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8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. 10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. ~ Philippians 3:8-11
In our text, the Apostle Paul pulls the curtain back on what precedes knowing Christ.
The word “know” describes an experiential relationship with God. It is much the same as any other relationship we have. There is give and take involved, and to the degree that we invest in it is the degree to which we benefit from it.
This is not knowing about Christ. This is knowing Him. This knowledge the Apostle is talking about here is not simply a casual contact now and then. We don't get to know our friends that way. The friends we know best are the ones we have spent most time with, or at least we have gone with through deep experiences. This knowledge of Christ comes by continual sharing of experiences together.
In v.8, Paul calls Christ “my Lord” for the only time in his writings. Paul uses the word "gnosko" for "know." Nothing satisfies the heart like intimacy with Christ. If we are to experience "gnosko" with the Lord, we must go on counting everything else that would compete for His place in our heart as loss and even garbage.
It was Mary of Bethany who gave her expensive perfume. She thought nothing of pouring it on Jesus’ feet as an expression of her love for Him. She not only gave a valuable possession, she also did it eagerly, in order to embrace something much more valuable, a personal act of gratitude to Him.
Like Paul, we must give up seeking our identity in our pedigree and our possessions in order to experience Him. In v.9-10 we are given more to what it means to gain Christ. To gain Christ means to have a righteousness from God through faith in Him. God has always pursued us. In fact, if He had not pursued us, we would still be dead to Him.
In v.9, the word “Righteousness” means "covenant membership." In this sense, when we are “righteous,” we belong to God. Paul says, “not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law.” This is not the kind of righteousness that Paul formerly possessed. He had concluded that kind of righteousness as “loss.”
When he says, "be found in him", he means this is what others will see when they examine his life. It's something to be discovered, "found in Him," whether it is in the day-to-day experience or in that final examination of God when Paul stands before Him.
The covenant membership he now possesses does not come from obeying the law but through faith in Christ. He could not earn his place in the family of God. When we have faith in Christ, we believe that He is Lord over that which separated us from God, namely sin and death. God grants us with the gift of righteousness or covenant membership because we believe that His Son's death paid the penalty for our sinfulness.
At this point, Righteousness, is not the goal of Paul’s existence. Paul has and pursues the righteousness of God so that He may "know Christ". For Paul, covenant membership is not an end; it is a means to an end. The end is “to know” Christ.
According to v.10, "knowing Christ" means knowing “the power of his resurrection” and "participating in his sufferings.” If we are to know someone, we must know the story of that person’s life. To know the story of Christ’s life, is to hear about His sufferings and resurrection. Knowing the power of Christ’s resurrection and the participation of his sufferings means connecting with the story of Christ at a deep level. Paul wants not only to know about the story of Christ; he wants to live the story of Christ.
To experience the power of Christ’s resurrection means to experience the risen Lord Jesus Himself through His Holy Spirit, who empowers us by enlightening us, motivating us, leading us, and enabling us to pursue Him. In many ways, the process of experiencing Christ’s resurrection means being empowered to experience the sufferings of Christ. Knowing the power of His resurrection enables us to share His sufferings.
The Apostle ends v.10 with, "becoming like him in his death". On the cross the Lord Jesus was made to be all that we are, sinful and self-pleasing, and He put all that to death. The cross of the Lord Jesus was the end of the believer's sinfulness. When we received the Lord Jesus, we accepted God's judgment on our sin. As a result, we are free to be real humans who are freed, unbound, delivered, and no longer concerned about what happens to us when we sin.
In v.11, Paul uses a word that he does not use in his writings. This word is resurrection. It's an augmented word. When Christ returns only the dead in Christ shall rise. Not all the dead will rise. Only the dead in Christ rise to be with Him. Paul is naturally not afraid that he won't make it.
When we experience this kind of intimacy with the Lord, we will find our hearts breaking for a broken world. When our hearts break for them, and we feel almost as if we are suffering or even wish we could suffer in their place, we are very close to the heart of Christ. When Christ becomes our goal then our pedigree and possessions will be yielded to His purposes in this world.
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