Message By Eddie DSouza on September 13, 2026

Passage: Philippians 3:17–21

Topics: Glorification, Hope, The Resurrection of Christ

I have three questions for you. First, “What kind of people do you deeply admire?” I am not asking, “Who do you follow on social media?” Nor am I asking, “Whom do you claim are your influences?” A good way to answer that question is to ask yourself what you dream of and deeply desire. But that will not sufficiently reveal your deepest desire. You must also ask yourself whom you envy and for what. What you hope to be and what you hate that others have reveal what you deeply admire and the kind of people you really follow.

Second, “What rules you?” “What is it at the core of your being that determines how you make decisions or how you act?” I am not asking if you are emotional, pragmatic, rational, etc. in decision-making. I am asking, “What governs your decisions?” What is the rule by which you operate? What gets your time? What gets your money? What do you think about when you have nothing else to think about? What do you find hardest to say no to?

Third, “What are you waiting for?” Every person is waiting for something. Some wait for the weekend. Some wait for the day the salary gets credited. Some wait for their children to grow up. Some wait for the next holiday. Some wait for things to get better. What you wait for tells something about you. If all you wait for is the next good thing that happens, then this world is probably more important to you than you realize.

You see, in Philippians, we do not just learn what happens to us when we die; we are also taught how to live. We are taught what kind of people we are to be as Christians while we live! We grow in Christian maturity.

Christian maturity is increasingly having Christ as our righteousness and goal, the cross as the pattern of our present life, and resurrection glory as our future hope. Maturity is learning to live now according to the reality of what Christ will make us then. The mature person says: Christ is my righteousness, Christ is my prize, Christ is my Lord, Christ is my savior. Christian maturity is not a destination then but a lifestyle.

How should Christians aspire to live? Mature Christians live as citizens of heaven, awaiting the Savior who will transform their bodies into the likeness of his glorious body. Let me repeat that: Mature Christians live as citizens of heaven, awaiting the Savior who will transform their bodies into the likeness of his glorious body. Maturity is a Christ-centered, cross-shaped, resurrection-oriented way of life. My sermon has three parts: Christ-centered, cross-shaped, and resurrection-oriented.

Maturity Is Christ-centered

Christian maturity is Christ-centered. The whole of chapter 3 attests to this fact. In the first part of this chapter (vv. 1–11), Paul says that Christ is the ground of his confidence. Our confidence is not in circumcision or any other outward rituals. We do not depend on self-righteousness. We glory in Christ (v. 3)! The righteousness that comes from Christ by faith is the ground of our confidence as Christians. Thus, we begin from Christ.

The Christian walk is just that. It is a walk. It has a beginning, an in-between, and an end. Christ is the beginning. Christ is also the end—the goal. Paul’s desire is to gain Christ, to attain to the resurrection that Christ has (vv. 8, 11). That is his goal.

The in-between of this Christian walk involves pressing on toward the goal (vv. 12, 13). Paul lives this way. See v. 17. Paul invites the Philippians to imitate him. He lives as an example of Christ-centered living. His teaching and his life show it.

However, he also invites the Philippians to look at others to see whether they follow the same pattern as Paul in their walk. If they do, they are worth imitating.

There is a slight catch, though. Paul does not say imitate anyone who calls himself a Christian. Nor does Paul say imitate one another. That should grab our attention. At the very least, it means you should not imitate anyone. You should not be imitating anyone who calls themselves a Christian. You should look for the pattern that Paul lived by. Some Christians are imitable. Some of you might object and say that Paul does not mean some Christians but all Christians because he describes those who are not imitable as enemies of the cross of Christ. How can we call a Christian an enemy of the cross of Christ? Because these are Christians only by name. They claim to have believed in Christ but do not really walk as a Christian ought to. We will discuss this in point 2. For now, think of these as people who identify as Christians but are enemies of the cross of Christ. So in my mind there is a category of someone who calls themselves a Christian but is not—they are an enemy of the cross of Christ.

Let’s press this further. This means that there is a type of Christian who we may call mature. Their life pattern is Christ-centered. But there is another category. Some Christians are not Paul-like. This is not because they are enemies of the cross of Christ, but because they are immature and are learning. Paul is asking the Philippians, some or most of whom are in this category, to imitate him and those like him. So, not everyone who calls themselves a Christian but does not live a Christ-centered life is an enemy of the cross of Christ.

