Knowing Christ
7 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. 8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Phil 3:7-10
Paul wrote these words while he was imprisoned in Rome. He had no regrets regarding his life of service to the Lord. In the previous verses Paul recounted what his life was like as a religious zealout, a Hebrew of the Hebrews, the cream of the crop regarding what he thought it meant to be a True Jew. Paul understood that everything he tried to accomplish for God was truly a work of the flesh, it was his own efforts to be a righteous person according to the Law. Paul thought he had the perfect pedigree that is until he truly met Christ. When he understood who Christ was and what he had done for him, Paul changed his thoughts about his past life. Those things that were of value to him and others he counted them as a loss. They did not add value to his life but rather robbed him of having the true knowledge of Christ. The righteousness he thought he had gained through the works of his flesh did not accomplish the righteousness that can only be found through faith in Christ.
Righteousness means to be in right standing with God. When you are in right standing with God you are accepted by him. The only way we can be acceptable before him is to be clothed with the righteousness of Christ. When Paul discovered this truth it set him free. That is why he called it the excellence of knowing Christ. He found the key to being righteous before God and it was through the work Christ did on the cross. Paul could now declare, “I am the righteousness of God in Christ.” This truth completely set him free from trying to fulfill the demands of the law. Paul lost everything he regarded in his past life as important. He lost his status among the Jewish leaders. He lost his position and all the entitlements that came with him. Muslims experience this same loss when they come to Christ. Many are completely rejected by the family and it is as though they have died and no longer exist. For some they may be killed because they have left Islam and their killing is justified in the Coran. Paul lost everything and was persecuted severely for following Christ. All the prestige he once felt was now counted as nothing because he found the knowledge of Christ. What Paul gained in knowing Christ far exceeded anything he had ever been given or ever would be given living as he had previously without Christ.
For Paul and for us as believers the greatest knowledge we can ever have is the knowledge of Christ. Everything else in life is secondary to knowing Christ. Our passion must be the same as Paul’s, to gain the knowledge of Christ and continue learning about him for all of our lives. Paul wrote in Colossians 2: 3 that in Christ “…in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge..” The more we seek to know Christ, the more knowledge and wisdom we will gain. It requires effort on our part to seek after Christ, to study the Scriptures and apply ourselves to the understanding we gain.
We live in a world that is full of information but what the world needs is a revelation of Christ because in Him is found all wisdom and knowledge. The enemy has been very successful in sidetracking people from knowing Christ through philosophies and other religions. Over ½ of the world is lost, separated from God and pursuing other gods. Many have made up their own religion based on good works or other ideas that will not make them righteous before God. Only Christ can make us righteous before God, acceptable to Him. If you are trusting in anything else you will be disappointed, you will not be accepted into the Kingdom of heaven.
The cry of Paul’s heart was “that I may know him.” I like how the Amplified Bible states it, “that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding [the wonders of his person] more strongly and clearly.” Knowing Christ comes progressively, we don’t understand all there is to know about him. He reveals new things to us about his Person as we continue to passionately pursue gaining knowledge of Him. Christ wants greater depth of our understanding of Him and greater intimacy as we gain more knowledge of Him. The more you know the better it gets and in Christ there is no end. We will never reach the point where we will know it all, we will constantly be exploring the wonders of Christ throughout eternity.
We have just begun our DTS and our goal is “To know Him (Christ) and make Him known.” The students have set aside these next 5 months of their lives to pursue this knowledge of Christ and take that knowledge and share it with a lost world.
I pray that this is the goal for each of us, to know Christ as he really is and for who he is. ..I pray that each of us will never settle for only partial knowledge of Christ, to be content where we are at and miss out on all the Christ has for us. Are you hungry for the knowledge of Christ? Are you passionately pursuing to know Him intimately and in greater depth? How is your spiritual appetite for the wisdom and knowledge that comes through Christ? There is no greater study to pursue than the study of God and Christ. All the other pursuits of knowledge in any area of life as exciting as they may be can never compare with knowing Christ. The earthly knowledge we gain will all pass away but the knowledge of Christ is eternal.
