Justification and Knowing Christ

The audio of my dad’s awesome TGC breakout, “Justification vs. Self-Justification,” is up here. I highly recommend it. From re-listening to it on a hike just now, one thing that struck me was at one point Dad mentioned how justification by faith alone and the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ are linked in Philippians 3.  I’ve been thinking about that, and also how Dad talks about how a culture of justification is not established by thinking about the doctrine of justification so much as by personally communing with Christ.  Growing in personal communion with Christ means growing in living out our justification, and vice versa.  The two are linked.  Would it be fair to say that there is no growth in the knowledge of Christ that does not therefore spring from the knowledge of justification by faith alone?  Hmmm…