‘Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ’
Philippians 3:8
I’m a university student studying theology, and in my experience there seems to be two different outcomes for those studying Christian theology. There are those who become arrogant, who like to spit out facts, or verses, or theological terms that no one understands; then there are those who deeply want to understand and know Christ and are interested in serving Him to the best of their ability… I hold dearly to this passage from Apostle Paul, “Knowledge puffs up while love builds up. Those who think they know something do not yet know as they ought to know. But whoever loves God is known by God” (1 Corinthians 8:1-3). Although there is value in better understanding doctrines and studying these things, I would be ashamed if my heart was impure amidst that process; I feel that so many miss the point of why we study Scripture… if it’s not coming from a desire to love and know God, to seek His face and advance His kingdom, then what are we doing? ANY THEOLOGY THAT DOESN’T BRING ME(or others) CLOSER TO CHRIST IS A WASTE OF TIME. Excuse me, I had to get that out. Anyways… as a proper theology nerd, when I’m bored in class I start researching random questions about theology. This research ended up leading me to Philippians 3, and I was quite literally in class with tears in my eyes, fighting to hold them back as I’m struck by the beautiful simplicity of this passage about the desire to know Christ. I quoted Philippians 3:8 above, which is the verse that brought tears to my eyes, but it is verses 12-14 that really drives it home. I want to analyze this passage from verses 7-14; I truly believe if anyone truly meditates on these words and receives them with an open heart, their walk with the Lord will become profoundly more intimate. Holy Spirit renew our minds and plant Your Word firmly on our hearts.
What Genuine Relationship Looks Like
'I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!' Philippians 3:7-11.
It is always so clear when reading Paul’s epistles that he is a man that has been transformed by the renewing of his mind(Rom 12:2), and operates according to the mind of Christ(1 Cor 2:16). He writes, “I once thought these things were valuable,” referring to his life as a Pharisee, living according to the law of Moses, before encountering Christ; “but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him.” The infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. What a beautiful statement. I’ve read Philippians several times and these words just didn’t quite resonate with me in such a way as it is now. The more I’ve matured in my walk with Christ, and the more I’ve spent time in His presence, the more my heart has softened and have come to truly know Him. Scripture begins to unveil in beautiful ways when you have experienced a glimpse of what the author is speaking of. This passage reveals to me the deepest desire in my heart, to know Jesus and be known by Him. I want to know His mind, His thoughts, His heart, His power, His Spirit, etc., and I want Him to know the inward parts of my heart which no one knows. I want Him to know my cares and worries, I want to share with Him what I’m passionate about, I want Him to know my shame and impurities so he can tell me how he truly sees me, purify me and make me more like Him. There is “infinite value” in that, dwelling on Christ and inviting Him into my heart and into my day-to-day life is when that relationship becomes genuine, and the more I know Him the more I hunger and thirst to know Him more. That true relationship is what enables me to set aside earthly, temporary desires, and take up the amazing opportunity to co-labor with Christ for His eternal kingdom. How sad would it be to pass away one day and know I didn’t experience the amazing plans that God had in store for me.
“This truly is the vision of God: never to be satisfied in the desire to see Him.”
Gregory of Nyssa
2 Ways of “knowing Christ”
We can grow in knowledge of God consciously, in the mind, and inwardly, in the heart. Both are extremely important and I want to make this distinction. Jeremiah 31:33 says, “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.” We see a clear distinction in this passage between heart and mind. I’m not going to write a crash course on the difference between the heart/mind/soul/spirit in this post, but what is important to note here is that the Lord is concerned with both the heart and mind.
Knowing God Consciously
2 Peter 3:18 says, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” and Philemon 1:6 says, “I pray that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ.” Growing in knowledge and deepening in understanding are extremely important in order to be an effective tool in the hands of God. We know that in order to be transformed, our minds need to be continuously renewed in order to test and discern the will of God according to Romans 12:2. This is why it is so important to continually read Scripture, and also to be under the influence of good teaching and leadership, first and foremost by the Holy Spirit but also by genuine men and women of God who have a deep understanding of God’s Word and a genuine relationship with the Lord. “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth”(2 Tim 2.15).
