Gospel Centered & Eagerly Awaiting

This summer we are working through the book of Philippians, and today we are looking at verses 16-21! In these verses, Paul urges believers to live as citizens of heaven by keeping the Gospel at the center of their lives. The Gospel isn’t just the starting point of the Christian life - it’s the foundation for all spiritual growth. As we pursue Christ, we must engage in intentional discipleship, following godly examples and surrounding ourselves with people who challenge us to grow. Paul warns us not to live like those whose minds are set on earthly things, but rather to build our lives on what Christ has done, not on what the world says we should be. 

You Will Never Outgrow Your Need For the Gospel

In verse 16, Paul says “only let us live up to what we have already attained.” He isn’t encouraging his readers to strain toward something new - but rather to keep pressing forward in the same Gospel that they heard and received at first. As we start to finish chapter 3, Paul keeps circling back to the Gospel. It all comes back to a focus and a drive towards the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This whole chapter is meant to encourage us to have a Gospel-centered life!

As believers, we never outgrow our need for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The good news of what He has done on the cross doesn't shrink with time — it expands. The more we grow in our knowledge of God, the more clearly we see our own sin and our desperate need for a Savior. And as that awareness deepens, so does our dependence on the cross. You will never mature to a point where the Gospel becomes irrelevant. In fact, true spiritual growth only magnifies your hunger for grace and your awe of what Jesus has done. The Gospel is not just the starting line of the Christian life — it’s the engine for all growth.

Stay the Course

Paul wants us to steadily push forward in the Gospel that we’ve already received. In other words - we are to keep the main thing the main thing, and stay the course as we grow in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

What does it mean to live up to what we have already attained?

• Don’t go backwards in your faith. Don’t abandon what God has already taught you or brought you through. Don’t drift back to the habits and patterns of your old life. Stay in step with what you know is true!

• Put your faith into practice. We have already attained salvation by grace through faith. Now it’s time to walk in that truth! Let your life reflect the reality of what Christ has done in you!

• Don’t seek new revelation - seek deeper obedience to what God has already revealed. Sometimes we want to go “deeper” by learning “new revelation” - but we neglect obedience to the things we’ve already learned. Paul is reminding us that true depth is found in faithful living, not just knowledge. You don’t need new revelation to follow Jesus - but rather deeper obedience to the Gospel He’s already given you.

  
  

One Hand Forward, One Hand Back

As we seek to live in step with the Gospel, discipleship is a key part of the process. In verse 17, Paul invites the Philippians to spiritual maturity through imitation. He says: “Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do.”

Paul invites the Philippians to imitate his example and the pattern of his life - his relentless pursuit of knowing Christ, his humility, his rejection of self-righteousness, and his hope in heaven. He isn’t pointing to himself as the ultimate model but as someone who is imperfectly yet sincerely chasing Jesus. 

Discipleship has always been a deeply relational process. If you want to grow in a specific area of your life, find someone who is faithfully living it out, and follow their example. Discipleship means reaching forward to those who are further along in their walk with Chrsit, while also reaching back to help those who aren’t as far along as you are.

In this New Testament, this kind of discipleship wasn’t built on programs or classes, but on people. Jesus didn’t give His disciples a textbook or a 6 week or 6 month program, but He gave them Himself. He walked with His disciples, talked with them, did ministry with them - and they learned to watch Him, listen to Him, and imitate Him.

Discipleship is about sharing life, not just lessons. In the church, we ought to be a community of believers who are always reaching forward to learn from those ahead of us spiritually and reaching back to invest in those who may be new to the journey. 

Just as Paul tells the Philippians to “join together in following my example” and “keep your eyes on those who live as we do,” (Philippians 3:17), he elsewhere encourages Timothy to take what he has learned from Paul and “entrust [it] to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2). A critical piece of learning to be a disciple of Christ is involving yourself in the messy work of discipleship. Follow faithful examples - and be a faithful example. In doing so you are growing as a disciple and follower of Jesus and being Gospel Centered people like Paul is urging us to be.

When Desires Rule, Destruction Follows

Now that Paul gives us the examples we are supposed to look toward, he also gives some examples of those who have missed the mark. Examples we should not follow. In verses 18-19, he says “For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is their destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things.”

Paul says this with tears in his eyes, and pain in his heart. He describes these bad examples - those who live as enemies of the gospel - with these four descriptions. Their destiny is destruction, their stomach is their god, their glory is their shame - and their mind is set on earthly things.

• Their destiny is destruction. Paul begins with destruction - which represents eternal separation from God. The type of people that Paul is referring to have so committed themselves to their own impulses and desires that they have neglected the Gospel of Jesus Christ and therefore will face eternal separation from God. 

This is why Paul gives this warning with tears - because it is not a light matter. Hell is a real and sobering reality that should stir something deep within us. His warning against this kind of influence in the church is due to the severity of living committed to self and pleasure rather than the Gospel.

• Their god is their stomach. These individuals are enslaved to what feels good rather than what honors God. This metaphor has nothing to do with food, but represents a life ruled by physical cravings, selfish desires, and unchecked impulses. This is in contrast to a person who lives under the lordship of Jesus Christ. We see this in the modern world in consumerism, materialism, the prosperity gospel, pornography, gluttony, constant entertainment, and the narcissism of social media. When desires rule, destruction follows.

• They glory in their shame. You see this all over the world today. There is moral confusion and distortion - where we celebrate what should cause us sorrow. The kind of influence Paul is referring to are not just those struggling with sin, but those who are celebrating and relishing in their sinful lifestyles. 

When you put this together with the imagery of a life dedicated to one’s own appetites and desires, you see a picture of a person who goes after every earthly and temporal pleasure even when it means sin and lawlessness, and feels no regret, shame, or sorrow. They boldly rejoice in the liberties and freedoms they have chosen for themselves, at the expense of true freedom in Christ.

• Their minds are set on earthly things. Ultimately, the root issue that Paul is getting to is a mindset consumed by the temporary things around us instead of the eternal things of God. Earthly-minded people prioritize money, status, power, security, success, pleasure, comfort, etc. - because they don’t value the eternal things of God. 

These four phrases describe a life that rejects the power and the message of the cross, exalts self over God, and lives for now instead of forever. Paul is giving us a contrast - choose to follow those that make the Gospel the center of their lives - not those who orient themselves around their own hearts and passions.

Live Like You’re Already Home

Why should we live with the Gospel in mind rather than our desires and comforts? Because of what Paul describes in verses 20-21: “But our citizenship is in heaven. As we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables Him to bring everything under His control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body.”

We don’t belong to this world. We aren’t defined by our past or the surrounding culture. We are not slaves to our desires or anchored to temporary things. We belong to Jesus - and our hearts, our minds, and our hopes are fixed on Him.

Paul isn’t just offering comfort, he is giving a commission. If our citizenship is in heaven, we don’t just wait for Christ to return - we live in such a way that reflects His Kingdom now. That means that we speak heaven’s language - one of grace, truth, and encouragement. We embody heaven’s culture - one of love, humility, holiness, and justice. We also carry heaven’s mission - make disciples, shining like lights. 

Don’t wait for our final transformation to start living differently - start living differently because you've already been reborn. You aren’t called to blend in, but to stand out. Live as though heaven is a reality already, and orient yourself around Christ today. We are residents of heaven already, even if we feel far from home in this messy middle!

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Philippians Week 8: July 27th, 2025. Preached by Ben Dieterly

Article Edited by Julia Castro