Teks -- Philippians 3:1-21 (NET)

True and False Righteousness

3:1 Finally, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! To write this again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you. 3:2 Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of those who mutilate the flesh! 3:3 For we are the circumcision, the ones who worship by the Spirit of God, exult in Christ Jesus, and do not rely on human credentials 3:4 –though mine too are significant. If someone thinks he has good reasons to put confidence in human credentials, I have more: 3:5 I was circumcised on the eighth day, from the people of Israel and the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews. I lived according to the law as a Pharisee. 3:6 In my zeal for God I persecuted the church. According to the righteousness stipulated in the law I was blameless. 3:7 But these assets I have come to regard as liabilities because of Christ. 3:8 More than that, I now regard all things as liabilities compared to the far greater value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things– indeed, I regard them as dung!– that I may gain Christ, 3:9 and be found in him, not because I have my own righteousness derived from the law, but because I have the righteousness that comes by way of Christ’s faithfulness– a righteousness from God that is in fact based on Christ’s faithfulness. 3:10 My aim is to know him, to experience the power of his resurrection, to share in his sufferings, and to be like him in his death, 3:11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Keep Going Forward

3:12 Not that I have already attained this– that is, I have not already been perfected– but I strive to lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus also laid hold of me. 3:13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have attained this. Instead I am single-minded: Forgetting the things that are behind and reaching out for the things that are ahead, 3:14 with this goal in mind, I strive toward the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 3:15 Therefore let those of us who are “perfect” embrace this point of view. If you think otherwise, God will reveal to you the error of your ways. 3:16 Nevertheless, let us live up to the standard that we have already attained. 3:17 Be imitators of me, brothers and sisters, and watch carefully those who are living this way, just as you have us as an example. 3:18 For many live, about whom I have often told you, and now, with tears, I tell you that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ. 3:19 Their end is destruction, their god is the belly, they exult in their shame, and they think about earthly things. 3:20 But our citizenship is in heaven– and we also await a savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 3:21 who will transform these humble bodies of ours into the likeness of his glorious body by means of that power by which he is able to subject all things to himself.

Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Kata/Frasa (per frasa)

Robertson: Phi 3:1 - Finally

Finally ( to loipon ).

Accusative of general reference, literally, "as for the rest."So again in Phi 4:8. It (or just loipon ) is a common phrase towards the close of Paul’ s Epistles (2Th 3:1; 2Co 13:11). In Eph 6:10 we have tou loipou (genitive case). But Paul uses the idiom elsewhere also as in 1Co 7:29; 1Th 4:1 before the close of the letter is in sight. It is wholly needless to understand Paul as about to finish and then suddenly changing his mind like some preachers who announce the end a half dozen times.

Robertson: Phi 3:1 - To write the same things

To write the same things ( ta auta graphein ).

Present active articular infinitive, "the going on writing the same things."What things? He has just used chairete (go on rejoicing) again and he will repeat it in Phi 4:4. But in Phi 3:2 he uses blepete three times. At any rate Paul, as a true teacher, is not afraid of repetition.

Robertson: Phi 3:1 - Irksome

Irksome ( oknēron ).

Old adjective from okneō , to delay, to hesitate. It is not tiresome to me to repeat what is "safe"(asphales ) for you. Old adjective from a privative and sphallō , to totter, to reel. See note on Act 21:34.

Robertson: Phi 3:2 - Beware

Beware ( blepete ).

Three times for urgency and with different epithet for the Judaizers each time.

Robertson: Phi 3:2 - The dogs

The dogs ( tous kunas ).

The Jews so termed the Gentiles which Jesus uses in a playful mood (kunariois , little dogs) to the Syro-Phoenician woman (Mat 15:26). Paul here turns the phrase on the Judaizers themselves.

Robertson: Phi 3:2 - The evil workers

The evil workers ( tous kakous ergatas ).

He had already called the Judaizers "deceitful workers"(ergatai dolioi ) in 2Co 11:13.

Robertson: Phi 3:2 - The concision

The concision ( tēn katatomēn ).

Late word for incision, mutilation (in contrast with peritomē , circumcision). In Symmachus and an inscription. The verb katatemnō is used in the lxx only of mutilations (Leviticus 21:5; 1 Kings 18:28).

Robertson: Phi 3:3 - For we

For we ( hēmeis gar ).

We believers in Christ, the children of Abraham by faith, whether Jew or Gentile, the spiritual circumcision in contrast to the merely physical (Rom 2:25-29; Col 2:11; Eph 2:11). See note on Gal 5:12 for apotemnein (to cut off) in sense of mutilation also.

Robertson: Phi 3:3 - By the Spirit of God

By the Spirit of God ( pneumati theou ).

Instrumental case, though the dative case as the object of latreuō makes good sense also (worshipping the Spirit of God) or even the locative (worshipping in the Spirit of God).

Robertson: Phi 3:3 - No

No ( ouk ).

Actual condition rather than mē with the participle.

Robertson: Phi 3:3 - In the flesh

In the flesh ( en sarki ).

Technical term in Paul’ s controversy with the Judaizers (2Co 11:18; Gal 6:13.). External privileges beyond mere flesh.

Robertson: Phi 3:4 - Might have

Might have ( echōn ).

Rather, "even though myself having."

Robertson: Phi 3:4 - Confidence

Confidence ( pepoithēsin ).

Late word, condemned by the Atticists, from pepoitha (just used). See note on 2Co 1:15; 2Co 3:4.

Robertson: Phi 3:5 - Thinketh to have confidence

Thinketh to have confidence ( dokei pepoithenai ).

Second perfect active infinitive. Old idiom, "seems to himself to have confidence."Later idiom like Mat 3:9 "think not to say"and 1Co 11:16, "thinks that he has ground of confidence in himself."

Robertson: Phi 3:5 - I yet more

I yet more ( egō mallon ).

"I have more ground for boasting than he"and Paul proceeds to prove it in the rest of Phi 3:5, Phi 3:6.

Robertson: Phi 3:5 - Circumcised the eighth day

Circumcised the eighth day ( peritomēi oktaēmeros ).

"In circumcision (locative case) an eighth day man."Use of the ordinal with persons like tetartaios (Joh 11:39). Ishmaelites were circumcised in the thirteenth year, proselytes from Gentiles in mature age, Jews on the eighth day (Luk 2:21).

Robertson: Phi 3:5 - Of the stock of Israel

Of the stock of Israel ( ek genous Israēl ).

Of the original stock, not a proselyte.

Robertson: Phi 3:5 - Benjamin

Benjamin ( Beniamin ).

Son of the right hand (that is, left-handed), son of Rachel. The first King, Saul (Paul’ s own Hebrew name) was from this little tribe. The battle cry of Israel was "After thee, O Benjamin"(Jdg 5:14).

Robertson: Phi 3:5 - A Hebrew of the Hebrews

A Hebrew of the Hebrews ( Ebraios ex Ebraiōn ).

Of Hebrew parents who retained the characteristic qualities in language and custom as distinct from the Hellenistic Jews (Act 6:1). Paul was from Tarsus and knew Greek as well as Aramaic (Act 21:40; Act 22:2) and Hebrew, but he had not become Hellenized.

Robertson: Phi 3:5 - A Pharisee

A Pharisee ( Pharisaios ).

In distinction from the Sadducees (Gal 1:14) and he continued a Pharisee in many essential matters like the doctrine of the resurrection (Act 23:6). Cf. 2Co 11:22.

Robertson: Phi 3:6 - As touching zeal

As touching zeal ( kata zēlos ).

So the old MSS. treating zēlos as neuter, not masculine. He was a zealot against Christianity, "persecuting the church"(diōkōn tēn ekklēsian ). He was the ringleader in the persecution from the death of Stephen till his own conversion (Acts 8:1-9:9).

Robertson: Phi 3:6 - Found blameless

Found blameless ( genomenos amemptos ).

"Having become blameless"(Gal 1:14). He knew and practised all the rules of the rabbis. A marvellous record, scoring a hundred in Judaism.

Robertson: Phi 3:7 - Were gain to me

Were gain to me ( en moi kerdē ).

"Were gains (plural, see note on Phi 1:21) to me (ethical dative)."Paul had natural pride in his Jewish attainments. He was the star of hope for Gamaliel and the Sanhedrin.

Robertson: Phi 3:7 - Have I counted

Have I counted ( hēgēmai ).

Perfect middle indicative, state of completion and still true.

Robertson: Phi 3:7 - Loss

Loss ( zēmian ).

Old word for damage, loss. In N.T. only in Phil. and Act 27:10, Act 27:21. Debit side of the ledger, not credit.

Robertson: Phi 3:8 - Yea, verily, and

Yea, verily, and ( alla men oun ge kai ).

Five particles before Paul proceeds (yea, indeed, therefore, at least, even), showing the force and passion of his conviction. He repeats his affirmation with the present middle indicative (hēgoumai ), "I still count all things loss for the excellency of the knowledge (to huperechon , the surpassingness, neuter articular participle of huperechō , Phi 2:3) of Christ Jesus my Lord."

Robertson: Phi 3:8 - Dung

Dung ( skubala ).

Late word of uncertain etymology, either connected with skōr (dung) or from es kunas ballō , to fling to the dogs and so refuse of any kind. It occurs in the papyri. Here only in the N.T.

Robertson: Phi 3:8 - That I may gain Christ

That I may gain Christ ( hina Christon kerdēsō ).

First aorist active subjunctive of kerdaō , Ionic form for kerdainō with hina in purpose clause. Paul was never satisfied with his knowledge of Christ and always craved more fellowship with him.

Robertson: Phi 3:9 - Be found in him

Be found in him ( heurethō en autōi ).

First aorist (effective) passive subjunctive with hina of heuriskō . At death (2Co 5:3) or when Christ comes. Cf. Phi 2:8; Gal 2:17.

Robertson: Phi 3:9 - Through faith in Christ

Through faith in Christ ( dia pisteōs Christou ).

The objective genitive Christou , not subjective, as in Gal 2:16, Gal 2:20; Rom 3:22. Explained further by epi tēi pistei (on the basis of faith) as in Act 3:16.

Robertson: Phi 3:10 - That I may know him

That I may know him ( tou gnōnai auton ).

Genitive of the articular second aorist (ingressive) active infinitive (purpose) of ginōskō , to have personal acquaintance or experience with. This is Paul’ s major passion, to get more knowledge of Christ by experience.

Robertson: Phi 3:10 - The power of his resurrection

The power of his resurrection ( tēn dunamin tēs anastaseōs autou ).

Power (Lightfoot) in the sense of assurance to believers in immortality (1Co 15:14.; Rom 8:11), in the triumph over sin (Rom 4:24.), in the dignity of the body (1Co 6:13.; Phi 3:21), in stimulating the moral and spiritual life (Gal 2:20; Rom 6:4.; Col 2:12; Eph 2:5). See Westcott’ s The Gospel of the Resurrection , ii, 31.

Robertson: Phi 3:10 - The fellowship of his sufferings

The fellowship of his sufferings ( tēn Koinéōnian tōn pathēmatōn autou ).

Partnership in (objective genitive) his sufferings, an honour prized by Paul (2Co 1:24).

Robertson: Phi 3:10 - Becoming conformed to his death

Becoming conformed to his death ( summorphizomenos tōi thanatōi autou ).

Present passive participle of summorphizō , late verb from summorphos , found only here and ecclesiastical writers quoting it. The Latin Vulgate uses configuro . See note on Rom 6:4 for sumphutoi in like sense and 2Co 4:10. "The agony of Gethsemane, not less than the agony of Calvary, will be reproduced however faintly in the faithful servant of Christ"(Lightfoot). "In this passage we have the deepest secrets of the Apostle’ s Christian experience unveiled"(Kennedy).

Robertson: Phi 3:11 - If by any means I may attain

If by any means I may attain ( ei pōs katantēsō ).

Not an expression of doubt, but of humility (Vincent), a modest hope (Lightfoot). For ei pōs , see note on Rom 1:10; and note on Rom 11:14 where parazēlōsō can be either future indicative or aorist subjunctive like katantēsō here (see subjunctive katalabō in Phi 3:12), late compound verb katantaō .

Robertson: Phi 3:11 - Resurrection

Resurrection ( exanastasin ).

Late word, not in lxx, but in Polybius and one papyrus example. Apparently Paul is thinking here only of the resurrection of believers out from the dead and so double ex (ten exanastasin tēn ek nekrōn ). Paul is not denying a general resurrection by this language, but emphasizing that of believers.

Robertson: Phi 3:12 - Not that

Not that ( ouch hoti ).

To guard against a misunderstanding as in Joh 6:26; Joh 12:6; 2Co 1:24; Phi 4:11, Phi 4:17.

Robertson: Phi 3:12 - I have already obtained

I have already obtained ( ēdē elabon ).

Rather, "I did already obtain,"constative second aorist active indicative of lambanō , summing up all his previous experiences as a single event.

Robertson: Phi 3:12 - Or am already made perfect

Or am already made perfect ( ē ēdē teteleiōmai ).

Perfect passive indicative (state of completion) of teleioō , old verb from teleios and that from telos (end). Paul pointedly denies that he has reached a spiritual impasse of non- development. Certainly he knew nothing of so-called sudden absolute perfection by any single experience. Paul has made great progress in Christlikeness, but the goal is still before him, not behind him.

Robertson: Phi 3:12 - But I press on

But I press on ( diōkō de ).

He is not discouraged, but encouraged. He keeps up the chase (real idea in diōkō , as in 1Co 14:1; Rom 9:30; 1Ti 6:11).

Robertson: Phi 3:12 - If so be that

If so be that ( ei kai ).

"I follow after."The condition (third class, ei̇̇katalabō , second aorist active subjunctive of katalambanō ) is really a sort of purpose clause or aim. There are plenty of examples in the Koiné[28928]š of the use of ei and the subjunctive as here (Robertson, Grammar , p. 1017), "if I also may lay hold of that for which (Ephesians' hōi , purpose expressed by epi ) I was laid hold of (katelēmphthēn , first aorist passive of the same verb katalambanō ) by Christ Jesus."His conversion was the beginning, not the end of the chase.

Robertson: Phi 3:13 - Not yet

Not yet ( oupō ).

But some MSS. read ou (not).

Robertson: Phi 3:13 - To have apprehended

To have apprehended ( kateilēphenai ).

Perfect active infinitive of same verb katalambanō (perfective use of kata , to grasp completely). Surely denial enough.

Robertson: Phi 3:13 - But one thing

But one thing ( hen de ).

No verb in the Greek. We can supply poiō (I do) or diōkō (I keep on in the chase), but no verb is really needed. "When all is said, the greatest art is to limit and isolate oneself"(Goethe), concentration.

Robertson: Phi 3:13 - Forgetting the things which are behind

Forgetting the things which are behind ( ta men opisō epilanthanomenos ).

Common verb, usually with the genitive, but the accusative in the Koiné[28928]š is greatly revived with verbs. Paul can mean either his old pre-Christian life, his previous progress as a Christian, or both (all of it).

Robertson: Phi 3:13 - Stretching forward

Stretching forward ( epekteinomenos ).

Present direct middle participle of the old double compound epekteinō (stretching myself out towards). Metaphor of a runner leaning forward as he runs.

Robertson: Phi 3:14 - Toward the goal

Toward the goal ( kata skopon ).

"Down upon the goal,"who is Jesus himself to whom we must continually look as we run (Heb 12:2). The word means a watchman, then the goal or mark. Only here in N.T.

Robertson: Phi 3:14 - Unto the prize

Unto the prize ( eis to brabeion ).

Late word (Menander and inscriptions) from brabeus (umpire who awards the prize). In N.T. only here and 1Co 9:24.

Robertson: Phi 3:14 - Of the high calling

Of the high calling ( tēs anō klēseōs ).

Literally, "of the upward calling."The goal continually moves forward as we press on, but yet never out of sight.

Robertson: Phi 3:15 - As many as be perfect

As many as be perfect ( hosoi teleioi ).

Here the term teleioi means relative perfection, not the absolute perfection so pointedly denied in Phi 3:12. Paul here includes himself in the group of spiritual adults (see Heb 5:13).

Robertson: Phi 3:15 - Let us be thus minded

Let us be thus minded ( touto phronōmen ).

Present active volitive subjunctive of phroneō . "Let us keep on thinking this,"viz. that we have not yet attained absolute perfection.

Robertson: Phi 3:15 - If ye are otherwise minded

If ye are otherwise minded ( ei ti heterōs phroneite ).

Condition of first class, assumed as true. That is, if ye think that ye are absolutely perfect.

Robertson: Phi 3:15 - Shall God reveal unto you

Shall God reveal unto you ( ho theos humin apokalupsei ).

He turns such cases over to God. What else can he do with them?

Robertson: Phi 3:15 - Whereunto we have already come

Whereunto we have already come ( eis ho ephthasamen ).

First aorist active indicative of phthanō , originally to come before as in 1Th 4:15, but usually in the Koiné[28928]š simply to arrive, attain to, as here.

Robertson: Phi 3:16 - By that same rule let us walk

By that same rule let us walk ( tōi autōi stoichein )

Aleph A B do not have kanoni (rule). Besides stoichein is the absolute present active infinitive which sometimes occurs instead of the principal verb as in Rom 12:15. Paul means simply this that, having come thus far, the thing to do is to go "in the same path"(tōi autōi ) in which we have been travelling so far. A needed lesson for Christians weary with the monotony of routine in religious life and work.

Robertson: Phi 3:17 - Imitators together of me

Imitators together of me ( sunmimētai mou ).

Found only here so far, though Plato uses summimeisthai . "Vie with each other in imitating me"(Lightfoot).

Robertson: Phi 3:17 - Mark

Mark ( skopeite ).

Old verb from skopos (Phi 3:14). "Keep your eyes on me as goal."Mark and follow, not avoid as in Rom 16:17.

Robertson: Phi 3:17 - An ensample

An ensample ( tupon ).

Originally the impression left by a stroke (Joh 20:25), then a pattern (mould) as here (cf. 1Th 1:7; 1Co 10:6, 1Co 10:11; Rom 5:14; Rom 6:17).

Robertson: Phi 3:18 - I told you often

I told you often ( pollakis elegon ).

Imperfect active, repetition in Paul s warnings to them.

Robertson: Phi 3:18 - Even weeping

Even weeping ( kai klaiōn ).

Deep emotion as he dictated the letter and recalled these recreant followers of Christ (cf. 2Co 2:4).

Robertson: Phi 3:18 - The enemies of the cross of Christ

The enemies of the cross of Christ ( tous echthrous tou staurou tou Christou ).

Either the Judaizers who denied the value of the cross of Christ (Gal 5:11; Gal 6:12, Gal 6:14) or Epicurean antinomians whose loose living gave the lie to the cross of Christ (1Jo 2:4).

Robertson: Phi 3:19 - Whose god is the belly

Whose god is the belly ( hou to theos hē koilia ).

The comic poet Eupolis uses the rare word Koiliodaimōn for one who makes a god of his belly and Seneca speaks of one who abdomini servit . Sensuality in food, drink, sex then as now mastered some men. These men posed as Christians and gloried in their shame.

Robertson: Phi 3:19 - Who mind earthly things

Who mind earthly things ( hoi ta epigeia phronountes ).

Anacoluthon. The nominative does not refer to polloi at the beginning, but with the accusative tous echthrous in between. See note on Mar 12:40.

Robertson: Phi 3:20 - Our citizenship

Our citizenship ( hēmōn to politeuma ).

Old word from piliteuō (Phi 1:27), but only here in N.T. The inscriptions use it either for citizenship or for commonwealth. Paul was proud of his Roman citizenship and found it a protection. The Philippians were also proud of their Roman citizenship. But Christians are citizens of a kingdom not of this world (Joh 18:36). Milligan ( Vocabulary ) doubts if commentators are entitled to translate it here: "We are a colony of heaven,"because such a translation reverses the relation between the colony and the mother city. But certainly here Paul’ s heart is in heaven.

Robertson: Phi 3:20 - We wait for

We wait for ( apekdechometha ).

Rare and late double compound (perfective use of prepositions like wait out) which vividly pictures Paul’ s eagerness for the second coming of Christ as the normal attitude of the Christian colonist whose home is heaven.

Robertson: Phi 3:21 - Shall fashion anew

Shall fashion anew ( metaschēmatisei ).

Future active indicative of metaschēmatizō for which see note on 1Co 4:6; 2Co 11:13.

Robertson: Phi 3:21 - Conformed to

Conformed to ( summorphon ).

For which (sun , morphē ) see note on Rom 8:29, only N.T. examples. With associative instrumental case. The body of our state of humiliation will be made suitable to associate with the body of Christ’ s glory (1Co 15:54.).

Robertson: Phi 3:21 - According to the working

According to the working ( kata tēn energeian ).

"According to the energy."If any one doubts the power of Christ to do this transformation, Paul replies that he has power "even to subject all things unto himself."

Vincent: Phi 3:1 - Finally

Finally ( τὸ λοιπόν )

Lit., for the rest . Frequent in Paul's writings in introducing the conclusions of his letters. See 1Th 4:1; 2Th 3:1; 2Co 13:11, note. Evidently Paul was about to close his letter, when his thought was directed into another channel - the Judaizing teachers, and their attempts to undermine his influence.

Vincent: Phi 3:1 - Rejoice

Rejoice ( χαίρετε )

See on 2Co 13:11.

Vincent: Phi 3:1 - The same things

The same things

It is doubtful what is referred to. Possibly previous letters, or the dissensions in the Church.

Vincent: Phi 3:1 - Grievous

Grievous ( ὀκνηρόν )

Only here, Mat 25:26; Rom 12:11, in both instances rendered slothful . From ὀκνέω to delay . Hence, in classical Greek, shrinking , backward , unready . The idea of delay underlies the secondary sense, burdensome , troublesome . It is the vexation arising from weary waiting, and which appears in the middle English irken to tire or to become tired , cognate with the Latin urgere to press , and English irk , irksome , work .

Vincent: Phi 3:2 - Beware

Beware ( βλέπετε )

Lit., look to . Compare Mar 4:24; Mar 8:15; Luk 21:8.

Vincent: Phi 3:2 - Dogs

Dogs

Rev., correctly, the dogs, referring to a well-known party - the Judaizers. These were nominally Christians who accepted Jesus as the Messiah, but as the Savior of Israel only. They insisted that Christ's kingdom could be entered only through the gate of Judaism. Only circumcised converts were fully accepted by God. They appeared quite early in the history of the Church, and are those referred to in Act 15:1. Paul was the object of their special hatred and abuse. They challenged his birth, his authority, and his motives. " 'Paul must be destroyed,' was as truly their watchword as the cry for the destruction of Carthage had been of old to the Roman senator" (Stanley, " Sermons and Lectures on the Apostolic Age" ). These are referred to in Phi 1:16; and the whole passage in the present chapter, from Phi 3:3 to Phi 3:11, is worthy of study, being full of incidental hints lurking in single words, and not always apparent in our versions; hints which, while they illustrate the main point of the discussion, are also aimed at the assertions of the Judaizers. Dogs was a term of reproach among both Greeks and Jews. Homer uses it of both women and men, implying shamelessness in the one, and recklessness in the other. Thus Helen: " Brother-in-law of me, a mischief devising dog" (" Iliad," vi., 344). Teucer of Hector: " I cannot hit this raging dog" (" Iliad," viii., 298). Dr. Thomson says of the dogs in oriental towns: " They lie about the streets in such numbers as to render it difficult and often dangerous to pick one's way over and amongst them - a lean, hungry, and sinister brood. They have no owners, but upon some principle known only to themselves, they combine into gangs, each of which assumes jurisdiction over a particular street; and they attack with the utmost ferocity all canine intruders into their territory. In those contests, and especially during the night, they keep up an incessant barking and howling, such as is rarely heard in any European city. The imprecations of David upon his enemies derive their significance, therefore, from this reference to one of the most odious of oriental annoyances" (" Land and Book," Central palestine and Phoenicia, 593). See Psa 59:6; Psa 22:16. Being unclean animals, dogs were used to denote what was unholy or profane. So Mat 7:6; Rev 22:15. The Israelites are forbidden in Deuteronomy to bring the price of a dog into the house of God for any vow: Deu 23:18. The Gentiles of the Christian era were denominated " dogs" by the Jews, see Mat 15:26. Paul here retorts upon them their own epithet.

Vincent: Phi 3:2 - Evil workers

Evil workers

Compare deceitful workers , 2Co 11:13.

Vincent: Phi 3:2 - Concision

Concision ( κατατομήν )

Only here in the New Testament. The kindred verb occurs in the Septuagint only, of mutilations forbidden by the Mosaic law. See Lev 21:5. The noun here is a play upon περιτομή circumcision . It means mutilation . Paul bitterly characterizes those who were not of the true circumcision (Rom 2:28, Rom 2:29; Col 2:11; Eph 2:11) as merely mutilated . Compare Gal 5:12, where he uses ἀποκόπτειν to cut off , of those who would impose circumcision upon the Christian converts: " I would they would cut themselves off who trouble you;" that is, not merely circumcise, but mutilate themselves like the priests of Cybele.

Vincent: Phi 3:3 - The circumcision

The circumcision

The abstract term for those who are circumcised. In the Old Testament, circumcision was a metaphor for purity. See Lev 26:41; Deu 10:16; Deu 30:6; Eze 44:7, etc.

Vincent: Phi 3:3 - Worship God in the spirit

Worship God in the spirit ( πνεύματι Θεῷ λατρεύοντες )

The correct reading is θεοῦ of God . Render, as Rev., worship by the Spirit of God . Worship . See on Rev 22:3. Paul uses the Jews' word which denoted their own service of Jehovah as His peculiar people. Compare Act 26:7. A Jew would be scandalized by the application of this term to Christian worship.

Vincent: Phi 3:3 - Rejoice in Christ Jesus

Rejoice in Christ Jesus ( καυχώμενοι )

Rev., better, glory . Compare Jer 9:23, Jer 9:24, and 1Co 1:31; 2Co 10:17.

Vincent: Phi 3:3 - In the flesh

In the flesh

External privileges of every kind.

Vincent: Phi 3:4 - Though I might also have confidence

Though I might also have confidence ( καίπερ ἐγὼ ἔχων πεποίθησιν )

Lit., even though myself having confidence . Also should be joined with the flesh and rendered even . Rev., though I myself might have confidence even in the flesh . The sense of the translation might have is correct; but Paul puts it that he actually has confidence in the flesh, placing himself at the Jews' stand-point.

Vincent: Phi 3:4 - Thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust

Thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust ( δοκεῖ πεποιθέναι ).

The A.V. is needlessly verbose. Rev., much better, thinketh to have confidence .

Vincent: Phi 3:5 - Circumcised the eighth day

Circumcised the eighth day ( περιτομῇ ὀκταήμερος )

Lit., eight days old in circumcision ; or passing the eighth day . For the idiom, see on Joh 11:39, and compare Act 28:13. Converts to Judaism were circumcised in maturity: Ishmaelites in their thirteenth year. He was thus shown to be neither a heathen nor an Ishmaelite.

Vincent: Phi 3:5 - Of the stock of Israel

Of the stock of Israel

Not a proselyte, but of the original stock (γένους ); not grafted into the covenant race. A descendant of Jacob, not an Idumaean nor an Ishmaelite. For Israel , see on Act 3:12, and compare Rom 9:4; Rom 11:1; Joh 1:47. Descended not from Jacob , the supplanter , but from Israel , the prince of God . See Gen 32:28.

Vincent: Phi 3:5 - Of the tribe of Benjamin

Of the tribe of Benjamin

Not from one of the lost tribes, but from that which gave to Israel its first king; which alone was faithful to Judah at the separation under Rehoboam, and which had always held the post of honor in the army. See Jdg 5:14; Hos 5:8. Benjamin only of the twelve patriarchs was born in the land of promise. Mordecai, the deliverer of the Jews from Haman was a Benjamite. Paul's own original name, Saul , was probably derived from Saul the son of Kish, the Benjamite.

