The priceless value of knowing Christ
I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault. I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ. Philippians 3:5-8
From the text. Paul recounted what people value as worth of an individual. Then, he surprised his readers including us when he said in v. 7, “I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done.” One by one he carefully mentioned all the merits that he thought would matter in the sight of men yet he counted them “as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” This was because of his experience when the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ talked to him at the Damascus Road (see Acts 9). The Lord Jesus Christ became the only person that mattered to Him. To know Christ as His Lord and Savior is the only thing that matters to him. It was His grace that brought him to his need of Christ. He calls Jesus “my Lord.” His declaration came from an understanding of God’s revelation through the coming of Christ. He realized that no one should be given the title Messiah for it only belonged to Jesus Christ. His divinity provided Him the distinction of being the only Savior. “Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being” (Philippians 2:6-7). His position as Lord called for His authority to be over all creation for there will come a point in time that “every tongue [will] confess that Jesus Christ [Messiah] is Lord [Yahweh], to the glory of God the Father” (2:11). No wonder that all the assets that Paul had were considered “loss” because it mattered to him that he “gained” Christ. Knowing Christ personally and intimately superseded everything. Does Christ have the place of supremacy in your life? You cannot be both in love with this world and the material things and claim that you are in love with God. “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money” (Matthew 6:24).
Blessings,
Noel De Guzman Westside Baptist Church www.my-wbc.com
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLqiZiBVEdY
