Philippians 3:10 – To know Him!

[This] to know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings…

The glory of the achievements Paul spoke of earlier, he has left behind as forfeit and refuse. Now he boasts that he is righteous , as a gift from above (“righteousness from God”) and guaranteed by the faith of Christ. His drive now is to get to know this resurrected and glorified Christ more and more!

Knowing this is not just a knowing , it is also a power . The power of Christ’s resurrection. The same power with which God once raised Christ from the dead, is also the power that is available to us now (Rom.8:10,11). In Colossians (1:11), Paul writes that we are empowered with all might to “endure all things with patience and joy.” Now that’s power ! And isn’t that also the power that bubbles up in this entire letter, as it were?

The second thing that comes with knowing Christ is “the fellowship of his sufferings.” By this Paul refers to sharing in the reproach and misrepresentation that Christ is undergoing in the present time. “fellowship of his sufferings” we experience when we speak his Word, so that the same denial also falls to us .

Delen: