, “and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you.” We are not worried about people who do not accurately understand the gospel. So long as we are pressing on and seeking God with all our hearts, we will surely discover the will of God in His wisdom and knowledge, who will reveal Himself to each of us and correct anything we may have misunderstood.

(117ga) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Eyes of your spirit >> Vision >> Real-eyes God’s purpose for the Church >> Understand Jesus' subordinate position with the Father

Phi 3,7-14

(43a) Judgment >> Satan destroyed >> Conform to the Resurrection of Christ’s death – We don’t come to know God based on a human faith; rather, we come to know Him based on a faith that we receive from heaven; this divine faith is also how we come to know the power of His resurrection. The Spirit who dwells in us is the very source of power that God will use to raise our bodies from the dead. It will probably take eternity to fully understand the Spirit of God and His immensity, His infinite ability, how He can dwell in us as a pledge of our salvation, be a small voice in us that speaks to our hearts, and also be the power of God to raise our bodies from the dead. He is unfathomable. It is unlikely we will understand these things even when we get to heaven. It will be a learning curve that will extend all the way to the end of eternity. Therefore, if we want to fellowship with God, we must do it through suffering, to be conformed to his death, in order that we may obtain to the resurrection from the dead. That is, we cannot become a participant of the resurrection unless we first die. This will happen in its time, but Paul is talking about the present; he is beckoning us to become acquainted with Christ’s sufferings now by dying to our sinful passions and desires that keep us from serving Him in a fuller way. What is holding us back from serving God? These are the things that need to die, so we might know the power of His resurrection in this life, the power of His Spirit that dwells in us in the form of an anointing that He will give us in order for us to do His will.

(102a) Thy kingdom come >> Ambitious to fulfill God’s calling >> To see God’s will in your life – We need to understand the level of zeal that Paul had. He was a leader of Israel and had a prestigious position, not that he cared about that; he did have honor among his colleagues and authority among the people. He was zealous even before he got saved, quite possibly the greatest zealot of all Israel. God wanted to harness that zeal for His own purpose. We also need to realize the level of zeal Jesus had. It says in Jn 1-16 that Jesus had the fullness of the anointing. He also had the fullness of zeal, for Jn 2-17 says, “Zeal for Your house will consume Me.” This suggests that zeal and the anointing are directly proportional to each other, not that everybody who is zealous is also anointed; God anoints the truth, and not every zealot believes in the truth. Paul was extremely zealous for the truth, some would say overly zealous, but God wouldn’t say that. We cannot be too zealous for truth that is in Jesus, anymore than there is an excessive limit to the fruits of the Spirit. That is, we cannot have too much love, too much joy, too much peace, too much patience, etc.

(187f) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Die to the flesh >> Dying to receive the glory of God >> Die to self to know the revelation of God – When Paul talks about righteousness derived from the Law, he was speaking about his old manner of life as a Pharisee. He was once a teacher of Israel and a Pharisee of the old covenant, being highly educated regarding the law and the prophets. He didn’t suffer the loss of the Old Testament; he suffered the loss of his interpretation of it. He had to abandon his previous beliefs in Judaism before he could embrace the truth that he later realized was in Jesus. Paul counted whatever experiences and possessions that made this life seem real to be loss, because it discounted the life to come. Although he was still alive in the flesh, he taught the concept of dying to self; he was figuratively dead to this world. He perceived his flesh as already dead and his life as already in heaven, and when the circumstances made that difficult to believe, such as when the Jews scourged him five times with thirty-nine lashes, he just drove himself into God and the Holy Spirit took over and he was more in heaven then than he was during better times. Although these things brought pain and suffering to his body, he considered them mere sensations of the flesh. What was more real to him was Christ and his heavenly kingdom and the holy angels and righteous men made perfect and inhabiting the dwellings of God’s presence. Paul was referring to a process of substitution. He sacrificed all the so-called benefits of this life for the one benefit of knowing Jesus Christ. When we trust in God, He imparts something of Himself into us, which is translated as knowledge that we comprehend in ways we don’t really understand, because it bypasses the natural mind. We know, but we don’t know how we know. He envelops us in His presence, and in that presence there is a sense of knowing that we cannot describe sometimes until years later. Our task is to put words to the things we understand by the Spirit.

(194a) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Turn from sin to God >> Run to God >> Run the race that is set before us

Phi 3,7-11

(5i) Responsibility >> Discipleship tested >> God tests your loyalty >> God tests your commitment to believe whatever He says

(103m) Thy kingdom come >> Purifying process >> Purified by circumstances >> Purified through faith – “He who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him” (Heb 11-6). To believe that God will reward us for seeking Him is to believe in His goodness and character. We must believe in God’s righteous judgment, that God loves us no matter what happens to us, or what happens to those we love. We must believe that God is good. If the evidence doesn’t point to that fact, then we must still believe in Him against the evidence. There will always be evidence in the world that points away from God’s goodness, making us question why God allows bad things to happen, but if we continue to believe in Him, our choice to trust Him will satisfy all God’s requirements. He will answer all our questions in His time. Meanwhile He imparts in us a Spirit of faith to supernaturally believe in Him, and He simply asks us to trust Him. It is a small request, but not to God; to Him it is big.

