The Enemies Of The Cross Of Christ

Philippians 3:1-21, 4:1

"Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern. For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are THE ENEMIES OF THE CROSS OF CHRIST; whose end is destruction, whose glory is in their shame - who set their minds on earthly things. For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself. Therefore, my beloved and longed-for brethren, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, beloved." (v.17-21, 4:1)

Who are these enemies of the cross of Christ? Could be those who have "confidence in the flesh". Paul writes, "if anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I (Paul) more so: (he was) circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things (all those things he listed from which confidence in the flesh ensues) and COUNT THEM AS RUBBISH, that I may gain Christ." Those "confidences" Paul listed became as rubbish compared to what every word of God has brought him!

Paul warns the Phillipians to "beware of evil workers". I doubt these "workers" would promote discernable demonic activity, but would not foster the cross of Christ in the the life of the "saints in Christ Jesus"(v.1). Their "god is their belly" and they "set their mind on earthly things". Philippians 3:1-21, 4:1 "And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it." (Matthew 10:38,39) An enemy would attempt to thwart, knowingly or not, what the cross of Christ works in us - becoming one with the Father and the Son Who are One! (John 17:20, 21)

According to Whom?

 

Ephesians 3:20,21; Philippians 4:4-7

"Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think ACCORDING TO THE POWER THAT WORKS IN US, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen." (Ephesians 3:20,21)

"Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand (available). Be anxious for nothing but in everything, by prayer and supplication(humble and earnest request), with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which SURPASSES ALL (your) UNDERSTANDING (making your understanding fruitful in His), will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:4-7)

In the previous paragraph, third sentence, gentleness is well defined as forebearance: the refraining from taking action. Let your refraining from taking action be known to all men. Your requests should be directed by that which comes according to the power that works in us: the Holy Spirit Who awakens us to ONLY those things that Jesus Christ says. Anxiety in attaining anything is not from God. He ministers in peace that guards from Satan's temptation and our desire for what we think we want.

We have seen people excitedly discussing their plans for this or that, only to see much less enthusiasm later on. Everybody has done it. But He exceeds abundantly what we ask or think, ACCORDING TO THE POWER THAT WORKS IN US, binding us to His perfect will, and through our willingness to refrain from "our works", he looses the completion of it, manifesting it in the realm where we, and others, may see. That's how the elders of the faith obtained "a good testimony"!

Call For The Elders

 1 Corinthians 11:27-32; James 5:14,15

"Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner, eats and drinks judgement to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep (are dead). For if we would judge ourselves (discerning the Lord's will and acting accordingly), we would not be judged (Jesus Christ is the righteous judge!). But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world."(1 Corinthians 11:27-32)

"Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord, and the prayer of faith will SAVE the sick and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven." (James 5:14,15)

The elders of the church, by their understanding/willingness to walk in the Lord's inspiration, along with the anointing oil which calls our attention to all things in His name by the working of the Holy Spirit, pray for those who had been unwilling to hear, bringing them back to sanctification/consecration in Christ Jesus. Remember! The Lord's will for His body, the church, is to "be strong (in Him) and the power of His might" and "in health just as your soul prospers". So, when we are not strong, healthy and alive, call for the elders. The Lord's chastening goes to show us that we are partaking unworthily of communion with Him; and whom to call upon so we may understand and willingly act!

The Power Of Godliness

 

2 Timothy 3:10-17

"But you (Timothy) have carefully followed my (Paul's) doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance, persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra - what persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered me. Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. But evil men and imposters will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But you (Timothy) must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work."

"But you must continue in the things you have learned and been assured of....", not like those who have a form of godliness but deny the power of godliness (the understanding of and willingness to continue in that which serves to make us wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus) who are always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth; who will progress no further due to their unwillingness. (The discussion in this paragraph comes from 2 Timothy 3:5-9)

Interestingly, Paul mentions Jannes and Jambres - magicians in Pharoah's court. They worked sensational supernatural acts. The God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Moses devoured, literally, those supernatural activities. Why would Paul mention these men to Timothy, a young pastor? Just as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so will people resist the power of godliness: the willingness to continue in that which Paul writes in verses 10-17, 5-9. Timothy must understand that Satan uses unholy sensation to wrest our attention from the our God's calling to us in Christ Jesus.

When He Gave Thanks, He Broke The Bread

 

1 Corinthians 11:23,24


"For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when HE HAD GIVEN THANKS, HE BROKE IT and said, 'Take, eat; this is my body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.' "

As we head to our Thanksgiving celebrations, many are brought to consider what we are thankful for: family, health, more than enough, friends, are common responses. But, when Jesus GAVE THANKS, He BROKE THE BREAD as a symbol of He Himself, the "bread of God", the "bread of life" (John 6:33-35), about to be BROKEN to make salvation to God available to all!

Be thankful for those good things that God has provided to you. Be thanks-GIVING to the Father by allowing Jesus Christ to show you what you must do, in remembrance of Him, so others may see Him!

Be Assured So You May Become Complete

James 1:2-4; Philippians 3: 4-6, 8-11; 15,16

"My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith (in Christ) produces patience(perseverance). But let patience (perseverance) have its perfect work, that you may be perfect (mature) AND complete, lacking nothing." (James1:2-4)

"Yet indeed I also count all things (v. 4-6) loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things (v. 4-6), and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ, and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to (arrive at) the resurrection from the dead."
(Philippians 3: 8-11)                         

Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind."
(Philippians 3: 15, 16)

Mature. Perfect. Complete. In the dialect which I am familiar, perfect holds the most intense meaning. In fact, many times have I heard ministers say "you are never going to be perfect". "Perfect" to those who say such things means "entirely without any flaws" (Webster's). Another Webster's definition for "perfect" is "assured".

Assured to become complete. Perseverance, through its perfect work, causes the one who is assured (through faith in Christ) to become complete. That one will lack nothing. Even Paul says that he has not already attained completion, but presses on! That one is assured by the revelation of Jesus Christ, and that assurance holds those who will persevere through to completion! Must be some revelation.

This is where I will mention what I am impressed that the Lord made real to me. Paul says, "the Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs- heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together." (Romans 8:16,17)


Suffer how? Count anything you have accomplished (training); the pillars of your opinion; even YOUR RELIGION as rubbish at the revelation He brings; His way, His truth, His life; as He brings it! Paul greets the Philippian church and rejoices in their "fellowship". They were assured that they must count as rubbish what they thought they knew, attaining what Jesus knows and becoming complete in Him.

The Gates Of Hades Shall Not Prevail Against It

Matthew 16:13-19


When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of man, am?"  So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter answered and said,
"You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven, and I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will BUILD My church, and THE GATES OF HADES SHALL NOT PREVAIL AGAINST IT. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."

Jesus surely is building His church, "sanctifying and cleansing her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish."
(Ephesians 5:26,27)

God the Father raised Jesus Christ up from the dead.........."and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all."
(Ephesians 1:22,23)

If you ask a wood craftsman to build a piece of furniture, he would gather the necessary components for completion of the task, and with the wisdom which he had attained through experience and successful completion of other projects, he would finish the task. He has the understanding to make a nice piece of furniture from spiritless components. As Jesus builds His church, He works through the spirit for the soul. We have a decision to make. Wood, nails, glue, stain or paint have nothing to say about their future. We must agree to receive Him as He comes; to surrender so He may build.

What He is able to build in us individually and corporately, by way of our understanding and willingness to surrender to Him completely, will sustain us just as the Father did Him as He finished at the cross. All know that the gates of Hades could not keep Him from finishing!