Chapters 1-2 (to be done later)
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Chapter 3
- Paul writing to Christians in Philippi
- He is was in a Roman prison and writes letters
- verse 3 referring to circumcision and people though that doing righteous things in earthly flesh was good enough
- However he counters that thinking with 3 examples
- He was circumcised on the 8th, righteous at a young age and from the Israelite tribe of Benjamin of pure Hebrew blood, he is righteous
- He had all the qualifications to be righteous
- Prior to knowing Christ, he held onto worldly knowledge, possessions, status, but once he knew Christ, he gave it all up as loss
- He rather know Christ, the resurrection, fellowship, becoming him, and citizenship in Heaven
- All the legal things he followed was nothing compared to the new Covenant of knowing Christ (everything else was garbage)
- Everything is pale compared to Christ
- Regardless of where you are or what you do, you can still have that relationship with Christ
- Romans 7:7 reference that we still obey the law, even as Christians following the new Covenant
- He wrote to a gentile audience and made no reference to old Testament material
- Why is it hard for us to let go of situations/pain?
- * suffering, grieving, injustice, owning the situation rather than God’s situation
- * “Crazy Love” book, we try to own something that’s not for us, it’s God’s
- verses 10-11, Paul looks forward to the relationship and everything about Christ, including what he went through
- verse 11, translations of “somehow” is wrong, supposed to be “by any means”
- God placing us towards reaching out to him
- Contradiction in verse 13, he kept talking about past even though he said forget the past, his priorities change and admit he’s not perfect and needs things to work on
- He is able to talk about past mistakes and letting it go, or else it hinders his relationship with God
- We live up to what we attained, don’t pretend to know more than you do and be honest about it
- We reach for the unattainable of being like Christ, but we still pursue it, don’t act like it already
- Example: Level 30 character trying to be in a level 60 zone, it will not work
- Even if given a bad task, do the best you can, it is God-centered action and motivation
- Reference to Luke 19:11-27, King praised his servants who followed his orders and let him be King (how much worth you put in the work)
- verses 17–19, do not be an enemy of the cross or let desires rule over you (like your stomach), they are losses, no storage in Heaven
- Project your hopes into the future
- wait for Christ and have a relationship with him
- Is our will aligned with his will?
- 2 Corinthians 5:1, we belong in God’s house that will never fall down
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Chapter 4 (to be done later)