(232b) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Seeking the kingdom >> Count the cost >> The cost is more than you can imagine so don’t count

Phi 3,7-10

(208jb) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Personal relationship >> Being married to God >> Knowing God >> We are bonded to Him – This is one of Paul’s statements that have become the theme of entire books. The concept of knowing God has been mostly replaced by the teachings of grace, which has become highly nebulous and impersonal. The definition of God’s grace today is simply forgiveness of sin, but that is only part of it. Nowadays people equate the grace of God with forgiveness as though it pertained to nothing else, but forgiveness is just the tip of the iceberg. Forgiveness of sin is how we are accepted into heaven, just-if-I had never sinned, but His grace also affords us to know Him. He wants to save us in this life just as much as He wants to save us for eternal life, and this is something that is de-emphasized in the Church today, because it is a little too personal. Most people don’t want to get that close to God because He is scary to them, probably because their hearts are not wholly devoted to Him. If they had a genuine heart for God, they would not be scared, and they would want to know Him, and they would realize that because of His mercy they have nothing to fear. Paul heard a voice calling him from heaven. He tuned his ear to the Holy Spirit and listened for that small, still voice that whenever sounded shook his life to its foundations. If Paul could hear Him, he knew he wasn’t lost, not that Paul necessarily knew where he was going, but knew he was still on course with God, which is to be “found in Him” (v9). He pressed on striving in his heart to forget about the sins of his past, pressed forward knowing that his sins were irrelevant because his heart is right with God. We can’t help ourselves; we are sinners; it is the reason Jesus died for us. Hard as to try, we still find sin in our hands and on the end of our tongue and on the tip of our toes. Paul is saying to forget what we have said and done; it doesn’t matter; all that matters is the present and the future. 

Phi 3-7,8

(12f) Servant >> Nature of a bond servant

(57e) Paradox >> Opposites >> World hates what God loves and God hates what the world loves – We can’t have Christ and the world at the same time; we must choose. Paul counted this world and everything he once loved and valued to be trash in order that he might have Christ. In contrast, many Christians today think they can have both Christ and the world. How many times have we heard it said, “We are in the world but not of the world,” yet many who quote this are constituents of the world. The only difference between them and the unbeliever is that they believe in a set of doctrines, whereas the unbeliever asserts other things to be true that the Bible doesn’t uphold. These Christians don’t understand why Christianity doesn’t work for them. They’re not happy in the world and they’re not happy in the Lord; they have a foot in both worlds, straddling the fence with one canceling the other.

(78n) Thy kingdom come >> Putting your heart on display >> The result of a renewed mind

(94o) Thy kingdom come >> Perspective is your personal reality >> How your location influences you

(189b) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Holy sacrifice >> Holy offering – Paul is speaking to the center of our faith. What does it mean to give up the world for the sake of Christ? Many people believe in God, and they never change; they added faith to their lives, but nothing was ever taken away, so their religion is like a garnish, a mere ornament. They go to church, and it makes them look and feel good. What needs to be taken from us in order to have a fuller relationship with God? It goes back to Christ’s purpose and calling in our lives. When we think about Paul’s calling to the ministry, it was all encompassing. There literally was nothing else about Paul, just his faith in Jesus and his ministry of preaching the gospel of the kingdom. We don’t know much about Paul before his conversion; one thing we know, he had to give up his previous belief system before he could embrace the truth of Christ, and that required reordering his whole thinking. If we want to fulfill God’s plan and purpose for our lives, we too will have to sacrifice many things that we may currently enjoy. One of them may be honor in the world. It is one thing to believe in Jesus, but it is another thing to live for Him and work for Him. We will not receive honor from the world for doing that, but we will receive honor from God.

KJV    NAS  /  Navigation Bar

9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,

Phi 3,9-11

(98g) Thy kingdom come >> Endurance (Thorn in the flesh) >> (Faith à Suffering à Glory of Christ) >> The resurrection – Paul said that knowledge and power are essentially the same. The power of His resurrection and our knowledge of Him are also one and the same. Paul is talking about the realization of His power in that we have already received it. The Holy Spirit who dwells in us is the power of God. Paul is promising us a revelation of Jesus Christ, and in receiving it we also receive a revelation of His power who dwells in us, the power that will one day raise our bodies from the dead. The very same Spirit that can do this already dwells in us. Along with this revelation knowledge comes the fellowship of His sufferings as a package deal. We cannot have a revelation of Jesus Christ without suffering, because we live in a world of evil. The revelation itself does not bring suffering; on the contrary, the revelation comforts us in our suffering. It can be suffering in the flesh for natural reasons, or it can be the suffering of persecution. The comfort of knowing God and the power of His resurrection will change our lives and cause us to speak and act differently, and this will cause persecution. We will use Paul as our example, who came to know God and it changed his life, and in the process of doing God’s will he suffered persecution, and God responded by comforting Him through a revelation of Jesus Christ. The ultimate purpose of God for us is the resurrection from the dead. To know the power of His resurrection is blessed, but to attain to the resurrection from the dead is the ultimate goal of everyone who knows God.

