David Taylor #fundie books.google.com

He Is the Winning Prize

There is a place that we can arrive at in our walk with God that the Bible calls The Prize. The prize that Paul spoke of is Jesus—just Jesus. As you study these Scriptures in Philippians, you will notice that Paul initially talks about counting all things that he had gained as a loss so that he could win Christ. Then he talks about pressing toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God. Prizes are to be reached for; you press on toward them, and you win them. The prize he spoke of winning in this context was Jesus.

He Is the Reward

Winning An Intimacy With Jesus On The Highest Level Possible For All Eternity
 
That I may win Christ (Philippians 3:8).

He is our reward and prize that we win after all life’s accomplishments are over. He’s the Reward. This is the same thing the Lord told Abraham, “I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward” (Gen. 15:1). This refers to winning the Lord in a special, personal relationship. These passages refer to knowing Him on the highest level of closeness. When you have reached this level with God, He will say to you “You have not just sought me and found me, but you have pursued me and given everything up that is valuable and dear to you so that you can have me. And because of this sacrifice, you have won this personal level of intimacy with me.” This means that you have been found worthy to know Him intimately.

Winning Jesus

The Holy Spirit (through Paul) said that in order to attain this level of relationship with Him, we must not be distracted by our past, but should reach toward the things in our future. The highest calling we have is to press toward knowing Him. He said that the mark before us that we press toward and look forward to is the highest calling in life and is expressed in His words, “The high calling of God.” We can know Jesus on this excellent and highest level by giving up everything that means something to us so that we gain Him. Paul said that he did this in order “to know Him” (see Phil 3:10). “To know Him” implies being close to Him, and not just knowing Him on any level but also being the closest you can to Him through gaining the excellency of the knowledge about Him!

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Confused?

So were we! You can find all of this, and more, on Fundies Say the Darndest Things!

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