How should we live in light of the second coming of Christ? We must stand firm against, persecution, false teaching, and Satan’s influence!
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Eagerly Waiting For Jesus
Philippians 3:20 – 4:1
Paul has been urging the Philippians and us to press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. What is the goal? Christlikeness! It is that for which we have been laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Our pursuit in the Christian life is to be conformed to the image of Christ. And, to that end, we strain every nerve and race toward that goal.
In our pursuit of the goal, it is important to imitate good examples and shun bad examples. That’s why Paul exhorts them in verses 17-19 to follow his example and those who walk according to his pattern, and to shun the example of the enemies of the cross of Christ? Why? Because their end is destruction, their god is their appetite, their glory is in their shame, and they set their minds on earthly things. In other words, though they have professed faith in Christ, their life betrays them. They look and live just like the unsaved of the world.
That brings Paul in verse 20 to say, “For our citizenship is in heaven.” The true Christian is a citizen of heaven. His true home is found there. He’s just visiting this planet for a short time, but shortly he will be returning home forever. And since his home is in heaven, his mind is there also.
It’s like if you are a U.S. citizen and have grown up all your life in the U.S., and then take a trip to Africa. Because you are a citizen of the U.S. you will set your mind on U.S. things. You will compare everything you are seeing by what you know in the U.S. – the food, the weather, the friendliness of the people, the mode of transportation, the kind of animals you see. The U.S. is your default thinking. Your mind is set in that direction. You can’t even help it. It is ingrained in you from birth. I may be visiting Africa, but the U.S. is my native country and my mind will naturally think on those things I am familiar with.
Although the enemies of the cross of Christ set their minds on earthly things, the friends of the cross of Christ set their minds on heavenly things. In Colossians 3:1, Paul puts it like this: “Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.”
And, what exactly is it about heaven that they love to dwell on? The Lord of heaven – Jesus Christ! “From which also we eagerly wait for a Savior…” The citizens of heaven love their King! Though they are away from home, doing business for their King as ambassadors in a foreign country, their King has promised to come to them and take them home to be with Him forever. And this is what absorbs their minds and hearts. In fact, they are eagerly waiting for Him!
This morning I want to meditate with you on the second coming of Jesus Christ. As we focus on Christ’s second coming, we are going to ask three questions:
- What are we waiting for?
- What will He do when He comes?
- What must we do until He comes?
1. What Are We Waiting For?
A Person. It is a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice we are not eagerly waiting to see Grandma, or Aunt Edna, or our child, or Rover or Spot. So many times, when people talk about heaven, the just light up when they think about seeing their loved one or dog or cat again. Or they may become very excited and wistful about being in a place where they will never suffer again. However, that was not what excited the apostle Paul, and that is not what should be our primary focus. For Paul, the great object of his longing was not even heaven. His greatest longing was for the Lord Jesus Christ. My friends, if you are not far more excited about seeing Jesus than anyone else, I doubt whether you really know Him. Paul has already told us in Philippians 1:21, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Then in verse 23 he wrote, “But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better…” Why did Paul have the desire to depart? Why did he feel it was very much better? Because he would be with Christ. If your desire to go to heaven is to be with Mom or Dad or Grandma, you have a very different desire than the apostle. Jesus Christ is the great Treasure of heaven!
A Savior. Notice that Jesus is not just a past Savior, He’s also a future Savior. He has saved my soul; He will save my body. “who will transform the body…” Salvation is past, present, and future. Christ has saved me. Christ is saving me. Christ will save me. Christ has justified me. Christ is sanctifying me. Christ will glorify me. He has saved me from the penalty of sin. He is saving me from the power of sin. He will save me from the presence of sin. We must stop thinking about our salvation only as a past event. It is also a present and a future event. Therefore, we are waiting for a Savior, who will complete our salvation by redeeming our bodies.
The Lord. We are waiting for the Lord of heaven to come! Revelation 19:11-16 says, “And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “King of kings, and Lord of lords.”
Jesus is not only the Lord of heaven. He is also the Lord of earth. He said, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” (Mt. 28:18). Jesus Christ is the Lord, exercising authority over all human leaders. He is the Lord of Alexander the Great and Caesar Nero. He is the Lord of Roosevelt, Reagan, Bush, Obama, Trump and Biden. He is the Lord of Mussolini, Stalin, Hitler and Putin. Every knee will bow before him and every person will be judged by Him.
Jesus Christ. The word Jesus means “Jehovah is salvation.” The word “Christ” means “the anointed One.” This Lord of heaven is the One who came from heaven as a humble servant, God in the flesh. He is Jehovah who became our salvation. He was the One anointed with the Holy Spirit, the long awaited Messiah. The One who wrought out a perfect righteousness, died a shameful substitutionary death, rose victorious over the grave, and then ascended to the right hand of the Father. This is the One we eagerly wait for!
2. What Will He Do When He Comes?
- Transform Our Bodies
Who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory. Right now our bodies are in a humble state. Our bodies are frail. They are subject to sickness, disease, pain, suffering, and death. They grow old. Our skin wrinkles. Our hair falls out or becomes gray. We lose energy. We develop ailments and aches and pains. Our bodies truly are in a humble state.
Jesus now possesses a body of glory. When He was raised from the dead, His body was glorified. He now possesses a body which will never grow weary, or sick or old or die. The wonderful truth here is that Jesus is going to transform my body to be like His! The text doesn’t say He will give me a brand new body completely different from my present body. No, He will transform my present body and change it from a humble body to a body of glory, like Christ’s!
1 Corinthians 15:42-44, “So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.” This text tells us that our new body will be imperishable, glorious, powerful and spiritual. Imagine having a body that does not feel the impulses to sin! Wow, hard to even imagine!