(113k) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> The anointing >> Resurrection power – Paul longed for the perfection of his resurrected body. He would never attain it in this life but said that he presses on toward the goal of perfection. Although it was unattainable in this life, it didn’t stop him from pursuing it. He never came into physical possession of it so long as he remained in the world, but he still lived as though he did. Being interred in sinful flesh, he continued witnessing to people, spreading the gospel, teaching and preaching and building up the body of Christ, striving to bring about the Kingdom of God and striving to lay hold of that which laid hold of him. Christ laid hold of Paul along the road to Damascus when He appeared to Paul in a vision, and from that point forward, he searched for Christ, like a drug addict chasing his initial high. Jesus is extremely elusive to sinful flesh. Paul tried to live in the revelation, continually striving to decrease in his flesh so that his spirit might increase, always giving opportunity for Christ to manifest in his life in word and deed.

Phi 3-9

(31l) Gift of God >> Gift of His grace >> Forgiveness is an act of God’s grace – The concept of faith is a stickler to many. It is not enough to look up the word in a Bible dictionary; it will not tell us what we need to know. The only way to understand the meaning of faith is to become a lifelong student of God’s word and over a period of years culminate all our understanding of the Scriptures to a single point of faith, and this is the only conclusion we can derive: it is a substance that comes from heaven. The righteousness of God in the form of His grace comes to us from heaven on the basis of faith. We have not received many gifts from God but one, suggesting that faith and grace are the same. We don’t receive a heavenly gift through an earthly means, and we don’t believe in God based on human volition. The grace we receive from heaven enables us to believe in Him. The only way we can receive the faith of God is to have a sincere heart, and God knows when we’re not sincere. He knows when we say we want the things of God when in fact we prefer the world. If we are sincerely seeking God, we will find Him, and He will impart a faith in us that is able to receive His grace, and we will be saved.

(41fc) Judgment >> Satan destroyed >> Be like Jesus >> Righteousness of faith >> Faith apart from the law – God asks us to believe in his character. He doesn’t ask us to conjure up faith in Him; He actually furnishes us with it. He doesn’t ask us to appeal to Him by our own righteousness derived from our fleshly mind. Any righteousness of our own is a wispy vapor that comes and goes with the circumstances of life, born from a figment of our imagination. To think that we are good people is self-righteous, especially if we use it in place of receiving His Spirit that makes us perfect. We are not right with God by our own righteousness if He is offering us His righteousness and we reject it, for that is the epitome of evil. God said about Abraham, “And he believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness” (Rom 4-3). God is asking us to have faith like Abraham, faith in Christ, which appeals to Him for His faith that is tantamount to the indwelling Holy Spirit, who establishes us in His righteousness. Very little has changed in terms of faith between the old and New Testaments. The only thing that has changed is the object of our faith, Jesus, who fulfilled the law and the demand for blood in the sacrifice of Himself.

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10&11 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; 11 in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Phi 3-10,11

(38e) Judgment >> Jesus defeated death (Satan) >> Resurrection anointing – People tend to interpret the Bible as though it stood for something else. There is much symbolism in the Bible, but not all of it is symbolic. For example, in this case Paul says he has the opportunity to personally know Christ, not in the hereafter, but in this life, not on a symbolic level, but through the Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit is a conundrum to most people. It is where we get stuck trying to figure out God and His word and His will for us. People don’t understand the Holy Spirit; we don’t know where to draw the line that divides the symbolic from the literal. They don’t know how to interpret the Bible because of the Holy Spirit, yet it is ironically by the Holy Spirit that we interpret the Bible. There is virtually nothing symbolic about the Holy Spirit. What makes Him seem symbolic is His intangibility. The Holy Spirit is in fact just the opposite of ethereal symbolism in that the Bible considers Him to be the very substance of the gospel. So, when Paul says that he knows Christ, he is saying it literally. Through the Holy Spirit the power of his resurrection is known. The Holy Spirit is the ultimate extension of the cross. Jesus gave His life as the means of availing God's Spirit to us. Without Jesus' sacrifice, the manifestation of our hope could not be realized, but now that Jesus has been crucified, the Holy Spirit has come in the power of His resurrection.

