Let us turn again to God's Word
and turn into that portion of Scripture that we were considering
this morning in Philippians. Philippians chapter 3 and verses
7 and 8. Philippians chapter 3, verses
7 and 8. But what things were gained to
me, those I counted lost for Christ, 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 done that I may win Christ. We consider then something of
Paul's counting or Paul's reckoning three times. He uses this particular
verb as we observed and it's a strong verb in verse 7 those
I counted loss for Christ, he says. Again at verse 8, I count
all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus
my Lord. And then again, and who count
them but dunk. We observe then something of
the contrast. What is it that he is speaking
of? The accounts as nothing, as simply dung, excrement, in
comparison with the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, it's those things
that he has spoken of in the previous verses. We noted the
significance of the opening word there in verse 7. But what things
were gain to me, they were things of nature, as we saw. they were
things that pertained to his birth or what he had attained
as one who was a Hebrew of the Hebrews, how he was a Pharisee,
he'd been scored at the feet of the great Jewish teacher Gamaliel,
but all that natural religion he accounted as worthless in
the comparison with the Lord Jesus Christ. We observe then
the context here but we also went on to say what it was that
caused him to come to such a conclusion to account matters to reckon
matters in this particular way, it was when he was brought to
a right understanding of the law of God. He was once a Pharisee,
as touching the law, a Pharisee, he says in verse 5. Again, at
verse 6, touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless,
he had a Pharisaic understanding, and yet as a Pharisee, he really
knew nothing at all concerning the true nature of the law of
God. It was when he was brought to
see the spirituality of that Lord. As he says in Romans chapter
7, I was alive without the Lord once, but the commandment came
and sin revived and I died. He saw then that the Lord is
spiritual. and he was but a carnal and a natural man. There was
no hope for him in the law of God. This is what caused him
then to reckon things as he speaks of here in verses 7 and 8. But
not only did he come to that true understanding of the nature,
the spiritual nature of the law of God, he was also brought to
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And it is that, really, that
I want to send to your attention upon more, particularly now,
as we turn once more to the text. I want us to consider what he
says here at the beginning of verse 8, of the excellency of
the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord. They doubtless, and
I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge
of Christ Jesus, my Lord, that excellent knowledge of Christ,
or we might say that experimental knowledge of Christ. He had had
a real experience, he didn't only know about the Lord Jesus
Christ, but he knew there had been for him that gracious inward
revelation, that that he speaks of to the Galatians when he pleads
God He says, to reveal His Son in me. Well, let us come then
to consider what He says here with regards to this knowledge,
this experimental knowledge of Christ. And first of all, to
say something with regards to the content of the knowledge
of which He is speaking. Look at the language again that
He uses. He speaks of the excellency of
the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord. Now, the genitive here
is not a subjective genitive. In other words, he's not speaking
of Christ's knowledge. We could, of course, interpret
the word in that sense. The knowledge of Christ is that
knowledge that belongs to Christ, that knowledge that Christ himself
has. We know that he knew what was in the hearts of men. As
we're told there in John chapter 2, He did not that any should
testify of man. He knew what was in the hearts
of men. There is a knowledge of Christ.
A knowledge that Christ himself possesses. But it is not that
that He's spoken of. Rather here, it is the objective
genitive that is used. It is the believer's knowledge.
It's the believer's knowledge of the Lord Jesus that is clearly
being spoken of here in the text. And remember what the Lord Himself
says concerning such a knowledge. Those words that we have in His
great high priestly prayer, in John chapter 17, He says that
this is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true
God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent. It is life eternal.
It's eternal life to know the Lord Jesus Christ. What an important
knowledge this is then. And we must observe something
of the order of this true knowledge. First of all, we must have a
knowledge of God himself. We can only really know ourselves
when we know God who created us. Man, of course, was made
in God's image after God's likeness. How can we know what man is except
we have some understanding of Him who is the Creator of man?
Is man still God's image bearer? Alas, that is not the case. When
we measure ourselves by the Word of God, by this revelation that
God has given of Himself, we see how far we have fallen short
of that glory of God. Here is the first knowledge.
