In Philippians 3:6-7 the apostle Paul says, “As to zeal, persecuting the church; as to the righteousness which is in the law, become blameless. But what things were gains to me, these I have counted as loss on account of Christ.” The things that were gains to Paul in verse 7 included his zeal mentioned in the previous verse. Formerly Paul had considered his zeal for religion and his being blameless according to the righteousness that is in the law as gains to him, but now on account of Christ he counted them as loss. Verse 8 goes further to say, “But moreover I also count all things to be loss on account of the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, on account of whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as refuse that I may gain Christ.”
Moreover, in Galatians 1:11-16 Paul said, “For I make known to you, brothers, concerning the gospel announced by me, that it is not according to man. For neither did I receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation by Jesus Christ. For you have heard of my manner of life formerly in Judaism, that I persecuted the church of God excessively and ravaged it. And I advanced in Judaism beyond many contemporaries in my race, being more abundantly a zealot for the traditions of my fathers. But when it pleased God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, to reveal His Son in me....” The revelation referred to at the end of this passage should be put together with the revelation mentioned in verse 12. In verse 12 we see that the gospel preached by Paul came through a revelation by Jesus Christ; in verse 16 Paul said that it pleased God to reveal His Son in him.
Mark 1:32-38 says, “And when evening fell and the sun had set, they brought to Him all those who were ill and those who were demon possessed. And the whole city was gathered together at the door. And He healed many who were ill with various diseases, and He cast out many demons and did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him. And rising very early in the morning, while it was still night, He went out and went away to a deserted place, and there He prayed. And Simon and those with him hunted for Him, and they found Him and said to Him, All are seeking You. And He said to them, Let us go elsewhere.”
John 2:23-24 says, “Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed into His name when they saw the signs which He did. But Jesus Himself did not entrust Himself to them, for He knew all men.” Verses 25-27 of chapter six say, “And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, Rabbi, when did You get here? Jesus answered them and said, Truly, truly, I say to you, You seek Me not because you have seen signs, but because you ate of the bread and were filled. Work not for the food which perishes, but for the food which abides unto eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.” Verses 33-35 say, “For the bread of God is He who comes down out of heaven and gives life to the world. They said therefore to Him, Lord, give us this bread always. Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall by no means hunger, and he who believes into Me shall by no means ever thirst.” Verse 60 says, “Many therefore of His disciples, when they heard this, said, This word is hard; who can hear it?” Verses 66-68 say, “From that time many of His disciples went back to what they left behind and no longer walked with Him. Jesus therefore said to the twelve, Do you also want to go away? Simon Peter answered Him, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life.”
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