9.What was Paul’s opinion of all the things he had lost in order to gain Christ?

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They are dung, trash, rubbish, garbage, refuse.

The concept of winning Christ, of gaining Christ, is an important idea for us to consider. Obviously, Paul was not referring to believing in Christ for salvation. No doubt Paul was not struggling to be saved from wrath at this point in his life. What, then, does he mean when he states that he has forsaken everything in order to win Christ, to gain Christ?

It is clear from the passage we are studying that there is more to Christianity than our initial acceptance by faith of the Lord and Savior, Christ. The true Christian discipleship is a lifelong effort to gain Christ.

It is not that we earn a favoured position with the Lord Jesus, although an element of that may be present. Rather it is true that there is so much of Christ to grasp that our diligent attention is required every day of our life in order to make any substantial progress in laying hold on the Glory that is in Christ and is Christ.

We could compare Christ to a grand piano. A person could have a grand piano in his house for fifty years and not be able to play one composition on it. With a good teacher and several hours of practice each day he could become a fairly proficient performer before many years had passed.

So it is with Christ, We can make a profession of Christ for fifty years and still remain unchanged in personality. With the help of our Teacher, the Holy Spirit, we can become a conquering saint, a prophet of God, if we give ourselves wholly to the things of Christ.

Paul turned away from all competing interests and affections, goals and ambitions, and devoted himself to coming to know the fullness of the Glory of Christ. As a result, Paul was changed into the image of Christ. Paul’s Epistles have borne an incalculable amount of fruit over the face of the whole world since the first century. Truly, there is a reward for seeking the Lord!

We can agree with Paul that his temporal desires and ambition, prevented by his circumstances during his lifetime, indeed were rubbish in comparison with the spiritual fruit that has been borne as the direct result of his Epistles. We need to stop and realize that this also is true of each of us. Who will be able to measure the fruit of our own life if we give ourselves wholly to gaining Christ?