We must begin here. to know God. And yet, and yet,
in a sense, we discover that God is unknowable. How can we,
who are but finite creatures, and we alas, who are not only
finite as creatures, but we're sinful creatures, we're such
ignorant creatures, how can we know this great God? who is eternal
and is the one who is the maker of all things. Remember how Paul
speaks of him. There at the end of his first
epistle to Timothy in chapter 6 and verse 16, who only hath
immortality dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto
whom no man hath seen nor can see to whom be honour and power
everlasting. Amen. All God is immortal. God dwells in the light and we
cannot approach unto that light where God is. Even the sinless
angels have to veil their sinless eyes when they're in the presence
of this God. As we read there in Isaiah chapter
6 how the seraphims have six wings,
and with two of them covering their eyes, and with two of them
covering their feet, and with two of them flying about the
throne of God. But they cannot look upon that
sight, they cannot behold the glories of God. God is that One
who is, in a sense, unknowable to His creature. that question
that we have in the 11th chapter of the book of Job. Canst thou
by searching find out God? Canst thou find out the Almighty
unto perfection? It is higher as heaven. What
canst thou do deeper than how? What canst thou know? The measure
thereof is longer than the earth and broader than the seas. He
is the Infinite One. He is immeasurable. How can we
know God? Well, we can only know God if
He is pleased to make Himself known. No man hath seen God at
any time, the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father.
He hath revealed Him. Oh, it is in Christ, you see,
that God has truly revealed Himself, declared Himself, made Himself
known. Remember how Paul speaks of Him
as that one who is the image of the invisible God. God is
invisible. And yet God has revealed himself
in a man. He has revealed himself in the
person of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is the great thing, friends.
It is life eternal. To know thee the only true God
and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. There can be no knowledge
of God apart from the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, we read that great
opening chapter of the epistle to the Romans and see there how
in the opening verses Paul is giving a definition of the gospel
of which he had been made a minister, he'd been separated unto the
gospel of God he says and he says concerning this gospel it
is what God had promised by the prophets in the Holy Scriptures. And then he goes on to define
it, he says in verse 3, concerning his son Jesus Christ our Lord
which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh
and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the
Spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead. How does Paul
define the Gospel? He defines it in terms of the
Lord Jesus Christ. And here in In a certain sense we see that
he is speaking of his person. He concerns God's son. God's
son. And then he says of this one
who is the son of God that he was made of the seed of David
according to the flesh. God became a man. But then he
says he is declared or determined is what the margin tells us the
Greek literally means. He is marked out to be the son
of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by the
resurrection. What Paul is saying is that in
this person, Jesus of Nazareth, the Lord Jesus Christ, we have
God and we have man, two natures. in that one person. He is the
God-man. Isn't that how it is spoken of
in the Old Testament in the prophecies that Paul refers to there at
the beginning of Romans? We go back to Isaiah chapter
9 and verse 6. Unto us a child is born. Unto us a son is given. The child is born. That is the
human nature. But the Son is given, that is
the Eternal Son of the Eternal Father who takes upon Him that
human nature in the great mystery of the Incarnation without controversy. Paul says, great is the mystery
of Godliness. God was manifest in the flesh
or the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's in this blessed
person that we have the revelation of God and remember how the Apostle
speaks of it here in this epistle to the Philippians in that second
chapter verse 6 he says concerning Jesus Christ who being in the
form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God but made
himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant,
and was made in the likeness of men." There we have it again,
you see. He is in the form of God. He
thinks it not proper to be equal with God. He is equal with God.
