Why could Paul say he had known Christ after the flesh but now did not?
Paul could say he had known Christ after the flesh because he lived contemporary with Him in His earthly ministry, but after the cross—Christ’s death, burial, resurrection, and ascension—he no longer knew or preached Christ merely after the flesh. The crucified, risen, ascended Christ is now the object of salvation.
Les teaches that in verse 16 Paul says that because of the work of the cross—His death, burial, and resurrection—henceforth we know no man after the flesh. Much preaching today focuses on Jesus in His earthly ministry, His miracles, signs, and wonders. But Paul says we are not following any man in the flesh; we now take Christ after the work of the cross, ascended in glory. It is the same man and the same God, but the Christ before the cross was not the object of our salvation as He is after the cross, because the work of the cross makes our salvation experience possible. Paul had known Christ after the flesh because he lived contemporary with Him, yet from His death, burial, and resurrection onward, we do not look back and know Him in His earthly ministry as such.
Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.
More Questions
Did Paul know Christ after the flesh?
Paul could say 'though we have known Christ after the flesh' because he lived at the same time as the earthly Jesus, but from Christ's death, burial, and resurrection onward he no longer looks back and knows Jesus in His earthly ministry.
What does Paul mean by 'we have not known Christ after the flesh'?
When Paul says 'we have not known Christ after the flesh,' he is talking about Christ in His earthly ministry.
What did Paul mean by saying he no longer knows Christ after the flesh?
In verse 16, when Paul says "we know no man after the flesh, though we have known Christ after the flesh," he is referring to his former life as Saul of Tarsus, the persecutor and religious Pharisee who knew about Jesus of Nazareth and His ministry, but after his revelations on the road to Damascus and in Arabia he no longer refers to Christ in His earthly ministry.