As Paul the apostle
explained the inadequacy of the flesh to develop a relationship with
God, he used himself as an example. Though his heritage, upbringing,
and self-righteousness was greater than anyone else, they were still
incomplete and counted as “loss” and “dung” compared to his
faith in Christ. In chapter three and verse ten Paul shares three
reasons that he has the righteousness which is of Christ and not of
himself where we read:
That I may know him,
and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his
sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
The
verse begins, “That I may know him,...” The
first benefit to Paul having the righteousness which is of Christ is
that he “may know him”
which means “to know, understand, perceive, and have knowledge of “
something. Jesus said in the gospel of John in chapter seventeen and
verse three:
And this is life
eternal, that they might know you the only true God, and Jesus
Christ, whom you have sent.
Paul's
idea was that because of the righteousness which is of Christ, he
would intimately know Jesus Christ. This intimate knowledge cannot be
obtained in any other way.
The
verse goes on to say, “...
and the power of his resurrection,...”
The second benefit to Paul's acquiring of the
“righteousness of Christ” is
the “power” or
“inherent power, power residing in a thing by virtue of its nature,
or which a person or thing exerts and puts forth” “of
his resurrection” which is
“rising from the dead”. The miracle working power of the
resurrection was demonstrated in Christ's life when He was raised
from the dead, and Paul desired to know that special demonstration of
God's power working within his own life.
The
verse continues, “...and the fellowship of his
sufferings,...” The third
benefit to Paul having the “righteousness of Christ”
was “the fellowship”
which is the Greek word “koinonia” and means “fellowship,
association, community, communion, joint participation, or
intercourse” “of his sufferings”.
“Sufferings” means
“externally, misfortune, calamity, evil, affliction and enduring”,
and certainly Jesus knew what these were like as He went through the
agony of the trials, afflictions and sufferings that led to His death
on the cross. Paul desired to know the intimate closeness of Christ's
sufferings which are obtain through faith in Him.
Finally
the verse says, “...being made conformable unto his
death;” As Paul would suffer,
he would be “made conformable”
which means “to be conformed to, receive the same form as” “unto
his death”. By enduring the
intimate sufferings because of the cause of Christ, Paul knew that
his fleshly desires would be put to death, and therein he would
relate to the willing “death”
that Jesus endured on the cross for everyone in the world. Because
Paul was willing to know the fellowship of Jesus' sufferings, he
would be formed and fashioned in a manner that was like unto Christ's
death. His flesh life would be put to death, and his spiritual life
would relate to God.
Many
love the idea of the knowing Christ and “power of the
resurrection”, but many do not
enjoy “the fellowship of his sufferings”.
Many desire to know God intimately, however they only want the
benefits of His power and not His sufferings. How about us? Are we
willing to allow Jesus to conform us into His image through not only
His power but also His sufferings? As we ponder the idea of
intimately knowing our Savior, may the Lord help us know the benefits
of His power and sufferings, and may the Lord work in us the fashion
and form that He has in mind for our lives.
Next
time Paul shares the added benefit of knowing Jesus intimately, so
read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the
Mount” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ;
www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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