Vincent: Phi 3:5 - A Hebrew of the Hebrews

A Hebrew of the Hebrews ( Ἑβραῖος ἐξ Ἑβραίων )

The (Hebrews) of the A.V. gives a wrong coloring to the phrase, as if Paul were claiming to be preeminently a Hebrew among other Hebrews. He means a Hebrew from (ἐξ ) Hebrew parents . Rev., a Hebrew of Hebrews , which is no special improvement. The expression implies characteristics of language and manners. He might be an Israelite and yet a child of Greek-speaking Jews: but his parents had retained their native tongue and customs, and he himself, while understanding and speaking Greek, also spoke in Hebrew on occasion. See Act 21:40; Act 22:2.

Vincent: Phi 3:5 - The law

The law

The Mosaic law. See on Rom 2:12. The validity of that law was the principle upheld by the Judaizers.

Vincent: Phi 3:5 - A Pharisee

A Pharisee

See Act 23:6; Gal 1:14. Compare on the whole verse, 2Co 11:22.

Vincent: Phi 3:6 - Zeal

Zeal

Ironical.

Vincent: Phi 3:6 - Blameless

Blameless ( γενόμενος ἄμεμπτος )

The A.V. does not render the participle, proven or found . Rev., correctly, found blameless .

Vincent: Phi 3:7 - What things

What things ( ἅτινα )

The double relative classifies; things which came under the category of gain. Compare Gal 4:24; Col 2:23.

Vincent: Phi 3:7 - Gain

Gain ( κέρδη )

Lit., gains . So Rev., in margin, and better. The various items of privilege are regarded separately.

Vincent: Phi 3:7 - I counted loss

I counted loss ( ἥγημαι ζημίαν )

Better, as Rev., have counted . The perfect tense implies that he still counts them as loss. See on Phi 3:8. Notice the singular number loss , and the plural gains . The various gains are all counted as one loss.

Vincent: Phi 3:8 - Yea doubtless

Yea doubtless ( ἀλλὰ μὲν οὖν )

Ἁλλὰ but , Phi 3:7, puts that verse in direct contrast with the preceding verse. Ἁλλὰ yea or verily , in this verse affirms more than the preceding statement, while οὖν therefore (not rendered), collects and concludes from what has been previously said: Yea verily therefore .

Vincent: Phi 3:8 - All things

All things

An advance on those (things) of Phi 3:7.

Vincent: Phi 3:8 - For the excellency, etc

For the excellency, etc. ( διὰ )

On account of: because the knowledge of Christ is so much greater than all things else.

Vincent: Phi 3:8 - I have suffered the loss

I have suffered the loss ( ἐζημιώθην )

Rev., better, I suffered ; when I embraced Christianity. Lit., was mulcted . See on Mat 16:26, and see on cast away , Luk 9:25.

Vincent: Phi 3:8 - All things

All things ( τὰ πάντα )

Collectively. All things mentioned in Phi 3:5-7.

Vincent: Phi 3:8 - Dung

Dung ( σκύβαλα )

Rev., refuse . Either excrement or what is thrown away from the table ; leavings . The derivation is uncertain. According to some it is a contraction from ἐς κύνας βάλλω to throw to the dogs . See on filth , 1Co 4:13. Notice the repetition of gain , count , loss , all things , Christ .

Vincent: Phi 3:8 - Win

Win ( κερδήσω )

Rev., better, gain , corresponding with gain , Phi 3:7.

Vincent: Phi 3:9 - Be found

Be found ( εὑρεθῶ )

Discovered or proved to be. See on Phi 2:8. Compare Rom 7:10; Gal 2:17.

Vincent: Phi 3:9 - Mine own righteousness

Mine own righteousness ( ἐμὴν δικαιοσύνην )

Rev., correctly, a righteousness of mine own . The A.V. would require the article with ἐμὴν mine , and assumes the existence of a personal righteousness; whereas Paul says, not having any righteousness which can be called mine .

Vincent: Phi 3:9 - Which is of the law

Which is of the law ( τὴν ἐκ νόμου )

Rev., better, even that which is of the law ; thus bringing out the force of the article which defines the character of that righteousness which alone could be personal, viz., righteousness consisting in the strict fulfillment of the law.

Vincent: Phi 3:9 - Through the faith of Christ

Through the faith of Christ ( διὰ πίστεως Χριστοῦ )

Rev., better, through faith in Christ . Faith as opposed to the law. The change of prepositions, through (διὰ ) faith, and of (ἐκ ) the law, as turning on the distinction between faith represented as the medium , and the law as the source of justification, cannot be insisted upon as a rule, since both the prepositions are used with faith , as in Gal 2:16. Compare Rom 3:30; Rom 5:1.

Vincent: Phi 3:9 - Of God

Of God

Contrasted with my own .

Vincent: Phi 3:9 - By faith

By faith ( ἐπὶ )

Resting upon faith, or on the condition of . Compare Act 3:16.

Vincent: Phi 3:10 - That I may know Him

That I may know Him ( τοῦ γνῶναι αὐτὸν )

Know is taken up from knowledge , Phi 3:8, and is joined with be found in Him , qualified by not having , etc. That I may be found in Him not having, etc., but having the righteousness which is of God so as to know him , etc.

Vincent: Phi 3:10 - The power of His resurrection

The power of His resurrection ( τὴν δύναμιν τῆς ἀναστάσεως αὐτοῦ )

Power of His resurrection and fellowship of His sufferings furnish two specific points further defining the knowledge of Him . By the power of Christ's resurrection is meant the power which it exerts over believers. Here, more especially, according to the context, in assuring their present justification, and its outcome in their final glorification. See Rom 4:24, Rom 4:25; Rom 8:11, Rom 8:30; 1Co 15:17; Col 3:4; Phi 3:21.

Vincent: Phi 3:10 - Fellowship of His sufferings

Fellowship of His sufferings

Participation in Christ's sufferings. See Mat 20:22, Mat 20:23; and on Col 1:24. Compare 2Co 1:5; 1Pe 4:13. Faith makes a believer one with a suffering Christ.

Vincent: Phi 3:10 - Being made conformable

Being made conformable ( συμμορφιζόμενος )

Explaining the previous clause: by my becoming conformed , etc. Rev., becoming conformed . Compare 2Co 4:10; Rom 6:5. For conformed see on Mat 17:2, and see on form , Phi 2:6. The most radical conformity is thus indicated: not merely undergoing physical death like Christ, but conformity to the spirit and temper, the meekness and submissiveness of Christ; to His unselfish love and devotion, and His anguish over human sin.

Vincent: Phi 3:11 - If by any means

If by any means ( εἴ πως )

For the form of expression compare Rom 1:10; Rom 11:14. Not an expression of doubt, but of humility.

Vincent: Phi 3:11 - I might attain

I might attain ( καταντήσω )

See on Act 26:7.

Vincent: Phi 3:11 - The resurrection of the dead

The resurrection of the dead ( τὴν ἐξανάστασιν τὴν ἐκ νεκρῶν ).

Rev., more correctly, from the dead. Lit., the resurrection , that , namely , from the dead . Compare Act 4:2. This compound noun for resurrection is found only here, and expresses the rising from or from among (ἐξ ), which is further emphasized by the repetition of the preposition ἐκ ( from ). The kindred compound verb occurs Mar 12:19; Luk 20:28; Act 15:5, but in neither passage of raising the dead. The word here does not differ in meaning from ἀνάστασις , commonly used, except that the idea is more vividly conceived as a rising from the earth. See Mat 22:31; Luk 20:35. The phrase resurrection of or from the dead does not often occur in the Gospels, and resurrection ἐκ from the dead only twice in the New Testament, Act 4:2; 1Pe 1:3. For the phrase, see on Luk 16:31. Resurrection of the dead is a generic phrase, denoting the general resurrection of the dead, bad and good. Resurrection from the dead , in the only two passages where it occurs, signifies resurrection unto life. In 1Pe 1:3, it is applied to Christ.

Vincent: Phi 3:12 - Not as though

Not as though ( οὐχ ὅτι )

Lit., not that , as Rev. By this I do not mean to say that. For similar usage, see Joh 7:22; 2Co 1:24; Phi 4:17.

Vincent: Phi 3:12 - Had attained - were perfect

Had attained - were perfect ( ἔλαβον - τετελείωμαι )

Rev., have attained , am made perfect . There is a change of tenses which may be intentional; the aorist attained pointing to the definite period of his conversion, the perfect, am made perfect , referring to his present state. Neither when I became Christ's did I attain, nor, up to this time, have I been perfected. With attained supply the prize from Phi 3:14. Rev., am made perfect , is preferable, as preserving the passive form of the verb.

Vincent: Phi 3:12 - I follow after

I follow after ( διώκω )

Rev., better, press on . The A.V. gives the sense of chasing ; whereas the apostle's meaning is the pressing toward a fixed point. The continuous present would be better, I am pressing .

Vincent: Phi 3:12 - May apprehend

May apprehend ( καταλάβω )

American Rev., lay hold on . Neither A.V. nor Rev. give the force of καὶ also ; if I may also apprehend as well as pursue. For the verb, see on Joh 1:5.

Vincent: Phi 3:12 - For which also I am apprehended

For which also I am apprehended

Rev., correctly, was apprehended. American Rev., laid hold on . Paul's meaning is, " I would grasp that for which Christ grasped me. Paul's conversion was literally of the nature of a seizure . That for which Christ laid hold of him was indeed his mission to the Gentiles, but it was also his personal salvation, and it is of this that the context treats. Some render, seeing that also I was apprehended . Rev., in margin.

Vincent: Phi 3:13 - Myself

Myself

As others count themselves.

Vincent: Phi 3:14 - One thing

One thing

I do is supplied. Some supply I count , which is less appropriate, since what follows is concerned with action rather than with thinking or reckoning.

Vincent: Phi 3:14 - Reaching forth

Reaching forth ( ἐπεκτεινόμενος )

Only here in the New Testament. Ἑπί direction, after ; ἐκ forth ; τείνω to stretch . Rev., stretching forward . The metaphor is that of the footrace. Bengel says: " The eye outstrips and draws onward the hand, and the hand the foot."

Vincent: Phi 3:15 - Toward the mark

Toward the mark ( κατὰ σκοπὸν )

Rev., goal . Bear down upon (κατά ). Σκοπός mark , only here in the New Testament. See on look , Phi 2:4. Used in the classics of a mark for shooting at , or as a moral or intellectual end . A somewhat similar figure occurs 1Ti 1:6; 1Ti 6:21; 2Ti 2:18, in the verb ἀστοχέω to miss the aim or the shot . A.V., swerved and erred .

Vincent: Phi 3:15 - Prize

Prize ( βραβεῖον )

See on 1Co 9:24. Ignatius uses the word θέμα that which is deposited as a prize: a prize of money as distinct from the crown. " Be temperate as God's athlete. The prize is incorruption and eternal life" (to Polycarp, 2). Chrysostom says: " He that runs looks not at the spectators, but at the prize. Whether they be rich or poor, if one mock them, applaud them, insult them, throw stones at them - if one plunder their house, if they see children or wife or anything whatsoever - the runner is not turned aside, but is concerned only with his running and winning the prize. He that runneth stoppeth nowhere; since, if he be a little remiss, all is lost. He that runneth relaxeth in no respect before the end, but then, most of all, stretcheth over the course."

Vincent: Phi 3:15 - High calling

High calling ( ἄνω κλήσεως )

Lit., upward calling. A calling which is from heaven and to heaven. Κλῆσις calling , is habitually used in the New Testament of the act of calling . Compare Heb 3:1. The prize is bound up with the calling; promised when the call is issued, and given when the call is fulfilled.

Vincent: Phi 3:15 - Perfect

Perfect ( τέλειοι )

Mature Christians. See on 1Co 2:6.

Vincent: Phi 3:15 - Be thus minded

Be thus minded

Lit., think this , or have this mind , namely, to forget the past and to press forward.

Vincent: Phi 3:16 - Nevertheless

Nevertheless

Rev., only . Notwithstanding the minor points in which you may be otherwise minded.

Vincent: Phi 3:16 - Whereto we have already attained

Whereto we have already attained ( εἰς ὃ ἐφθάσαμεν )

Whatever real christian and moral attainment you may have made, let that serve as a rule for your further advance. The character of this standard of attainment is illustrated by the words in Phi 3:15, be thus minded , and by those in Phi 3:17, as ye have us for an example . The individual variations are not considered. He regards rather the collective development, and assumes the essentials of christian attainment on the part of his readers. For attained , see on we are come , 2Co 10:14.

Vincent: Phi 3:16 - Let us walk by the same rule

Let us walk by the same rule ( τῷ αὐτῷ στοιχεῖν )

The idea of a regulative standard is implied, but rule κανόνι must be omitted from the Greek text. Rev. brings out the antithesis better: whereunto we have already attained , by that same rule let us walk . Omit let us mind the same thing .

Vincent: Phi 3:17 - Followers together of me

Followers together of me ( συμμιμηταί μου )

Only here in the New Testament. Rev., more correctly, imitators . Compare 1Co 11:1. Not imitators of Christ in common with me , but be together , jointly , imitators of me .

Vincent: Phi 3:17 - Mark

Mark ( σκοπεῖτε )

See on looking , Phi 2:4.

Vincent: Phi 3:17 - So as

So as ( οὕτως καθὼς )

Rev., " which so walk even as ye have," etc. The two words are correlative. Briefly, imitate me and those who follow my example .

Vincent: Phi 3:18 - Many walk

Many walk

No word is supplied describing the character of their walk; but this is brought out by enemies of the cross of Christ , and in the details of Phi 3:19. The persons alluded to were probably those of Epicurean tendencies. This and Judaic formalism were the two prominent errors in the Philippian church.

Vincent: Phi 3:19 - Belly

Belly

Rom 16:18. So the Cyclops in Euripides: " My flocks which I sacrifice to no one but myself, and not to the gods, and to this my belly the greatest of the gods: for to eat and drink each day, and to give one's self no trouble, this is the god for wise men" (" Cyclops," 334-338).

Vincent: Phi 3:19 - Glory

Glory

That which they esteem glory.

Vincent: Phi 3:19 - Earthly things

Earthly things ( τὰ ἐπίγεια )

See on 2Co 5:1. Compare Col 3:2.

Vincent: Phi 3:20 - Conversation

Conversation ( παλίτευμα )

Only here in the New Testament. Rev., citizenship , commonwealth in margin. The rendering conversation , in the sense of manner of life (see on 1Pe 1:15), has no sufficient warrant; and that πολίτευμα commonwealth , is used interchangeably with πολιτεία citizenship , is not beyond question. Commonwealth gives a good and consistent sense. The state of which we are citizens is in heaven. See on Phi 1:27. Compare Plato: " That city of which we are the founders, and which exists in idea only; for I do not believe that there is such an one anywhere on earth. In Heaven, I replied, there is laid up the pattern of it methinks, which he who desires may behold, and beholding may settle himself there" (" Republic," 592).

Vincent: Phi 3:20 - Is in heaven

Is in heaven ( ὑπάρχει )

The use of this word instead of ἐστι is is peculiar. See on being , Phi 2:6. It has a backward look. It exists now in heaven, having been established there of old. Compare Heb 11:16; Joh 14:2.

Vincent: Phi 3:20 - We look for

We look for ( ἀπεκδεχόμεθα )

Rev., wait for . See on 1Co 1:7. Used only by Paul, and in Heb 9:28. Compare Rom 8:19, Rom 8:23, Rom 8:25; Gal 5:5. It indicates earnest, patient waiting and expectation. As in ἀποκαραδοκια earnest expectation , Phi 1:20, the compounded preposition ἀπό denotes the withdrawal of attention from inferior objects. The word is habitually used in the New Testament with reference to a future manifestation of the glory of Christ or of His people.

Vincent: Phi 3:20 - The Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ

The Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ ( σωτῆρα )

Savior has no article, and its emphatic position in the sentence indicates that it is to be taken predicatively with Jesus Christ , and not as the direct object of the verb. Hence render: we await as Savior the Lord , etc. Compare Heb 9:28, " To them that wait for Him will He appear a second time unto salvation ."

Vincent: Phi 3:21 - Shall change

Shall change ( μετασχηματίσει )

See on Mat 17:2; see on 1Co 4:6; 1Co 11:13. Also see on form , Phi 2:6; and see on fashion , Phi 2:8. The word thus indicates a change in what is outward and shifting - the body. Rev., correctly, shall fashion anew . Refashion (?).

Vincent: Phi 3:21 - Our vile body

Our vile body ( τὸ σῶμα τῆς ταπεινώσεως ἡμῶν )

Wrong. Render, as Rev., the body of our humiliation . See, for the vicious use of hendiadys in A.V., on Eph 1:19. Lightfoot observes that the A.V. seems to countenance the stoic contempt of the body. Compare Col 1:22. The biographer of Archbishop Whately relates that, during his last illness, one of his chaplains, watching, during the night at his bedside, in making some remark expressive of sympathy for his sufferings, quoted these words: " Who shall change our vile body." The Archbishop interrupted him with the request " Read the words." The chaplain read them from the English Bible; but he reiterated, " Read his own words." The chaplain gave the literal translation, " this body of our humiliation." " That's right, interrupted the Archbishop, " not vile - nothing that He made is vile."

Vincent: Phi 3:21 - That it may be fashioned like

That it may be fashioned like ( εἰς τὸ γενέσθαι αὐτὸ σύμμορφον ).

The words that it may be , or become , are omitted from the correct Greek text, so that the strict rendering is the body of our humiliation conformed , etc. The words are, however, properly inserted in A.V. and Rev. for the sake of perspicuity. Rev., correctly, conformed for fashioned like . Fashion belongs to the preceding verb. See on shall change . The adjective conformed is compounded with μορφή form (see on Phi 2:6, and see on made conformable , Phi 3:10). As the body of Christ's glory is a spiritual body, this word is appropriate to describe a conformation to what is more essential, permanent, and characteristic. See 1 Corinthians 15:35-53.

Vincent: Phi 3:21 - His glorious body

His glorious body ( τῷ σώματι τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ )

Wrong. Rev., correctly, the body of His glory . The body in which He appears in His present glorified state. See on Col 2:9.

Vincent: Phi 3:21 - The working whereby He is able

The working whereby He is able ( τὴν ἐνέργειαν τοῦ δύνασθαι )

Lit., the energy of His being able . Δύνασθαι expresses ability , faculty , natural ability , not necessarily manifest. Ἑνέργεια is power in exercise , used only of superhuman power. See on Joh 1:12; see on 2Pe 2:11. Hence, as Calvin remarks, " Paul notes not only the power of God as it resides in Him, but the power as it puts itself into act." See Eph 1:19, where four of the six words for power are used.

Vincent: Phi 3:21 - Subdue

Subdue ( ὑποτάξαι )

Rev., subject . See on Jam 4:7. It is more than merely subdue . It is to bring all things within His divine economy; to marshal them all under Himself in the new heaven and the new earth in which shall dwell righteousness. Hence the perfected heavenly state as depicted by John is thrown into the figure of a city , an organized commonwealth. The verb is thus in harmony with Phi 3:20. The work of God in Christ is therefore not only to transform, but to subject, and that not only the body, but all things. See 1Co 15:25-27; Rom 8:19, Rom 8:20; Eph 1:10, Eph 1:21, Eph 1:22; Eph 4:10.

Wesley: Phi 3:1 - The same things

Which you have heard before.

Wesley: Phi 3:2 - Beware of dogs

Unclean, unholy, rapacious men. The title which the Jews usually gave the gentiles, he returns upon themselves.

Wesley: Phi 3:2 - The concision

Circumcision being now ceased, the apostle will not call them the circumcision, but coins a term on purpose, taken from a Greek word used by the LXX, Lev 21:5, for such a cutting as God had forbidden.

Wesley: Phi 3:3 - For we

Christians.

Wesley: Phi 3:3 - Are the only true circumcision

The people now in covenant with God.

Wesley: Phi 3:3 - Who worship God in spirit

Not barely in the letter, but with the spiritual worship of inward holiness.

Wesley: Phi 3:3 - And glory in Christ Jesus

As the only cause of all our blessings.

Wesley: Phi 3:3 - And have no confidence in the flesh

In any outward advantage or prerogative.

Wesley: Phi 3:4 - Though I

He subjoins this in the singular number, because the Philippians could not say thus.

Wesley: Phi 3:5 - Circumcised the eighth day

Not at ripe age, as a proselyte.

Wesley: Phi 3:5 - Of the tribe of Benjamin

Sprung from the wife, not the handmaid.

Wesley: Phi 3:5 - An Hebrew of Hebrews

By both my parents; in everything, nation, religion, language. Touching the law, a pharisee - One of that sect who most accurately observe it.

Wesley: Phi 3:6

Having such a zeal for it as to persecute to the death those who did not observe it.

Wesley: Phi 3:6 - Touching the righteousness which is described and enjoined by the Law

That is, external observances, blameless.

Wesley: Phi 3:7

But all these things, which I then accounted gain, which were once my confidence, my glory, and joy, those, ever since I have believed, I have accounted loss, nothing worth in comparison of Christ.

Wesley: Phi 3:8

Yea, I still account both all these and all things else to be mere loss, compared to the inward, experimental knowledge of Christ, as my Lord, as my prophet, priest, and king, as teaching me wisdom, atoning for my sins, and reigning in my heart. To refer this to justification only, is miserably to pervert the whole scope of the words. They manifestly relate to sanctification also; yea, to that chiefly.

Wesley: Phi 3:8 - For whom I have actually suffered the loss of all things

Which the world loves, esteems, or admires; of which I am so far from repenting, that I still account them but dung - The discourse rises. Loss is sustained with patience, but dung is cast away with abhorrence. The Greek word signifies any, the vilest refuse of things, the dross of metals, the dregs of liquors, the excrements of animals, the most worthless scraps of meat, the basest offals, fit only for dogs.

Wesley: Phi 3:8 - That I may gain Christ

He that loses all things, not excepting himself, gains Christ, and is gained by Christ. And still there is more; which even St. Paul speaks of his having not yet gained.

Wesley: Phi 3:9 - And be found by God ingrafted in him, not having my own righteousness, which is of the law

That merely outward righteousness prescribed by the law, and performed by my own strength.

Wesley: Phi 3:9 - But that inward righteousness which is through faith

Which can flow from no other fountain.

Wesley: Phi 3:9 - The righteousness which is from God

From his almighty Spirit, not by my own strength, but by faith alone. Here also the apostle is far from speaking of justification only.

Wesley: Phi 3:10

The knowledge of Christ, mentioned in Phi 3:8, is here more largely explained.

Wesley: Phi 3:10 - That I may know him

As my complete Saviour.

Wesley: Phi 3:10 - And the power of his resurrection

Raising me from the death of sin, into all the life of love.

Wesley: Phi 3:10 - And the fellowship of his sufferings

Being crucified with him.

Wesley: Phi 3:10 - And made conformable to his death

So as to be dead to all things here below.

Wesley: Phi 3:11 - The resurrection of the dead

That is, the resurrection to glory.

Wesley: Phi 3:12 - Not that I have already attained

The prize. He here enters on a new set of metaphors, taken from a race. But observe how, in the utmost fervour, he retains his sobriety of spirit.

Wesley: Phi 3:12 - Or am already perfected

There is a difference between one that is perfect, and one that is perfected. The one is fitted for the race, Phi 3:15; the other, ready to receive the prize. But I pursue, if I may apprehend that - Perfect holiness, preparatory to glory. For, in order to which I was apprehended by Christ Jesus - Appearing to me in the way, Act 26:14. The speaking conditionally both here and in the preceding verse, implies no uncertainty, but only the difficulty of attaining.

Wesley: Phi 3:13

I do not account myself to have apprehended this already; to be already possessed of perfect holiness.

Wesley: Phi 3:14 - Forgetting the things that are behind

Even that part of the race which is already run.

Wesley: Phi 3:14 - And reaching forth unto

Literally, stretched out over the things that are before - Pursuing with the whole bent and vigour of my soul, perfect holiness and eternal glory.

Wesley: Phi 3:14 - In Christ Jesus

The author and finisher of every good thing.

Wesley: Phi 3:15 - Let us, as many as are perfect

Fit for the race, strong in faith; so it means here.

Wesley: Phi 3:15 - Be thus minded

Apply wholly to this one thing.

Wesley: Phi 3:15 - And if in anything ye

Who are not perfect, who are weak in faith.

Wesley: Phi 3:15 - Be otherwise minded

Pursuing other things. God, if ye desire it, shall reveal even this unto you - Will convince you of it.

Wesley: Phi 3:16

But let us take care not to lose the ground we have already gained. Let us walk by the same rule we have done hitherto.

Wesley: Phi 3:17 - Mark them

For your imitation.

Wesley: Phi 3:18 - Weeping

As he wrote.

Wesley: Phi 3:18 - Enemies of the cross of Christ

Such are all cowardly, all shamefaced, all delicate Christians.

Wesley: Phi 3:19 - Whose end is destruction

This is placed in the front, that what follows may be read with the greater horror.

Wesley: Phi 3:19 - Whose god is their belly

Whose supreme happiness lies in gratifying their sensual appetites.

Wesley: Phi 3:19 - Who mind

Relish, desire, seek, earthly things.

Wesley: Phi 3:20 - Our conversation

The Greek word is of a very extenslve meaning: our citizenship, our thoughts, our affections, are already in heaven.

Wesley: Phi 3:21 - Who will transform our vile body

Into the most perfect state, and the most beauteous form. It will then be purer than the unspotted firmament, brighter than the lustre of the stars and, which exceeds all parallel, which comprehends all perfection, like unto his glorious body - Like that wonderfully glorious body which he wears in his heavenly kingdom, and on his triumphant throne.

JFB: Phi 3:1 - Finally

Rather, not with the notion of time, but making a transition to another general subject, "Furthermore" [BENGEL and WAHL] as in 1Th 4:1. Literally, "As to what remains," &c. It is often used at the conclusion of Epistles for "finally" (Eph 6:10; 2Th 3:1). But it is not restricted to this meaning, as ALFORD thinks, supposing that Paul used it here intending to close his Epistle, but was led by the mention of the Judaizers into a more lengthened dissertation.

JFB: Phi 3:1 - the same things

Concerning "rejoicing," the prevailing feature in this Epistle (Phi 1:18, Phi 1:25; Phi 2:17; Phi 4:4, where, compare the "again I say," with "the same things" here).

JFB: Phi 3:1 - In the Lord

Marks the true ground of joy, in contrast with "having confidence in the flesh," or in any outward sensible matter of boasting (Phi 3:3).

JFB: Phi 3:1 - not grievous

"not irksome."

JFB: Phi 3:1 - for you it is safe

Spiritual joy is the best safety against error (Phi 3:2; Neh 8:10, end).

JFB: Phi 3:2 - Beware

Greek, "Have your eye on" so as to beware of. Contrast "mark," or "observe," namely, so as to follow Phi 3:17.

JFB: Phi 3:2 - dogs

Greek, "the dogs," namely, those impure persons "of whom I have told you often" (Phi 3:18-19); "the abominable" (compare Rev 21:8, with Rev 22:15; Mat 7:6; Tit 1:15-16): "dogs" in filthiness, unchastity, and snarling (Deu 23:18; Psa 59:6, Psa 59:14-15; 2Pe 2:22): especially "enemies of the cross of Christ" (Phi 3:18; Psa 22:16, Psa 22:20). The Jews regarded the Gentiles as "dogs" (Mat 15:26); but by their own unbelief they have ceased to be the true Israel, and are become "dogs" (compare Isa 56:10-11).

JFB: Phi 3:2 - evil workers

(2Co 11:13), "deceitful workers." Not simply "evildoers" are meant, but men who "worked," indeed, ostensibly for the Gospel, but worked for evil: "serving not our Lord, but their own belly" (Phi 3:19; compare Rom 16:18). Translate, "The evil workmen," that is, bad teachers (compare 2Ti 2:15).

