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We are in a very powerful section in ch.3
the truths in here are key.
as you can tell from our title
“That I may gain Christ”
there is no better gain then Christ!
This section shows us how we gain Christ
Which is enough to look at for one Sunday.
I originally wanted to cover v.7-16
and had to divide more and more
as I kept studying.
to where today we are looking at v.7-9
but because there is still so much value
in reading all v.7-16
we will read it
to catch the direction Paul is going
because it is so good!
then zoom in to the part we will focus on.
to see how Paul will get there.
pray
read
7 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. 8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. 12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. 16 Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind.
Here we see in loosing self righteousness
but in gaining Christ
everything done in the past
whether its righteous or not
it holds no power.
so press forward to Christ His call
to know Him,
to where we will know the power of His resurrection,
and the fellowship of His sufferings
Press forward to what is ahead the upward call in Jesus!
What an amazing section we are in here.
with so much to dive into
Paul gets there by starting with
gaining Christ.
starting at verse 7
7 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ.
what does he mean what things were gain?
everything he had mentioned in the section above.
all his self righteousness.
being a Hebrew of Hebrews, a Pharisee, etc.
I say these are etc.
but these things were
once very important to Paul
its what his life was ALL about.
he now counts it as a loss for Christ.
so every good and righteous deed he had done
every act of devotion
every commandment kept
every part of the law He followed
why???
this is kind of a shocking statement.
especially to anyone who claims to be righteous by their own merit
this is a shocking statement to any religious based person
to the many people thinking their good deeds
will balance out their bad ones.
because Paul was very religious,
dedicated, & in the eyes of man
a very good man.
If we had to compare self righteousness to Paul
we all would fall very short (v.4)
and he says he counts all his works,
all those good deeds, as loss
why is he counted it as a loss?
Here in verse 7 he says for Christ
if we look at verse 9 we see that in Christ
we receive a righteousness through faith from God
and so no longer need the law for our own righteousness.
That changed his life th way He was living
becuase he didnt just receive righteousness
but a relationship
which is what we read in verse 8
8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ
so why does he call it a loss?
it is all a loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus..
we need to slow down here.
because his entire life has changed based on this.
he was living one way
and now calls the way he was living is a loss.
and is living in a new way, with a new life.
for a man extremely religious.... this is an extreme change.
it contains a message
that took one of the most religious,
self righteous men ever
to call all he had done a loss
this should grab our attention.
This means for us it contains a message of great change too.
“count all things loss, for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus”
Lets break this down:
excellence = surpassing
this shows this is far greater
much better, it excels
knowledge = “γινωσκω”
this knowledge is not just an intellectual knowledge
its a knowledge based on experience.
for example its one thing to
know that steak is good
its another thing
to know by experience that steak is good.
to taste it
that is the word knowledge here
To experientially know Jesus
to be getting know Jesus in a deeper way
This is speaking towards a relationship
Paul is wanting to grow in this
he has a ginosko goal
To be getting to know Jesus closer.
which is why he says
I suffer the loss of all things
then says i count my self-righteousness as rubbish
because works do not even compare to the opportunity
we are given to get to know Jesus more
he counts it as loss
counts it as rubbish that he may gain Christ
then verse 9 adds
9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;
while this gives us the picture
that while we once were lost now we are found in Him
by faith
its pointing us to a closeness with Him
with this goal to gain Christ.
What does Paul mean to gain Christ?
to know him more intimately.
which he describes in verse 10
10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,
that i may know him
shows us why all this is here.
We been made righteouss
and count all is loss
that we may know him
and this is the word ginosko again
the whole point its to know Him more
Paul has a desire to be close to Him
to know him closer to and deeper
in the good and the hard times
as he says
in the power of the resurrection
and in fellowship of suffering
While the great times with the Lord are great
the hard times with the Lord connects us to the Lord in such a special way
Getting to expereince His compassion
His help
His love, having His hope
Pauls goal in all this and is the goal for us i
in gain Chrit
know Christ
desire to be close to Him
in the blessed moments
and diffcult moments
It would seem here that Paul is welcimng the suffering
to share with Christ in the suffering