Phi 3-10

(108h) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Revelation of Jesus Christ >> Spiritual revelation >> Revelation of His identity

(111f) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Spirit and the word >> Word and the power (meaning) of God >> Word in obedience cannot evade the power of God

(188f) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Suffering righteousness – There is only one thing standing in our way of receiving all the blessings of Christ, and that is us, our flesh. Though it is not evil in itself, our flesh contains a terrible wickedness that never ceases from sin, its desire for evil is never quenched and its lust for its own way is never satisfied. Our flesh is considered the top predator species on the planet. We have the body of an animal, and our body has a separate will apart from our own. We must remove it or the promises of God will remain elusive. We could wait until we die and go to heaven before we receive all the things that God wants for us, but God is asking us enjoy them in this life. This dying to the flesh is the symbolic part of the gospel, not literally committing suicide, but starving the desires of our flesh, until they become too weak to remain a threat to our spiritual health. God does not want us to allow our bodies to dictate how we should live, whom we should use and abuse, how we should steal and whom we should deceive… Our flesh is in a state of absolute poverty; our animal nature does not know how much money we have in the bank and nor does it care. It’s not what it craves. It seeks to impose its will over our will to serve Christ, which is the exact opposite the will of the flesh. It seeks to subvert our relationship with God, so it can dominate over us. The will of our flesh is essentially satanic in nature, and for this reason we are obligated to kill its passions and desires through the mode of starvation, and to have no mercy on it, not even to throw it a bone now and then. This is what Paul means by being conformed to His death. We are to symbolically nail our selves on the cross like one of the sinners who died next to Jesus, in order to receive the literal manifestation of the cross, the Holy Spirit. To receive these things now instead of waiting for the hereafter works as both a promise from God and our pledge to Him that we will in fact attain to the resurrection from the dead! It exists as more than evidence but proof that we are going to heaven and that we are going to receive everything that God has to offer, and that we will have eternal life and enjoy the presence of God forever.

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12-14 Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. 13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 

Phi 3,12-15

(43l) Judgment >> Satan destroyed in the absence of sin >> Perfecting the will of God

Phi 3,12-14 

(92c) Thy kingdom come >> The narrow way >> Trail of good works >> Practice walking a straight line

(100h) Thy kingdom come >> Diligence >> Diligence in running the race that is set before us

(233c) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Seeking the kingdom >> Seeking the goals of the kingdom >> Seek the goal of knowing God (faith) – Faith and trust are in many ways the same. When we trust God, we believe He has our interests in mind, whereas faith is a heavenly substance we received from heaven (Heb 11-1). People say that in heaven we won’t need faith anymore; on the contrary, that is like the scuba diver who returns from the depths and climbs back into the boat claiming he doesn’t need oxygen anymore, because it is all around him. Similarly, the Father created all things through faith by merely speaking the word, and as a result we will be living in a world that consists of faith.

Phi 3-12,13

(232j) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Seeking the kingdom >> Embrace (Jesus during the storm) >> God embraces us – Paul presses on striving to lay hold of that which laid hold of him, “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col 2-3). Jesus revealed Himself on the road to Damascus, and Paul spent the rest of his life trying to embrace the one who embraced him; he strove to comprehend the person who came to live in his heart; he strove to fellowship with Him while living in sinful flesh. In heaven fellowshipping with God will be easy, but in this life our flesh acts as blinders that keep us from accurately seeing Him. Our flesh is related to the devil, who is opposite of God. We find it difficult to understand Him, because we live in a body that opposes His very nature. We well understand things like war and revenge and sensuality… we know they’re wrong, but they make sense to us, and then we try to understand God using the same principles, we find that it is like trying to pound a square peg into a round hole; it just doesn’t fit. We cannot even conceptualize Him. When we get to heaven after we shed this sinful flesh, we will begin to fully realize that we are the Father’s children and brothers and sisters of Christ. We are just like Him in many ways. We will not be gods, but we will bear witness to His glorious divinity firsthand. We will have access to His throne. None of this has ever been given to any other creature!

Phi 3-12

(6e) Responsibility >> Advocate God’s cause >> Rest in Jesus’ yoke – Paul knows that if he can get a better handle on walking in the Spirit, it will dramatically reduce his struggle to be free from his fleshly mind. Therefore, Paul is not pressing on in the flesh to win the war against the flesh, but is pressing on in the spirit to perfect his relationship with God, and God will win the war against the flesh.

(216d) Sovereignty >> God overrides the will of man >> God’s will over man >> Compelled by the Spirit >> God takes advantage of your love for Him >> Being addicted to the Holy Spirit

(219g) Sovereignty >> God overrides the will of man >> The elect >> God chooses us as we choose ourselves >> God chooses us as we fulfill His calling

Phi 3-13,14

(91g) Thy kingdom come >> The called >> Walking along the narrow way >> Responding to the call of God

(161i) Works of the devil >> Essential characteristics >> Satan’s attitude determines our direction >> Carried Away >> Condemnation >> Condemnation based on evidence of sin

(232a) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Seeking the kingdom >> Count the cost >> Don’t look back to the past – It’s like climbing a mountain; all the forces are against us. We have the goal of the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus of reaching the summit, all the while knowing we will never get there in this lifetime, but pushing forward just the same, never walking the way down the mountain, but always higher, depicting levels of obedience, leading to higher levels of spiritual understanding of His will and purpose for the Church and His plan for eternity, and understanding both the importance of faithfulness, and the power of sin to destroy our lives that can take away what we have worked so hard to achieve.