JFB: Phi 3:2 - concision

Circumcision had now lost its spiritual significance, and was now become to those who rested on it as any ground of justification, a senseless mutilation. Christians have the only true circumcision, namely, that of the heart; legalists have only "concision," that is, the cutting off of the flesh. To make "cuttings in the flesh" was expressly prohibited by the law (Lev 21:5): it was a Gentile-heathenish practice (1Ki 18:28); yet this, writes Paul indignantly, is what these legalists are virtually doing in violation of the law. There is a remarkable gradation, says BIRKS [Horæ Apostolicæ] in Paul's language as to circumcision. In his first recorded discourse (Act 13:39), circumcision is not named, but implied as included in the law of Moses which cannot justify. Six or seven years later, in the Epistle to Galatians (Gal 3:3), the first Epistle in which it is named, its spiritual inefficiency is maintained against those Gentiles who, beginning in the Spirit, thought to be perfected in the flesh. Later, in Epistle to Romans (Rom 2:28-29), he goes farther, and claims the substance of it for every believer, assigning the shadow only of it to the unbelieving Jew. In Epistle to Colossians (Col 2:11; Col 3:11), still later, he expounds more fully the true circumcision as the exclusive privilege of the believer. Last of all here, the very name is denied to the legalist, and a term of reproach is substituted, "concision," or flesh-cutting. Once obligatory on all the covenant-people, then reduced to a mere national distinction, it was more and more associated in the apostle's experience with the open hostility of the Jews, and the perverse teaching of false brethren.

JFB: Phi 3:3

"We are the (real) circumcision" (Rom 2:25-29; Col 2:11).

JFB: Phi 3:3 - worship God in the Spirit

The oldest manuscripts read, "worship by the Spirit of God"; our religious service is rendered by the Spirit (Joh 4:23-24). Legal worship was outward, and consisted in outward acts, restricted to certain times and places. Christian worship is spiritual, flowing from the inworkings of the Holy Spirit, not relating to certain isolated acts, but embracing the whole life (Rom 12:1). In the former, men trusted in something human, whether descent from the theocratic nation, or the righteousness of the law, or mortification of "the flesh" ("Having confidence," or "glorying in the flesh") [NEANDER] (Rom 1:9).

JFB: Phi 3:3 - rejoice in Christ Jesus

"make our boast in Christ Jesus," not in the law: the ground of their boasting.

JFB: Phi 3:3 - have no confidence in the flesh

But in the Spirit.

JFB: Phi 3:4

"Although I (emphatical) might have confidence even in the flesh." Literally, "I having," but not using, "confidence in the flesh."

JFB: Phi 3:4 - I more

Have more "whereof I might have confidence in the flesh."

JFB: Phi 3:5

In three particulars he shows how he "might have confidence in the flesh" (Phi 3:4): (1) His pure Jewish blood. (2) His legal preciseness and high status as such. (3) His zeal for the law. The Greek is literally, "Being in circumcision an eighth day person," that is, not one circumcised in later life as a proselyte, but on the eighth day after birth, as the law directed in the case of Jew-born infants.

JFB: Phi 3:5 - of the tribe of Benjamin

Son of Rachel, not of the maid-servant [BENGEL].

JFB: Phi 3:5 - Hebrew of the Hebrews

Neither one or other parent being Gentile. The "Hebrew," wherever he dwelt, retained the language of his fathers. Thus Paul, though settled in Tarsus, a Greek city, calls himself a Hebrew. A "Grecian" or Hellenist, on the other hand, in the New Testament, is the term used for a "Greek-speaking" Jew [TRENCH].

JFB: Phi 3:5 - touching the law

That is, as to legal status and strictness.

JFB: Phi 3:5 - a Pharisee

"of the straitest sect" (Act 26:5).

JFB: Phi 3:6 - Concerning

Translate as before and after, "As touching Zeal" (compare Act 22:3; Act 26:9).

JFB: Phi 3:6 - blameless

Greek, "having become blameless" as to ceremonial righteousness: having attained in the eyes of man blameless legal perfection. As to the holiness before God, which is the inner and truest spirit of the law, and which flows from "the righteousness of God by faith," he on the contrary declares (Phi 3:12-14) that he has not attained perfection.

JFB: Phi 3:7 - gain

Rather as Greek, "gains"; including all possible advantages of outward status, which he had heretofore enjoyed.

JFB: Phi 3:7 - I counted

Greek, "I have counted for Christ's sake loss." He no longer uses the plural as in "gains"; for he counts them all but one great "loss" (Mat 16:26; Luk 9:25).

JFB: Phi 3:8 - Yea doubtless

The oldest manuscripts omit "doubtless" (Greek, "ge"): translate, "nay more." Not only "have I counted" those things just mentioned "loss for Christ's sake, but, moreover, I even DO count ALL things but loss," &c.

JFB: Phi 3:8 - for the excellency

Greek, "On account of the surpassing excellency (the supereminence above them all) of the knowledge of Christ Jesus."

JFB: Phi 3:8 - my Lord

Believing and loving appropriation of Him (Psa 63:1; Joh 20:28).

JFB: Phi 3:8 - for whom

"on account of whom."

JFB: Phi 3:8 - I have suffered the loss

Not merely I "counted" them "loss," but have actually lost them.

JFB: Phi 3:8 - all things

The Greek has the article, referring to the preceding "all things"; "I have suffered the loss of them all."

JFB: Phi 3:8 - dung

Greek, "refuse (such as excrements, dregs, dross) cast to the dogs," as the derivation expresses. A "loss" is of something having value; but "refuse" is thrown away as not worthy of being any more touched or looked at.

JFB: Phi 3:8 - win

Translate, to accord with the translation, Phi 3:7, "gain Christ." A man cannot make other things his "gain" or chief confidence, and at the same time "gain Christ." He who loses all things, and even himself, on account of Christ, gains Christ: Christ is His, and He is Christ's (Son 2:16; Son 6:3; Luk 9:23-24; 1Co 3:23).

JFB: Phi 3:9 - be found in him

"be found" at His coming again, living spiritually "in Him" as the element of my life. Once lost, I have been "found," and I hope to be perfectly "found" by Him (Luk 15:8).

JFB: Phi 3:9 - own righteousness . . . of the law

(Phi 3:6; Rom 10:3, Rom 10:5). "Of," that is, from.

JFB: Phi 3:9 - righteousness . . . of God by faith

Greek, "which is from God (resting) upon faith." Paul was transported from legal bondage into Christian freedom at once, and without any gradual transition. Hence, the bands of Pharisaism were loosed instantaneously; and opposition to Pharisaic Judaism took the place of opposition to the Gospel. Thus God's providence fitly prepared him for the work of overthrowing all idea of legal justification. "The righteousness of faith," in Paul's sense, is the righteousness or perfect holiness of Christ appropriated by faith, as the objective ground of confidence for the believer, and also as a new subjective principle of life. Hence it includes the essence of a new disposition, and may easily pass into the idea of sanctification, though the two ideas are originally distinct. It is not any arbitrary act of God, as if he treated as sinless a man persisting in sin, simply because he believes in Christ; but the objective on the part of God corresponds to the subjective on the part of man, namely, faith. The realization of the archetype of holiness through Christ contains the pledge that this shall be realized in all who are one with Him by faith, and are become the organs of His Spirit. Its germ is imparted to them in believing although the fruit of a life perfectly conformed to the Redeemer, can only be gradually developed in this life [NEANDER].

JFB: Phi 3:10 - That I may know him

Experimentally. The aim of the "righteousness" just mentioned. This verse resumes, and more fully explains, "the excellency of the knowledge of Christ" (Phi 3:8). To know HIM is more than merely to know a doctrine about Him. Believers are brought not only to redemption, but to the Redeemer Himself.

JFB: Phi 3:10 - the power of his resurrection

Assuring believers of their justification (Rom 4:25; 1Co 15:17), and raising them up spiritually with Him, by virtue of their identification with Him in this, as in all the acts of His redeeming work for us (Rom 6:4; Col 2:12; Col 3:1). The power of the Divine Spirit, which raised Him from literal death, is the same which raises believers from spiritual death now (Eph 1:19-20), and shall raise their bodies from literal death hereafter (Rom 8:11).

JFB: Phi 3:10 - the fellowship of his sufferings

By identification with Him in His sufferings and death, by imputation; also, in actually bearing the cross whatever is laid on us, after His example, and so "filling up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ" (Col 1:24); and in the will to bear aught for His sake (Mat 10:38; Mat 16:24; 2Ti 2:11). As He bore all our sufferings (Isa 53:4), so we participate in His.

JFB: Phi 3:10 - made conformable unto his death

"conformed to the likeness of His death," namely, by continued sufferings for His sake, and mortifying of the carnal self (Rom 8:29; 1Co 15:31; 2Co 4:10-12; Gal 2:20).

JFB: Phi 3:11 - If by any means

Not implying uncertainty of the issue, but the earnestness of the struggle of faith (1Co 9:26-27), and the urgent need of jealous self-watchfulness (1Co 10:12).

JFB: Phi 3:11 - attain unto the resurrection of the dead

The oldest manuscripts read, "the resurrection from (out of) the dead," namely, the first resurrection; that of believers at Christ's coming (1Co 15:23; 1Th 4:15; Rev 20:5-6). The Greek word occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. "The power of Christ's resurrection" (Rom 1:4), ensures the believer's attainment of the "resurrection from the (rest of the) dead" (compare Phi 3:20-21). Compare "accounted worthy to obtain the resurrection from the dead" (Luk 20:35). "The resurrection of the just" (Luk 14:14).

JFB: Phi 3:12

Translate, "Not that I," &c. (I do not wish to be understood as saying that, &c.).

JFB: Phi 3:12 - attained

"obtained," namely, a perfect knowledge of Christ, and of the power of His death, and fellowship of His sufferings, and a conformity to His death.

JFB: Phi 3:12 - either were already perfect

"or am already perfected," that is, crowned with the garland of victory, my course completed, and perfection absolutely reached. The image is that of a race course throughout. See 1Co 9:24; Heb 12:23. See TRENCH [Greek Synonyms of the New Testament].

JFB: Phi 3:12 - I follow after

"I press on."

JFB: Phi 3:12 - apprehend . . . apprehended

"If so be that I may lay hold on that (namely, the prize, Phi 3:14) for which also I was laid hold on by Christ" (namely, at my conversion, Son 1:4; 1Co 13:12).

JFB: Phi 3:12 - Jesus

Omitted in the oldest manuscripts. Paul was close to "apprehending" the prize (2Ti 4:7-8). Christ the Author, is also the Finisher of His people's "race."

JFB: Phi 3:13 - I

Whatever others count as to themselves. He who counts himself perfect, must deceive himself by calling sin infirmity (1Jo 1:8); at the same time, each must aim at perfection, to be a Christian at all (Mat 5:48).

JFB: Phi 3:13 - forgetting those things . . . behind

Looking back is sure to end in going back (Luk 9:62): So Lot's wife (Luk 17:32). If in stemming a current we cease pulling the oar against it, we are carried back. God's word to us is as it was to Israel, "Speak unto the children of Israel that they go forward" (Exo 14:15). The Bible is our landmark to show us whether we are progressing or retrograding.

JFB: Phi 3:13 - reaching forth

With hand and foot, like a runner in a race, and the body bent forward. The Christian is always humbled by the contrast between what he is and what he desires to be. The eye reaches before and draws on the hand, the hand reaches before and draws on the foot [BENGEL].

JFB: Phi 3:13 - unto

Towards (Heb 6:1).

JFB: Phi 3:14 - high calling

Literally, "the calling that is above" (Gal 4:26; Col 3:1): "the heavenly calling" (Heb 3:1). "The prize" is "the crown of righteousness" (1Co 9:24; 2Ti 4:8). Rev 2:10, "crown of life." 1Pe 5:4, "a crown of glory that fadeth not away." "The high," or "heavenly calling," is not restricted, as ALFORD thinks, to Paul's own calling as an apostle by the summons of God from heaven; but the common calling of all Christians to salvation in Christ, which coming from heaven invites us to heaven, whither accordingly our minds ought to be uplifted.

JFB: Phi 3:15 - therefore

Resuming Phi 3:3. "As many of us then, as are perfect," that is, full grown (no longer "babes") in the Christian life (Phi 3:3, "worshipping God in the Spirit, and having no confidence in the flesh"), 1Co 2:6, fully established in things of God. Here, by "perfect," he means one fully fit for running [BENGEL]; knowing and complying with the laws of the course (2Ti 2:5). Though "perfect" in this sense, he was not yet "made perfect" (Greek) in the sense intended in Phi 3:12, namely, "crowned with complete victory," and having attained absolute perfection.

JFB: Phi 3:15 - thus minded

Having the mind which he had described, Phi 3:7-14.

JFB: Phi 3:15 - otherwise minded

Having too high an opinion of yourselves as to your attainment of Christian perfection. "He who thinks that he has attained everything, hath nothing" [CHRYSOSTOM]. Probably, too, he refers to those who were tempted to think to attain to perfection by the law (Gal 3:3): who needed the warning (Phi 3:3), "Beware of the concision," though on account of their former piety, Paul hopes confidently (as in Gal 5:10) that God will reveal the path of right-mindedness to them. Paul taught externally God "reveals" the truth internally by His Spirit (Mat 11:25; Mat 16:17; 1Co 3:6).

JFB: Phi 3:15 - unto you

Who sincerely strive to do God's will (Joh 7:17; Eph 1:17).

JFB: Phi 3:16

The expectation of a new revelation is not to make you less careful in walking according to whatever degree of knowledge of divine things and perfection you have already attained. God makes further revelations to those who walk up to the revelations they already have (Hos 6:3).

JFB: Phi 3:16 - rule, let us mind the same thing

Omitted in the oldest manuscripts. Perhaps partly inserted from Gal 6:16, and Phi 2:2. Translate then, "Whereunto we have attained, let us walk on (a military term, march in order) in the same (the measure of knowledge already attained)."

JFB: Phi 3:17 - followers

Greek, "imitators together."

JFB: Phi 3:17 - of me

As I am an imitator of Christ (1Co 11:1): Imitate me no farther than as I imitate Christ. Or as BENGEL "My fellow imitators of God" or "Christ"; "imitators of Christ together with me" (see on Phi 2:22; Eph 5:1).

JFB: Phi 3:17 - mark

For imitation.

JFB: Phi 3:17 - which walk so as ye have us for an ensample

In English Version of the former clause, the translation of this clause is, "those who are walking so as ye have an example in us." But in BENGEL'S translation, "inasmuch as," or "since," instead of "as."

JFB: Phi 3:18 - many walk

In such a manner. Follow not evildoers, because they are "many" (Exo 23:2). Their numbers are rather a presumption against their being Christ's "little flock" (Luk 12:32).

JFB: Phi 3:18 - often

There is need of constant warning.

JFB: Phi 3:18 - weeping

(Rom 9:2). A hard tone in speaking of the inconsistencies of professors is the very opposite of Paul's spirit, and David's (Psa 119:136), and Jeremiah's (Jer 13:17). The Lord and His apostles, at the same time, speak more strongly against empty professors (as the Pharisees), than against open scoffers.

JFB: Phi 3:18 - enemies of the cross of Christ

In their practice, not in doctrine (Gal 6:14; Heb 6:6; Heb 10:29).

JFB: Phi 3:19 - destruction

Everlasting at Christ's coming. Phi 1:28, "perdition"; the opposite word is "Saviour" (Phi 3:20).

JFB: Phi 3:19 - end

Fixed doom.

JFB: Phi 3:19 - whose god is their belly

(Rom 16:18); hereafter to be destroyed by God (1Co 6:13). In contrast to our "body" (Phi 3:21), which our God, the Lord Jesus, shall "fashion like unto His glorious body." Their belly is now pampered, our body now wasted; then the respective states of both shall be reversed.

JFB: Phi 3:19 - glory is in their shame

As "glory" is often used in the Old Testament for God (Psa 106:20), so here it answers to "whose God," in the parallel clause; and "shame" is the Old Testament term contemptuously given to an idol (Jdg 6:32, Margin). Hos 4:7 seems to be referred to by Paul (compare Rom 1:32). There seems no allusion to circumcision, as no longer glorious, but a shame to them (Phi 3:2). The reference of the immediate context is to sensuality, and carnality in general.

JFB: Phi 3:19 - mind earthly things

(Rom 8:5). In contrast to Phi 3:20; Col 3:2.

JFB: Phi 3:20 - our conversation

Rather, "our state" or "country"; our citizenship: our life as citizens. We are but pilgrims on earth; how then should we "mind earthly things?" (Phi 3:19; Heb 11:9-10, Heb 11:13-16). Roman citizenship was then highly prized; how much more should the heavenly citizenship (Act 22:28; compare Luk 10:20)?

JFB: Phi 3:20 - is

Greek, "has its existence."

JFB: Phi 3:20 - in heaven

Greek, "in the heavens."

JFB: Phi 3:20 - look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ

"We wait for (so the same Greek is translated, Rom 8:19) the Lord Jesus as a (that is, in the capacity of a) Saviour" (Heb 9:28). That He is "the Lord," now exalted above every name, assures our expectation (Phi 2:9-11). Our High Priest is gone up into the Holy of Holies not made with hands, there to atone for us; and as the Israelites stood outside the tabernacle, expecting Aaron's return (compare Luk 1:21), so must we look unto the heavens expecting Christ thence.

JFB: Phi 3:21

Greek, "Who shall transfigure the body of our humiliation (namely, in which our humiliation has place, 2Co 4:10; Eph 2:19; 2Ti 2:12), that it may be conformed unto the body of His glory (namely, in which His glory is manifested), according to the effectual working whereby," &c. Not only shall He come as our "Saviour," but also as our Glorifier.

JFB: Phi 3:21 - even

Not only to make the body like His own, but "to subdue all things," even death itself, as well as Satan and sin. He gave a sample of the coming transfiguration on the mount (Mat 17:1, &c.). Not a change of identity, but of fashion or form (Psa 17:15; 1Co 15:51). Our spiritual resurrection now is the pledge of our bodily resurrection to glory hereafter (Phi 3:20; Rom 8:11). As Christ's glorified body was essentially identical with His body of humiliation; so our resurrection bodies as believers, since they shall be like His, shall be identical essentially with our present bodies, and yet "spiritual bodies" (1Co 15:42-44). Our "hope" is, that Christ, by His rising from the dead, hath obtained the power, and is become the pattern, of our resurrection (Mic 2:13).

Clarke: Phi 3:1 - Rejoice in the Lord

Rejoice in the Lord - Be always happy; but let that happiness be such as you derive from the Lord

Clarke: Phi 3:1 - To write the same things

To write the same things - He means those which he had formerly preached to them or to other Churches, for he had but one Gospel; and we may rest assured that the doctrine of this epistle was the same with his preaching

Clarke: Phi 3:1 - For you it is safe

For you it is safe - It is much better to have these Divine things committed to writing than confided to memory. By the latter they may be either lost or corrupted, by the former they will be preserved.

Clarke: Phi 3:2 - Beware of dogs

Beware of dogs - The Jews, who have here the same appellative which they formerly gave to the Gentiles: because the Gentiles were not included in the covenant, they called them Dogs; and themselves, the children of the Most High. Now, they are cast out of the covenant and the Gentiles taken in; therefore they are the dogs, and the Gentiles the children

Clarke: Phi 3:2 - Evil workers

Evil workers - Judaizing teachers, who endeavored to pervert the Gospel

Clarke: Phi 3:2 - The concision

The concision - Κατατομην· The cutting or excision; not περιτομην, the circumcision: the word is used by the apostle to degrade the pretensions which the Jews made to sanctity by the cutting in their flesh. Circumcision was an honorable thing, for it was a sign of the covenant; but as they now had rejected the new covenant, their circumcision was rendered uncircumcision, and is termed a cutting, by way of degradation.

Clarke: Phi 3:3 - We are the circumcision

We are the circumcision - We, who have embraced the faith of Christ crucified, are now entered into the new covenant, and according to that new covenant, worship God in the Spirit, exulting, καυχωμενοι, making our boast of Christ Jesus, as our only Savior, having no confidence in the flesh - in any outward rite or ceremony prescribed by the Jewish institutions.

Clarke: Phi 3:4 - Though I might also have confidence

Though I might also have confidence - If any of them have any cause to boast in outward rites and privileges, I have as much; yea, more.

Clarke: Phi 3:5 - Circumcised the eighth day

Circumcised the eighth day - This was the time that the law required the males to be circumcised; and we find, from Gen 17:14, both in the Samaritan Pentateuch and in the Septuagint, though the clause is now lost out of the common Hebrew text, that the male child, which is not circumcised the eighth day, shall be cut off from among his people: this precept was literally observed in the case of St. Paul

Clarke: Phi 3:5 - Of the stock of Israel

Of the stock of Israel - Regularly descended from the patriarch Jacob

Clarke: Phi 3:5 - Of the tribe of Benjamin

Of the tribe of Benjamin - The most favourite son of that patriarch and a tribe that did not revolt with Jeroboam, 1Ki 12:21, nor pollute the worship of God by idolatry

Clarke: Phi 3:5 - A Hebrew of the Hebrews

A Hebrew of the Hebrews - Though born in a heathen country, Tarsus, yet both my parents were Hebrews; nor has there ever been any strange blood mixed with that of our family

Clarke: Phi 3:5 - Touching the law, a Pharisee

Touching the law, a Pharisee - One that not only received the law and the prophets as coming from God; but belonged to that sect which, of all others, was most scrupulously attached to it.

Clarke: Phi 3:6 - Concerning zeal

Concerning zeal - As to my zeal for Pharisaism, I gave the fullest proof of it by persecuting the Church of Christ; and this is known to all my countrymen

Clarke: Phi 3:6 - Touching the righteousness

Touching the righteousness - And as to that plan of justification, which justification the Jews say is to be obtained by an observance of the law, I have done every thing so conscientiously from my youth up, that in this respect I am blameless; and may, with more confidence than most of them; expect that justification which the law appears to promise.

Clarke: Phi 3:7 - But what things were gain

But what things were gain - The credit and respect which I had, as being zealously attached to the law, and to the traditions of the elders, I counted loss for Christ - I saw that this could stand me in no stead; that all my acts of righteousness were nothing on which I could depend for salvation; and that Christ crucified could alone profit me; for I found that it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sin.

Clarke: Phi 3:8 - I count all things but loss

I count all things but loss - Not only my Jewish privileges, but all others of every kind; with every thing that men count valuable or gainful, or on which they usually depend for salvation

Clarke: Phi 3:8 - The excellency of the knowledge of Christ

The excellency of the knowledge of Christ - That superior light, information, and blessedness which come through the Gospel of Jesus Christ; justification through his blood, sanctification by his Spirit, and eternal glory through his merits and intercession. These are the blessings held out to us by the Gospel, of which, and the law, Jesus Christ is the sum and substance

Clarke: Phi 3:8 - I have suffered the loss of all things

I have suffered the loss of all things - Some translate δι ’ ον τα παντα εζημιωθην, for whom I have thrown away all things - I have made a voluntary choice of Christ, his cross, his poverty, and his reproach; and for these I have freely sacrificed all I had from the world, and all I could expect from it

Clarke: Phi 3:8 - And do count them but dung

And do count them but dung - The word σκυβαλα means the vilest dross or refuse of any thing; the worst excrement. The word shows how utterly insignificant and unavailing, in point of salvation, the apostle esteemed every thing but the Gospel of Jesus. With his best things he freely parted, judging them all loss while put in the place of Christ crucified; and Christ crucified he esteemed infinite gain, when compared with all the rest. Of the utter unavailableness of any thing but Christ to save the soul the Apostle Paul stands as an incontrovertible proof. Could the law have done any thing, the apostle must have known it. He tried, and found it vanity; he tried the Gospel system, and found it the power of God to his salvation. By losing all that the world calls excellent, he gained Christ, and endless salvation through him. Of the glorious influence of the Gospel he is an unimpeachable witness. See the concluding observations on the 9th chapter of the Acts, (Act 9:43 (note)) on the character of St. Paul.

Clarke: Phi 3:9 - And be found in him

And be found in him - Be found a believer in Christ, not having mine own righteousness - not trusting in any thing I have done or could do, in order to my salvation; relying on no scheme of justification, set up either formerly by myself or by others

Clarke: Phi 3:9 - But that which is through the faith of Christ

But that which is through the faith of Christ - That justification which is received by faith through the atonement made by Christ

Clarke: Phi 3:9 - The righteousness which is of God

The righteousness which is of God - God’ s method of justifying sinners through faith in his Son. See the notes on Rom 3:21, Rom 3:23 (note), Rom 3:25 (note), where this subject is treated at large.

Clarke: Phi 3:10 - That I may know him

That I may know him - To be the true and promised Messiah, and experience all that salvation which he has bought by his blood

Clarke: Phi 3:10 - The power of his resurrection

The power of his resurrection - In having this body of my humiliation raised from death, and made like unto his glorious body. This seems to be the sole meaning of the apostle; for it is in virtue of Christ’ s resurrection that we are to be raised incorruptible and immortal

Clarke: Phi 3:10 - And the fellowship of his sufferings

And the fellowship of his sufferings - Christ died, not only as a victim for sin, but as a martyr to the truth. No creature can have fellowship with him in his vicarious sufferings; as a martyr to the truth, St. Paul wished to imitate him. Not only in the apostle, but in the primitive Christians generally, there seems to have been a strong desire after martyrdom.

Clarke: Phi 3:11 - The resurrection of the dead

The resurrection of the dead - That is, the resurrection of those who, having died in the Lord, rise to glory and honor; and hence St. Paul uses a peculiar word which occurs no where else in the New Testament, εξαναστασις . The words, as they stand in the best MSS., are as follow: εις την εξαναστασιν την εκ νεκρων, to that resurrection which is of the dead. This glorious resurrection, and perhaps peculiarly glorious in the case of martyrs, is that to which St. Paul aspired. The word αναστασις signifies the resurrection in general, both of the just and unjust; εξαναστασις may signify that of the blessed only.

Clarke: Phi 3:12 - Not as though I had already attained

Not as though I had already attained - Ουχ ὁτι ηδη ελαβον· For I have not yet received the prize; I am not glorified, for I have not finished my course; and I have a conflict still to maintain, and the issue will prove whether I should be crowned. From the beginning of the 11th to the end of the 17th verse there is one continued allusion to the contests at the Olympic games; exercises with which, and their laws, the Philippians were well acquainted

Clarke: Phi 3:12 - Either were already perfect

Either were already perfect - Η ηδη τετελειωμαι· Nor am I yet perfect; I am not yet crowned, in consequence of having suffered martyrdom. I am quite satisfied that the apostle here alludes to the Olympic games, and the word τετελειωμαι is the proof; for τελειωθηναι is spoken of those who have completed their race, reached the goal, and are honored with the prize. Thus it is used by Philo, Allegoriar. lib. iii. page 101, edit. Mangey: Ποτε ουν, ω ψυχη, μαλιστα νεκροφορειν ( νικοφορειν ) σεαυτην ὑποληψη· αραγε ουχ ὁταν τελειωθῃς και βραβειων και στεφανων αξιωθῃς "When is it, O soul, that thou shalt appear to have the victory? Is it not when thou shalt be perfected, (have completed thy course by death), and be honored with prizes and crowns?

That τελειωσις signified martyrdom, we learn most expressly from Clemens Alexand., Stromata, lib. iii. page 480, where he has these remarkable words: -

τελειωσιν μαρτυριον καλουμεν, ουχ ὁτι τελος του βιου ὁ ανθρωπος ελεβεν, ῳς οἱ λοιποι, αλλ ’ ὁτι τελειον εργον αγαπης ενεδειξατο·

"We call martyrdom τελειωσις, or perfection, not because man receives it as the end, τελος, or completion of life; but because it is the consummation τελειος, of the work of charity.

