6. Set Apart for the Journey
Question 1:
When has a completed project been worth the wait?
THE POINT
Growing in Christ is a lifelong journey.
THE BIBLE MEETS LIFE
One of my favorite buildings is St. Stephen’s Cathedral, the celebrated church in Austria. Called Stephansdom, it rests in central Vienna. The church was named after Stephen, the first martyr. It was constructed in the mid-1100s but was rebuilt, renovated, and restored for centuries. It isn’t the largest or most ornate cathedral, but it’s stunning in other ways. Most recognize its enormous tower or dazzling roof, but those aren’t my favorite parts.
During a recent visit, I heard a faint but familiar and beautiful sound. I couldn’t see the choir, as the chancel was far away and closed to visitors. Listening, I recognized the sound, exclaiming, “The Vienna Children’s Choir!” A docent smiled as people immediately rushed the gates to hear the angelic-sounding choir.
For me, St. Stephen’s greatness stems not from its interior or external façade, but from centuries of care given to maintaining its acoustics as the building was restructured in size.
Our world values what is seen and immediate, but some things—like precision architecture and Christian maturity—can’t be rushed or easily quantified. Spiritual growth isn’t instant. As we will see, sanctification takes a lifetime, but the results are worth the effort.
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?
Philippians 3:12-14
12 Not that I have already reached the goal or am already perfect, but I make every effort to take hold of it because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, 14 I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus.
The apostle Paul, then called Saul, had been a Pharisee prior to his conversion to Christ (Acts 23:6). The term “Pharisee” is often associated with self-righteousness. There is some truth to that accusation, to be sure. Even so, a Pharisee commanded the respect of nearly everyone within the Jewish tradition. It implied an extreme level of self-control and living by high ethical standards.
Because of the discipline required for a pharisaical lifestyle, holding that prestigious religious title was no small matter in Judaism. The near-constant monitoring of one’s behavior required to keep the many obligations of the oral law was exhausting and for many, impossible. Paul not only attained the status of a Pharisee, but he also even claimed to be “blameless” (Phil. 3:6). With regard to his external behaviors and lifestyle, Paul had lived an upright life, at least in an ethical sense. This is no surprise, as the original Hebrew word for Pharisee (parush) actually means “one who is separated.”
But the Jewish and Pharisaical sense of being separated or set apart is not the same as the Christian and biblical definition. Along the way, the unsaved Saul came to learn that. Far from being a saint, he realized that he was a sinner—something he understood more and more over time (1 Tim. 1:15). Paul’s earlier reputation had been built on nothing more than works-based self-righteousness. He acknowledged that only Christ could save a person and make him holy (Rom. 8:3-4).
Question 2:
How do you decide what you should remember and what you
should forget in your Christian journey?
Paul’s conviction about this truth was profound. It caused him to reevaluate everything in his life: his devotion, heritage, reputation, and titles. He came to conclude that all of them were worthless in comparison with having the righteousness of God through his faith in Christ. In trying to communicate how strongly he felt about this truth, Paul used blunt language. He compared his own works and good deeds to being rubbish. God expects believers to exhibit holy living and righteous deeds, but we must understand that none of these have any bearing on earning salvation. Only God can declare us righteous. And He does so on the basis of what Christ did for us, not by our own works.
Paul understood this; he trusted Christ alone for his standing before God. He pursued radical obedience to God’s Word—not in order to be saved, but because he was saved. This is what Paul meant when he said that Christian obedience is how we work out our salvation—that which is already ours (2:12). We do not work for our salvation; we work it out.
Christian perfection is not possible on this side of heaven. Paul admitted as much but made every effort to take hold of it. Because of what Christ had done in him, Paul wanted to please God. He also wanted the believers in Philippi to understand that holiness is a continual process, and more of a lifelong journey than a lifetime destination.
Philippians 3:15-19
15 Therefore, let all of us who are mature think this way. And if you think differently about anything, God will reveal this also to you. 16 In any case, we should live up to whatever truth we have attained. 17 Join in imitating me, brothers and sisters, and pay careful attention to those who live according to the example you have in us. 18 For I have often told you, and now say again with tears, that many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their end is destruction; their god is their stomach; their glory is in their shame; and they are focused on earthly things.
