What is the goal of the upward call? How do I attain to the resurrection from the dead? What does it mean to rest while you run?
I Must Press On to be Perfect While Already Being Perfect
Philippians 3:9-16
(Children's Sheet for Sermon Interaction is at Bottom. Notes are throughout)Pastor Kerry Kinchen, Bridgeway Bible Church
Please turn to Philippians 3:9-16. As you are finding Philippians 3:9-16, I want to share with you an experience that I went through over twenty years ago. At that time, I had discovered the great doctrines of my standing in Christ. Sometimes the doctrine is called our position in Christ. Your position in Christ is where Christ is in you as your all in all, and you are in Him. He is the the First Born Heir, and so in Him we are also joint heirs. God sees us like first born heirs who get a huge inheritance from our Father because God sees us in the only begotten Son. This is our position in Christ. Now, in my experience, I was at a meeting of a gathering of Christians. There was a speaker there doing some teaching from the Bible. While there, the man teaching wanted to make an illustration. I was sitting near the front, and to make a point, the man asked me to stand up. The first question he asked me was what my name is. I told him. Then he asked,
"Kerry, are you a righteous man?"
Now, I want everyone here to think about that question for a moment. Think about that question in respect to your own self. You know your self. You know your thoughts this week, this morning, even over the last hour. You know that you are not perfect. All the mistakes that we make daily are expert witnesses that take the stand in the court of reality to convict us of our imperfections--right? In humble honesty, we know that we are not perfect in either our thoughts or our actions. When we get real with ourselves, and each other, we know we sin. We look at our condition, and immediately we can identify some areas of unrighteousness. They may be large areas. They may be small areas. It doesn't matter. What matters is that they are areas, which means that they are there. And then there is all we have studied over the last weeks. Paul has laid out his own life in bare exposure. Paul said that when it came to the perfect keeping of God's Old Covenant Law, and the righteousness of that kind of activity, he was found blameless. But then what did Paul say?; He candidly admitted that any righteousness that he attained by perfect law keeping is dung. We can look at all our lists of good works. We can look at all our ministry activities. We can look at our great road that we have paved with good intentions, and in appearance, it might all look righteous. It might appear perfect, but if this is what we produce as exhibit A, when asked the question, Are you righteous? then all we have done is put a spotlight on a pile of foul, stinking, maggot infested dung. So, knowing this, and not wanting to be self righteous, what would your answer have been--standing there before multitudes of people, with everyone staring at you in readiness to hear your answer? The minister with the microphone asks you:
Are you righteous?
Ask it of yourself right now. Be honest.
Are you righteous?
Consider standing before the great throne room of God on judgment day. The Holy pure spotlessly righteous God of the universe asks you,
Are you righteous?
What would you say?
Well, I hope that you have been following along with Paul because Paul gives the correct answer for all who have been purchased on the cross in the great ransom; for all who have had the wrath they deserve while in their sins absorbed into Christ for them in propitiation; for all who have had their sins covered with the precious, righteous, cleansing blood of Christ by grace through faith. What Paul is telling us is that he wants to be
"9 ... found in Him [Christ Jesus], not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that [righteousness] which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith," Philippians 3:9
@1 God made Jesus who knew no sin, to be______for me, so that I might become the _______________ of God in Him.
The question for Paul, then, is;
Is Paul a righteous man?
Yes.
Is it a righteousness of his own?
No.
This is the way it is for all Christians. We read,
"21 He made Him who knew no sin, to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." 2 Corinthians 5:21
So, at the outset, I am wanting to establish that in salvation, (which means being in Christ), we really do become righteousness. In Christ, we become the righteousness of God, and that is the righteousness that matters.
So, standing there in that place, I had already learned these things that God had done in me, for me. I knew about my position in Christ, and so--not in self pride; not in arrogance; not in self righteousness, but rather, in worship and proclamation that comes from the Holy Spirit through the word of God, I answered the man. I said,
"I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus."
I did not care what that man, or anyone in that place thought about me. I only cared what God thought about me. It does not matter what others think about you; your answer better be the answer that God cares about;
"I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus."