He is God. He is very God of very God, begotten,
not made of one substance with the Father. but then he goes on to speak
of how he made himself of no reputation and took upon him
the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of man that's
the incarnation again God manifest in the flesh it is here you see
in the Lord Jesus Christ and in the person of the Lord Jesus
Christ that we know God and nowhere else There is no knowledge of
God outside of the Lord Jesus Christ. And when today we have
so-called multi-faith services and all that utter nonsense,
what a dreadful blasphemy it is to God. Oh, what an awful
blasphemy. What a denial of the uniqueness
of that revelation that God has condescended to give to man in
the person of his only begotten Son. but God reveals himself
not only in the person of Jesus Christ God reveals himself also
of course in that work that Christ came to do and isn't that how
Paul continues there in the second chapter having spoken of the
person of the Lord Jesus Christ in verses 6 and 7 who thinks
it not robbery to be equal with God because he is God and that
equality is not something he needs to grasp after he is God
but he makes himself of no reputation and we see him then in the likeness
of man but he comes to serve God and being found in fashion
as a man we read verse 8 he humbled himself and became obedient unto
death even the death of the cross that's his work he was obedient
he was obedient in life, and he was also obedient
in death. We sang it, did we not, just
now in our opening hymn? Here the whole deity is known,
nor dares a creature guess which of the glories brightest shone,
the justice or the grace. What is thinking especially of
the dying of the Lord Jesus Christ. There at Calvary we see the whole
deity. We have such a wonderful revelation
of God and we see there something of those divine attributes. There
on the cross we see that God is a holy God and a righteous
God and a just God and a God that will by no means clear the
guilty. There we see that God must punish
sin, and yet at the same time we see those attributes of His
love and His mercy and His grace. What does He do? He punishes
sin. But He punishes sin in the person
of His only begotten and His well-beloved Son. The psalmist
says mercy and truth are met together. Righteousness and peace
have kissed each other. This is the cross of the Lord
Jesus. It is that in which we see God wonderfully revealing
himself, declaring all that he is as a holy God and yet at the
same time a God who is gracious. A God who will make a way whereby
sinners can be pardoned and sinners can be reconciled unto God. Oh
he is just and he is the justifier of him that believe us in Jesus. I say then, friends, it is only
in Christ that we can have any knowledge of God. Only in the
Lord Jesus Christ. And it's an excellent knowledge,
the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord. But then, we must also know ourselves. And we must know the truth about
ourselves. if we go to have any true knowledge
of God we sometimes sing those lines
of Joseph Hart in the hymn number 89 where he says, a sinner is a
sacred thing the Holy Ghost has made him so strange words easily
misunderstood what is sacred about the sinner. Well, Hart,
of course, is speaking about that sinner who has come to know
something of himself. Though all are sinners in God's
sight, there are but few so in their own. All we have to know
what we are are sinners. And when we're brought to that,
that's a great work of the Spirit of God, is it not? to work that
conviction in the soul of the sinner. That's his office in
the covenant. When he comes, says Christ, he will reprove
the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment. He comes to
show the sinner what he is. Because who are those that Christ
came to save? He came to save sinners. He tells
us quite plainly in the Gospel, they that are whole have no need
of the physician, but they that are sick I came not to call the
righteous but sinners to repentance. Who does Christ call to repentance? He calls the sinner to repent.
Now all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. That's
true. But how few, how few have any
real sense of that. So many are righteous. I came
not to call the righteous says the Lord Jesus. I came to call
the sinners. And how do we come to that knowledge
of ourselves as sinners? Well, isn't that the vital part
of the ministry of the Lord of God? As I said this morning in
this portion, Paul is dealing with the whole matter of the
law He makes some reference to those who were great contenders
for the law, those who were saying that even Gentiles needed to
be circumcised. He deals with that in some detail
as we said in the epistle to the Galatians. Look at what he
says here. At verse 2 he says, Beware of
dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision. And that expression, the concision,
it's a reference to those who would refer to themselves as
the circumcision. And there were those, you see,
in the churches who were saying, well, these Gentiles, they need
to be circumcised. They've got to become real debtors
to the Lord of God. No, says Paul, we are the circumcision
which worship God in the Spirit and rejoice in Christ Jesus and
have no confidence in the flesh. He himself, you see, was once
a great contender for that law. He had a pharisaic understanding
of the law. There, at the end of verse 5,
remember, as touching the law, he says he was a pharisaic. Ah, but now, he had come to understand
the true significance of the law of God. It's a spiritual
law. And he said that God uses to
work conviction spiritual conviction in the soul of the sinner. Whatsoever things the law saith,
it saith to them who are under the law, that every mouth may
be stopped and all the world become guilty before God. Therefore
by the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified in his
sight. By the law is the knowledge of
sin. or we say ourselves, what is
God's law? it is a revelation of God's character
the law is holy and the commandment is holy and just and good, that's
God God is holy, God is just, God is good and the law you see
is a revelation, it's God declaring himself and we come to measure
ourselves by that law When we understand something of the spiritual
nature of it, Christ brings it out in his preaching, does he
not? The commandment says thou shalt
not kill. Oh, if you're angry and you're
unjust in that anger, you're a murderer. If you're angry with
your brother, if you say evil against your brother, if you
assassinate his character, you're a murderer. The commandment says
thou shalt not commit adultery. If you look wantonly and lustfully
at a woman, you're committing adultery in your heart, says
the Lord Jesus. That, Lord, it's a spiritual
law. It shows us what we are. It reveals to us our sins. But you see, Christ came to save
sinners. That's our comfort in the Gospel.