Here is why… That word “many” in v. 18 is helpful. There are many who are enemies of the cross of Christ. Not all who are non-imitable are enemies of the cross of Christ. But many are. On the one hand, that should comfort a Christian with an over-sensitive conscience. They should not feel like they are being called an enemy of the cross of Christ or that their end is destruction. On the other hand, it should alarm us that many are indeed walking as enemies of the cross of Christ and not walking Christ-centered lives.

That settles who we must imitate. Now, how can we imitate Paul? The question matters because Paul lived long ago and is now with the Lord. The answer: you can look at his teachings, especially in Philippians 3, and see whether a brother or sister walks as Paul did—whether their manner of life is Christ-centered.

By Christ-centered, we mean that the ground of their confidence is not in them but in the person and works of Christ. Not just their ground, but that the goal of their life is to attain the resurrection in order to be united to Christ in glorification too. Further, their life is characterized by a pressing on to this goal. Their life is characterized by awaiting a Savior from heaven (v. 20). Little children sit by the window, waiting for their friend to come home and play with them. That’s what Christians are like—awaiting their Savior from heaven.

So, maturity is not simply knowing more. It is having Christ as the beginning, center, and end of the Christian life. The mature Christian does not graduate beyond Christ; he becomes increasingly Christ-centered.

Maturity Is Cross-shaped

My second point is: maturity is cross-shaped. Look at vv. 18–19. Look at the first description of the ones Paul is warning the Philippians about. They walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. They walk in this manner. That is, they have this pattern in their life. It is recognizable.

Look closely at the enmity. They are not enemies of the cross in general or of the crucifixion as a punishment. They are not activists against crucifixion. They are enemies of the cross of Christ. One would be tempted to say that they are enemies of the gospel. No. The way their life pattern is described does not point in that direction. They are not against evangelism or the gospel message. They are not persecutors. They are not Judaizers. Again, they are not enemies of Christ. They are enemies of the cross of Christ. This is a specific description. They dislike the cross of Christ. If you were to ask them whether that is true. I think they would answer, “No way!” I do not think people who walk as the enemies of the cross of Christ would say that they hate Christ. And therein lies the danger.

They despise and reject the cross of Christ—not with words, not meaning to do so, but nevertheless, despite their words, their actions speak louder. Their minds are set on earthly things. Look at how Paul describes them: their god is their belly. That does not mean they are food-lovers or gluttons, although that may be the case. It means they are given over to their appetites. They are governed by animal instinct more than a renewed mind. They do not walk by the Spirit but walk in the flesh.

Jesus said that his disciples must pick up their cross, deny themselves, and follow him. Instead, many Christians make their bellies their god and show themselves to the enemies of the cross of Christ.

Remember the wilderness generation? Israel came out of Egypt. However, many fell in the wilderness because they made their bellies their god.

Listen to Numbers 11: 31–34: Then a wind from the LORD sprang up, and it brought quail from the sea and let them fall beside the camp, about a day’s journey on this side and a day’s journey on the other side, around the camp, and about two cubits above the ground. And the people rose all that day and all night and all the next day, and gathered the quail. Those who gathered least gathered ten homers. And they spread them out for themselves all around the camp. While the meat was yet between their teeth, before it was consumed, the anger of the LORD was kindled against the people, and the LORD struck down the people with a very great plague. Therefore the name of that place was called Kibroth-hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had the craving.

Kibroth-hattaavah means graves of craving. When they made their bellies their god, they were destroyed by God. That is why Paul can confidently say of those who are the enemies of the cross of Christ that their end is destruction. That is a certainty.

Listen to Psalm 106: 7–15 says, Our fathers, when they were in Egypt, did not consider your wondrous works; they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love, but rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea… Yet he saved them for his name’s sake, that he might make known his mighty power. He rebuked the Red Sea, and it became dry, and he led them through the deep as through a desert. So he saved them from the hand of the foe and redeemed them from the power of the enemy. And the waters covered their adversaries; not one of them was left. Then they believed his words; they sang his praise… But they soon forgot his works; they did not wait for his counsel. But they had a wanton craving in the wilderness, and put God to the test in the desert; he gave them what they asked, but sent a wasting disease among them… When men in the camp were jealous of Moses and Aaron, the holy one of the LORD, the earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the company of Abiram. Fire also broke out in their company; the flame burned up the wicked… They made a calf in Horeb and worshiped a metal image. They exchanged the glory of God for the image of an ox that eats grass. They forgot God, their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt, wondrous works in the land of Ham, and awesome deeds by the Red Sea. Therefore he said he would destroy them— had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him, to turn away his wrath from destroying them… Then they despised the pleasant land, having no faith in his promise. They murmured in their tents, and did not obey the voice of the LORD. Therefore he raised his hand and swore to them that he would make them fall in the wilderness, and would make their offspring fall among the nations, scattering them among the lands.

