To Know Christ
To Know Christ. This passage is a personal testimony of Paul to the church at Philippi. Look at the trade-off he made! He gave up everything for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ.
7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.
8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of
the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss
of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
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:
10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the
fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.
12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect:
but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am
apprehended of Christ Jesus.
13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I
do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto
those things which are before,
14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
15 Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in
any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.
16 Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.
Philippians 3:7-16, KJV
To Know Christ
That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death.
Philippians 3:10 is one of the most profound verses of the entire Bible. You would do well to memorize it and make it your life's verse, and then pray that God will make it your goal in life to know Christ.
This passage is a personal testimony of Paul to the church at Philippi.
Look at the trade-off he made! He gave up everything for the excellency
of the knowledge of Christ. Why? So that he might win Christ. This is
not a prize he earned, but a gift. For the true believer, like Paul, we
come to realize that nothing on this earth is worth more in our lives
than Christ. Christ is all!
Paul recognizes in verse 9 that his righteousness is not something that he
himself attained. Rather, Paul attained his righteousness through
Christ; it is the righteousness of Christ that is seen in the true
believer. We truly never become perfectly righteous while on this earth,
but as we grow in Christ, like Paul, we desire to reach for that
goal of perfect righteousness.
This
one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching
forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for
the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
How
do we accomplish this? Go to Christ; Christ saves us, Christ keeps us,
and Christ walks with us all of the days of our life here on this earth, and it is Christ who will bring us home to live with Him forever.
Pray, today, that your goal in life would be the same as Paul's in verse 10.
That
I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship
of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death.
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