Paul the apostle loves this great fact of the faith. He teaches it hard in practically every one of his epistles. In a moment, we are going to see how Paul takes this truth, and then raises it up to another level. It is the level of a very ambitious, and passionate man. It is the level of where Paul is the righteousness of God, and while Paul is this, and he knows he is this, he goes onward and upward to wanting to demonstrate God's righteousness in him as much as he can while still alive on this planet. It is the ambition and passion that God wants you to have too. Please read the passage with me,
"9 and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; 11 in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. 12 Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. 13 brothers, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this mind; and if in anything you have a different mind, God will reveal that also to you; 16 however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained." Philippians 3:9-16
Please prepare your heart to learn from the preaching of God's word in this sermon titled,
I Must Press On to be Perfect While Already Being Perfect
[prayer]
Coming into our passage, we see that Paul wants the righteousness that God recognizes. It is the righteousness that sticks. It is righteousness that Paul says you become in Christ. So, in Christ we are this perfect righteousness. In this sense, you are perfect. It is perfection that is based solely upon faith in Christ's work on the cross and in His resurrection. So, Paul says this. He knows this, and preaches it. But then Paul goes on and says something else that seems almost completely unrelated--actually it seems almost like it is the opposite of what he just said; but it isn't. I want you to notice it. It is very important. Look at the first part--verse 9,
"9 and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,
[Okay this is Paul's foundation. It is your foundation. It is my foundation. Now here comes the shift. Pay attention as I read,]
10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; ..."
Now think about this. Paul says that he wants to know Christ. That is interesting, but Paul already knows Christ, doesn't he? This can almost be confusing. If you are saved, then you know Christ. But, Paul has a particular meaning here. He has a particular way that he wants to know Christ. It is knowing Christ in such a way that is married to knowing Christ as Paul's spiritual life source in his salvation. In other words, there is a way of knowing Christ that walks hand in hand with knowing Christ as your spiritual life in your rebirth. Paul already knows the risen, victorious, living Christ in the power of His resurrection in spiritual salvation, but Paul wants more. Christ laid hold of salvation for Paul, but Christ laid hold of much more. This is what Paul is doing. He is saying that he wants more of Christ because Paul wants the much more. He wants more of Christ's life in the Christlike life. The upward call for you and me is more, and so you and I should want more. Paul wants to know the risen, victorious, living Christ, in the spiritual power of His manifestation in Paul's daily walk. That is what we want too. Let me repeat that because it is so important:
Paul wants to know the risen, victorious, living Christ, in the spiritual power of His manifestation in Paul's daily walk.
Paul mentions this power in Ephesians 1. He calls it, God's great power toward us who believe according to the same power that raised up Christ. Paul does not just want to talk about this power. He does not want to just write about it. He does not want to simply read about it and memorize it as a verse of Scripture. Paul wants to live it out. I think most of us here know what Paul means. We want more. And of course, we want to rest in Christ, right? God wants us to rest in Christ in our position in Him. But we also want to run for the Lord while we rest in Christ;
The upward call is to run while you rest.
And you want to be fast, right? We want to be winners. We don't want to settle for being stopped, or being slow. We want to be Holy Spirit permeated, and empowered athletes that win in ministry, and win in holiness, and win in growth, and win in stability. We want this because we are not satisfied with carnal mediocrity. Winning is the only option for someone who thirsts for the upward call. Please realize that Paul is really only saying what he has said before. He wants to cultivate His salvation that he already has, and he wants to cultivate it with awe and reverence, experiencing God working in him to will and work for God's own good pleasure. Cultivating your salvation is to run in Christ, while you rest in Christ. So, Paul recognizes his own duty in a clear and sober way. God wants you to recognize your duty. Paul knows that life is short. God wants you to recognize that life is short. So, Paul is very focused on what matters the most. And so what Paul is doing is recognizing the doing side of salvation. There are many Christians who are saved but they are sitting on the bench. They are saved but they are sitting in sin. They are squandering away the riches of the race in selfishness, and satisfaction with mediocrity. But, God has put up a high call. We all know it as our responsibility. Those of us who have ears to hear, will listen, and then we will follow the music of the Holy Spirit that calls us, and empowers us to live God-glorifying, fruitful Christian lives. God has a desire for you and me to be sold out to Him and His glory, and God is telling us that He wants it to be our high ambition. And so Paul explains the proper place to focus your ambition. The place is the hunger and thirst to know experientially, that same spiritual power that raised your Lord. There is a reason for the power. It is not for you to hoard, and store away. And it is not so that I can be somebody special. God makes sure of that. And so God has devised a special way to get the power. Paul explains both the reason for the power, and he explains how to get it. To get it, Paul knows that all his experiences, including his current imprisonment, are the means that God uses to manifest this power. It's a principle. Listen to me; Everything you go through (including suffering) is a molding experience that God uses to give you this power. So, if you embrace this same principle, you will also experience the power that energizes you toward your godly ambition, and achieving it. Remember, the godly ambition is the upward call of God. Now, here is how the principle works, and you can not be surprised about it, so are you ready?:
First comes humbleness, then comes exaltation, 2:3-11.
First comes weakness, then comes power.