So Basil the great, Hom. in Psa 116:13

Ποτηριον σωτηριου ληψομαι· τουτεστι, διψων επι την δια του μαρτυριου τελειωσιν ερχομαι·

"I will receive the cup of salvation; that is, thirsting and earnestly desiring to come, by martyrdom, to the consummation.

So Oecumenius, on Acts 28

Παντα ετη απο της κλησεως του Παυλου, μεχρι της τελειωσεως αυτου, τριακοντα και πεντε·

"All the years of Paul, from his calling to his martyrdom, were thirty and five.

And in Balsamon, Can. i. Ancyran., page 764

Τον της τελειωσεως στεφανον αναδησασθαι

"To be crowned with the crown of martyrdom.

Eusebius, Hist. Eccles, lib. vii. cap. 13, uses the word τελειουσθαι to express to suffer martyrdom. I have been the more particular here, because some critics have denied that the word has any such signification. See Suicer, Rosenmuller, Macknight, etc

St. Paul, therefore, is not speaking here of any deficiency in his own grace, or spiritual state; he does not mean by not being yet perfect, that he had a body of sin and death cleaving to him, and was still polluted with indwelling sin, as some have most falsely and dangerously imagined; he speaks of his not having terminated his course by martyrdom, which he knew would sooner or later be the case. This he considered as the τελειωσις, or perfection, of his whole career, and was led to view every thing as imperfect or unfinished till this had taken place

Clarke: Phi 3:12 - But I follow after

But I follow after - Διωκω δε· But I pursue; several are gone before me in this glorious way, and have obtained the crown of martyrdom; I am hurrying after them

Clarke: Phi 3:12 - That I may apprehend

That I may apprehend - That I may receive those blessings to which I am called by Christ Jesus. There is still an allusion here to the stadium, and exercises there: the apostle considers Christ as the brabeus, or judge in the games, who proclaimed the victor, and distributed the prizes; and he represents himself as being introduced by this very brabeus, or judge, into the contest; and this brabeus brought him in with the design to crown him, if he contended faithfully. To complete this faithful contention is what he has in view; that he may apprehend, or lay hold on that for which he had been apprehended, or taken by the hand by Christ who had converted, strengthened, and endowed him with apostolical powers, that he might fight the good fight of faith, and lay hold on eternal life.

Clarke: Phi 3:13 - I count not myself to have apprehended

I count not myself to have apprehended - Whatever gifts, graces, or honors I may have received from Jesus Christ, I consider every thing as incomplete till I have finished my course, got this crown, and have my body raised and fashioned after his glorious body

Clarke: Phi 3:13 - This one thing I do

This one thing I do - This is the concern, as it is the sole business, of my life

Clarke: Phi 3:13 - Forgetting those things which are behind

Forgetting those things which are behind - My conduct is not regulated nor influenced by that of others; I consider my calling, my Master, my work, and my end. If others think they have time to loiter or trifle, I have none: time is flying; eternity is at hand; and my all is at stake

Clarke: Phi 3:13 - Reaching forth

Reaching forth - The Greek word επεκτεινομενος points out the strong exertions made in the race; every muscle and nerve is exerted, and he puts forth every particle of his strength in running. He was running for life, and running for his life.

Clarke: Phi 3:14 - I press toward the mark

I press toward the mark - Κατα σκοπον διωκω· I pursue along the line; this is a reference to the white line that marked the ground in the stadium, from the starting place to the goal, on which the runners were obliged to keep their eye fixed; for they who transgressed or went beyond this line did not run lawfully, and were not crowned, even though they got first to the goal. See the concluding observations on 1Co 9:27

What is called σκοπος, mark or scope, here, is called κανων, the line, i.e. the marked line, Phi 3:16. When it was said to Diogenes, the cynic, "Thou art now an old man, rest from thy labors;"to this he answered: Ει δολιχον εδραμον, προς τῳ τελει εδει με ανειναι, και μη μαλλον επιτειναι ; "If I have run long in the race, will it become me to slacken my pace when come near the end; should I not rather stretch forward?"Diog. Laert., lib. vi. cap. 2. sec. 6

Clarke: Phi 3:14 - For the prize of the high calling of God

For the prize of the high calling of God - The reward which God from above calls me, by Christ Jesus, to receive. The apostle still keeps in view his crown of martyrdom and his glorious resurrection.

Clarke: Phi 3:15 - As many as be perfect

As many as be perfect - As many as are thoroughly instructed in Divine things, who have cast off all dependence on the law and on every other system for salvation, and who discern God calling them from above by Christ Jesus; be thus minded; be intensely in earnest for eternal life, nor ever halt till the race is finished

The word τελειοι, perfect, is taken here in the same sense in which it is taken 1Co 14:20 : - Be not Children in understanding - but in understanding be ye Men, τελειοι γινεσθε, be ye perfect - thoroughly instructed, deeply experienced. 1Co 2:6 : - We speak wisdom among the perfect, εν τοις τελειοις, among those who are fully instructed, adults in Christian knowledge. Eph 4:13 : - Till we all come - unto a perfect man, εις ανδρα τελειον, to the state of adults in Christianity. Heb 5:14 : - But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, τελειων, the perfect - those who are thoroughly instructed and experienced in Divine things. Let us therefore, says the apostle, as many as be perfect - as have entered fully into the spirit and design of the Gospel, be thus minded, viz. Forget the things which are behind, and stretch forward along the mark for the prize

Clarke: Phi 3:15 - If in any thing ye be otherwise minded

If in any thing ye be otherwise minded - If ye have not yet entered into the full spirit and design of this Gospel, if any of you have yet remaining any doubts relative to Jewish ordinances, or their expediency in Christianity, God shall reveal even this unto you; for while you are sincere and upright, God will take care that ye shall have full instruction in these Divine things.

Clarke: Phi 3:16 - Whereto we have already attained

Whereto we have already attained - Let us not lose that part of the race which we have already run, let us walk by the same rule - let us keep the white line continually in view, let us mind the same thing, always considering the glorious prize which is held out by God through Christ Jesus to animate and encourage us

The MSS., versions and fathers of the Alexandrian recension or edition, and which are supposed by Griesbach and others to contain the purest text, omit the words κανονι, το αυτο φρονειν, and read the verse thus: Whereunto we have already attained let us walk; or, according to what we have already attained, let us regulate our life, There is so much disagreement about the above words in the MSS., etc., that most critics consider them as a sort of gloss, which never made an original part of the text. Dr. White says, Certissime delenda ; "Most certainly they should be obliterated."

Clarke: Phi 3:17 - Brethren, be followers - of me

Brethren, be followers - of me - In the things of Christ let me be your line, and my writings preaching, and conduct, your rule

Clarke: Phi 3:17 - And mark them

And mark them - Σκοπειτε . Still alluding to the line in the stadium, keep your eye steadily fixed on those who walk - live, as ye have us - myself, Timothy, and Epaphroditus, for an ensample.

Clarke: Phi 3:18 - For many walk, etc

For many walk, etc - The Judaizing teachers continue to preach, who wish to incorporate circumcision, and other ordinances of the law, with the Gospel

Clarke: Phi 3:18 - They are the enemies of the cross of Christ

They are the enemies of the cross of Christ - They rather attribute justification to the Levitical sacrifices, than to the sacrificial death of Christ; and thus they are enemies to that cross, and will not suffer persecution for its sake. They please the world, and are in no danger of reproach.

Clarke: Phi 3:19 - Whose end is destruction

Whose end is destruction - This is the issue of their doctrine and of their conduct. They are here described by three characters

1.    Their god is their belly - they live not in any reference to eternity; their religion is for time; they make a gain of godliness; and live only to eat, drink, and be merry

2.    Their glory is in their shame - they lay it down as a proof of their address, that they can fare sumptuously every day, in consequence of preaching a doctrine which flatters the passions of their hearers

3.    They mind earthly things - their whole study and attention are taken up with earthly matters; they are given to the flesh and its lusts; they have no spirituality, nor do they believe that there is or can be any intercourse between God and the souls of men. But their lasciviousness and uncleanness seem to be principally intended. See Kypke

Despicable as these men were, the apostle’ s heart was deeply pained on their account

1.    Because they held and taught a false creed

2.    Because they perverted many by that teaching; and

3.    Because they themselves were perishing through it.

Clarke: Phi 3:20 - Our conversation is in heaven

Our conversation is in heaven - Ἡμως - το πολιτευμα· Our city, or citizenship, or civil rights. The word properly signifies the administration, government, or form of a republic or state; and is thus used by Demosthenes, page 107, 25, and 262, 27. Edit. Reiske. It signifies also a republic, a city, or the inhabitants of any city or place; or a society of persons living in the same place, and under the same rules and laws. See more in Schleusner

While those gross and Jewish teachers have no city but what is on earth; no rights but what are derived from their secular connections; no society but what is made up of men like themselves, who mind earthly things, and whose belly is their god, We have a heavenly city, the New Jerusalem; we have rights and privileges which are heavenly and eternal; and our society or fellowship is with God the Father, Son, and Spirit, the spirits of just men made perfect, and the whole Church of the first-born. We have crucified the flesh with its affections and lusts; and regard not the body, which we know must perish, but which we confidently expect shall be raised from death and corruption into a state of immortal glory.

Clarke: Phi 3:21 - Who shall change our vile body

Who shall change our vile body - Ὁς μετασχηματισει το σωμα της ταπεινωσες ἡμων· Who will refashion, or alter the fashion and condition of, the body of our humiliation; this body that is dead - adjudged to death because of sin, and must be putrefied, dissolved, and decomposed

Clarke: Phi 3:21 - That it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body

That it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body - Εις το γενεσθαι αυτο συμμορφον τῳ σωματι της δοξης αυτου· That it may bear a similar form to the body of his glory. That is: the bodies of true believers shall be raised up at the great day in the same likeness, immortality, and glory, of the glorified humanity of Jesus Christ; and be so thoroughly changed, as to be not only capable through their immortality of eternally existing, but also of the infinite spiritual enjoyments at the right hand of God

Clarke: Phi 3:21 - According to the working

According to the working - Κατα την ενεργειαν· According to that energy, by which he can bring all things under subjection to himself. Thus we find that the resurrection of the body is attributed to that power which governs and subdues all things, for nothing less than the energy that produced the human body at the beginning, can restore it from its lapsed and degraded state into that state of glory which it had at its creation, and render it capable of enjoying God throughout eternity. The thought of this glorious consummation was a subject of the highest joy and confidence amongst the primitive Christian. This earth was not their home; and they passed through things temporal so as not to lose those which were eternal

1.    The preceding chapter, to which the first verse of the succeeding should be joined, contains a fund of matter the most interesting that can well be conceived. The apostle seems to stand on the verge of eternity, and to have both worlds opened to his view. The one he sees to be the place in which a preparation for the other is to be attained. In the one he sees the starting place, where the Christian is to commence his race; in the other the goal at which his course terminates, and the prize which he is there to obtain. One is the place from and over which the Christian is to run; the other is that to which he is to direct his course, and in which he is to receive infinite blessedness. In the one he sees all manner of temptations and hinderances, and dangers standing thick through all the ground; in the other he sees the forerunner, the Lord Jesus, who has entered into the heaven of heavens for him, through whom God calls him from above, της ανω κλησεως του Θεου, Phi 3:14 : for what he hears in the Gospel, and what he sees by faith, is the calling of God from above; and therefore he departs from this, for this is not his rest

2.    The nearer a faithful soul comes to the verge of eternity, the more the light and influence of heaven are poured out upon it: time and life are fast sinking away into the shades of death and darkness; and the effulgence of the dawning glory of the eternal world is beginning to illustrate the blessed state of the genuine Christian, and to render clear and intelligible those counsels of God, partly displayed in various inextricable providences, and partly revealed and seen as through a glass darkly in his own sacred word. Unutterable glories now begin to burst forth; pains, afflictions, persecutions, wants, distresses, sickness, and death, in any or all of its forms, are exhibited as the way to the kingdom, and as having in the order of God an ineffable glory for their result. Here are the wisdom, power, and mercy of God! Here, the patience, perseverance, and glory of the saints! Reader, is not earth and its concerns lost in the effulgence of this glory? Arise and depart, for this is not thy rest.

Calvin: Phi 3:1 - Rejoice in the Lord // To write the same thing to you

1.Rejoice in the Lord This is a conclusion from what goes before, for as Satan never ceased to distress them with daily rumors, he bids them divest themselves of anxiety and be of good courage. In this way he exhorts them to constancy, that they may not fall back from the doctrine which they have once received. The phrase henceforward denotes a continued course, that, in the midst of many hinderances, they may not cease to exercise holy joy. It is a rare excellence when Satan endeavors to exasperate us ¹⁶⁴ by means of the bitterness of the cross, so as to make God’s name unpleasant ¹⁶⁵, to take such satisfaction in the simple tasting of God’s grace, that all annoyances, sorrows, anxieties, and griefs are sweetened.

To write the same thing to you Here he begins to speak of the false Apostles, with whom, however, he does not fight hand to hand, as in the Epistle to the Galatians, but in a few words severely ¹⁶⁶ exposes them, as far as was sufficient. For as they had simply made an attempt upon the Philippians, and had not made an inroad upon them, ¹⁶⁷ it was not so necessary to enter into any regular disputation with the view of refuting errors, to which they had never lent an ear. Hence he simply admonishes them to be diligent and attentive in detecting impostors and guarding against them.

In the first place, however, he calls them dogs; the metaphor being grounded upon this — that, for the sake of filling their belly, they assailed true doctrine with their impure barking. Accordingly, it is as though he had said, — impure or profane persons; for I do not agree with those who think that they are so called on the ground of envying others, or biting them ¹⁶⁸

In the second place, he calls them evil workers, meaning, that, under the pretext of building up the Church, they did nothing but ruin and destroy everything; for many are busily occupied ¹⁶⁹ who would do better to remain idle. As the public crier ¹⁷⁰ on being asked by Gracchus in mockery, on the ground of his sitting idle, what he was doing? had his answer ready, “Nay, but what are you doing?” for he was the ringleader of a ruinous sedition. Hence Paul would have a distinction made among workers, that believers may be on their guard against those that are evil.

In the third term employed, there is an elegant ( προσωνομασία ) play upon words. They boasted that they were the circumcision: he turns aside this boasting by calling them the concision ¹⁷¹ , inasmuch as they tore asunder the unity of the Church. In this we have an instance tending to shew that the Holy Spirit in his organs ¹⁷² has not in every case avoided wit and humor, yet so as at the same time to keep at a distance from such pleasantry as were unworthy of his majesty. There are innumerable examples in the Prophets, and especially in Isaiah, so that there is no profane author that abounds more in agreeable plays upon words, and figurative forms of expression. We ought, however, more carefully still to observe the vehemence with which Paul inveighs against the false Apostles, which will assuredly break forth wherever there is the ardor of pious zeal. But in the mean time we must be on our guard lest any undue warmth or excessive bitterness should creep in under a pretext of zeal.

When he says, that to write the same things is not grievous to him, he seems to intimate that he had already written on some other occasion to the Philippians. There would, however, be no inconsistency in understanding him as meaning, that he now by his writings reminds them of the same things as they had frequently heard him say, when he was with them. For there can be no doubt that he had often intimated to them in words, when he was with them, how much they ought to be on their guard against such pests: yet he does not grudge to repeat these things, because the Philippians would have incurred danger in the event of his silence. And, unquestionably, it is the part of a good pastor, not merely to supply the flock with pasture, and to rule the sheep by his guidance, but to drive away the wolves when threatening to make an attack upon the fold, and that not merely on one occasion, but so as to be constantly on the watch, and to be indefatigable. For as thieves and robbers (Joh 10:8) are constantly on the watch for the destruction of the Church, what excuse will the pastor have if, after courageously repelling them in several instances, he gives way on occasion of the ninth or tenth attack?

He says also, that a repetition of this nature is profitable to the Philippians, lest they should be—as is wont to happen occasionally—of an exceedingly fastidious humor, and despise it as a thing that was superfluous. For many are so difficult to please, that they cannot bear that the same thing should be said to them a second time, and, in the mean time, they do not consider that what is inculcated upon them daily is with difficulty retained in their memory ten years afterwards. But if it was profitable to the Philippians to listen to this exhortation of Paul—to be on their guard against wolves, what do Papists mean who will not allow that any judgment should be formed as to their doctrine? For to whom, I pray you, did Paul address himself when he said, Beware? Was it not to those whom they do not allow to possess any right to judge? And of the same persons Christ says, in like manner,

My sheep hear my voice, and they follow me; they flee from, a stranger, and they hear not his voice. (Joh 10:5.)

Calvin: Phi 3:3 - For we are the circumcision // And we glory in Christ

3.For we are the circumcision —that is, we are the true seed of Abraham, and heirs of the testament which was confirmed by the sign of circumcision. For the true circumcision is of the spirit and not of the letter, inward, and situated in the heart, not visible according to the flesh. (Rom 2:29.)

By spiritual worship he means that which is recommended to us in the gospel, and consists of confidence in God, and invocation of him, self-renunciation, and a pure conscience. We must supply an antithesis, for he censures, on the other hand, legal worship, which was exclusively pressed upon them by the false Apostles.

“They command that God should be worshipped with outward observances, and because they observe the ceremonies of the law, they boast on false grounds that they are the people of God; but we are the truly circumcised, who worship God in spirit and in truth.” (Joh 4:23.)

But here some one will ask, whether truth excludes the sacraments, for the same thing might be said as to Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. I answer, that this principle must always be kept in view, that figures were abolished by the advent of Christ, and that circumcision gave way to baptism. It follows, also, from this principle, that the pure and genuine worship of God is free from the legal ceremonies, and that believers have the true circumcision without any figure.

And we glory in Christ We must always keep in view the antithesis. “We have to do with the reality, while they rest in the symbols: we have to do with the substance, while they look to the shadows.” And this suits sufficiently well with the corresponding clause, which he adds by way of contrast— We have no confidence in the flesh For under the term flesh he includes everything of an external kind in which an individual is prepared to glory, as will appear from the context, or, to express it in fewer words, he gives the name of flesh to everything that is apart from Christ. He thus reproves, and in no slight manner, the perverse zealots the law, because, not satisfied with Christ, they have recourse to grounds of glorying apart from him. He has employed the terms glorying, and having confidence, to denote the same thing. For confidence lifts up a man, so that he ventures even to glory, and thus the two things are connected.

Calvin: Phi 3:4 - Though I might also // If any one has confidence in the flesh, I more

4.Though I might also He does not speak of the disposition exercised by him, but he intimates, that he has also ground of glorying, if he were inclined to imitate their folly. The meaning therefore is, “My glorying, indeed, is placed in Christ, but, were it warrantable to glory in the flesh, I have also no want of materials.” And from this we learn in what manner to reprove the arrogance of those who glory in something apart from Christ. If we are ourselves in possession of those very things in which they glory, let us not allow them to triumph over Christ by an unseemly boasting, without retorting upon them also our grounds of glorying, that they may understand that it is not through envy that we reckon of no value, nay, even voluntarily renounce those things on which they set the highest value. Let, however, the conclusion be always of this nature — that all confidence in the flesh is vain and preposterous.

If any one has confidence in the flesh, I more Not satisfied with putting himself on a level with any one of them, he even gives himself the preference to them. Hence he cannot on this account be suspected, as though he were envious of their excellence, and extolled Christ with the view of making his own deficiencies appear the less inconsiderable. He says, therefore, that, if it were coming to be matter of dispute, he would be superior to others. For they had nothing (as we shall see erelong) that he had not on his part equally with them, while in some things he greatly excelled them. He says, not using the term in its strict sense, that he has confidence in the flesh, on the ground that, while not placing confidence in them, he was furnished with those grounds of fleshly glorying, on account of which they were puffed up.

Calvin: Phi 3:5 - Circumcised on the eighth day // According to the law, a Pharisee

5.Circumcised on the eighth day It is literally— “The circumcision of the eighth day.” There is no difference, however, in the sense, for the meaning is, that he was circumcised in the proper manner, and according to the appointment of the law ¹⁷³. Now this customary circumcision was reckoned of superior value; and, besides, it was a token of the race to which he belonged; on which he touches immediately afterwards. For the case was not the same as to foreigners, for after they had become proselytes they were circumcised in youth, or when grown up to manhood, and sometimes even in old age. He says, accordingly, that he is of the race of Israel He names the tribe ¹⁷⁴, — not, in my opinion, on the ground that the tribe of Benjamin had a superiorityof excellence above others, but for shewing more fully that he belonged to the race of Israel, as it was the custom that every one was numbered according to his particular tribe. With the same view he adds still farther, that he is an Hebrew of the Hebrews For this name was the most ancient, as being that by which Abraham himself is designated by Moses. (Gen 14:13.) ¹⁷⁵ The sum, therefore, is this — that Paul was descended from the seed of Jacob from the most ancient date, so that he could reckon up grandfathers and great-grandfathers, and could even go still farther back.

According to the law, a Pharisee Having spoken of the nobility of his descent, he now proceeds to speak of special endowments of persons, as they are called. It is very generally known, that the sect of the Pharisees was celebrated above the others for the renown in which it was held for sanctity and for doctrine. He states, that he belonged to that sect. The common opinion is, that the Pharisees were so called from a term signifying separation ¹⁷⁶ ; but I approve rather of what I learned at one time from Capito, a man of sacred memory ¹⁷⁷, that it was because they boasted that they were endowed with the gift of interpreting Scripture, for פרש (parash,) among the Hebrews, conveys the idea of interpretation. ¹⁷⁸ While others declared themselves to be literals ¹⁷⁹ , they preferred to be regarded as Pharisees ¹⁸⁰ , as being in possession of the interpretations of the ancients. And assuredly it is manifest that, under the pretext of antiquity, they corrupted the whole of Scripture by their inventions; but as they, at the same time, retained some sound interpretations, handed down by the ancients, they were held in the highest esteem.

But what is meant by the clause, according to the law? For unquestionably nothing is more opposed to the law of God than sects, for in it is communicated the truth of God, which is the bond of unity. Besides this, Josephus tells us in the 13th book of his Antiquities, that all the sects took their rise during the high priesthood of Jonathan. Paul employs the term law, not in its strict sense, to denote the doctrine of religion, however much corrupted it was at that time, as Christianity is at this day in the Papacy. As, however, there were many that were in the rank of teachers, who were less skillful, and exercised ¹⁸¹ he makes mention also of his zeal. It was, indeed, a very heinous sin on the part of Paul to persecute the Church, but as he had to dispute with unprincipled persons, who, by mixing up Christ with Moses, pretended zeal for the law, he mentions, on the other hand, that he was so keen a zealot of the law, that on that ground he persecuted the Church

Calvin: Phi 3:6 - As to the righteousness which is in the law

6.As to the righteousness which is in the law There can be no doubt he means by this the entire righteousness of the law, for it were too meagre a sense to understand it exclusively of the ceremonies. The meaning, therefore, is more general — that he cultivated an integrity of life, such as might be required on the part of a man that was devoted to the law. To this, again, it is objected, that the righteousness of the law is perfect in the sight of God. For the sum of it is — that men be fully devoted to God, and what beyond this can be desired for the attainment of perfection? I answer, that Paul speaks here of that righteousness which would satisfy the common opinion of mankind. For he separates the law from Christ. Now, what is the law without Christ but a dead letter? To make the matter plainer, I observe, that there are two righteousnesses of the law. The one is spiritual — perfect love to God, and our neighbors: it is contained in doctrine, and had never an existence in the life of any man. The other is literal — such as appears in the view of men, while, in the mean time, hypocrisy reigns in the heart, and there is in the sight of God nothing but iniquity. Thus, the law has two aspects; the one has an eye to God, the other to men. Paul, then, was in the judgment of men holy, and free from all censure — a rare commendation, certainly, and almost unrivalled; yet let us observe in what esteem he held it.

Calvin: Phi 3:7 - What things were gain to me

7.What things were gain to me He says, that those things were gain to him, for ignorance of Christ is the sole reason why we are puffed up with a vain confidence. Hence, where we see a false estimate of one’s own excellence, where we see arrogance, where we see pride, there let us be assured that Christ is not known. On the other hand, so soon as Christ shines forth all those things that formerly dazzled our eyes with a false splendor instantly vanish, or at least are disesteemed. Those things, accordingly, which had been gain to Paul when he was as yet blind, or rather had imposed upon him under an appearance of gain, he acknowledges to have been loss to him, when he has been enlightened. Why loss? Because they were hinderances in the way of his coming to Christ. What is more hurtful than anything that keeps us back from drawing near to Christ? Now he speaks chiefly of his own righteousness, for we are not received by Christ, except as naked and emptied of our own righteousness. Paul, accordingly, acknowledges that nothing was so injurious to him as his own righteousness, inasmuch as he was by means of it shut out from Christ.

Calvin: Phi 3:8 - Nay more, I reckon // For the sake of the excellency of the knowledge // For whom I have suffered the loss of all things // And I count them but refuse // That I may gain Christ

8.Nay more, I reckon He means, that he continues to be of the same mind, because it often happens, that, transported with delight in new things, we forget everything else, and afterwards we regret it. Hence Paul, having said that he renounced all hinderances, that he might gain Christ, now adds, that he continues to be of this mind.

For the sake of the excellency of the knowledge He extols the gospel in opposition to all such notions as tend to beguile us. For there are many things that have an appearance of excellence, but the knowledge of Christ surpasses to such a degree everything else by its sublimity ¹⁸³, that, as compared with it, there is nothing that is not contemptible. Let us, therefore, learn from this, what value we ought to set upon the knowledge of Christ alone. As to his calling him his Lord, he does this to express the intensity of his feeling.

For whom I have suffered the loss of all things He expresses more than he had done previously; at least he expresses himself with greater distinctness. It is a similitude taken from seamen, who, when urged on by danger of shipwreck, throw everything overboard, that, the ship being lightened, they may reach the harbour in safety. Paul, then, was prepared to lose everything that he had, rather than be deprived of Christ.

But it is asked, whether it is necessary for us to renounce riches, and honors, and nobility of descent, and even external righteousness, that we may become partakers of Christ, (Heb 3:14,) for all these things are gifts of God, which, in themselves, are not to be despised? I answer, that the Apostle does not speak here so much of the things themselves, as of the quality of them. It is, indeed, true, that the kingdom of heaven is like a precious pearl, for the purchase of which no one should hesitate to sell everything that he has (Mat 13:46.) There is, however, a difference between the substance of things and the quality. Paul did not reckon it necessary to disown connection with his own tribe and with the race of Abraham, and make himself an alien, that he might become a Christian, but to renounce dependence upon his descent. It was not befitting, that from being chaste he should become unchaste; that from being sober, he should become intemperate; and that from being respectable and honorable, he should become dissolute; but that he should divest himself of a false estimate of his own righteousness, and treat it with contempt. We, too, when treating of the righteousness of faith, do not contend against the substance of works, but against that quality with which the sophists invest them, inasmuch as they contend that men are justified by them. Paul, therefore, divested himself — not of works, but of that mistaken confidence in works, with which he had been puffed up.

As to riches and honors, when we have divested ourselves of attachment to them, we will be prepared, also, to renounce the things themselves, whenever the Lord will require this from us, and so it ought to be. It is not expressly necessary that you be a poor man, in order that you may be Christian; but if it please the Lord that it should be so, you ought to be prepared to endure poverty. In fine, it is not lawful for Christians to have anything apart from Christ. I consider as apart from Christ everything that is a hinderance in the way of Christ alone being our ground of glorying, and having an entire sway over us.

