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Knowing Christ Intimately Fuels Unity
Philippians 3:10-4:1
When a husband first knows his wife, many things are
evident - like her physical characteristics - she has long lustrous
black hair and large bright eyes; or her personal preferences - she
likes good coffee without sugar and dislikes chocolate. Then after
spending more time, he discovers other things. She has a way with
little children. She makes beautiful cakes. She’s the queen of small
talk, but at an instant, she can speak deeply about spiritual things.
But if even more time has passed, and that’s all he knows of her,
then has he known her at all? And if that’s all the knowledge he’s
satisfied with, he’s aiming too low! Where’s that deeper intimate
knowledge? How she copes with problems, what her aspirations
are, her dreams? Their shared experiences together?
But that’s how we often are as Christians. We aim far too
low when it comes to Christ. We’re happy to go to church, serve,
pray, and study the Bible to know about him. All good. But we
may know more about Jesus, than knowing him more personally
and intimately. Did you know that? Knowing about him isn’t the
same as knowing him. The demons know about Jesus and fear, but
they don’t know him. Paul’s desire was to know Christ deeply; all
other things he’d count as loss - even his religious achievements.
He wanted a deep, personal, warm, covenantal knowledge of the
one who died and rose for him. In these verses, Paul described his
pursuit of this intimate knowledge in 3 points. Firstly, the desire
and way to possess an intimate knowledge of Christ. Secondly,
the effort to possess an intimate knowledge of Christ. Thirdly,
the strangeness of pursuing an intimate knowledge of Christ.
Firstly, the desire and way to possess an intimate
knowledge of Christ. In verse 10, we see that desire for an
intimate knowledge - “That I may know him…” Now, why did
Paul bring this up? Remember he had a pastoral concern. This
faithful church had a black mark that threatened their witness. It
was disunity. And Paul knew a church divided couldn’t hold forth
the word of life. He commanded them to get along. But telling two
fighting children to get along is impossible. They won’t. Threats
are also ineffective. What they needed was commonality. Which
they had! It was Christ and his gospel! So he told them to have the
same mind, to do nothing from rivalry, but in humility to count
others more significant than they. Which is what Christ did. He
was the ultimate example. He didn’t cling onto his glory even
though he was God, but humbled himself to die for sinners. So the
antidote to disunity is not tolerance; but radical humility. Even
Paul, who could boast of his achievements, counted them loss for
the sake of knowing Christ. Why? Deep intimate knowledge of
Christ fuels unity and cures disunity. This is why Paul brought up
his desire for intimate and experiential knowledge.
The Greek word for “know” is relational; to know deeply,
like how a husband knows what his wife feels, thinks, and
experiences because he participates in her life. Before Christ’s
death and resurrection, his disciples still argued who’d be the
greatest and jockeyed for positions of honor. They didn’t yet truly
know Him. So he washed their feet, prayed for them. Only after
the resurrection, when they encountered the risen Christ, they
counted their own lives as nothing for the sake of the gospel. They
did what he did. Only then they understood what it meant to wash
feet. They risked life for the gospel. They served as he served; and
when they served, they knew Christ more. True knowledge is
experiencing and participating what he went through. It humbles
us, strips us of our pride, and makes us servants.
But what experience did Paul want to know? Verse 10 - he
wanted to experience resurrection power. Meaning? Christ
resurrected because he was victorious over sin - he didn’t give into
temptation. So to know his resurrection power is to experience
power over sin. When Christ was tempted by Satan to turn stone
into bread, to jump off the temple, to rule all nations, he resisted.
He triumphed. When we resist sin, we experience his victory.
When we humble ourselves, as he did to serve others, we know
how he felt. We experience what he experienced. Pride, selfish
ambition, disunity were threatening to destroy the church. Paul
said they needed to experience Christ’s power to be humble. They
needed to kill their pride, be raised to newness so they could love
other terrible disciples as Christ loved his. Resurrection power
doesn’t make us great; it makes us victoriously holy and humble.
And if all share that experience, we’d have unity.
