Philippians
3
New
American Standard Bible (NASB)
The
Goal of Life
3
Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things again is no
trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you.
2
Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the [a]false
circumcision; 3 for we are the true [b]circumcision, who worship in the Spirit
of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh, 4 although
I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else has a mind to
put confidence in the flesh, I far more: 5 circumcised the eighth day, of the
nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law,
a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness
which is in the Law, found blameless.
7
But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for
the sake of Christ. 8 More than that, I count all things to be loss [c]in view
of the surpassing value of [d]knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, [e]for whom I have
suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain
Christ, 9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived
from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness
which comes from God on the basis of faith, 10 that I may know Him and the
power of His resurrection and [f]the fellowship of His sufferings, being
conformed to His death; 11 [g]in order that I may attain to the resurrection
from the dead.
12
Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press
on [h]so that I may lay hold of that [i]for which also I was laid hold of by
Christ Jesus. 13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it
yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to
what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call
of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let us therefore, as many as are [j]perfect, have
this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will
reveal that also to you; 16 however, let us keep [k]living by that same
standard to which we have attained.
17
Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to
the pattern you have in us. 18 For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now
tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, 19 whose
end is destruction, whose god is their [l]appetite, and whose glory is in their
shame, who set their minds on earthly things. 20 For our [m]citizenship is in
heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; 21
who will transform [n]the body of our humble state into conformity with [o]the
body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all
things to Himself.
Footnotes:
Philippians
3:2 Lit mutilation; Gr katatome
Philippians
3:3 Gr peritome
Philippians
3:8 Lit because of
Philippians
3:8 Lit the knowledge of
Philippians
3:8 Lit because of
Philippians
3:10 Or participation in
Philippians
3:11 Lit if somehow
Philippians
3:12 Lit if I may even
Philippians
3:12 Or because also
Philippians
3:15 Or mature
Philippians
3:16 Lit following in line
Philippians
3:19 Lit belly
Philippians
3:20 Lit commonwealth
Philippians
3:21 Or our lowly body
Philippians
3:21 Or His glorious body
NIV
Application Commentary
[Paul] also speaks positively in verses 12–14
of what he is doing in light of the incompleteness of his spiritual journey.
His language comes from the world of war and athletics and emphasizes the
strenuous nature of his efforts to fulfill his vocation. In verse 12 he says
that he presses on to take hold of the goals listed in verses 8–11, choosing a
pair of words that could, in military contexts, refer to the pursuit of one
army by another. Together the two terms connote a single-minded attempt to
reach a particular goal.
According
to the niv, Paul’s goal is to reach “that for which Christ Jesus took hold of
me.” But the Greek phrase behind “that for which” (eph’ ho) usually expresses
cause in Paul’s letters, and it probably carries a causal force here. So the
goal Paul pursues probably remains all that he has described in verses 8–11,
and the second part of verse 12 should be rendered, “because Christ Jesus took
hold of me.” That is to say, Paul vigorously pursues the knowledge of Christ,
his sufferings, his resurrection power, and union with him at the final day
because on the road to Damascus, Christ took hold of him (Acts 9:1–19; 22:3–16;
26:9–18). Had that event not taken place, Paul might still be busy “persecuting
(dioko) the church” (Phil. 3:6) instead of pressing on (dioko) toward these
goals (vv. 12, 14).
Even
more expressive of the difficulty of Paul’s exertion to reach these goals is
the athletic imagery in verses 12–14. Like a runner who knows that a backward
glance at ground already covered will only slow his progress toward the finish,
Paul says that he forgets what is behind and stretches out toward what is
ahead, so that he might complete the race and win the prize. Some interpreters
have taken Paul’s claim that he forgets what is behind as a reference to his
pre-Christian past (cf. vv. 5–6), but two considerations point away from this
interpretation. (1) The point under discussion here is Paul’s progress as a
believer, not his progress beyond his days of persecuting the church. (2) When
Paul uses athletic imagery elsewhere, the subject is his apostolic labors (cf.
2:16; 1 Cor. 9:24–26). These labors are his focus here too. Paul’s point, then,
is that he refuses to rest on his past successes but presses on toward that day
when he will present the Philippians and his other congregations blameless to
Christ (1:10; 2:14–18; 1 Cor. 1:8; 1 Thess. 3:13; 5:23).
What
is this prize? The term “call” in Paul’s letters, both as a noun and as a verb,
possesses a rich theological significance. Just as God called Israel to be his
people in the Old Testament (Isa. 48:12; 51:2), so, in Paul’s letters, God
calls people from many ethnic and social backgrounds (1 Cor. 1:26; Eph. 3:1;
4:1) into fellowship with Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 1:9) and into his kingdom (1
Thess. 2:12), and he does this by his grace (Gal. 1:6). This call is not,
moreover, to something that will be fully realized in the present but to the
future for which the believer now hopes (Eph. 1:18; 4:4). Thus, the heavenly
call toward which Paul stretches with all his might is God’s call to be part of
the people, made up of both Jews and Gentiles, who will stand justified before
him on the final day because of their identification with Christ (vv. 8–11).
From
NIVAC: Philippians by Frank Thielman. Published by Zondervan Academic.
The
Bible Panorama
Philippians
3
V
1–2: REJOICE In this ‘letter of rejoicing’, rejoicing and joy feature strongly.
Here, that is so even though Paul has to address the false teaching that
salvation is not possible without circumcision.
3–8: RUBBISH Real Christians worship God in
the Spirit, rejoice in Christ, and put no confidence in themselves, in anything
else or in anyone else for salvation. Paul even counts his immaculate
Pharisee’s pedigree and religious zeal as rubbish, now, compared with the joy
of knowing Jesus Christ.
V 9: RIGHTEOUS Paul rejoices that his
acceptance by God is because, having trusted Jesus Christ, his account is
credited with the righteousness of his Saviour. He is now counted righteous
through Jesus.
V 10–11: RESURRECTION Paul is determined to
know Jesus Christ closer, and even the fellowship of His sufferings and dying
to self. This can only be because he is also determined to know the power of
the resurrection of Jesus in his daily life.
V
12–14: REACHING Paul honestly admits he has a long way to go, but has learned
to leave the past with God, press on with the present, and reach on into the
future. He wants to lay hold of that which God has for him, and for which
Christ has laid hold of him. His concern is to answer the ‘upward call of God
in Christ Jesus’. Only when the past is dealt with, and Christ is known in the
present, can Paul have confidence and determination like this.
V 15–16: REVEALED With this mindset, Paul
tells the Philippians to build on what they have already learned in the
knowledge that God will reveal to them other lessons which they need to learn.
V 17–21: REALITY Contrasting the walk of the
Christians with lost people who despise the cross and live sinfully for this
passing world, Paul reveals the reality of a Christian’s invisible and
spiritual home in heaven. He looks forward to the future reality of the second
coming of Christ and to the transformed resurrection body which will be given
to each person who trusts Him.
The
Bible Panorama. Copyright © 2005 Day One Publications.
