Come Let Us Adore Him | Knowing Christ Intimately
Come Let Us Adore Him: (Part IV)
KNOWING CHRIST INTIMATELY
Philippians 3:8-11 (ESV)
8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order 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 comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—
10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,
11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
On October 13, 2012, Pastor John Ortberg wrote a beautiful article on Huffington Post summarizing the six ways that Jesus impacted the world. Here are they:
1. Children
In the ancient world, children were routinely left to die of exposure — particularly if they were the wrong gender (you can guess which was the wrong one); they were often sold into slavery. Jesus’ treatment of and teachings about children led to the forbidding of such practices, as well as orphanages and godparents.
2. Education
Love of learning led to monasteries, which became the cradle of academic guilds. Universities such as Cambridge, Oxford, and Harvard all began as Jesus-inspired efforts to love God with all ones’ mind.
3. Compassion
Jesus had a universal concern for those who suffered that transcended the rules of the ancient world. His compassion for the poor and the sick led to institutions for lepers, the beginning of modern-day hospitals.
4. Humility
The ancient world honored many virtues like courage and wisdom, but not humility. People were generally divided into first class and coach. “Rank must be preserved,” said Cicero; each of the original 99 percent was a personis mediocribus. Jesus’ life as a foot-washing servant would eventually lead to the adoption of humility as a widely admired virtue.
5. Forgiveness
In the ancient world, virtue meant rewarding your friends and punishing your enemies. Conan the Barbarian was actually paraphrasing Ghengis Khan in his famous answer to the question “what is best in life?” — To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of their women. An alternative idea came from Galilee: what is best in life is to love your enemies, and see them reconciled to you.
6. Humanitarian Reform:
Jesus had a way of championing the excluded that was often downright irritating to those in power. His inclusion of women led to a community to which women flocked in disproportionate numbers. Slaves—up to a third of ancient populations—might wander into a church fellowship and have a slave-owner wash their feet rather than beat them. The apostle Paul said: “Now there is neither Jew nor Gentile, slave or free, male and female, but all are one in Christ Jesus.” Thomas Cahill wrote that this was the first statement of egalitarianism in human literature.
Without a doubt, the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ had a massive impact on the world. However, the sad reality is that very few people understand and appreciate them today. I won’t even be surprised if believers themselves are not entirely familiar with them.
Because of this truth, as we end 2020 and enter a very promising year, 2021, I would like to recommend to everyone in our church family pursue this worthwhile goal of knowing Jesus Christ more intimately. You see, with this goal, we thought that beginning January, we would help everyone discover who Jesus is and what He has done for us using the books of the Bible. Since Jesus Christ is the central theme of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, we will try to highlight each book and present what it teaches about Him. For example, in January with 5 Sundays, here are our topics:
1st Sunday – Genesis, Jesus is the Center and the Seed of the Woman
2nd Sunday – Exodus, Jesus is the Passover Lamb
3rd Sunday – Leviticus, Jesus is our High Priest
4th Sunday – Numbers, Jesus is the Pillar of Cloud by Day and the Pillar of Fire by Night
5th Sunday – Deuteronomy, Jesus is the Prophet like unto Moses
Now, the question you might be asking is: Will it really benefit you to know Jesus more? Most definitely! And to prove it, I would like us to study a passage written by the apostle Paul while he was imprisoned in Rome. What makes these verses very significant is that the apostle Paul had identified his primary goal as a believer and as a servant of Jesus Christ. I’m sure you will agree with me that next to Jesus Christ, the apostle Paul would probably be considered the greatest evangelist/missionary who helped spread the Gospel and the growth of the church of Jesus Christ. From our main text, verse 10 would be the key sentence – “that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.”
The kind of knowledge that Paul is talking about in this verse is not the theoretical knowledge that one gets in reading a book or being taught by a teacher. It is the knowledge that comes from one’s experience. In the Christian life, this knowledge would come with a daily walk with Jesus Christ. Let’s examine our text together and discover several aspects regarding this experiential knowledge of Christ:
I IT BEGINS IN KNOWING ITS EXCELLENT VALUE
When you read verse 8, the apostle Paul started by saying, “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” In other words, Paul came to an important realization that there were things, which he thought were very valuable, but in reality, they were worthless compared to the true knowledge of Jesus Christ. We will understand this statement better when we read verses 4-7:
Philippians 3:4-7 (ESV)
4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more:
5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee;
6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.
