Philippians 1:8 For God is my witness how I long for you all with the ‘affection’ of Christ
Philippians 3:10 That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of his ‘sufferings’, being conformed to his death
In our union with Christ, we share His life and everything that makes up His life, which includes His will, His activity, His power, and His feelings and emotions. The word affection in the Greek means inner parts or inner emotions. As well, the word sufferings in the original language means deep inner feelings, such as passion. These realities blow me away, and they greatly encourage me. Simply, by abiding in Him by faith, we get to experience the emotions of Christ for other people and situations. How freeing it is to know that I don’t have to ‘drum up’ feelings or any emotion when I’m facing the various nuances of life. We can simply ask the Lord what He thinks (for we have the mind of Christ) and what He feels concerning every situation. Thank God that we have the fullness of Christ in every area of our lives.