Remember the odd sounding statement?:
I want to know Him. I want to experience the fellowship of Christ's sufferings, being conformed to his death.
Remember that? This is what the fellowship of Christ's sufferings, being conformed to His death means. It's the pattern of Christ, and Paul knows it. First comes the wine press, where the grapes are crushed, smashed, and pulverized. Then comes the sweet, blessing of the wine. In 2 Corinthians the pattern-principle is clear. Paul looked at his state and realized that God made Paul weak for God's purpose. The purpose is good, and the weakness is necessary. Paul says that God told him,
"... power is perfected in weakness." 2 Corinthians 12:9
Our flesh may not quickly accept this, but this is the power pattern. These are the facts. Do you want the upward call? Then your flesh must be brought down low. God says "power is perfected in weakness," and so Paul knows it, and Paul wants the power that glorifies God in a humble serving emptied life that is full of Christ, and so Paul goes on and says,
"Most gladly, therefore I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me." 2 Corinthians 12:9
@2 I will brag about my _____________, so that the power of Jesus Christ may dwell in me.
This right here is exactly what Paul is saying in our Philippians 3:9-16 passage. Before the power, you must be weakened. God does this in Kerry's life all the time. I don't like the way it feels, but I like what it produces in me. God will do this in your life too. If you want the power process, then you must embrace the weakening process. There are no short cuts when you rest while you run. When Paul uses this principle in his letter to the Philippians to convey what he longs for, Paul describes it as his desire to know the fellowship of Christ's sufferings. Paul is saying that he wants to share in commonality with Jesus, in the real pain that our Lord went through in His rejection and earthly cross ministry. How many of you realize that this doctrine is very difficult for people to accept? It is easy to say it, right?--like it is easy for me to teach it this morning; but how many of us truly welcome this doctrinal law-like principle of the kingdom like Paul does? How many of us thirst and hunger for it like Paul does? We pray for power. I hear Christians pray for power all the time. But when the first sign of trouble comes in our ministry where we walk in this world as shining lights meant to reflect God's glory, we complain about the trouble. We complain about the pain. Some of us even get angry with God. But think;
Didn't you tell God that you want more passion for Him?
Didn't you tell God you are not satisfied with mediocre Christianity?
Didn't you tell God that you want to experience the upward call; run the race, attain the prize, and all of that wonderful, glorious power-ambition?
Contemporary doctrines don't help us out with this either. Usually, in our age, what we hear being preached and believed is that suffering is something that is always a curse. Instead of being recognized as a way of attaining God's will, and instead of embracing it as God's power-perfecting of vessels He is preparing to be filled with the power of His Holy Spirit, it is seen as something God puts on us as punishment. Or here is a bizarre irony: it is seen as the devil coming against your prosperity, comfort, and materialism because he is robbing you of your carnal joy. But Paul knows something about this that contemporary theology works hard to avoid. We remember that Paul told these same Philippians that
"29 ... it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only for you to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, 30 experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me." Philippians 1:29
@3 I_____________ and I ______________for Jesus Christ's sake.
There is a blessed reason for the suffering that Philippians experience by God's grant. Paul says that their suffering was a sign of destruction for the lost people who were opposed to the gospel. This is power. Paul also says it is a sign of salvation for the Philippian Christians, and that it is from God in Philippians 1:28. This is power. Instead of looking at suffering as some strange thing that has come upon himself, Paul recognizes that suffering goes along with being a member of the body of Christ. As a member, Paul has a calling. In Paul's calling, Paul rejoices in his particular suffering. He says,
"4 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church," Colossians 1:24
The reason Paul rejoices is because Paul knows he is filling up Christ's afflictions, being conformed to Christ in fellowship with Christ's suffering, and further, to Christ's death (Philippians 3:10). In the upward call, you will be conformed to Christ's death. You must settle this in your mind right now. It is a difficult road, but it is the necessary route. We must rejoice in it even though we don't like the pain. For the Colossians, Paul knows that suffering is for the sake of the body. This is why I say that we must understand that there is a way to get the power, but that we must also realize that there is a reason for this way that God has ordained. God wants us to know that there is a positive outcome spiritually, though it hurts physically. If we do not understand this principle, then we are left operating according to humanism. We will look at the pain, instead of the power principle. We will get bogged down in what seems like a wrecked life--not recognizing that there is a progression, and we are in it, and the progression really does have a result. Instead of praying for the result, we will spend all our time praying against the pain. The point is that it hurts in the physical realm, but this is where Paul is looking for a certain kind of spiritual blessing to come from knowing Christ and the fellowship of His sufferings. Here is what it is,
"11 in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead."
