FOUND IN HIM

Philippians 3:9 “And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:”

The words “And be found in him,” translate “heurisko” and means, “to find by enquiry, thought, examination, scrutiny, observation, to find out by practice and experience.” It is an aorist tense, passive voice, and subjunctive mood. The aorist tense is a point of time divorced from time and perpetuated forever. The passive voice means that Paul was discovered by those who found him. He was the object of the search and was discovered, “in Him.” The subjunctive mood speaks of the potential. Have a look if you want, Paul will be found by you in Him. Being found in Him is being saved, safe, and absolutely secure. But let’s look at this being found in some different ways.

BEING FOUND BY HIM A SINNER

Matthew +13:44, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.”

“Note, in introduction, that this fifth parable was not spoken from the ship to the multitude upon the shore, but within ‘the house;’ and the character of it seems in some relative degree to alter. It is no longer a parable, illustrating the kingdom of heaven in respect of the manner of its operation, but emphasizing the value of itself, and the sense of its value as entertained and proved by some; and it is no longer a parable revealing the wide hold it shall establish over the mass of mankind, but the mighty hold it shall gain upon the individuals of whom the mass is composed. The parable exhibits these facts respecting the kingdom, and that which is of the very essence of it — the treasure of the gospel, the truth of Christ.” — Pulpit Commentary.

It is the kingdom of heaven that is like unto treasure hid in a field. Which does he speak of here? The kingdom as a whole, or, the kingdom made up of individuals, this being a individual found by the Lord, and buying the field to get the one. If this is true, the worth He placed on me when He found me, is absolutely awesome. As I view myself, I am not a treasure worth the trouble to buy me. But looking at it from the divine viewpoint, Jesus puts a high value on me and buys the field to get me.

There is a lot said today about self esteem. It would seem by those who deal with this subject that it is all important that one has a good self esteem. They do not have a Bible in hand when they begin to write or speak on this subject. It is not self esteem that we need. That lends itself to pride which is a major sin. It is self worth based on the price that the Lord Jesus placed on us by dying to redeem us from eternal ruin. To think He found us in the wide field, and when He did, He went and bought the field to get what He calls the treasure. It should thrill us to no end that He considers us a treasure worth buying the whole world (not all mankind) to get that treasure. I put “not mankind” because all mankind is not willing to be found by Him. Though He died for all men, He did not take all sinners, and make them into what He considers, a treasure worth redeeming. Whosoever will may come.

We are found by Him a sinner worth redeeming. The thing that improves our worth is the value He places on us and the price He paid to purchase the field.

FOUND IN HIM A SAINT

Our text says, “And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:”

First, let us notice where we are found. “And be found in him . . .” Just like we were all in Adam, all the saved are “in Christ.”

Let’s look at where we are in Adam as we are born naturally in this world. Many think because they are born naturally in this world that God has nothing to do with their birth. John 1:4 9,