Page 18 - March 2025 - Truth & Tidings

n Philippians 3:4-8, the apostle Paul so undeserving of this place of nearness,
has been detailing all that he had but God graciously delights to bless us in
Igiven up of this world in order to gain this way. The hymn writer most fittingly
Christ as his personal Lord and Saviour. In expresses the truth of this precious bless-
verse 9, he is appreciating the place of as- ing: “So near, so very near to God, I cannot
sured blessing and eternal acceptance be- nearer be. For in the Person of His Son, I
fore God to which he had been brought in am as near as He.”
2
Christ: “And be found in him, not having There is a blessed eternal security as-
mine own righteousness, which is of the sociated with being found in Christ, with
law, but that which is through the faith of all our blessings and ultimate salvation
Christ, the righteousness which is of God bound up in Him. In Philippians 3:9, Paul
by faith.” His past life of law-keeping in is comparing the self-righteousness of
1
the weakness of the sinful human flesh the Law with the perfect righteousness
had given him no assurance of an accepted obtained through faith in Christ. With
position before God. But he was now con- Israel under the Law, their blessings from
fidently looking to Christ as the object of God were locked up in a covenant, “If thou
his faith and the only basis for that perfect, wilt, I will,” and therefore were condition-
righteous standing before God. al; they could be lost, taken away or given
to others. The Jew was only blessed under
Positionally In Christ Messiah as an earthly people; their portion
Note that Paul writes, “and be found in was never to be blessed in Messiah.
him,” not “by him”; we are so intimately But in the Church we are blessed un-
linked with Christ that when God looks conditionally in Christ through our union
upon us, He, in fact, sees Christ. The per- with Him where He is now, seated in the
fect standing and righteousness of Christ heavenlies. We have nothing outside of
is given to us before God. In the list of Christ, but we have everything securely
spiritual blessings we have in Christ in and eternally in Him. Our righteous
Ephesians 1, the apostle includes, “To the standing before God in Christ is eternally
praise of the glory of his grace, wherein secure; it can never be taken from us. Israel
he hath made us accepted in the beloved” will yet be blessed with New Covenant
(Eph 1:6). To be accepted before the holy blessings when they accept Christ as their
God of heaven in the blessed person of Messiah, seated upon the earthly throne
God’s only well-beloved Son is truly evi- of David. The blessings for the Church
dence of the riches of God’s grace. We are are secure in the unfailing One who is
today seated upon the throne of heaven,
1 Bible quotations in this article are from the
KJV. 2 Catesby Paget

82 TRUTH kTidings March 2025