Philippians 3:8 "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."
As we look at today's verse, we see Paul making a contrast from that which he
stated in the previous one. He had just said that which gives honor to
him took away from the understanding of the honor that only belongs unto the
Lord. Now he is saying, I want to "win Christ". What does it mean to
"win Christ"?
The longer I study the Word of God, the more I realize the need for a good
concordance and Bible dictionary. A very quick look shows us that the words,
"gain" in verse 7 and "win" in verse 8 are from the very
same root word. I stopped a long time ago trying to pronounce the Greek
mainly because I can't pronounce them. Though I cannot pronounce them,
the meaning of the words are very important. Paul is saying, I want to gain in
my understanding of Jesus Christ. This is said by a man who met Jesus face to
face on the road to Damascus. This is from the one who heard the voice of the
risen Lord. "I want to win Christ. I want to gain, or grow, in my
relationship with Him." Should we not have that very same desire?
How do we "win Christ"? It sounds so very simple; yet, this is
the truth of it. It begins with a heartfelt desire to grow in our knowledge of
Him. Where do we go in order to gain knowledge? Some might say, "I will
rely on my experience with the Lord." There's one problem with that
approach: Satan is able to transform himself into an angel of light. He is able
to persuade you that something is right when all along the Word of God says it
is wrong. So, we cannot rely only upon our experience.
We grow in our knowledge of the Lord Jesus by studying His Word. There is no
other way in which we can truly rely upon the understanding of Who Jesus truly
is and what He has done and is capable of doing. We get into the Word and see
what our Heavenly Father has to say about Him. Then in our life's experiences,
we seek to apply that knowledge in our individual circumstances. "Lord, I
know you are able to calm storms. Lord, I know you are able to make a way when
I can see no way. Lord, I feel all alone right now, but you promised you would
never leave me alone. Lord, I messed up again, but your Word tells me that you
are faithful to forgive my sins if I confess to you."
If we are willing to take our hands off the wheel of control of our lives, we
will experience more and more the grace of our Lord as He carries us through
this trip that we call life. The question this morning is this: Do you
trust Him?