Paul has been writing about himself for a few verses now as a defense against those who want to appeal to the law (those he called dogs, evil workers, those who mutilate the flesh [Philippians 3:2]) as a means of drawing near to God, getting God's approval.
He is showing them a higher way, a higher pursuit, that does not make sense to man, but has ultimate meaning with God: knowing Christ; the pursuit of Christ, and a relationship with him.
Paul is exchanging the language of what we call legalism for relationship; he is exchanging the language of achievement with the language of relationship; he is exchanging the language of self-congratulation with the language of relationship.
It is not just about the right action, but the right knowledge.
It starts with not being found in his sight with our own righteousness. It's not even emotion, but knowledge: the knowledge that you pursue and the Spirit impacts (1 Corinthians 2:10-12).
The point is that the right knowledge of God is important, but it is not as easy as it seems, because it is a magnet for persecution.
Those who preach circumcision presuming to mix some law with grace, would not have law and would not have grace, but exist in a Netherland of nothingness.
Paul said they do so to avoid persecution that the cross of Christ attracts (Galatians 6:12), specifically from the Jews. He knows what that means because he was a persecutor-in-chief.
He knows the cross is not a nice little metal you put on your neck. He said through the cross the world is crucified to him and he to the world (Galatians 6:14). The cross is the end of him when it comes to relevance in the world, and it ends the relevance of anything the world to him, apart from Christ.
The knowledge of Christ causes a break from all the prevailing knowledge of the world
- to a knowledge that you have to get from preachers of the word (Acts 6:4)
- knowledge revealed through apostles and prophets (Ephesians 3:5),
- knowledge revealed through people who appeal to the spirit, not the flesh (1 Corinthians 2:13-15).
- Knowledge revealed through people who teach truth, with their words now written down as scriptures (2 Timothy 3:15).
The right knowledge becomes a gate to a new experience. Paul said My aim is to know Him, and that becomes a gate to experiencing the power of his resurrection.
The people who are focused on experience above all are the mystics; the people who are focused on doing the law above all are the legalist. The people who focus on the knowledge detached from the revealed truth of Christ and a life pattern that flows from God are the gnostics.
But what Paul is calling for is the right knowledge of Christ, which leads to the right experience (of new life) and action in our lives as we seek to please God in a relationship with Christ.
Other religions and endeavors may have spiritual experiences; therefore, it is wrong to define Christianity just by experiences. That is not its distinctive.
Other religions may have dos and don'ts. So dos and don'ts are not the distinctive of Christianity.
The distinction is Christ: Knowing him (knowledge), seeking him (experience), and living for Him (obedience).
So many want to lean heavily on mystical experience, but Paul wrote that Satan appears as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14); or to lean on dos and don'ts, finding their security in that rather than in Christ.
Looking at the language of Paul, he said My aim is to know Christ. He is likewise saying that it should be our aim too.
We wrestle against principalities and powers (Ephesians 6:10-18) who want to impose false versions of reality on us, have us live in that milieu (like the serpent did to Eve) as they resist the rule of Christ, and continue to hold people in bondage to their wills.
Hence, you have to pursue Christ against all headwinds to the contrary, and continue to wrestle, spend your time, money, your mental energy, etc to resist. And you cannot wrestle without engaging, by burying your head in the sand and wishing it away.
Spend time in prayer to be with Christ and do it with the single-minded pursuit, being aggressive against any persuasion to the contrary, against the pull to lean back on the arm of flesh, lean back to group-think of the world, apart from Christ, even if it means standing against lies, which would lead to suffering as with Paul.
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For Paul, there is much more to gain with a focus on Christ that makes whatever he lost pale in comparison. He felt it was all worth it to gain Christ. He talked about experiencing His resurrection and sharing in His suffering.
That means he wants to know what it means to live fully in the life of God Himself.
Christ's suffering, therefore, also becomes an example of the sacrifice we would also make.
And just as Christ's own sacrifice was not in vain, but a gateway to the resurrection experience, so also our sacrifice is not in vain.
Being like him in his death means the negation of the natural life to live a full spiritual life powered only by God himself.
From Addiction to Freedom by Favour Oyinloye
Nature Song
