Bible Reading: Jeremiah 14-16; 1 Timothy 5
“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)
The life ambition and purpose of Paul was to know Jesus Christ better. He had known Him for a better part of his life, yet, he wanted to know Him better. He could aim no higher. In Philipians 3:8, Paul referred to knowing Christ as “the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord.” There is no end to knowing about the greatness of Christ.
It is interesting how many people feel that coming to Christ initially in salvation(new birth) is all there is to know of Him. Salvation only introduces us to Him. As we grow in grace, we understand Him better:
“But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.” 2 Peter 3:18 (KJV).
It is through the study of the Word of God, we will know Him better. The Bible is called “The Word of God”, it is God’s thinking about Christ. The more we study the Word of God, the more we become more intimate with Him as we grow in grace. Salvation is only the beginning of knowing Him. His person is many splendored, It takes time to know Him.
The word “know” means to know by experience. It is not enough to know Jesus Christ literally. We must know Him personally by the experience of fellowship with Him. That experience comes primarily from the study of Scripture through the help of the Holy Spirit.
We need to experience Jesus Christ daily. We need to know Him more intimately as our Lord. Being a Christian is essentially a relationship with Christ and not a religion, the more reason it is crucial for us to develop our relationship with the Lord. The more we center on the person of Christ, the more our spiritual life grows. If we lessen our relationship with Him, our spiritual life weakens.
Prayer: Father, I receive grace for daily study of Your Word to know more of Christ.
Pastor Alfred Samuel