Making Sense of the Present in Light of the Future

—Philippians series Pt.5 3:1–4:1

Andrew Fountain – Mar 18, 2018

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Outline

Recap Parts 1–4

There are two worlds, old and new creation
and the Christian participates in both
Paul’s Attitude to heaven
How does this speak to us?

Philippians 1

I thank my God every time I remember you.
I always pray with joy in my every prayer for all of you
For it is right for me to think this about all of you, because I have you in my heart...
For God is my witness that I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

Philippians 2:1-11

Philippians 2:12–13 ESV

…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,
With awe and wonder, keep working at achieving spiritual health within your community

Overview of the Passage

Hand out handout
Begins by announcing that although they have probably heard it before, it’s so important he’s going to say it again
- So don’t roll your eyes and say “Paul’s off on his thing again”
v.1–2 he introduces a problem —but he does not dwell on it
v.3–16 he opens his heart about his own story and his own attitudes
v.17-end he comes back to the problem and now he’s in a position to explain why it is wrong
- ending with an uplifting and motivating call to a new way of living
- and a great “Therefore” right at the end
4:1 Therefore, my beloved and longed-for brothers and sisters, my joy and crown,
stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved.
We are going to look at how Paul speaks against these evil men and their attitudes.
- The temptaion would be to focus on all the false teaching and pull it apart in detail
- But Paul’s method is very personal. He doesn’t focus so much on the truth, but how it he lives in reponse to it:
  - These are the truths that I live my life by, and this is what it looks like
  - So if you agree with this truth, watch my life
    - and compare it with these other teachers.
    - and realize that their lives are going to be driven by something different.
It all hinges on how he values this present physical world
- compared to the future new creation
- Flesh vs Spirit
- very short present time vs future eternity with Jesus
In this passage we’ll see something of Paul’s style—he likes to make contrasts
- show the blocks on the handout
But Paul doesn’t jump from one block to the next—he always uses a bridge—a connecting idea.
- Let’s see it work in practice

work through passage

There are two worlds
- old creation (the physical reality of atoms and molecules)
- new creation
there is an overlap!

Outline

There are two worlds, old and new creation
and the Christian participates in both
Paul’s Attitude to heaven
How does this speak to us?

Romans 13

Love does no wrong to a neighbour; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.
The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.

Colossians 3

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

Outline

There are two worlds, old and new creation
and the Christian participates in both
Paul’s Attitude to heaven
How does this speak to us?

As a community
- The church is frequently pictured as a building
  - we are living stones, precious jewels
  - we are the temple, the dwelling place of God
- Just like my story of Scotia Plaza, we must think of our self-identity as the finished picture, not the bulldozers in the mud.
  - We are the church! We are God’s joy and delight! A work in progress, but what a work!
- You’ve heard the saying “nobody says on their deathbed ‘I wish I had spent more time in the office’”
  - Similarly in heaven, we might say “I wish I didn’t have that stupid argument with that other person—it was so petty in the light of eternity”
  - Spoiler—this is what Paul is about to do...
As individuals
- The main point here is not that heaven is near but that heaven is the reality,
  - in the shadow of which we are now living
- Heaven makes sense of everything
  - Every injustice you see in your life now, or disappointment with God, or sadness
    - will fade like shadows in the noon-day sun

What is needed is not a series of dull warnings about being ready for the Lord’s return
- But the exciting perspective of who we are —part of the New Creation, soon to be revealed
- We are like embryos, being formed into some new being
- Or a construction site
- So get excited about what you are now by looking at the picture of the finished building!
My prayer is that God would help us to view ourselves and our community in this way.

Making Sense of the Present in Light of the Future

—Philippians series Pt.5 3:1–4:1

Outline

Philippians 1

Philippians 2:1-11

Philippians 2:12–13 ESV

Outline

Romans 13

Colossians 3

Outline

Live your life now in the light of the finished product