Philippians 3:8 - Knowing God The Supreme Goal.
Philippians 3:8 (NLT) Yes, everything else
is worthless when compared with the infinite
value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
Philippians 3:8 (AMP) I count everything as
loss compared to the possession of the priceless
privilege - the overwhelming preciousness, the
surpassing worth and supreme advantage - of knowing
Christ Jesus my Lord, and of progressively becoming
more deeply and intimately acquainted with him,
of perceiving and recognizing and understanding
him more fully and clearly.
INTRODUCTION
To "know" Christ is not simply to have
intellectual knowledge about Him. Paul used the Greek
verb that means to know "experientially" or
"personally" (John 10:27; 17:3; 2 Cor. 4:6; 1 John 5:20).
[MacArthur Daily Bible 2003]
After Paul considered everything he had
accomplished in his life, he said that it was all "a
loss" when compared with the greatness of knowing
Christ. This is a profound statement about values: a
person's relationship with Christ is more important
than anything else. To know Christ should be our
ultimate goal. Consider your values. Do you place
anything above your relationship with Christ? If your
priorities are wrong, how will you reorder them? [Life
Application SB]
COMMENTARY PEARL
Knowing God Is What Matters Most
Youre never going to become a friend
of God in your spare time. To become his
friend, you have to make knowing him your number one
priority.
Paul says it like this: Everything
else is worthless when compared with the infinite
value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his
sake I have discarded everything else, counting
it all as garbage, so that I could gain
Christ (Philippians 3:8 NLT).
Are you doing that? Are you seeking God
with all your heart every day?
Remember: You are as close to God as you
choose to be. Youre going to become a friend of
God only when you decide you want to become a
friend of God.
If you feel far from God, guess who
moved? You did. You cant blame anyone else. You
cant blame your spouse, your parents, or your
kids. Its you who didnt make him the number
one priority of your life.
Knowing and loving God is humanitys
greatest privilege. And being known and being loved
by God is our greatest pleasure.
Ive noticed that you can tell whats
important to people by what they brag about. If their
kids are most important, they brag about their
kids. If their job is the most important thing in
their life, they brag about their job. If travel
and having experiences is most important,
thats what they talk about. If partying or buying
new clothes is what you talk about most, guess
what you value most? You brag about what you
value most.
God says in Jeremiah 9:23-24, The wise
should not boast of their wisdom, nor the strong of
their strength, nor the rich of their wealth. If
any want to boast, they should boast that they
know and understand me (GNT).
Knowing God is what matters most - its
what life is all about. The God of the universe
loves you and wants to have a relationship with
you. And getting close to him will give you peace
and perspective. Thats good news! [Daily
Devotional by Rick Warren:
https://pastorrick.com/devotional/]
COMMENTARY
What three goals would you set for your
life if you knew that you could achieve them?
Would any of them be spiritual in nature? The
apostle Paul was one of the most goal-oriented
people in the Bible, yet he understood which
pursuits were the most important. His chief ambition
was to know Christ, His resurrection power, and
the fellowship of His suffering (v. 10).
We'd all do well to adopt these goals,
but they sound so broad. How do we put them into
practice? First, it's important to comprehend that a
goal is a purpose or direction toward which we
work. This concept is fairly easy to understand
when we're talking about specific objectives like
going to bed earlier or losing ten pounds, but
what steps would you need to take in order to
achieve spiritual goals like Paul's?
Success requires choosing steps that are
specific, reasonable, and measurable. For example, if
you want to know Christ more intimately, you
might commit to spending 30 minutes each day
praying and reading His Word. After developing your
plan and the steps to accomplish it, put your
desire into action. If you don't take the necessary
steps, it will simply remain a wish. No one
develops intimacy with Christ through good
intentions; it takes commitment, diligence, and
perseverance.
If you feel as if your faith is lacking
vitality, it may be that you've become spiritually
lazy. No one intends to slip into complacency. But
unless you set some specific goals and work to
achieve them, you'll drift through life and miss the
greatest accomplishment of all - learning to know
Christ intimately. [In Touch Daily Devotional by
Charles Stanley at www.intouch.org]
LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY
Philippians 3:8 - Knowing God Is What
Matters Most.
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2019/20190429-0959.html
Philippians 3:8-10 - All is worthless
compared to knowing Christ.
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2008/20080327-1224.html
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2014/20141106-2224.html
YOUR COMMENTS
If anyone has a paraphrase, commentary or
testimony on this passage of Scripture, either
personal or otherwise, I would be interested in
hearing from you. Thanks in advance and let's keep
uplifting Jesus that all might be drawn to Him. Fred
Gibbs
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT
Most Important Decision in Life:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/WGnEuGwvXqU?rel=0
A Man without Equal by Bill Bright:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiVa7UoruIo
Steps to Peace by Billy Graham:
https://stepstopeace.org/
Seeking God Made Real:
http://vimeo.com/31489782
Prayer Made Real:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc8VdMV26VE
LINKS FOR BIBLE STUDIES
Lifting Up Jesus Bible Studies:
http://www.liftingupjesus.net/
Amazing Facts Bible Studies:
http://www.amazingfacts.org/bible-study/bible-study-guides.aspx
Voice of Prophecy Discover Bible Study
Guides:
https://www.voiceofprophecy.com/study/discover
Glow Tract Video Bible Studies:
http://www.bibleresearch.info/
LINKS FOR BIBLE PROPHECY SEMINARS
Unlocking Bible Prophecies by Cami Oetman of
Adventist World Radio: https://www.awr.org/bible
Panorama of Prophecy with Pastor Doug
Batchelor: https://www.panoramaofprophecy.com/
Hope Awakens by John Bradshaw of IIW:
https://itiswritten.tv/programs/hope-awakens
Prophecies Decoded by Pastor Ron Clouzet:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1A435C5373550657
