Paul’s greatest aspiration in life was to “know Christ.” All else was a corollary to this axiom of life. Nothing surpassed the knowledge of Him who is God personified in human flesh. Paul and Jeremiah were of the same cloth: “Thus says the Lord, ‘Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,’ declares the Lord” (Jer 9:23-24).

In his letter to the Romans, Paul finished his doctrinal treatise on justification with this exalted doxology: ^“For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.” (Rom 11:36). His praise for Christ is threaded throughout his writings. For example, in writing to Timothy he breaks out: ^“Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen” (1 Tim 1:17).

As one “untimely born” (1 Cor 15:8), not having seen the Lord in his pre-resurrection days, Paul was driven to learn more of Christ. Of course, he was not talking about elementary knowledge of the facts of Christ. Rather he desired the kind of knowing that comes only through prolonged experiences together with someone. He wanted to eat, drink, sleep and think Christ.

He wanted to know the power of His resurrection. But for Paul this was not an infatuation with the supernatural. To be sure it is exciting to see a bona-fide miraculous event, first hand! But Paul knew the stories of the Old Testament, that the miracles of God were mimicked by the magicians of Egypt. He knew that Satan could pose as an angel of light, performing amazing feats. Today there are charlatans abounding, portraying the supposedly miraculous to gullible, naïve people desperately wanting proof to bolster their lacking faith. That is not the kind of power Paul sought. He knew that God is there (as writer Francis Schaefer would say) and didn’t need the miraculous to prove it.

Rather, Paul wanted to know the power that transforms lives from spiritual death to eternal life and liveliness—that is truly miraculous, something only God can do. Spiritual transformation can’t be faked. Paul wanted to know the power over conquered sin, both in the lives of others and himself. To be sure, God worked miracles at Paul’s hand. But the greater knowledge he sought was Christ Himself. The manifestations of power were simply icing on the cake.