THE SUPREME KNOWLEDGE

In the Christian faith, there are different levels of knowledge and experience of the person and life of Christ. There is an initial knowledge of Him which brings the believer to experience justification by faith and later progresses into bringing the believer to sanctification. Here, the character of the believer begins to get affected or transformed from old habits and conformation to new habits of being in His image and likeness. His heart cry will follow the same pattern with that of apostle Paul as follows:

''That I may know Him...'' - This expresses determined purpose of the believer to progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with the person of Christ. Knowing Him is another way of expressing a personal faith-union and intimate relationship between the believer and his Lord. This is the force driving the believer to a life of separation, consecration, and sanctification -Rm. 12:1-2.

''...and the power of His resurrection...'' - It is by knowing the person of Christ that we come to know through experience, the power of that brought Him out from among the dead. The believer who truly yearns to experience the power overflowing from His resurrection and which He exerts over the believers will not be satisfied with anything less. This is the power that was released through His victory over death and which is at work in the life of anyone who believes. The same power has raised the believer from spiritual death into the newness of life in Christ. The Holy spirit is revealed as the power that raised up Jesus from the dead. If the same spirit is dwelling in us, He will restore life to revitalize our mortal bodies (short-lived bodies). The spirit gives life both to the soul and the body so that the resurrected life of Jesus can be manifested  in both the soul and the body. This is God's method for delivering the soul and the body from the principle of sin and death (Rm. 8:11; 2 Cor. 4:10).

''...and the fellowship of his suffering...'' - This describes the close connection between the suffering of Jesus Christ on the cross and the dying of Jesus which we bear in our mortal bodies as an extension of His cross and sufferings to the believers. The believer is said to suffer for his sake (Phil. 1:29; 1 Pet. 4:1).

''...being made conformable unto his death'' -The death and resurrection of Christ are representative acts in which His people share His death for sin and unto sin. It carries the meaning that in Him we likewise die to the power and dominion of sin. In Him, we are made  to die to the nature of sin and rise in the newness of the life of righteousness and holiness. When Christ died at Calvary, our death was involved. Death is the gate-way t life and much fruitfulness (Jn. 12:24). We die to ourselves that we may live to God. Sin and its ally of human dignity and pride are dethroned and crucified to the cross that Christ may be enthroned as the supreme Lord (Rm.6:11-14).

The supreme knowledge of Jesus Christ, the son of God will take us through the life of death and resurrection. There are three levels of our victory over the devil that we experience in Christ. They come by the trinity of redemptive weapons which are; the blood of the Lamb, the words of our testimonies, and loving not our own lives unto death - Rev. 12:11. Through faith in the redemptive blood of Christ, the believer enters into the first level of victory over satan. The second level is entered into by the word of our testimony, through which we appropriate and affirms the privileges of our redemption. The third level is the ultimate level of victory that requires total and absolute abandonment to die for our faith in the risen Christ.