I've been stuck in Phil 3 over the past few days. What a passage.
Paul tells of his religious observance and morals.
He was a Hebrew of Hebrews.
He ticked more religious boxes than anyone else.
He observed all the traditions and yet says it was all a pile of 'rubbish'.
It's not about our morality or our Christian observances or traditional check boxes that count for anything. We need to dung those out.
It is about knowing Christ who is resurrected and seated at the right hand of the father in all power and authority.
Knowing Him in a personal relationship, suffering with Him and having His righteousness not our own.
Christ is everything and we are absolutely nothing.
Perhaps you or I can say we are Christian of Christians.
We read from the right translation, wear the right clothes, we may speak with the right phrases or even in tongues or give prophetic words. We may teach sunday school or even speak at the front of church. We may be in Christian work and give our tithes and time. We may observe more christian traditions and religious observances than anyone we know. And it is all a steaming pile of dung (Phil 3:8).
I was tempted to finish that last paragraph with "... if we do not know Christ". But that's not how Paul says it. Religion, morality, religious righteousness, church traditions and all our 'christianity' needs thrown in the rubbish heap because it doesn't matter one bit.
We, you and I, need to be found in Christ. It is His righteousness imputed to us by faith by which we may live in a personal relationship with Him. It is His righteousness alone by which we gain Christ. Christ the One who, though He was equal with God did not count it a thing to be grasped, and rather than staying on His throne in comfort and authority and all power, became a human. And even when He wanted to avoid the cup of the wrath of God still prayed "neverthless not my will but yours". It is His righteousness that by faith means we may know the one who God has highly exalted and given a name above every name. At the name of Jesus every tongue shall bow and every knee confess that Jesus is Lord.
It is not my name or your name. It is Jesus.
We are dust, He is living God.
