THE DESIRE OF THE APOSTLE PAUL

“That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death” (Phil. 3:10 NKJV).

The Apostle Paul desired to know four important things about the Lord Jesus Christ. They are the Person of Christ, the power of Christ, the pain of Christ, and the purpose of Christ. This desire of Paul is a most noble desire we all need to have.

Person of Christ - “That I may know Him.” People know a lot of things, but much of what they know is often of little importance in regard to eternity. If there is one thing we need to know, it is about the Lord Jesus Christ. We need to learn all you can about Him. Nothing will help us more in eternity. To learn of Him we must study the Scriptures. He Himself said, “Search the Scriptures…these are they which testify of Me” (John 5:39).

Power of Christ - “The power of His resurrection.” The word “power” is the Greek word dýnamis (δύναμις = doo'-nam-is) from which we get our English word dynamic. To “know” the power of “His resurrection” involves experiencing it in our lives. This is the power that overcomes evil and enables us to serve with excellence. We need great power to live victoriously for the Lord Jesus. And resurrection power is that great power.

Pain of Christ - “The fellowship of His sufferings.” The apostle Paul wanted to be acquainted with the pain and sufferings experienced by the Lord Jesus Christ. This is not sadistic thinking. It is simply a desire to live faithfully for the Lord Jesus and be willing to suffer for Him just as He willingly suffered that others might be saved. This desire of the apostle Paul is what separates the spiritually mature from the immature. Few want to suffer for the cause of Christ; and so, when things get tough, they will recant or compromise. Not the apostle Paul. He wanted to be so faithful that he would willingly suffer as the Lord Jesus Christ suffered.

Purpose of Christ - “Being conformed to His death.” This speaks of submission (cf. Phil. 2:8). The apostle Paul wanted to be completely yielded to the will of God just as the Lord Jesus was submissive to God that He willingly went to the cross and died. The Lord Jesus’ purpose in life was to do God’s will (John 4:34). May this be our purpose also.

(Adapted from Butler’s Daily Bible Reading 2)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“The hardship of Jesus is not to burden us but to strengthen our understanding of divine mercy!”

Paul David Tripp (1950 -)

American Pastor, Theologian and Author

Word Study

Fit (able)

In 2 Tim. 2:2 we read, “And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (NKJV).

“Fit (able)” is the Greek word hikanós (ἱκανός = hik-an-os'). The word has a range of meanings that includes sufficient, adequate, large, considerable, many, competent, able, worthy. In classic Greek, the word means adequate, sufficient, large enough, much. In the Septuagint hikanós means sufficiency or a large enough quantity. In the New Testament hikanós is used to indicate number and quantity relating to people (Mark 10:46), money (Matt. 28:12), and time (Luke 8:27). It is also used of one’s position in relation to another, as in John 1:27 where John the Baptist stated that he was not worthy to loose the sandal strap of the Lord Jesus, and in Matt. 8:8 where the centurion confessed he was not worthy for the Lord Jesus to enter his house. Here in 2 Tim. 2:2, the apostle Paul’s instructions to Timothy are that he commit what he has received to faithful men qualified to teach, who in their turn, will be able to share the Word with the next generation of believers. We are stewards of the spiritual treasure God has given us. It is our responsibility to guard the deposit and then invest it in the lives of others.

Did You Know…

Job received bad news from a messenger four times (cf. Job 1:14-19), yet we are told that “In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong” (Job 1:22).

Bible Quiz

What was the curse that God placed on the serpent who deceived Eve?

**Answer to last week’s Bible Quiz

What did Moses tell the Israelites to tie on their hands and foreheads? God’s commands (Deut. 6:8)

Prophecies Fulfilled by the Lord Jesus Christ

His exaltation predicted (Psalm 24:3; cf. Acts 1:11; Phil. 2:9)

"Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place?” (Psalm 24:3 NJKV).

In light of God’s sovereign ownership of the earth and all who live upon it (cf. vv. 1-2), the Psalmist David wondered who had the right to stand before God. There in only One Person who can ascend the holy hill of Zion and stand forever in the holy place and that One is the Lord Jesus Christ! But now by His perfect work of atonement and vicarious sacrifice we can be found in Him, not with a righteousness of our own, but by His righteousness, imputed to us by faith. And so, because He willingly gave His life on the cross, there is a coronation day coming, a day when the Shepherd becomes the King. His return would be like His departure with the same body, descending from heaven by His sovereign and all-controlling power (cf. Acts 1:11; Phil. 2:9). This great promise is not the rapture but the return to rule and reign. Psalm 24 foretells the Lord Jesus’ return to earth to establish His kingdom with Jerusalem as its capital (cf. vv. 7-10). As such, He is the only One who may ascend into the hill of the Lord (cf. v. 4): He is the only One who is completely clean and pure (cf. 1 Peter 2:22).

Did You Know – Christian History

John Rogers was born around 1505 in Deritend, Birmingham England. He was an English clergyman, Bible translator and Commentator.

 Rogers was educated at Cambridge. He became a Catholic priest and accepted a position in the church when the Protestant Reformation was in full swing. His conscience told him that certain teachings of his established Church were wrong, and he resigned, moving to Antwerp, Holland, where he ministered to English merchants. In Holland, he became friends with William Tyndale, a reformer who was translating the Bible into English. Tyndale converted Rogers to Protestant views, and Rogers married. Nine months later, Tyndale went to prison; and eventually executed as a heretic. But Tyndale left a precious manuscript in John Rogers’s keeping. This was his English translation of the books from Joshua to Chronicles which had not yet been printed. Rogers was determined to see that Tyndale’s valuable work was not lost. For the next twelve months he labored to put together a complete Bible. Its text was based on Tyndale and Coverdale, and its two thousand notes were borrowed from the writings of dozens of different reformers. However, because Tyndale had been declared a heretic, his name could not go on the Bible. Rogers could not honestly claim the work as his own, so he used a pseudonym - Thomas Matthews. The Matthew Bible became the first officially authorized version in the English language.

After Edward VI became king, Rogers returned to England with his wife and was given high positions in the Church of England. However, after Edward VI died, Mary ascended the throne in 1553, Catholicism was restored, and Protestant leaders were persecuted. Rogers was arrested following a sermon at St. Paul’s Cathedral and spent over a year in prison. Repeatedly questioned about his beliefs by Lord Chancellor Stephen Gardiner, he was eventually sentenced to death by burning for heresy. Rogers begged to speak a few words to his wife, but Gardiner refused. On the way to the stake singing psalms, he saw his wife and children, including a baby, whom he had never met. At the stake, Rogers was offered a pardon if only he would recant his beliefs and return to the Catholic Church. He refused. The fire was lit and Rogers washed his hands in the flames as though he did not feel them. John Rogers was burned to death at the stake at Smithfield, England, on Monday February 4, 1555. He was the first of many martyrs in Mary’s reign. He faced death with remarkable patience and courage, steadfast in defense of the Gospel.

A Little Humor

A boy proudly told his teacher, “I know why the tomb was empty.” “Why?” the teacher asked. “Because Jesus had already beaten death before anyone else even showed up.”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“In His death we walk in new life!”