“I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all, in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now. For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. For it is only right for me to feel this way about you all, because I have you in my heart, since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers of grace with me. For God is my witness, how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:3-8 NASB1995)
Who are the saints in Christ Jesus? A saint is one who is
holy (morally pure, consecrated to God, different from the world because
becoming like Jesus). And how does one become a saint? By faith in Jesus Christ
we are crucified with Christ in death to sin, and raised with Christ to walk in
newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but now as slaves to
God and to his righteousness. Sin is no longer what we practice, but obedience
to God and to his commands is what we practice, by his grace, and in his power.
And what is the gospel? It is that Jesus Christ, God the
Son, came to earth, was born as a human baby, but without sin, grew to manhood,
and was hated by many who put him to death on a cross. But in his death on that
cross he put our sins to death with him so that, by God-persuaded faith in
Jesus, we might now die with him to sin and walk with him in obedience to his
commands, in holy living, free from our slavery to sin, and free to serve the
Lord Jesus with our lives, according to his will and purpose for our lives.
And that is what it means to participate in the gospel, too.
And the Greek word for this is koinónia, which means fellowship, communion,
sharing, participation and partnership, which involves our cooperation with God
and with his work of grace in our lives. He provides the way for us to be saved
from our sins and to have the hope of heaven when we die, but then we must
participate with him in this work of grace by dying to sin and living to God in
walks of obedience to his commands in holy living, in his power.
And Paul’s confidence that Christ, who began a good work in
the lives of the believers in Christ, would perfect that work until the day of
Christ Jesus (of his return), was based on all of the above. They were those
who had died with Christ to sin and who were now walking with Jesus in
obedience to his commands in holy living. They were those who were no longer
living for the sinful pleasures of the flesh. But in obedience to the Lord,
they were growing and maturing in their walks of faith and in their surrender
to the will of God.
So, what is this grace of which they were all partakers? It
is not the kind of grace which is so popularized today which becomes a free
license to continue living in sin without feelings of guilt and without
punishment. For the grace of God, which is bringing us salvation, is training
us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled,
upright, and godly lives while we wait for Jesus’ return. For Christ “gave
himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a
people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” (See Titus
2:11-14; Ephesians 2:8-10)
And then, what was Paul’s prayer for them?
“And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” (Philippians 1:9-11 NASB1995)
This is what the life of a Christian should look like. And this
is not saying that we will be absolutely perfect always in everything that we
do. And “the love” this is talking about is not human love, but agape love
which comes from God and which prefers all that God prefers – holiness,
righteousness, truth, obedience to God, faithfulness, moral purity and
uprightness. For to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ involves
us daily walking in obedience to our Lord, no longer as slaves to sin, but as
servants of Christ.
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John
6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1
Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32;
Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 12:1-2;
1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]
My Sheep
Based off John 10:1-30 NIV
An Original Work / June 24, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
My sheep hear me.
They know me.
They listen to my
voice and obey.
I call them and lead
them.
They know my voice,
so they follow me.
They will never
follow strangers.
They will run away
from them.
The voice of a
stranger they know not;
They do not follow
him.
So, I tell you the
truth that
I am the gate, so
you enter in.
Whoever does enter
Will find
forgiveness and will be saved.
Nonetheless whoever
enters
Not by the gate;
other way,
He is the thief and
a robber.
Listen not, the
sheep to him.
Oh, I am the Good
Shepherd,
Who laid his own
life down for the sheep.
I know them. They
know me.
They will live with
me eternally.
The thief only comes
to steal and
Kill and to destroy
the church.
I have come to give
you life that
You may have it to
the full…
They know my voice,
so they follow me.
To The Saints in Christ Jesus
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