Nuggets and Gems from the Bible

Awaiting
Christ
for the
Transfiguration
of Our Body
 AWAITING CHRIST
FOR THE TRANSFIGURATION
OF OUR BODY
In chapters one and two of Philippians Paul’s
intention was to have communication, fellow-
ship, between him and the believers in Philippi
that he might share his experience of Christ so
that the believers might be encouraged to have
a full participation in his enjoyment of Christ.
At the beginning of chapter three, Paul changes
his emphasis. Although it is rather difficult to
trace Paul’s thought in this chapter, my burden
in this message is to consider Paul’s basic con-
cept in Philippians 3.
If we read this chapter carefully, we shall see
that Paul refers to two groups of people who
were exerting a strong influence in the Mediter-
ranean area. The first group was the Judaizers,
the Jewish religionists, who were zealous for
their traditional religion. In Philippians 3:2 Paul
speaks of them as dogs, evil workers, the conci-
sion. The second group consisted of those who
held to the Epicurean philosophy, which promoted
1
indulgence in the pleasure of eating and drink-
ing and self-gratification in other things, all of
which are contrary to the cross of Christ (Phil.
3:18-19). From verse 2 we see that Judaizers
were causing damage to the Philippian believers.
From verse 18 we see that those who practiced
according to the Epicureans were also causing
damage to them. The former was of Jewish ori-
gin; the latter, of a heathen source. Paul’s under-
lying thought in this chapter is related to these
two groups. As we shall see, in speaking of the
Judaizers, Paul deals with the soul, especially
with the mind, but in speaking of the Epicure-
ans, he deals with the body. The Judaizers did
not promote the enjoyment of material things.
Rather, they zealously promoted their particular
religious philosophy. Both religion and philoso-
phy involve the mind. For the most part, reli-
gious people and philosophical people are not
occupied with material things. They do not care
to indulge themselves in such things as eating
and drinking. On the contrary, they may even
restrict themselves in these matters. The things
to which Paul refers in Philippians 3:3-7 are not
material things, but things related to religion,
philosophy, and culture, things which have much
to do with our mind.
2
 The believers in Philippi had been saved and
regenerated in spirit, but there was still the need
for them to care for their soul and body in a
proper way. As Paul was writing chapter three,
deep within him was the intention to give cer-
tain instructions to the Philippian believers con-
cerning how to deal with the soul and the body.
Therefore, he first spoke of the Judaizers in order
to edify the Philippians in dealing with the soul.
Then he referred to the Epicureans in order to
instruct the believers in dealing with the body.

TRANSFORMATION AND
THE RENEWING OF THE MIND
If we would deal with the soul, we need to
count as refuse all religious matters, philosoph­
ical things, and cultural elements, and we need
to be transformed by the renewing of the mind.
According to Romans 12:2, the renewing of the
mind is a basic aspect of transformation. The
transformation of our soul depends to a great
extent on the renewing of our mind. If our mind
is not renewed, our soul will remain unchanged.
To say that our mind is renewed means that a
change has taken place in our way of thinking.
The thoughts of many believers are still occu-
pied with religious, philosophical, and cultural
3
things, the very things mentioned by Paul in
Philippians 3:7 and 8. These matters are related
to the psychological world, to the world of the
soul. Many are also taken over by a natural way
of thinking. Such saints may be good, but they
are the same in soul today as they were many
years ago. A primary reason for our lack of
transformation is that a huge rock, the rock of
national characteristics, is occupying our soul,
taking the place that belongs to Christ. In the
case of every one of us, national characteristics
occupy our soul. Our soul has been taken over
by this rock.

