Articles
The Value of Knowing Christ - 7.9.2023 Bulletin
The Value of Knowing Christ
“More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish so that I may gain Christ” (Philippians 3.8, NASB1995).
There are many men and women who have vast amounts of knowledge in their professional field, some of which I couldn’t even begin to wrap my brain around. And many are doing, or have done great things with the knowledge they have gained that have had profound benefits on society. As great as it is, knowledge of earthly things such as science, math, technology, business, physics, engineering, etc. is only beneficial while here on earth, they have no bearing on the soul of a person.
That is why Paul writes to the Philippians “I found all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus.” To have a knowledge of Christ Jesus far outweighs any earthly knowledge we may gain. Paul understood the value of knowing Christ, and was willing to lose everything to gain that knowledge. Why is knowing Christ so important? It is the only way to gain an eternity in heaven. To know Christ is more than just a surface level understanding of who Christ is, it’s much deeper. It involves a total surrender and submission of ones life to the will of Christ. Paul goes on to say in verses 10-11, “that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.” Paul knew the cost of knowing Christ, it meant sharing in the suffering, and possibly even death. Paul also knew the reward for knowing Christ is much greater than anything suffered in the flesh.
The only way we can know Christ is through a study of God’s word. The more we study, the more knowledge we gain about how to model our lives after Christ, and grow closer in our relationship with God. So what are we willing to give up to gain the knowledge of Christ? We should be willing to part ways with anything that keeps us from growing closer to God, even if it means losing family, friends, job opportunities, social events, hobbies and so on.
Most importantly the knowledge we have gained needs to be put on display. Are others seeing the knowledge of Christ in us? Are others seeing Christ in us by our actions? Our lives need to be living proof that Christ is still alive today, because we may be the only Bible some people ever read.
- Glad_Tidings_7.9.2023_PDF.pdf (1.55 MB)
