#38 Like Him Text: “That I may know him and the power of His resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain to the resurrection from the dead” (Philippians 3:10 – 11 ESV). Truth: We are to become like him in his death. Commentary: In addition to knowing him and the power of his resurrection, we are to share in his sufferings. As believers we will also suffer for his sake (Phil.1:29). Jesus suffered for the sake of righteousness by dying for our sin, and having been baptized into Christ Jesus we have also been baptized into his death and have died to sin. If we have died to sin, how can we still live in it (Romans 6:2 – 3)? Our daily life is to be an exhibit of being set apart from sin and living a new life in Christ. As Jesus Christ experienced, living a holy and righteous life puts people who aren’t on edge, causing them to react against him. As we live in the same manner, we also will experience suffering at the hands of others and as a result some will be beaten and cast into prison and even killed. It is impossible to live for Christ without dying to self (Phil. 1:21). “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me” (Gal. 2:20 NASB). We must identify with Christ in the process of death to self to come to the place where we can suffer the loss of all things in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ (Phil. 3:8). There is no short cut. The seed that is planted in the ground must die if it is to live and bear fruit. Jesus died that he would bear fruit through us, but if we are to bear fruit we must also die. In this dying process, the resurrection power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead comes to raise us up to newness of life. “[It] raised us up with Him, and [seats] us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus, in order that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:6 -7 NASB). Unfortunately, in the western culture, the goal is to live as comfortable as possible. We consume a huge quantity of various substances to mask any form of pain. To think that we should share in his suffering is foreign to our thinking. If we fail to understand the benefit of suffering in the dying process, we will most likely miss the experience of living with power the resurrected life he wants us to pre-experience in this life. The more I experience it, the more I hunger for more of the dying process to obtain it. Application: The process of death removes those things that hinder our growth in him. Think of what God’s Son laid aside to come and live in a body of flesh as Jesus. Consider what it must have been like to know no sin and then be willing to become sin for us that we might have eternal life. How important is it for you to become like him and what are you willing to sacrifice in the process? What are the things in your life that are hindering your growth in him? Prayer: Father, prune from me that which hinders my growth in Christ likeness.
Posted on: Wed, 04 Dec 2013 15:58:49 +0000
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