To know Him ...

I have come to love Paul’s words in Philippians 3:10-11. (I know all Scripture is “breathed out by God,” but these feel like a hit of fresh oxygen to my lungs.) His words challenge me, encourage me, and remind me of what it means to be “Christ-centered.” There is so much that could be said about every word in this verse, but for now, let’s look at just a few things.

It reads this way:

“––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.”

5 important takeaways from these verses:

• To know Him –– Christ. There are many things in life we need to know. There are many things that are good and important and worth pursuing. But there is one thing that is foundational, one thing that stands at the center of who we are and gives life and meaning to everything else: knowing Christ. As with Paul, our purpose in living gets redirected from self to savior.

• To know Christ's resurrection power. There are many forms of power that are good; other forms of power we only desire for selfish gain. But there is only one form of power that utterly transforms both the entire cosmos and who we are as individuals. As Paul says in Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation….”

• To know “participation” in Christ’s sufferings. Here, this means more than mere association. It means “sharing” in Christ’s sufferings. Paul says it in another way in Philippians 1:29 –– “For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake.” I don’t remember the last time I experienced something that I might call “suffering” wherein I, like the apostles in Acts, counted it worthy to “suffer dishonor” for the name of Jesus (Acts 5:41). There are many things that we can participate in, many joys and experiences that we can share and take part in. But there is one “participation” that is meant to shape us, bending and mending our character into greater resemblance with the person of Christ.

• Being conformed to Christ’s death. Interestingly, this word (συμμορφίζω/summorphizo) doesn’t occur anywhere else in Scripture, or anywhere else in ancient Greek texts for that matter. It seems as if Paul is creating the necessary vocabulary to describe something of great importance. The word itself talks about making something similar in form to something else. And the one who does that forming, the one who makes us similar in form to another, well, that person isn’t mentioned here explicitly. But we can make a good guess. Isn’t it God who is working to accomplish His purposes for, in, and through His people and His creation? See, there are many external influences trying to conform us into some kind of mold: social, political, you name it. They’re all saying, “Become like this. Be conformed to this.” But there is one conformation that we need not fight, one that we must willfully, gratefully, and (though often reluctantly) submit to: God the Father conforming us to the death of Christ, that we might have life in His name. It sounds paradoxical, doesn’t it? Perhaps Paul explains this best in Romans 6, “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his” (v. 5, but see vv. 3-11). Or to put it yet one more way, only when we have been co-crucified with Christ will we truly find life in Him.

• Being found in Christ at the resurrection of the dead. There are many aims, goals, and aspirations that we have in life with regard to our families, our workplace, even our spiritual lives. But there is one aim in life that has implications that reach into eternity: to be found at the resurrection of the dead, ushered into eternal life by the Lamb who conquered. We don’t get there by “works of righteousness” (aka, good things that we think will earn us favor with God), rather the righteousness of Christ on our behalf.

Everything that we typically count as gains are actually losses. Rather, gaining Christ is everything. And it’s all for this purpose: “––that I may know him….”

The chasm between neighbors in Indonesia ...

Imagine that you drive 25 minutes to a neighboring town.

The people in this town speak a different language than you.

Someone notices your Bible. He says, “All of the people in your town have Bibles, but no one in this town can even read the Bible because it hasn’t been translated into our local language. We want Scripture in our own language, but we don’t know how to begin.”

The Sawi and the Kayagar people groups of Indonesia are in this exact situation: the Sawi people have a completed translation of the New Testament, but the Kayagar people, in a town neighboring the Sawi (but speaking a different language), don’t have a single verse of Scripture they can read at home.

These towns aren’t separated by oceans, rather a few miles at most. But the chasm that separates them is the opportunity to read and understand God’s word in the language they speak at home and in the marketplace.

The Kayagar desire a Bible in their own language!

Not long ago, the Sawi began the process of translating Scripture into their own language with the help of Wycliffe Associates (WA). They were given tablets with translation resources, and were trained in how to begin the work.

The Sawi were so eager to translate the Bible and had over 211 people show up to help! It was the largest known translation event, ever!

Today, the 5,000 Sawi people in Indonesia can read Scripture in their heart language and about 85% of them are Christians. Praise God!

Neighboring the Sawi are the 14,000 Kayagar people. Approximately 20% of them are Christians. They had heard the gospel years before from missionaries, but they’ve never been able to read God’s Word in their local language.

When they heard about the work WA was doing nearby, they wanted in! They wanted to know: Where do they start? What kind of resources are needed? How would they pull off such a task? Who can help them?

Pray with us that the Kayagar would receive a translation quickly.

The project we are working on will help local translators be better able to understand the meaning of the original Greek words of the New Testament. It will enable them to do their work with greater speed and clarity, while faithfully translating God’s Word into the language of the people they represent.

The Kayagar people in Indonesia are one step closer to being able to read Scripture in their own language.

Your support of our work makes it possible for them to read and understand God’s Word, and through it know the Savior who “bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness” (1 Peter 2:24).

Would you pray with us for the 400 groups still desiring to begin translating God’s Word into their heart language?

There are still thousands of other languages and people groups who are closed off to the gospel; we ask that you would pray with us for the hundreds of millions of people who have no access to Scripture.

What does στήχω (stāchō) mean?

“I’ll stand by you” –– you know the song. But is it a literal “stand” by you, or what we might call “moral support”?

Good question. Glad you asked.

Understanding how a word is used helps national Bible translators choose the right word when translating Scripture into their language. Take for example the Greek word stāchō, which translated means “to stand, stand firm.”

The word stāchō is used in slightly different ways throughout the New Testament, both literally and figuratively.

Thankfully, the song “I’ll stand by you” is not in the New Testament, so we don’t have to decide if it’s literal or figurative.

Let’s take a look at a few ways this word is used:

To Stand

In Mark 11:25, Jesus says, “And whenever you stand (stāchō) praying…” –– and that’s what He meant. This word can literally mean, “to stand.”

Stand Firm: persist and persevere

Or this word can also have a figurative meaning, one that doesn’t necessarily involve using your legs to put your body in an upright position. Figuratively, stāchō can mean “to stand firm.”

I think we can understand this readily enough. You’re facing something difficult at work, but you know you have to stand firm and persevere. In 2 Thessalonians 2:15, Paul tells his readers to “stand firm (stāchō) and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us.”

They need to persist in what they were taught, and in doing so, they stand firm.

Stand Firm: maintain your allegiance

This meaning could fit 2 Thessalonians 2:15 above, but it is especially helpful for understanding Paul’s words in Galatians 5:1 –– “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm (stāchō) therefore and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”

It’s almost as if Paul is saying, “maintain your allegiance to Christ; keep your standing with Him. In Him there is freedom.”

Stand Firm: be resolutely committed to something because of your belief

Believers are told to stāchō …

• stand firm in the faith (1 Corinthians 16:13)

• stand firm in one spirit (Philippians 1:27)

• stand firm in the Lord (1 Thessalonians 3:8)

We don’t have this kind of belief or resolute commitment on our own. It is the Spirit who works in and through us, using God’s word to bring about faith and to help us persevere, maintain our allegiance to Christ, and be resolutely committed to the things of Christ.

As national Bible translators better understand the different ways this word is used in Scripture, they become more equipped to choose a word in their own language that best represents the meaning in the Greek New Testament.

Thanks for reading. And, stand firm.