Because the book of Philippians is holy Scripture, it was inspired by God, and it is true. When Paul spoke, he was not just expressing privately held beliefs, but biblical truths breathed from the very mouth of God. These truths are meant to be studied, understood, and applied to life.
Paul was likely in his late 50s by this time. He had endured tremendous challenges, hardships, and weighty ministry responsibilities that are hard to fathom. Paul’s role of being an apostle provided him experiences that few have known:
Engage
PASSPORT TO HEAVEN
When Paul was writing this, Roman citizens were the highest ranked and best treated people in the world. Using the space below, write or illustrate three meaningful perks of being citizens of your country and of heaven.
My Country: Heaven:
1.
2.
3.
These experiences had deepened him spiritually. He had likely become one of the, if not the, greatest Christian who ever lived. Certainly, he had done more to advance the kingdom through his church planting and apostolic ministry. And despite that, his view of himself only decreased. After his conversion, Paul called himself the “least of the apostles” (1 Cor. 15:9). Later he said that he was the least of all the Lord’s people (Eph. 3:8). Then, in one of the last letters he ever wrote, he claimed to be the worst of sinners (1 Tim. 1:15). The earlier pride Paul possessed had now been swallowed up by humility. Gradually, he was becoming like his Master.
Having earlier told these believers how to experience the grace of God, the righteousness of God, and the power of God, Paul insisted that mature believers live up to the truth they had attained. Paul was living out what were probably the remaining one to two years of his life. He knew he was speaking to a mature group of Christians, and he was intent to help them grasp the depths of his knowledge of Christ. Without shame and without pretense, Paul called them to look to his life as an example of how to live. Acknowledging the pain he felt because many people refused to repent, he urged the Philippians—and us by extension—to follow the example of mature believers we know.
Question 3:
In what ways has the example of mature believers
helped you in your spiritual journey?
Philippians 3:20-21
20 Our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly wait for a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. 21 He will transform the body of our humble condition into the likeness of his glorious body, by the power that enables him to subject everything to himself.
Growing in Christ is a lifelong journey that concludes in the presence of God. This is a journey only taken by those who are Christians. As Christians, we are called by a variety of names in Scripture: saints, sons and daughters of God, brothers and sisters in Christ, disciples, believers, and beloved.
The Bible also frequently refers to Christians as being those who are “saved” (Mark 16:16). Because we are saved, we have a Savior. We have a home in heaven; we are citizens of heaven. That means we belong there. We are not trespassers, guests, or aliens, but people with heavenly passports to gain entrance to the presence of God. The Lord Jesus resides there. It is His eternal home, and ours as well.
Question 4:
How do we balance living as citizens of this kingdom
as well as the next?
As we discussed earlier in session 2, the doctrine of salvation is a key, pivotal teaching in Scripture, and there are three distinct aspects of salvation: justification, sanctification, and glorification.
Justification is our initial salvation; it refers to the moment we are first saved. While our coming to salvation in Christ through justification is often a long process that takes years or even decades, it concludes in an instant. That point in time is the moment of saving faith. This happens when we place our trust and faith in Christ (Rom. 10:9-10).
At that moment, the process of sanctification begins. It is the essence of what it means to be set apart. Sanctification has both an instantaneous and a lifelong aspect to it. It is happening right now, and it will continue to happen until God receives us into His presence. It is God who sanctifies us, as we cannot make ourselves holy.
When God’s work for us is complete, we will finally be saved in the final, ultimate sense. This is the process of glorification, the last aspect of our salvation. The moment we pass from this earth in physical death, we will appear with Him and share in His glory. We will ultimately be changed and glorified. At that time, we will put on imperishable immortality and we will truly be set apart.
Question 5:
How can our group help one another live as citizens of heaven
while we eagerly wait for Jesus here on earth?
LIVE IT OUT
Growing in Christ is a lifelong journey. Choose one of the following applications:
Identify. Identify a specific area of your Christian life where you have stopped growing spiritually. Seek forgiveness and ask for grace to continue growing.
Initiate. We grow spiritually through the example of others. Initiate an intentional relationship with a more mature believer who inspires you to grow in your walk with Christ.