- Subject All Things to Himself
By the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself. Right now all things are not subject to God. There is rebellion against the throne rights of the King. It has not always been this way. There was a time when there was only one will in the universe – God’s will. All of God’s created beings lived to do and promote God’s will. There came a time when rebellion came into God’s perfect universe. Satan exalted himself and said, “I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High” (Is. 14:13-14). Instead of doing God’s will, Satan was asserting his own will. Then Satan was able to tempt Adam and Eve to assert their own will over against God’s will in the garden. And this rebellion has continued down through the centuries.
God is allowing this temporary rebellion currently, but there is coming a day when He will put an end to it. He will cast all of His enemies into the lake of fire, and there will be only one will again – God’s will. All of God’s angels and His redeemed people will all love Him and only seek to do His holy will.
That day is coming. Paul has already spoken of it in Philippians 2:9-10, “For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
How will Jesus accomplish this? Our text speaks of “the exertion of His power.” Christ has all power. There is nothing within His will that He cannot do. And it is the will of God that at some point in the future, all the world be subjected to His will. Therefore, Christ will take omnipotence, and use it to bring his rebellious subjects under His subjection. His own people will submit readily and willingly. His enemies will be forced to bow the knee but will not be able to refuse.
2 Peter 3:13 says, “But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.” There is coming a new world, a perfect world, a righteous world, a sinless world. Jesus will bring that world into existence by the exertion of His mighty right arm.
3. What Must We Do Until He Comes?
Stand firm in the Lord. That is the exhortation of Philippians 4:1, but you might almost miss it, because Paul unleashes a flood of expressions of love and affection for the Philippians. Notice his words:
- My beloved brethren
- Of whom I long to see
- My joy and crown
- My beloved
He piles one expression on top of another. I think this just occurred to him very naturally as he wrote this letter, because of his deep and tender love for this church. Paul held them in his heart. Not only did he weep at the thought of the enemies of the cross of Christ doing damage to this church. He also was filled with love and affection when he thought of them.
What was Paul’s one great desire for this church? Above all, what did he want for them? To stand firm in the Lord! But, what did he mean by that? What did he want them to stand firm against? I believe he meant at least three things.
Paul meant they were to resist the negative influences of persecution. We know this because of a similar statement he made in 1:27-29, “Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; in no way alarmed by your opponents – which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too, from God. For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me.” When Paul exhorts them to stand firm in this passage, it is obvious that he means they must endure the persecution of their opponents who were bringing suffering and conflict into their lives. They must not succumb to the pressure to back down and throw in the towel so that they could be relieved of the stress and pain. No, they must persevere faithfully. They must stand firm. To stand firm, is to refuse to give ground. It is the picture of the army that is being charged by their enemies, but refuse to give up the ground they have gained at the peril of their lives.
Paul meant they were to resist the negative influences of false teaching. We know this because he has spoken of false teaching twice in this very chapter. He spoke of the Judaizers, and said “beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision” in 3:2. Then, later he spoke of the enemies of the cross of Christ, who were turning the grace of God into licentiousness, and turning their freedom into an opportunity for the flesh. There were false teachers on every side! There were the legalists, who told them they must do this and this in order to be saved. Then there were the lawless ones who said that God’s grace was so great that it didn’t matter how they lived. And Paul was exhorting them to stand firm against these false teachers.
Paul meant they were to resist the negative influences of Satan and his demons. Why do I say that? Because of what Paul says in Ephesians 6:11-13, “Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.” Twice Paul exhorts them to stand firm against Satan and his henchmen. Satan would like to pull back into the world, away from Christ. But you must stand firm. Refuse to give ground! You gained that ground by great effort, prayer, and faith. Don’t give it up. You have overcome that sin, that vice, those drugs, that drunkenness, that gossiping tongue, evil speech, and that pride through painful repentance, and self-watching and prayer. Don’t be so foolish as to give it up now!
But, what was their motivation to stand firm? “Therefore”. There it is! Standing firm is something they would be enabled to do if they believed what Paul had just told them in 3:20-21. Because Christ is coming, and would raise them from the dead, and transform their bodies into bodies like His glorious body, and would subject all things to Himself, therefore stand firm! Peter says in 1 Peter 1:13, “fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” Remember that Jesus is coming. When He comes, He will make all things right. He will bring a perfect world into existence. Therefore, keep that in the forefront of your mind. Fix your hope completely on that. Remember what is at stake here! Be faithful unto death, and Christ will give you the crown of life. You will inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. If you give up, and walk away from Christ, you are forfeiting life, salvation, the kingdom of God, your inheritance, the new heaven and the new earth, eternal glory. But in order to receive all of that, you must stand firm!
What was their example in standing firm? Paul says, “in this way.” What way? The way he has been telling them about in chapter 3. In the way he had been pressing on for Christlikeness. In the way he had been running for heaven. In the way he was straining every nerve to reach the goal for the prize. Stand firm, in this way! Be all out for God! Don’t play around with Christianity. Give Christ everything you have. Stand firm in the Lord in this way!
Conclusion
- Brothers and sisters, are you eagerly waiting for your Savior? Is it Him you long for? Does your heart long to see Him face to face?
- Do you eagerly desire to experience a resurrected and glorified body? Do you long for the new heavens and new earth? Do you want to dwell in a world in which there is no rebellion, but everyone loves God and seeks to do His will with all their might?
- If all of that is true, stand firm! Don’t give up an inch of spiritual ground that you have gained by the power of the Spirit and grace of God. Don’t give way to Satan, or false teaching or persecution. Determine that by God’s grace, you will not retreat, but you will advance more and more until you see Christ face to face. Amen.
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