The Pulpit Commentary — Philippians — Section 122

earthly things ns loss. 2. Tlie .ipiritual resurrect/on here is the carne.~t of the gl,,rin11.~ resurrection hereafter. 'fbo heavenly life begins hero; tho lifo of faith is the bcginnin~ of tho lifo of glory. Both consist in union with Christ, who is our Life; both rlerivc ~hei~ joy 111~cl br!ghtncss_ only from his irradiating presence. They differ in degree, not m Jund. Ihe hfe of faith, when nil present hindrances are removed, advanccn, as it will be, lo unspeakably highet· degrees of purity and joy and fellowship with Christ, cuh~1in~tes in_ the life of glory. Hence it is that the excellency of the knowledge of Chnst issues Ill the blessed resurrection of the holy dead, LESSONS, 1. St. Paul broke wholly with his unconverted life; so must we. 2. He experienced a complete change of thought, motive, aim; it must be so with us. 3. It was the constraining iove of Christ that drew him from his old life; it is so still. 4. He suffered with Christ, be felt the power of his resurrection; so may it be with us. Vers. 12-16.-St. Paul's humility. I. HE HAS NOT YET ATTAINED; HE 1s NOT PERFECT, 1. The most advanced Christian is always the humble/It. The nearer we draw to Christ, the more we feel our own unworthiness. The light of Christ's holiness, manifested in the hearts of bis saints, brings out into clearer light the exceeding sinful- ness of sin. 2. B1tt he is striving after perfection. The Christian knows his own weakness and sin, but he knows also that he is really following Christ. If we are doing so, we must know it; we must be conscious of real effort in the spiritual life. 3. Christ is the Author and Finisher of our faith. Christ first laid bold of St. Paul, therefore St. Paul strives to lay hold upon Christ; because he was apprehended, be hopes to apprehend. "We love him, because be first loved us." 4. This uery sense of imperfection urges the Christian to sustained ejfort. He is never satisfied with himselt~ therefore he always presses onwards, He does not dwell with complacency on bis attainments, but forgets the progress which he has made; in view of the far greater height which remains to scale, he throws himself into the work with ever-increasing energy. 5. Therefore he presses toward the marlc. The crown of righteousness is laid up for all who love the appearing of the Lord. God is calling U3 thither, ea.Hing us upward, to higher degrees of the spiritual life now, to the perfection of that life in heaven, The prize of that upward calling is the heavenly glory. It is the end for which the Christian lives, which makes life worth having, worth living. II. ALL ADVANCED CHRISTIANS MUST BE THUS MINDED. 1. The love of Christ, faith, humility, are essentials. All Christians alike must set the knowledge of Christ high above all other objects of desire. All must seek that righteousness which is through the faith of Christ; all must strive to win Christ, to be found in Christ, to know the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings. All must be humble, dissatisfied with themselves; all must press onwards towards ever higher degrees of the spiritual lire. 2. In this all must agree; in smaller matters there may be differences. St Paul seems to imply that there will be differences. "lf in anything ye be other- wise minded," he says; otherwise than is right, he seems to mean. '!'here will be, there must ho, errors. Men cannot all see alike. There are various degrees of illumina- tion, of spiritual knowledge. And men are differently constituted; their characters, their early trainin", their education, their surroundings, their associations, differ indefinitely; all the':ie circumstances act upon their habits of thought. '!'heir opiuions a.re the ultimate outcome of all these multitudinous influences. Doubtless we aro to a large extent responsible for our opinions. It is our bounden duty to se~~ch the Scriptures, to t!Jink, to meditate, to pmy for the guidance of God's Holy Spmt. He will guide us into all truth (a.II that is necessary for our salvation), if we seek his help with a single heart, in earnestness, and in humility. But he does not force all good men to think aliko; ho leaves room for the play of the individual character, for t!Je manifold influences of temperament and training. The truth is one, tho faith is one; but we look upon that one truth from various points of view. He1:1ce there will bu differences even among those who sincerely seek the truth. Truth 1s of momentou1; importance. 'l'ruth of doctrine and holiuess of lifo together make up t~~ saintly character; imperfections in either so far mar the beauty of the whole. But it the two cannot always coexist, holiness is far closer than doctrine to our soul's salvation. The aood Samaritan was nearer to God than the priest or the Levite; though they wero ~rthodox, w!Jile he was a. schismatic. 3. But the promise is that to those who sincerel11  120 THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. [err. III. 1-21.