Philippians 3:10-11 “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his suffering, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain the resurrection from the dead.”

Paul rates knowing Christ Jesus so high because it changed his life right now. It meant knowing the power of Jesus’ resurrection. This is not “knowing” in the sense of knowing something from a textbook, knowing some piece of trivia that helps you solve the crossword puzzle or win the game show. This is knowing by experience. This is knowing like I know my cup of coffee gets me started in the morning. I feel the effects of the caffeine on my mind and energy. I know that exposing my skin to the sun too long can give me sunburn. Far too often I have experienced the pain and discomfort from too many hours spent outside.

Those who know Christ Jesus, not just some facts they remember from a Sunday School lesson, but know him by faith, know him as friend and Savior, in the same way know the power of his resurrection working in their lives. You see, the power of Jesus’ resurrection isn’t just the power that raises us from the dead at the end of time. It is that, too. But the power of Jesus’ resurrection is a power in the life of a believer right now. It energizes our souls. It renews our hearts. It changes our wills. It inserts the living Lord Jesus into our own lives so that we love like he loved and serve like he served.

That leads to another change right now, one that might not seem so desirable at first: “the fellowship of sharing in his suffering, becoming like him in his death.” If the power of Jesus’ resurrection has us living more like Jesus, then we can expect to experience the consequences of that kind of life, too. For Jesus, it often meant suffering. He was opposed and persecuted. He was mistrusted and rejected. Eventually he was arrested and killed. He didn’t go looking for all of this, so to speak. But he didn’t avoid it at all costs, either. He accepted it as the natural consequence, the natural reaction of a world that was hell bent on going its own way and didn’t particularly want to be saved.

It’s not that we go looking for this, either. But if wanting to know Christ and the power of his resurrection, if trying to love and save the people around us, makes us the most hated people in town, so be it. Then we will be closer to our Savior. We will be more like him. It’s an acquired taste, to be sure. But Paul said it was something he wanted to know, and by faith so do all who understand the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus.

It is the last change that puts it all over the top, the forever one: “…and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.” This is where it all leads. This is what we are trading the trash of our former life for. This is why it is important to have God’s gift of righteousness as our own. Knowing Christ Jesus means death is not the end. It means rising like he did, perfected and glorified.

When that day comes, that will be the greatest thing any of us has ever done. Then we will know Jesus Christ and all his gifts better and better, forever and ever.