"That I may know Him" . . . is an objective Paul lays out. Paul was not only converted but completely captivated when he saw the Lord Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus. One passion reigned; one motive dominated from that point on: that the Lord, in love, devotion, and service would be his all in all. Everything else became subservient, counted as refuse that he might know this one objective of being altogether His! Nothing of earth is comparable or desired besides Him.
After Paul caught a vision of his risen, exalted Lord, and being captivated by his grace and glory, he is consumed with the passion to take possession of all that was his glorious inheritance in Christ Jesus. He was desperate to know Him in His fullness and glory.
What is the objective of our Bible study? Is it just to have knowledge, satisfy intellectual curiosity, a selfish desire to enrich our lives? Or do we come every day to the written Word of God so we can better know the eternal, incarnate, risen, living Word of God as He is revealed in the pages?
What is the objective of our worship? Is it to make us "feel" good? Is it to fulfill some sort of obligation? Is it mostly to fellowship with others and be a part of a group? Or do we come together in worship to seek to know Him, seeking His glory, seeking His face, seeking to bless Him in divine response to His love?
2 Corinthians 4:6 states, "For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." In our worship are we desperate to see the "hand" of God or the "face" of God? Are we desperate to know Him? mjm