Once upon a time, I played baseball. I was a fairly decent 1st
baseman. I could catch, throw, and tag out runners. But I was not
good at batting and sprinting. My team mates hit home runs, stole
bases, and slid to home plate. They experienced victory. Me? I
could only cheer. In one game, in the 9th inning, there were 2 out,
with runners on first and second. I was up to bat. I hit the ball into
right field, all runners made it home, and I reached 3rd base. This
was a very big deal for me. But 1 point was needed to win the
game. So as the pitcher threw the ball, I decided to steal home
plate. As I reached, the catcher caught the ball and turned to tag
me. I slid under his legs, missed his glove, and scored the winning
point. It was then that I knew the feeling of victory. I became
intimately connected with all those who had done it before. What
a humbling glorious feeling it was. When we experience victory
over sin, we know Christ more. We identify with how he resisted
temptation. That must be our desire. But what else?
We experience his joy in suffering. Verse 10 - Paul wanted to
share in Christ’s sufferings, becoming like him in death. To be
sure, Christ called us to share in his self-denial. He said in Mark
8:24 - if any man comes after me, let him deny himself and take
up his cross and follow me. Jesus suffered, denying himself and
dying on the cross. He was a Man of Sorrows. But he was also the
most joyful man there was. It was for the joy that was set before
him that he endured the cross, Hebrews 12. We can’t know him if
we don’t know his suffering. When we suffer for our faith,
denying self, we know his anguish. Beloved, the path to glory
always included suffering. The people of God in the wilderness,
the exiles in Babylon, and the faithful remnant all tasted affliction.
It was to purify them. Similarly, by our sufferings we’re being
conformed to His death, dying to self, to share in His life. You see,
our flesh and Spirit are always fighting. When we’re wronged, in
our flesh we want to fight back. But if we don’t, but suffer wrong,
we’re conformed to his death. We die to our pride. We die to our
need to be right and insistence on our own way. Christ denied
himself and took up the cross. When we do this, we suffer loss but
we gain Christ!
So Paul was saying, “If you want to be united as a church,
you must be willing to suffer loss for each other. You must be
willing to lay down your preferences, your rights, your reputation
- just as Christ laid down His glory for you.” But many can’t do
this - they can’t bear the loss of their rights. But they miss out on
the strange unspeakable glorious joy that comes from it. Count it
all joy when you fall into trials. Such self-denial will be the means
by which Christ works in us. The bitterness will be sweet. And
Paul wanted to experience it. Samuel Rutherford said that the
Great King does not keep the wine of happiness in the courtyard
where the sun shines, but in the cellars of affliction. Charles
Spurgeon said, “They who dive in the sea of affliction bring up
rare pearls.” When we experience such times, we know more of
Christ and his joy. Self-denial makes us more like him. And the
more people in the church are like him, the more unity there is.
When we desire to know Christ’s heart - to resist sin and
experience victory, by self-denial and suffering - and when this
takes root in a congregation, disunity will die. But that’s the
problem - we don’t want to deny self, but assert self.
It requires effort to do this. That’s the second point - the
effort to possess an intimate knowledge of Christ. Knowing
Christ intimately is not automatic. Modern evangelicals like to
think so - play emotional worship music, tug some tears out -
voila, you’ve had an intimate experience with Christ. No. That’s a
counterfeit one - replacing true intimacy that comes from self-
denial. In truth, many don’t want true intimacy. It’s too difficult.
We don’t want to experience resurrection power because of the
allure of sin. That’s why many don’t experience true bliss. But
Paul described his effort to know Christ, in 3 ways. His effort
involved self-negation. He saw himself as he really was - nothing.
“Not as though I had already attained, either were already
perfect,” verse 12. “I count not myself to have apprehended, or
achieved intimate knowledge of Christ” verse 13. Though he
probably knew Christ better than anyone, he didn’t know him
enough. He hadn’t attained. He practiced self-negation. Paul,
you’re so spiritual - no, I’m the least of the apostles, 1 Corinthians
15. Paul, you know so much of God’s will - yes, but I don’t
always do it, Romans 7. Paul, you’re so faithful to Christ - by the
grace of God, I can only boast of my weaknesses, 2 Corinthians
12. Unless there’s self-negation, we can never press on in knowing
him. Why? Only when we’re realistic with who we are, we’ll run
to Christ because we need him. This is opposite to what many
people, even Christians, say. If you think so lowly, you’ll have life
long psychological and emotional problems. Wrong. There’s no
shame in repentance and humility. James 4:10 - “Humble yourself
before the Lord, and he’ll lift you up.”
