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Daily Devotional <> January 28, 2018 <> Sunday
Paul's commitment to Christ-3 <> Philippians 3:10
Point of Contact <> Bro. Ben Van Winkle
As we read this verse, we can see Paul's emotional life. One calls it; “The Soul's quest for the Personal Christ.” He wants to know Him personally, he wants to know the power of His resurrection, he wants to know all there is.
We are not to “spiritualize” the suffering, death, & resurrection of our Lord. Rather, we are to see it as “spiritual experiences” such as mental suffering, dying to self, & living the resurrected life. However, we would like to suggest that the passage be taken literally. Paul is saying here that he wants to live as Christ lived. Did Jesus suffer? Then Paul wants to suffer too. Did Jesus die? Then Paul wants to die as a martyr in His service. Did Jesus rise from among the dead? Then Paul wants the same. Paul realizes that the servant is not above the Master. So, he desires to follow Christ in His suffering, death, & resurrection. Paul does not say that we all must adopt this view, but for him there is no other way, & for us we should feel the same as Paul, that there is no other way for us to go.
That I might know Him means; that I might have a day by day intimate relationship with Him, that we would become more like Christ. In other words Paul wants the life of Christ to be reproduced in him.
And the power of His resurrection; The power of the resurrection is set forth in Scripture as the greatest display of might which the universe has ever seen (Ephesians 1:19, 20) It would seem that all the host of the devil would like to keep Him in the tomb. God's power defeated this evil host by raising Him from the dead. This same power is ours (Ephesians 1:19), to be set apart by faith. Paul is stating his ambitions to experience this power in his life & testimony.
And the fellowship of His suffering; It takes divine strength to suffer for the Lord, & without the Holy Spirit we could not do it. In the life of the Lord, suffering preceded glory. Paul realized that there would be nothing of atoning value in his life as there was in Christ's, but, he knew, too, that it would be inconsistent for him to live a life of luxury & ease in a world where his Lord was rejected, scourged, & crucified. Paul was not content to share the triumph of Olivet; he wanted to feel something of the pang & chill & the loneliness of Gethsemane.”
