Prosecuting Our Case

Gary L. Cox

3.12.02

Walkersville Christian Fellowship

† “We have no greater need than to embrace the knowledge, power and inheritance of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  So without attempting to do a thorough exegesis on the book of Philippians, but instead a joyful overview springing from the fact that we are at that time of both the Jewish and the Roman calendar year where we celebrate the resurrection of the First Fruits from the dead; it therefore seems altogether fitting that if we are going to rejoice in the risen Lord, we have to give some considered understanding of that which preceded His resurrection .”

In John 12 we see a clearly through the Palm Branch Procession and subsequent teaching by Christ of the coming Crucifixion (v. 32, “If I be lifted up, I will draw all unto me”), that Jesus Christ did not come to win earthly battles or an earthly crown.  He did not see His ministry as a ministry of bringing judgment but rather a ministry of bringing redemption; a ministry of bringing life from the dead, knowing full well that as King of the Universe, the occasion for judgment would fall certainly and eternally on that final Day (John 12:47-48).

In Philippians 3:18b-20  the Apostle Paul speaks of the enemies of the cross of Christ.  It says, “they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things. For our conversation is in Heaven, from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”  Just stopping right there, what we see is the sharp contrast of two world views and two completely different motivational systems that present themselves to the spirit of man. 

Minding Earthly or Heavenly Things?

Today, you who read this are operating out of one of those two motives.  You are either operating out of a heavenly view or you are minding earthly things.  There is no in between. 

For believers, we who have trusted Christ, we cannot by our nature or even our faith in Christ automatically have our mind in Heaven where it ought to be.  We are so easily brought, through a particular circumstance on the earth, into the natural man’s scheme of minding earthly things.  This is common to man; yet, there is a better call.

What makes the difference between somebody minding earthly things or minding heavenly things?  The difference is simply the practical application of the cross of Jesus Christ upon me personally in that particular circumstance.

At any point at which the cross is applied, our minds draw all of the resources that we have in the hope and factual power of Christ, surrendering our earthly concern or ambition and laying a hold of the Heavenly promise.  That is victory for the believer in every circumstance.  However, to contrast this, at any point that we are refusing to remember and embrace the cross, we are then refusing to die on the cross.  This is where we become the enemy of the cross of Christ.  If we are an enemy of the cross, we have a whole set of perspectives that we impose on that circumstance, all of which are antithetical and contrary to true victory found only in the cross of Christ. 

 Rejoice!…And Be Anxious For Nothing

There are two essentials in this process.  In chapter 4:4 Paul says, “Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say, ’Rejoice.’  Let your moderation be known unto all men.  The Lord is at hand.  Be careful for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be known unto God and the peace of God which passes all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”  What we find in those verses is the practical means that the believer in ordinary circumstances has to access the effectual power of the cross of Christ and avoid getting caught up in minding earthly things. 

You might want to write down some particular battles that you are fighting right now, things that are struggles, perhaps issues that you wish had a remedy in the immediate sense of the word and you know what you would like that remedy to be.  Unless we assess our personal life and consider the application of the Cross, then Christianity is nothing more than a sentiment.  But there is not a single circumstance that you and I endure or face that is not under the heavenly duty to be conformed to the message of the cross of Christ.  There is not one exception to that rule.

Christ is our model and example of how we are to pursue the cross.  Palm Sunday occurred in the week that Christ Himself directly went to Jerusalem in order to go to the cross so that He might do what God had planned for us - to bring redemption.  Now, those who mind earthly things reject the prescription of how to process an earthly matter according to a heavenly consideration.  Prayer is the essential ingredient!

As Paul teaches here in Philippians 4:4, we recognize that rejoicing is a fixed, determined ambition, because I recognize the victory that has already been won and secured.  I rejoice because I understand what is going on is God’s will on earth as it is in Heaven.  When I look at my earthly circumstances, though I do not know how, I know that my earthly circumstances not only have been orchestrated in Heaven but they are going to work a far greater weight of glory on my behalf than whatever I have to suffer loss of in the process of transferring.  The motive here is that I recognize that rejoicing is the key.  One really cannot pretend about rejoicing.  It is not one of those things that you can do sort of as a form of godliness.  You can do a lot of things as a form of godliness but rejoicing simply is not one of them because rejoicing has to do with recognizing the gift of God.  In fact, the word “rejoicing” in the Greek here literally comes from the word “charis” which is the word “gift” - we know so frequently in terms of spiritual gifts, etc. 

It is a transfer of understanding that that which I am about to suffer, though it looks terrible and that I am going to suffer loss, that is not something that I am actually going to lose without having received something of far greater value and compensation - it is going to last forever.  So rejoicing has to do with the transfer of the human motivational system over from dread to welcome anticipation, “This is far better.”  It is unexplainably an emotional reality.  When you begin rejoicing, you cannot sit down and frown.  You have to find some means of expressing your joy and giving glory to God. 

Are the circumstances that we rejoice in enjoyable?  No.  Actually in the context of this passage, they are just the opposite.  The cross is not in and of itself an enjoyable means of death.  It is simply that my heavenly understanding is that this death brings life, it is so significant that I want the life.  The other side has a far exceeding weight of glory and that is what I desire.  The joy is in the anticipation of the glory not in the process of going through the death.  There is shame in the death.  Yes, there is shame in the cross, absolutely and it is not something to be desired emotionally.  But the anticipation that when I endure I am going to reap is when rejoicing breaks forth.  Paul’s use of the words “and again I say, ’rejoice’” is a construction of the Greek that brings tremendous emphasis to the significance of the statement.

Let Your Gentleness Be Known To All Men

Next, verse 5, the Scripture says, “Let your moderation be known unto all men, the Lord is at hand.”  It is unfortunate for you and I that that word is translated “moderation” because you and I do not have the depth of the English language as we possibly should. The knowledge of the English language that folks had in the 1600s, allowed them to readily understand the deeper meaning of this word.  The word in the Greek does not mean moderation as in eating dessert.  The moderation here is totally different; it has to do with understanding the nature of spiritual warfare and the cross: it is gentleness.  “Let your moderation,” let your gentleness, “be known unto all men.”  The whole concept of moderation is that my ability to moderate my feelings, to moderate my actions, is so clear because of the cross, that men take notice.  It is interesting to note that in the context of “let your moderation be known unto all men,” we have this context for that, “the Lord is at hand.”  Literally that word in the Greek means “near or at hand” in that sense of immediate proximity.  I am rejoicing in what I have been promised by my shared inheritance of the cross, and that is evident in my moderate actions – my gentleness. 

The man who is minding earthly things is incapable of rejoicing in the difficulty and the conflict and he is also incapable of moderation because instead of gentleness he is severe, he is hard pressed, he is ambitious to preserve his interests and keeps his rights in tact, and has little care for the needs of others.

Do you believe the Lord is returning?  Let Him see it in your moderation.  It is impossible to have an effectual belief in the coming of the Lord and in His certain empire that is coming with Him if I am failing gentleness in the transactions of my ordinary, daily life.  When we see that the Lord is at hand, it moderates our anxiety and we transfer our expectations from the immediate earthly venture where I may suffer loss.  At the cross I transfer all that loss over and say, “It is okay, I am ready and waiting for Jesus to come and when He comes He is going to restore all things, He is going to balance every ledger and that which I gave up at the cross is going to be brought to me in greater form and glory.”  And so my very behavior is to be gentle, it is moderated from its anxious pursuit and insistence of doing everything just right.  The Lord is at hand.  I can rest my case with the Lord.  When we transfer our worries to Christ and the facts He has proven through His resurrection, we become gentle and strong, resting our case with our Advocate King Jesus.