Phi 3-13

(70f) Authority >> Sin of familiarity >> Familiarity-enemy of discernment >> Familiar with the spirit of error

15 Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you;

Phi 3-15,16

(137k) Temple >> Building the temple (with hands) >> Maturity >> Stages of maturity are levels of accountability >> It is our responsibility to be mature

(70b) Authority >> Righteous judgment (outcome of discernment) >> Sensitivity To The Spirit

(89k) Thy kingdom come >> God convicts us of sin >> Conviction makes us conscious of sin

(95a) Attitude (Key verse) – Attitude lays the foundation for the direction of our lives like plotting a course on a map. It cannot help but spume from our lips as James said about the tongue (chapters 3-4), when he likened it as a ship's rudder. We are always moving, like little wind-up toys that pace about the desk; even if they are heading for the edge of the table, they do not slow down; Nor are we capable of putting ourselves on hold while we see the course of our lives heading off a cliff. We can only change direction as we crank out the products of our attitudes. We have power over our attitudes, but not over the effects they produce.

(105j) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Led by the Spirit >> To the truth >> Led into the mind of Christ – The best thing to do when you are lost is to sit down. Don’t keep running; don’t walk farther into the woods from the designated trail. If you suddenly lose touch with your surroundings, sit down and wait for God to reveal to you which way you should go. However long it takes, the time is well-spent regaining a sense of direction; if it takes two or three years, or even four or five years to understand God’s will for your life, the things you experienced in the process of discovery will have direct applications to what He is calling you to do. Seeking God, pray, studying His word, until He gives you the revelation of His specific will in your life. While you are sitting there asking God to reveal His will, you are accomplishing more than you would by doing your own will. While you are sitting there seeking God, you are coming to know Him, and that is really all He wants in the first place. To know Him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings (v10), isn’t that the basis of everyone's calling?

(106m) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Hearing from God >> Purpose of hearing from God >> God gives us direction (Attitude)

(109g) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Revelation of God's word >> Revelation of the truth

(109i) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Spirit and the word >> Spirit the teacher >> Spirit trains us to be like Jesus

(110j) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >>

(114f) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Working the grace of God >> Obeying the Holy Spirit >> Receiving a revelation from God through obedience – Paul filled his epistles with the concept of working (with) the grace of God as one of the most important teachings of the Scriptures pertaining to our manner of relating to God, yet it is virtually unknown to the Church today. Paul said in Act 20-29,30, “I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. The first thing wolves did after infiltrating the Church was get rid of the teaching of working with the grace of God, and replaced it with their teaching about grace that we now embrace, as though we were passive spectators of God’s work in our lives, as though we were on an operating table, unconscious and unable to participate; we awaken from anesthesia miraculously fixed. This teaching on grace started shortly after Paul died, but thank God we have the testimony of Scripture telling us otherwise. The wolves of the Church had to get rid of the doctrine of working the grace of God because it was exposing them. People in Paul’s day were filled with the Spirit, and they would point at these wolves, naming them as frauds in front of everybody. The wolves knew that the way to keep from being exposed was to get rid of the doctrine that taught the saints how to relate to God on the most intimate of levels, through the obedience of faith (Rom 1-5).

(129n) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Unity >> Being in one accord >> Having one mind

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16&17 however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained. 17 Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. 

Phi 3,16-19

(92h) Thy kingdom come >> The narrow way >> What kind of trail is this? >> The wrong gate is wide and many enter by it

Phi 3-16,17

(11k) Servant >> Paul’s example of God’s standard – Paul was the standard of behavior for the Philippians; so they not only had a standard in the written word, they also had a living standard of behavior in the apostle Paul. The more models of the Christian walk we have, the better standard of behavior; and of course the fewer models of behavior, the weaker the standard. Hopefully our pastor acts as our standard for the Christian walk at our local Church, and the next church has its standard in their pastor, but there cannot be many standards, anymore than there can be many standards for a gallon of water. The entire Church worldwide in the first century had only one standard of the Christian walk in the founding apostles; therefore, without a central standard the Church will continue floundering until that standard is found, and a standard is coming in the restoration of Israel, and then 144,000 Jewish zealots will appear, and among them there will be Two Witnesses who will become the standard for the Church worldwide, and we will follow them. The closest we got to a central standard for the Church in the last century was Billy Graham; at one time he was the face of Christianity to the world. Is Christianity just another religion or is it the way to God? The Scriptures provide the answer, but certain people who have modeled Christianity, who for others have been living examples of the faith are necessary to answer that question with a living example of faith toward God, though they are far and few between in these last days.

