That I May

Philippians 3: 1-11: Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.

² Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. ³ For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh—⁴ though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: ⁵ circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; ⁶ as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. ⁷ But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. ⁸ Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through [the faithfulness of] Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—¹⁰ that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹ that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Recently there have been a spate of well-known people who already converted or are thinking of converting to Christianity.  The already converted include Russell Brand, a former actor and popular podcaster.  Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a public intellectual.  Tammy Peterson, Jordan Peterson’s wife.  Kat Von D, a famous tattoo artist.  The actor, Shia LaBeouf.  The seem-to-be-thinking-of-conversion include Jordan Peterson himself and possible even Joe Rogan.  

Much closer to home, I think I’ve observed more people than ever – from young adults to baby boomers – re-considering the possibility of becoming a Christian.  

How do I respond to all of this?  With guarded optimism.  “Optimism” because it’s heartening to know that these conversations about the merits of Christianity are happening.  “Guarded” because for several reasons I think it’d be unwise for to get too excited…it’s not even healthy for the new converts.  Do you remember the parable of the seed falling into the different kinds of soil?  So…”trust but verify,” as the old Russian proverb says.  

But even beside the general principle of let’s wait and see that could apply to any new conversion, there’s a specific quality of several of these conversions that give me pause.  They *might* be more taken up with Christianity as a philosophy than they are with Christ and His Gospel.  There’s a pattern to these conversions: people don’t like what’s happening in the world: the gender craziness and other wokeness, the curtailing of free speech etc.  They are nostalgic for how things used to be, and they perceive that how things used to be can’t be separated from “Christendom.”  So they turn back to Christendom in hopes of arresting society’s decline and bringing back the old ways.  

But…again…have these individuals encountered Christ?  I hope so…I’m cheering for them!  Here’s what I’m hoping: I’m hoping that – like Paul – when they give their testimony it includes more than the advantages of Christendom, but also a lot of the first person pronoun: I…and Christ.  Just listen again to Paul: 

⁷ But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. ⁸ Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in him…

And again: ¹⁰ that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death…

That I may know him.  That I may know him.  Do you hear the difference between that and, for instance, this excerpt from an article by Ayaan Hirsi Ali called “Why I am a Christian”:

So, what changed? Why do I call myself a Christian now?

Part of the answer is global. Western civilisation is under threat from three different but related forces: the resurgence of great-power authoritarianism and expansionism in the forms of the Chinese Communist Party and Vladimir Putin’s Russia; the rise of global Islamism, which threatens to mobilise a vast population against the West; and the viral spread of woke ideology, which is eating into the moral fibre of the next generation.

We endeavour to fend off these threats with modern, secular tools: military, economic, diplomatic and technological efforts to defeat, bribe, persuade, appease or surveil. And yet, with every round of conflict, we find ourselves losing ground. We are either running out of money, with our national debt in the tens of trillions of dollars, or we are losing our lead in the technological race with China.

But we can’t fight off these formidable forces unless we can answer the question: what is it that unites us? The response that “God is dead!” seems insufficient. So, too, does the attempt to find solace in “the rules-based liberal international order”. The only credible answer, I believe, lies in our desire to uphold the legacy of the Judeo-Christian tradition.

That I may know him.  Again, I’m hopeful that Ayaan Hirsi Ali is coming to understand Paul’s testimony that the great goal in life…Life itself…is for an individual to know Christ.  Christ Himself said this, as recorded in John 17: 3 “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”  Eternal life isn’t measured by duration of time but marked by a certain quality: knowing God in Jesus Christ.  

In re-reading with you this letter to the Philippians, I’m continually struck by Paul’s amazing…A-M-A-Z-I-N-G…regard for Jesus Christ.  For instance, how could it be that death is preferable to life since death is the portal through which we’ll be with Jesus?  How can one Person make up for being deprived of all the persons and other goods and meaning of this existence?  How can experiencing the presence of Jesus Christ be so much better than sitting in the living room with Tonia?  Than watching football on Sunday afternoons?  Than anything?  

But that’s the testimony of this man who had seen so much, experienced so much, who loved people, who loved life, whose life was so fruitful.  Being with Christ is so much better.  

And so, in this life, Paul says, the great object is to know Christ.  How do you know Christ?  In answering that question my mind immediately goes in two directions: 1) there must be some analogy between knowing Christ and knowing any other person.  And that’s true: I know Tonia in that I know a lot of facts of her biography and I’ve spent a lot of time with her to the point where I can predict some of her responses.  And I’ve come to know her in a specific relationship, this relationship of building a home together – – I come to know her as fellow worker.  And you could apply all those points to knowing Christ.  To know Christ I need to know facts about him, I need to spend time with him, I’ll come to know Christ as I relate to Him as a servant to a Lord, as a younger brother to an Elder Brother, etc.

