Philippians 3 - To Know Christ

Philippians 3:9-11 - "⁹and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. ¹⁰I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead."

^"9and be found in him," - Ultimately, one day we will stand before Jesus and we want him to say, "well done, my good and faithful servant." (Matthew 25:21) That's what it means to be found in him. To recognize that it is not your deeds that are accomplishing great things, but Christ in and through you.

"not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law" - If you obeyed every single law, never sped in your car, never jaywalked, never stole anything; if you ate right, exercised daily, spent three hours helping others move furniture and didn't ask to be paid for it, you still wouldn't be "right" with God. Not that any of these things above are bad, but righteousness comes only when we trust in Christ. It doesn't come from following the law of the land.

"but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith." - You have to have faith and trust in Jesus to be "right" with God. He exchanges our sin and our faults for his complete righteousness. (2nd Corinthians 5:21)

^"10I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings," - Paul wants three things:

• He wants to know Christ. Completely. Perfectly.
• He wants to know the source of the power of Jesus' resurrection - God
• He wants the fellowship with Him of sharing in what Jesus endured - persecution

Paul was no stranger to that last one. He gave up everything to know Christ - friends, family, status, and freedom. We can do the same thing, but we have to make sacrifices in order to fully enjoy it.

What are you willing to give up in order to know Christ?

"becoming like him in his death," - We died to our sin. (see this post) and we became like Christ. That's what baptism symbolizes - a physical death. You are lowered into the watery grave and raised again to a new life with Christ.

^"11and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead." - Paul wasn't unsure of whether he would go to heaven or not - He was unsure of how he would meet God - whether by execution or death by old age. The attainment is of God's power - not ours.