“That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection (Philippians 3:10a)
“And this, so that I may know Him [experientially, becoming more thoroughly acquainted with Him, understanding the remarkable wonders of His Person more completely] and [in that same way experience] the power of His resurrection [which overflows and is active in believers]” (Same portion of 3:10 from the Amplified Bible)
Again, we look at Paul’s expressed desires as a faithful follower of Christ who is sold out, who is a died-to-self bond servant to Jesus, an Apostle by the grace of God. Paul has experienced and witnessed first-hand the many wonders of God’s power. He had been walking and serving his LORD Jesus Christ for many years at the point of expressing his deep longings to the Church at Philippi, and yet he is yearning for more of Him in experience. Understand that the knowledge he speaks of here is not the gain of information, but a “Yada” experience of knowing God more intimately.
The power of His resurrection . . .
I suspect most believers never ponder long at what was working in the resurrection; we accept it by faith. There is nothing wrong with that, but Paul could not stop meditating deeply about the power behind the resurrection. From a human perspective, God died, was buried, and He rose Himself from the dead. God resurrected God. I am like Paul in that I have to dig deeper into that mysterious power. I will express some thoughts, but I will in no way reach the vastness of this topic.
Let’s go back to the beginning:
1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.
6 Then God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” 7 Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. 8 And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day.
9 Then God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so. 10 And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good.
11 Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so. 12 And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 13 So the evening and the morning were the third day.
14 Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; 15 and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. 16 Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. 17 God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 So the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
20 Then God said, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the [f]firmament of the heavens.” 21 So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23 So the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
24 Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind”; and it was so. 25 And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.” (Genesis 1)
“And God said . . .”
God spoke to nothing and nothing became something exactly as it was spoken. His Word was an expression of the supernatural energy which emanates from His being; His very Life. God does not have or contain power, He is power. He is a Life-Force; Life-Power.
1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” (John 1)
In the Beginning, Jesus was there . . . expressing Who He was!
Again, there was, from human perspective, Power at work in the Creation event. However, that power was not simply a force used; it was a Person being Who He is; Power. I Am was being I Am. “I Am that I Am!”
Everything we see was made by the words of the Word; breathing out Who He is to bring about the will of His breath. That which occurred in Creation also occurred in the Tomb of Jesus. The resurrection came as the will of His breath. Keep in mind, only the earthly human body of Jesus died; His Spirit was alive. The Spirit of I Am was the spoken force of the Resurrection.
The Power of His Resurrection is the same Power of Creation; simply stated: God!
Paul is stating his desire in a way man would express it to another man. However, Paul was seeking the deep intimacy of the Person Who is Power. Beloved, no matter how close you get in relationship to the Person of Jesus, there is a driving force within that wants much more. That is the measure of a believer’s love for God; you are never satisfied with where you are in Him; you want to scoot closer.
The power that spoke the worlds and all therein is the power that resurrected Jesus from the dead in a now glorified body, but wait; that same power, which is a Person, lives in each believer. Yes, the Holy Spirit indwells and fills the born-again Christian with that same Power; that being Himself the Third Person of the Triune God.
“For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection.” (Romans 6:5)
“Knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. 10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:9-11)
“But you shall receive Power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you . . .” (Acts 1:8a)
Has Christ been resurrected in you? Is there any proof? Is there a decided likeness of Christ in you? Is there any evidence of Power? Are you living within His Life? Yes, you do have to make some choices, do you not? Choose Life; choose Joy; choose Power—Resurrection Power! Happy Easter!
