The Excellence of the Knowledge of Christ Jesus - Isaiah 28-29 and Philippians 3
In Isaiah's day God was very upset with His people for not listening to Him. He was trying to teach them, but they were going out and getting drunk all the time. He was trying to show them His way, and they were going the way of the world. It was frustrating to God, because He knew that to grow in the knowledge of Him they needed to learn little by little, precept by precept, line by line, until they had a clear understanding of Him and His will. They were not willing to do that, so He had to punish them. I found that to be necessary with my children and all children for that matter. When they are punished, they begin to listen better. God punished His people so they would see that they should not question Him. He was showing them that the wisdom of this world will pass away, but His truth lasts forever.
Paul was trying to show much the same thing to the believers in Philippi. He gave them His testimony of his Jewish upbringing and his zeal for the Law. Then, he told them that all of that was trash compared to knowing Christ. In fact, he had counted it all as worthless, so that he could come to know the power of Christ's resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings. Paul had found out that there was nothing in the world like having the knowledge of Christ Jesus our Lord. He was encouraging the believers to forsake everything else to know Him. His counsel was to put the past behind them and to strive for the maturity in Christ. However, he saw all around him people who did not see this. They were like Israel in Isaiah's day. Paul said they were headed for destruction, because their belly was their god, and they gloried in their shame. That means they were caught up in sensuality, and the only thing they could boast about was their shameful behaviors. I believe we see this all around us today. We must be like Paul and realize the excellence of the knowledge of Christ. We must be single minded in our pursuit of the Lord and His will. That is the only thing that brings real meaning to life.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Isaiah 30-31 and Philippians 4.
Paul was trying to show much the same thing to the believers in Philippi. He gave them His testimony of his Jewish upbringing and his zeal for the Law. Then, he told them that all of that was trash compared to knowing Christ. In fact, he had counted it all as worthless, so that he could come to know the power of Christ's resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings. Paul had found out that there was nothing in the world like having the knowledge of Christ Jesus our Lord. He was encouraging the believers to forsake everything else to know Him. His counsel was to put the past behind them and to strive for the maturity in Christ. However, he saw all around him people who did not see this. They were like Israel in Isaiah's day. Paul said they were headed for destruction, because their belly was their god, and they gloried in their shame. That means they were caught up in sensuality, and the only thing they could boast about was their shameful behaviors. I believe we see this all around us today. We must be like Paul and realize the excellence of the knowledge of Christ. We must be single minded in our pursuit of the Lord and His will. That is the only thing that brings real meaning to life.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Isaiah 30-31 and Philippians 4.