In Philippians 3:10, the Apostle Paul says that He wants to
“know Christ, and the power that flows out of His resurrection.” The phrase “to
know” in our English Bibles, is translated from the Greek word ginosko. With
this word, Paul is saying that he wants to enjoy the deepest level of intimacy
possible with Christ. Paul does not just want to know about Jesus, but interact
with Jesus in a loving relationship.
We know that the core of God’s nature is a selfless love that is poured
out to everyone that will receive it. God loves to love and be loved–God is
love.
But Paul says that he not only wants to know Christ, but
also wants to know, be intimate and interact personally with, the power that
comes from Christ in His resurrection (the Amplified Bible says here that he
wants “in the very same way” that he knows Christ, to know the power of the
resurrection).
It is an odd thing in modern Western Christian culture, that
the two ideas of knowing Jesus, and knowing His power, have somehow become
separated. Many Christians give themselves whole-heartedly to their salvation
in terms of loving God, reading their Bibles, and following Christ in moral
values, but want nothing to do with the Holy Spirit who inspired the Bible and
empowers us to live a moral life. But in the early church, Christ, His love for
people, and acts of power that manifest that love, all went hand in hand.
Had you told the woman with the issue of blood that she
should just accept Jesus as her savior, but not bother Him for healing, I think
she would have thought you were nuts. Do you think that the blind, the lame,
the demon possessed people that Jesus healed understood that God loved them
more prior to their being healed or after? God’s love for people is often
manifested in some dramatic way that serves to cut through a person’s religious
or secular, arguments against Him. God healing a sick person can do more to
communicate His love, and drive both fear and shame out of their hearts, than
anything else.
I read an article recently in which several foreign
missionaries were being interviewed. Every one of them said that they had yet
to see a person from a non-Christian culture accept Christ on the basis of
western apologetics, (a reasoned argument for the truth of the Bible) but they
had seen multitudes of people accept Christ after being healed or delivered
from demonic activity. In other words, trying to convince them of our doctrine
through logical arguments was a total failure until God showed up in power.
Then they were ready to listen to the gospel message, which pointed them to a
Christ that they already knew was real and alive.
They were all quick to say that they value the Bible highly,
but Christianity is simply not just about doctrine, it is about knowing the
Living God. Since we Christians were commissioned to reach the world as
Christ’s witnesses, and since we were empowered with the Holy Spirit for the
purpose of carrying out that mission, we should expect the power of God and the
Word of God to work together just as they did in the Book of Acts.
Our role on earth is not just to carry a message about
Christ, but to actually carry Christ. Spiritual growth is much more than simply
learning more doctrine or experiencing greater self-control. It is the process
whereby the Christian learns to steward the presence of God so that he can
release Jesus to hurting people in everyday life. A growing awareness of the
presence of God upon us, and a growing sensitivity to what He wants to do for
people around us, should be the focus of our lives.