What did Paul mean by 'though we have known Christ after the flesh'?
Paul meant that as Saul of Tarsus, the religious Pharisee and persecutor, he had known Jesus of Nazareth and His earthly ministry according to the flesh. After revelations from the ascended Lord on the Damascus road and in Arabia, Paul no longer related to Christ merely by that pre-resurrection, earthly knowledge.
Les explains that in verse 16 Paul contrasts knowing no man after the flesh with having known Christ after the flesh. As Saul of Tarsus, Saul the persecutor, Saul the religious Pharisee, he knew about Jesus of Nazareth and His ministry. But after his revelations on the road to Damascus and down in Arabia, he no longer refers to Christ in His earthly ministry. Les notes that people complain Paul does not mention the virgin birth or Bethlehem, but those truths were already established in earlier revelations. Paul's focus is the post-resurrection doctrines and revelations from the ascended Lord, revealing the Christ of the cross and the Christ raised from the dead as the object of faith. Believing this makes us a new creation; old things pass away, all things become new.
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 he no longer knows Christ after the flesh?
Because of his revelations on the road to Damascus and in Arabia, Paul no longer refers to Christ in his earthly ministry, which is what he means by knowing no man after the flesh.
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.
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.