Philippians 3:15
~17 min read
TRANSCRIPT
I greet all of you in the blessed name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Today we will only consider Philippians 3 verse 15, just one verse. Allow me to read for you, "Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you."
The word "therefore" connects this verse to the preceding verses, whereby the Apostle Paul talks about pressing toward the mark. This mark is the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. The only way the believer can press toward the mark is that he must forget those things which are behind and reach forth unto those things which are before. The mark is the finishing line. You and I will never arrive at the finishing line until the day we die or be raptured. So, as long as we are living, we have to press forward and move toward this finishing line. We have learned that in our previous message.
But as we live our lives pressing toward the mark, as we live our lives on this Earth, we still have to make decisions in regards to what we should do, what we should not do. We still have to make plans in regards to our future. We still have to make choices as to which direction we should take. So, we want to know what is God's will for us.
And oftentimes, we are unsure of God's will. There are some things that are crystal clear about the will of God because the Bible says, "This is the will of God." For example, Galatians 1:4 tells us it is the will of God that we be saved. So today, if we are believers, we know that it is the will of God. 1 Peter 2:15 says it is the will of God that we submit to the authority. God does not want us to rebel against the authority. He wants us to submit ourselves to the authority unless the authority tells us to do something contrary to God's word. 1 Thessalonians 4:3 tells us it is the will of God that we be pure or sanctified. 1 Thessalonians 4:19 tells us that it is the will of God that we must trust God no matter what happens. So it is very clear that this is the will of God because the Bible says so. Like 1 Thessalonians 5:18, "In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." So when you and I give thanks to God for answering our prayers, for blessing us with so many good things, it is God's will. God wants us to be thankful.
And other times, although we do not see this phrase, “It is the will of God,” but because God has commanded us to do certain things, we know that it is God's will for us. For example, when God commands us, "Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers," since this command was given by God, it must be God's will for us.
But what about instances whereby we do not see this phrase, "It is the will of God," and there are no specific commandments? How do we know if it is God's will? What should we do? At times, we may not understand, or we may even struggle with the situations of life, and then we start to think, "Is this God's will? What should I do?" This is what we are going to learn from this one verse. The title of our message is "How to Know the Will of God."
I. The Position
Firstly, we want to begin with the first step. At the very onset, we want to focus on the believer's position. When Paul says, "Let us therefore, as many as be perfect," he was not speaking about spiritual perfection. Otherwise, he would be contradicting himself because just a moment ago, he said in the preceding verses that we are to press on toward the mark. As long as the believer is alive and still has breath in his lungs, he has not attained this spiritual perfection, and he will always be pursuing after this spiritual perfection. You see, the word "perfection" can mean two things depending on the context. It can mean practical perfection or spiritual perfection. As I've said a moment ago, we will never attain spiritual perfection as long as we are alive. We will only attain spiritual perfection when we see our Lord Jesus face to face.
But the word "perfection" can also mean positional perfection, as in the believer is positionally perfect in Christ. It is very similar to the word "righteousness," which can mean two things: practical righteousness or positional righteousness. The believer is positionally righteous by virtue of Christ, by what Christ has done on the cross of Calvary. So when God sees us, he sees us covered with the righteousness of his only begotten son. But as we live our lives every day, we are always pursuing after practical righteousness. Here the Apostle Paul was reminding the Philippians that you are believers, and as believers, you are positionally perfect in Christ. So, as many as be perfect, as many as be perfectly positioned in Christ.
Oftentimes, people are only interested to know what is God's will for me. Should I do this? Should I do that? Whether they should take up this job with this company or that company, whether they should take up this course or that course, whether they should live in this neighborhood or that neighborhood. But at the very onset, they should be asking themselves whether they have truly believed in Jesus Christ and received him as their Lord and Saviour. That is the starting point. Dear friends, if we have not truly believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, then all those things we talk about seeking the will of God would mean absolutely nothing. We can forget about everything because for all eternity, we would be lost. A million upon a million years, we will be still tormenting in the eternal lake of fire. What to talk about the will of God? It will make no sense for us to talk about the will of God if we are not believers.