Invest. Others grow spiritually through our example. Pay it forward by inviting a less mature believer into an intentional relationship with you, to help this person grow in his or her walk with Christ.
The Christian life isn’t a sprint but a marathon. It begins the moment of salvation and doesn’t conclude until the moment we enter the presence of Christ. In the meantime, we have work to do surrendering various areas of our life to Jesus!
Teacher Notes:
This journey begins
the moment of salvation and doesn’t end until the moment we enter the presence
of Christ.
Along this journey,
we have work to do – we have to surrender certain areas of our life to Jesus.
This lesson
examines how Paul’s eagerness toward finishing well can help us today in our
lifelong Christian journey. Since Paul
was assured of his destination, he made every effort to imitate the life of
Christ until they met face to face. He would say earlier in Philippians
1:21-24. “For me, living is Christ and dying is gain. Now if I live on in the flesh, this means
fruitful work for me; and I don’t know which one I should choose. I am pressured by both. I have the desire to
depart and be with Christ — which is far better — but to remain in the flesh is
more necessary for you.”
Spiritual
Maturity
is a continual
journey toward Christlikeness.
Philippians 3:12-14
Not that I have
already reached the goal or am already perfect, but I make every effort to take hold of it because
I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus. Brothers and sisters, I do not
consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what
is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I pursue as my
goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus.
How would you
define the goal of your spiritual journey?
What’s our role and
what’s God’s role in our sanctification process?
Growing in Christ
calls for spiritual determination and discipline.
We press forward toward the goal, but in the end, God gives us the prize.
Paul says that his goal is to know Christ, to be like Christ, and to be all that Christ has in mind for him. This goal absorbs all Paul’s energy. This is a helpful example for us. We should not let anything take our eyes off our goal – knowing Christ. With the single-mindedness of an athlete in training, we must lay aside everything harmful and forsake anything that may distract us from being effective Christians. What is holding you back?
Paul had
reasons to forget what was behind – he had held the coats for those who stoned
Stephen, the first Christian martyr. We too have done things for which we are
ashamed, and we live in the tension of what we have been and what we want to be.
Because our hope is in Christ, however, we can let go of past guilt and look
forward to what God will help us become. Don’t dwell on your past. Instead,
grow in the knowledge of God by concentrating on your relationship with Him now.
Realize that you are forgiven, and then move on to a life of faith and
obedience. Look forward to a fuller and more meaningful life because of your
hope in Christ.
Paul, then called
Saul, was Pharisee prior to his conversion to Christ. The term “Pharisee” is
often associated with self-righteousness. A Pharisee commanded the respect of
nearly everyone within the Jewish tradition. It implied an extreme level of
self-control and living by high ethical standards. Because of the discipline
required for a pharisaical lifestyle, holding that prestigious religious title
was no small matter in Judaism. The near-constant monitoring of one’s behavior
required to keep the many obligations of the oral law was exhausting and for
many, impossible. Paul not only attained the status of a Pharisee, but he also
even claimed to be “blameless” (Phil. 3:6). Paul’s earlier reputation had been built on nothing more than works-based
self-righteousness. He acknowledged that only Christ could save a person and make him holy
(Rom. 8:3-4).
Paul’s conviction
about this truth was profound. It
caused him to reevaluate everything in his life: his devotion, heritage,
reputation, and titles. He came to conclude that all of them were worthless in
comparison with having the righteousness of God through his faith in Christ. In trying to
communicate how strongly he felt about this truth, Paul used blunt language. He
compared his own works and good
deeds to being rubbish. God expects believers to exhibit holy living and righteous deeds, but
we must understand that none of these have any bearing on earning salvation.
Only God can declare us righteous. And He does so because of what Christ did
for us, not by our own works.
Paul understood
this; he trusted Christ alone for his standing before God. He pursued radical obedience to God’s Word
— not to be saved,
but because he was saved. This is what Paul meant when he said that Christian obedience is how we work out our
salvation —
that which is already ours (2:12). We do not work for our salvation; we work it
out.
Because of what
Christ had done in him, Paul wanted
to please God.
He also wanted the believers in Philippi to understand that holiness is a continual process, and more
of a lifelong journey than a lifetime destination.
Spiritual
Maturity
comes as we follow
the example of mature believers.
