RJ Hamster
Philippians 3:8-11 – Understanding Fellowship in Suffering to Know…
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Philippians 3:8-11(8) Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, (9) And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: (10) That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; (11) If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. King James Version Change email Bible version Paul’s main thought is that he suffered the loss of all things to gain Christ, to know Him, to know the power of His resurrection, and to know the fellowship of His sufferings.The word translated “fellowship” here is the same one translated as “communion” in reference to the Passoverbread and wine (see I Corinthians 10:16). Out of this comes a principle regarding suffering: It brings us into fellowship with others who have suffered or who are suffering similarly. To put it differently, we do not really know someone until we have suffered alongside him. If we suffer with someone, it is a form of fellowship, and a powerful bond develops from it.Therefore, if we are suffering, even if it is not directly because of our beliefs, it gives us an opportunity to fellowship with Christ. He experienced life as a human being just like us, and we would be hard-pressed to find a circumstance that He cannot relate to. However, it is even more critical for us to relate our sufferings to what Hesuffered—rather than the reverse, to keep the focus on His experience more than our own—because it is in that comparison that we begin to get a clearer picture of our Savior.Paul says he suffered the loss of all things to know the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings, recalling his desire to be as closely conformed to Him as possible. Because a common experience helps us get to know someone, Paul wholeheartedly believed that it was worth having similar afflictions as Jesus throughout his Christian life of service, because it meant that he would know Christ that much more.— David C. GrabbeTo learn more, see: A Look at Christian Suffering (Part Two) Topics:A Look at Christian SufferingCommunionDeveloping Empathy for OthersEmpathyFellowshipFellowship of Christ’s SufferingsFellowship with Christ Commentary copyright © 1992-2025 Church of the Great God Subscription InformationThis daily newsletter was sent to you at peterhovis@me.com because you subscribed at www.theberean.org on Apr 14, 2017.Email Preferences | Unsubscribe Church of the Great God P.O. Box 471846 Charlotte, NC 28247 803-802-7075About The Berean | Archives | Random Berean | Subscriptions |