We have to be positionally perfect in Christ. We have to be clothed with the righteousness of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have to be saved in the first place. So, if we are truly born again, if we have truly believed and received Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, and we are clothed with his righteousness, then the next consequential thing is that we must also have the mind of Christ. If Christ has saved us, if the Spirit of Christ lives in us, for the Bible tells us that if any man has not the Spirit of him, Jesus Christ, he does not belong to Him. So, if we believe in God, we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, who is also the Spirit of Christ. And so, the next consequential thing is that we must have the mind of Christ, as the Bible tells us, or Paul tells us, "Let us, therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded."
II. The Mind
So, this leads us to our second point- the mind. To be thus minded means to have the same attitude, to think in the same way. The question is, to be thus minded as who? To think in the same way like who? If we are positionally perfect in Christ, if we are clothed with the righteousness of Christ, if the spirit of Christ dwells in us, then the logical consequence is that we must think like Him. 1 Corinthians 2 verse 16 says, “For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ," Paul said to the Corinthians.
In other words, the believers have the mind of Christ. To have the mind of Christ means to look at things, to look at life, to look at events - the situations, the circumstances from the Saviour’s point of view. It is to have his values and his desires in mind. It means to think as Jesus thinks, and our Lord Jesus always thinks according to the Bible because the Bible is the written word, and He is the Living Word. The mind of Christ is always in line with the Bible. It does not contradict the Bible. If you want to know the mind of Christ, then you must know His word.
In the past before our conversions, we used to think like the world, right? Our values, our desires, our mindsets, our attitudes are all in line with the way the world thinks. We live our lives eat, drink and be merry, we live our lives as if this is the only life we have, we live our lives to accumulate as much as we can. But we forget that our lives are just like a vapour - it appears for a little time and then vanishes away, and it is appointed unto man wants to die, but after this, the judgment. But that is how the world thinks, we have the mind of a natural man, someone who is unconverted unsaved and unbeliever.
As an unbeliever, we do not seek after the will of God, we do not have any concern about His will, we do not care about His will. In fact, we are hostile towards the things of God. As Romans 8 verse 7 tells us, “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” The natural carnal man is always against God, he will not subject himself to God's Commandments, to His will. Even if he wants to, he cannot. The Bible said so - ‘neither can he.’
But once we are converted and saved by the grace of God, once we are brought to the foot of the cross and we believe that the one that was crucified on the cross of Calvary who shared His precious blood, the one who was buried, the one who was risen on the third day, He's the only one who can save this. He died because of us, He was resurrected because of us. When we embrace Him, believe in Him as our Lord and Saviour, we become believers, we become new creations. When we become new creations, the Bible says, ‘therefore, all things,’ the things that we used to think in the past like the way the world thinks, ‘all that must pass away will pass away. Behold, all things are become new,’ 2 Corinthians 5 verse 17.
It does not mean that once we are a new creation all our own memories are erased like the way we delete our documents in a computer, we press a button, everything goes off, no that does not happen. But there will be a radical change, there will be a transformation, and the first most noticeable thing that changes in our lives is the way we think. We start to think differently, our values and desires slowly no longer are inclined with the way the world thinks. We start to understand that the chief end of men is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. We begin to understand that God created us for His glory and we must live for His glory. So we want to know what is God’s will for us and we want to obey God's will for our lives, whether it is in regards to our studies, our careers, our marriages, our families, our children, our future, etc.
We want to know because we want to be in His will, we want to glorify Him. Our thinking starts to change as Romans 12:2 tells us, “be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed” - how are transformed - “by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” So we no longer want to think like the way the world thinks, we want to think like Christ thinks, and the only way we are able to understand how Christ thinks is that we must know the word. That is why believers love the Bible, believers love Bible study, not just for head knowledge, but they want to know what their Lord and Saviour thinks. They want to know what is His will for their lives. So the more they read the Bible, the more they understand the mind of Christ. The more they understand the mind of Christ, the more they understand what Christ wants them to do. Christ speaks to them through his word, and He reveals to them, "This is what I think, and this is what I want you to think as well."
