Supreme Motivation

That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death. Philippians 3:10

Paul had an impressive resume. He was circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin. He studied in Jerusalem, trained under the feet of Gamaliel (Acts 22:3). He was a zealous Pharisee. Concerning the righteousness which is in the law, he was totally blameless. Yet for all his scholastic achievements and renown as a “Hebrew of Hebrews,” Paul would gladly throw them all away so that he can put his trust and hope in Christ alone. To him, all worldly accolades are like worthless “dung” compared with the priceless gain of knowing Jesus Christ.

Now that Paul knew Jesus, what was his supreme motivation in life? Preaching? Ministry? Church-planting? Missionary journeys? Presiding over large congregations? Writing epistles? No, none of these.

To Paul, his supreme motivation in life was to know Christ. The word “know” in the Greek is not knowledge through information or learning. It is knowledge through experience. Paul’s greatest desire in life was to experience God on a daily basis, having encounters after encounters with Christ. He wanted to encounter God in the power of His resurrection. Because God dwells in the realm of the supernatural, Paul loved the supernatural. He constantly said, “And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God” (1 Cor. 2:4-5).

Apart from encountering God in His power, Paul longed to experience Him in the “fellowship of His sufferings.” The word “sufferings” is in the plural, meaning that it is not a direct reference to the cross. There are many sufferings a believer will have to go through for the cause of Christ and His kingdom. Notice too that suffering is a fellowship. It is a privilege reserved for genuine disciples whom the Lord would count worthy (Acts 5:41). Paul says, “I am to be a part of that group of people.”

The purpose of trials and testings is so that ultimately, we can learn obedience. Referring to Jesus, Hebrews 5:8 says, “Though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.” Obedience, therefore, is not automatic. It has to be learned. Paul wants to be a part of the fellowship of all those who learned obedience and absolute dependence upon God.