All for Christ

In Philippians 3:10 the apostle Paul tells us that as a result of being saved by Christ he now has an overwhelming desire to know Him.  The things Paul had valued the most in life he now  considers rubbish in order that he “may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.”  What an interesting way of describing his new relationship with the Lord!  Do we think of knowing our Savior in this way?  To do so we need to first understand exactly what the apostle is referring to in this verse.  For instance, what does Paul mean when he says that he wants to know “the fellowship of His (Christ’s) sufferings?”  Certainly this tells us that sufferings are going to be a major part of a Christian’s relationship with the Lord.  The knowledge that Paul refers to here is knowledge that is gained by experience in life.  So the apostle wants more than an intellectual understanding of suffering in relation to Christ.

To encounter sufferings as our God intends for us, to go through them in a way that brings honor and glory to Him, we must have new life in Christ and be excited about the hope of future glory with Him.  This hope is the only thing that can give a person the unique Christian perspective on suffering.  The result is patience and endurance.  The Bible has a great deal to teach us on these things.  To continually explore, discover, and experience the reality that suffering for Christ can bring us comfort and joy, is more valuable than anything the world can give.  This is one aspect of his relationship to Christ that Paul cherished.  (More tomorrow) 

The Best Christians

n 1 John 2:12-14, the apostle addresses the Christians using the terms “little children,” “young men,” and “fathers.”  John is clearly applying these terms to indicate differing levels of spiritual maturity.  The “fathers” are characterized by one thing—they know God.  They are twice described as those who “know Him who is from the beginning.”  Thomas Manton had this to say about these spiritual fathers: “They that have the most effectual apprehensions of the greatness. goodness, wisdom of God, and of their own sin, the need of Christ and grace, the truth and excellency of the life to come, and the vanity of this life, are the best Christians.  They who are most conformed to Christ in humility, meekness, and lowliness of mind, esteeming others better than themselves, that have the most hatred of sin, and care to subdue it, and victory over it, and can most deny the flesh, its evil desires, and bear the troubles of it, and whose greatest delight is in God himself, these are the fully grown Christians.”  Manton calls their knowledge “effectual apprehensions.”  This means that their knowledge of God and spiritual things has been effectively applied to their lives.  It is not just knowledge of the head, it is knowledge acquired by experience.  In the case of these “fathers,” they have acquired spiritual maturity by consistently applying what they have learned over the years.  That is what made them “fathers.”