Knowing God Inwardly
Growing in knowledge is valuable but remember that on its own, knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. Anything done without love is empty of value, because God cannot dwell in any work that lacks love. Growing in knowledge in the mind certainly (should) affect the heart, but there is a type of knowledge that can only be felt.. or experienced. Ephesians 3:17-19 says “so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” To KNOW this love that SURPASSES KNOWLEDGE. Make it make sense. This is a type of intimate experience that goes beyond the mind’s faculties, it’s something I felt two years ago when I got on my knees and surrendered to the Lord. It’s something I experience when I worship God from the depths of my heart, and in many other instances like simply reading Philippians 3:8 recently and setting my gaze on Jesus. “But whoever loves God is known by God”(1 Cor 8:3)… to be loved is to be thought of and understood, and to be pursued and fought for. This is the love that the Lord has for us and unless you experience that your heart will remain hard. THIS is the type of love we ought to give to the Lord, to desire Him, to seek to understand Him, to pursue Him, to give ourselves to Him because when we do… we are known by Him. “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” Jeremiah 29:13. The most beautiful thing occurs when you truly seek the Lord. You’ll find that he’s been waiting for you, tugging at your heart the whole time.
‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. ‘
Revelation 3:20
I also want to highlight what Paul writes in Philippians 3:7 “because of what Christ has done.” I want to highlight one aspect of what Christ has done through his sacrifice on the cross. Ephesians 2:13 says, “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” It is so essential to know this and accept it by faith, that in accepting Jesus as your Savior and submitting to Him as Lord, you are covered and redeemed by His blood and made right with God. It is by His blood that we are brought near to God, it is not by anything you do or don’t do. The reason this is so important is that when you don’t “feel” close to God, when you fall short, or simply aren’t living perfectly(duh), you need to know that it is not through your perfection that brings you near to God; it is the blood of Jesus. Don’t take advantage of this grace, because sin so easily ensnares us(Heb 12:1). Instead, simply acknowledge this grace, be extremely grateful for it and remind yourself of this truth constantly until your heart knows it so deeply that you are always inwardly aware of His nearness.
Straining Forward To What Lies Ahead – Desiring God
"Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:12-14
Paul fleshes out his point here, he has not yet attained perfection, but presses on towards it. As believers filled with the Spirit of God, there is a constant battle going on within our nature. It is part of our spiritual nature to submit to the Lord, to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, to seek after Him with all our heart, and to lay down our lives in obedience. Our sinful human nature desires to see its lust satisfied, to experience pleasure and comfort and live according to our momentary desires. Paul writes about this in Galatians, “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want” (Galatians 5:16-17). The Holy Spirit leads us towards perfection, towards Christ, becoming one with Him. This understanding is why Paul forgets the past and strains forward to what lies ahead, his genuine pursuit of Christ in the Holy Spirit is what enables him to put his flesh to death and live this life on earth as a vessel for Christ. But if Paul has found Christ, why does he continue to “strain forward”? As Gregory of Nyssa writes, “to find God is to seek Him unceasingly” (Homilies on the Song of Songs). Unlike earthly desires that fade when satisfied, desire for God increases the more it is fulfilled, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life” (Proverbs 13:12). This Proverb used to not make much sense to me, because usually when Scripture talks about desires it is referring to our sinful, worldly desires, and instructs us to cut those off. But when it comes to desiring God and seeking after Him, each encounter with God and revelation of Him fulfills that desire, yet stirs up a deeper longing for more of Him. This is because we are participating in his goodness, or “seeing God” via the heart. We look with the eyes, but see with the heart… “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). With that being said, the kingdom of darkness, the lusts of the flesh and eyes, and the pride of life(1 John 2:16) are all attempting to fulfill their own wills, each of which ensnare you, and hinder you from walking with God. It is so important to stay alert, and continue to abide in Christ, without whom, we can do nothing.
The Power that Works in us
Let me end with this point. The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead, lives in the believer. That power is at work within us, “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us” (Ephesians 3:20). Yes, God can do EXCEEDINGLY ABUNDANTLY above all we can ask or imagine… I hear that line in the church world often, but the rest of the verse is left out. He does it “according to the power that works in us“. There is power and authority available to the born-again Christian, but authority in the spiritual realm cannot be faked. There is an account in Acts of the seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish priest, who attempted to cast out a demon in the name of Jesus because they knew of Apostle Paul casting out demons. “But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?” And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded” (Acts 19:15-16). Spiritual authority can’t be faked. As Paul writes, “I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead” (Philippians 3:10). You can’t experience his power without knowing him, and knowing him intimately and truly. To live is Christ and to die is gain.. until we share this mindset we will be lucky to witness of the power of God.
There is infinite value in knowing Christ. His love, his purity, his thoughts, his power, his suffering, his goodness, his mercy, his grace, his joy… I will spend all of my days, in this life and in eternity, straining forward to get a fuller glimpse of His glory. May Your kingdom come, and Your will be done.