With these two verses we jump into the middle of Paul’s flow of thought, highlighting what is the ultimate goal of the Christian life, namely, knowing Christ. It is intimate fellowship with Christ that Paul has in mind, not merely head knowledge, and certainly not using Christ to get something from him. It is knowing Christ that is of surpassing worth and lies at the heart of Christian faith. And as we discover, knowing Christ means experiencing his power in our lives now and suffering like Christ as we serve him and seek to advance the gospel, being conformed increasingly into his likeness.