That is what the fellowship of Christ's suffering brings. This is another seemingly odd statement, but this is the way you manifest the power. But think about it: It almost seems like Paul is talking about some kind of works based merit for salvation. It could almost seem like Paul is saying that if I suffer for Christ then I earn my salvation. Doesn't it look like this is what Paul is saying? It looks kind of like Paul wants to suffer so that he can attain to the resurrection from the dead and live forever in glory. But that is not what Paul means. But it can be just as confusing as Paul's earlier statement, where Paul says he wants to know Christ. Paul already knows Christ in one sense. But we know that Paul wants to know Christ in another sense. So we need to understand this. What we need to understand is really very simple. Paul is simply giving, yet, another way that he wants to know Christ. The reason why this is important for you, is because we also want to attain to the resurrection of the dead in the way that Paul is talking about. Now here is the key to understanding this; All Paul is doing is repeating himself. In other words, when Paul says, in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead, he is simply repeating that he wants to know Christ in that special way. Think about this for a moment. You've already experienced the resurrection in one sense. Colossians 2;
"you have died with Christ." Colossians 2:20
Following your death in Christ in salvation came your spiritual resurrection, where you are already seated with Christ in the heavenlies, according to Ephesians 2:6. In Galatians 2:20 the same thing is repeated about you. You have already been crucified with Christ. And now you live in Christ because the resurrected Christ lives in you. Remember what this is called? It is your position. So, you have already experienced a spiritual resurrection in this kind of way, which means you know Christ in that way, right? Stay with me. But, then you also know that you will experience another kind of resurrection because of your co-crucifixion with Christ. It is the resurrection to glory where your body will be changed after you die. God will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, like Paul says in about 5 more verses, in Philippians 3:21. Paul says in Romans 6,
"8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him," Romans 6:8
@4 Because I have died with Jesus Christ, I will also__________forever with Him.
So, you have already experienced co-crucifixion and resurrection with Christ in one sense. Then there is your future glory, where you will experience resurrection in another sense. These are both ways of knowing Christ and His resurrection. Okay, so we need to ask, then;
In what sense is Paul talking about here in our passage, where he wants to know Christ in attaining a resurrection from the dead right now?
What Paul means in our Philippians passage, is exactly what Paul meant earlier in this Philippians epistle, and in other epistles, where what he is concerned with is the powerful manifestation of Jesus out of himself. That is what I have been preaching on this morning. Paul is talking about manifesting the Holy Spirit empowered life of Christ in the high upward call kind of way. It is simple. Paul wants the manifestation of the resurrected life right here right now while on earth in his pre-resurrected body. This is the ambition that we want too. Listen to how Paul words the same principle in 2 Corinthians,
"9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. 11 For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh." 2 Corinthians 4:9-11
This is the principle of attaining to the resurrection of the dead that Paul is talking about. Once you see this from God's word, then it all makes sense doesn't it? When you say that you want to attain to the resurrection of the dead in your life in the upward call, what you mean is that you want more of the life of Jesus manifested in yourself, and out of you, than your own life. And suffering is going to be a huge means for you to get there. Suffering humbles you, and humbleness is necessary to bring the power of Christ out of you. Knowing Christ in this way helps us to start looking like those who are already resurrected from the dead. People who have died and are in the heavenlies in glorified bodies, have already attained the perfection. Instead of waiting until we die, or when Jesus comes back, we reach forward to take hold of our promised perfection. This is why Paul calls this goal the upward call. The upward call is the prize that we want. Paul says,
12 Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. 13 brothers, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
If you were to ask Paul if he was perfect, he would say yes, but only in Christ because Christ attained that for Paul. But, if you were to ask Paul if he always acted perfectly, he would say that such a state will only exist in the afterlife in glorification, which is eternal salvation that Christ attained for Paul also. In the meantime, if you were to ask Paul if his ambition is to reach forward to try and attain that perfection in his thoughts and actions, he would give you this whole passage. You see folks, the upward call--(the call that we press onward toward) is to try and live like that particular kind of glorified perfection right now, right here in this short stay that we have on earth. To press on, then, is to press on for that which has already been laid hold of by Christ for us. Christ has died and conquered death and sin. Christ conquered its hold on us as master, Romans 8. Now we are freed to live for Him. The more humble we are, the more we are diminished. The more we are diminished, the more free from our own self we are to live for Him. God tells us that our life is hidden in Christ who is seated at the right hand of God. Spiritually, we are seated there too, in Christ, Ephesians 1:20, 2:4-6. Reaching forward and pressing on toward the goal of the prize of the upward call is to reach forward to how our life will be revealed at that time that Christ is revealed. There is a parallel in Colossians,
"1 Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. 3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory." Colossians 3:1-4
@5 Keep seeking the things___________where Christ is seated.
