BIG IDEA:
KNOWING CHRIST IN A TRANSFORMING WAY IS THE ONLY PURSUIT WORTHY OF ETERNITY
Gutzke: “It is tomorrow that gives special meaning to what I do today. Whatever I do today, it is tomorrow when I am going to reap the consequences.”
Matt. 16:25-26
I. (:8-9) KNOWING CHRIST AS THE SOURCE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS TRANSFORMS US TO LIVE A LIFE OF FAITH
A. Lofty Goal — Worthy of Eternity
1. Summary: “the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord”
2. Two Parts:
a. “that I might gain Christ”
b. “and may be found in Him”
Kent: “… probably has an eschatological aspect. Paul wants the divine scrutiny he will undergo at Christ’s return to reveal unquestionably that he had been in vital spiritual union with Jesus Christ.”
3. Ultimate Goal: Approved by God as one who has the Righteousness of Christ
a. Negatively — “not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law”
b. Positively — “but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith”
MacArthur: A right relationship to God is not by works, it’s by faith. Boy, that’s the key to this whole passage. You say, “What is this faith?” Let me give you a definition, listen very carefully. Faith is best described this way, faith is the confident continuous confession of total dependence on and trust in Jesus Christ for the necessary requirements to enter God’s Kingdom. Did you get that? Faith is the confident continuous confession of total dependence on and trust in Jesus Christ to provide the necessary requirements for entrance into God’s eternal Kingdom. It’s not just believing that Jesus lived and died. It’s trusting in Him and depending on Him to meet the requirements in your behalf to give you entrance into God’s Kingdom. It’s the surrender of your life in trust to Him…to do what you can’t do. It’s saying I can’t do it.
B. Heavy Cost
“I count all things to be loss”
“for whom I have suffered the loss of all things”
“and count them but rubbish”
Martin: “The intimate relationship with Christ Jesus into which Paul had been brought was not secured without a price. Answering the divine revelation of the Lord there went the forfeiture of his ‘gains’ and surrender of his pride on the part of the apostle.”
Gromacki: “It cost the young Pharisee to become a Christian. He lost his status within Judaism, his reputation, and his opportunity for wealth and fame. He experienced ostracism, bodily harm, death threats, and property destruction (cf. Heb. 10:34). He may have forfeited his Jewish birthright and family inheritance.”
II. (:10-11) KNOWING CHRIST AS THE SOURCE OF RESURRECTION POWER TRANSFORMS US TO LIVE A LIFE OF FELLOWSHIP WITH HIS SUFFERINGS AND HIS GLORY
A. Lofty Goal — Worthy of Eternity
1. Summary: “that I may know Him”
2. Two Key Areas:
a. “the power of His resurrection”
b. “the fellowship of His sufferings”
MacArthur: You see, because I know Christ intimately, because I have the righteousness of Christ, I have available the dynamic spiritual energy that comes from Him. Like in Daniel 11:32 where the prophet says the people who know their God will display strength and take action. Paul says I take Christ because of the power. You know something? There’s no power in the law. There’s no power to overcome sin in my flesh. There’s no real power for spiritual service in my flesh. There’s no power for victory in my flesh. There’s no power for witnessing in my flesh. He says I’ve been operating without power and now I see all the power in Christ. You say, “How do you see it?” In His resurrection.
Pounds: “This power happens only when you take God at His word and act on it by faith. When you begin to exercise your spiritual gifts God has given you the power begins to flow, but not before. You don’t feel it. You didn’t suddenly feel strong, capable and mighty. You feel weak, and Paul says God’s power is made perfect in your weakness. If you feel weak, if you feel inadequate, this is the only requirement for God exercising the power of the resurrection in you. Many Christians keep waiting to feel power before they act. You don’t feel power. You begin to reach out and act according to the needs around you and suddenly you discover there is unusual power at work in and through you. God is at work. It is His resurrection power at work through you.”
3. Ultimate Goal
“in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead”
Bruce: “Experiencing the power of Christ’s resurrection here and now was not a substitute for looking forward to the resurrection of the body, as some of Paul’s Corinthian converts appear to have thought (1 Cor. 15:12). Christ’s resurrection, the power of which was imparted to his people even in their present mortal life, involved the hope for those who died believing in him ‘that God, who raised the Lord Jesus to life, will also raise us up with Jesus’ (2 Cor. 4:14).”
B. Heavy Cost — “being conformed to His death”
Boice: “… the knowledge of Christ’s sufferings comes at a very high price, the price of total obedience. Hence, Paul writes of ‘being made conformable unto his death.’
To understand this phrase we must go back to chapter two of the letter, where Paul speaks of Christ’s obedience in death and holds it up as a pattern for all Christian conduct. He argues that Jesus was so careful to obey his Father that he laid aside His outward mantle of glory and took to Himself man’s form and nature, enduring all the sufferings of this world, and that He even died as a man in obedience to His Father’s will. The fellowship of Christ’s sufferings is won at the price of such radical and total obedience.”