“I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.”  Philippians 3:10-11 What’s the first thing that grabs you when you read these verses?  If we’re honest with ourselves, it’s most likely the knowledge of having to share in Christ’s sufferings.  We ask, “Oh no…do I have to?  Can’t I just have the power of His resurrection without the pain of sharing in His sufferings?”  These verses hold what every Christian should yearn for in their walk with the Lord.   They hold the most beautiful of promises along with a reality that at first appearance not only doesn’t look too appealing, but may even stir up fear.  Furthermore, these are only promises if we truly “know Christ.” The promises are the “power of his resurrection” and “the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,” and “to attain to the resurrection from the dead.”  Yes, sharing in his sufferings and becoming like him in His death, is a promise of this verse.  Your first thought may be, “are you nuts, why would anyone think suffering and becoming like him in His death is anything I should want?”  The answer is plain, but the process is anything but simple:  because of the potential that His life will be revealed in your vessel during suffering. Bear with me and let’s walk through this together to understand why this is a vital reality of our walk with the Lord. What does knowing Christ mean? Let me just say that the emphasis in our relationship with Christ are the words “know Christ.”  The word “know” is translated from the Greek word ginōskō which means to have personal acquaintance or experience with.   Paul is saying that he wants to gain more knowledge of Christ through experience.  Experiential knowledge is only derived from personal experience.    Experientially knowing Christ is the crux of our true relationship with Him. I read my Bible regularly and know a lot about the Bible and about Jesus…is that what you mean? Knowing facts or knowing about Christ, i.e. mere head knowledge does not encompass an intimate walk with Him.  Head knowledge will only get you so far.  Sure, you’ll be able to spout out scripture verses and answer questions about His word with Biblical knowledge.  The Pharisees were loaded with head knowledge.  Unfortunately, they were also lacking in love and mercy.  Head knowledge has a tendency to propagate a judgmental attitude towards other Christians.    If we have mere head knowledge about Christ; we aren’t truly abiding in Christ.   We may be able to put on a religious mask and fool people for a little while with faux fruit, but eventually during a season in your life when you are weak or vulnerable or when the storms of life come, the mask will be ripped off and your true self revealed.  I sure want to be abiding in Him when the storms of life come, don’t you?  Head knowledge needs to become heart knowledge and that comes from giving yourself over to Him to produce experiential knowledge.  God chose that as we wrestle with our own flesh and daily die to self and increasingly project His life through our vessel, His glory and fruit is displayed in and through us out to the world. What is this fruit? "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. “John 15:5 The fruit that is proved by a close intimate walk with the true vine, Jesus.  We are made partakers of His divine nature.  In partaking of His nature, what He loves becomes what we love and what He hates becomes what we hate.  His fruit in us is displayed in our daily lives as we administer grace to people, perform good works, grow in the love of His word, and grow to maturity in the Lord.  Our Lord provides us with fruit to live out His life through us; faith, peace, grace, mercy and righteousness.  He provides everything we need.  Later, when Christ was resurrected, the fruit of the Spirit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control was given to every person who receives Christ as their savior and Lord as further witness and testament of His life in us. Why can’t I bear fruit by myself? “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.  I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”  John 15:4-5 Fruit can only come from remaining in Him.  In another translation the word “remain” is translated “abide.”  The words “remain” and “abide” mean to continue in fellowship with Christ.  In other words, it’s an ongoing process, not a one-time experience.   So, if you decide at some point to go your own way and allow the fellowship to wane, then there will be no fruit in your life to God and your “old man” will take preeminence in your life.  Our “old man” produces faux fruit.  It may look like the real thing, but when tasted it leaves an after taste of pride. How do I abide or remain in Christ? "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.  If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father''s commands and remain in his love.” John 15:9-10 Two key words to remaining in Christ are:  humility and surrender. In our lead scripture, Paul proclaims, “becoming like him in his death.”  Andrew Murray in his book, Humility states,

“Humility is the blossom of which death to self is the perfect fruit.”  “As there was no way for Him (Christ) to prove His surrender to God to the uttermost or to give up and rise out of our human nature to the glory of the Father but through death, so it is with us.  Humility must lead us to die to self:  so we prove how wholly we have given ourselves up to it and to God; so alone we are freed from our fallen nature and find the path that leads to life in God, to that full birth of the new nature, of which humility is the breath and the joy.”

Humility reveals the true follower of Jesus.  I like to think of it as being Christ-conscious instead of self-conscious. Surrendering is giving up your will for His will, allowing His life to project through your body, His temple.   In actuality, we have been bought with His blood.  We no longer belong to ourselves…we belong to Him.  But one has to release ownership rights to oneself.  Just as Christ humbled Himself and came to live on earth as the God-man to ultimately die for our sins to bring us into communion with the Father; so we have to humble ourselves and surrender our life to Him by dying to self in order to live the new life in Christ.  That is the epitome of surrendering.  We surrender our will to Him, we surrender our rights to Him, we surrender our heart to Him, and we surrender our whole life to Him.  Jesus wants every area of our life surrendered to Him.