Paul not only wanted to know Christ but he also want to know, understand and experience the power of Christ displayed in his resurrection. Christ through his resurrection defeated the greatest power on earth, the power of death. Death brought finality to life and many people live in fear of death. Many people believe that once you die, it is over. There is nothing after physical death. Other religions teach that you will be reincarnated into another life form based on the life you lived on earth. Christ demonstrated to the world that the power of death was defeated when he rose from the grave. The resurrection power changes everything. If we are raised from the dead then this life on earth is temporal, death in the physical is only a transition to the eternal. The resurrection power of Christ is available to the believer today. There is nothing more powerful than the power to transform a life. We can see the power of God being demonstrated in the earth today through the signs, wonders and miracles that are happening. These miracles defy the laws of nature and are inexplicable. Healings are being reported where metal parts placed in the body are disappearing or the person is able to do things they never were nor should be able to do with the metal part in their body. These amazing miracles are nothing to be compared with the resurrection power that will one day transform this human body into a new heavenly body that will never get sick, never experience pain or suffering and will become an eternal body. This is real power and we get to experience it.
Paul also wanted to understand and participate in the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings. Paul already had experienced a great deal of suffering, physically, mentally and spiritually. He was not asking for a life of pleasure and ease but desired to live in conformity to the death of Christ. The servant is not above his master and if Christ was willing to suffer in the flesh, Paul was also willing to do the same for the sake of Christ. This is not a message that is popular among many believers today who want to experience just the blessings of the Christian life. To think about suffering for Christ is not on the radar screen, it is to be avoided. This attitude to me reflects that the person does not really understand the surpassing value of knowing Christ or the excellency of knowing Christ. Whatever suffering or persecution may come from following Christ is worth it if it will bring others to Christ and allow us to be a witness unto him. The thought of suffering or inconvenience or living at a lower standard of living to have the opportunity to share Christ with others is difficult for many believers to embrace yet desire. Paul was willing to go through many forms of suffering, knowing that Christ had suffered greatly for him. Christ's sufferings continued when Paul admittedly persecuted the church and for this Paul was very repentant. During WWII when decisions were made to invade enemy territory, one of the factors that was always given consideration is how many lives would be lost in the battle. It was inevitable; people were going to die from enemy fire or friendly fire. It was always a difficult decision for those in authority yet the prize they were trying to gain, the freedom of the people, was worth the expenditure of human life. Thousands of soldiers gave their lives for the freedom of people they did not know. We have something more valuable than earthly freedom. We must be willing to experience suffering and persecution so that others will come to know Christ.
The final frontier for missions is going to require people who are willing to suffer for Christ. The nations that are most resistant and militantly opposed to the Gospel will require people who are willing to suffer for the sake of Christ. It will require people like Paul who want to share in the sufferings of Christ. It will not be easy but it will be very rewarding because you will be one who has the privilege of bringing Christ to people who have never heard of him or have been given wrong information about him. Those who are willing to go, to be afflicted and suffer for the sake of Christ will experience him at a deeper level of intimacy and comfort. I read this poem that I think reflects the life of many believers who want a comfortable life.
Comfort me, Lord, and... pay my bills
Comfort me, Lord, and... cure my ills
Comfort me, Lord, and... remove my fears
Comfort me, Lord, and... dry my tears
Comfort me, Lord, and... increase my wealth
Comfort me, Lord, and... preserve my health
Comfort me, Lord, and... plead my case
Comfort me, Lord, and... enlarge my place
Comfort me, Lord, and... tell me "why?"
Comfort me, Lord, and... set me on high
Comfort me, Lord, and... do what I say
Comfort me, Lord, and... do it today
The Spirit listened as I uttered my mind
He said not a word as I pleaded and pined
And then He spoke in the language of conviction
Saying, "Comfort isn't comfort in the absence of affliction."
Are we really willing to go through affliction for Christ or do we just want to be comforted from the seemingly minor things in life that have consumed us?
Paul’s attitude and desire was to be conformed to Christ’s death. It was not that he had a death wish but rather that he was willing to pay whatever price that was required of him.
Paul was a seeker of the intimate and deep knowledge of Christ, not head knowledge but experiential knowledge of Christ. He was also sought to understand and experience the resurrection power of Christ and finally he was willing to share in the sufferings of Christ for the privilege of bringing the Gospel message to the lost.
Paul challenged the believers to follow him as he followed Christ. He pursued Christ with passion to know Him and serve Him. May the same be said of our lives.
