FOUND IN HIM

Philippians 3:9

Morning Meditation 7/21/2014

"And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:"

The words "And be found in him," translate "heurisko" and means, "to find by enquiry, thought, examination, scrutiny, observation, to find out by practice and experience." It is an aorist tense, passive voice, and subjunctive mood. The aorist tense is a point of time divorced from time and perpetuated forever. The passive voice means that Paul was discovered by those who found him. He was the object of the search and was discovered, "in Him." The subjunctive mood speaks of the potential. Have a look if you want, Paul will be found by you in Him. Being found in Him is being saved, safe, and absolutely secure. But let's look at this being found in some different ways.

BEING FOUND BY HIM A SINNER

Matthew 13:44, "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field."

"Note, in introduction, that this fifth parable was not spoken from the ship to the multitude upon the shore, but within 'the house;' and the character of it seems in some relative degree to alter. It is no longer a parable, illustrating the kingdom of heaven in respect of the manner of its operation, but emphasizing the value of itself, and the sense of its value as entertained and proved by some; and it is no longer a parable revealing the wide hold it shall establish over the mass of mankind, but the mighty hold it shall gain upon the individuals of whom the mass is composed. The parable exhibits these facts respecting the kingdom, and that which is of the very essence of it -- the treasure of the gospel, the truth of Christ." -- Pulpit Commentary.

It is the kingdom of heaven that is like unto treasure hid in a field. Which does he speak of here? The kingdom as a whole, or, the kingdom made up of individuals, this being a individual found by the Lord, and buying the field to get the one. If this is true, the worth He placed on me when He found me, is absolutely awesome. As I view myself, I am not a treasure worth the trouble to buy me. But looking at it from the divine viewpoint, Jesus puts a high value on me and buys the field to get me.

There is a lot said today about self esteem. It would seem by those who deal with this subject that it is all important that one has a good self esteem. They do not have a Bible in hand when they begin to write or speak on this subject. It is not self esteem that we need. That lends itself to pride which is a major sin. It is self worth based on the price that the Lord Jesus placed on us by dying to redeem us from eternal ruin. To think He found us in the wide field, and when He did, He went and bought the field to get what He calls the treasure. It should thrill us to no end that He considers us a treasure worth buying the whole world (not all mankind) to get that treasure. I put "not mankind" because all mankind is not willing to be found by Him. Though He died for all men, He did not take all sinners, and make them into what He considers, a treasure worth redeeming. Whosoever will may come.

We are found by Him a sinner worth redeeming. The thing that improves our worth is the value He places on us and the price He paid to purchase the field.

FOUND IN HIM A SAINT

Our text says, "And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:"

First, let us notice where we are found. "And be found in him . . ." Just like we were all in Adam, all the saved are "in Christ."

Let's look at where we are in Adam as we are born naturally in this world. Many think because they are born naturally in this world that God has nothing to do with their birth. John 1:4-9, "In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world." These verses teach that God was in the process of procreation and the spark of life is given by Him to every man that enters into the world.

The horrible effects of being in Adam are stated in Romans 5:12, "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:"

It just took one man to get the whole human race into trouble. The words, "and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." Death is the result of sin. We are sinners by birth and sinners by choice. To show that this is not just an isolated place and that the interpretation might be strained I give you the following: Romans 3:10-12 says, "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one."

This teaches that man who is born a sinner does not come here seeking God.. He comes a rebel to frustrate mom and dad. They have the task of training a little sinner to control himself in such a way as not to get in trouble with others as he grows up. The training they give him is no where near a standard that would be accepted by God Whose standard is perfection.

Any honest parent will tell you that their little angel acts sometimes like he came from the under world rather that being a product of a loving marriage.

Yet this little rebel is loved by the Lord in spite of his sins. If he will allow it, God with find him and consider him a treasure worth buying the whole field to get. If we are saved, it will have to be on God's terms. God's terms are stated in John 3:16-18, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."

How are we found in Him? 2 Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." How does this take place? 1 Corinthians 12:13, "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit."

Ephesians 1:13-14, "In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory." This is the only definitive Scripture in the Bible that defines the process by which man is put into Christ and Christ into him. He creates the seals with an eternal seal anyone who puts their trust in Him.

Lest anyone have a problem with the baptism of the Spirit being at salvation, let me remind you of John 1:31-33, "And I ( John the Baptist ) knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water. And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost." -- Parenthesis mine for clarity.

Matthew takes this a step further: Matthew 3:11, "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:" The baptism of the Holy Ghost is salvation and the baptism with fire is the lake of fire. Jesus will either baptize you with the Holy Ghost ( salvation ) or with fire ( eternal hell ).

Some people are inflamed when it is suggested that one either trust the Lord as Saviour or go to hell. Let me tell you something. You can say no to Jesus but you have no choice about the consequences. The consequences are fixed by the immutability of God. That is as fixed as gravity. You can jump off a building and go down shouting gravity doesn't exist for me. But you will hit the ground at the same rate of speed. It is too late to change your mind. This is what John the Baptist said. It is either be baptized with the Holy Ghost or with fire.

FOUND OF HIM A SERVANT

2 Peter 3:14-15, "Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;"

Matthew 20:27 says, "And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant."

First of all, this text pictures one who wants to be chief among you." The word "chief" means, "first in time or place." In other words Jesus began with a common problem. There are always those who want to be first or hold what they consider a place of privilege. They want to be the head. Jesus tells the disciples what to do with this one. Jesus says, "Let him be your servant." Now when you tell him you have a job for him but it is not being a chief, but it is being a servant. Most of the time he will quit. Very few people who want to be chief are willing to be servants.

Note the words, "Be diligent that ye may be found of Him in peace." I have seen a lot of people that wouldn't serve unless it was in a predominant position. I have had men who were deacons in other churches, when they joined the church I was pastor, wanted to move right into the office of deacon. I told them that if I ever needed a deacon, I might consider them. Well, they didn't like that. Some left and some stayed.

Another thing our text says, "without spot." It is not easy to pass this test. It is not easy for the pastor to pass this test. But this is the way we are to be found. There is usually at least some little spot that soils the testimony of most Christians. It is amazing how we will hold on to our little spots.

Then finally the text says that we are to be found blameless. The word "blameless" means, "One who cannot be censured." This is a worthy goal for all of us.

We need to be found by Him a sinner. He can do something about our sins. He loves us and will forgive us and set us free from the bondage of sin. Then we need to be found in Him a saint. And finally we need to be found in Him a servant. The Churches greatest position is to serve, not be served.

May the Lord bless these words to our hearts.

In Christ

Bro. White