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, 9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: 10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; 11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.
There is a connection between learning and knowing. We must learn our ABC’s to know them. Anything we do in life from using a vacuum cleaner to driving has to be learned first. Before we know other people there must be a bond of learning about them. Paul says it does little to learn about God if we don’t know him. The soldiers at the tomb refused to learn, and they failed to know.
From Jesus’ birth to his childhood and public ministry his teaching was a miracle in itself. The Scribes were astonished at his authority. Jesus was what he said. His whole life was a miracle. What he taught us even at the end is to be noted. His silence, his punishment, the cross—surely he would quit teaching. He spoke seven times from the cross and the first was “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” He taught us that no matter what we’ve done, there is forgiveness. He quoted Psalm 22:1 when he said “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” They refused to believe. He taught the people that he allowed this to happen. When he spoke “it is finished” and “Father into thy hands I commit my spirit” he taught with his last breath.
He came out of the tomb with the keys to death, hell and the grave teaching Satan a lesson. He had presented himself to the Old Testament saints. He told the women to go to Galilee. He told the Emmaus disciples “ought Christ not to have suffered and on the third day rise from the dead?” He showed them what breaking bread really meant. He met with the disciples later. He empowered them.
We never get to the place we don’t need to learn. The purpose of our learning is to know him. We’re foolish to think we know it all. The longer we are in this relationship with Jesus the more we know and see what we can learn. We continuously learn each other; the same is with the Lord.
Verse 10 says “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death.” If Jesus had not risen, Christianity could only go so far. Religions serve a fallen or dead messiah. Christianity hit death but kept on going because of the resurrection.
There is a triune declaration of the resurrection. Romans 3:3-4 “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” The counterparts of Christianity deny it. They do a pretty good job, but they cannot get by verse 4. The Spirit that raised Jesus up will quicken our mortal bodies just as the Spirit touched the body of Jesus. He laid it down and would pick it up again. He voluntarily let himself die. The Father declares the resurrection. In Romans 10:9 we read “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” God raised Jesus. The tri-fold work of the resurrection comes from God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
We have everything and everybody we need to learn so we can know him. Paul said everything else was nothing, like dung, in light of knowing Jesus and the power of his resurrection. We are conformable to his death so that are able to die to our sin. We can say no.
Learning and knowing never end. Everyday is Christmas. Everyday is Easter. We learn and consequently know. The more we know Him, the closer we are to the Lord and the further we are to heaven and away from the world. Our body ages but we are still the same inside as the day we got saved. We will put on an immortal body that is conformable to his resurrected one.
Easter never will end. Keep learning in order to know and to keep living.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 