So beloved, the desire to have an intimate knowledge of
Christ doesn’t remain passive. It presses on in self-negation.
There’s resolve. Verse 12 says Paul would press on, to attain what
Christ attained for him. Christ died to attain righteousness for us,
so Paul would make it evident - he’d work it out. Paul said in
verse 13 that he was a one thing man. “But this one thing I do,
forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth unto
those things which are before. I press toward the mark for the
prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” There was
resolve. Are you a one thing person? Is it to know Christ? What is
your resolution in life. Nebuchadnezzar’s resolve was to
compromise God’s people. Daniel was resolved not to eat the
king’s meat. Mrs Potiphar was resolved to have her way with
Joseph. Joseph’s resolve was not to sin against God and his
master. Judas’ resolve was to betray Christ, even after the sop.
Christ’s resolve was to go to the cross, and drink the cup. Saul’s
resolve was to kill Stephen. Stephen’s resolve was to glorify
Christ in death. There are those whose resolve is to know the
doctrines of grace and argue contentiously about every minor
point. But there are those whose resolve is to live out the doctrines
graciously and fruitfully. There are those who resolve to follow
their dreams and idols. But there are those who resolve to follow
God’s will for them. There are those who resolve to love their
children more than Christ. But there are those who resolve to love
Christ and church more than their children. What are we resolved
to do? The Philippians were resolved to let disunity fester by
holding on to their pride. Paul was resolved to forget his trophies
to experience Christ’s humility and glory.
And this resolve in self-negation requires exercise. We work
out our salvation. Paul said in verse 13 - “reaching forth unto
those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the
prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” The word for
“reaching forward” is very graphic; it pictures a runner straining
every nerve, muscle, and sinew as he stretches to the goal. And the
phrase “press toward” is a hunting word that describes the pursuit
of prey. Meaning, becoming spiritual is hard. But the prize, God’s
high calling for us, is maturity in Christ. How much do we want to
be mature? Many describe themselves as mature Christians but
have no ounce of grace and unity. You must not kid yourselves.
You’re not mature. Beloved, throughout Scripture, God’s people
were called to press on. Abraham left Ur, Israel crossed the
Jordan, the remnant returned from exile. All these point to our
greater journey - crossing into darkness into light, to pursue Christ
- fully known, fully enjoyed, experiencing his victory over sin. As
Paul said - he was resolved to keep his eyes on the prize, not to let
anything distract him - not his past, nor present comforts, nor his
reputation. Such resolve is essential for unity. When we work
together, sometimes a person has his own agenda for the team -
this is the only right way to do things. Many list their credentials
to justify themselves. Paul? He listed his credentials to discredit
himself. Pride hurts the team. Or worse, a team disbands with a
multiplicity of agendas, divisions, preferences, etc. But when
we’re all straining toward the same goal, fixed on the same prize,
our differences fade into the background. We’re a team of runners,
not competing against each other, but running together toward the
finish line. Now why is this resolve and exercise to humble
oneself so important in unity? Because we’re fleshly. “I’ve been a
Christian longer than you!” “I’m more gifted than you.” “I’m
older than you.” Paul said - “I count them as loss, forget them!”
Those things don’t define you. Your identity is in Christ. And if
you’re in Christ, you’ve no right to look down on anyone, because
everything you have, you’ve received, 1 Corinthians 4:7.
Now, this way of thinking and living is foolishness to the
world. It’s no surprise. Paul said the preaching of the cross is
foolishness to them who are perishing. But it’s God’s power to
those who are saved. Lastly we see the people who pursue an
intimate knowledge of Christ. Paul was very concerned for the
church because there were false believers who didn’t seek Christ -
they were enemies of spirituality. In verses 15-18, he revealed how
much their disunity had caused him anguish. But he was hopeful.
He knew the spiritually mature would agree or eventually agree
with his exhortation, verse 15. And he urged them to continue
their progress in holiness - to pattern their lives after his, verses
16-17. He spoke like this because fake believers causing disunity.
