(Phil. 3:8-9) 8 Yes most assuredly, and I count all things to be loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I suffered the loss of all things, and count them nothing but refuse, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own, that which is of the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith.
So, St. Paul considered the most important thing of all, compared with which all other things are unimportant, knowledge of Christ Jesus.
What Paul considered the most important, his (Paul’s) knowledge? No he considered the most important knowledge of Christ.
As the Son of God Christ studies (gains knowledge), He studies all things looking as the Father does. But Christ is not only Son of God, Christ is also God and knows all. If He knows all then why He indeed studies?
Christ repeats studying what He already knows. At first this may seem silly. But it isn’t. So is because any knowledge has sense and value only in some particular context. For example, for a non-engineer the max speed of this car is 120 km/h means one things, but for an engineer it may mean something more. If you become a car design engineer then you may repeat study of already known to you characteristics of your own car anew, and the same numbers would then mean something quite different for you.
Analogously, Christ already knows all but every time when He repeats a study of something, it is new for him. Compare one of common characteristics of many geniuses: he sees something new in already known things every time when he returns to old questions which we considered already answered.
Christ studies all things every time finding a new aspect in old knowledge. Well, yes, Christ also already knows all aspects of knowledge, but every time He finds new aspects of old aspects of knowledge.
His main task St. Paul counted the gain of knowledge for Christ. Christ is above us but He is humble, so that He does not only teach us, but as a good teacher want that we His pupils would teach Him a knowledge.
But what about knowledge of Paul himself? Paul counted himself as a part of Christ and his knowledge as a part of knowledge of Christ, and his study Paul counted as a part of study of Christ.
Paul counted his own righteousness (ability to act correctly) not the main thing. It is because Paul have been realizing that his own righteousness in not important outside particular context of his life, that is without Christ. Paul considered important righteousness of Christ, and as a part of this, how Paul is righteous in Christ and with Christ.
Likewise a piece of knowledge (a formula) is relatively not important outside the system, where it takes its place. It is important in Christ who studies it.
Compare (Gal. 4:9) But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God…
Here it is said that it is better to become known by God (that is when Christ studies about us) than to know God (that is to gain knowledge about Christ). Our knowledge is not important without God, who knows us.
Conclusion:
- As the Son of God Christ studies, like as a human child studies.
- As God Christ already knows all.
- Christ always repeats his old study, every time in a new form, finding new aspects of old things.
