In (Philippians 3:8) we see the Apostle Paul getting very personal when he says: “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.” We know that Paul had attained a great reputation in Judaism for (Philippians 3:4-6) tells us: “…If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.”
But to Paul all of these Jewish accolades were of no value compared to what happened to him on the Damascus road where he met Christ. At Paul’s conversion, I believe, he began to fully understand the reality and implications of (Mark 8:36) which says: “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” Paul realized, once he came to Christ, that all of his accomplishments couldn’t save his soul, but in Christ he was assured of eternal life. And knowing Jesus now meant everything to Paul who for the first time in his life was no longer bound by legalism but by grace.
As Paul grew in his knowledge of the Lord he began to fully understand and know who he was in Christ. And knowing who he was in Christ meant everything to Paul. And in Christ the apostle knew the following: He was created in God’s image, a masterpiece of His creative genius. (Genesis 1:27). He was a treasured possession to Jesus. (Deuteronomy 14:2). In Christ he was on the pathway to having maximum meaning, joy, and pleasures. (Psalm 16:11). God had a myriad of precious thoughts toward him. (Psalm 139:17-18). In Christ, Paul knew that Jesus was always with him to strengthen, help, and uphold him. (Isaiah 41:10). God was not only his heavenly “Abba” Father but he was a joint heir with Christ. (Romans 8:16-17). In addition, he knew the Holy Spirit lived inside of him making him a temple of God. (1 Corinthians 3:16). And finally, in Christ, Paul knew he was chosen, royal, holy, and special to God. (1 Peter 2:9). Let’s face it, Paul knew that God was just plain crazy about him!
Is it any wonder that Paul considered everything he had achieved in life of no value compared to knowing Christ. And with eternal life secure in Christ Paul could safely say: “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21). My friends, I pray, that like Paul, you grasp just how special a relationship you have knowing Jesus. I love how the hymnwriter put it: “I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold; I’d rather be His than have riches untold.” I pray you will meditate on just who you are in Christ. I believe it will make your relationship with Him just that much sweeter!
Paul, Christ and the Obedient Life…………..m.r.neveu
I really like this devotional. Curt rightly frames Paul as a man who revalued everything after meeting Christ. Status, pedigree, and religious trophies all got dragged to the curb once Paul saw the surpassing worth of knowing Jesus (Phil. 3:8).
Consider the steel beam underneath that truth. Paul’s grace theology was not abstract. It was forged in pain, in the thorn, and in a life submitted to God’s will through service, prayer, and suffering.
Put together, the message is clean and brutal in the best way. Paul’s tribulations did not weaken obedience. They revealed whether his obedience was real.
By the numbers, shall we?
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1) Paul’s “Surpassing Value” is a Total Reversal of Human Accounting.
Paul’s testimony in Philippians is not merely emotional devotion. It is a complete reversal of value. He once had the résumé, the pedigree, the religious credentials, and the confidence of a man who believed he could stand upright by his own achievements.
Then Christ interrupted it all. Curt captures that pivot well. What Paul once counted as gain, he now counted as loss, because Christ is not an add-on to a successful life. Christ is the end of self-salvation and the beginning of real life.
This matters apologetically because nowadays people worship the same old idols, just with better branding. Career. Image. Moral self-congratulation. Social credibility. You read about Paul, he exposes the fraud. You can win the room and lose your soul. He learned that on the Damascus road, and he never went back.
Curt highlights something many people miss. Paul did not only gain doctrine. He gained identity. In Christ, he knew who he belonged to, who upheld him, and who secured him. That is not sentimentality. That is covenant reality, and it is why Paul could endure what came next.
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2) Paul’s Tribulations Were Not a Detour From Ministry.
Paul’s suffering was not a side note. It was a classroom. In 2 Corinthians 12, the thorn stays, and grace speaks. God does not answer Paul’s pain with immediate removal. He answers with sufficiency. “My grace is sufficient for you” is not a soft slogan for greeting cards. It is a wartime promise.
That is where Paul’s tribulations become theological gold. He learns that weakness is not the collapse of usefulness. Weakness is often the place where Christ’s power is most visible. The thorns can be sickness, homelessness, emotional distress, hostile people, or the grinding pressure of life itself. That is pastorally true and spiritually honest. No fake triumphalism. No plastic smiles. Just grace under a load covered by Jesus.
This is why Paul’s obedience matters. He did not obey because life got easier. He obeyed because Christ was worthy, because grace made obedience possible. That is the difference between legalism and discipleship. Legalism obeys to earn. Grace obeys because we have been rescued.
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3) Paul’s Absolute Obedience is Allegiance, Not Perfectionism.
The phrase “absolute obedience” can scare people if they hear it as sinless performance. Paul would reject that reading. His obedience is absolute in allegiance, not flawless execution. He is fully yielded to Christ’s lordship. He belongs to Jesus, so his life gets ordered around Jesus.
Christians live the mission through service, prayer, and suffering. That is not glamorous, which is probably why it is biblical. It names the real battlefield. Obedience is not mostly about dramatic moments. It is about a daily, repeated yes to God’s will when comfort, pride, or fear would rather run the show.
But I gotta sing it. Grace must be converted into action. That fits Paul perfectly. The man who once persecuted the Church became a servant of the Church. Grace did not merely comfort him. Grace redirected him. It transformed his energy, his intellect, his courage, and his suffering into witness. “When you are justified, you are qualified to testify.”
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(extra credit) Paul’s Obedience Was Evangelistic Before He Opened His Mouth.
Curt rightly emphasizes Paul’s love for Christ, and grace in suffering. Paul’s endurance itself was part of his apologetic.
Paul did not only defend the Gospel by preaching it. He defended the Gospel by suffering like a man who believed it, lived it.
Anyone can speak bravely while life is easy. Paul kept speaking Christ while bleeding, rejected, imprisoned, criticized, and pressed down. That kind of steadiness is evidence. Not proof in the lab-coat sense; evidence in the human sense. It makes the watching world ask, “What kind of Lord is worth this much loyalty?”
That is where tribulation and obedience meet. Paul’s pain became a pulpit.
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For the Children…
Here is a simple way to say this for kids, because children deserve real theology too, not syrup:
Paul used to think his trophies made him important. Then he met Jesus and learned that Jesus is the real treasure. Sometimes Paul hurt, sometimes he was tired, and sometimes life was hard. But Paul kept following Jesus because God’s grace helped him.
That means when kids have a hard day, feel left out, or get scared, they can pray: “Jesus, help me trust You and do what is right.”
We get a child-shaped truth from a giant apostle:
Being strong does not always mean feeling strong. Sometimes being strong means staying with Jesus when life hurts.
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The surpassing worth of knowing Christ…grace in suffering, grace in obedience, grace turned into action. Taken together, they present Paul as he really was, not a stained-glass hero, but a battered, obedient witness whose life was reordered by Christ and sustained by grace.
Paul’s tribulations did not disprove God’s favor. They displayed God’s power. Paul’s obedience was not the denial of pain. It was the declaration that Christ is worth more than pain.
Paul did not call Christ “surpassing” because life was easy. He called Christ “surpassing” because everything else failed the weight test. Grace held.
thanks, Mr. Blattman.