And I count them but refuse Here he not merely by words, but also by realities, amplifies greatly what he had before stated. For those who cast their merchandise and other things into the sea, that they may escape in safety, do not, therefore, despise riches, but act as persons prepared rather to live in misery and want ¹⁸⁴ , than to be drowned along with their riches. They part with them, indeed, but it is with regret and with a sigh; and when they have escaped, they bewail the loss of them. Paul, however, declares, on the other hand, that he had not merely abandoned everything that he formerly reckoned precious, but that they were like dung, offensive to him, or were disesteemed like things that are thrown awayin contempt. Chrysostom renders the word— straws. Grammarians, however, are of opinion, that σκύβαλον is employed as though it were κυσίβαλον — what is thrown to dogs. ¹⁸⁵ And certainly there is good reason why everything that is opposed to Christ should be offensive to us, inasmuch as it is an abomination in, the sight of God. (Luk 16:15.) There is good reason why it should be offensive to us also, on the ground of its being an unfounded imagination.

That I may gain Christ By this expression he intimates that we cannot gain Christ otherwise than by losing everything that we have. For he would have us rich by his grace alone: he would have him alone be our entire blessedness. Now, in what way we must suffer the loss of all things, has been already stated — in such a manner that nothing will turn us aside from confidence in Christ alone. But if Paul, with such innocence and integrity of life, did not hesitate to reckon his own righteousness to be loss and dung, what mean those Pharisees of the present day, who, while covered over with every kind of wickedness, do nevertheless feel no shame in extolling their own merits in opposition to Christ?

Calvin: Phi 3:9 - And may find them in him // Not having mine own righteousness

9.And may find them in him The verb is in the passive voice, and hence all others have rendered it, I may be found. They pass over the context, however, in a very indifferent manner, as though it had no peculiar force. If you read it in the passive voice, an antithesis must be understood — thatPaul was lost before he was found in Christ, as a rich merchant is like one lost, so long as he has his vessel laden with riches; but when they have been thrown overboard, he is found? ¹⁸⁶ For here that saying ¹⁸⁷ is admirably in point — “I had been lost, if I had not been lost.” But as the verb εὐρίσκομαι , while it has a passive termination, has an active signification, and means — to recover what you have voluntarily given up, (as Budaeus shews by various examples,) I have not hesitated to differ from the opinion of others. For, in this way, the meaning will be more complete, and the doctrine the more ample — that Paul renounced everything that he had, that he might recover them in Christ; and this corresponds better with the word gain, for it means that it was no trivial or ordinary gain, inasmuch as Christ contains everything in himself. And, unquestionably, we lose nothing when we come to Christ naked and stript of everything, for those things which we previously imagined, on false grounds, that we possessed, we then begin really to acquire. He, accordingly, shews more fully, how great the riches of Christ, because we obtain and find all things in him.

Not having mine own righteousness Here we have a remarkable passage, if any one is desirous to have a particular description of the righteousness of faith, and to understand its true nature. For Paul here makes a comparison between two kinds of righteousness. The one he speaks of as belonging to the man, while he calls it at the same time the righteousness of the law; the other, he tells us, is from God, is obtained through faith, and rests upon faith in Christ. These he represents as so directly opposed to each other, that they cannot stand together. Hence there are two things that are to be observed here. In the first place, that the righteousness of the law must be given up and renounced, that you may be righteous through faith; and secondly, that the righteousness of faith comes forth from God, and does not belong to the individual. As to both of these we have in the present day a great controversy with Papists; for on the one hand, they do not allow that the righteousness of faith is altogether from God, but ascribe it partly to man; and, on the other hand, they mix them together, as if the one did not destroy the other. Hence we must carefully examine the several words made use of by Paul, for there is not one of them that is not very emphatic.

He says, that believers have no righteousness of their own. Now, it cannot be denied, that if there were any righteousness of works, it might with propriety be said to be ours. Hence he leaves no room whatever for the righteousness of works. Why he calls it the righteousness of the law, he shows in Rom 10:5; because this is the sentence of the law, He that doeth these things shall live in them. The law, therefore, pronounces the man to be righteous through works. Nor is there any ground for the cavil of Papists, that all this must be restricted to ceremonies. For in the first place, it is a contemptible frivolity to affirm that Paul was righteous only through ceremonies; and secondly, he in this way draws a contrast between those two kinds of righteousness — the one being of man, the other, from God. He intimates, accordingly, that the one is the reward of works, while the other is a free gift from God. He thus, in a general way, places man’s merit in opposition to Christ’s grace; for while the law brings works, faith presents man before God as naked, that he may be clothed with the righteousness of Christ. When, therefore, he declares that the righteousness of faith is from God, it is not simply because faith is the gift of God, but because God justifies us by his goodness, or because we receive by faith the righteousness which he has conferred upon us.

Calvin: Phi 3:10 - That I may know him // And the fellowship of his sufferings

10.That I may know him He points out the efficacy and nature of faith — that it is the knowledge of Christ, and that, too, not bare or indistinct, but in such a manner that the power of his resurrection is felt. Resurrection he employs as meaning, the completion of redemption, so that it comprehends in it at the same time the idea of death. But as it is not enough to know Christ as crucified and raised up from the dead, unless you experience, also, the fruit of this, he speaks expressly of efficacy. ¹⁸⁸ Christ therefore is rightly known, when we feel how powerful his death and resurrection are, and how efficacious they are in us. Now all things are there furnished to us — expiation and destruction of sin, freedom from condemnation, satisfaction, victory over death, the attainment of righteousness, and the hope of a blessed immortality.

And the fellowship of his sufferings Having spoken of that freely-conferred righteousness, which was procured for us through the resurrection of Christ, and is obtained by us through faith, he proceeds to treat of the exercises of the pious, and that in order that it might not seem as though he introduced an inactive faith, which produces no effects in the life. He also intimates, indirectly, that these are the exercises in which the Lord would have his people employ themselves; while the false Apostles pressed forward upon them the useless elements of ceremonies. Let every one, therefore, who has become through faith a partaker of all Christ’s benefits, acknowledge that a condition is presented to him — that his whole life be conformed to his death.

There is, however, a twofold participation and fellowship in the death of Christ. The one is inward — what the Scripture is wont to term the mortification of the flesh, or the crucifixion of the old man, of which Paul treats in Rom 6:0; the other is outward — what is termed the mortification of the outward man. It is the endurance of the Cross, of which he treats in Rom 8:0 of the same Epistle, and here also, if I do not mistake. For after introducing along with this the power of his resurrection, Christ crucified is set before us, that we may follow him through tribulations and distresses; and hence the resurrection of the dead is expressly made mention of, that we may know that we must die before we live. This is a continued subject of meditation to believers so long as they sojourn in this world.

This, however, is a choice consolation, that in all our miseries we are partakers of Christ’s Cross, if we are his members; so that through afflictions the way is opened up for us to everlasting blessedness, as we read elsewhere,

If we die with him, we shall also live with him; if we suffer with him, we shall also reign with him. (2Ti 2:11,)

We must all therefore be prepared for this — that our whole life shall represent nothing else than the image of death, until it produce death itself, as the life of Christ is nothing else than a prelude of death. We enjoy, however, in the mean time, this consolation — that the end is everlasting blessedness. For the death of Christ is connected with the resurrection. Hence Paul says, that he is conformed to his death, that he may attain the glory of the resurrection. The phrase, if by any means, does not indicate doubt, but expresses difficulty, with a view to stimulate our earnest endeavor ¹⁸⁹ for it is no light contest, inasmuch as we must struggle against so many and so serious hinderances.

Calvin: Phi 3:12 - Not as though I had already apprehended // As also I have been apprehended

12.Not as though I had already apprehended Paul insists upon this, that he may convince the Philippians that he thinks of nothing but Christ — knows nothing else — desires nothing else — is occupied with no other subject of meditation. In connection with this, there is much weight in what he now adds — that he himself, while he had given up all hinderances, had nevertheless not attained that object of aim, and that, on this account, he always aimed and eagerly aspired at something further. How much more was this incumbent on the Philippians, who were still far behind him?

It is asked, however, what it is that Paul says he has not yet attained? For unquestionably, so soon as we are by faith ingrafted into the body of Christ, we have already entered the kingdom of God, and, as it is stated in Eph 2:6, we already, in hope, sit in heavenly places. I answer, that our salvation, in the mean time, is in hope, so that the inheritance indeed is secure; but we nevertheless have it not as yet in possession. At the same time, Paul here looks at something else — the advancement of faith, and of that mortification of which he had made mention. He had said that he aimed and eagerly aspired at the resurrection of the dead through fellowship in the Cross of Christ. He adds, that he has not as yet arrived at this. At what? At the attainment of having entire fellowship in Christ’s sufferings, having a full taste of the power of his resurrection, and knowing him perfectly. He teaches, therefore, by his own example, that we ought to make progress, and that the knowledge of Christ is an attainment of such difficulty, that even those who apply themselves exclusively to it, do nevertheless not attain perfection in it so long as they live. This, however, does not detract in any degree from the authority of Paul’s doctrine, inasmuch as he had acquired as much as was sufficient for discharging the office committed to him. In the mean time, it was necessary for him to make progress, that this divinely-furnished instructor of all might be trained to humility.

As also I have been apprehended This clause he has inserted by way of correction, that he might ascribe all his endeavors to the grace of God. It is not of much importance whether you read as, or in so far as; for the meaning in either case remains the same — that Paul was apprehended by Christ, that he might apprehend Christ; that is, that he did nothing except under Christ’s influence and guidance. I have chosen, however, the more distinct rendering, as it seemed to be optional.

Calvin: Phi 3:13 - I reckon not myself to have as yet apprehended // Forgetting those things that are behind

13.I reckon not myself to have as yet apprehended He does not here call in question the certainty of his salvation, as though he were still in suspense, but repeats what he had said before — that he still aimed at making farther progress, because he had not yet attained the end of his calling. He shews this immediately after, by saying that he was intent on this one thing, leaving off everything else. Now, he compares our life to a race-course, the limits of which God has marked out to us for running in. For as it would profit the runner nothing to have left the starting-point, unless he went forward to the goal, so we must also pursue the course of our calling until death, and must not cease until we have obtained what we seek. Farther, as the way is marked out to the runner, that he may not fatigue himself to no purpose by wandering in this direction or in that, so there is also a goal set before us, towards which we ought to direct our course undeviatingly; and God does not permit us to wander about heedlessly. Thirdly, as the runner requires to be free from entanglement, and not stop his course on account of any impediment, but must continue his course, surmounting every obstacle, so we must take heed that we do not apply our mind or heart to anything that may divert the attention, but must, on the contrary, make it our endeavor, that, free from every distraction, we may apply the whole bent of our mind exclusively to God’s calling. These three things Paul comprehends in one similitude. When he says that he does this one thing, and forgets all things that are behind, he intimates his assiduity, and excludes everything fitted to distract. When he says that he presses toward the mark, he intimates that he is not wandering from the way.

Forgetting those things that are behind He alludes to runners, who do not turn their eyes aside in any direction, lest they should slacken the speed of their course, and, more especially, do not look behind to see how much ground they have gone over, but hasten forward unremittingly towards the goal, Thus Paul teaches us, that he does not think of what he has been, or of what he has done, but simply presses forward towards the appointed goal, and that, too, with such ardor, that he runs forward to it, as it were, with outstretched arms. For a metaphor of this nature is implied in the participle which he employs. ¹⁹¹

Should any one remark, by way of objection, that the remembrance of our past life is of use for stirring us up, both because the favors that have been already conferred upon us give us encouragement to entertain hope, and because we are admonished by our sins to amend our course of life, I answer, that thoughts of this nature do not turn away our view from what is before us to what is behind, but rather help our vision, so that we discern more distinctly the goal. Paul, however, condemns here such looking back, as either destroys or impairs alacrity. Thus, for example, should any one persuade himself that he has made sufficiently great progress, reckoning that he has done enough, he will become indolent, and feel inclined to deliver up the lamp ¹⁹² to others; or, if any one looks back with a feeling of regret for the situation that he has abandoned, he cannot apply the whole bent of his mind to what he is engaged in. Such was the nature of the thoughts from which Paul’s mind required to be turned away, if he would in good earnest follow out Christ’s calling. As, however, there has been mention made here of endeavor, aim, course, perseverance, lest any one should imagine that salvation consists in these things, or should even ascribe to human industry what comes from another quarter, with the view of pointing out the cause of all these things, he adds — in Christ Jesus

Calvin: Phi 3:15 - As many as are perfect // If in anything otherwise

15.As many as are perfect Lest any one should understand this as spoken of the generality of mankind, as though he were explaining the simple elements to those that are mere children in Christ, he declares that it is a rule which all that are perfect ought to follow. Now, the rule is this — that we must renounce confidence in all things, that we may glory in Christ’s righteousness alone, and preferring it to everything else, aspire after a participation in his sufferings, which may be the means of conducting us to a blessed resurrection. Where now will be that state of perfection which monks dream of — where the confused medley of such contrivances — where, in short, the whole system of Popery, which is nothing else than an imaginary perfection, that has nothing in common with this rule of Paul? Undoubtedly, whoever will understand this single term, will clearly perceive that everything that is taught in the Papacy, as to the attainment of righteousness and salvation, is nauseous dung.

If in anything otherwise By the same means he both humbles them, and inspires them with good hope, for he admonishes them not to be elated in their ignorance, and at the same time he bids them be of good courage, when he says that we must wait for the revelation of God. For we know how great an obstacle to truth obstinacy is. This, therefore, is the best preparation for docility — when we do not take pleasure in error. Paul, accordingly, teaches indirectly, that we must make way for the revelation of God, if we have not yet attained what we seek. Farther, when he teaches that we must advance by degrees, he encourages them not to draw back in the middle of the course. At the same time, he maintains beyond all controversy what he has previously taught, when he teaches that others who differ from him will have a revelation given to them of what they do not as yet know. For it is as though he had said, — “The Lord will one day shew you that the very thing which I have stated is a perfect rule of true knowledge and of right living.” No one could speak in this manner, if he were not fully assured of the reasonableness and accuracy of his doctrine. Let us in the mean time learn also from this passage, that we must bear for a time with ignorance in our weak brethren, and forgive them, if it is not given them immediately to be altogether of one mind with us. Paul felt assured as to his doctrine, and yet he allows those who could not as yet receive it time to make progress, and he does not cease on that account to regard them as brethren, only he cautions them against flattering themselves in their ignorance. The rendering of the Latin copies ¹⁹³ in the preterite, revelavit , (he has revealed,) I have no hesitation in rejecting as unsuitable and inappropriate.

Calvin: Phi 3:16 - Nevertheless, so far as we have attained

16.Nevertheless, so far as we have attained Even the Greek manuscripts themselves differ as to the dividing of the clauses, for in some of them there are two complete sentences. If any one, however, prefer to divide the verse, the meaning will be as Erasmus has rendered it. ¹⁹⁴ For my part, I rather prefer a different reading, implying that Paul exhorts the Philipplans to imitate him, that they may at last reach the same goal, so as to think the same thing, and walk by the same rule For where sincere affection exists, such as reigned in Paul, the way is easy to a holy and pious concord, As, therefore, they had not yet learned what true perfection was, in order that they might attain it he wishes them to be imitators of him; that is, to seek God with a pure conscience, (2Ti 1:3,) to arrogate nothing to themselves, and calmly to subject their understandings to Christ. For in the imitating of Paul all these excellences are included — pure zeal, fear of the Lord, modesty, self-renunciation, docility, love, and desire of concord. He bids them, however, be at one and the same time imitators of him; that is, all with one consent, and with one mind.

Observe, that the goal of perfection to which he invites the Philippians, by his example, is, that they think the same thing, and walk by the same rule He has, however, assigned the first place to the doctrine in which they ought to harmonize, and the rule to which they should conform themselves.

Calvin: Phi 3:17 - Mark them

17.Mark them By this expression he means, that it is all one to him what persons they single out for themselves for imitation, provided they conform themselves to that purity of which he was a pattern. By this means all suspicion of ambition is taken away, for the man that is devoted to his own interests wishes to have no rival. At the same time he warns them that all are not to be imitated indiscriminately, as he afterwards explains more fully.

Calvin: Phi 3:18 - For many walk // Of whom I have told you often // That they are the enemies of the cross of Christ

18.For many walk The simple statement, in my opinion, is this — Many walk who mind earthly things, meaning by this, that there are many who creep upon the ground ¹⁹⁵, not feeling the power of God’s kingdom. He mentions, however, in connection with this, the marks by which such persons may be distinguished. These we will examine, each in its order. By earthly things some understand ceremonies, and the outward elements of the world, which cause true piety to be forgotten, I prefer, however, to view the term as referring to carnal affection, as meaning that those who are not regenerated by the Spirit of God think of nothing but the world. This will appear more distinctly from what follows; for he holds them up to odium on this ground — that, being desirous exclusively of their own honor, ease, and gain, they had no regard to the edification of the Church.

Of whom I have told you often He shews that it is not without good reason that he has often warned the Philippians, inasmuch as he now endeavors to remind them by letter of the same things as he had formerly spoken of to them when present with them. His tears, also, are an evidence that he is not influenced by envy or hatred of men, nor by any disposition to revile, nor by insolence of temper, but by pious zeal, inasmuch as he sees that the Church is miserably destroyed ¹⁹⁶ by such pests. It becomes us, assuredly, to be affected in such a manner, that on seeing that the place of pastors is occupied by wicked and worthless persons, we shall sigh, and give evidence, at least by our tears, that we feel deeply grieved for the calamity of the Church.

It is of importance, also, to take notice of whom Paul speaks — not of open enemies, who were avowedly desirous that doctrine might be undermined — but of impostors and profligates, who trampled under foot the power of the gospel, for the sake of ambition or of their own belly. And unquestionably persons of this sort, who weaken the influence of the ministry by seeking their own interests, ¹⁹⁷ sometimes do more injury than if they openly opposed Christ. We must, therefore, by no means spare them, but must point them out with the finger, as often as there is occasion. Let them complain afterwards, as much as they choose, of our severity, provided they do not allege anything against us that it is not in our power to justify from Paul’s example.

That they are the enemies of the cross of Christ Some explain cross to mean the whole mystery of redemption, and they explain that this is said of them, because, by preaching the law, they made void the benefit of Christ’s death. Others, however, understand it as meaning, that they shunned the cross, and were not prepared to expose themselves to dangers for the sake of Christ. I understand it, however, in a more general way, as meaning that, while they pretended to be friends, they were, nevertheless, the worst enemies of the gospel. For it is no unusual thing for Paul to employ the term cross to mean the entire preaching of the gospel. For as he says elsewhere,

If any man is in Christ, let him be a new creature.
(2Co 5:17.) ¹⁹⁸

Calvin: Phi 3:19 - Whose end is destruction // Whose god is the belly

19.Whose end is destruction He adds this in order that the Philippians, appalled by the danger, may be so much the more carefully on their guard, that they may not involve themselves in the ruin of those persons. As, however, profligates of this description, by means of show and various artifices, frequently dazzle the eyes of the simple for a time, in such a manner that they are preferred even to the most eminent servants of Christ, the Apostle declares, with great confidence ¹⁹⁹, that the glory with which they are now puffed up will be exchanged for ignominy.

Whose god is the belly As they pressed the observance of circumcision and other ceremonies, he says that they did not do so from zeal for the law, but with a view to the favor of men, and that they might live peacefully and free from annoyance. For they saw that the Jews burned with a fierce rage against Paul, and those like him, and that Christ could not be proclaimed by them in purity with any other result, than that of arousing against themselves the same rage. Accordingly, consulting their own ease and advantage, they mixed up these corruptions with the view of mitigating the flames of others. ²⁰⁰

Calvin: Phi 3:20 - But our conversation is in heaven // Whence also

20.But our conversation is in heaven This statement overturns all empty shows, in which pretended ministers of the gospel are accustomed to glory, and he indirectly holds up to odium all their objects of aim, ²⁰¹ because, by flying about above the earth, they do not aspire towards heaven. For he teaches that nothing is to be reckoned of any value except God’s spiritual kingdom, because believers ought to lead a heavenly life in this world. “They mind earthly things: it is therefore befitting that we, whose conversation is in heaven, should be separated from them.” ²⁰² We are, it is true, intermingled here with unbelievers and hypocrites; nay more, the chaff has more of appearance in the granary of the Lord than wheat. Farther, we are exposed to the common inconveniences of this earthly life; we require, also, meat and drink, and other necessaries, but we must, nevertheless, be conversant with heaven in mind and affection. For, on the one hand, we must pass quietly through this life, and, on the other hand, we must be dead to the world that Christ may live in us, and that we, in our turn, may live to him. This passage is a most abundant source of many exhortations, which it were easy for any one to elicit from it.

Whence also From the connection that we have with Christ, he proves that our citizenship ²⁰³ is in heaven, for it is not seemly that the members should be separated from their Head. Accordingly, as Christ is in heaven, in order that we may be conjoined with him, it is necessary that we should in spirit dwell apart from this world. Besides,

where our treasure is, there is our heart also.
(Mat 6:21.)

Christ, who is our blessedness and glory, is in heaven: let our souls, therefore, dwell with him on high. On this account he expressly calIs him Savior. Whence does salvation come to us? Christ will come to us from heaven as a Savior. Hence it were unbefitting that we should be taken up with this earth ²⁰⁴. This epithet, Savior, is suited to the connection of the passage; for we are said to be in heaven in respect of our minds on this account, that it is from that source alone that the hope of salvation beams forth upon us. As the coming of Christ will be terrible to the wicked, so it rather turns away their minds from heaven than draws them thither: for they know that he will come to them as a Judge, and they shun him so far as is in their power. From these words of Paul pious minds derive the sweetest consolation, as instructing them that the coming of Christ is to be desired by them, inasmuch as it will bring salvation to them. On the other hand, it is a sure token of incredulity, when persons tremble on any mention being made of it. See Rom 8:0. While, however, others are transported with vain desires, Paul would have believers contented with Christ alone.

Farther, we learn from this passage that nothing mean or earthly is to be conceived of as to Christ, inasmuch as Paul bids us look upward to heaven, that we may seek him. Now, those that reason with subtlety that Christ is not shut up or hid in some corner of heaven, with the view of proving that his body is everywhere, and fills heaven and earth, say indeed something that is true, but not the whole: for as it were rash and foolish to mount up beyond the heavens, and assign to Christ a station, or seat, or place of walking, in this or that region, so it is a foolish and destructive madness to draw him down from heaven by any carnal consideration, so as to seek him upon earth. Up, then, with our hearts ²⁰⁵, that they may be with the Lord.

Calvin: Phi 3:21 - Who will change // According to the efficacy

21.Who will change By this argument he stirs up the Philippians still farther to lift up their minds to heaven, and be wholly attached to Christ — because this body which we carry about with us is not an everlasting abode, but a frail tabernacle, which will in a short time be reduced to nothing. Besides, it is liable to so many miseries, and so many dishonorable infirmities, that it may justly be spoken of as vile and full of ignominy. Whence, then, is its restoration to be hoped for? From heaven, at Christ’s coming. Hence there is no part of us that ought not to aspire after heaven with undivided affection. We see, on the one hand, in life, but chiefly in death, the present meanness of our bodies; the glory which they will have, conformably to Christ’s body, is incomprehensible by us: for if the disciples could not endure the slight taste which he afforded ²⁰⁶ in his transfiguration, (Mat 17:6,) which of us could attain its fullness? Let us for the present be contented with the evidence of our adoption, being destined to know the riches of our inheritance when we shall come to the enjoyment of them.

According to the efficacy As nothing is more difficult to believe, or more at variance with carnal perception, than the resurrection, Paul on this account places before our eyes the boundless power of God, that it may entirely remove all doubt; for distrust arises from this — that we measure the thing itself by the narrowness of our own understanding. Nor does he simply make mention of power, but also of efficacy, which is the effect, or power showing itself in action, so to speak. Now, when we bear in mind that God, who created all things out of nothing, can command the earth, and the sea, and the other elements, to render back what has been committed to them ²⁰⁷, our minds are imrnediately roused up to a firm hope — nay, even to a spiritual contemplation of the resurrection.

But it is of importance to take notice, also, that the right and power of raising the dead, nay more, of doing everything according to his own pleasure, is assigned to the person of Christ — an encomium by which his Divine majesty is illustriously set forth. Nay, farther, we gather from this, that the world was created by him, for to subject all things to himself belongs to the Creator alone.

Defender: Phi 3:2 - dogs

The epithet of "dogs" was sometimes applied by Jews to Gentiles in general, but Paul would not do this; indeed, he was writing to Gentile Christians. In the Old Testament, sodomites were called dogs (Deu 23:17, Deu 23:18). In view of Paul's strong condemnation of this typically pagan Gentile sin (Rom 1:25-27; 1Co 6:9), it is possible that Paul's warning here had reference to the sin of homosexuality or bestiality.

Defender: Phi 3:2 - concision

This word, from a Greek word meaning "cutting down," seems to be cited as in contrast to "the circumcision, which worship God in the Spirit ... and have no confidence in the flesh" (Phi 3:3). The Judaizers who were trying to force Gentile Christians to be circumcised had no concept of the spiritual significance attached to circumcision, which was fulfilled by spiritual circumcision. To them, it was merely a ritual and amounted to nothing more than a mutilation of the flesh. Paul called them "the concision" instead of the circumcision, warning the Philippians against their legalistic heresies. See his discussion in Gal 5:1-6, Gal 5:11-13; Gal 6:12-15. This is the only occurrence of the word in the New Testament."

Defender: Phi 3:6 - persecuting the church

It is significant that Paul had considered his zeal in persecuting the church as a highly meritorious service to his religion. It seems always to be true that those who are devoted to some false religion are the most zealous opponents of true Biblical Christianity.

Defender: Phi 3:6 - blameless

If anyone could ever have been saved by keeping the law, it would have been the apostle Paul. Yet he came to regard all his "righteousnesses" as "filthy rags" (Isa 64:6) when he saw Christ as He is."

Defender: Phi 3:7 - loss

The connotation of "loss" is "damaged goods.""

Defender: Phi 3:8 - excellency

"Excellency" means "higher authority." That is, the knowledge of Christ as Savior and Lord is higher than all the secular and religious knowledge Paul had learned in his scholastic training as a Pharisee. Similarly, it is higher than any knowledge one could ever acquire from modern science or philosophy, or from any other discipline.

Defender: Phi 3:8 - dung

The Greek word skubalon basically means "refuse," either human waste or garbage in general.

Defender: Phi 3:8 - win Christ

"Win Christ" - that is, "be gain for Christ." We should not only seek to gain Christ and His salvation for ourselves, but we should also be spiritually profitable in His service."

Defender: Phi 3:9 - faith of Christ

The connotation is not "through faith in Christ," but rather "that kind of faith of Christ" or "that body of faith about Christ." The phrase "the faith" is found often in the New Testament (Act 6:7; Act 14:22; Rom 14:1; 1Co 16:13; Eph 4:13; Phi 1:27; Col 1:23; Col 2:7; 1Ti 4:1; 1Ti 5:8; 1Ti 6:12; 2Ti 3:8; 2Ti 4:7; Tit 1:13; Jud 1:3), carrying this meaning - not our faith, but the body of doctrine about Christ's person and work in which we believe and upon which we take our stand - in other words, the whole Christian faith.

Defender: Phi 3:9 - of God by faith

For "of God by faith," can be read "out of God based upon that faith.""

Defender: Phi 3:10 - know him

The tense here suggests "come to know Him." Even though we may already know Christ as Saviour, we also need to know Him in both the power of His resurrection (Rom 6:11-13; Col 3:1) and the fellowship of His sufferings (Phi 1:29; 1Pe 4:13)."

Defender: Phi 3:11 - resurrection

Note Gal 2:20; 1Co 15:31."

Defender: Phi 3:13 - one thing I do

"This one thing I do" is only one word in the Greek, succinctly expressing single-minded concentration and determination."

Defender: Phi 3:14 - press toward

"Press toward" is the same as "follow after," as in Phi 3:12.

Defender: Phi 3:14 - mark

The Greek word for "mark" here actually means "watch," referring to being watchful for signs of the approaching end of the race.