THE NEED FOR SURGERY ON OUR SOUL

We may also liken national characteristics
that occupy our soul to a tumor which grows in
a person’s stomach until there is room for little
else. In our psychological stomach a tumor has
grown and has taken over nearly all the room
which should be reserved for Christ. For this
reason, our inner being cannot contain much
spiritual food and it cannot function normally.
Believers from every country, and even from dif-
ferent regions in a particular country, have a
tumor characteristic of them. This tumor grows
especially in our natural mind. It has grown to
4
such a degree that it has become part of our very
constitution. Only the most skillful Surgeon—
the Lord Jesus Himself—is able to remove the
tumor hidden within us.
In Philippians 3:1-16 Paul deals with this
tumor; he operates on our soul, especially on our
thinking. When he was Saul of Tarsus, Paul had
a large tumor in his soul. This tumor influenced
Paul’s thoughts about the Jewish religion, law,
circumcision, and tradition. But one day the Lord
Jesus, the greatest Surgeon, operated on Paul,
and a huge tumor was removed from his mind.
However, with most of us, this surgery has not
yet taken place. The tumor is still in our soul.
For a number of years I was bothered within
by a question for which I was not able to find an
answer. Why do Christians who truly love the
Lord and seek Him earnestly go on year after
year without growing in life? Even though they
read the Bible faithfully, they do not see any­
thing. Now I have at least part of the answer. The
lack of growth in life and shortage of revelation
in reading the Word are caused by a tumor in
their psychological stomach.
In Philippians 3:15 Paul says, “Let us there-
fore, as many as are full-grown, have this mind.”
If we would have “this mind,” we must have a
5
mind without a tumor, a mind filled with Christ
and occupied with seeking Christ, gaining Him,
and enjoying Him. In order to have such a mind,
we must be operated on by the Lord and have
our psychological tumor removed. Oh, may the
Lord show us how we need such a mind!

THE PHYSICAL BODY AND

ITS ENJOYMENT
After dealing with the soul in Philippians
3:1-16, Paul goes on to deal with the body in
3:17-21. These five verses deal with physical
enjoyment, especially as practiced by the Epi­
cureans. As genuine seekers of Christ, we need
surgery to eliminate our religious and philo­
sophical thoughts, and we also need a proper
dealing with the physical body. In verse 19 Paul
speaks of those “whose god is the belly,” but in
verses 20 and 21 he says that we are awaiting the
Lord Jesus Christ, “who will transfigure the body
of our humiliation, conforming it to the body of
His glory.” In these verses Paul deals with the
physical body and its enjoyment.
Paul says in verse 17, “Be imitators together
of me, brothers, and observe attentively those
who thus walk as you have us for an example.”
The example here does not refer to what Paul
6
has covered in the foregoing verses. Instead, it is
the example set by those who deal with the phys­
ical body in a proper way. How do we know that
verse 17 refers not to the things of the soul, but
to the things of the body? We know it by the fact
that verse 18 begins with the word “for,” indicat-
ing that this verse is an explanation of verse 17.
Verse 18 says, “For many walk, of whom I have
told you often and now tell you even weeping,
that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ.”
They were enemies of the cross of Christ, which
has terminated the indulgence of the lusts of the
physical body.
As we have pointed out, the Epicureans care
for indulgence in the enjoyment of eating and
drinking. Paul refers to this in verse 19, which
says, “Whose end is destruction, whose god is
the belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who
set their minds on earthly things.” In promot­
ing the enjoyment of eating and drinking, the
Epicureans were more concerned with physical
indulgence than with ethics or morality. Today
many take the way of the Epicureans to indulge
in physical enjoyments. On the weekends some
are so given to sports and physical pleasures that
they forget everything else. Of the Epicureans
Paul also says that they “set their minds on
7
earthly things.” By earthly things he means
physical things, material things, matters of eat-
ing and drinking.
According to the book of Colossians, Paul
did not agree with asceticism, with the prac­
tice of treating the body severely. But neither
would he agree with the Epicurean indulgence
in physical enjoyment. We need such things as
food and clothing. Without them, we cannot live.
However, we should not indulge ourselves in
these things.
In Philippians 4:11 Paul says, “I have learned,
in whatever circumstances I am, to be content.”
The Greek word rendered “content” is a Stoic
term, indicating a practice opposite to that of
the Epicureans. The Stoics taught that a person
should be content in all circumstances, caring
neither for enjoyment nor for suffering. Paul
used this expression in testifying that he had
learned the secret to be content. In principle,
we Christians agree neither with the Epicureans
nor with the ascetics. In a sense, we may some-
what stand with the Stoics.

