Paul’s desire was to be found in Christ, not having his own righteousness but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is out of God and based on faith (Phil. 3:9).
In the past, Paul was found by everyone in the law; he pursued the righteousness that came out of the law, he kept the law, he considered the law as the highest standard and most precious thing, and whenever someone saw him, he was found in the righteousness given by the law.
But after Paul met Christ and obtained the excellency of the knowledge of Christ, he no longer desired to be found in the law but in Christ. He considered all things as a loss on account of Christ.
May we see what Paul saw and may we be inwardly supplied and motivated to follow the pattern of Paul and be found in Christ.
In Phil. 2:19-20 Paul said concerning Timothy that he was one of the few ones – actually the only one – that was like-souled with him. To be like-souled with Paul means that he was fully one with him to the point that he cared for the saints and the churches even as Paul did, and he was one in spirit and in soul with Paul.
By disposition Timothy was very different than Paul, but as Paul’s spiritual child, he was discipled by him to become one soul with Paul.
Paul became a pattern to us all who believe (1 Tim. 1:6), and today we can follow his pattern to be a God-man who pursues Christ and lives Christ, prays one with Christ, passes through sufferings one with Christ, and experiences Christ and enjoys Christ.
Paul’s soul has been fully gained by the all-inclusive indwelling Christ, and Timothy was open to Paul’s spirit and his perfecting, so his mind, view, opinion, thought, reasons, thinking, emotions, and feeling, with his intentions and motives matched the ones of the apostle Paul.
This is why Paul could say both in 1 Cor. 4:17 and 1 Tim. 3:10-11 that Timothy could remind others of his ways which are in Christ Jesus, for he closely followed his teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, long-suffering, love, endurance, persecutions, and sufferings.
May we learn from Paul also, so that the same spirit, attitude, purpose, and faith would be in us; may others find us in Christ in all things!
May we not merely seek our own things but the things of Christ Jesus, which is caring for the saints and the churches according to God, and may we have the excellency of the knowledge of Christ to the extent that we consider all other things as loss and seek to be found in Christ.
Paul’s desire was to be Found in Christ, being Saturated with Christ so that All would find him in Christ
In Phil. 3:8-9 we see that Paul suffered the loss of all things and counted them to be refuse in order to gain Christ and be found in Him.
Also, his desire was to be found in Christ in the condition of having the righteousness which is of God based on faith, not having his own righteousness which came out of the law.
When Paul was in the Jewish religion under the law, his desire was to be found by others in the law; the law was everything to him, and everything he did was in and according to the law.
But when Paul met Christ, when he was converted from the law to Christ, he was transferred from the law and his former religion into Christ, and so he became “a man in Christ” (2 Cor. 12:2).
Now he not only did not seek to be found in the law and fulfill the law outwardly, but he considered all his previous attainments and goals as refuse, and he abandoned all other things – even suffering the loss of all things, so that he might be found in Christ.
Now Paul expected to be found in Christ by all those who observed him; whether it was the Jews, the believers, the Gentiles, the angels, or the demons, Paul desired to be found in Christ.
He aspired to know Christ, experience Christ, be found in Christ, and have his whole being in Christ, being immersed in Christ and saturated with Christ to the extent that all those who observe Him would find him in Christ. Wow!
Whether outside of prison or in prison, Paul wanted to be found by others not in the outward environment or inward feelings concerning what is happening to him or in the word but in Christ.
What does it mean to be found in Christ? It means that we are observed, seen, or discovered by others in Christ; when others look at us, they find us in Christ.
Paul saw the excellency of the knowledge of Christ and counted all things as loss; then, he suffered the loss of all things, for he realised that Christ must be his everything – his love, kindness, humility, wisdom, patience, intention, attitude, and even his words, utterances, and expressions.
Therefore, on account of this excellency of the knowledge of Christ, Paul was willing to count all things to be loss.
Furthermore, Paul suffered the loss of all things and counted them as loss, as refuse, in order that he might gain Christ and be found in Him. What a pattern!
Paul is our pattern in the Lord, and we need to imitate him by first seeing a vision of the excellency of Christ, and then by counting all things as loss on account of Christ; then we will gain Christ and be found in Christ.
Lord Jesus, we seek to be found in You by all men. May our whole being be immersed in Christ and saturated with Christ so that all who observe us could discover us in Christ. Amen, Lord, may all those who see us or observe us find us in Christ at all times. Our aspiration is to be found in Christ, having our being and our living not anything else but in Christ. Lord, may we see the revelation of Christ and have the excellency of the knowledge of Christ, so that we may count all other things as loss and gain Christ, being found in Him.