Dear friends, if we do not know the Word of God, then it means we do not know the mind of Christ, what Christ thinks. If we do not know the mind of Christ, then it means we do not know what is God's will for our lives. They are all connected. Maybe you are a Christian for the past 30 years or you have been a Christian for 10 years. The question you need to ask yourself is this: Do I think as my Lord Jesus thinks? Or do I still think as the world thinks, do my thoughts, my actions, my words reflect that of a spiritual man, or do they reflect that of a carnal, natural man? You cannot be a Christian and yet think like the way the world thinks. “All things have passed away. Behold, all things become new.” The first most noticeable change in our lives will be the way we think. We want to think like our Lord Jesus because we want to glorify Him. If any thoughts that are contrary to His word, any speech that is against His word, any actions that will compromise our faith, that we will not participate. We want to dwell on things that our Lord Jesus would want us to dwell in.
III. The Revelation
But even if we know the word of God, of course, no man can perfectly know the Bible, right? Only to a certain extent. That does not mean also that we are able to discern God's will perfectly. You see, God wants us to know His will. That is why He has given to us the Bible. And when we have this desire to know and follow His will through His Word, He will guide and lead us. He will help us to understand His will. And then he will also give us the power that we may obey His will, that we may live out His truth.
If I may give you an illustration, we are just like a pilot flying the plane in the air. The pilot cannot see what is coming, especially in bad weather. At best, he can only see about 100 miles. Yet, he can fly his plane safely in all kinds of weather. Why? Because of the radar. If he deviates either to the right or he deviates to the left, the radar will warn him and guide him to the right path accordingly. In a similar fashion, when we deviate from God’s will, when you and I desire to follow His will but there are times when in our weaknesses we deviate, whether it be to the right or to the left, God will warn us. God will guide us through His Word and then point us to the right path through the wonder-working of His Spirit to show us, "This is the way to go, my son, my daughter. Don't deviate. Come back." That is the reason why Paul says, ‘You must be thus-minded. You must think the way Christ thinks, which is in accordance to God's word. You must understand what is the will of God for your life. But if in anything ye be otherwise minded, which means if in anything you think differently or you deviate from the truth or you do not understand. Well, God shall reveal even this unto you.’
Dear friends, isn't it true that oftentimes we are at a loss in regards to God's will? We struggle to understand, ‘How can this be God’s Will?’, so much so that we think otherwise. We think the opposite ‘this cannot be God’s will, how can it be?’ In such times, our God, He will guide and lead us and reveal to us His will.
I would like to give you a classic spiritual lesson that we can draw from the lives of the Israelites. I think many of you will be very familiar with the Israelites in the wilderness, right? When they came out of Egypt, they were a great multitude. The Bible tells us about 600,000 men, excluding the women and children. So altogether, there could be about two or three million Israelites. As they were led out of Egypt into the wilderness, the weather in the desert could sometimes be 100 degrees in the daytime, and then it could be freezing point at night. In those circumstances, the people would have perished if not for God. If not for the Almighty God who protected them, God provided the pillar of cloud by day to shade them from the hot sun, and He provided the pillar of fire by night to keep them warm. When the cloud moves, the Israelites move. When the cloud stopped, the Israelites stop.
This is what the Bible says in Exodus 40, verse 36-37. Let me read for you. “And when the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward in all their journeys. But if the cloud were not taken up, then they journeyed not till the day it was taken up.” So they move only when the cloud moved. They stopped when the cloud stopped. You can imagine how the people would have followed the cloud in the wilderness. Sometimes the cloud would move often, and at other times, it would not move at all. Take a moment and consider this. Surely, there will be times when the Israelite families who come to a stop under the guidance of the cloud in the middle of a hot afternoon, and then they would immediately start to set up their tents, unpack their things, and then all of a sudden, when they look up, the clouds start to move. What must they do? They would have to pack up their tents, repack their things, and move on. One hour later, the cloud might stop, and they will be thinking, "Should we unpack, build our tents, or should we just wait and see?" Well, this time, the cloud might stay all day and perhaps the next day, and for that particular week. And just when they thought that, ‘Well, we are here to stay for good,’ all of a sudden, the cloud will move again, and they have to take down their tents, repack their things, and move accordingly.
