“That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death” (Phil 3:10). The apostle Paul in this verse indicated that his goal in life was to know Christ and the power of his resurrection.

Think what power (the Greek word dunamis) was needed to raise Jesus from the dead (Eph 1: 19-20). We get our English word dynamite from the Greek word dunamis. That same power dwells in us: “But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus form the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you” (Rom 8:11). That power brings life to our mortal bodies, empowers us to be witnesses for him (Acts 1:8) and in fact, makes us like Jesus (2 Cor 3:17-18). Wow and double Wow.

The apostle Paul also mentioned (Eph 1:19) another form of God’s power (Greek Kratos), the power of dominion or authority, which he exercised in raising Christ from the dead. As born-again believers in Jesus we walk in the authority of Jesus over the devil; Jesus took back authority from satan through his (Jesus) death and resurrection (Eph 1:19-22). What a victory we have in Jesus.

But Paul does go on to say, in our theme verse above (Phil 3:10), that we must also be willing to fellowship in Christ’s sufferings and death. With the power and authority Jesus brought us, we must also die to self and live for Christ, no matter how much persecution or difficulty this may bring; are we willing?

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As I studied the subject of love, I noticed in several scripture verses a strong connection between love and keeping the commandments. “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For THIS IS THE LOVE OF GOD, that we keep his commandments” (1 John 5:2; KJV). It’s interesting that the first commandment is to LOVE God and the second commandment is to LOVE others. In the disciple Mark’s gospel, we read that “there is none other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:31).

However, in the apostle John in his gospel quotes Jesus as saying: “a new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another” (John 13:34.  If you are wondering, like I was, why it is new, the answer is found in the second half of that verse; we are to love others with the same love that Jesus loved us. In the Old Testament they did not have the practical example of the earthly life of Jesus to follow, but we do. It gives us a whole new kind of love. The word used here for love is agape, God’s unconditional love for us and the love we are to use for others.

“He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him” (John 14:21). Wow, what promises!

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We hear much about the importance of the word, faith, prayer, praise, the fear of God, obedience, humility, repentance and the need for change in our Christian walk and so we should. But God’s cardinal commands are to love him with all our heart, soul and mind and our neighbor as ourselves (Matt 22:37-39). Jesus gave us a new command that we love each other as he loves us, by this he said the world would know we are Christians (John 13:34-35). In the great love chapter of the Bible (1 Cor 13:1-13) the apostle Paul taught that without love we are nothing and he emphasized that of faith, hope and love the greatest is love (1 Cor 13:13).

The Greek word for love that is used dominantly in the New Testament is agape (noun); God’s unconditional love and the love that we are called to love with. In 1 Corinthians chapter 13, this love is defined for us, take time to meditate on it. The apostle Paul wrote for us that God’s love is in us, poured in by the Holy Spirit (Rom 5:5) God demonstrated the extent of this love by allowing Christ to die for us (Rom 5:8.

We are called to love with our words (Eph 4:15); words that come from our hearts and are spoken in love. But love has to go beyond our words to actions, our deeds (1 John 3:18); love must be demonstrated, just as faith is not faith without corresponding actions (James 2:17). Think how you can share God’s love today; a gentle encouraging word, a kind spontaneous action.

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In writing the epistle to the Colossians 3:12-13 (KJV) Paul basically exhorted them to put on the character of Christ. To put on means to become. “Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye”.  

Paul reminds us all as Christians that we are holy, beloved of God and the elect of God. We are only Holy because Christ made us so and to be elect means to be chosen; God chose each one of us and Christ died for us so we could be born again and made Holy.

Paul exhorts us to put on bowels of mercies (this is the greatest compassion we can muster), kindness (this is not just having good thoughts toward someone but goodness in action), humbleness of mind (simply put, this is not having any arrogance about us), meekness (I love this one; this isn’t being a mouse but knowing who you are in Christ and yet being perfectly humble about it), longsuffering (this is patience, especially in the face of adversity). In verse 13 we are told to bear with each other and commanded to forgive.

Wow, tall orders, but in Christ we can do all things (Phil 4:13); he enables as we walk by faith.

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I love Paul’s humility in 1 Cor 2:1-5. He gets to the very crux of the source and power of Christianity. He says I came preaching the Gospel with fear and trembling; speaking only God’s word, not man’s wisdom and not with elegance of speech. Paul dared not insert himself but focused on Jesus; allowing the Spirit to give him the words to share. He gave pre-eminence to the power of the word of God to affect and change men’s hearts and lives. His preaching was accompanied by clear demonstrations of the power of the Holy Spirit; signs wonders and miracles.

To preach, as the word is defined, is simply to proclaim, publish or herald. As the word is preached, the Holy Spirit takes it, reveals it to the sensitive and receptive heart and provides the power for the word to impact, bless and change the receptive listener (1 Cor 2:10). Paul was bold enough to say that as we preach in obedience to God and as directed by the Holy Spirit, then the father will demonstrate his power among us.

God’s word, his power, humility, fear of God and obedience, as exemplified in Paul’s life and ministry, are a recipe for change. We really need to meditate on this and get it down in our spirits.