(93i) Thy kingdom come >> Following Jesus >> Through men >> Follow the example of others – The standard of behavior in Christianity is found in the Scriptures; the Bible teaches how we ought to live and obey God; that has not changed throughout the millennia, yet behavior has changed exceedingly. In fact, the moral fabric of society is disintegrating before our very eyes as we speak. There has never been a time in human history when someone would take up a semiautomatic rifle, apply a bump stock to it, turning it into a machine gun, and using it to mow down innocent people like fish in a pond, yet the standard of Scripture has not changed. We have a written standard, but there needs to be a behavioral standard in the body of Christ that needs to be maintained, yet not even this is held in high esteem in these last days; that is, the Church doesn’t have a standard of conduct. Nevertheless, Paul expected the Philippians to live by a standard that he had instructed them, suggesting that not only do we believe in the Lord Jesus, we need to also follow Him. However, in today’s church we are taught that believing in Jesus has nothing to do with behavior, that we can act anyway we want and it doesn’t affect our faith, but nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, the Bible outlines certain evidences of salvation and evidences of being hell-bound, so we can say with relative certainty whether a person is on his way to heaven or hell based on their conduct, not on their faith. We say that behavior is directly linked to faith, for those who believe obey and those who obey believe.

(11a) Standard (Key verse) – “Standard” is a unit of measure; there are many standards and measures in the world, such as the gallon for water that we use to measure an Olympic-size swimming pool. Standard is something that remains fixed; it’s a constant; that is what makes a standard meaningful. Standards cannot fluxgate. We strive to live by a certain set of rules and rarely achieve it, and so people usually lower the standard to make it attainable; then society further deteriorates, and we have to lower the standard again. When we do this, it proves there is no real standard of conduct.

(204c) Denying Christ >> Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >> Back-slider >> Practicing sin >> Withdrawing from a righteous standard of living

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18&19 For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, 19 whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things.

Phi 3-18,19

(19h) Sin >> Having the mental disease of the world >> Worldly influence on the mind

(21d) Sin >> Disobedience will condemn you to hell – There are many people who never make Jesus Christ Lord of their lives; they will never receive the gift of eternal life, and for that reason their destiny is not heaven, so when they die, they will go to hell, though Jesus died for them. He took all their sins upon Him and dropped them in hell (Eph 4-9,10), but if they don’t receive Christ as Lord and savior, they will go to hell and their sins will affix themselves to their resurrected bodies, and they will remember every evil thing they ever did. Their sins will be programmed into their hearts, and it will be the only thing they will know, and God will assign them a place in hell that corresponds with the sins they committed. Although God forgave their sins, the fact that they refused to accept the sacrifice that Jesus made for them or acknowledged their sinful state in relation to a holy God, their sins will torment them forever, and the assignment in hell will be God’s judgment.

(22f) Sin >> Lust (craving pleasure) >> Fleshly desire – Paul is not talking about Christians in this passage, but people who don’t know God though they go to church, otherwise what would be the point of talking about people of the world? We already know that the heathen act like this. Paul is talking about people who are in the Church and are not saved and they have no intentions of getting saved or serving God. These people have a reprobate mind, meaning they cannot be saved, being incapable of faith. They enjoy the environment of the Church, but the question is why? They probably like the social aspect of it, but primarily they go to church because the people of God are easy to exploit. Anybody who would pretend to be Christians and go to church for the purpose of exploiting the people of God have no conscience. Their god is their appetite, meaning they have an appetite for sin; they live for sin. That is not true with many of us who are now born-again, who were once of the world. We were sinners, and we had our pet sins and were enslaved to them, and we hated that lifestyle, our conscience tormenting us day and night until we got saved, but these people have never experienced anything like this because they have no conscience.

(47d) Judgment >> God Judges the world >> Hell is a place of destruction

(48m) Judgment >> Jesus’ enemies are destroyed >> Enemies of His grace

(76l) Thy kingdom come >> Desires of your heart >> Desires of your fleshly appetite

(153h) Witness >> Validity of the Father >> God bears witness against the world >> Shame >> Walking in condemnation >> Walking in rebellion 

(157a) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Evidence of being hell-bound >> Rejecting God >> Rejecting the truth

(164i) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> The world is at enmity with God >> The world hates God

(167d) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Carnality/Secularism (mindset of the world) >> The carnal mind is set on the flesh >> Bound to the earth – Paul encourages us to walk according to his example, while he simultaneously warns that there are others who walk in ways we should not follow. These are the dogs that he mentioned earlier in this chapter, the false circumcision, people who are not even saved often posing as leaders of the Church, whose end is destruction, and whose god is their appetite. They follow their fleshly impulses instead of the Holy Spirit, and expect us to follow them. He’s talking about people who claim to be children of God, yet their glory is in their shame, though it is clearly visible to those who are watching for them that they are impostors. These are the ones who are unspiritual, who speak of the earth and never rise above a worldly consideration. Wait for a declaration of faith from them and you will never get it, because they have nothing from God. They might quote you a Scripture to sound biblical, but there is nothing spiritual about them.

