WE might inquire what had brought about so deep and so permanent a change as stands recorded by the Apostle Paul in the third chapter of Philippians. So thorough and so wholly of God was it that in verse 17 he can exhort, “Brethren, be followers together of me.” It was the heavenly vision which arrested him on the Damascus road. It was Christ seen in glory which led him to count “all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus,” adding with such affection, “My Lord.” His soul now trusts nothing, and his eyes see value in nothing but Christ. To be “found in Him” (verse 9); to “know Him” (verse 10) and to be “conformed to Him” (verse 11) is now the apostle’s standing, object and hope.
To follow Paul the apostle or Paul the martyr may not be possible, but to step out in the footsteps of Paul, the Christian, is not only possible but highly desirable.
Blessed are we indeed to have the APOSTLE’S STANDING.
To be found in Christ is the Christian’s true position. If any man is in Christ, “he is a new creature: old things have passed away, all things have become new” (2 Cor. 5:1717Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17)). Can the mind conceive or the heart desire any more excellent standing than to be “found in Him”? The logical outcome of finding a more excellent righteousness than his own was to cast his own away and appropriate that which was of God by faith.
Then following Paul here, we find an absorbing object for our hearts. For the APOSTLE’S OBJECT we clearly get in the expression, “that I may know Him.” His soul longed to know Christ. We seem to catch the fervour of it as the words sink into our souls, that I may know Him.” The watchword of the old world philosophers was “know thyself,” but for the beloved apostle it was, “know Him.” Oh for grace to follow — it may be far behind — but to follow in the aspirations and yearnings of Paul; to have that insatiable thirsting after the knowledge of Christ. Unworthy objects would be displaced and He would hold the supreme place in our thoughts and affections. We can be sure there is nothing more desirable, nothing more precious than to grow daily in the knowledge of Christ.
Growing thus we should always have shining brightly before us the APOSTLE’S HOPE.
The heavenly vision left its mark indelibly upon him. The One he most hated formerly was the One he now most desired, and the One for whom he waited. His hope was conformity to Christ’s body of glory. As a welcoming beacon this ever shone before him. To be with Christ and like Him! Oh, the moral beauty and power of it! May the Lord Himself supply that grace that will keep us hard following after His devoted servant.
S. O. Thurston.