RIGTEOUSNESS - POWER - FELLOWSHIP - GLORY - TO KNOW CHRIST!
"That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death" (Philippians 3:10),
What are you willing to give up in order to know Christ? Whatever it is, knowing Christ is more than worth the sacrifice. When we are united with Christ, trusting in him, we experience the power that raised him from the dead. Remember, Paul gave up everything - family, friendships, and freedom - in order to know Christ and his resurrection power. We too have access to this knowledge and this power, but we may have to make sacrifices to enjoy it fully.
The power Christ gave us helps us to live morally and regenerated lives. But before we can walk in newness of life, we must also die to sin. We must get on the altar and start the fire. Just as the resurrection gives us Christ's power to live for him, his crucifixion marks the death of our old sinful nature. We can't know the victory of the resurrection without personally appplying the crucifixion.
Jesus rose from the dead! For Christians this distinguishes Christianity from other world religions. Jesus still lives! He conquered death! Consequently, to know him personally, intimately, and experientially is the first and greatest goal of the believers life. Paul wanted to know Jesus and his goal is Christian living.
Paul wanted to know Jesus and realized - it takes experience, knowledge, learned sufferings, and the ability to preview what life will be like in eternity. Knowing that you are found in Christ - never see yourself outside of Jesus Christ regardless of how bad things may appear - God never leaves you nor forsakes you. All that God has for you or will ever do for you is in Him, by Him, through Him, and for Him. "to know Him" - means to know by experience. This includes the fellowship in His sufferings. Most of us want soft, easy lives and tend to shy away when we realize that knowing Christ means going through the fellowship of his suffering. The Bible tells us that if we suffer with Him, we will reign with Him. We also need to understand that we are being conformed to His death. We are crucified with Christ - are you ready to die for the cause of Christ?
The goal of the Christian life is to know Christ and to be like Him. Do you desire that goal? Do you have that goal? That's it, isn't it! Christianity is definitely not a religion of rules and rituals that we must work at keeping in order to climb he ladder to heaven. Rather, it is a personal, growing relationship with the risen, Living Jesus Christ that results in our growing conformity to Him. I repeat, our goal IS to know Him and to become like Him.
When we say we KNOW Christ - it could mean we've done a lot of studying and intellectually feel at ease with our knowledge of Jesus Christ. Knowledge has a tendency to "puff" us up, but Paul wanted to know Jesus in the truest biblical sense - personally and experientially. And he wanted this to affect his day-by-day living. Nothing is truly known unless it is being practiced in daily life.
Do you have that desire to know Jesus intimately? Paul wanted to experience the power of the resurrection of Jesus - that would take living a godly life. Paul knew that a life lived with Jesus meant a life of holiness. It isn't easy to live a holy life - we need to work at it and rely on the Lord for His help. Jesus will take us down the path of righteous living if that is truly our desire - as children of God we should move forward not backward.
Sufferings will always come to the child of God, we should not be surprised. Instead, we should rejoice! Paul went through more human suffering than most of us will, but he wanted to react like Jesus, for he knew that abuse received like this would actually draw him closer to the Lord.
1 Peter 4:12-13 says, "Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ."
Such persecutions will come to you, if you seek to live as God commands you. But they need not be tragic. On the contrary, they can draw you closer to Jesus while allowing his life to be clearly seen in you. The knowledge of Christ's sufferings comes at a very high price, the price of total obedience. Thus, Paul writes of "becoming like him in his death."
Jesus chose to be completely obedient in his human form and nature, enduring all the sufferings of this world, and that he even died as a man in obedience to His Father's will. The fellowship of Christ's sufferings is won at the price of such radical and total obedience. Are you like Jeus in that? Are you careful to obey God completely, even at the expense of open persecution and real suffering? If we are to know him, really know him, we must obey him completely.
The aim of the Christian is "that I may know Him." I am here not to realize myself, but to know Jesus. The Christian's aim is to secure the realization of Jesus Christ in every set of circumstances he is in.