(169k) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Seeking the glory of man >> Stepping on people to get to the bottom >> Ignoring Jesus to satisfy your flesh

(171c) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Outward appearance >> Vanity >> Vain experience >> Things you do in the absence of God

(172d) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Tares among the wheat >> Communion between the world and the Church >> Worldliness in the Church – Christians make various assumptions about people who go to church, foremost that they are born of God and love God, though many are not saved. There are some who hide in church, putting on a façade as good Christians. Maybe they lift their hands during praise and worship, making it appear that they know God, when in many cases there is nothing redeemable about them. Paul must have talked to them about Jesus and got a response that made him weep. These people need to be expelled from church, because they are a threat to the saints. Confronting them is sure to generate hostility; nevertheless, we need to take the bull by the horns and protect the saints, because that is what the saints deserve. They come to church as a haven from the world’s abuse, hoping to let their guard down and expecting to rejoice in the Spirit of God and with one another.

(180b) Works of the devil >> Practicing witchcraft >> Wolves >> Wolves lead people into a cult >> Wolves bypass the cross

(186g) Works of the devil >> The result of lawlessness >> The reprobate >> Man’s role in becoming a reprobate >> After they reject God’s faith how can they believe? – Researchers now say that people can actually be born lacking a conscience, and this condition is inherited. Many are born into a family whose parent(s) lack a conscience and was consequently treated inhuman from birth; what little conscience they had was beaten out of them during their critical years. God made man in his own image with a conscience, and people who go to heaven are human in the most literal sense, suggesting that a person without a conscience is subhuman, “whose glory is in their shame, who set their mind on earthly things.” They are anchored to their self-serving violent nature; even trees in a forest war with each other for sunlight, and of course we have the lions as an example of violence in nature. Everything in their kingdom is at war for survival, and these people who are bound to the earth live in that realm. In fact, most of them have the philosophy that they are just another animal specie, and to them it is true, but the saints are human.

(188k) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Sorrow >> Grieving over your own loss >> Grieving over the loss of others – Paul is exposing the folly of a person who will not believe in God, who craves his futile desires over the hope of eternal life, which lies just in the distance if he could only remove his fleshly temptations staring him in the face. He allows his meaningless impulses to steer him away from the vast treasures of Christ for a few moments of fleeting pleasure. It invokes a sadness in the believer for the world that goes beyond tears to see a foolishness that goes beyond folly, a deception that goes beyond ignorance, and a human loss that traverse all wars combined. To see the world follow after their own lust and to hear its declaration of faith when faith is unneeded in following the flesh, has a crushing effect on the believer. It inflicts an added level of vexation to the righteous. For God to vindicate us with hope of receiving a body that is transformed into conformity with his own does little to alleviate the pain of watching a world turn its back on God and disappear into the void with no way to stop them from their hardness of heart.

(195i) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Idolatry >> Worshipping other gods >> Worshipping other gods as a god yourself

(200m) Denying Christ >> Whoever is not with Jesus is against him >> He is against Christ who does not receive Him >> Whoever receives the world is against Christ

(202c) Denying Christ >> Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >> Running from God >> Running to your sinful nature >> Run from God by running to your flesh

(203f) Denying Christ >> Dishonor God >> Dishonor God by dishonoring your own body

(238i) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Pursuing the knowledge of the kingdom >> Teachers >> Teachers "remind" their students >> Prevention against forgetting -- These verses go with verse 1

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20&21 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; 21 who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.

Phi 3-20,21

(39b) Judgment >> Jesus defeated death >> Characteristics of the resurrection – God intends to establish us in eternity through the exertion of His power that He has to subject all things to Himself. The power He used to create the universe he will use on us to create a new body that will never pass away. When you think of the power it took to create the universe to then focus it on creating a body for us in the likeness of His own, no wonder it will be indestructible and full of glory. For the rich in this life, their wealth lies in their money and in their assets, but in the Kingdom of Heaven our wealth and power resides within our spiritual bodies that will emanate the glory of God throughout all eternity, a radiant energy that will never end. Just as we will have been created for eternity, so we will be created for infinity. Only such a standard is allowed in His kingdom.

(61a) Paradox >> Two implied meanings >> Waiting for a savior—To come back spiritually / To come back physically – We are waiting for a savior to spiritually return before He physically returns. He will make His debut on the earth by His Spirit before He physically sets foot on the Mount of Olives. He will spiritually return through an endtime revival by a multitude which cannot be numbered (Rev 7-9), who will invite His physical return. We think that the Church today would welcome Christ’s return. They would if He returned according to their expectations, but He will not return according to most people's expectations, so they will refuse to be part of His welcoming committee in the Great Endtime Revival. Jesus has been gone for 2,000 years, and He said He wouldn’t be long, so maybe the reason He has been gone so long is because He has been waiting for us to invite Him back. Now, by His own authority he will begin to spiritually reign among His people by enacting a Great Endtime Revival that will save millions of people from eternal destruction, who will all obey Jesus Christ, and they will effectively welcome their Lord’s return.