Defender: Phi 3:14 - prize

The "prize" is nothing less than God's "crown of righteousness" which the Righteous Judge (2Ti 4:7, 2Ti 4:8) will award those who have finished the course.

Defender: Phi 3:14 - high calling

This "high calling" could very well be the great rapture at the end of the age when the Lord says: "Come up hither" (Rev 4:1), and we are "caught up ... to meet the Lord in the air" (1Th 4:17)."

Defender: Phi 3:17 - of me

Paul was not arrogant or conceited; he even called himself "less than the least of all saints" (Eph 3:8). However, the churches were being led astray by false apostles and false teachers "whose God is their belly ... who mind earthly things" (Phi 3:19). Therefore, he often had to defend himself and his teachings (2Co 11:17, 2Co 11:18; 2Co 12:11; etc.). The church could not actually see Jesus, but they could see Paul, and compare his life and ministry to those of the false teachers. Therefore, he could say, in all humility: "Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ" (1Co 11:1; 1Co 4:16, 2Th 3:7)."

Defender: Phi 3:20 - conversation

The Greek word politeuma means "citizenship." Essentially the same word occurs elsewhere only in Phi 1:27, there in verb form. In other words, we are citizens of the kingdom of heaven, now serving as "ambassadors for Christ" (2Co 5:20) to the kingdoms here on earth and their citizens."

Defender: Phi 3:21 - his glorious body

These "vile bodies" in which we now reside are subject to decay and death, along with the entire creation (Rom 8:20, Rom 8:22), but they will be instantaneously glorified and made like His body of glory when Christ returns (1Co 15:51-54; Rom 8:21; 1Jo 3:2).

Defender: Phi 3:21 - working

This "working" (Greek energeia) could be effectively paraphrased as "creative energizing." He who is the Creator of all the energy and matter of the universe (actually, even matter is a form of energy) is able to create new energy and matter to resurrect dead bodies and glorify living bodies to make them like His own eternally living resurrected body, no longer subject to decay and pain and death."

TSK: Phi 3:1 - Finally // rejoice // To write

Finally : Phi 4:8; 2Co 13:11; Eph 6:10; 1Th 4:1 *Gr: 1Pe 3:8

rejoice : Phi 3:3, Phi 4:4; Deu 12:18, Deu 16:11; 1Sa 2:1; 1Ch 15:28, 1Ch 16:10,1Ch 16:31-33, 1Ch 29:22; 2Ch 30:26, 2Ch 30:27; Neh 8:10; Job 22:26; Psa 5:11, Psa 32:11, Psa 33:1, Psa 37:4, Psa 42:4; Psa 97:1, Psa 100:1, Psa 100:2, Psa 149:2; Isa 12:2, Isa 12:3, Isa 41:16, Isa 61:10, Isa 65:14, Isa 66:11, Isa 66:12; Joe 2:23; Hab 3:17, Hab 3:18; Zep 3:14, Zep 3:17; Zec 10:7; Mat 5:12; Luk 1:47; Rom 5:2, Rom 5:3, Rom 5:11; 1Th 5:16; Jam 1:2; 1Pe 1:6-8, 1Pe 4:13

To write : Phi 2:17, Phi 2:18; 2Pe 1:12-15, 2Pe 3:1

TSK: Phi 3:2 - of dogs // evil // the

of dogs : Pro 26:11; Isa 56:10,Isa 56:11; Mat 7:6, Mat 7:15, Mat 24:10; Gal 5:15; 2Ti 4:14, 2Ti 4:15; 2Pe 2:22; Rev 22:15

evil : Phi 3:19; Psa 119:115; Mat 7:22, Mat 7:23; 2Co 11:13; Gal 5:13; 1Ti 1:19; 2Ti 3:1-6; 2Ti 4:3, 2Ti 4:4; Tit 1:16; 2Pe 2:18-20; Jud 1:4, Jud 1:10-13; Rev 21:8

the : Phi 3:3; Rom 2:28; Gal 2:3, Gal 2:4, Gal 5:1-3, Gal 5:6; Rev 2:9, Rev 3:9

TSK: Phi 3:3 - we // worship // rejoice // have

we : Gen 17:5-11; Deu 10:16, Deu 30:6; Jer 4:4, Jer 9:26; Rom 2:25-29, Rom 4:11, Rom 4:12; Col 2:11

worship : Mal 1:11; Joh 4:23, Joh 4:24; Rom 1:9, Rom 7:6, Rom 8:15, Rom 8:26, Rom 8:27; Eph 6:18; Jud 1:20

rejoice : Phi 3:7-9; Psa 105:3; Isa 45:25; Jer 9:23, Jer 9:24; 1Co 1:29-31; Gal 6:13, Gal 6:14

have : Phi 3:4-6; 1Pe 1:23-25

TSK: Phi 3:4

2Co 11:18-22

TSK: Phi 3:5 - Circumcised // of the stock // of the tribe // an // Pharisee

Circumcised : Gen 17:12; Luk 2:21; Joh 7:21-24

of the stock : Act 22:3; 2Co 11:22

of the tribe : Rom 11:1

an : Gen 14:13, Gen 40:15, Gen 41:12; 1Sa 4:6; Jon 1:9; Act 6:1; 2Co 11:22

Pharisee : Act 23:6, Act 26:4, Act 26:5

TSK: Phi 3:6 - zeal // persecuting // touching

zeal : 2Sa 21:2; 2Ki 10:16; Act 21:20; Rom 10:2; Gal 1:13, Gal 1:14

persecuting : Act 8:3, 9:1-19, Act 22:3, Act 22:4, Act 26:9, Act 26:10; 1Co 15:9; 1Ti 1:13

touching : Mat 5:20, Mat 23:25; Mar 10:20,Mar 10:21; Luk 1:6; Act 26:5; Rom 7:9, Rom 9:31, Rom 9:32, Rom 10:2-5

TSK: Phi 3:7

Phi 3:4-6, Phi 3:8-10; Gen 19:17, Gen 19:26; Job 2:4; Pro 13:8, Pro 23:23; Mat 13:44-46, Mat 16:26; Luk 14:26, Luk 14:33, Luk 16:8, Luk 17:31-33; Act 27:18, Act 27:19, Act 27:38; Gal 2:15, Gal 2:16, Gal 5:2-5

TSK: Phi 3:8 - doubtless // I count // the excellency // my // for whom // but dung // win

doubtless : Num 14:30; Psa 126:6; Luk 11:20; 1Co 9:10; 1Jo 2:19

I count : Act 20:24; Rom 8:18

the excellency : Phi 3:10; Isa 53:11; Jer 9:23, Jer 9:24; Mat 11:25-27, Mat 16:16, Mat 16:17; Luk 10:21, Luk 10:22; Joh 14:7, Joh 14:20, Joh 16:3, Joh 17:3, Joh 17:8; 1Co 2:2; 2Co 4:4, 2Co 4:6; Gal 1:16; Eph 1:17, Eph 1:18; Eph 3:8, Eph 3:9, Eph 3:18, Eph 3:19; Col 2:2, Col 2:3; 1Pe 2:7; 2Pe 1:3, 2Pe 3:18; 1Jo 5:20

my : Luk 1:43, Luk 20:42-44; Joh 20:13, Joh 20:28

for whom : Phi 3:7; Mat 19:27-29; 1Co 4:9-13; 2Co 11:23-27; 2Ti 4:6

but dung : 1Ki 14:10; 2Ki 9:37; Job 20:7; Mal 2:3

win : Mat 13:44-46; Heb 3:14; 1Jo 1:3

TSK: Phi 3:9 - be // in // not // which is of the // the righteousness

be : Gen 7:23; Deu 19:3, Deu 19:4; Heb 6:18; 1Pe 3:19, 1Pe 3:20

in : Rom 8:1, Rom 16:7; 1Co 1:30; 2Co 5:17

not : Phi 3:6; 1Ki 8:46; 2Ch 32:25, 2Ch 32:31; Job 9:28-31, Job 10:14, Job 10:15, Job 15:14-16, Job 42:5, Job 42:6; Psa 14:3, Psa 19:12, Psa 130:3, Psa 130:4, Psa 143:2; Ecc 7:20; Isa 6:5, Isa 53:6, Isa 64:5, Isa 64:6; Mat 9:13; Rom 9:31, Rom 9:32, Rom 10:1-3, Rom 10:5; 2Ti 1:9; Tit 3:5; Jam 3:2; 1Jo 1:8-10

which is of the : Deu 27:26; Luk 10:25-29; Rom 3:19, Rom 3:20, Rom 4:13-15, Rom 7:5-13, Rom 8:3, Rom 10:4, Rom 10:5; Gal 3:10-13, Gal 3:21, Gal 3:22; Jam 2:9-11; 1Jo 3:4

the righteousness : Psa 71:15, Psa 71:16; Isa 45:24, Isa 45:25, Isa 46:13, Isa 53:11; Jer 23:6, Jer 33:16; Dan 9:24; Joh 16:8-11; Rom 1:17, Rom 3:21, Rom 3:22, Rom 4:5, Rom 4:6, Rom 4:13, Rom 5:21, Rom 9:30, Rom 10:3, Rom 10:6, Rom 10:10; 1Co 1:30; 2Co 5:21; Gal 2:16, Gal 3:11; 2Pe 1:1

TSK: Phi 3:10 - I // and the power // and the fellowship

I : Phi 3:8; 1Jo 2:3, 1Jo 2:5

and the power : Joh 5:21-29, Joh 10:18, Joh 11:25, Joh 11:26; Act 2:31-38; Rom 6:4-11, Rom 8:10,Rom 8:11; 1Co 15:21-23; 2Co 1:10, 2Co 4:10-13, 2Co 13:4; Eph 1:19-21; Col 2:13, Col 3:1; 1Th 4:14, 1Th 4:15; 1Pe 1:3, 1Pe 4:1, 1Pe 4:2; Rev 1:18

and the fellowship : Mat 20:23; Rom 6:3-5, Rom 8:17, Rom 8:29; 2Co 1:5; Gal 2:20; Col 1:24; 2Ti 2:11, 2Ti 2:12; 1Pe 4:13, 1Pe 4:14

TSK: Phi 3:11 - by // attain

by : Psa 49:7; Act 27:12; Rom 11:14; 1Co 9:22, 1Co 9:27; 2Co 11:3; 1Th 3:5; 2Th 2:3

attain : Luk 14:14, Luk 20:35, Luk 20:36; Joh 11:24; Act 23:6, Act 26:7; Heb 11:35

TSK: Phi 3:12 - I had // already perfect // I follow // that I // apprehended

I had : Phi 3:13, Phi 3:16; Psa 119:5, Psa 119:173-176; Rom 7:19-24; Gal 5:17; 1Ti 6:12; Jam 3:2

already perfect : Job 17:9; Psa 138:8; Pro 4:18; 1Co 13:10; 2Co 7:1, 2Co 13:9; Eph 4:12; Heb 12:23, Heb 13:21; 1Pe 5:10; 2Pe 1:5-8, 2Pe 3:18

I follow : Phi 3:14; Psa 42:1, Psa 63:1-3, Psa 63:8, Psa 84:2, Psa 94:15; Isa 51:1; Hos 6:3; 1Th 5:15; 1Ti 5:10, 1Ti 6:11; Heb 12:14; 1Pe 3:11-13

that I : Phi 3:14; 1Ti 6:12

apprehended : Psa 110:2, Psa 110:3; Act 9:3-6, Act 9:15; Eph 1:4; 2Th 2:13

TSK: Phi 3:13 - I count // one // forgetting // and reaching

I count : Phi 3:8, Phi 3:12, Phi 1:18-21, Phi 4:11-13

one : Psa 27:4; Luk 10:42; 2Pe 3:8

forgetting : Psa 45:10; Luk 9:62; 2Co 5:16; Heb 6:1

and reaching : Phi 2:12; Rom 15:23-29; 1Co 9:24-27; Heb 12:1, Heb 12:2

TSK: Phi 3:14 - press // the high

press : Luk 16:16; 2Co 4:17, 2Co 4:18, 2Co 5:1; 2Ti 4:7, 2Ti 4:8; Rev 3:21

the high : Rom 8:28-30, Rom 9:23, Rom 9:24; 1Th 2:12; 2Th 2:13, 2Th 2:14; Heb 3:1; 1Pe 1:3, 1Pe 1:4, 1Pe 1:13; 1Pe 5:10; 2Pe 1:3

TSK: Phi 3:15 - as // be thus // God

as : Rom 15:1; 1Co 2:6, 1Co 14:20; Col 1:28, Col 4:12; 2Ti 3:17; Heb 5:14 *Gr: Jam 1:4; 1Jo 2:5

be thus : Phi 3:12-14; Gal 5:10

God : Psa 25:8, Psa 25:9; Pro 2:3-6, Pro 3:5, Pro 3:6; Isa 35:8; Luk 11:13; Joh 7:17; Jam 1:5

TSK: Phi 3:16 - whereto // let us walk // let us mind

whereto : Gal 5:7; Heb 10:38, Heb 10:39; 2Pe 2:10-20; Rev 2:4, Rev 2:5, Rev 3:3

let us walk : Rom 12:16, Rom 15:5; Gal 6:16; Eph 5:2-8; Col 2:6

let us mind : Phi 1:27, Phi 2:2, Phi 4:2

TSK: Phi 3:17 - be // and mark

be : Phi 4:9; 1Co 4:16, 1Co 10:32, 1Co 10:33, 1Co 11:1; 1Th 1:6, 1Th 2:10-14; 2Th 3:7, 2Th 3:9; 1Ti 4:12; Heb 13:7; 1Pe 5:3

and mark : Psa 37:37; Rom 16:17; 2Th 3:14

TSK: Phi 3:18 - many // I have // even // enemies

many : Isa 8:11; Dan 4:37; Gal 2:14; Eph 4:17; 2Th 3:11; 2Pe 2:10; Jud 1:13

I have : 1Co 6:9; Gal 5:21; Eph 5:5, Eph 5:6; 1Th 4:6

even : Phi 1:4; Psa 119:136; Jer 9:1, Jer 13:17; Luk 19:41; Act 20:19, Act 20:30,Act 20:31; Rom 9:2; 2Co 2:4, 2Co 11:29

enemies : Phi 1:15, Phi 1:16; 1Co 1:18; Gal 1:7, Gal 2:21, Gal 6:12

TSK: Phi 3:19 - end // whose God // whose glory // who

end : Mat 25:41; Luk 12:45, Luk 12:46; 2Co 11:15; 2Th 2:8, 2Th 2:12; Heb 6:6-8; 2Pe 2:1, 2Pe 2:3; 2Pe 2:17; Jud 1:4, Jud 1:13; Rev 19:20, Rev 20:9, Rev 20:10, Rev 21:8, Rev 22:15

whose God : Phi 2:21; 1Sa 2:11-16, 1Sa 2:29; Isa 56:10-12; Eze 13:19, Eze 34:3; Mic 3:5, Mic 3:11; Mal 1:12; Luk 12:19, Luk 16:19; Rom 16:18; 1Ti 6:5; 2Ti 3:4; Tit 1:11, Tit 1:12; 2Pe 2:13; Jud 1:12

whose glory : Psa 52:1; Hos 4:7; Hab 2:15, Hab 2:16; Luk 18:4; 1Co 5:2, 1Co 5:6; 2Co 11:12; Gal 6:13; Jam 4:16; 2Pe 2:18, 2Pe 2:19; Jud 1:13, Jud 1:16; Rev 18:7

who : Psa 4:6, Psa 4:7, Psa 17:14; Mat 16:23; Rom 8:5-7; 1Co 3:3; 2Pe 2:3

TSK: Phi 3:20 - our // conversation // from // we look

our : Phi 1:18-21; Psa 16:11, Psa 17:15, Psa 73:24-26; Pro 15:24; Mat 6:19-21, Mat 19:21; Luk 12:21, Luk 12:32-34, Luk 14:14; 2Co 4:18, 2Co 5:1, 2Co 5:8; Eph 2:6, Eph 2:19; Col 1:5, Col 3:1-3; Heb 10:34, Heb 10:35; 1Pe 1:3, 1Pe 1:4

conversation : Gr. Isa 26:1, Isa 26:2; Gal 4:26; Eph 2:19; Heb 12:22; Rev. 21:10-27

from : Act 1:11; 1Th 4:16; 2Th 1:7, 2Th 1:8; Rev 1:7

we look : Phi 1:10; 1Co 1:7; 1Th 1:10; 2Ti 4:8; Tit 2:13; Heb 9:28; 2Pe 3:12-14

TSK: Phi 3:21 - shall // that // the working

shall : 1Co 15:42-44, 1Co 15:48-54

that : Mat 17:2; Col 3:4; 1Jo 3:2; Rev 1:13-20

the working : Isa 25:8, Isa 26:19; Hos 13:14; Mat 22:29, Mat 28:18; Joh 5:25-29, Joh 11:24-26; 1Co 15:25-27, 1Co 15:53-56; Eph 1:19, Eph 1:20; Rev 1:8, Rev 1:18, Rev 20:11-15

Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Kata/Frasa (per Ayat)

Poole: Phi 3:1 - Phi 3:1-3 // Phi 3:4-6 // Phi 3:7-11 // Phi 3:12-14 // Phi 3:15,16 // Phi 3:17 // Phi 3:18,19 // Phi 3:20,21 // Finally // My brethren // Rejoice in the Lord // To write the same things to you // To me indeed is not grievous // But for you it is safe

Phi 3:1-3 Paul exhorteth to rejoice in the Lord, and to beware

of the false teachers of the circumcision,

Phi 3:4-6 showing that as a Jew he had better grounds of

confidence than they.

Phi 3:7-11 But that he disclaimed them all, trusting only to the

justification which is of God by faith, and hoping

to partake of the resurrection through Christ.

Phi 3:12-14 He acknowledgeth his present imperfection, and that

he was still anxiously striving for the prize,

Phi 3:15,16 exhorting others to be like-minded,

Phi 3:17 and to follow his example.

Phi 3:18,19 For many were enemies to the gospel, being earthly minded,

Phi 3:20,21 but his conversation and views were heavenly.

Finally moreover, or as to what remains, i.e. by way of conclusion to the antecedent matter, and transition to the general exhortation, he here premiseth to the subsequent admonition.

My brethren willingly repeating the title of brethren, to show the respect he had for them, and to sweeten that he was about to subjoin.

Rejoice in the Lord he moves them (as we, with almost all, do translate it) not as saluting or bidding them farewell, Luk 1:28 2Co 13:11 ; but to rejoice in the Lord, as Phi 4:4 , either connoting the object matter of their joy, compared with Phi 3:3 , or rather the efficient, importing for and according to the will of the Lord, in a manner agreeable to the pleasure of him who affords a ground of rejoicing in the midst of your tribulations and afflictions; considering his mercy, Phi 2:18,27,29 , they might taste how good the Lord is, as elsewhere, Psa 37:4 Jer 9:24 , with Rom 5:11 2Co 10:17 1Th 5:16 1Pe 1:8 ; and so not after a carnal and worldly, but spiritual and Christian manner, to cheer up themselves in him, when the world frowns most, Psa 4:6,7 .

To write the same things to you writing of the same things cannot be referred to any other epistles which he wrote to the Philippians, but to those things which, while present with them, he had delivered to them by word of mouth, as Phi 4:9 : compare Isa 28:10 Rom 15:15 2Pe 1:12 1Jo 2:21 .

To me indeed is not grievous for my part, I do not do it with regret, nor account it tedious, (as some teachers do), as if I were ashamed of it, that I should do any thing superfluous, or not necessary, in writing again the same things for the matter of them, that I had before preached to preserve you from falling, as others have done, Phi 3:18 .

But for you it is safe because this repetition of the same doctrine, though in another way, is pertinent to your edification, (yea, as some read, it is necessary), it is greatly advantageous for your stability in the faith, and to caution and keep you in safety, from the insinuations of false teachers, that I now give you a brief memorial in writing of those things, that you may be cautioned, and they may not, especially in this day of adversity, slip out of your memories, or be lost.

Poole: Phi 3:2 - Beware // Of dogs // Beware of evil workers // Beware of the concision // beware

Beware he cautions all, both officers and people: and though the original word doth signify to look with mind and eye, yet it is also frequently rendered, to take heed, Mar 8:15 12:38 8:9,23,33 1Co 16:10 2Jo 1:8 .

Of dogs of those dogs, (with the article emphatically proposed), a metaphor borrowed from those voracious, fierce, impure animals, whose price was not brought into the Lord’ s house, Deu 23:18 Pro 26:11 Isa 66:3 2Pe 2:22 ; to connote the false apostles, who endeavoured to corrupt the gospel with Judaism and profaneness, even antichristianism; compare Psa 22:16,20 Mt 7:6 15:26 Rev 22:15 . Some think the apostle may allude unto the proverbial speech: Take heed of a mad dog, forasmuch as false teachers, being acted as with a certain madness, would bite Christ and his apostles, and tear his body; and these mad dogs were the more dangerous, in that they did not bark so much as bite. Hence they say, Take heed of a dumb dog and still watcher. There were of several sorts, enemies to the cross of Christ, Gal 5:12 1Th 2:14,15 ; some more secret, as Absalom against Amnon, 2Sa 13:22 , pretending contrary to their practice, 2Ki 8:13 13:22 . Our Saviour bade his disciples beware of such, Mat 10:17 , which he found to be of this temper, Psa 22:16,20 55:15 ; though some of them were but dumb dogs, Isa 56:10 : some such there were amongst the Philipplans, who, notwithstanding their fair pretext, were enemies to the cross of Christ, did secretly disparage his true apostle, and tear his flock: see Phi 3:18 , with Phi 1:15,16 .

Beware of evil workers such as pretended to labour in promoting the gospel of Christ, but secretly were doing mischief amongst Christians, not serving the glory of Christ but their own bellies, Phi 3:18,19 ; being, as he elsewhere calls them, deceitful workers, 2Co 11:13 , glorying in the flesh, Gal 6:13 .

Beware of the concision by an elegant allusion to the name circumcision, which rite the Jews did glory in, and some false teachers of Christianity, after the time of reformation, did urge as necessary to salvation, and require it from others, Act 15:1 Gal 5:2,4 Ga 6:12 . These Paul here, in a holy sarcasm, charges the Philippians to take heed of, under the contemptible name of the concision, or cutting off, intimating that the exterior part of that typical work, which was done in the cutting off the foreskin, was now, from the coming of Christ, altogether made a mere cutting off the skin, condemned by God in the heathens, as a profane incision, Lev 19:28 21:5 , where the LXX. use the same preposition in the compound word, the apostle here doth in contempt of the thing; which could now bring nothing of profit, nothing of holiness, nothing of honour to any Christian, could no more avail or advantage a man now, than if it were conferred on a beast, being no seal of the covenant now, but a stickling for that rite (when abolished by Christ) which was a mere rending of the church, and in that effect a cutting off from it, Gal 5:10,12 . And the apostle doth three times significantly repeat this word,

beware of these enemies to Christian purity and unity, to show how necessary it was to avoid their insinuations, against which he is more sharp in his Epistle to the Galatians.

Poole: Phi 3:3 - Are the circumcision // Which worship God in the spirit // And rejoice in Christ Jesus // And have no confidence in the flesh

In opposition to and confutation of the concision he speaks of himself, and all true believers in the fellowship of the gospel, partakers of the same grace and Spirit with him, Phi 1:5,7 Php 2:1 ; and saith, we.

Are the circumcision using a metonymy, are the circumcision now acceptable, and not displeasing to God, i.e. we are what is really signified by it, and therefore as to the main intent of it are the circumcised (it being usual to put circumcision for circumcised, Act 11:2 Rom 3:30 4:12 15:8 Gal 2:7,8,9,12 Col 4:11 Tit 1:10 ): he doth not mean with respect to carnal circumcision, i.e. which is outward in the flesh, but which is inward in the Spirit, Rom 2:28,29 , made without hands by the circumcision of Christ, with whom we are buried in baptism, Col 2:11,12 ; and being Christ’ s are Abraham’ s spiritual seed, and heirs of the promise, Gal 3:29 .

Which worship God in the spirit i.e. who have cut off all carnal confidence of salvation in any external services, (which they of the concision contend for), and do worship God, not with carnal, but spiritual worship, such as now under the gospel he doth require, Joh 4:23,24 Ro 1:9 ; from a renewed heart; Joh 3:8 1Pe 3:15yielding peculiar adoration to the Lord our God, with a sincere mind, and by the assistance of his Spirit in the exercise of faith and love, Rom 8:5,6,26,27 Eph 3:16,17 6:18 Heb 10:22 ; according to the same rule he hath prescribed, Phi 3:16 , with Rom 12:1,2 Ga 6:16 , in and through Christ, Heb 13:15 .

And rejoice in Christ Jesus in whom alone (not in Moses also, as false teachers would join them) glorying we trust for acceptance with God, 2Co 5:9 Gal 6:14 ; in communion with whom is ground of rejoicing through Christ, who is the substance or body of Mosaic shadows, Phi 3:9 .

And have no confidence in the flesh and not rest, or trust, or place our hope in any carnal or external privilege or performance, or any other besides Jesus Christ, to commend us to God, Gal 3:2,11-13 .

Poole: Phi 3:4 - Though I might also have confidence in the flesh // If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more

Though I might also have confidence in the flesh: to prevent any cavil about what he said, as if he did magnify Christ, and forbear glorying in those external privileges they did so much bear themselves upon, out of envy to them for what they had; he here argues upon supposition, (as elsewhere, to cut off occasion from boasters, 2Co 11:12,18,21,22 ), that, if it were lawful, and would turn to any good account, to confide in the flesh, he had the same ground the impostors had, and might build up that in himself which he had destroyed in others, Gal 2:18 .

If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: yea, and to compare things by a just balance, if any of those he had justly taxed, or any other in conceit might hold his head higher in that way, he could produce not only as much, but much more ground of trust in those external rites, &c. as he that was most excellent; only that it was in vain, and of no value, Phi 3:7 .

Poole: Phi 3:5 - Circumcised the eighth day // Of the stock of Israel // Of the tribe of Benjamin // An Hebrew of the Hebrews // As touching the law, a Pharisee

Circumcised the eighth day or, there was, or I had, the eighth day circumcision; so it may by a usual supply of the verb be read, (as also what follows), without a metonymy. He begins with his birth privilege, intimating that he was not proselyted, but born within the pale of the church, and dedicated to God under the seal of the covenant at the day of God’ s appointment, Gen 17:12 .

Of the stock of Israel not sprung from ethnic parents, not an Ishmaelite, or Edomite, but a genuine Israelite, Rom 11:1 2Co 11:22 .

Of the tribe of Benjamin of that more honest division where the temple stood, Jos 18:28 , of the tribe of Benjamin, the son of beloved Rachel, and his father’ s darling, Gen 44:20 ; under God’ s special protection, Deu 33:12 , forward in the reformation, Ezr 1:5 .

An Hebrew of the Hebrews a true descendant by Jacob from Abraham the father of the faithful, called an Hebrew, (Eber joined not in building Babel), Gen 10:21,25 14:13 1Sa 4:6 ; signifying that he was of the truly ancient lineage which retained the Hebrew tongue, Joh 8:33,39 Ac 22:2 Rom 4:12 2Co 11:22 .

As touching the law, a Pharisee by religion and stricter observation of the law, according to the prescript most in vogue, of that sect which for learning, knowledge of the Scripture, and reputation for holiness, was the most eminent, Act 26:5 ; yea, and his father was of this order before him, Act 23:6 .

Poole: Phi 3:6 - Concerning zeal // Persecuting the church // Touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless

Concerning zeal not lukewarm, but exceedingly fervent in the strictest observances of the Pharisaic order, which was much in external devotion, Luk 18:12 , very solicitous for proselytes, Mat 23:15,25 . Herein he was above his equals for years, being exceedingly zealous of the traditions of the fathers, Gal 1:14 , (and his zeal had been very commendable had it been in a good matter, Gal 4:18 ), that which the false apostles contended much for.

