For this series in Philippians, I am going to limit each post to one verse, and hopefully produce a short, succinct read for my friends who follow.

3:10   that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,

In our last post we considered who might find Paul in Christ and understood that Paul wasn’t concerned about who was looking at him, whether it be God or man, but that he was in Christ.

So what is it to be found in Christ? Paul continues his thought by speaking of knowing Him.

To be in Christ is to know Him, and since He is the eternal One, this is an ongoing knowledge. An intimate experiential knowledge nevertheless, for Paul uses the Greek term γινώσκω ginṓskō, (not εἴδω, eídō) to identify the type of knowledge he is speaking of. 

I have written previously on this topic of experiential knowledge and refer you to an earlier post Inherit the Kingdom? Who Knew? for a personal story that may help in understanding the knowledge Paul spoke of.

We in the modern world tend to want to find ourselves, to enter into self realization, to understand what makes us tick and in that knowledge, find our place in this world. In “finding ourselves” we are able to love ourselves and then love others, or so the saying goes. 

Not sure who started the requirement for believers to love themselves, but it wasn’t the Lord. You may want to read an earlier post on this subject of self love, and how that relates to the Christian life. Check out What Jesus Probably Didn’t Mean – Matthew 22:39

Per Paul, this is the very definition of not being in Christ, but of being in self. He spoke of this aberration of Christianity a number of times. Consider 2 Timothy 3:2

For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,

Yes Paul’s desire was to know Christ, and since He is the eternal One, our knowing Him will be an eternal process, an ever increasing personal relational knowledge of His character, grace, holiness, humility and power. 

Paul want’s to “know” Him and the power of His resurrection. Is the power that Paul refers to here a continual process as is the “knowing”? Is Paul simply speaking of the last day and of his physical resurrection to life? Might Paul be speaking of a continual knowledge of His power also? Given the

Share sufferings

Like Him in his death

---

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion

Follow Considering the Bible on WordPress.com