We continue our journey through Philippians as Paul highlights his discovery of the utmost importance of knowing Jesus, recognizing the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ beyond all else. Because of this discovery, Paul was able to lose everything he had gained prior to Christ. Instead of counting his losses as losses, he counted them as gain because of the opportunity he had to know Christ in the midst of suffering loss, leading to an experience of His resurrection power.
But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.