12/29/2024 – Day 189 – Philippians – Chapters 3 & 4 / Chapter 3 – “Knowing Christ”
Two previous cycle posts for today’s reading: 11/20/2020 and 09/04/22.
“My goal is to know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, assuming that I will somehow reach the resurrection from among the dead.” Philippians 3: 10 – 11
My commentary from “The Apologetics Study Bible” reads:
“3: 10 – 11 The goal of participation in the final resurrection comes from knowing Christ in every dimension of life. Conformity to death — the result of self-surrender – gives way to life. The Chritian’s experience parallels that of Jesus. ” (Philippians 3: 10 – 11)
Now, I would also like to share Matthew Henry’s commentary on these two verses, on page # 1865:
“We are undone without a righteousness herein to appear before God. There is a righteousness provided for us in Jesus Christ. ‘Not having my own righteousness , which is of the law; not thinking that my outward observances and good deeds are able to atone for my bad ones. The righteousness is that which is through the faith of Christ, not a legal, but evangelical righteousness: The righteousness which is of God by faith, ordained and appointed of God.’ Faith is the ordained means of saving benefit in all the purchase of his blood. 3. That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings. Knowing him here is believing in him; it is an experimental knowledge. The apostle was as ambitious of being sanctified as he was of being justified. 4. That he might be conformable unto him. We are then made conformable to his death when we die to sin, as Christ died for sin, when we are crucified with Christ, and the world is crucified to us.
II. The apostle had his heart upon heaven as his happiness; If by any means I might attain to the resurrection of the dead, v. 11.”
Soli Deo Gloria!
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Questions for fellowship generation, the lifelong sanctification process:
- What does the text reveal about God’s character?
- How has this reading generated prayer for you and/or us?
- What themes stand out to you in this bible study?
- How does our reading fit into the bigger picture (creation, the fall, restoration, etc.)?
- What verse(s) jumped out at you like never before? Is it explainable at this point?
- Do you have any questions you would like to put before the group as to how to interpret any particular verse(s) in our reading. Let scripture testify to scripture: Share with us where you sense contradiction between passages elsewhere.
- What did you find convicting and inspiring at the same time? Share with us how the Spirit of God is working within you as a messenger, both within and outside of our fellowship group.
- Share with the group how our study is calling or confirming to you a new mission to glorify God in our times.