“I want to know Christ.”
In Philippians 3:10, Paul exclaimed, “I want to know Christ, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His suffering.” This poured forth from Paul’s heart after having reflected on the incredible blessing of the righteousness of God not through the law but through faith (3:9).
Paul’s ardent desire to pursue the law prior to His conversion to Christian faith had been replaced with his personal passion to pursue the Christ who alone rendered Paul righteous in God’s sight. So, Paul exclaimed, “I want to know Him.” Now, obviously Paul already knew Jesus through conversion and through a life of devotional growth. But with each awakening day, Paul’s desire to know Christ centered not merely on doctrine or facts alone, but on the personal way that Jesus had truly saved and redeemed Paul. In simple terms, Paul could not get over His salvation. This was the central truth of His life, which influenced every other part. This was the identity of His soul that consumed His whole being.
Paul was not compartmentalized as many of us become. Our identity can at times become divided between who we are at church, then at home, and yet again in front of friends. But when we witness Paul’s words, “I want to know Him,” we see a glimpse into the soul of one who truly lived a life consumed with what happened to Him at His conversion. Paul moved beyond His conversion concerning spiritual growth, but He never moved beyond His conversion concerning what actually had transpired in His life: the power of the death and resurrection of Christ our Lord. Therefore, Paul could think of no other pursuit than to know more about the One who had transformed His life. This fully defined the apostle’s identity, and the same should stand true for us.
You and I should be emboldened by our own conversion to set our hearts toward knowing more of Christ every day. Your identity as a Christian should not be influenced by the compartments of your life, but instead, every part of your life should be perpetually influenced by the fact that every day you are pursuing Jesus. When this becomes your pursuit, you will be directly affected by the truth of Christ’s death and resurrection: “I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection.”
“The Power of His resurrection” reflected for Paul the assurance of personal justification through the resurrection of Christ our Lord. In Romans 4:25, Paul stated, “He (meaning Christ Jesus) was delivered over to death for our sin and was raised to life for our justification.” The resurrection demonstrated that Jesus had “put away sin” by His own sacrifice, and our own personal justification results from this glorious act. And as Paul celebrated, this justification is by faith and faith alone in what Christ has accomplished. From Greek terminology, “justification” indicates one who is made righteous. Looking deeper into this term, justification reflects one who is acquitted from the penalty of sin and moved from the status of eternally condemned to the status of divinely pardoned forever. (In ancient Greek usage, the term was closely associated with being released from deserved punishment.)
Making it Personal
I realize most every follower of Jesus understands that sins are forgiven. But often times, one’s conversion involves a decision being made so quickly (pushed forward by praying a scripted prayer, walking an aisle in church, or signing a membership card) that the core truth of what Biblical salvation proclaims can be lost, or in the least minimized by “the decision.” For many, once “the decision” is made, life goes on as it did before. But truly understanding justification should ignite within each of us that which was ignited in Paul: a relentless desire to know more of the Christ who gave everything to render us innocent of all charges of sin when we were otherwise eternally condemned. And, the resurrection proved that this justification comes by faith in Christ and stands absolute for all eternity. So, having been reminded of this glorious fact, do you not want to say along with the apostle, “Oh that I may know Him in the power of His resurrection!”?