We have died and we have been raised. We need to rest in this security. But we are to be seeking the things that are above in our heavenly citizenship while we live down here. Paul called it citizinizing worthily in 1:27. The upward call is the heavenly call. Now here is the point of Paul's urging. He knows he has not attained that kind of heavenly perfection yet, but he wants it, and he wants it now. We want it too. He wants to let go of all the junk of his past. We must do this too. He wants to let go of all the condemning mistakes. It is what we also need to do. He wants to leave all his imperfection behind him. This is necessary for all of us. Paul wants to leave all self righteousness behind. So do we. Paul wants this same mind to be in you and me, and all Christians, and so he makes that strong urging. But, notice what Paul says next, because he says that he is not yet perfect, and when he makes the strong urging to you and me by God's Spirit, Paul also refers to himself and us who are perfect,
"12 Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. ..."
But then Paul goes on and says,
"15 Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this mind; and if in anything you have a different mind, God will reveal that also to you; 16 however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained."
Again, this is one of those kinds of odd statements that could seem like a contradiction in the flow of thought if we do not follow Paul's point. First Paul says he's not yet perfect in verse 12. Now, Paul says, as many as are perfect, let "us" all have this mind together. Again, what Paul is doing is saying what he has always said. You are saved with the righteousness and perfection of Christ imputed to you. You are seated in the heavenlies in the perfect Christ. You are resting in perfection. So Paul is addressing Christians--he is addressing you. All Christians are perfect in Christ. And so Paul is saying to all Christians everywhere that we all need to have this same mind that Paul is having. We need to have this same ambition to be running for the higher standard of living out our Christianity. If you are thinking differently, then God will reveal that also to you. Nevertheless, all of us who are perfect in Christ (because that is what we are in Christ), need to keep on living by that same standard of spiritual progress that we have attained while we are seeking to be even more perfect in manifesting the resurrected life of Christ in us. In other words, run forward, and continue living according to your spiritual progress no matter what level you are at, but don't go backward.
Every single one of us realizes, in a stark way, that we do not think perfect thoughts all the time. You know that your thoughts are not always Jesus thoughts. We all know that our motives are not always pure. We understand that our actions do not always glorify Christ in a perfect manner. You are a sinner saved by grace. I am a sinner saved by grace. We are failures in one sense, but we also know that we are perfect in Christ. So, we know this, and when we look at ourselves we do not see perfection. But, what God wants you to do, is look at Christ in you Who is your perfection, and then from there, do the title of this sermon; I must press on to be perfect while already being perfect. When you do this with your eyes on Jesus, then you are not being self righteous, further, when you fail, you know that He holds you up and keeps you perfectly clean in forgiveness, love, and grace. What God wants, folks, is for you and me to be found by Him in Christ and His perfection, not having a righteousness of our own derived from the Law, or works, or anything else, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith. God wants us to be there, and from there, to know Christ in an upward way, and know the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; and the reason is in order for us to attain to the resurrection from the dead right here right now. This is the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Not that any of us in the body have already obtained it or have already become perfect in that respect, but God wants us to be passionate to run there. He wants us to press on so that we may lay hold of that ultimate perfection for which also we were laid hold of by Christ Jesus Himself in salvation. We do not regard ourselves as having laid hold of it yet; but something we should do is: forgetting what lies behind, we should reach forward to what lies ahead. We should press on toward the goal. The prize that we want to attain is that glorious upward call of God in Christ Jesus. In the meantime, we need to live by the same standard of godliness that we have attained in our spiritual growth already, and not shrink back into worldliness, and complacency, and materialism, and distractions from living for Christ in a higher way as our passion.
This morning, I urge you to question yourself. Ask yourself if you really know whether you are righteous in Christ. If not, then you need to give your life to Christ who gave His life to save sinners on the cross. If you are saved, you need to ask yourself; Do I really want to live the upward call? If so, then you will suffer. But, you will also experience the power of His resurrection, and that is what we want. I urge you to make it your ambition to run while you rest. Answer the upward call in our generation. Don't be satisfied with mediocrity. Seek the satisfaction of the power of the Holy Spirit in the resurrected life.
@1 God made Jesus who knew no sin, to be______for me, so that I might become the _______________ of God in Him.
@2 I will brag about my _____________, so that the power of Jesus Christ may dwell in me.
@3 I_____________ and I ______________for Jesus Christ's sake.
@4 Because I have died with Jesus Christ, I will also__________forever with Him.
@5 Keep seeking the things___________where Christ is seated.
