Philippians 3:8: Yea doubtless, and I count
all things {but} loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my
Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them {but}
dung, that I may win Christ.
Having stated
that the things he previously considered gain were now, in the light of the
cross, nothing but loss to Paul that he might obtain the knowledge of Christ
for which his spirit longed, he proceeds to emphasize that desire in this
verse.
Looking at this verse through the view of the
Greek scholars who have examined this text and shared with us the emphasis that
is placed upon this desire by Paul, adds so much to what this verse is stating.
We are informed that the apostle employs five
superlatives before he proceeds in his statement of his desire to know the
Lord: “Yea ‑ Indeed ‑ Therefore ‑ At least ‑ Even.”
This shows to us the force and passion which Paul employs to reveal his
conviction of desire to know the Lord.
Robertson translates: “I still count all things
loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord.” In other
words, it was not just a one‑time commitment made by Paul, not just
something he did on the spur of the moment or while in an emotional high. It
was a commitment that he continued to be dedicated to keeping. The feelings he
had for his past had not diminished with the passage of time. He was still
convinced that to know the Lord was the highest challenge and greatest
privilege that any could ever attain.
“The knowledge of Christ is a blessing so
surpassing and transcendent that nothing else is worthy to be called good in
comparison with that one highest goal. It's glory, like the rising sun,
overwhelms and hides all lesser lights,” Pulpit Commentary.
ALL THINGS LOSS
We can never know Him as Paul is describing
until we have, like Paul, sold out everything of this world for that
relationship. Too many want to retain something of this world, while at the
same time seeking a knowledge of Christ. To know Him we must divorce ourselves
completely from this world, and seek His will with all of our heart. The Great
Commandment is: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and
with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, Matthew 22:37. That does not leave any room in
our hearts or lives for anything or anyone else.
The Greek here informs us that Paul is not only
saying, I have counted all things as loss, but that he is saying, I
still count all things as loss. He had not changed his mind since making
that commitment. To experience this knowledge of which Paul writes, there must
be a total and complete surrender of our will.
Paul stated: Yea doubtless… He was not
pretending about his commitment. To him it was very serious business. Those
whom Paul came into contact with knew about his commitment because of the
dedication he applied in his ministry to others. People know whether we are
serious or not about our religious statements. They know whether it is really a
conviction or merely a preference.
ALL THINGS
Too many are guilty of denying a few things
while retaining some things. Somewhat like fasting, some will commit to missing
breakfast and call it fasting because they don't really care for breakfast
anyway. Likewise, some are willing to give up certain things to know the Lord, but
want to retain other things which have a greater value to them. That type of
commitment will never experience the knowledge in Christ of which Paul is
speaking.
The young ruler who came to Jesus seeking the
answer to his question of what he must do to be saved, was told by Jesus in
Mark 10:21: One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast,
and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up
the cross, and follow me. What a shame to be so close to the Lord, and yet
so far away! While claiming such a strong desire to know the Lord and obtain
eternal life, the young man discovered that he did not really want to be saved
as much as he thought he did. Are we permitting anything to prevent us from
knowing the Lord as we could and should?
Now the “all things” which Paul refers to here
that he has given up to know the Lord, and which we too must divorce ourselves
of, is not a reference to sins. It is a foregone conclusion that one must
repent of his sins before coming to the Lord. Our sins were never worth keeping
anyway! No, these things must have reference to personal, selfish ambitions of
life; things which are personal which, if retained, would hinder our knowledge
of Christ.
It is of interest to note that Jesus used the
same verbs, lose and gain, when He stated in Mark 8:36: For what shall it
profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? The
whole world is loss compared to the never‑dying soul; not nearly so
valuable as the never‑dying soul. For one to refuse to exchange this
world in order to enjoy eternal life, is a very foolish decision indeed.
EXCELLENCY OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF CHRIST
To know Christ, should be esteemed the highest
priority of man. This is not to say that we know Him through the mere reading
of books, nor that we may know Him by memorizing statements about Him. C Hodge
wrote: “The knowledge of Christ, therefore, is not the apprehension of what He
is, simply by the intellect, but also a due apprehension of His glory, and involves
not as a consequence merely, but as one of its elements, the corresponding
feeling of adoration, delight, desire, and complacency.”