Do they know where the cloud will lead them? No, they don't. Do they struggle each time they thought the cloud would stop for good, and then all of a sudden, it moved? Do they struggle each time they have to pack and unpack their tents and their personal things? Well, certainly. But one thing they know: they must follow the cloud, because that was the only way God will lead and protect them. Do you know what God was teaching the Israelites as they pack, repack, move from place to place? He was teaching them obedience. He was training them to obey His leading step by step, moment by moment, all the way until one day they will reach the promised land, and then they will be able to conquer the promised land. At every step of the way, God was teaching them, "Follow me. Yes, you may have to pack, unpack, move. You obey, and I will lead you faithfully into the promised land." It is the same thing with all of us too.
There are times whereby we do not understand where God is leading us. Why would God lead us into this ministry, and then all of a sudden, He leads us into another ministry? Why would God lead us to Australia, and then He wants us to move back to our homeland again? We cannot understand. We can understand why God would allow certain things to happen in our lives. We want to serve Him, but why are we inflicted with sickness? Why are we faced with troubles and trials? Just when we thought the ministry is going well, all of a sudden, we face tremendous problems. We cannot understand. There are times when we struggle with certain things that God has led us. He seems to have led us into a particular path, and we thought we are here to stay for good. This is perhaps the best job. This is the best neighbourhood. And then all of a sudden, we have to pack our things and go. Yes, we may not understand. We may struggle. But like the Israelites, one thing we must know: Where He leads, we follow. And as we follow, God is teaching us obedience. He is training us for our spiritual good. And as we trust Him, as we obey Him, as we follow Him, He will guide and lead us all the way, step by step, until our final destination that is our promised land in Heaven.
Therefore, when we do not understand at times, when we face trouble, when we think otherwise, we think the opposite. We humble ourselves and know that nothing happens by chance or by coincidence, but by God's appointment. If God allows this thing into my life, He has a purpose, and He will lead me. And so we pray, ‘Lord, even though I do not understand, even though at times I may struggle with it, but one thing I do know: I must follow You, and I must obey Your word. I'm a believer. Positionally, I'm in Christ. I know Thy word, and I know the mind of Christ revealed to me in His Word. I know this is God's will for me. Although I struggle with it, but I will follow. I will submit. I will obey. Lead me as I move forward.’
You know, the Bible says, 'God will surely reveal it to you. God will make you understand that, my son, my daughter, this is what I want you to do. Follow me, and I will lead you on.' I pray that all of us here will follow Him, no matter what happens. He will lead us every step of the way until we reach home. Let us pray.
Father in Heaven, we thank Thee for enabling us to consider even this one verse in Philippians 3 verse 15. Help us, O Lord, for at times we may struggle to understand. We know Thy word. We know Thou has revealed to us Thy truth. But we are not perfect. There are many things we do not understand, especially the events, circumstances, and situations of life that can be so adverse that we think otherwise, we think the opposite. O Lord, Thou has said in Thy word, in such times, in anything that we think otherwise, Thou will reveal them to us. Show it to us, and we will follow. But even if we struggle with understanding, we want to learn to be like the Israelites. When Thou leads, we will go, we will follow. We move when Thou called us to move. We stop when Thou called us to stop, and we know that nothing happens by chance or coincidence, but by Thy appointment. And if Thou allow certain things to happen in our lives, Thou has a purpose, and we humble ourselves before Thee. We will submit, we will obey, we will follow. Lead us until the day we reach our promised land that is Heaven. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.