This man receiveth sinners and eateth with them. Oh, the Lord
Jesus, you see, He has a glorious gospel feast, and that feast
is only for sinners. All those exceeding great and
precious promises which are in the Lord Jesus Christ, they are
for sinners. Neither is there salvation in
any other. There is none other name under
heaven given amongst men whereby we must be saved. Oh, that salvation
it is, truly, of the Lord the knowledge dear the excellence
of the knowledge of Christ Jesus it is to know God and we knowing
God then know ourselves because we see what we are in the light
of that revelation that God has given of himself but how How
is this knowledge conveyed? How does God bring this knowledge
to us? Well, as I said, Paul here is
clearly answering those Judaizers, as we call them. And that was what Paul himself
was once upon a time. He was of that sect of the Pharisees. And like all the Pharisees, he
had a great regard, a great love for the law of God. That was
what the Pharisees boasted of. They were those of the Pharisees
who were lawyers. They were experts in the law
of God. But that Old Testament law is full of darkness. The Old Testament
of course is full of types and shadows. But when we come to
the New Testament we are told that the body is of Christ. In the Old Testament we have
the shadows. In the New Testament we have
the body, the substance. Christ has come. And in Christ we have that full
and that final revelation of God. The old has now passed away. Remember how when Paul is writing
to the Hebrews he tells them quite plainly there at the beginning
of the epistle. God who at sundry times and in
diverse manners spake in time passed unto the fathers by the
prophets God did speak in the Old Testament. There was a revelation
of God in the Old Testament. But God, He says, hath in these
last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir
of all things, by whom also He made the worlds, who being the
brightness of His glory and the express image of His person. All the shadow has passed that
that was there of the revelation of God in the Old Testament,
that is gone and now we have that full and that final revelation
in the New Testament and we have it in the person and in the work
of the Lord Jesus Christ. And when we come to the Gospel,
what do we discover? We find that here there is great
plainness and there is a wonderful simplicity in the Gospel That
is the truth, friends. There is a wonderful simplicity
in the Gospel. And how these things are so plainly
declared in the New Testament. In 2 Corinthians chapter 3 and
verse 12, Paul says, seeing that we have such hope, we use great
plainness of speech and not as Moses would put a veil over his
face. He refers to that occasion when
Moses was in the mount and he was communing with God 40 days
and he comes down from the mount and he wished not, he knew not
that his face did shine because he had been in the presence of
God who is light and he has to put a veil over his face because
so great is that light but Paul is saying there that in the gospel
there is a differentiacy whereas with Moses there was a veil covering
over his face no more is that the case in the gospel in the
New Testament he says we use great blindness of speech this
is how this message is conveyed to us there is a certain blindness
there is a a simplicity. Remember how Paul speaks of his
determination in preaching the gospel as he writes to the Corinthians. He says there in the second chapter
of 1 Corinthians, when I came to you I came not with excellent
speech or of wisdom declaring unto you the testimony of God
for I determined not to know anything among you save Jesus
Christ and Him crucified. And my speech and my preaching
was not with enticing words of man's wisdom but in demonstration
of the Spirit and of power. Now we sought to speak plainly
and to declare simply the truth as it is in the Lord Jesus Christ."
