THE RESURRECTION EXPERIENCED (Phil 3:10-11)
I. Introduction
A. Paul's great purpose in life is laid before us in these two verses.
1. He reveals his desire for a closer relationship with Christ.
2. He longs to be fused into Christ in order that Christ's great heart of love will be lived out through him.
B. Complete conformity to Christ is his goal and he will not stop short of it.
II. The Power of Conformity
A. Notice the order of this conformity - the power of the resurrection is placed before the fellowship of his sufferings.
1. The order is not accidental though it is unusual.
2. In the order of salvation and Christ's passion it was suffering, death and resurrection.
3. But in the order of Christian living it is reversed, resurrection, suffering, death.
B. Without the power of His resurrection we are unable to endure the fellowship of His sufferings.
1. Human fortitude shrinks before the sorrows He bore.
2. Even a few unkind words or a little trouble financially will often cause some people to have sleepless nights.
3. According to Eph 1:19-23, the power that raised Jesus from the dead is the greatest demonstration of power ever exercised in the universe.
4. So marvelous is the fact of His power which pierced the realm of the dead that John never wearies of repeating the astonishing fact of Lazarus resurrection.
5. Three times in John 12 he recalls the miracle (v 1,9,17)
C. But that was nothing compared to the power exhibited that first Easter morn that abolished death forever.
1. According to Eph 1:19 and Phil 3:10 that power is given unto us who believe.
2. We believe that power assures us a future resurrection but we are blind to the mighty force that we have on a daily basis to give us victory over sin.
3. Most of us live as if Christ never rose from the grave.
4. We live as if there is nothing better for the Christian than to be embalmed with the spices of spiritual defeat.
D. The mighty Christ wants to make His victory a reality in our lives as we yield our lives to Him.
III. The Process of Conformity
A. When Paul longs to know Christ in the fellowship of His sufferings, he is not referring to the sufferings of His Cross.
1. They are finished. What are the sufferings Paul is considering?
2. They would include the temptation of Satan, the deprivations of daily life, inhumanities from his enemies, denial at the hands of His friends, betrayal by an associate, hatred by people who refused
to believe His message.
3. Jesus suffering includes His grief over the sin of the world that He loves.
B. Paul was saying he was willing to undergo hardship, deprivation, rejection and suffering for the Lord Jesus.
1. He realized that it was suffering that becomes the catalyst to our conformity with Christ.
2. The more we suffer patiently and gracefully, the more Christlike we become.
3. Our very imperfections are melted in the furnace of afflictions and the image of Christ is burned into our souls.
4. Suffering is the process that purifies our lives.
C. Suffering is also the process that purifies us for service.
1. The scripture says - He learned obedience by suffering.
IV. The Proportion of Conformity (10)
A. He wants to be made conformable to His death.
1. Conformable means "to make of the same form" He is willing to come from the same mold.
2. If going to the cross would save souls he would do it.
3. If going to hell would save Israel, he would do it.
B. Pouring out our lives for others - sacrificing our own benefits for others does not come naturally. We die hard.
1. Paul prays to be made conformable to "His death"
2. That's the measure, the extent to which he would go.
3. My worlds if you talk to people about giving 10% of their income they think you are asking for their life.
4. Most of us enjoy the fellowship of Christ's blessing and shun the fellowship of His sufferings.
5. To suffer for the faith is not a penalty, it is a privilege.
V. The Purpose of Conformity (11)
A. This is the only place in the New Testament where this particular form of the Greek word for resurrection is used.
1. Literally it means an "out resurrection". Scholars are undecided as to what this means.
2. Some see it as an assured hope of the resurrection for the righteous.
3. Others see it as a particular reward give to spiritual Christians whereby they will precede other less consecrated believers.
B. But the resurrection Paul is seeking is something he is yearning for while he was still living.
1. Otherwise "Not as though I had attained" is a senseless statement.
2. He is purposing to experience Christ so fully that He wants right now to live the transported and transfigured life.
3. We call it christian victory, the over flowing or spirit filled life.
4. We all need a practical Easter experience so that our radiant lives will testify to the reality of Christ and the fact that He is alive.
C. Let's determine that we will not live mundane lives but that our lives will crackle with the supernatural.
1. His power is available to us but we must appropriate it even as we did our salvation.
2. Let's appropriate all God has for us.