The other place my mind goes is that I know Christ through those places where He is being presented: in Scripture the Spirit of Christ presents Christ.  If I don’t know Scripture I don’t know Christ.  Now, it’s possible to not know Christ while knowing the Scripture.  But it’s also true that your knowledge of Christ will be limited to your knowledge of Scripture.  Because that’s where the Spirit presents Him.

Also, the Spirit presents Christ within the Church of Christ.  The Church is called the Body of Christ – we are members one of another and Christ is the Head of that Body.  You can get to know the Head by dealing directly with the Head, or you can get to know the Head through how He’s directing parts of the Body.  You don’t understand the concept of “America” as well as you could until you experience its parts: you visit a West Virginia folk festival or a log cabin in Wyoming or feel the sands under your feet on a Florida beach.  So with Christ: when I get to know Linda Webb and Chris Joanis and Liesel Landry – the members of the Body of Christ – I know Christ the Head better too.  

OK, knowing Christ is tops…what it’s all about… and I know Christ through the Spirit produced Word and the Spirit constructed Body.  We can say that working together the Word and the Body of Christ are the engine for getting to know Christ.  

But notice that Paul is going somewhere specific with this talk of knowing Christ.  He’s not talking about the method by which he knows Christ, but under what conditions.  That I may know Christ… specifically the power of his resurrection.  And – next phrase – this resurrection power experience implies…suffering.  Actually, sufferings.  

And in these sufferings – which are the backdrop of experiencing the power of his resurrection – I come to have a share in, or be a partner in, Christ’s sufferings.  And now as I share in Christ’s sufferings, I become like Jesus, or more specifically, become like him in his death.  

Paul says: he comes to know Christ by participating in His death and resurrection.  

To know the power of Christ’s resurrection.  In the life united to Christ, you will regularly encounter death.  I’m not referring only or mainly to physical death, but – within yourself and others – situations and habits and trains of thought and lack of energy and direction that add up to, result in…a type of death.  This week someone I love told me about a comment made by another someone I love – and this comment evidenced selfishness.  And it was a selfishness that had been true of this person for a long time…but I thought it had been overcome.  And so I got discouraged, and the person who told me was discouraged…I’m calling that situation a type of death.  

Related, you’ll regularly come up to situations too hard for you.  My pastor growing up did a sermon series through Joshua called “God leads in the path of the impossible.”  Exactly.  Next to impossible we could also say implausible.  Unlikely.  Doubtful.  Hard.  Painful.  Embarrassing.  Awkward.   

God in Christ moves forward through struggle and death.   That’s how it’s always been.  Having been compelled by political pressure into the backcountry, a group of 13 men huddle together.  One of them tells the others that He has plans to build an organization that will solve the world’s biggest problems.  Before that happens, that planner is crucified.  Paul sits in prison.  Compared to the might of Rome, the Philippian congregation that pledges allegiance to a once and future world-wide King is a nobody, a joke.  A group of Christians step off their boat onto an island filled with warring tribes of pagans.  Missionaries laboring for years without seeing one conversion.  

A couple weeks ago I was with a friend of mine who reminded me that – before I visited Somers the first time – I told him that there was no way this was going to work.  

Not enough money.  An impossible bill to pay.  Setback.  Setback.  Setback.  No momentum.  No plan.  Build-ups of insincerity.  Weak characters all around.  Little understanding.  Appetites that are disordered.  Fear.  Ignorance.  Low-grade anger.  

And Paul says, I’ve come to know Christ through seeing His resurrection power bust through time after time.  In big ways, but mainly in quiet, almost undiscernible ways.  “He does not cry aloud or lift up his voice/ or make it heard in the street.”   Paul says, the big headline is death, but what you don’t notice is the resurrection life.  I’m in prison.  But I want you to know that the imperial guard is now hearing the gospel.  Hey – some flagging Christians are being renewed by the example of my suffering.  Ok, you see the death of some “Christian” preachers hoping to afflict me in my confinement.  But look at that resurrection power coming through their insincerity.  

Paul has come to know this crucified Christ, not through looking at instances of power and bigness and status and such, but through peering into the death and seeing life.  Recalcitrant kids.  Sickness.  School bills.  Opponents.  Murkiness about the future.  Relentless work.  Hard passages to learn.  

Paul says, don’t be frightened.  Don’t cave in.  Lean in.  These are potential outposts of resurrection power.  Signs of your salvation.     