As verse 18 says, “(For many walk, of whom I have told you
often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of
the cross of Christ.” There were those in their midst who were
disruptive, enemies of the cross, of humility. Why? Verse 19 -
their god is their belly, they glory in shame, and their minds are on
earthly things. As we said earlier, there are some who won’t
humble self, but will fight for their rights. And their end is
destruction. In redemptive history, this division runs from Cain
and Abel, through the two seeds in Genesis, through Israel and the
nations, to the final separation of the sheep and the goats. The
cross is the great dividing line. Those who reject the crucified and
risen Christ live for the present age. They seek power, status,
comfort, and reputation. They glory in what is ultimately
shameful. That’s why their end is destruction.
On the contrary, the believer is different - he has a heavenly
citizenship. Verses 20-21 say in effect - “Our citizen is in heaven,
from where our savior will come, for whom we wait - the Lord
Jesus Christ. He will transform our lowly bodies to be glorious
like his.” Our citizenship is not earthly, but heavenly. We live
under the laws of heaven. We march to a different drum. We do
not grasp for earthly status; we’ve already been seated with Christ
in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6). And if our citizenship is in
heaven, then we’re fellow brothers and sisters in the same family -
not rivals, but fellow heirs.
This point was important for Paul to make - to contrast fake
and real believers - because when believers begin thinking like the
world, fighting for status, seeking our own glory, dividing over
petty things, then we’re behaving like the enemies of the cross!
We forget we’re citizens of heaven. And that’s why in 4:1, he
exhorts them, as beloved brothers, his joy and crown, to stand firm
in the Lord. If we’re not careful to self negate and resolve to press
on in resisting the flesh and denying self, we’ll give into the flesh
and behave like unbelievers, which would result in disunity.
Beloved, there’ll be many things that will challenge your
comfort or your sensibilities. It could be life events - like sickness
- when God doesn’t heal you. Or family events - like children’s
schooling - they’re not succeeding as they should. Or church
projects - like how to do a church building renewal. You can react
in the flesh or in the Spirit. But God uses these things to purify us
- and to let us know we’re not where we should be. If we react in
the flesh, it jeopardizes unity, we behave like unbelievers. If we
react in the Spirit that fosters unity, even if there’s disagreement,
we behave like citizens of heaven.
From time to time in a church, marriage, or family, there will
be big decisions to make. (We have one coming up soon - in our
own church building renewal). In these big decisions, unity is
precious and important. It doesn’t mean there’ll be agreement in
every small point. But let even those disagreements be marked by
unity. But let this be very clear. When we’re not growing in our
relationship with Christ personally, corporately there’ll be
division. And when there’s division, it’s clear that some haven’t
been growing in their intimate knowledge of Christ.
Remember, on the cross, he suffered. He served until death
where his body was broken for us. So that we, his body, might be
united in service. And he died, but rose triumphantly in victory
over sin, so we can live victoriously. Therefore, how sad and
shameful it is that we don’t preserve unity by being holy, when
Christ resurrected for that very thing. Beloved, if Christ is your
Savior, how much do you know him, experience him, and love the
church whom he loves?
1. The Desire to Possess an Intimate Knowledge of Christ
a. An intimate knowledge of him
b. Power over sin
c. Joy in suffering
2. The Effort to Possess an Intimate Knowledge of Christ
a. Self-negation
b. Resolve
c. Exercise
3. The People Who Pursue an Intimate Knowledge of Christ
a. False believers are enemies of spirituality
b. True believers are citizens of heaven
Questions for Reflection:
1. Do you know Christ or merely know about him? How has your
personal knowledge been enhanced by your victory over sin, joyful
suffering for his sake, and desire to please him?
2. Are you pleased with any area of your spiritual life? Is it permissible
to feel pleased with your spiritual progress? How can you
acknowledge God’s grace in giving you victory and still aggressively
press forward and never being satisfied?
3. How does your demeanor of unity and love for the church
demonstrate your intimate knowledge of Christ? What does this say
about you in your pursuit of Christ?
* As a matter of courtesy please advise Rev. Mark Chen, if you plan to use this sermon in a worship service. Thank-you.
(c) Copyright 2026, Rev. Mark Chen
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