Oh, there is a simplicity here. I know you might say, well wait
a minute, there are many great profound doctrines and truths
that are spoken of throughout the New Testament. There are
many parts of Paul's epistles that are difficult to be understood
and even Peter says that. Well that's true. And yet on
the other hand we can say this, that the message of the Gospel is
so simple. What is that message? Well, we've already intimated
some of it. It speaks of God, and it speaks
of man, and it speaks of sin, and it speaks of salvation. It's so simple a child can understand
it. Remember the Lord Jesus in his
own ministry, he says to the multitudes, except ye be converted
and become as little children. You can in no wise enter into
the Kingdom of Heaven. You have to be converted and
you have to become as a little child in order to be saved. That's what the Lord says. You
have to have a childlike faith, a simple faith. There's a world
of difference, you know, between that that is simple and straightforward
and easy-believism. We're not contending for easy-believism. There are those who speak like
that. They preach a message in which
they're really saying that it is easy to be a Christian. It
is not easy to be a Christian. It is impossible to be a Christian.
It's impossible to make myself a true believer. Joseph Huyck
says only he who made the world can make a Christian. That's
true. It is such a great work that God has to perform in the
soul of a sinner. And yet, it still holds true
that the way of salvation is simple. It is knowing that I'm
a sinner. It's you knowing that you're
a sinner and it's trusting in another. for all of our salvation,
trusting only in the Lord Jesus Christ." See then here that the
way in which God conveys this message of the gospel to us,
it's in plain, straightforward, simple terms, and yet also we
see that this gospel has to come to us with a great deal of power. Again, look at the language of
the Apostle. When he writes to those Corinthians,
he says at the end of chapter 4 in 1 Corinthians, the Kingdom
of God is not in words, but in power. Oh, it's not just a question
of words and hearing these words and assenting with our minds
to this message that is being proclaimed. No, the gospel must
come in power, that's how it came to the Thessalonians, is
it not? Paul tells them, our gospel came not unto you in word
only, but in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance. And so it was, as we've already
intimated in what Paul says, writing to those Corinthians,
my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's
wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power. All there has to be a revelation,
it has to come from God. God has to show us the truth.
God has to open our eyes to that truth. I was struck just recently
with that familiar episode that we have recorded in Luke chapter
24 those two on the road to Emmaus and a stranger comes and begins
to walk with them the stranger of course was the risen Lord
and what struck me was this in verse 31 we're told their eyes
were opened and they knew in order to know him they had to
have their eyes open now before that we're told in verse 16 their
eyes were holden that they should not know him now it's a very
simple thing you might say well it's so obvious and yet you know
it just came to me in such a remarkable way that one minute their eyes
are holden and they cannot know the Lord Jesus and in the next
moment their eyes are open and they do know him is that not
the truth friends? God has to open blind eyes God
has to unstop deaf ears you maybe have heard the preaching of the
gospel the ministry of God's word time and time and time and
time again but there must come that occasion when he comes with
power maybe you sit there and it feels as if you're the only
person in a congregation because so much of what is being said
is so applicable to you and you feel it's all for you this is
how God's word comes it is the Lord you see it is the Lord who
comes who reveals himself who makes himself known we have those
words of the Lord again in Matthew chapter 11 and verse 27 Christ
says no man knoweth the son but the father neither knoweth any
man the father save the son and he to whomsoever the son will
reveal him and there at the end of that verse the word Well,
the verb to will is the stronger of the two verbs that could have
been used. There are two verbs there in
the New Testament Greek. And one of the words, one of
the verbs is stronger than the other. And it's that strong verb
that's used. Neither knoweth any man the Father
save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son willeth to reveal him. Oh, it is the Son of the Will.
It is the Will of the Son, you see, that is clearly so paramount. Paul can say, when he pleased
God, who separated me from my mother's womb and called me by
His grace to reveal His Son in me, it's God's good pleasure.
