The Greatest Privilege

“What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ.”

Philippians 3:8 (NIV)

There is a world of difference between knowing about someone and knowing them.

I could tell you a great deal about a well-known figure: where they were born, what they achieved, what they believe. It would not mean I have ever had a conversation with them.

The same distinction runs right through the Christian life, and it is possible to live on the wrong side of it for years. You can know the stories. You can attend faithfully. You can speak fluent Christian language, sing the songs from memory, hold sound opinions on the issues, and still not be growing in an actual relationship with Jesus Christ.

Paul knew both sides of this. Read the verses just before ours. He lists his credentials: circumcised on the eighth day, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, a Pharisee, and “as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.” That is a formidable list. Religious pedigree, elite education, moral achievement, standing in his community.

And then he says: “I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”

The word he uses for what he now considers his achievements is deliberately shocking. Translations render it “garbage” or “rubbish,” but the Greek word is stronger and cruder than that. Paul is not being polite. He is saying that everything he once counted as gain, he now regards as waste, in comparison with knowing Christ.

Notice the comparison, because this is important. Paul is not saying education is worthless, or heritage, or discipline. He is saying that measured against knowing Christ, they belong in a different category altogether. It is not that they became bad. It is that they became weightless.

Now, why does this matter so much? Because Jesus Himself defined eternal life in exactly these terms: “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (John 17:3). Eternal life is not first a duration; it is a relationship. And Jeremiah 9:23-24 says the same: let the wise not boast in wisdom, the strong in strength, the rich in riches, “but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me.”

This is the greatest privilege of the Christian life. Not that we have access to accurate information about God, but that we can actually walk with Him. Hear His voice through His Word. Enjoy His presence. Bring every part of our lives to Him and find Him attentive.

And here is what makes it possible: the torn curtain. When Jesus died, “the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom” (Mark 15:38). That curtain existed to keep sinners out of God’s immediate presence. It was torn from the top, by God’s hand, not from the bottom by ours. Hebrews 10:19-22 tells us we now have “confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus.” The access you have in prayer this morning cost the life of the Son of God.

So let us be practical about how relationships actually grow, because they all grow the same way: time, attention, conversation, and trust built through experience.

When you open the Bible, do not read only to collect information or to find something to say to someone else. Read to know His heart. Ask, as you read: what is this showing me about what God is like? A passage understood but not enjoyed has only been half read.

When you pray, do not only bring a list. Requests are welcome; Jesus taught us to ask. But a marriage conducted entirely in requests would be a thin marriage. Take time simply to be with Him. Thank Him. Be quiet before Him. Tell Him what you are actually thinking.

And bring the ordinary. God is not interested only in the religious portion of your week. Brother Lawrence, a kitchen worker in a monastery, spoke of practising the presence of God among the pots and pans. That is available to you at your desk, in the car, in the queue.

Now a word of guard. Do not turn “knowing God” into a new performance to fail at. Some people read a devotional like this and simply add fresh guilt to an already crowded conscience. Remember the order in Galatians 4:9: Paul corrects himself mid-sentence, “now that you know God, or rather are known by God.” Your relationship with Him rests first on His knowledge of you, not yours of Him. You are not trying to earn His attention. You are responding to a Father who already knows you completely and loves you anyway.

And guard against the opposite error too: mistaking emotional intensity for intimacy. Knowing God deeply is not measured by how much you felt this morning. It is measured over years, in trust that holds, obedience that costs, and a growing likeness to Jesus.

Everything else in your life will eventually reach its limit. Careers end. Health changes. Achievements are forgotten by the generation after next. Knowing Jesus is the only pursuit that will still be going on ten thousand years from now.

So nothing you achieve will ever be greater than knowing Christ. Protect your time with Him, pursue His presence, and never settle for empty religion.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, I do not want to know about You. I want to know You. Forgive me for the times my faith has been mostly information, activity and vocabulary. Thank You that the curtain was torn from top to bottom, and that I can come near through Your blood. Teach me to read Your Word for Your heart and to pray as one who enjoys Your company, not only as one who needs things. Let everything else in my life find its proper size next to the surpassing worth of knowing You. In Your name, amen.

Declaration

Nothing I achieve will ever outweigh knowing Christ. He is my greatest treasure and my greatest privilege.

Pastor Ras

All Nations Community Church

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