Bible Reading: Isaiah 28 & 29: Philippians 3
“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 (KJV)
If Apostle Paul after all his spiritual insight and knowledge as evidenced by his various epistles and teaching says that he desires to know Christ, the power of His resurrection, the fellowship of His suffering and to be made conformable unto His death, it then means that no man can have the full knowledge of Christ. This is a humble submission to the unfathomable depth of the knowledge of Christ, which the scripture tagged as the unsearchable riches of Christ (Ephesians 3:8). Paul writes in Romans of the depth of the riches and wisdom of the knowledge of God, “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!” Romans 11:33(KJV). Apostle Paul sought to know four things that poses four question in our quest for spiritual knowledge as follows: – To what extent is our knowledge of Christ? What is His power of resurrection? What is the fellowship of His suffering? What is been made conformable unto His death? This questions are germane and instructive to our running the Christian race. A clear and well-articulated practical answer will help us daily to evaluate our place in Christ.
These questions are paramount to our everyday assessment of our position in Christ. What knowledge do we have of Jesus? On the other hand, the question can be reframed as, Who is Christ to us as Christians? Christ is our Saviour, our Redeemer, our Deliverer, our Helper, our Protector, our Shelter in the storms of life, He is our Advocate and Solicitor, He is the Wisdom and the Power of God etc. Christ means different things to different people in differing situations. The power of His resurrection is the exceeding greatness of God’s mighty power that raised Jesus from the grave. The knowledge of Christ and His resurrection power are all embedded in the Holy Ghost. The Spirit of God is the power behind creation. It is the Spirit of God that brought God’s word into operation. The knowledge of Christ is inexhaustible and multi-dimensional. The depth of His knowledge is past finding out. The more you seek for Him the more you realized how little you know of Him.
To partake in the fellowship of His suffering is to be persecuted, punished, brutalized and suffer shame, humiliation and reproach genuinely for the sake of our believe in Christ. To suffer deprivation, thirst and hunger for the excellency of knowing Him and living for Him. Gladly bearing chastisement and reproaches for the joy of been part of Him. Been made conformable unto His death represent denying one’s position, reputation and power for the sake of the gospel of Christ. It represent dying to self and mortifying every deed of the flesh to live in the spirit. “And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness” Romans 8: 10(KJV). The scripture went further to say “for if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live” Romans 8:13 (KJV). Our knowledge of Jesus Christ will propel us to live for Him.
Prayer: Father grant me the grace to daily live for you.
Bro. Joel Ezeugo