Gaining Christ!

Gaining Christ!

“But indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ . . . .” Phil. 3:8.

We can ask ourselves: Did Paul have to do that in order to gain Christ? Yes, those who don’t do it, who don’t have this attitude, won’t stand a chance.

What does it mean to gain Christ? Perhaps there are many women who would like to have a man as their bridegroom, but only the bride gains him.

Jesus says, “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.” Matt. 10:37-38.

We have to be worthy of Christ if we are to gain Him. If we do not understand how precious He is, then we are not worthy of Him. When I attach more weight to the opinions of my father and mother, of my sons and daughters, as well as my personal opinions, than to the working of the Spirit, I really don’t understand how precious Christ is, and therefore I am not worthy of Him.

Paul had received the knowledge of Christ. He had received an understanding of who He really was, and once he had seen that, all other gain according to the flesh became rubbish to him; he even considered it loss.

Paul was deeply concerned for the churches that they would also understand who Jesus was. The Ephesians had faith in Jesus, and they loved all the saints as well. In other words, they were a splendid church, but they lacked the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory. Likewise, there are many people today who believe in Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins and for healing and help in all kinds of situations, and they are content with that. They praise Him for all His goodness, but the thought of gaining Him has not occurred to them. Yet Paul wrestled in his prayers for the Ephesians that they might learn to know Him who arose from the dead and sits at the right hand of God, far above all power and principalities, etc. Eph. 1:15-23.

We have to forsake everything if we are to follow Jesus. People talk about all the things they have to forsake and deny, and they see that as so great, but they do not see who Jesus really is. When Paul received the knowledge of Christ, everything else became rubbish and loss to him. Then it was not difficult to forsake it and leave it behind.

You cannot proclaim Christ so that everything that people have becomes rubbish to them if you do not have the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.

Gaining Christ means living with Him. We gain some insight into what it means to live with Him by reading (for example) Colossians 1:12-18. He is the image of the invisible God, for in Him were all things created that are in heaven and that are on earth, etc. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. What is the value of all earthly things compared to gaining Him? Heb. 1:2-4.