PHIL. iii. 10. “That I may know the power of His resurrection.”
THE power of His resurrection may signify the power
which effected it, or the power of the fact itself as a
Christian fact, or the power with which Jesus Christ was
endowed at His resurrection.
Paul found Christian life not very easy but very difficult.
So it was the object of his life to know the power of the
resurrection, and with him Christian objects were always
primary.
What did Paul mean by knowing as a matter of per-
sonal experience and as a point in spiritual life the power
of Christ’s resurrection?
1. The resurrection of Christ is an example of the mighty
power of God. To know the power of His resurrection is
to be conscious of the same power at work within ourselves.
2. To know the power of the resurrection is to feel
assured that the Son of Mary is the Christ of God.
3. It is to see the Gospel of Christ sealed, not by His
blood only but by His hand in the newness of His glorious
life.
4. The resurrection of Christ is adapted to strengthen
our trust in Him. How entirely we ought to trust our-
selves with one who died for us and rose again.
5. It is to become the subjects, by its influence, of new
and enlarged expectations and desires.
6. It is to feel our souls lifted thereby into newness of
life.
7. It is to feel strengthened in heart to endure all the
will of our God.
8. It is to have removed from us the fear of death. It
certifies to the believer that he has the life of God, and
that he will live in a yet newer and a yet higher life.
Samuel Martin
God seeks and values the gifts we bring Him – gifts of praise, thanksgiving, service, and material offerings. In all such giving at the altar we enter into the highest experiences of fellowship. But the gift is acceptable to God in the measure to which the one who offers it is in fellowship with Him in character and conduct; and the test of this is in our relationships with our fellow men. We are thus charged to postpone giving to God until right relationships are established with others. Could the neglect of this be the explanation of the barrenness of our worship? (Matt. 5:24)
G. Campbell Morgan