Already-Not Yet

Philippians 3:12-21

On June 6, 1944, on the eve of D-Day, General Dwight D. Eisenhower gave this speech:

Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force! You are about to embark upon a great crusade, toward which we have striven these many months.

The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers in arms on other fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.

Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle hardened, he will fight savagely.

But this is the year 1944! Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats, in open battle, man to man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground. Our home fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to victory!

I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full victory!

Good Luck! And let us all beseech the blessings of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.

Though he stated that they were marching together to victory, that victory was not realized until May 8, 1945, Victory in Europe Day. That said, however, it is certain that the D. Day events of June 6, 1944 were what led to victory. But although the Allies won this decisive battle, they were caught in an “already/not yet” situation. They were already victorious, but they had not yet won the war. They still had eleven months of fighting in front of them.

In Philippians 3, the Apostle Paul is describing another already/not yet situation. Last week we read his statement: I want to know Christ, and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

But Paul was caught in between the already and the not yet. So he continues:

Not that I have already attained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:12-14)

Paul knows that there is nothing he can do to earn his salvation. Any work he does will not achieve it, because the only necessary work has already been done. Jesus did it on the cross. But that doesn’t mean we don’t have any responsibility. As Paul wrote earlier, “Work hard to show the results of your salvation.” (Philippians 2:12b)

Now he expands this – he isn’t already perfect, so he presses on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of him. He knows that he hasn’t yet “arrived” but he does know that God has a plan and that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:6) God has already done the work of salvation. God has already set forth the plan he has for us. God will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.  Which hasn’t been completed yet.

So here’s what Paul does: But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13b-14)

Paul is my kind of guy; he loves the running metaphor! When I’m running a race, if the guy ahead of me starts looking back, I know I’ve got him. If a runner is looking back, he’s not focused on the race anymore. He isn’t thinking about the finish line. There are a lot of church people who do a lot of looking back. Now, understand that there is a big difference between looking back and celebrating the past. We can celebrate that we are standing on the shoulders of giants who brought us to where we are today. We can celebrate with Hebrews 12’s great cloud of witnesses who cheer us on as we compete. But we get caught up in “we’ve always done it this way” and “we’ve never done that.” We get caught up in looking back and lamenting. This is not just silly and distracting, it completely undermines our purpose that God has called us to! If we let the past get in our way of making disciples of Jesus Christ, then we have completely missed the mark. We’re no longer running the race to win the prize for which God has called us heavenward in Christ Jesus. The already is our salvation. The not-yet is heaven and Jesus Himself. So keep on striving for Jesus!

If you don’t think Paul was a fiery guy, his next comment should show you clearly that is was: All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you.

It might sound like Paul is arrogant – what right does he have to say that he is right? Well, first of all, he is calling them to follow his example, and secondly, he has the right. He is after all, their leader. They love and trust him. This is no stranger coming in and telling them what to do. He is not just posting something on the internet and hoping they will agree with him. They know him and respect and trust him. He has earned the right to be heard.

It can be easy to gloss over the importance of this passage by simply looking at the question of whether Paul has the right to call them to imitate him. Paul is exposing an important philosophy here; right views – that is, right thinking – leads to right behavior. One thing we suffer from is wrong thinking.

Wrong thinking tells the Shawnee Valley District of the United Methodist Church that we’re the poorest district in the West Ohio Conference, so don’t even think about raising money to make new disciples of Jesus Christ in Vietnam, but right thinking raises $90,000 at the Rally in the Valley.

Wrong thinking tells us that certain people are or aren’t welcome in God’s Kingdom, but right thinking invites everyone into a transformative relationship with Jesus.

Wrong thinking tells us that one person can never make a difference in the world, but right thinking leads us to make that difference.

Wrong thinking leads us to wrong behaviors. In today’s world, it’s often seen as offensive to suggest that someone’s way of thinking or their emotional responses might be wrong, but that’s exactly what I’m saying. And it’s what Paul is saying. And furthermore, Paul is saying that one of the causes of wrong thinking is spiritual immaturity. You don’t have to be a child to be spiritually immature. You can be in church your whole life and still be spiritually immature, still needing spoon-fed. But you don’t have to stay that way; you can grow up spiritually! In Romans 12:2, we read: Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. (Romans 12:2a) But Paul goes on to say, if you don’t think alike, God will make it clear to you. Whatever the case, he finishes up this thought in verse 16: Only let us live up to what we have already attained.

If we have right thinking, we will live it out, living up to what we have already attained. Back to the already/not yet – we have already attained salvation. Jesus already paid the price. Now let’s live up to it!

Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. (Philippians 3:17) For those who say that the Bible tells us not to judge, understand that we aren’t the judge, but we are definitely to discern between right and thoughts and actions and wrong thoughts and actions. Were there no difference between right and wrong, or were there no moral absolutes, we wouldn’t have to have this conversation. But there are moral standards and God is clear on them. And where he is not, spend time with him and ask the Holy Spirit if it is something you need to be concerned with.

But the truth is that not everyone is Christian-friendly.

For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. (Philippians 3:18-19)

In context, this isn’t a warning about non-Christians. This isn’t an attack from atheists (though these attacks do come). This is about wrong-thinking Christians whose wrong-thinking has led to wrong behavior. They have truly become enemies of the cross of Christ. There are some popular Christian televangelists who, whenever they open their mouths, I cringe. There are the health-and-wealth prosperity gospel preachers who embody the concept of “their god is their stomach” – in other words, physical pleasure. They are all about how much money they can make and how many toys they can buy. They are all about their own personal glory; their mind is on earthly things. And there are the ones who always seem to turn up on the news, picketing soldiers funerals and so forth, shouting a message of hatred. And there are the talking heads on TV who are always quick to claim a natural disaster as “God’s wrath poured out for whatever sinful reason, usually having to do with gay people.”

I can’t help but think that they are living as enemies of the cross of Christ, the cross which brings reconciliation and love to those who were far from God.

Paul mentions them because he wants to make a clear distinction between right thinkers who work hard to live up to God’s salvation and between the wrong thinkers who live for themselves. Those who aren’t Christians can be overlooked for living for themselves, because they are citizens of this world.

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. (Philippians 3:20-21)

The world throws all kinds of stuff at us, and we have to constantly keep our hearts and minds on Christ and listen to the Holy Spirit to know what is of this world and what is of heaven. The world tells us that certain things are important – like making lots of money, wearing all the right clothes, driving the right cars, getting our kids into the right colleges and all manner of lesser items.

In his book Unfinished, Richard Stearns, president of World Vision, asks these Kingdom questions:

Have you adopted kingdom values and principles, worked to change your bad habits, forgiven those who have wronged you, been loving to others, been generous with your money, become part of a local church, volunteered at church for the more humble jobs, put others ahead of yourself, and tithed your income?

That is the difference between worldly people and citizens of heaven. The worldly would never even think of trying to fulfill those questions, while citizens of heaven will ask the Holy Spirit to accomplish that within them.

And Paul reminds us that we await our savior’s return, the not-yet part of the equation, because he will return and make all things new. We know the end of the story. But in the meantime, as we wait, let us live out what God has saved us for.