THE BOOK OF PHILIPPIANSThe Church at PhilippiThe Church at PhilippiPhilippians 1:1-2
The Joy of A Spirit-Filled Life (Part 1)The Joy of A Spirit-Filled Life (Part 1)Philippians 1:3-5
Elements of True JoyElements of True JoyPhilippians 1:3-6
The Joy of a Spirit-filled Life (Part 2)The Joy of a Spirit-filled Life (Part 2)Philippians 1:6
What are the Things Most Important to Us?What are the Things Most Important to Us?Philippians 1:7-8
Growing in GodlinessGrowing in GodlinessPhilippians 1:9-11
Message 5: Praying for the ChurchMessage 5: Praying for the ChurchPhilippians 1:9-11
Growing in GodlinessGrowing in GodlinessPhilippians 1:9-11
Are All Things Really Working For Good?Are All Things Really Working For Good?Philippians 1:12-14
In Times of AdversityIn Times of AdversityPhilippians 1:12-18
Trouble in the ChurchTrouble in the ChurchPhilippians 1:15-18
For to Me to Live is Christ, to Die is GainFor to Me to Live is Christ, to Die is GainPhilippians 1:19-26
To Live is ChristTo Live is ChristPhilippians 1:19-26
Living Worthy of the GospelLiving Worthy of the GospelPhilippians 1:27-30
Live your life worthy of the GospelLive your life worthy of the GospelPhilippians 1:27-30
The Motivation for Spiritual Unity (Part 1)The Motivation for Spiritual Unity (Part 1)Philippians 2:1-2
Let's Have FellowshipLet's Have FellowshipPhilippians 2:1-4
Essential Principles of Spiritual Unity (Part 2)Essential Principles of Spiritual Unity (Part 2)Philippians 2:3-4
The Ultimate ExampleThe Ultimate ExamplePhilippians 2:5-8
The Ultimate ExampleThe Ultimate ExamplePhilippians 2:5-11
What Is Christmas?What Is Christmas?Philippians 2:6-11
The Greatest NameThe Greatest NamePhilippians 2:9-11
Living a Sanctified LifeLiving a Sanctified LifePhilippians 2:12-13
Work Out Your Own SalvationWork Out Your Own SalvationPhilippians 2:12-18
Moving Forward Not BackwardMoving Forward Not BackwardPhilippians 2:13-14
Stop Murmuring and ComplainingStop Murmuring and ComplainingPhilippians 2:14-16
The Exemplary Example of a Spiritual Servant: PaulThe Exemplary Example of a Spiritual Servant: PaulPhilippians 2:17-18
The Exemplary Example of a Spiritual Servant: TimothyThe Exemplary Example of a Spiritual Servant: TimothyPhilippians 2:19-24
The Importance of Spiritual DiscernmentThe Importance of Spiritual DiscernmentPhilippians 3:1-2
True Believers Worship God in Spirit and in TruthTrue Believers Worship God in Spirit and in TruthPhilippians 3:3, John 4:4-30
Nothing to Boast OfNothing to Boast OfPhilippians 3:3-6
What Is Gain To Me Is LossWhat Is Gain To Me Is LossPhilippians 3:7-9
The Power of Christ's ResurrectionThe Power of Christ's ResurrectionPhilippians 3:10-11
What are Your Spiritual Goals?What are Your Spiritual Goals?Philippians 3:10-11
Pressing Toward The MarkPressing Toward The MarkPhilippians 3:12-14
Pressing Toward the MarkPressing Toward the MarkPhilippians 3:13-14
Morning Devotion 2: God’s High Calling for YouMorning Devotion 2: God’s High Calling for YouPhilippians 3:13-14
How to Know the Will of GodHow to Know the Will of GodPhilippians 3:15
Who Are You Following?Who Are You Following?Philippians 3:16-19
Heavenly Or Earthly MindedHeavenly Or Earthly MindedPhilippians 3:20-21; 1 Corinthians 15:50-57
How Do You Stand Fast?How Do You Stand Fast?Philippians 4:1
How to Maintain Christian UnityHow to Maintain Christian UnityPhilippians 4:2-3
Having Peace in Times of Trouble [Part 1]Having Peace in Times of Trouble [Part 1]Philippians 4:4-7
The Cure for AnxietyThe Cure for AnxietyPhilippians 4:6-7
Message 6: Praying for the TroubledMessage 6: Praying for the TroubledPhilippians 4:6-7
Having Peace in Times of Trouble [Part 2]Having Peace in Times of Trouble [Part 2]Philippians 4:8-9
Learning To Be Content [Part 1]Learning To Be Content [Part 1]Philippians 4:10-12
How To Be An Overcoming ChristianHow To Be An Overcoming ChristianPhilippians 4:13
Learning To Be Content [Part 2]Learning To Be Content [Part 2]Philippians 4:13-19
My God Shall Supply All Your NeedsMy God Shall Supply All Your NeedsPhilippians 4:19
Living By Grace and For God's GloryLiving By Grace and For God's GloryPhilippians 4:20-23
