Safety in Joy

What do you think of when you think of joy? Being with someone you love? Christmas? Celebrating a big accomplishment? All of these bring us a certain sense of joy, but the Bible speaks of a unique joy: joy in Christ.

Aside from infinitely surpassing all other joys, one thing that makes joy in Christ unique is what Paul says in Philippians three. Paul tells the Philippians to “rejoice in the Lord” because it “is safe for” them (3:1). Safe? That’s not what we usually think of when we think of joy. What, then, does it mean to rejoice in the Lord, and in what sense is it “safe” for us?

Trusting in Christ Instead of Self (1-7)

Right away, Paul tell us one of the things that joy in Christ protects us from: “Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh” (2). Who’s Paul talking about? Well, since he says Christians are the true “circumcision” (3) and goes on to list his Jewish credentials over against other Jews (4-6), he’s talking about Judaizers, those who taught that Gentiles needed to be circumcised in order to be saved. Regarding them, like a big, flashing sign, Paul says, “Look out! Danger ahead!”

It’s obvious why Paul warns about these people. They taught works salvation, which is a false gospel that leads people to hell. But how does rejoicing in Christ protect us from these people and their false teaching?

It’s because, fundamentally, rejoicing in the Lord comes from trusting in Him to save us rather than trusting in our works. Look at how Paul describes true Christians: They are “the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh” (3). On one side you have Spirit-produced worship and Christ-centered confidence; on the other side you have confidence in your own works. Those who depend on Christ for salvation glory in Him and live in the power of the Spirit. Those who trust in themselves glory in themselves and live in their own anemic power. When we truly rejoice in Christ, it means we are truly depending on Him rather than ourselves.

Paul says this even though he could have boasted in his own achievements. After listing an impressive list of his works (4-6), Paul says, “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ” (7). Paul knew that no matter how incredible his achievements were, they would never be good enough for God. What he had once thought were positives he actually realized were negatives on his balance sheet, and so he traded all in for Christ. Why? Because Paul knew that trusting in Christ rather than in himself, glorying in Christ rather than in his achievements, was the only safe place.

Treasuring Christ Above All Else (8-14)

Paul continues and gets to the heart of what it means to rejoice in Christ. Not only does Paul count his self-righteous works as loss, but he considered “everything as loss” (8). Everything? Everything. Why? “Because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (8).

Wow. How indescribably and unfathomably worthy Jesus is. Knowing Him makes everything else in the universe seem like trash (8). This leads Paul to passionately pursue Jesus. He suffers the loss of all things so that he “may gain Christ” (8). He wants to gain Christ so that, instead of his own righteousness, he will have the righteousness of God through Christ (9). He wants the righteousness of God so that he can know Christ (10). And he wants to know Christ so that he will partake in Christ’s resurrection, the final state of righteousness in which all who are righteous through Christ will dwell with Christ forever (10-11).

This pursuit is so worthy and valuable that Paul makes it his singular life goal. Though he knows he has not yet arrived, he does one thing: “forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (13-14). Look at the verbs Paul uses: “straining forward,” “press on.” Paul put everything he had into knowing Christ better. And at this point, Paul had been saved for almost thirty years! Even as a very mature Christian, he yearned for more of Christ.

What Paul describes here goes far beyond just trusting Jesus to forgive us of our sins. He describes an intensely personal and passionate relationship with Jesus. Jesus was the supreme treasure of Paul’s heart, and Paul pursued Him with reckless abandon. Christian, do you know, love, and treasure Jesus like that? That’s what it means to rejoice in Christ.

Heavenly Citizens or Earthly Enemies (15-21)

Paul closes with an exhortation and warning. Here is the main reason rejoicing in Christ is safe for us. He exhorts the Philippian believers to continue pursuing Christ and follow the example of him and other mature believers (15-17). Why?

“For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ” (18). It seems that these people used to be Christians Paul knew. He has told the Philippians about them often, and now he speaks of them with tears. They were Christians who had drifted from Christ because they had ceased to value Him supremely and pursue Him singularly.

In other words, Paul says that following his example of supremely valuing Christ is what will guard us from becoming enemies of Christ. If you don’t live like this, you are an enemy of Christ or on your way to becoming one. So what makes them enemies of Christ?

Paul says that “their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things” (19). They worship and follow their natural desires, they boast about their shameful actions, and they know nothing beyond this earthly life. In contrast to this, true Christians are citizens of heaven, “and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (20). That’s where our hearts and minds are. We long for heaven, for the resurrection, and ultimately for Jesus Himself.

As Marshall Segal says, “A certain kind of Christian lives for God, dies to self, and lives forever. Another kind of ‘Christian’ ultimately lives for self, enjoys this world for a few decades, and then dies forever.”

So I, with Paul, exhort you, my brothers and sisters, to rejoice in the Lord. That is where true safety is found. What temptations or desires wage war against your soul? Beg God to open your eyes to the supreme worthiness of Christ so that you will trust in and treasure Him above all else. Countless earthly things tug at our hearts every day, threatening to turn our gaze away from heaven and our Savior, but may the joy that He alone gives be the bastion that protects us from their attacks.