Philippians 3:15-19
Therefore, let all
of us who are mature think this way. And if you think differently about
anything, God will reveal this also to you. In any case, we should live up to
whatever truth we have attained. Join in imitating me, brothers and sisters,
and pay careful attention to those who live according to the example you have
in us. For I have often told you, and now say again with tears,
that many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction; their god is
their stomach; their glory is in their shame; and they are focused on earthly
things.
How would you
define spiritual maturity?
Are you living in a
way that you would want others to follow your example?
We are to live in such a way that others see Christ in us and would even desire to be like us.
Sometimes trying to
live a perfect Christian life can be so difficult that it leaves us drained and
discouraged. We may feel so far from perfect that we can never please God with
our lives. Paul used perfect to mean mature or complete, not flawless in every
detail. Those who are mature should press on in the Holy Spirit’s power,
knowing that Christ will reveal and fill in any discrepancy between what we are
and what we should be. Christ’s provision is no excuse for lagging devotion,
but it provides relief and assurance for those who feel driven.
Christian maturity
involves acting on the guidance that you have already received. We can always
make excuses that we still have so much to learn. The instruction for us is to
live up to what we already know and live out what we have already learned.
Paul challenged the
Philippians to pursue Christlikeness by following Paul’s own pattern or
example. Not that he was perfect, as he had already said – but as he was
focused on being like Christ, so should they. The Gospels may not have been
written yet and in circulation – so Paul couldn’t tell them to go read the
Bible to see what Christ was like. This is why he urged them to imitate him. That
Paul could tell people to follow his example is a testimony to his character.
Can you do the same? What kind of follower would a new Christian become if he
or she imitated you?
Paul was likely in
his late 50s by this time. He had endured tremendous challenges, hardships, and
weighty ministry responsibilities that are hard to fathom. Paul’s role of being
an apostle provided him experiences that few have known:
These experiences had deepened him
spiritually.
He had likely become one of the, if
not the, greatest Christian who ever lived. Certainly, he had done more to
advance the kingdom through his church planting and apostolic ministry. And despite that, his view of himself only
decreased. After his conversion, Paul called himself the “least of the
apostles” (1 Cor. 15:9). Later he said that he was the least of all the
Lord’s people (Eph. 3:8). Then, in one of the last letters he ever wrote,
he claimed to be the worst of sinners (1 Tim. 1:15). The earlier pride Paul possessed had
now been swallowed up by humility. Gradually, he was becoming like his Master.
Spiritual
Growth
is completed in our
glorious transformation in heaven.
Philippians 3:20-21
Our citizenship is
in heaven, and we eagerly wait for a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.
He will transform the body of our humble condition into the likeness of his glorious
body, by the power that enables him to subject everything to himself.
How does our
citizenship in heaven affect the way we live now?
Jesus is our true Savior and He will transform us from our humble condition in an earthly body into a glorious body like His prepared for heaven.
Paul criticized not
only the Judaizers, but also the self-indulgent Christians, people who claim to
be Christians but don’t live up to Christ’s model of servanthood and
self-sacrifice. These people satisfy their own desires before even thinking
about the needs of others. Freedom in Christ does not mean freedom to be
selfish. It means taking every opportunity to serve and to become the best
person you can be.
Paul lived
committed to grow and mature in Christ. He urged his friends to do the same in
their lives. Continue to journey toward Christlikeness. Follow the example of
other mature believers. Live in anticipation of Christ’s return when they would
be completely and gloriously transformed by the power of Christ. This is why
they had been set apart: to engage in a lifelong journey to grow in Christ.
Sanctification
takes a lifetime, but the results are worth the effort.
We said in the
beginning that we have work to do surrendering various areas of our life to
Jesus.
Final Question
What do you need to
let go of to run the race God has prepared for you?
Conclusion
We live in a world
of instant gratification, and things don’t happen as quickly as we would like.
The desire of every Christian should be to live as mature, complete followers
of Christ. That transformation does not happen overnight. We still battle with
sin and struggle to replace bad habits with good ones. Instead of desiring some
form of instant maturity that is unattainable, strive to be always moving
forward in your walk with Christ.
Growing in Christ
is a lifelong journey.
