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The Daily Word of Righteousness
Pressing Forward Into Eternal Life, #8
Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. 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 3:17-19—NIV)
The scriptural hope is that Jesus will come and transform our body, not so we can go to Heaven but so we can work with Him in installing the Kingdom of God on the earth.
The verses that precede 20 and 21 (above) are significant:
I think we can assume Paul is speaking here of believers, not of the unsaved. He is referring to members of the churches who were living as enemies of the cross of Christ, their god being their stomach; their glory being their shame; their mind being on earthly things.
Their destiny is destruction. The idea here is that when the Lord returns they will not receive the desired transformation in their body.
Paul says much the same thing in Romans.
For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, (Romans 8:13—NIV)
Paul, speaking to Christians, warns them that if they live according to the desires of their body, soul, and fleshly mind, they will die. Paul does not mean die physically, he means die spiritually. Paul means they will not attain to the resurrection to eternal life.
Two verses prior Paul states:
And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. (Romans 8:11—NIV)
The idea is, if we as a Christian choose to live in the flesh, in the elements and enticements of the present world, not pressing toward the knowledge and possession of Christ, we will kill the Divine Life within us that is to give life to our mortal body when the Lord returns. We slay our own resurrection to life when our god is our stomach, even though we have professed faith in Jesus Christ.
Are we saying we are saved by works?
We are saying rather that the Christian salvation is a plan for regaining the eternal life that was lost in the Garden of Eden. The plan of salvation absolutely must be worked out, as Paul indicates. We have to choose to turn away from the attractions of the world and pursue Christ, pursue righteousness, pursue godliness. We have to fight the good fight of faith. We have to run the race. We have to gain, through Christ, the upper hand over the desires of our body.
We have a goal. Our goal is to attain to the resurrection to eternal life, the resurrection that will include the changing of our body into the likeness of the body of Jesus Christ.
Once we gain the redemption of our body we can live on the earth or in Heaven, just as is true of the Lord Jesus.
To be continued.