Phil 3:7-10 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.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, 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: That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death; This is only the third day of a fresh year, bringing fresh challenges, new goals, and many resolutions. Hopefully, some of these challenges, goals, and resolution speak to the spiritual issues of life - to ones walk with his GOD - not only to secular and physical issues. Concerning the matter of the priority of the believers life, the Apostle Paul cuts right to the heart of the issue. His charge is that the pursuit of the knowledge of Christ is to be the supreme issue and desire of the Christian. But it seems that even though the blood of Christ has cleansed us; even though GOD has justified us; even though the Holy Spirit indwells us; even though GOD has positioned us as His Sons, we are still prone to wander, and our love for GOD and our devotion to Christ begins to wane. We are indeed, as the old hymn says,... prone to leave the GOD we love. How can this be? How is this possible in the life of those so blessed by the living GOD? The answer, it seems to me, is that we become to busy with the issues of life - our earthly existence. Our calendar becomes filled with the things the world esteems so highly as necessary. It is not that some of these issues are not important in our life - they are perhaps a must for the welfare of our families. But we must never lose sight of the fact that it is God Who supplies and meets all of our necessary needs, both physical and spiritual, and that being so, we must never become so concerned, or perhaps worried, over our physical needs that we neglect our spiritual necessities. We must most earnestly heed the warning of James not to forget GOD and in so doing leave Him out of our life (James 4:15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that). The pursuit of the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus is to be paramount - above all else - of greater importance than anything that touches our life; it is to be the over-riding priority of the child of GOD. The excellency of the knowledge of Christ has come in many portions (GOD, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, Whom He hath appointed Heir of all things, by Whom also He made the worlds; Heb 1:1-2). The Son is the fullness of Gods Revelation, for all Scripture concerns Him (And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He [Jesus} expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. Lk 24:27), and all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Him (Col 2:3). The excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus is that for which we are to earnestly contend, for it is the Faith, that whole knowledge of Truth given by GOD to man, which was once delivered unto the saints. (Jude 1:3). After all, isnt the excellency of the knowledge of the Gospel of Christ Jesus the knowledge that saved us? (For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ: for It is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth....Rom 1:16). Isnt the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus involved in our sanctification whereby we press on to spiritual maturity? (Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of GOD, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: Eph 4:13). Shouldnt the believer seek through the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus to know Christ more fully and intimately, pressing on (toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Phil 3:14)? Doesnt the instruction of the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus teach obedience and open our hearts to the will of GOD for our life? (Study to shew thyself approved unto GOD, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth. II Tim 2:15), for (All Scripture is given by inspiration of GOD, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of GOD may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. II Tim 3:16-17). The importance of seeking Christ through His Word cannot be stressed to greatly. It is life changing - filling the believer, who is a new creation in Christ, with new hopes, desires, aims; focusing our attention upon Jesus Christ, the One we love and serve. In this New Year let us not rest upon our past achievements and accomplishments - how long we used to pray; how much time we used to spent in GODS Word; how we used to share the Gospel; how we once served GOD. The old year is gone, it will not return. We are to live in the present, with the future in view. The question is simply this: what are we doing now; are we pursuing holiness as we seek to know more fully the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus our Lord?
Posted on: Sat, 03 Jan 2015 15:21:18 +0000