It's God's good pleasure to grant that revelation. This is how
the Gospel must come. This is how this knowledge is
to be conveyed. Yes, it is plain, it is simple,
it is straightforward. But there must be that gracious
work of God. Opening blind eyes, unstopping
deaf ears. Renewing the heart. Doing that
great work of grace. And so, Thirdly, what is the
experience of this knowledge? What is it to have this experience
that Paul is speaking of? Yea, doubtless, he says, and
I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge
of Christ Jesus my Lord. But what are the marks of this
experience? of having such a knowledge of
the Lord Jesus Christ well strangely I would say this those who have
it often feel their ignorance or we feel ourselves to be so
ignorant with regards to the things of God and with regards
to the things of grace and yet paradoxically that is the evidence
is it not? that it's all of God, it's nothing
of ourselves but here we see how Paul can use the language
of appropriation those two words he says in the
middle of verse 8 my Lord the excellency of the knowledge
of Christ Jesus my Lord and Gil commenting said that's emphatic
oh that's emphatic that's appropriation he is my As we said this morning, this
whole passage, of course, from verse 4 through to verse 14,
is experimental. It's Paul speaking of himself
and Paul speaking of his own experiences. And I remind you,
there are those occasions when he does that. We know how that
in the main his epistles are made up of those two fundamental
parts, doctrine and practice, the first part of the epistles,
very much taken up with great doctrines, great truths, and
then the second part, the practical outworking, how the gospel, the
great doctrines of the gospel impinge on a man's life and the
way in which a man conducts himself. but also woven into the epistles
time and again are these portions where the apostle speaks of himself,
he's brought to that as he has to defend his ministry amongst
these churches because of those false teachers who were seeking
to undermine his authority he's not on some ego trip, he's not
wanting to be always speaking of himself but it's all under
God's sovereignty, he has to write in this fashion and writing
in this fashion he traces out for us something of the experiences
of the people of God we often are inclined are we not to thank
God that ever this man wrote as he does in Romans chapter
7 thank God thank God for Romans chapter 7 if we know anything
of that good fight of faith and anything of that inward conflict
between the old nature and the new nature Is there not a great
deal of comfort there in Romans chapter 7? Here is Paul then,
using this language of appropriation. The Lord knew him, and he himself
knew the Lord. And he could utter those two
words, My Lord. Oh, this was his great desire,
was it not? Verse 10 he says that I may know
him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings
being made conformable unto his death. Oh, he wanted to know
and he wanted to know and he wanted to know. It must be more
and more he was hungry for such a knowledge of the Lord Jesus
Christ this was his experience but then also here he does refer
to the experience of tribulation in verse 8 he says for whom I
have suffered the loss of all things he cost him I have suffered
the loss of all things and to count them but dunk that I may
win Christ." He knew something of suffering, this man. He knew
the truth of what the Lord Jesus says to his disciples in the
world, you shall have tribulation. Though avoiding it in the world,
you shall have tribulation. But, says Christ, be of good
cheer, I have overcome the world. The Apostle says, we must through
much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God. You see, all
that will live godly in Christ Jesus, they suffer persecution. Oh, this is the truth, friends,
this is the cost, is it not? And Paul, why he's counting the
costs. And he sees, you see, that all
things else in comparison are as nothing and less than nothing,
they're dumb. His great desire is this knowledge
that I may know Him, he says. and the power of His resurrection,
and the fellowship of His sufferings being made conformable unto His
death. Now, reading those words in verse
10 we might say, well surely the order is not quite right
here. Doesn't the suffering, the death,
come before the resurrection? And yet Paul says he wants to
know the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings
being made conformable unto his death. Well the order is right
with regards to the believer's experience. The first thing we
must know friends if we're going to know anything of the Lord
Jesus Christ is that power. The power of his resurrection.
Before we can know anything else we must have that new life. It
must come into our souls. We must experience that new birth
being born from above. And it's only as we know that
new life and that power of God, the resurrection power of the
Lord Jesus Christ issuing as He does in saving time. I know so often I refer to these
words but those words they're in Ephesians. Chapter 1, the
exceeding greatness of His power to us would who believe according
to the working of His mighty power which He wrought in Christ
when He raised Him from the dead. That's what we have to have first.
That power in order that we might savingly believe, that we might
have that saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. But where
there is that, there will come with it a very real conflict
for where there is that spiritual life where there is that new
nature there is no avoiding the conflict what does Paul say at
the end of chapter 1 unto you it is given in the behalf of
Christ not only to believe on him but also to suffer for his
sake having the same conflict which have which he saw in me
and now here to be in me where there is that saving faith
there will be the suffering and Paul knew it, I have suffered
he says, I have suffered the loss of all things are but what
are the things of this world? they are but temporal, they are
but passing all those eternal things they are the things that
endure what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for
Christ, 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 who count them but dung, that I may
win Christ. Oh God grant that we all might
be those who are truly winners of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.