of sharing in His suffering, becoming like him in his death, and so
somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead."
Philippians 3: 10-11
Greek scholars tell us that when the apostle Paul wrote about knowledge of Christ, he often describe a head knowledge or an intellectual comprehension. But in Philippians 3:10 when Paul wrote, "I want to know Christ, he used a different word for "know." He meant a knowledge of the heart, an experiential fellowship of intimacy.
When Paul wrote Philippians 3:10, he used the word "know" in the old Testament sense of the word, such as when Adam "knew" Eve or Abraham "knew" Sarah. As intimately as a couple would know one another physically, Paul wanted to know his Lord spiritually. This was a desire to fellowship with the Lord throught direct experience, not throught mere head knowledge.
The apostle Peter echoes this desire in 2 Peter 1:4 where believers are told that we "participate in the divine nature." In other words, believer have a share within and portion of the Lord Jesus.
This is how up-close and personal your spiritual fellowship with the Lord is meant to be. Not a head knowledge. . . But a heart knowledge.
Take time to participate in Jesus. Taste the Bread of heaven.
Drink deeply of the Living water. Be the branch that relaxes
In Him, the Vine. Get to know Him through direct ecperience,
Not merely through intellectual comprehension.
Lord of my life, You have shed Your blood for me, dying on the
Cross so that we might have intimate fellowship. Forgive me
When I only demonstrate a desire to know about You, rather
Than truly know You. I echo the apostle Paul when I say today
That desire to enjoy a close and personal union with You.
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