A Dedicated Life to Knowing Christ
- Isaac De Guzman
- Nov 2, 2023
- 2 min read
9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own from the law, but one that is through faith in Christ—the righteousness from God based on faith. 10 My goal is to know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death, 11 assuming that I will somehow reach the resurrection from among the dead. (Philippians 3:9-11)
Yesterday, we read on how Paul considered everything in the world as rubbish in comparison to having a relationship with Christ. In these last three verses of this section, Paul explains why that is. In verse 9, Paul states that having a relationship through faith in Christ is the only way to obtain true righteousness, as in, being acceptable to God, “be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own from the law, but one that is through faith in Christ—the righteousness from God based on faith.” Previously, Paul tried to earn his salvation through upholding the law as best as he could, but earning salvation is impossible due to sin. Thankfully, as Anders summarizes, “God had done everything: created, disciplined, had grace, given his Son Jesus on the cross for our sin, raised Jesus, declared us righteous and justified, adopted us as His children, and promised us resurrection and eternal life.”
Then, in verses 11 and 12, Paul states his goal in life, “to know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, assuming that I will somehow reach the resurrection from among the dead.” The Greek word “to know,” here goes beyond just simple knowledge, but rather to know someone closely in a relationship. Paul wanted to know everything about Christ, as Paul had been transformed by Him on the Damascus Road. This full commitment to knowing Christ is reiterated by Paul in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” As Christ had given His life to save him, Paul would live his life fully dedicated to make Christ known to others. This kind of mentality should be in every believer’s life, purposely to make God known to bring Him all the glory, for He deserves it.
Blessings,
Isaac De Guzman
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