Knowing Christ

Philippians 3: 9-11

Knowing Christ

Paul discovered that Christ paid the full price for all our sins. By believing in Him, God clothed Paul in the righteousness of Christ, so that he would never again be enslaved by sin.

He like every man had to come to an understanding that he did not have any righteousness of his own, through keeping the Law – but he was imputed with the pure and holy righteousness of Christ

It is only through the grace of God that He sent His only begotten Son to pay the full price of our sins, so that simply by believing in Him we would be clothed in righteousness of God, based on faith in Christ

Paul came to know the power of the resurrected Lord when he was struck down on the Damascus Road so all conversions do require the same mighty power of the risen Lord Jesus Christ, because they all require God to raise the sinner from spiritual death to spiritual life (Eph. 2:4-6)

The same resurrection power is necessary to sustain the believer as he walks in victory over sin.

In Romans 8:11 he explains, “But if the Spirit of He who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you

God uses suffering to burn off the wastefulness of life and purify us.

But we must cooperate with Him by humbling ourselves under His mighty hand when we go through trials, trusting His sovereignty over our suffering, and casting all our cares on Him.

In Galatians 2:20 Paul states, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me.

Jesus always lived by denying temptations to live in His own power or for His own ends. He lived only to do the Father’s will.

The process of sanctification will be completed. We will be like Him, totally apart from sin, sharing in His glory throughout eternity.

John applies this wonderful truth, “Everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure” (1 John 3:2, 3).

Our goal is to know Jesus Christ and to become more and more like Him. We will have temptations where we need to rely on the power of His resurrection.

View it all as an opportunity to know Christ and to remind you that it is preparing you for that great day when He comes, and you will be raised up in glory with Him for all eternity.

Let’s Pray:

Father, we long to know Christ more and to know the power of His resurrected life in us. We pray that we may partake of all the sufferings in our life in obedient submission to Your Spirit and that day by day we may be increasingly conformed into the image and likeness of the Lord Jesus, in Whose name I pray, AMEN.