Having the Aspiration to be Immersed in and Saturated with Christ to be Found in Christ
May we also have the aspiration of being found in Christ, that is, may we have our whole being immersed and saturated with Christ so that all who are around us and observe us would find us fully in Christ.
We all need to have the earnest desire to be found in Christ (Phil. 3:9). It is one thing for us to have a doctrinal understanding and to agree with being found in Christ, but it is another thing for us to be found in Christ in our daily living.
For example, if someone comes to visit us in our home, where will he find us? Will they find us in our good behavior, our temper, or in Christ? When others meet us and we’re not in the meeting, where do they find us?
If we live in our culture, in our habits, in our religion, or in our good behavior, others will find us in these things. Whatever realm we live in, that’s where we are found by others.
If we live in Christ, if we have the excellency of the knowledge of Christ, others will find us in Christ, and we shall be discovered by them in Christ.
If we see the vision that Christ must be our everything, if we have the excellency of the knowledge of Christ, we will take Christ as our love, kindness, humility, wisdom, patience, intention, and attitude.
If we realise that Christ is our everything, we will take Christ as our words, our utterances, and our expressions. When we have the excellency of the knowledge of Christ, we will be willing to count all things to be loss; furthermore, we will even suffer the loss of all things, counting them as refuse in order that we may gain Christ and be found in Him.
Oh, may we see a vision of the preciousness of Christ, and may we gain the Christ whom we have seen! Once we see a vision of the preciousness of Christ, we will pay any price that we may gain Him, and we will be found by others in Christ.
To know Christ is not merely to have the knowledge concerning Him; merely knowing that Christ is so good, so sweet, so great, and so rich is not enough – we need to gain His very person.
And to gain Christ we need to see His preciousness and count all other things as loss, even suffering the loss of all hings. Christ is the reality of the shadows of all positive things (Col. 2:16-17), and He is the embodiment of the fulness of the Godhead (Col. 2:9).
For us to gain Christ is for us experience, enjoy, and take possession of all His unsearchable riches (Eph. 3:8). Amen, as we gain Christ, we will also live in Him and become those who are in Him in our experience.
As we enjoy Christ, experience Christ, and gain Christ, we will be found in Christ; when others observe us, they will find us in Christ.
We will not be found in our virtues but in Christ and in Him alone. And if we gain Christ and live in Him, He as our righteousness will become our expression before God and man; we will then be found in Christ not only in a general way but in a practical way, in an actual way.
Human beings, people, and all kinds of spiritual beings like angels and demons, all are watching us; they know where we are, even when we “put on a show” or try to convince them that we are somewhere else…May we be found in Christ by all people and all beings!
May we be willing to lose our self-made righteousness and stop trying to do what is right, so that we may have the righteousness that comes from Christ, in faith!
Lord, it is our desire and aspiration to have our whole being immersed in and saturated with Christ, so that all who observe us may find us fully in Christ. Amen, Lord Jesus, our earnest desire is that we would be found in Christ. May we not seek to have our own righteousness which is self-made or out of any law or ordinance, but seek to know Christ, enjoy Christ, experience Christ, and gain Christ, so that we may be found in Christ. Dear Lord, we don’t want to be put to shame in any situation but rather, be found in Christ!
This article can also be read in the Romanian language / Citiți acest articol în limba română vizitând următorul link, La fel ca Pavel, avem aspirația de a-L câștiga pe Cristos și de a fi găsiți în Cristos de către toți oamenii.
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by bro. Ron Kangas for this week, and portions from, Life-study of Philippians, msgs. 20, 51 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Experience of Christ (2019 Memorial Day Conference), week 6, Being Found in Christ, Knowing Christ, and Pursuing Christ.
- Hymns on this topic:
# Forget the things behind! / Stretch for the things before! / Press onward with this mind: / Always want more! / Seeking in Him to grow, / Increasingly to know / Him that I daily might / Be found in Christ. (Song on, What things were gains to me)
# Pursue Him and know Him; be found in Him. / Count all things loss for Him. / Just gain Him, obtain Him; lay hold of Him. / It’s Christ the central vision. (Song on, Pursue Him and know Him)
# Pray to fellowship with Jesus, / Bathing in His countenance; / Saturated with His beauty, / Radiate His excellence. (Hymns #784)
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