“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Philippians 1:23
Dear Ones:
We are apt to think that because Paul was one of the Apostles, and had seen the Lord in some measure, that his experience of truly living is a particular one. In one sense it is, as God desired to use such an experience and knowledge of Christ, to reveal Himself through the life of Paul to the world. However, on the other hand, the basic elements of truly living, from heaven’s standpoint, applies to every believer. What then does Paul mean when he writes, “For me to LIVE is Christ…?” And how does this knowledge apply to every believer?
Let’s go back to creation to discover the answer. We see that God created man to be the crowning jewel of His creation, to whom He gave complete dominion over it. We find also that God created man in such a way, after His image, for a specific purpose. That purpose is clearly revealed to us in John’s gospel: “…And this is life eternal, that they might KNOW Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.” (17:3) Though this verse was written in the gospels well after the creation, and the subsequent fall of man, the eternal truth is that man was created by God, that man should KNOW God. This knowledge of God is revealed to us in some measure when, in the Garden of Eden, we find God speaking, conversing, with Adam. God had made Adam so that He could speak to him, and that Adam could intelligently respond to Him, speaking in like manner. After the fall, we find a phrase in Genesis 3:8, where, “…they (Adam and Eve) heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the cool of the day.” We see here that it was God’s pleasure and purpose to walk with man, converse with him, reveal His nature to him to be reflected in and through him. However, after the fall, the “light of life” in the heart of man, ceased to exist. Though God would still speak to him, man could not respond in like manner, as he had before. Man’s capacity to “receive” the free flow of the life of God in Christ, was no more. It would only be by the intervention of God, in providing a remedy to the darkness of man’s heart and mind, that once again, this Light would shine in the heart of man, and a capacity by the Spirit be given him, to begin again to KNOW God.
When Paul came to know Christ on the Road to Damascus, it was by the intervention of God, the revelation of Christ to his heart. This was an act of mercy towards him, awakening him to the reality of his lost condition, but also to a HOPE that was beyond his comprehension, or capacity to fully grasp. That day, Paul RECEIVED the capacity, by the Spirit, to begin an existence of KNOWING God. He would relate this matter to the Philippian believers by declaring his goal and purpose in life: “…that I may KNOW Him (Christ).” (3:10) Paul had tasted eternal LIFE on the road to Damascus, and that taste had ruined him for everything else. For him, as it should be for us all, to truly live, is to know ever-increasingly, the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a knowledge that is according to the eternal truth of His nature, and the experience of communion with Him, by the power of the Spirit. To KNOW Christ is to truly live.
Dear Father, open our eyes to see, understand, and grasp, what true life is. Give us grace, not only to begin well with You in this blessed quest, but to ever pursue the knowledge of Christ, in an ever-increasing manner. We thank and praise You, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad