The main revelation in the New Testament, especially in Paul’s Epistles, is the very Christ, whom God in His economy has prepared for us to be our experience. We have looked at this matter in a concise way in the previous lesson. Now let us see, in the book of Philippians, its conclusion, which is to take Christ as everything.
1) “For to me to live is Christ” (Phil. 1:21).
This word reveals to us that Paul, who experienced Christ richly and abundantly, took Christ as his living. In Philippians 1 he said that he lived Christ.
1) “As always, even now Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether through life or through death” (Phil. 1:20).
This word shows us that Paul, who was rich in the experience of Christ, took Christ also as his expression. All his life and work were not for expressing himself or for displaying his knowledge, his ability, or his other merits and strong points. What he was and what he did were for expressing Christ, even for magnifying Christ, that Christ would be not only expressed through him but even magnified in him.
1) “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 2:5).
This verse means that we need to take Christ’s mind as our mind. Paul not only took Christ as his living and expression without, but he also took the mind of Christ as his mind within. According to the text which follows, the thinking in the mind of Christ in this verse was that of One who changed from the form of God into the likeness of man to become a man, even emptying Himself to take the form of a slave and to humble Himself, becoming obedient unto death, even the death of a cross.
1) “And be found in Him, not having my own righteousness which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God based on faith” (Phil. 3:9).
In experiencing Christ, Paul was found by others to be a man in Christ, not having a righteousness which was from his own keeping of the law, but having the righteousness from God through his faith in Christ, which is just Christ Himself lived out from him to be expressed as his righteousness. In such a way, Paul took Christ as the righteousness which he lived out.
1) “...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 refuse that I may gain Christ” (Phil. 3:8).
Paul, who was rich in the experience of Christ, undoubtedly considered Christ to be the most excellent One. Thus, he shows us in one of the verses following Philippians 3:8 that he pursued the knowledge of Christ. His pursuit indicates his consideration of the excellency of the knowledge of Christ. Because of the Christ whom he knew, he forsook all things, that is, he suffered the loss of all things and counted them refuse, that he might gain Christ.