CITIZENSHIP IN THE HEAVENS

In Philippians 3:20 Paul goes on to say, “For
our citizenship is in the heavens, from which
8
also we eagerly await a Savior, the Lord Jesus
Christ.” The Greek word rendered “citizenship”
may also be rendered commonwealth or asso­
ciations of life. Our national life is not in any
earthly country; it is in the heavens. Our real
citizenship, our true commonwealth, is in the
heavens.
Because our citizenship is in the heavens,
we should not be occupied with earthly things,
with the physical things needed for our exis­
tence. We should not place such a high value on
material things. This does not mean, of course,
that we should not have proper food, clothing,
housing, and transportation. We definitely need
these things. But anything that goes beyond
need falls into the category of indulgence. Such
indulgence is to be condemned. If we love the
earthly things needed for human life, this is an
indication that we do not treasure our heavenly
citizenship.

THE TRANSFIGURATION OF THE BODY

From the heavens we are eagerly awaiting a
Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who “will trans­
figure the body of our humiliation, conforming
it to the body of His glory, according to the oper­
ation of Him who is able even to subject all things
9
to Himself.” The transfiguration of our body will
be the ultimate consummation of God’s salva-
tion. In His salvation God first regenerated our
spirit (John 3:6), now He is transforming our
soul (Rom. 12:2), and, consummately, He will
transfigure our body, making us the same as
Christ in all three parts of our being.
In Philippians 3:21 Paul refers to our body as
“the body of our humiliation.” This describes our
natural body, made of worthless dust (Gen. 2:7)
and damaged by sin, weakness, sickness, and
death (Rom. 6:6; 7:24; 8:11). But one day this
body will be transfigured and conformed to
the body of Christ’s glory. Christ’s body of glory
is His resurrected body, saturated with God’s
glory (Luke 24:26) and transcendent over cor-
ruption and death (Rom. 6:9).
No matter how we may feed and clothe our
body and no matter what kind of automobile we
use to transport it or dwelling place to house it,
it is still a body of humiliation. You may allow
your body to rest on the best and most expen-
sive bed, but it is nonetheless a body of humilia-
tion. However, we should not hate or despise our
body. If we despise our body, we shall practice
asceticism. In a very real sense, we should love
our body for the Lord’s sake. We need to care for
10
the body without allowing it to indulge itself.
One day, the Lord Jesus will come and trans­
figure the body of humiliation and conform it
to the body of His glory.
In Philippians 3:21 Paul says that the trans-
figuration of the body of humiliation is “accord-
ing to the operation of Him who is able even
to subject all things to Himself.” The transfigu-
ration of our body is by the great power which
subjects all things to the Lord (Eph. 1:19-22).
This is the almighty power in the whole universe.
I believe that now we can grasp Paul’s basic
thought in Philippians 3. In this chapter Paul
instructs us concerning both how to deal with
the soul and how to deal with the body. To deal
with the soul, we must count as loss all religious,
philosophical, and cultural things so that Christ
may occupy our entire being and that we may
gain Him to the uttermost. To deal with our
body, we should take care of our physical need,
but not indulge in excessive physical enjoyment.
Our aim should be to care for the body in a
proper way that it may be healthy for the Lord’s
expression. But our intention should not be to
glorify the physical body through the over enjoy­
ment of physical things. Our body is not to be
glorified in this way, but is to be glorified at the
11
time of the Lord’s coming back. At that time, He
will transfigure our body of humiliation. Thus,
we are waiting for Christ to come back that we
may be brought into the ultimate consummation
of God’s salvation—the transfiguration of our
body. Day by day, we are undergoing the process
of transformation in our soul as we are waiting
for the Lord to come to transfigure our body and
thereby to bring us into the ultimate consum-
mation of God’s salvation.

This booklet is compiled from

Life-study of Philippians
© 1988 Living Stream Ministry
Please feel free to share this eBooklet with others.
See more titles in this series at
www.lsm.org/booklets.

SEE LINKS TO PURCHASE

Life-study of Philippians
AUDIOBOOK • EBOOK • PRINT

12
Purchase Life-study of Philippians
Click on the badge for the format
you wish to purchase.

Audiobook

eBook

Print
FO
Q Available at
LSM Bookstore
U

www.lsm.org/life-study-philippians