7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
Clearly, before knowing Christ as his personal Savior, Paul considered some of the things mentioned in these verses as the bases of his salvation before God:
His Ancestry (5a)
His Religion (5b)
His Activity or Achievements (6a)
His Morality (6b)
However, after he met Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9), his values changed. He realized that knowing Christ personally was far more beneficial for him. Therefore, he continued in saying, “For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.”
It is interesting to note that the word “rubbish” in this verse can literally mean “dung” or “poop.” He uses this word to drive across the idea that these things he thought were so important were actually worthless. This incredible truth is even illustrated in the parable of the hidden treasure:
Matthew 13:44-46 (ESV)
44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls,
46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
I hope we get this truth using these parables – Jesus is the greatest treasure in life that to truly possess and enjoy Him, we must be willing to let go of other worthless things.
II IT BRINGS ABOUT AN EXEMPLARY VIRTUE
This second central point is plainly stated in verse 9 – “and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith.”
Like all significant religions today, people had been indoctrinated with the false notion that if they do their best to obey God's Laws according to their best abilities, God will accept them when Judgment Day comes. However, the apostle Paul came to realize the worthlessness of self-righteousness. He came to realize that what he needed was to be given the righteousness of Jesus Christ or the exemplary virtue that he could receive by faith. Two Biblical cross-references can help establish this truth further:
James 2:10 (ESV)
10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.
First, the main reason why no one would be saved by self-righteousness is that no matter how much we try, we cannot obey all the laws of God. God’s standard is stated plainly in this verse – failure in one means failure in all. Having established this truth, now, we can highlight God’s provision for us sinners:
Romans 3:21-23 (ESV)
21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—
22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Listen, since our righteousness is falling short of God’s standard, He provided perfect righteousness through Jesus Christ that you and I can only receive by faith.
This truth is so liberating to many people today. Why? Can you imagine how burdensome it is to work of your own salvation and never come to any assurance whether or not you have done enough? Praise God that He allowed His Son to go to the cross so that He can give us His righteousness when we trust Him by faith. The late great reformer John Calvin said these words:
We shall never be clothed with the righteousness of Christ except we first know assuredly that we have no righteousness of our own.
III IT BREEDS AN EXCEPTIONAL VICTORY
Lastly, knowing Jesus Christ will not only lead to receiving the greatest treasure on earth that is Christ, receiving His righteousness that will give us one hundred percent (100%) approval before God, it will also grant is exceptional victory over all the troubles of life. Here is how Paul stated it in verses 10 to 11 – “I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.”
There’s no doubt that as you walked with Jesus Christ daily, you will also share in His sufferings (Philippians 1:29). However, more than the troubles and sufferings, we will most certainly have the power of His resurrection that would give us exceptional victory in life. Examining the “power of His resurrection,” we need to make two distinctions:
1. Power Over Sin
One major problem we have even after we have believed in Christ is the power of sin over our old sinful nature. But you see, the apostle Paul teaches that in knowing Christ, we have been given the ability to live a new life that possesses the victory over this sinful nature.
Romans 6:1-4 (ESV)
1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?
2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?
3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
The question in verse 6 is the main discussion here. Then, Paul explained in the next verses that we don’t have to continue living in sin because we have already been baptized in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. As a result, we can now walk in the “newness of life.”
The question for us is: Are we living this new life today? Let’s not forget, this new life is the most visible manifestation of Jesus Christ living in us.
2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV)
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
2. Power Over Death
The last application of this power of His resurrection is that we will also experience the same resurrection even when we have experienced death. Paul taught this wonderful experience to the Corinthian believers:
1 Corinthians 15:51-55 (ESV)
51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.
53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.
54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
55 “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”
Listen, Jesus, through His resurrection, made death powerless. Today, if you know Jesus personally, you can face death with this assurance that you will not remain in the grave because God will raise you into immortality, possessing an imperishable body.
As I close, I wonder how many of us have maintained this desire to know Jesus more intimately. I believe with all my heart that the more we know Him, the more we will go deeper in our love for Him. I pray that as we continue to live our lives as Christ’s followers, especially this 2021, we will know what it means to put Jesus at the very center of our lives. Hillsong sang this beautiful praise song entitled, “Jesus at the Center.” Reflect and pray through these words:
Nothing else matters,
Nothing in this world will do
'Cause Jesus You're the center,
Everything revolves around You
Jesus You,
At the center of it all,
At the center of it all
Jesus be the center of my life
Jesus be the center of my life
From beginning to the end
It will always be, it's always been You
Jesus, Jesus
-Dr. Jeremiah Lepasana