Christ’s living in us also enables us to count all things as loss and refuse that we may gain Christ. In Philippians 3:7-8 Paul said, “But what things were gains to me, these I have counted as loss on account of Christ. 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.” All the different gains were counted as one loss by Paul because they all issued in one thing, that is, the loss of Christ; they all hindered him and held him back from participating in and enjoying Christ. Hence, on account of Christ all the gains were a loss to him. Refuse denotes dregs, rubbish, filth, what is thrown to the dogs; hence, dog food, dung. There is no comparison between these things and Christ.
What things in verse 7 are the things mentioned in verses 5 and 6, the things related to law and religion. With Paul, all things in verse 8 refers mainly to three categories of things-religion, philosophy, and culture. It is true, of course, that worldly, material things occupy people and keep them from experiencing Christ. However, Paul realized that the things which truly frustrate people from the experience of Christ are mainly the things of religion, philosophy, and culture. To gain Christ is to pay the price to experience, enjoy, and appropriate all His unsearchable riches (Eph. 3:8). Christ is the embodiment of the fullness of the Godhead (Col. 2:9) and the reality of the shadow of all positive things (vv. 16-17). Paul counted all things to be loss and refuse that he might gain such a unique, excellent Christ. We also should count all things as loss and refuse that we may gain Christ as Paul did.
In Philippians 3:10 Paul said, “To know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings.” In verse 8 of the same chapter, to have the excellency of the knowledge of Christ is by revelation. But here, to know Christ is by experience-to have the experiential knowledge of Him, to experience Him in the full knowledge of Him. We first receive the revelation of Christ and then seek for the experience of Christ-to know and enjoy Him in an experiential way.
According to Paul’s concept, if we would know Christ in an experiential way, we must first gain Christ and be found in Him. Moreover, to be found in Him requires us first to count all things to be loss on account of the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus. Only when we have the vision of the supreme preciousness and surpassing worth of Christ will we be willing to let go of everything else and count those things as refuse. Then we will gain Christ and be found in Him. In this way, we will surely know Him in experience.
Not only do we seek to know Christ, but we also seek to know the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings. To know Christ is to know Him in a general way; to know the power of Christ’s resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings is to know the details related to the knowledge of Christ. The power of Christ’s resurrection is His resurrection life, which raised Him from the dead (Eph. 1:19-20). To know, to experience, this power requires identification with Christ’s death and conformity to it. Death is the base of resurrection. Therefore, to experience the power of Christ’s resurrection, we need to live a crucified life, as He did. Our conformity to His death affords a base for the power of His resurrection to rise up that His divine life may be expressed in us.
The fellowship of His sufferings, that is, the participation in Christ’s sufferings (Matt. 20:22-23; Col. 1:24), is a necessary condition for the experience of the power of His resurrection (2 Tim. 2:11) by being conformed to His death. Paul was pursuing to know and experience not only the excellency of Christ Himself but also the life power of His resurrection and the participation in His sufferings. With Christ, the sufferings and death came first, followed by the resurrection; with us, the power of His resurrection comes first, followed by the participation in His sufferings and conformity to His death. We first receive the power of His resurrection; then by this power we are enabled to participate in His sufferings and live a crucified life in conformity to His death. Such sufferings are mainly for the producing and building up of the Body of Christ (Col. 1:24).
In a very real sense, Christ’s sufferings have not yet been completed. In Colossians 1:24 Paul said, “I now rejoice in my sufferings on your behalf and fill up on my part that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for His Body, which is the church.” Christ is the Head. His sufferings for the accomplishing of redemption were completed, but His sufferings for the producing and building up of the church are not yet finished. Therefore, Paul regarded his own sufferings as the filling up of that which is lacking of Christ’s afflictions for His Body. Christ suffered when He was on the earth. As those who follow Him, we also must participate in His sufferings for His Body. If we would know Christ by experiencing the power of His resurrection, we must share His sufferings.
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