He turns a desert into pools of water/ a parched land into springs of water.

Well, to make an obvious point even more obvious, you can only see resurrection power is afoot when things look are looking bad.  Shortages.  Decline.  Tragedy.  In order to experience resurrection power, those in Christ experience much suffering. 

But Paul says something terribly important here: he doesn’t call them simply sufferings, he says that when Christian suffer, they share Christ’s sufferings.  The point here, though, is not mainly to provide this encouragement: Christ won’t leave you alone when you suffer (although that’s true.)  But more: our sufferings have become a participation in Christ’s sufferings.  

And listen to how he finishes the phrase: share Christ’s sufferings…becoming like him in his death.  When Paul is thrown into prison, when someone you’ve invested in walks away from the faith and you’re torn up inside, when as you’re following Christ  in so many ways you bump up against death – – Paul calls these things and other sufferings a share, a partnership, in Christ’s sufferings, then says that we’re becoming like him in his death.  

We’re becoming like Christ in his death…- whatever does he mean?  He doesn’t simply mean that in our sufferings the character of Christ is formed in us.  No, we’re becoming like him in his death.  What he means is that as Christ’s sufferings all the way unto death were productive for the life of the world, so as those in Christ suffer, they become partners in His sufferings, and those sufferings are also productive for the life of the world.  

Your sufferings become a participation in Christ’s sufferings.  And Christ’s sufferings are never pointless, but become part of the righteousness of God…how God is putting this world to rights.  The same resurrection power that raised Christ from the dead is operative in us and through us. 

I’m going to give a somewhat crude example in order to make this clear.  Joe in Christ contracts lupus and Bill not in Christ contracts lupus.  For Bill not in Christ, the inconvenience and pain of lupus is a harbinger, a foretaste, a signpost on the way to the eternal second death.  Bill’s lupus is just another presentation of death on the way to death eternally settling on him.

But for Joe in Christ, the lupus is productive.  It’s a part – likely a very small part – in God putting the world to rights.  Maybe that’s just happening to Joe.  As his outer man is perishing his inner man is being renewed.  Joe’s lupus is forming him into the character of Christ, who is the image of God.  Joe’s lupus is useful for making Joe the creature He’s supposed to be.  

Or maybe, as Joe is faithfully going through his illness, leaning into his weakness and continuing to trust in God, rejoicing in Christ’s ability to turn the hardest situations into life, others look on and are renewed.  “Death is working in Joe yet life in them.”  And all that positive stuff that’s going on is because Christ has commandeered Joe’s lupus, to the extent that Joe’s lupus has become a participation in the suffering of Christ, and everything that Christ suffers is productive for life, for putting things right, for the righteousness of God.  You can’t understand what’s happening to Joe apart from Christ.  

Those who have been marked by God have learned…or are learning…to glory in Christ and not trust in the flesh.  On the ground it’s actually a little complicated, but the big picture is clear: they’re not leaning into their cleverness or big barns or natural talents or powerful influence.  Rather, they’re looking for Christ moving things forward in places of need, struggle, emptiness, loss,  types of death.  They’ve come to expect to find Christ…there.  

What that means practically is that those who have been marked by God are people who pray without ceasing…and engage.  May I conclude with an illustration:

A Christian man, Roger, has a child, Johnny, who has grown up and been successful – graduated from a good school, landed a good job, found a good wife and has children.  But he has also wandered from the faith.  Roger has a choice: will he put confidence in the flesh? Johnny has several good markers.  At cocktail parties Roger can drop some stats about Johnny and be impressive.  Man, this guy must have been a good parent or something like that.  Roger could tell himself and tell his church and tell others that everything is going well.  

Or, Roger could glory in Christ Jesus.  He could lean into the weakness.  His cocktail party line is actually: While his mom and I are grateful for a lot having to do with Johnny, the great burden we carry is that he has strayed from Jesus Christ.  Johnny comes into almost every prayer of his.  When prayer requests are submitted to the congregation, Johnny is on the list.   

But Roger isn’t miserable, he’s not moping around until Johnny returns to Christ.  He’s simply leaning into this weak situation and prayerfully engaging with it, with the confidence that somehow connected to this weak situation he’ll come to know Christ better, and the power of His resurrection.  Roger’s not miserable; in fact, he’s rejoicing in Christ.  He’s suffering, and sometimes waves of sadness or regret sweep over him, but this suffering has become part of the suffering of Christ, and Christ’s sufferings are always productive.  Strangely, God is making things right through the wandering of Johnny, and so Johnny’s dad rejoices in Christ.

AMEN.