That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death

Good morning. And why does Paul count all things as loss? That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death. Paul is not saying that he wants to know about Jesus; rather he wants to know Him personally. We can read in the Bible and in books written about Him, but that does not mean that we know Jesus personally. The power of Jesus’ resurrection did not affect just Him; it also affects every believer. His resurrection brings power into our lives to live the Christian life. It also gives us the hope (hope is not just wishful thinking; it is confident assurance) of joining Him in our own resurrection one day. The part that we don’t want to participate in – the fellowship of His sufferings. And why does Paul want all of this? In order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Paul does not mean that he is trying to earn the right to be resurrected from the dead. As the next verse indicates - it’s just that he has not had it happen to him yet. Father thank You that we can know Christ and the power of His resurrection in our lives every day. 

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