Harmony With God

Meditations on the Book of Philippians

June 26, 2020

Harmony With God

I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me.

Philippians 3:12

Read: Philippians 3: 12-16

In verse 12, Paul said, “I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me.” John Wesley urged his pastors to always have the mind-set that they were ‘going on to perfection,” and that phrase is still used today when new pastors are ordained in the United Methodist Church. Wesley’s intention was rooted in his understanding of the Biblical word holiness. John Wesley loved the word holiness. He talked about scriptural holiness, holiness of the heart and holiness of life. Many people mistakenly think holiness has to do with rigid laws, or rules, which through obedience make a person holy. Not so; holiness is a state of being. As Christians, we know that our state of being, our acceptance by God, comes as a gift of God’s grace, through faith in Jesus. The definition that best fits John Wesley’s use of the word holiness is a state of being in harmony with God. In the context of today’s passage, because we have holiness of heart as a gift of God’s grace, we, like Paul, are pressing on to make what is true in our heart, true in our way of life.

It is so important that we hold tight to the truth that Jesus calls us to perfection. Jesus calls us to make our life in him our way of life. This truth has been captured beautifully by Max Lucado in the title of one of his books: God Loves You Just The Way You Are, But He Refuses To Leave You There. He Wants You To Be Just Like Jesus.

My Takeaway: The NASB translation provides me with another take on verse 12. “. . . but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.” I love the visual image of this translation which reminds me of John 10:28-29 where Jesus says he has us securely, for all time, in his hand. I never tire of this image of Jesus holding me securely in his grasp as I reach out to grasp him.

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Copyright © 2020 by Alex M. Knight

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

• Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

• The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.