(66a) Authority >> Lordship of Christ >> He is Lord over all creation >> over life and death – We know that the many curses, plagues and judgments of Revelation speaks of God subjecting the world to His power. The judgments of the Book of Revelation are what He does with those who do not accept His salvation. This indicates that God intends to save a remnant from this world in the last days, which will entail millions of people. The Lord will orchestrate a Great Endtime Revival through His people the Jews, through the 144,000 and Two Witnesses written in Revelation chapters seven, eleven and twelve, referred to as the woman. These will manage a global revival of the gentiles. The Two Witnesses will act as adjudicators against those who resist God’s will, and God will judge the world by performing whatever words proceed from their mouths. They will be righteous and holy and speak the word of God to judge the world for their resistance to God’s ability to subject all things to Himself. The Two Witnesses will divert the world’s attention off the woman and the gentile church, who will flee into the wilderness for safety and protection from the antichrist, and these Two Witnesses will pound the world into subjection. Whether by grace or by judgment, God will subject all things to Himself.

(68e) Authority >> Jesus Delegates the Holy Spirit to us >> Sent from heaven

(126k) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Patience >> Have patience for the return of Christ >> The physical return of Christ

(229a) Kingdom of God >> God’s kingdom is a living organism >> Kingdom grows by itself >> Growing In Numbers Corresponds With Spiritual Growth >> Kingdom slowly spreads and overtakes darkness – “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,” and at some point He created the angels and gave Lucifer stewardship over the universe; and then at some point Lucifer fell into sin and God cursed him and cursed the universe that was his possession and gave him a new name, Satan, and He cursed all the angels that followed him in rebellion. Then He created man and set him in the Garden, but he rebelled too, so God cursed him and chased him from the garden and made him live among Satan’s thorns and thistles. Man grew depraved until his thoughts continually dwelt on evil and so God sent a flood upon the earth and destroyed mankind, saving a single family of eight persons, Noah and his wife and children, who repopulated the earth. Then God called Abraham and He obeyed the Lord, promising to make him a great nation through his son Isaac born to his wife Sarah; Isaac had Jacob and Jacob had the twelve sons of Israel through Rebecca. God called Israel to the land of Canaan to dispossess the people who lived there, who would not worship the Lord but sinned against him, kindling His anger as in the days of Noah, but instead of destroying the whole earth again, He had Israel destroy those people and make a nation for themselves in their land. Through the tribe of Judah a Messiah was promised to become their king and Israel would reign over all the people of the earth through Him, and so Jesus came and took away their sin, so His people would be acceptable in the sight of God, and for 2000 years people have been added to the kingdom that will one day rule the earth, which will eventually spread to the far reaches of the universe. From the beginning God has been at work subjecting his creation to Himself. After the thousand-year reign of Christ, God will destroy this present universe and create a new one in its place, making a new people and His Church will rule over the new creation with Christ forever and ever, but those who refused to submit to His authority, He has subjugated to a place called hell. Is God able to subject all things to Himself? Yes he can!

(131jb) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Unity >> Many members but one body >> Many titles but one entity

(134e) Temple >> Your body is the temple of God >> Composition of our bodies is from the earth >> We are physically excluded from the spiritual realm

(135n) Temple >> Your spirit is the temple of God >> The body of Christ >> Similarity in the body >> The things we have in common >> Common Lord

(136g) Temple >> Your spirit is the temple of God >> The body of Christ >> Jesus’ spiritual body

(210e) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Jesus is our savior >> Especially of believers

(213d) Sovereignty >> God is infinite >> God is all powerful >> Christ subjects the creation to Himself

(224d) Kingdom of God >> Illustrating the kingdom >> Description of heaven >> Describing the kingdom after he makes all things new >> Children of God resemble their Father

(226d) Kingdom of God >> Illustrating the kingdom >> Rewards of the Kingdom of Heaven >> Reserved in heaven >> Our inheritance is reserved in heaven – There is more evidence to support God’s existence as a good person whom we can trust, than any so-called evidence to the contrary; this is why God thinks trusting Him is not too much to ask. The universe itself is proof that God exists. God must be at least as big as the universe, which most cosmologists will say is infinite. Its immense size doubles as evidence that He is a good person, for an infinite being cannot possibly be evil, for if He were evil it would hinder His ability to create the universe in the first place. (However, keep in mind that the universe does not reflect the nature of God, because it is under a curse.) Faith too is why he allows evil, for it acts as the great equalizer. He plans to reward our faith, so the more we believe in Him, the more He will reward us in heaven. We could never fully appreciate His eternal reward in this life, but we will appreciate it in heaven when God fits us with an indestructible body that will illumine the victories we won in this life. Our spirit enjoys the presence of God; for this reason we should consider ourselves already citizens of heaven. If we are going to dwell in His kingdom forever, then let eternity begin now in our eager anticipation of the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with His own glory.

(231i) Kingdom of God >> God’s kingdom is a living organism >> Body of Christ is the organism of God’s kingdom >> Jesus is the head of His body’s kingdom >> To be in Christ is to be in the great city

(237j) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Transferring the kingdom >> The Church is transferred to the kingdom >> Citizens of heaven

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