The apostle Paul perfectly expresses the most
earnest desire of every true follower of Christ:
"That I may know him" (Phil. 3:10 ).
"Knowing Christ," in the Pauline sense is not the
sort of mystical relationship many people
imagine. Paul wasn't longing for some secret
knowledge of Christ beyond what is revealed in
Scripture. He wasn't asking that private messages
from Christ be whispered into his ear.
In fact, the knowledge of Christ Paul sought was
anything but mystical. What he longed to know
was the power of Christ's resurrection, the
fellowship of His sufferings, and conformity to His
death.
We err greatly if we think of intimacy with Christ
as some lofty level of mysterious, feelings-based
communion with the Divine--as if it involved
some knowledge of God that goes beyond what
Scripture has revealed. That idea is the very heart
of the gnostic heresy. It has nothing in common
with true Christianity.
Just what do we mean, then, when we speak of
intimacy with Christ? How can we pursue knowing
Christ the way Paul had in mind in Philippians
3:10 ? Scripture suggests at least five aspects of
true intimacy with Christ:
The Intimacy of Faith
Notice what prompts Paul's comment about
knowing Christ in Philippians 3:10 . He had already
spent several verses describing his life before
Christ (4-6). He cited all the spiritual advantages
he enjoyed as a Pharisaic Jew. But then he
declared that he had discarded all those spiritual
advantages for Christ's sake: "What things were
gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. 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" (vv. 7-8).
As a Pharisee, Paul had sought to earn God's
favor by legal obedience. But he came to realize
that the law sets a standard he could never meet.
And so he scrapped all his own works of
righteousness as if they were filthy rags (cf. Isa.
64:6 ). This does not mean that he ceased doing
good works, of course, but that he gave up
trusting in those works for his salvation. Instead,
he put all his faith in Christ--and was clothed in
Christ's perfect righteousness instead of his own
imperfect works.
This is the doctrine known as justification by
faith. Scripture teaches that our sins were
imputed to Christ, and He paid the full penalty for
them in His death. Now Christ's own
righteousness is imputed to us, and we receive
the full merit of it. Without this reality we could
enjoy no relationship whatsoever with a holy God.
Moreover, justification by faith--because it means
we are clothed in Christ's own righteousness--
establishes the most intimate imaginable
relationship between the believer and his Lord. It
is an inviolable spiritual union. That's why Paul
often described believers as those who are "in
Christ."
In other words, all true intimacy with Christ has
its basis in faith. In fact, no relationship with Him
whatsoever is possible apart from faith (Heb. 1:1 ).
As the apostle Peter points out, we love Him by
faith, even though we have not seen Him ( 1 Pet.
1:8 ).
The Intimacy of True Worship
In Hosea 6:6 the Lord says, "I delight in loyalty
rather than sacrifice, and in the knowledge of God
rather than burnt offerings."
That verse means we should not imagine that
worship consists of rote acts of religious ritual--
like sacrifices, burnt offerings, and other
ceremonies. Instead, we need to realize that real
worship is grounded in the true knowledge of
God.
If we want God to delight in our worship, we must
think rightly about Him. The very essence of
idolatry consists in wrong thoughts about God.
And conversely, true knowledge of God means
knowing Him as He is revealed in Scripture.
To put it another way, sound doctrine, not liturgy
and ritual, is the litmus test of whether our
worship is acceptable.
Right thinking about God is therefore essential to
true intimacy with Him. Anyone who would know
Him intimately must know what He has revealed
about Himself. And again, this does not mean we
should seek some mystical knowledge about God.
All we can know with any certainty about God is
what is revealed in Scripture. Those who would
know the true God in the true way must therefore
seek to be thoroughly familiar with His Word.
The Intimacy of Prayer
Jesus himself taught us to seek intimacy with
God through private prayer. Prayer is where the
worshiper pours out his heart to God. And Jesus
Himself stressed the importance of private prayer:
"when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and
when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father
which is in secret" (Matt. 6:6 ).
He was confronting the practice of the Pharisees,
who loved to pray publicly, for show. Jesus was
not teaching that prayers should never be offered
publicly, for there are obviously times when
Scripture calls us to corporate prayer.
But the true Christian seeking intimacy with God
will pray most often, and most fervently, in
private. The true audience of all our prayers is
God Himself. And if we understood what an
incomprehensible privilege it is to be invited to
come boldly before His throne of grace, we would
surely spend more time there, pouring out our
most intimate thoughts, fears, desires, and
expressions of love to Him.
The Intimacy of Obedience
Jesus said to the disciples, "Ye are my friends, if
ye do whatsoever I command you" (Jn. 15:14 ).
Thus Christ Himself made obedience to Him an
absolute requirement for true spiritual intimacy.
Let no one claim intimacy with Christ whose life is
marked by disobedience rather than submission
to Him. Those who refuse to obey Christ as Lord
cannot claim to know Him as a friend. Scripture
plainly declares that He is Lord of all ( Acts 10:36 ),
and He is therefore entitled to demand our
allegiance to His Lordship.
As a matter of fact, those who withhold that
allegiance are His enemies, not His intimates (cf.
Jas. 4:4 ). That's why true intimacy with Him is
utterly impossible without unconditional surrender
to His divine authority.
Again, this takes the matter of intimacy with Christ
out of the realm of the mystical and defines it in
terms that are intensely practical.
The Intimacy of Suffering
Returning to Philippians 3:10 , we note once again
what kind of intimacy with Christ Paul was
seeking: "That I may know him, and the power of
his resurrection, and the fellowship of his
sufferings, being made conformable unto his
death."
Of course, we easily understand why Paul wanted
a share in the power of Christ's resurrection. But
why did the apostle desire to know the fellowship
of Christ's sufferings and be conformed to His
death?
We can be certain that Paul had no perverse love
of pain and suffering. Elsewhere he testified how
he repeatedly besought the Lord to deliver him
from a "messenger of Satan" that was like a thorn
under his skin (2 Cor. 12:7 ).
In the midst of that experience Paul discovered
that God's grace is sufficient to see us through all
our sufferings. Moreover, God's strength is made
perfect in our weakness (v. 9).
God gives a special measure of grace to those
whom He calls to endure suffering. In a familiar
passage in the Beatitudes, Jesus said this about
suffering:
Blessed are they which are persecuted for
righteousness' sake: for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when
men shall revile you, and persecute you, and
shall say all manner of evil against you
falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be
exceeding glad: for great is your reward in
heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets
which were before you ( Matt. 5:10-12 ).
There is a special blessedness known only to
those who suffer for Christ's sake. Those who
would desire true intimacy with Him must be
willing to endure what He endured.
Add all those things together to get the full
picture: True intimacy with Christ involves
suffering, obedience, much prayer, a good
knowledge of God's Word, and a life of faith.
Notice that those are not advanced skills for
second-level Christians. They are the most
elementary issues of the Christian life. That
underscores the truth that intimacy with Christ is
not some sort of mystical secret. It is the whole
point of our life in Christ. Indeed, it is the chief
end for which we were created: to glorify God and
enjoy Him forever.