Friends, this is the story of those who are redeemed by God. Not all who are redeemed remember God’s works and act accordingly. There are many who are destroyed because they reject God and make their appetites their god. There are those who are the enemies of the cross of Christ. They are ashamed of what is glorious, and they glory in their shame. They have their life backward. Their eyes are on earth. They do not lift their eyes up to heaven and await a savior. They are consumed by their life here on earth, forgetting that this life is not all there is.

Maturity Is Resurrection-oriented

But our citizenship is in heaven (v. 20). Look at what Paul says. Our citizenship is in heaven, from where we await a Savior. Paul could have said Set your mind on heavenly things instead of earthly things. He says so in Col 3:2. “Set your minds on things above, and not on things that are on earth.” But in Philippians, his aim is not to exhort Philippians to put to death what is earthly in them and put on godliness, as he does in Colossians. Instead, teaches them that there are those who are eager for the appearing of Jesus and the resurrection of their bodies. Their lives are markedly different from those who do not await their Savior or their resurrection. It is the other side of the same coin. If you desire the goal, you will live a certain way. That’s Philippians. In Colossians, he says to live this way because there is a goal.

Mature Christians await their Savior and the resurrection. Look with me to Romans 8 briefly. Look particularly at vv. 12–17. The first point there is that because we are indwelt by the Spirit, we owe it to the Spirit to put to death the deeds of the flesh by the Spirit. Do you see that? It is in vv. 12 and 13. Then in vv. 14–17, Paul says we are adopted to be glorified as well. There is a condition there—provided we suffer with Christ.

Let us return to Philippians 3. Look how Paul is willing to suffer all things for the sake of gaining Christ and attaining the resurrection from the dead in vv. 10, 11.

Now, let us go back to Romans 8. Look at the next verse (v. 18). The willingness to suffer today for Christ is contrasted with the glory that will be revealed in us in the future. The glory is so much more incomparable that the suffering today is not a big deal. Paul is not talking about the suffering of illnesses and grief as much as he is talking about the suffering involved in putting away the deeds of the flesh—the appetitive animal in us.

Let us see Paul’s reason for saying so. He says that all creation and we, Christians, eagerly await our adoption as sons—the redemption of our bodies (vv. 19–23, emphasis on 23). So we long for bodily glorification. Do you know why?

Look at the next verse: For in this hope we were saved! Friends, we were not saved merely to escape hell. That is a shallow desire. Salvation is to be with Christ forever. We desire such intimate fellowship with Jesus, in his suffering and in his glory. We desire the resurrection of our bodies. Nothing less than that will do. Jesus did not die for less than that.

So we wait for it patiently. We put to death sin. And when we are not able to do so, look at the help we have. Look at vv. 26–27. The Holy Spirit intercedes for us. He prays for us according to the will of God.

What is the will of God for us? What is God’s purpose? Look at v. 28. God’s purpose is to work all things out for our good. Our good! The good of those whom he predestined. We need to ask what is that good. The answer is in the next verse. Look at it… to be conformed to the image of his Son. Friends, that resurrection. The word “conformed” is the same word translated “transformed” in Phil 3:21. Jesus, our heavenly Savior, will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body. That is our hope in salvation. We have full confidence that Jesus can do so because he has the power to subject all things to himself. It is the same power that enables him to resurrect us.

Mature Christians are resurrection-oriented. We fight our sin, put to death our flesh, do not live for our appetites and passions because we desire the resurrection. We who belong to Christ have crucified our flesh along with its passions and desires (Gal 5:24) and produce the fruit of the Spirit (v. 23).

Conclusion

Friends, we do not win the fight against sin by more knowledge. It is won by loving Jesus more than loving the world. It is desiring what Jesus has experienced more than what we have experienced so far. We long for his appearing to fellowship with him in the resurrection as well. This love fuels the killing of sin in our lives. Sinful living is not an intellectual problem; it is a moral problem. Learning more about holiness does not produce holiness in us. Loving Jesus makes us more holy and is consummated in a glorious body that lives with Jesus forever.