Christian Maturity

Series on Philippians

VII. Pressing on to the Goal

B The Mature Viewpoint, Text: 3:15 and 16

Title: Christian Maturity

Introduction

There is a lot of talk about Christian maturity these days. Many are focused on the question, “What can I do to become a mature Christian?” We have all kinds of programs and plans and I am not saying these are not useful or valuable. However, this is the wrong question. Growing is one thing, and thinking you are grown is another. The great commentator Lightfoot put it this way “Grow up and realize that you are not grown all the way yet.” Another renowned commentator, Bengel said, and I paraphrase, The perfect, which is the correct meaning of mature, are those who are ready for the race. The perfected have arrived. Was Abraham perfect, Yes, was he perfected in this life, no. Was David perfect, Yes. Was he perfected in this life, no. They were justified but they were not fully sanctified. In the 1950’s I worked for the Summer Evangelistic committee of the Presbyterian Church in the USA. We used to go to industrial sites in the afternoon and then street corners in the evening. We had a truck with speakers. We played old 78 rpm records on a turntable. Most of you do not know what they are. So there I was in South Philadelphia with a Baptist preacher because the Presbyterians could not find enough evangelicals to do the job. So Harold O Jackson and I are out there preaching and handing out tracts and a man comes up to me and asks if I had received the gift of tongues. Of course I said no, and he countered with the declaration that I had not yet been perfected and he didn’t want to listen to me. What Paul has to say here is important because it will determine your whole outlook on your Christian life.

I The Mature View

Paul says in verse 15, 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. The first thing we need to see is that the word “mature” is not a good translation. The word Paul uses is “perfect” and he has just used that word in the context of the passage to describe himself and he says he is not perfect, meaning that he is not perfected. Rather, he presses on. Therefore, we must see the point of his choice of words. The words strong, spiritual, mature, and perfect mean something different to Paul than the modern meaning we usually attach to them. This point can only be understood in the context of his ministry. In Romans 1 Paul says the Gospel is to the Jew first and also to the Gentile. Where did Paul go first in his missionary journeys? He went to the synagogue. There he encountered people who thought they were made perfect by keeping the law. Look at Galatians 4:1-7, What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world. But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir. Paul is saying that they were not made perfect by keeping the old system, but by Christ. In I Corinthians 13, one of the most often quoted and little understood chapters of the Bible, Paul says, When I was a child I spoke like a child, I thought as a child, but now I have put away childish things. Compare this with Galatians! Who are the children? They are the people who have not achieved fulfillment in Christ. Paul also uses the word perfect in I Corinthians 13. He says When that which is perfect has come, that which is in part shall be done away. Paul is talking about his own time. His subject is the gift of tongues and prophecy in Chapters 12-14. These are temporary and will yield to the full revelation of Christ in the Scripture. That is true perfection,

II The Mature Variety

So next we must see the variety, as he says, And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. About what would they think differently? Look first at the immediate context. Paul has testified that all his service as a Jewish Pharisee is worthless trash. But not everybody thinks that way. The primary source of confusion in the early church was then transition from the old Jewish economy to the new Christian era. There is hardly any letter Paul wrote that doesn’t deal with this problem. Some like Galatians and Hebrews are dealing almost exclusively with it. I have heard people say wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could be like the first century church. No Thank You. The first apostolic council in Acts 15 is dealing with this issue. Even the beloved apostle John is dealing with this problem. In John 1 he says, The law came by Moses but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ, and in his first epistle he reminds his readers that Jesus is the atoning sacrifice for our sins and not or ours only, meaning the Jews, but also for the whole world, meaning the Gentiles. So how does this affect you? It means that you must understand God’s redemptive plan unfolding in the covenant of grace from childhood to maturity in Christ. It means that apart from seeing the fulfillment in Jesus you can read all the books about maturity and discipleship ever written, but Christian maturity is anchored in the death and resurrection of Christ and you cannot grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ unless you gain the perspective that Paul had.

III The Mature Value

Thus the Apostle counsels us in verse 16, Only let us live up to what we have already attained. This exhortation is corporate (“let us”). The mature and those who think differently should still follow Christ in unity, as would Paul himself. Differences in spiritual levels ought not deter Christians from being consistent with whatever level each had reached. Minor differences in spiritual development have often divided the church, and Paul would not have that happen in Philippi. “Already attained” would be the righteousness that comes by faith. The apostle was apparently asking them to augment the growth process by building on what they had. Paul’s words may indicate he feared apostasy or divisiveness by some. If you refer back in this letter to Chapter 2:1-11, you will see this concern, If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. So if you want to mature, where does Paul point you? To the cross! All the books ever written about Christian maturity cannot come close to this.