Paul speaks of this as the “excellency” of
knowledge. There can be none higher nor more important. There are a lot of things
in this world and life of which we may never be able to attain a knowledge
because of our inability to grasp and retain. This lack will not affect our
salvation. But the knowledge of Jesus Christ is absolutely essential to
salvation's experience! We will never know salvation if we never know Jesus
Christ! Listen to how strongly Jesus emphasized the need of our knowing, not
only What He is, but also Who He is, when he said in John 8:24: I said
therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that
{I AM}, ye shall die in your sins.
There is little wonder, in light of this, why
Satan puts forth such a strong effort to prevent people from knowing the Lord
Jesus Christ, and the Lord exerts such a force to communicate this glorious truth!
Satan does not want us to know who the Lord Jesus Christ is, as this would
result in our obtaining salvation and deliverance from his control. The Lord
wants us to understand Who He is because this would result in our experiencing
salvation and eternal life in Him.
THE KNOWLEDGE OF CHRIST
O Winslow wrote: “It is a knowledge of Christ
Jesus as –
1. God. To take a lower
view of Him is to degrade His dignity and destroy His atonement. He is the
Creator, and as the creator of a thing must be greater than the thing created,
so the knowledge of Christ must be superior to that of nature.
2. The only revealer of
God. You may study science in all its branches and be totally ignorant of God.
The heathen world is an evidence of this. But Christ is the revealer of the
Father's mind and heart.
3. The Redeemer. As
guilty sinners, under the curse and condemnation of the law, we wanted a Savior
who should bear our sins and provide such a salvation as would harmonize the
moral attributes of God, and make it honourable in God to pardon. Jesus Christ
is such a Savior.
4. The Provider and the
channel of the Holy Spirit, by whose power alone we become living souls.
Unspeakable as is God's precious gift to us, without the gift of the Spirit it
had been of no avail. Take out the science of dynamics from the other sciences
and you reduce them to a shadow. The Spirit provides the spiritual dynamics of
Christianity and makes redemption effective.”
BUT DUNG
Some feel this has reference to the refuse which
was thrown out as dog's food. Whatever it was to Paul, he considered his past
of no greater value, now that he had come face to face with Jesus Christ, than
the very refuse which was cast out as worthless.
There is an old saying, “Familiarity breeds
contempt.” It is true that the more we know about some things, the less we
admire them. As we examine something closely for an extended period of time, we
begin to see flaws and deficiencies. But the knowledge of Jesus Christ is just
the opposite. The more we examine Him, the closer we get to Him, the more we
know about Him; the more we love and appreciate Him. We realize that anything
and everything which we may have of this world's goods are nothing to be
compared with what He offers to those who will take up their crosses and follow
Him.
Pile up all of this world's goods and compare
them with the experience one may have in Christ, and we can readily see there
is no comparison. Only the foolish would reject the offer which Christ makes to
each and every one of us, and take this world instead of what Christ has to
offer.
THAT I MAY WIN CHRIST
No greater experience can be known than what can
be known in Christ Jesus.
“It is said of Phidias, the celebrated sculptor
of long ago, that in preparing the design, and in executing the elaborate carving
of the shield of Minerva, over the portico of the Acropolis of Athens, he so
curiously wrought and intertwined his own name with the work, that it could not
be obliterated or taken out anywhere without injuring the whole. So Jesus
Christ cannot be taken away from any part of the system of Divine truth,
without doing irreparable injury to the beauty and perfection of the whole
Christian system,” J Redford.
There is a story told of a man, long under deep
conviction but still unsaved and unwilling to make that total commitment, who
dreamed that he was walking along the edge of a terrible precipice, and fell
over into a terrible abyss. As he fell, he grasped a little branch on a bush
that was growing half‑way down. There he hung and cried for help. He felt
the branch giving way. Looking into the black, yawning gulf beneath, he again
cried out for help. Peering upward he saw Christ standing on the edge and
saying, “Let go the twig and I will save you.” Looking at the terrible abyss
below, he could not. He cried again, and again came the same answer. At length
he felt the branch slipping, and in utter despair let go the branch. Instantly
the arms of Jesus were about him, and he was safe. He awoke. It was but a dream
of the night, yet from the vividness and instructiveness of its imagery, he was
enabled to let go every false confidence and rely only on the true.
How difficult it is for us, mortals that we are,
to turn loose of that which we can see, and place our trust in that which we
cannot. Realizing this, Jesus made the wonderful statement to Thomas that day
when He heard his exclamation acknowledging Who He was: Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast
believed: blessed {are} they that have not seen, and {yet} have believed.
If we will release this world completely, we
will find the everlasting arms of Jesus wrapping us safely in the bundle of
eternal life. No greater security can be found than what we may find in Jesus
Christ.