Philippians 3:8-9 “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith-“
The Apostle Paul in this passage is very clearly laying out what knowing Christ really means to him. This is in-fact one of the greatest questions a follower of Christ must ask himself and assess who and what worth it is for you to personally know Christ. Is Christ the greatest treasure in your life, so much so that you count everything else a loss and this treasure of knowing Christ surpasses all others in such a manner to count all other things as rubbish? It isn’t so much that everything else is worthless in themselves, but compared to the greatness of the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, everything else really is nothing.
Your answer to this question will determine if you are truly a disciple of Christ. That is why in Matthew 10:37-39 Jesus says “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever find his life will loose it, and whoever looses his life for my sake will find it.” Notice here that God is not asking you not to love those who are close to you, but your love for God must far exceed everything else, including your very life itself.
This is the very expression with which Jesus Himself represented the Kingdom of heaven and the true value of knowing Christ and being part of His kingdom. In Matthew 13, we read the parables of the hidden treasure and the pearl of great value. Matthew 13:44-45 says “The Kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes out and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls who on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.”
You see, the point here is knowing the treasure and value of Christ, then doing what needs to be done so that Christ can be Lord and ruler of your life. Amen! This is the point the Apostle Paul is also trying to make through this passage. The Apostle Paul is counting everything a loss, not only all the Jewish privileges that he had but also everything else. Anything that a man living at that time would count as gain, the Apostle Paul counted it as loss against the worth of knowing Christ, especially the law on which they depended on for salvation. Paul understood that it is impossible for man to achieve salvation on his own merits, it was only possible through faith in Jesus Christ and to have His righteousness imputed on us. By faith alone through grace. A justification through the blood of Christ, being sanctified by the Holy Spirit and eternal glory through the merit and intercession of Jesus Christ. Hallelujah.
So I encourage you to take this time to examine yourself and find out who and what Christ means to you? Is He your greatest treasure? 2 Corinthians 13:5 says “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?-unless indeed you fail to meet the test!”
And again in Philippians 2:12 saying “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”
May Christ be the greatest treasure of your life, surpassing all others, in order that you give yourself to him and live according to His will, glorifying God through your life and being used by God for His eternal purposes.
This is the truly blessed life.
God Bless.
