Why could Paul say "henceforth we know Him no more" about Christ?
Paul could say this because God was keeping Judaism and Christianity far apart, and Paul’s commission was not tied to Jerusalem or the Twelve. Though Christ had been known in the flesh during His earthly ministry, Paul writes by inspiration that from henceforth we know Him no more after the flesh.
Les explains that Paul and Barnabas were first commissioned by the Holy Spirit 150-200 miles north of Jerusalem, in Antioch, not Jerusalem. God would not have Paul go back to Jerusalem to learn everything from the twelve or make Jerusalem the jump-off place to the Gentiles. Antioch was where Paul and Barnabas left and returned, and later Paul and Silas left and returned. This shows God keeping Judaism and Christianity far apart even though they are connected by their beginnings. Coming to II Corinthians chapter 5, Les says Paul can write by inspiration: “...yea, from henceforth we know no man after the flesh,” and He is talking about Jesus in the next statement: “...though we have known Christ in the flesh, yet henceforth we know Him no more.” Les points out that most preaching today comes from Christ’s earthly ministry; there is nothing wrong with a certain amount of that, and we must understand Bethlehem and the virgin birth, but the verse says Christ is no longer known after the flesh.
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
Why does Paul say in 2 Corinthians 5:16 that we know Christ no more after the flesh?
Paul can write that we know Christ no more after the flesh because God is separating Judaism and Christianity, so we no longer know Him according to the flesh.
What does Paul mean when he says 'henceforth we know no man after the flesh'?
Paul's statement that 'henceforth we know no man after the flesh' means that because of the cross—Christ's death, burial, and resurrection—we are to stop knowing or presenting Christ according to 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.