Persecuting the church which he showed all manner of ways in his rage against the church of Christ, conceived by the Pharisees to be opposite to the law of Moses, Act 9:1 22:3,4 26:9-12 Gal 1:13 .

Touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless he rises higher yet in his personal obedience; he might have been a zealot in his sect, and yet a hypocrite, if not of a scandalous life; but it seems, in the external observation of those things which the ceremonial or moral law did prescribe, he was, in the eye of man, of a blameless conversation, resembling Zacharias and Elisabeth, Luk 1:6 . Men could not tax him, he had behaved himself so conscientiously, Act 23:1 ; yet when he had his eyes opened, he found here was no such matter of confidence for him before God, 1Sa 16:7 1Co 4:4 . This external performance he found, when enlightened, was far short of internal and perfect obedience, Rom 7:7 ; and therefore he saw it necessary to change the ground and foundation of his confidence, all that he before rested on, unto Christ alone, 1Co 3:11 2Co 5:17 ; not seeking to receive honour from men, but that from Christ only, Joh 5:44 .

Poole: Phi 3:7

Having argued how he might have had as great a plea for confidence of his acceptance with God as any, if it would have held from the recited particulars, he now shows, how advantageous soever they had, in the judgment of others as well as himself, been reckoned to be, before he was effectually called, yet, since the scales fell off his eyes, that he could discern the truth, he was so far from accounting them profitable, that indeed he accounted them prejudicial; so far from an advantage, that they were a damage to him, looking for salvation by Christ alone, Mat 21:31 Rom 9:30 . They were but as pebbles that hide the Pearl of price, Mat 13:46 ; as ciphers to this figure, that can make any thing valuable, therefore by Paul preferred to all before.

Poole: Phi 3:8 - Yea doubtless // And I count all things // But loss // For the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord // For whom I have suffered the loss of all things // And do count them but dung // That I may win Christ

Yea doubtless he very emphatically, in the Greek, expresseth his stronger resolution upon further deliberation.

And I count all things as he had reckoned and rated when he was first wrought upon to entertain Christ, so at present he did not alter his judgment, in the valuation of any thing he had rejected; yea, he speaks universally, what he did but indefinitely, using the present tense with a discretive particle: he disesteemed, not only his Jewish privileges and exercises before, but his Christian after conversion, as of any worth to commend him to God, or as any matter to be rested on for his justification before God; showing he did not ascribe his being accepted to eternal life, unto his own works after he was renewed, and now had so many years served God in his apostolical ministry, performed such excellent works, planted so many churches, gained so many souls to Christ, passed through perils for the name of Christ. He remarkably puts in all, not only which he had before recited, but to all works as such whatsoever, yea, and to all whatsoever could be thought on besides Christ.

But loss whatever they be in themselves, they are but loss or damage, of no worth to me, as to any dependence on them for acceptance with God.

For the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord compared with the surpassing worth and excellency in the fiducial, experimental (as is plain from what follows) knowledge of Jesus Christ, in his person, offices, and benefits, wherein an eye of faith can discern transcendent mysteries, Isa 53:2 Joh 17:3 1Jo 5:20 1Ti 3:16 1Pe 1:12 ; to be adored by the sincere servants of so excellent a Lord, Mar 5:30,33 ; to have an interest in whom, and to enjoy whom, every thing besides is despicable.

For whom I have suffered the loss of all things for whom (he adds) he did not only account them loss, as Phi 3:7in his judgment and readiness to lose them, but he actually sustained the loss of them, Act 20:23 1Co 4:13 2Co 11:23 , &c.: as to any plea for his acceptance, he suffered them all to go in this case, which he could not do till God, of his rich and insuperable grace, wrought this resolution in him, by his Holy Spirit; then he willingly did it.

And do count them but dung yea, and upon a right stating of the accounts he reckoned he was no loser by the exchange, in that he did esteem them, in a just balance, comparing spiritual things with spiritual, 1Co 2:13 , in point of trust, those excellent things with an excellent Christ, to be no better than dung, as we with the Syriac and others translate the word; or dogs’ , meat, refuse cast to the dogs, with others; and might agree with the gust of those, Phi 3:2 , whom he calls dogs, Mat 15:26 Mar 7:27 . Those much conversant in Greek authors do criticise largely upon the word, which is acknowledged on all hands to import things, if not loathsome, yet vile and contemptible, as chaff, &c.; and so not absolutely, but in their respect, did Paul account all things in comparison of Christ, even our good works proceeding from a heart sanctified but in part; he doth not mean of the substance, but quality of the trust or merit placed in them; not in themselves, but in regard of confidence in them, as to pardon and acceptance with God: not in point of sanctification, but justification, the apostle is here speaking to. So to rely upon them would not only comparatively, but positively, be greatest loss, as keeping from Christ, who is the greatest gain, for which the loss of all besides was to be sustained.

That I may win Christ that he might gain him, and be assured of an interest in him, whom he had above described in his state of humiliation and exaltation, and enjoy communion with him, Mat 11:28 Luk 14:26,33 2Co 4:6 1Jo 5:12 ; of whom he would receive more, and for whom he would do more, aiming at the making of Christ himself his own, by some kind of propriety, 1Co 1:30 .

Poole: Phi 3:9 - And be found in him // Not having mine own righteosness // Which is of the law // the righteoueness of God by faith

And be found in him a learned interpreter reads it actively, and may find, or recover, in him, all my losses. But following our own translation: by winning of Christ, the apostle doth not only mean the profession of the faith of the gospel, but his union with Christ, and participation of him, which, in the judgment of the all-seeing God, will answer all damages, when a man comes to stand in judgment at his tribunal here or hereafter, Rom 8:1 ; this being the only course can be taken to be found of him in peace at the last, 2Pe 3:14 , for out of him is to be under the curse, Gal 3:10 Eph 2:3,12,13 . It is necessary, therefore, that a man be implanted into him, who in his priestly office acted in our name towards God, Heb 5:1 10:7 ; and that he abide in him, our Head, Joh 6:56 15:4 Eph 5:30 Col 2:6,7 1Jo 5:12 , and not be found in himself.

Not having mine own righteosness that we might more fully understand his meaning of being found in Christ, he defines it negatively and positively, by distinguishing of a twofold righteousness, supposing one necessary to his acceptance with God:

1. Inherent, within him, which he called his own, as being personally performed by him.

Which is of the law he describes it to be in a conformity to the law, and the righteousness which the law requires, and those works of it, which if a man do, loving God with all his heart, he shall live in them, Rom 2:13 3:27,28 10:5 . He makes no distinction of any works done by him before or after conversion, but declares he dare not adventure to be found in any personal inherent righteousness of his own, as to the special end of his justification before God, Gal 3:10-12 . He doth not say, not having good works, unto which he was created in Christ Jesus to walk in them, Eph 2:10 ; but, not having mine own righteousness; he could not trust to any thing within him, as to his standing before God; however he was now enlightened, and acted by a better principle, having a better end than while a Pharisee, he could not upon that account have confidence towards God, no more than Noah, who was a prophet and preacher of righteousness, and in his generation, as to his inherent righteousness, the most perfect and just man; or Abraham, Gen 15:6 Rom 4:3 ; or David, Psa 130:3 143:2 . But:

2. He stays upon a righteousness without him, which is not his own by any acquisition of his, but the righteousness of another, Tit 3:5-7 , viz. of Christ, without which he would not be found, and in which he would be found, i.e. that which is through the faith of Christ, having him for its object; which he doth elsewhere oppose to the deeds of the law, or works of righteousness that he had done, Rom 3:28 Gal 2:16 Tit 3:5 ; as he doth believing unto doing, which describe these two sorts of righteousness, in the one of which he would be found at his trial for justification, in the other he would not, Rom 1:17 10:5,10,11 .

Hence, he doth by the following expression signify more clearly the righteousness he stays himself upon, and wherein he would be found at God’ s tribunal, viz. the same righteousness which Noah had an eye upon (typified by the ark) when, by preparing an ark, he became heir of the righteousness which is by faith, Heb 11:7 : the righteousness which is of God by faith; not his own, but counted unto him for righteousness; as unto Abraham, who believed God, Rom 4:3 ; as unto David, unto whom God imputed righteousness without works, Rom 4:6 . This righteousness of God which he imputes upon believing, is not originally the believers’ own inherent righteousness, but the righteousness of another in another, and theirs only derivatively from him, in whom believers are made the righteousness of God, 2Co 5:21 (who are not said to be made the mercy of God): unto them, being in Christ Jesus, he is made righteousness, 1Co 1:30 , yea, the righteosness of God, Rom 1:17 , (these are spoken of by the apostle distinctly, as here, so elsewhere, Rom 10:3 , with Rom 9:30,31 ), as not only freely given and imputed of God, but as being only of value in the judgment of God to justify, because performed by him, who is not only man but God, Act 20:28 Rom 3:21,24,25 10:3 . Not that it can be meant of the essential righteousness of God; for the righteousness by the faith of Christ, Rom 3:22 , or that which constitutes them righteous in God’ s sight, upon their receiving of Christ and being implanted into him, was that obedience which he yielded unto God for them, voluntarily doing and suffering his will, Joh 15:13 Rom 5:6-8 Phi 2:8 1Ti 6:13 Heb 9:14 . For this obedience in their stead being fully performed by him who had the Divine and human nature conjoined in himself, was of infinite value, so that his mediatorial righteousness being some way imputed to those who are found in him, they are found righteous before God in his just judgment, as living members of Christ, to whom they are united by the Spirit and faith, Joh 6:56 15:4 Eph 5:30,32 Col 1:27 . This mystical head and body making but one Christ, and thereupon his righteousness is reputed theirs (and thereby they are set right with God) in such a measure as is meet for it to be communicated from Head to members, who partake of the thing imputed, the righteousness which satisfied the law, and therefore most proper to justify against it, and answer the demands of it. And in that it is said to be

the righteoueness of God by faith we consider faith as the means whereby we came to be interested in it. Faith itself is not the righteousness, which is upon, not in the believer, Rom 3:22 , entering into judgment with God; but the righteousness which believers find in Christ, which was ordained of God to denominate them righteous. The law (which requires obedience) having its end in nothing but the righteousness which satisfied it, called the righteousness of Christ, Rom 10:4 , with Tit 2:13 2Pe 1:1 ; wherein the law is established, Rom 3:31 , and its righteousness fulfilled, Rom 8:4 ; inherent graces are not called the righteousness, but our own, Mat 5:20 Luk 21:19 Rom 10:8 2Co 8:8 Col 1:4 1Pe 1:21 . Christ is so far righteousness as he is the end of the law, and that he is in the satisfaction itself, not in remission, which is an effect of it.

Poole: Phi 3:10 - That I may know him // The power of his resurrection // The fellowship of his sufferings // Being made comformable unto his death

That I may know him as consequent upon the former he had by winning of Christ, he doth here insist upon sanctification, which would result from faith’ s exerting itself in a further saving, experimental knowledge of Christ, to be found in whom, he undervalued all besides coniformity to Christ in holiness, being to have communion with him in righteousness, 1Co 1:30 ; God having appointed those who are found in Christ, to be conformed to his image in holiness, Rom 8:29 2Co 3:18 . This saving knowledge is expressed elsewhere in Scripture by the senses, Joh 10:4 2Co 2:14 4:6 Eph 1:18 1Pe 2:3 . All and only those found in Christ, do so know him, Joh 5:20 6:46,69 Heb 8:11 ; and desire so to know him, Phi 1:9 , that they may have a lively sense of his power, communion, and conformity.

The power of his resurrection the power of his resurrection in us; i.e. from the death of the soul, under a privation of spiritual life, and the image of God, unto newness of life, by the effectual working of the same Spirit which raised Christ himself from the dead, Rom 6:4,10 Eph 1:20 2:5,6 ; called the first resurrection, Rev 20:5 ; when the soul is raised from under the dominion of sin where it lay.

The fellowship of his sufferings by communion of Christ’ s sufferings, is not meant of bearing a part in the merit of his personal sufferings, but of being partaker of his sufferings in his members, or mystical body, whether inward or outward, (though this chiefly), Mat 20:23 Act 9:4 Rom 8:17 2Co 1:7 4:10,11 Ga 5:24 Col 1:24 2Ti 2:11,12 .

Being made comformable unto his death some read, while made conformable to his death, not only in dying to sin, Rom 6:5,6 , but in being conformed to his image in suffering, Rom 8:29 ; dying daily, or always living ready to be delivered to death for Jesus’ sake upon his call, Rom 8:18 2Co 4:11 . Such was his Christian temper, that he could cheerfully go through sufferings by reason of some communion and conformity he had in them with Jesus Christ.

Poole: Phi 3:11

Being found in whom, after justification and sanctification, he doubts not to be glorified, (by a figure of a part, resurrection of the body, for the whole), though he expresseth himself as one that must pass through difficulties ere he attain not only to a spiritual resurrection from sin, but a glorious one of the body from the grave, even such a one as will be an elevation or ascension of the body united to the soul, not only exempted from the grave, but exalted into the air, to be for ever with the Lord, 1Th 4:14,17 ; from whom he was assured no death should separate him, Rom 8:38,39 2Ti 4:8 ; who lived by faith in expectation of the time and the manner of it, 1Co 15:14,19,30,32 1Pe 1:6,7 , that he should be then completely holy in his measure as Christ himself is.

Poole: Phi 3:12 - Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect // in heavenly places in Christ Jesus // But I follow after // If that I may apprehend that // For which // I am apprehended of Christ Jesus

Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: by an elegant anticipation and correction, lest any should conclude from what he had written, as if he were now arrived at the height he aimed at in the excellency of the knowledge of Christ, and a full and perfect stature in that body, or almost at the very pitch, he doth here make a modest confession of his not attainment, (whatever false apostles might pretend to), 2Co 10:12 12:6,7 ; but of his earnest desire and utmost endeavour to be raised to the complete holiness he was designed to,

in heavenly places in Christ Jesus Eph 2:6 .

But I follow after he did pursue with all vigour, as those labouring in the agonistics, with all his might and main, not desponding of obtaining the goal, 1Co 9:26 , with 2Co 4:8 ; with groanings and longings after utmost perfection, 2Co 5:4,6,7 2Pe 3:12 ; as those perfected in glory, Heb 12:23 .

If that I may apprehend that if that, or whether that, (not as intimating any uncertainty, but his more earnest contending for holiness in the Christian race), I may lay hold on that attainment to be as holy as men shall be at the resurrection.

For which even as, or for which, ( as we render it well so, Phi 4:10 ), i.e. for which end, or for this purpose, to be perfectly sanctified and glorified at the resurrection.

I am apprehended of Christ Jesus he was at his effectual calling laid hold on by Christ, being found in whom, he was striving after perfection. This apprehended is a metaphor borrowed from those that run in a race, one taking hold of another to draw him after to win the prize as well as himself. He eyed Christ having taken him into his hand, as one that would not suffer him to be plucked out by any opposers, Joh 10:28 . He knew that Christ, having brought him nigh unto God, and undertook to work such a measure of holiness in him, one day would completely glorify him, so that, whatever he passed through, nothing should be lost, Joh 6:39 .

Poole: Phi 3:13 - Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended // But this one thing I do // Forgetting those things which are behind // And reaching forth unto those things which are before

Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended he repeats, in somewhat a different manner of expression, what he had written in the former verse, with a friendly compellation, gently and kindly to insinuate a caution against the false teachers’ suggestion about perfection in this state, from the instance of himself, so eminently called to be an apostle of Christ, 1Co 10:12who, after all his labours and sufferings for his sake, did reckon he had not yet arrived to the height of what he was called to.

But this one thing I do but he would have them to understand that he was so intent upon this one thing, for which he was brought by the Spirit into communion with Christ, as if there were not any thing else worthy of his thoughts: as Psa 27:4 Luk 10:42 .

Forgetting those things which are behind like a true spiritual racer, not minding what he had received by grace from him who had took hold of him, or how much he had run of his Christian race, reckoning it was much short of the whole, or the main intended by Christ in taking hold of him.

And reaching forth unto those things which are before but straining forward, as it were, with all his force and skill, casting himself like a dart towards the mark, so running that he might obtain 1Co 9:24all and the whole, that was his particular portion for ever, to be received from God, as the purchase of Christ, even the total that God had in and by Jesus Christ designed him, and in Christ bestowed upon him, out of his rich grace, as his special allotment.

Poole: Phi 3:14 - I press toward the mark // For the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus

I press toward the mark he did not look back, Luk 9:62 , nor was lazy, but did follow hard, with an eager pursuit, Mat 11:12after the perfection that was in his eye; not erring from, his main scope; considering what he had received was but in part, he did still press for more, upon that ground that Christ had apprehended him for more, as if he were stretching out his hands to lay hold of it.

For the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus trusting he should, through grace, be kept all along, maugre all difficulties, in the hand of Christ, till upon his account he should be fully possessed of all that was aimed at, even that which is styled the prize, or victorious palm of our high calling; and the Christians’ may well be termed a high calling, considering their heavenly birth when called, and laid hold of by Christ, Joh 1:13 , and the purchased inheritance eternally settled upon such spiritual, high-born princes, Eph 1:14 Rev 1:6 ; who are by one oblation perfected for ever, Heb 10:14 ; which will appear most glorious when they are raised up in Christ, who will then give out all the salvation he hath called us unto.

Poole: Phi 3:15 - Let us therefore, as many as be perfect // Be thus minded // And if in any thing ye be otherwise minded // God shall reveal even this unto you

A learned man reads it from the Greek to this purpose: As many therefore as are perfect, let us think this; and if ye think any thing otherwise, even this also God will, or may, reveal to you, (besides what we have attained to), to walk by the same rule, to think the same thing: conceiving it not congruous to the sense, or syntax, but alien from all manner of speaking, to translate it imperatively: Let us walk by the same rule. But following our own translation:

Let us therefore, as many as be perfect from the instance of himself, imitating Christ, in loving condescension and lowliness of mind, Phi 2:3,5 , worshipping God in the spirit, and not having confidence in the flesh, Phi 3:3 , in the fellowship of Christ’ s sufferings, Phi 3:10 , pressing forward to absolute perfection, he here doth with himself encourage as many rulers and ruled who were settled in the fundamentals of Christianity, and who had made progress in holiness, to mind that main business of religion, for the prevention of what might ensue upon exasperating differences; whereupon he styles them comparatively perfect in the way, not in the heavenly country, 1Co 13:10 ; which doth not disagree with what he said before, if we further distinguish of a perfection:

1. Of integrity and sincerity, which some call of parts; as a perfect living child, that hath all the parts of the parent, so, upon the new birth, every real believer receiving grace for grace, Joh 1:13,16 .

2. Of maturity, proficiency or degrees where grown to a full stature in Christ; here relatively and comparatively to others, who are more rude, ignorant, and weak brethren, since, in regard of their progress in godliness, they are not taken up with childish things, 1Co 13:9-11 , with 1Co 14:20 ; but are grown more adult, and no more children, 1Co 2:6 Eph 4:13,14 Heb 5:13,14 6:1 ; which he doth elsewhere, in regard of their experimental knowledge, call spiritual, Gal 6:1 , who here worship God in the spirit, Phi 3:3 : as many as are sincere, of whatsoever stature, whether bishops, deacons, or private Christians.

Be thus minded he would have them to be so minded as he himself was, in renouncing all carnal confidence, acknowledging their gradual imperfection, and still to be striving and contending to a fuller measure of holiness, till they come to be consummate in Christ.

And if in any thing ye be otherwise minded and if any, through ignorance of Christ and themselves, conversing with those ready to mislead them, should be of any other persuasion in some things only, considering the different attainments of the strong and weak, and thereupon the variety of sentiments, whence would spring some differences not only in opinions but practices amongst them, (which yet hindered not their agreement in what they were attained to),

God shall reveal even this unto you he hoped Christ, who had already called or apprehended those sincere ones, would in due time rescue them from so dangerous an error, 1Jo 2:20,27 , if they would attend upon him in the use of means to come to the knowledge of the truth, with faith and prayer, yielding up themselves to be taught of him.

Poole: Phi 3:16 - Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained // Let us walk by the same rule // Let us mind the same thing

Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained however, let us, or we ought to, walk in obedience to Christ, love to him and each other, according to the light we have already received, trusting he would make known his mind more clearly to us. Our using the light we have well, is the ready way to have more: it behoves us, then, to live suitably to that degree of the knowledge of Christ we have attained, 1Jo 2:3-5 but still within our lines, with regard to the same rule.

Let us walk by the same rule: whether in this metaphorical allusion the apostle do borrow his phrase from architects, soldiers, or racers, is not much material. Be sure he had an eye to that

same rule which was well known to them, and by which he regulated himself, and therefore it was such a canon as really had a Divine stalnp upon it, that very canon in exact conformity whereunto God’ s Israel might be sure of the best peace, Gal 6:16 Phi 4:7 . The unerring word of God, exemplified in the condescending love of Christ, whom he had proposed to their imitation, in whom he was found, and the fellowship of whose sufferings he desired to know more perfectly, being heavenly-minded, in opposition to those who became enemies to his cross, Phi 3:18,19 : With Gal 6:14,15 ; the rule of faith, love, and a Christian life, or heavenly conversation, which he doth elsewhere call a walking in the Spirit, and according to the Spirit, in opposition to walking in and after the flesh, Rom 8:1,5 Ga 5:16 .

Let us mind the same thing: in like manner, all of us who are spiritual, grown Christians, should be so affected, being of one accord, one mind, and one judgment, in imitation of Christ; so far that the adult, or better grown Christians, should not despise the weak or less grown, neither should they judge the adult; but in the fundamental articles, those main principles of the Christian institution wherein we all agree, in that common salvation towards which we all press, agreeable to the analogy of faith, we should still be perfecting holiness in the fear of God, by the same rule of faith, and loving and mutual condescension, by the unity of our judgments in the main business of religion, the concord of our affections, the concurrence of our ends, our consent and delight in the same truth: we should declare to the church of God, in our differences Christ is not divided, but in the variety of persuasions in lesser matters, (not fundamental), the purity, holiness, and peace of the church is still preserved, Phi 2:14 . The main principles attained wherein dissenting parties agree, being the measure of all other doctrines, to hold nothing inconsistent with the majesty or truth of the foundation; to walk circumspectly, and in order, according to that wherein is a harmony; not to break our rank, or leave our station, contrary to received prescripts; wherein every Christian is to exercise a judgment of discerning for himself, Rom 14:23 , and not impose on each other, (as that sort of Christian Jews who did compel the Christian Gentiles, Gal 2:14,15 , &c.) superadding no preter-evangelical doctrine, Gal 1:8,9 ; to live godly, agreeably to known truths; to serve God soberly and prudently, (with due moderation), in our places, consonantly to the measure of the rule God hath distributed to us, 2Co 10:13 , holding the truths wherein we agree in love, unity, and constancy. It being more reasonable that the many truths wherein we agree, should cause us to join in love, which is a Christian duty, rather than the few opinions wherein we disagree, should cause a breach in affection, which is a human infirmity.

Poole: Phi 3:17 - Brethren, be followers together of me // And mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample

Brethren, be followers together of me he doth here not only propound his own single example to the brethren at Philippi, as he doth to others elsewhere, 1Co 4:16 , implying the limitation there expressed, viz. as he and others were followers of God and Christ, 1Co 11:1 Eph 5:1 1Th 1:6 2:14 ; but, by a word expressing joint consent, he would have them to be fellow imitators or fellow followers of him and others in what he had exhorted them to, yea, with one heart.

And mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample so they would be like other churches which he had planted, that had an eye upon his example; whom he would have them accurately to observe, following their faith, and considering the end of their conversation, Heb 13:7 , agreeing with his, and Timothy’ s, (who joined with him in this Epistle), and other’ s, in opposition to those who were causal of division, Rom 16:17 1Co 1:12 , even such as he describes, Phi 3:18,19 ; who did not lord it over God’ s heritage, but were ensamples (in faith, love, and humility) to the flock, 2Co 1:24 1Ti 4:12 Tit 2:7,8 1Pe 5:3 .

Poole: Phi 3:18 - For many walk // Of whom I have told you often // And now tell you even weeping // That they are the enemies of the cross of Christ

He doth, as in a parenthesis, according to our Bibles, allege reasons for his proposals.

For many walk there were not a few who did at present walk otherwise, being evil workers, Phi 3:2 , not to be imitated or followed, Mat 7:22,23 .

Of whom I have told you often of which, as a faithful watchman, he had again and again given them warning.

And now tell you even weeping and now also by this present writing, out of great compassion to their immortal souls, he did repeat it again with tears in his eyes.

That they are the enemies of the cross of Christ they were such who did in the general (whatever they might under a fair show pretend) oppose the gospel of Christ, yea, did in effect under the cloak of profession, that which was in a tendency to evert the true Christian doctrine, discipline, and holiness. They did go about to mingle the law and the gospel, to join Moses with Christ for justification, as Phi 3:4 , &c.; Gal 2:21 , and so undervalue redemption from the curse, Gal 3:13 5:2,4 . In special, these Epicureans (as it should seem they were by the following character, rather than real Christians) might rightly be called enemies, because they did seem by their sensuality to restore the kingdom to those whom Christ had on his cross openly spoiled of it, Col 2:15 , that they might gratify the Jews in urging the necessity of circumcision; so undermining the virtue and merit of Christ’ s passion, defirming the end of it, as the Jews did him in it, and in times of trial avoid persecution, Gal 6:12,14 , they showed themselves by interpretation really to be enemies to Christ crucified, 1Co 1:23,24 2:2 .

Poole: Phi 3:19 - Whose end is destruction // Whose God is their belly // And whose glory is in their shame // Who mind earthly things

Whose end is destruction their condition will at last be miserable, as he had limited above, Phi 1:28 , of their being under the dismal token of perdition; their end will be according to their works, 2Co 11:15 . However they may live delicately at present, in gratifying their sensual appetites, be free from persecution, admired and respected by many, and please themselves in their present course, yet their fruit and wages at the last cast will be dreadful, Rom 6:21,23 Ga 6:8 Rev 18:8 19:20,21 .

Whose God is their belly the great business of these is, their sensuality, their good eating and drinking; they mind the pleasing of their carnal appetite, as if it were their God, 2Pe 2:13,18 3:3 ; instead of our Lord Jesus Christ, really they serve their own belly, Rom 16:18 , love their pleasures indeed more than God, 2Ti 3:4 .

And whose glory is in their shame yea, they boast of those things whereof they ought to be ashamed, thinking it reputation they have got many to imitate thein, Joh 5:44 12:43 they are puffed up with that which should rather make them to blush, 1Co 5:2 , as being attended at last with confusion.

Who mind earthly things however under the colour of Christianity, they at present are taken up in the pursuit of their sensual and earthly enjoyments. The Greek word comprehends the actions and operations of the mind, will, and affections, importing they did inordinately mind, favour, and relish sublunary accommodations, Rom 8:5 , the profits, ease, bounty, pleasure, and glory of this world, preferring them in their hearts to the things of Christ.

Poole: Phi 3:20 - For our conversation is in heaven // From whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ

For our conversation is in heaven he here adds a further reason why he would have them to be fellow followers of him, and such-like as he, because though they were not already in heaven, yet their citizenship was there, the privileges of that city did belong to them, who, according to the municipal laws of that corporation (which cannot lose its charter or be discorporated) whereof they were free denizens, made it their business to demean themselves with minds above the earth, Phi 1:27 2Co 4:18 Eph 2:6 Col 3:1 accounting nothing inconvenient to any one of them, which was for the advantage of the whole community; they set their affections on things above, Joh 14:2 2Co 12:2-5 Heb 13:14 .

From whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ and reason good, for from thence, or from that place, in the heavens, or heaven, they stedfastly expect him who is both Lord and Christ, Act 1:11 1Co 1:7 1Th 1:10 2Ti 4:8 Tit 2:13 , to come not only as their judge, 2Ti 4:8 , but as their heart-comforting Saviour, Heb 9:28 .

Poole: Phi 3:21 - Who shall change our vile body // That it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body // According to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself

Who shall change our vile body who shall transform the body of our humility, or our lowliness, i.e. our lowbrought body, the singular for the plural, our humble and mean bodies, which depend upon and are beholden to our eating and drinking, and the actions which follow thereupon, that do humble and lower them, Luk 1:48 ; now, it may be, languishing with pains, sickness, and many infirmities, perhaps cooped up in a noisome prison, and, it may be, an unclean dungeon, sown in dishonour and weakness in the grave, 1Co 15:43 .

That it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body that they may be conformed to Christ’ s incorruptible, impassible, and immortal body, and so glorious, 1Co 15:51-53 , in their proportion agreeing with the blessed body of our Lord when he shall appear, 1Jo 3:1-3 , and they shall see him with the eyes of their bodies, made like unto his, Job 19:26,27 Col 3:4 , not in equality, but only in respect of the same qualities that his body hath, 1Co 15:51,52 1Th 4:17 . A conformity agreeable to that of head and members, that like as the sun is the fountain of all that glory which the stars have, so shall our Lord and Saviour Christ’ s glory be of all our glory, Dan 12:3 Mat 16:27 1Co 15:40,41 2Co 4:14 Rev 21:11,23 . But we must not imagine that our bodies shall be raised to the same height and degree of glory that his is: and therefore in regard of that power and majesty which is included in the body of Christ from the hypostatical union, our bodies will not be conformable, or made like to his; but in glory which he obtained from his resurrection. For the body of Christ may be considered either:

1. In its nature, and so there will be an agreement betwixt the bodies of saints and Christ’ s body; or:

2. In regard of its subsistence in the person of the Word, and so there will be none.

For it is impossible that the saints should be raised up to the same union with the Godhead which Christ hath. But however their bodies may be tormented here, by unreasonable persecutors, then they shall be like to his glorious body.

According to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself: how incredible soever this may appear to be unto carnal reason, Act 17:32 26:8 , yet he who thought it no robbery to be equal with God the Father, and therefore can do what he pleaseth, Luk 18:27 , can, by the same Divine power whereby he himself was raised from the grave, Joh 5:21,26,29 Eph 1:19,20 , subject all things to himself, destroy death and the grave, 1Co 15:24-27 Heb 2:8,14 , raise them up to the throne of his glory, Mat 19:28 , and make them like the angels in glory.

PBC: Phi 3:7

See Philpot: THE BELIEVER’S GAIN HIS LOSS, THE BELIEVER’S LOSS HIS GAIN

PBC: Phi 3:11

See WebbSr: FORGETTING AND APPREHENDING

PBC: Phi 3:14

See WebbSr: FORGETTING AND APPREHENDING

PBC: Phi 3:19 - whose God is their belly

" whose God is their belly"

What does it mean that their God is their belly? Can we reasonably doubt Paul’s intention with these words? The belly represents the appetite, the desires that rise up and drive a man to fulfill them. According to Paul’s word picture, the wicked surely worship a god, but their god is their wicked carnal appetites and desires. They work to satisfy that wicked nature, as a hungry man works for his food. An Old Testament verse contributes to this thought:

How much more abominable and filthy is man, which drinketh iniquity like water? {Job 15:16}

The thirsty man sees water as desirable and necessary. He cannot think of it with any sense of morality. He wants it; it satisfies his thirst. What else matters? The wicked see sin in the same light. To do a certain thing which appears abominable to the child of God and to God’s law holds no moral quality whatever to the wicked. He wants it; he is thirsty for it. Therefore, he takes it up in his soul and drinks deeply and with great joy.  51

PBC: Phi 3:20

The Roman Empire was very corrupt in the times of the Apostle Paul. Some of our leaders are very corrupt, but they are not any more corrupt than was Nero, who eventually had Paul executed. Living under these conditions, however, did not dampen the zeal and enthusiasm that this great man had for the cause of Christ. Paul did not spend his days in depression. He had great energy and joy as he preached the message of salvation. One of the reasons for this was because he knew that he was not really home. Now Paul was a Roman citizen. This was a great privilege which got him out of serious trouble on more than one occasion. I am sure that Paul valued his Roman citizenship. This meant nothing to him, however, in comparison to his heavenly citizenship. He wrote in Php 3:20 " For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ." The word translated " conversation" here is politeuma SGreek: 4175. politeuma which means " citizenship." Yes, Paul’s citizenship is in heaven. So is the permanent citizenship of every other child of God. The realization of this will help us to keep the proper perspective as our society likely plunges further and further into darkness.

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Haydock: Phi 3:1 - To write

To write. From hence it would appear, says Grotius, that St. Paul had intended to have finished his letter at the end of the preceding chapter; but something new occurring to him, he added the two following chapter; but something new occurring to him, he added the two following chapters.

Haydock: Phi 3:2 - Beware of dogs // Beware of the concision

Beware of dogs. [1] The Jews called so the Gentiles; and St. Paul now applies it to those among the Jews who spread false doctrine, who privately snarled and publicly barked against the true apostles. None deserve sharp reprehension more than heretical preachers. ---

Beware of the concision, or as some French translations, of false circumcision. St. Paul by derision makes use of this word, which signifies a cutting to pieces, or destruction. (Witham)

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[BIBLIOGRAPHY]

Videte canes....Videte Concisionem, Greek: Blepete tous kunas....ton katatomen. The Jewish circumcision at this time, says St. John Chrysostom ( Greek: log. 1.) was merely a cutting off of the flesh: Greek: ouden allo e sarkos tome esti, kai katatome.

Haydock: Phi 3:3 - For we are the circumcision // Not having confidence in the flesh

For we are the circumcision. We Christians now use the only profitable and commendable spiritual circumcision; which , to the Colossians (ii. 11.) he calls the circumcision of Christ, and to the Romans (ii. 29.) circumcision of the heart in the spirit. ---

Not having confidence in the flesh; i.e. in such carnal ceremonies. (Witham)

Haydock: Phi 3:4-7 - If any other thinketh he may have confidence in the flesh // But what things

If any other thinketh he may have confidence in the flesh, in being of the Jewish race and of their religion, I more; i.e. I have greater reasons to glory than they have, being circumcised of the stock of Israel, &c. ---

But what things, &c. as soon as I was miraculously called to the knowledge and faith of Christ. (Witham)

Haydock: Phi 3:9 - I may be found in him not having my justice, which is of the law

I may be found in him not having my justice, which is of the law; i.e. not pretending to be justified either by my own works or by the works of the Jewish law, but by that which proceedeth from faith in Christ, and by his merits. (Witham) ---

St. Augustine expounds the sense thus: not that justice which is in God, or by which God is just, but that which is in man from God, and by his gifts. (lib. 3. cont. 2. ep. Pelag.)

Haydock: Phi 3:10 - That I may know him

That I may know him. This knowledge of Christ the apostle prefers to all honours and advantages accruing from his adherence to the synagogue.

Haydock: Phi 3:11 - If by any means I may attain to the resurrection, which is from the dead

If by any means I may attain to the resurrection, which is from the dead; i.e. may attain to a happy resurrection, when the dead shall rise again. (Witham) ---

This manner of expression does not betray any distrust or fear, but merely insinuates the difficulty of the enterprise, the uncertainty of success, and the ardent desire of the apostle, who sought by every means to arrive at this happiness, either by sufferings and labours, or even by martyrdom. (St. John Chrysostom; Estius)

Haydock: Phi 3:12 - Not as though I had already attained

Not as though I had already attained the happiness I hope for, or am now become perfect as to that perfection in virtue, which I must always endeavour to increase in; but, like a person still running a race for a prize, I pursue and run as well as I can, I stretch myself with perseverance towards[2] the mark, forgetting that part of the course which I had made. Let all of us, though perfect as the knowledge of the mysteries we are to believe, be of this mind, that we are still to advance in the way of Christian perfection; and if any of you be of another mind, and think otherwise, God will reveal to you and teach you this truth, that we may all continue in the same rule of doctrine and discipline. We may here take notice with St. John Chrysostom that it is not enough to believe, or have the true faith, but that we must strive and labour to the end in the way of perfection; secondly that St. Paul did not look upon himself absolutely certain of his salvation: and how much greater presumption would this be in us? (Witham)

Haydock: Phi 3:13 - I do not count myself

I do not count myself. That is, I do not suppose that vain security is sufficient to put my salvation out of doubt, and that Christ having died, nothing remains for me to do. No; I consider myself as a wrestler at the games, uncertain of success. (Calmet)

Haydock: Phi 3:14

[BIBLIOGRAPHY]

Ad destinatum, Greek: kata skopon dioko. See St. John Chrysostom of the necessity of good works, ( Greek: log. is. p. 65) and of the uncertainty a man is always in of his salvation. p. 67.

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Haydock: Phi 3:17 - Be followers of me

Be followers of me, always in distrust of your own merits, and always eager to advance in perfection, as I am. It is a happy thing when a pastor can thus in all sincerity and simplicity address his flock. ---

He exhorts them to follow him in what he had taught them, and in the model of a good life, which he had set before them. He repeats to them, with tears, what he had formerly told them, that many walk and conduct themselves as enemies to the cross of Christ, to Christ crucified, by abandoning themselves to the pleasures of a sensual life, who glory in things they ought to be ashamed of. He hints at the disciples of Simon Magus, or of the Jewish doctors. (Witham)

Gill: Phi 3:1 - Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord // To write the same things to you // to me indeed is not grievous // but for you it is safe

Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord,.... The Syriac version reads, "in our Lord", i.e. Christ. The apostle seems as if he was about to conclude his epistle; and therefore, as if he was taking his farewell of this church, and giving his last advice to them, he exhorts them in a most affectionate manner, as his dear brethren in a spiritual relation, that they would make Christ their chief joy; that whatever sorrow they might have on account of his bonds, or the sickness of Epaphroditus, yet, he observes they had reason to rejoice in their Lord and Saviour; and however, it might be matter of rejoicing to them to hear of his hope of coming once more to them, and of the recovery of their minister and his return to them, yet Christ should be the principal object of their joy. A believer has always reason to rejoice in Christ; in the greatness of his person, he being in the form of God, and equal to him, and therefore able to save his to the uttermost by his obedience and death, and has interest enough in heaven to make his intercession prevalent and successful and power to keep safe all that are committed to him; and in the fitness of his person to be a Mediator, and daysman, to take care of things pertaining to the glory of God, and to make reconciliation for sin; and in the fulness of his person, he having all grace in him for his people, which is all theirs, and with joy may they draw water out of the full wells of salvation in him; and in the beauty of his person which surpasses all others, a sight of which fills with joy unspeakable, and full of glory. They may, and should rejoice, as they sometimes do, in his salvation; in the contrivance of it by infinite wisdom; in the impetration of it by himself; and in the application of it by his spirit; and that because hereby justice is satisfied, the law is magnified and made honourable, sin is finished, and an everlasting righteousness brought in. Also they are called upon to rejoice in his resurrection, which is for their justification; in his ascension, seeing he then received gifts for men; and in his session at the right hand of God, which is in their nature; and in his intercession which is to their advantage; and in all the relations he stands in to them, as head, husband, father, brother, friend; and in everything that is his, and that belongs unto him, as his Gospel, ordinances, ways, and worship,

To write the same things to you. The apostle finding he had more time on his hands, or fresh thoughts occurred to him, writes on, and makes an apology for writing the same things, which he had either wrote to other churches, or which he had delivered when first among them, or which he had since wrote to them. For sometimes it is necessary to say and write the same things over and over again, partly that they may be the better understood, and partly that they may be more strongly fixed in the memory; as also, that the saints may be the more established in the present truth: and which he says,

to me indeed is not grievous; or troublesome; he found no backwardness to it, nor sluggishness in it; he was not loath to do it, nor was it wearisome to him; or made him slothful, as the Arabic renders it; nor was he afraid to repeat what he had wrote, or again to warn them against false teachers, of whom he stood in no fear:

but for you it is safe; or "necessary", as the Vulgate Latin version reads, being a means of preserving them from the error of the wicked; for though the saints are safe in Christ, and can never finally and totally be deceived, yet the Gospel, and the frequent ministration of it, are a means of keeping them from the deception of evil men; for as the Syriac version renders it, "they make you more cautious"; when truth is repeated, and afresh confirmed, it guards against falling in with damnable heresies. And so the Arabic version renders it, "is a guard", or "garrison to you".

Gill: Phi 3:2 - Beware of dogs // Beware of evil workers // Beware of the concision

Beware of dogs,.... By whom are meant the "judaizing" teachers, who were for imposing the works and ceremonies of the law upon the Gentiles, as necessary to salvation; and they have the name retorted on them they used to give to the Gentiles; see Mat 15:26; nor should they think it too severe, since the Jews themselves say ^p,

"the face of that generation (in which the Messiah shall come) shall he, כפני הכלב, "as the face of a dog".

The apostle calls them so, because they returned to Judaism, as the dog to its vomit, 2Pe 2:22; and because of the uncleanness in which many of them lived, and the impudence they were guilty of in transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ, and putting themselves upon an equal foot with them; as also for their calumny and detraction, their wrangling with the apostles, snarling at their doctrines, and biting them with the devouring words of reproach and scandal: likewise, they may be styled dogs for their covetousness, being such greedy ones as in Isa 56:10, with feigned words making merchandise of men; and for their love of their, bellies, which they served, and not Christ, and made a god of, Phi 3:19. Moreover, because they were without, as dogs are, Rev 22:15; having gone out from the communion of the saints, because they were not of them; or if among them, yet not true members of Christ, nor of his mystical body; all which are so many arguments why the saints should beware of them, and why their persons, conversation, and doctrine should be avoided,

Beware of evil workers: meaning the same persons, who were deceitful workers, did the work of the Lord unfaithfully, walked in craftiness, and handled the word of God deceitfully, endeavoured to subvert the Gospel of Christ, and the faith of men in it; who worked from bad principles, and with evil views; and notwithstanding their large pretensions to good works, teaching that justification and salvation were by them, which notion the apostle tacitly refers to in this character; yet were of bad a character, and such as Christ will reject another day as workers of iniquity; a character they deservedly bear, if there was no other reason for it than their preaching the doctrine of salvation by men's own works of righteousness, and who, and their ministry, are by all means to be shunned,

Beware of the concision; the men of the circumcision, as the Arabic version renders it; they chose to be called so, but the apostle would not give them that name, but calls them the "concision"; or "the concision of the flesh", as the Syriac version renders it; referring either to the cuttings in the flesh, forbidden Lev 21:5; or to the circumcision of the flesh rather, which they valued themselves upon, and were for introducing among the Gentiles, whereby they made sad divisions, and cutting work among the churches; and were some of them at least "cut" off, as the Ethiopic version renders it, from the churches; and who, as much as in them lay, cut themselves off from Christ, and rendered him unprofitable to them; see Gal 5:2.

Gill: Phi 3:3 - For we are the circumcision // which worship God in the spirit // and rejoice in Christ Jesus // and have no confidence in the flesh

For we are the circumcision,.... And not they; they have the name, and we the thing, or that which legal circumcision was a shadow of, namely, circumcision of the heart; which lies in being pricked to the heart under a true sense of sin; in having the hardness of the heart removed, and the iniquity of it laid to open view; in pain and contrition of heart about it, joined with shame for it, and loathing of it, the consequence of which is, a putting off of the body of the sins of the flesh, Col 2:11, according to the former conversation; and also in a renouncing a man's own righteousness in point of justification before God, and acceptance with him. All which is the work of God, and not man, and is therefore called the circumcision made without hands, Col 2:11; it has God, and not man, for its author; and its praise is of God, and not of men; and its seat is in the heart and spirit, and not in the flesh; and such whose hearts are circumcised to love the Lord their God, and fear him, are the true circumcision:

which worship God in the spirit. The object of worship is "God", and him only; not a creature animate or inanimate, stocks or stones, beasts, birds, men, or angels; only God, Father, Son, and Spirit: that the Father is to be worshipped, is not disputed, see Joh 4:21; and the Son is to be worshipped with the same worship the Father is; since he is in the form of God, and equal to him, is the Creator of all the Lord of angels and men, and is to be, and is worshipped by both; prayer is made unto him, baptism is administered in his name, and trust and confidence are placed in him; and so is the Holy Ghost, he being equally God with the Father and the Son, and therefore the same homage is to be given to him as to them: and so some indeed read the words here, "which worship God the Spirit"; or the Spirit, who is God. "Worship" is either inward or outward; inward worship lies in the exercise of grace on God, as of faith, hope, love, fear, &c. outward worship is the performance of certain external actions required by God, and both are to be performed: and it is also either private or public; private worship is in the closet, or in the family, and consists of praying, singing of praises, &c. public worship lies in tire observance of the outward ordinances of preaching, praying, hearing singing, &c. in the church of God; even all such ordinances as God has appointed, which are recorded in the Scriptures, and are confirmed by the authority of Christ. The manner in which worship is to be performed, is "in the Spirit"; either in and with the Spirit of God, without whose grace and assistance no part of it can be performed well. And the Alexandrian copy reads, "which worship in the Spirit of God"; and so the Complutensian edition, and several copies. Or in and with our own hearts and spirits, which should be engaged in every part of religious worship with much attention, diligence, and fervency; or in a spiritual manner, in opposition to the carnal worship of the Jews, and the bodily exercise of formal professors; and which lies in drawing nigh to God with true hearts, sincere and fervent ones, with grace in them, and that in exercise:

and rejoice in Christ Jesus; or "glory in" him, and make their boast of him; for a different word is here used from that in Phi 3:1. Such who have a true sense of themselves, and a spiritual sight of Christ, will not glory in themselves, in their wisdom, strength, riches, or righteousness, but in Christ, in his wisdom and strength, in his riches and righteousness, and in his person and grace only:

and have no confidence in the flesh; in any carnal descent, or birth privilege, as to be of the seed of Abraham, of the of Israel, or of such a tribe, or family, or born of such a parent; nor in circumcision, or any of the carnal ordinances of the ceremonial law; nor in any civil, moral, legal, and external righteousness, for so to do is but to make flesh an arm; or indeed to trust in anything out of Christ, or short of him; and all this makes up the character and description of a true believer in Christ.

Gill: Phi 3:4 - Though I might also have confidence in the flesh // if any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more

Though I might also have confidence in the flesh,.... This he says, lest it should be objected to him, that the reason why he had no confidence in the flesh, and did not boast of it, was, because he could not; he had nothing to glory of, and put his confidence in, and therefore acted the common part of such persons, who despise what either they have not, or are ignorant of: but this was not the apostle's case, he had as much reason, and as good a foundation for trust in himself, his privileges and attainments, as any man had, and more; and his meaning here is not, that he might lawfully have confidence in the flesh, for that is criminal in every one, but that he had as good pretensions to it; and were it lawful, might with greater appearance of truth do it than some other persons, or indeed any other:

if any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: the sense is, if there were any other person besides the false teachers he speaks of in Phi 3:2; that were of the judaizing sect, or any whatever of the Jewish nation, be he who he will, who thought within himself he had, or seemed to others to have (for all such confidence, and the grounds of it, are only in show and appearance, and in imagination, not in reality), reasons for boasting and trusting in himself and in his carnal privileges and performances, the apostle had more, and which he enumerates in Phi 3:5; not but that he might be exceeded by some in some one particular or another; as for instance, he was not of the tribe of Levi: nor of Judah; he was neither of the house of Aaron, nor of David; neither of the priestly line, nor of the blood royal; but taking all together, there was not a man in whom so many reasons met, for boasting and confidence in the flesh, as in himself.

Gill: Phi 3:5 - Circumcised the eighth day // Of the stock of Israel // Of the tribe of Benjamin // An Hebrew of the Hebrews // As touching the law, a Pharisee

Circumcised the eighth day,.... Circumcision was an appointment of God to Abraham, and his male issue; to him and them God gave the covenant of circumcision: this to Abraham personally was a sign and seal, that the righteousness of faith, which he had while he was an uncircumcised person, should come upon the uncircumcised Gentiles in the times or the Messiah, when the Gospel should come among them; and it was a distinguishing character of the Jews from the Gentiles, until the coming of Christ; it was typical of the effusion of his blood to cleanse from all the impurity of original and actual sin, and represented the circumcision of the heart. The Jews valued themselves much upon it, and treated the Gentiles with contempt for the want of it; and would neither converse with them in a civil or religious way, because they were uncircumcised: but the apostle was no Gentile, or an uncircumcised person; he had this mark in his flesh to glory in as well as others, if it had been lawful to trust in it; he was the subject of this ordinance while it was a standing one, and before it was abolished by Christ; and it was performed on him at the precise time fixed in the original institution of it, which was not always observed; for not to take notice of Jewish proselytes; who were circumcised at any age, when they became such, whether in youth, manhood, or old age; and which by the way shows, that the apostle was no proselyte, but a natural Jew; Gershom, the son of Moses, was not circumcised till some years after his birth; and all the while the children of Israel were in the wilderness this ordinance was neglected, till Joshua had led them into Canaan's land, and then he circumcised all that generation that was born in the wilderness, some of whom must be near forty years of age; and in after times it was usual with the Jews, for one reason or another, to put off circumcision to a longer time. Take the following story as an illustration of this ^q:

"it is a tradition of R. Nathan; once, says he, I went to the cities of the sea, and a woman came to me who had circumcised her first son, and he died; the second, and he died; the third she brought to me; I saw him that he was red, I said unto her, my daughter, "wait a while" for him till his blood is swallowed up in him; she waited for him a while, and circumcised him, and he lived; and they called him Nathan the Babylonian, after my name. And again another time I went to the province of Cappadocia (the Jerusalem Talmud ^r has it Caesarea of Cappadocia), a certain woman came to me, who had circumcised her first son, and he died; the second, and he died; the third, (the above Talmud adds, and he died, the fourth,) she brought to me, I saw that he was green, I inspected him, and the blood of the covenant was not in him, I said unto her, my daughter, המתינו, "tarry a while" for him; (the Jerusalem Talmud has it, הניחוהו לאחר זמן, "let him alone to another time";) till his blood fall in him, she waited for him, and circumcised him, and he lived; and they called him Nathan the Babylonian, after my name.

The Jewish canon, with regard to the time of circumcision, runs thus ^s:

"an infant may be circumcised at eight days, or at nine, or at ten, or at eleven, or at twelve, neither less nor more (not less than eight, nor more than twelve), how? according to its course at eight. If it is born between the two evenings, it is circumcised on the ninth day; if between the two evenings of the sabbath eve, it is circumcised on the tenth day; if on a feast day after the sabbath, it is circumcised on the eleventh; if on the two days of the beginning of the year, it is circumcised on the twelfth. An infant that is sick, they do not circumcise him until he is recovered.

And in the last case, they reckon seven days from the time of the recovery of the child, as Maimonides ^t observes; with whom may be read other cases, in which circumcision was not always performed on the eighth day, but sometimes was deferred, and sometimes it was done the same day the child was born. But circumcision on the eighth day was reckoned most valid and authentic, and according to rule; and therefore it is not without reason, that the apostle mentions the time of his circumcision, and puts an emphasis upon it,

Of the stock of Israel; this is said to distinguish him from an Ishmaelite, or an Edomite, who were circumcised, and from the son of a proselyte, who might be circumcised on the eighth day; but he was a natural Israelite, to whom the various privileges belonged, mentioned in Rom 9:4; and therefore had as much reason to trust in the flesh as any Israelite whatever,

Of the tribe of Benjamin; who was a genuine and legitimate son of Jacob, whom he had by his lawful and beloved wife Rachel. Of which tribe was the first king of Israel, whose name was Saul, 1Sa 9:1, and which was the apostle's first and Jewish name, and which perhaps was common in that tribe on that account. In this tribe stood the city of Jerusalem, and the temple of the Lord; this tribe retained the true worship of God with Judah, when the ten tribes revolted and worshipped the calves at Dan and Bethel, and returned with Judah from captivity, when the others did not. And the apostle was not only able to make himself appear to be of the stock Israel, but could name the tribe to which he belonged, which many of the Jews, that were of one, or rather of the ten tribes, were not able to do, and may be his chief reason for mentioning this circumstance,

An Hebrew of the Hebrews; not so called only because he could trace his pedigree from Abraham the Hebrew, or understood, and could speak the Hebrew language, which the Hellenistic Jews could not, or was an illustrious one among them, but because both his parents were Hebrews; he was an Hebrew by the father and mother's side both; he was a genuine Hebrew. The Arabians have the same way of speaking; and with them a genuine Arab is called an Arab of the Arabs ^u as here. Some there were whose mothers were Hebrews, and their fathers Gentiles; such an one was Timothy, Act 16:1; and there were others whose fathers were Hebrews, and their mothers Gentiles; and these are thought by some to be the same the Talmudists ^w call, חללים, "profane": they not being reckoned so holy as such whose fathers and mothers were both Hebrews; of which the latter gloried over the other,

As touching the law, a Pharisee: with respect to the interpretation and observance of the law, which was according to the traditions of the elders, and not the literal and genuine sense of it, he followed; and was of the sect of the Pharisees, which was strictest sect among the Jews, and in the greatest esteem among the people: and though they had put many false glosses on the Scripture, and held many erroneous principles, and were very tenacious of human traditions, yet they were preferable to the Sadducees, who denied the resurrection of the dead, and other things; and were more zealous in their devotion and religion, and more strict in their morals, and external holiness of life and conversation. They separated and distinguished themselves hereby from other people, and hence they had their name; See Gill on Mat 3:7. Now the apostle was not only a Pharisee, but the son of one; he was always brought up in that strict sect and severe way, Act 23:6.

Gill: Phi 3:6 - Concerning zeal, persecuting the church // Touching the righteousness which is in, the law, blameless

Concerning zeal, persecuting the church,.... The Vulgate Latin version adds, "of God", as in Gal 1:13. The apostle was very zealous of the traditions of the elders, and for the law of God, and towards God also; though his zeal was not according to knowledge, but blind, ignorant, and furious; which pushed him on to persecute the followers of Christ, and the church of Christ at Jerusalem more especially, in a very violent and outrageous manner; he held the clothes of those that stoned Stephen, Act 7:58; he consented unto his death, Act 8:1; he made havoc of the church at Jerusalem, haling men and women to prison, Act 8:3; he continued breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of Christ, Act 9:1; gave his voice against them when put to death, punished them frequently in the synagogues by scourging them, Act 26:10, and compelled them to blaspheme the name of Christ; was exceeding mad against them, pursued them to strange cities, Act 26:11, and persecuted the church of God exceedingly, more than anyone single person besides,

Touching the righteousness which is in, the law, blameless. This he mentions last, as including the whole of his righteousness, civil, ceremonial, and moral; and which he fancied was so perfect, that whatever righteousness was in the law, or required by it, he had it, and to such a degree, that he was blameless before God and men; that he was justified by it in the sight of God, and could not justly be found fault with by any, or be charged with any defect in his obedience, either to the moral or ceremonial law; which must arise from great ignorance of the righteousness of God, and the strictness of his justice, and of the law of God, and the purity, spirituality, and extent of it, which reaches to the thoughts of the heart, and the first motions of sin; and of himself, the plague of his own heart, of the sin of lust, and of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, in every instance of it.

Gill: Phi 3:7 - But what things were gain to me // those I counted loss for Christ

But what things were gain to me,.... As circumcision, and the observance of the ceremonial law, which he thought were necessary to salvation; and his natural and lineal descent from Abraham, which he supposed entitled him to the favour of God, and eternal life, as well as to outward privileges; and his being of that strict sect of religion, a Pharisee, which he doubted not, being brought up and continued in, would secure to him everlasting happiness; and his zeal in persecuting the church of Christ, in which he thought he did God good service, and merited heaven for himself; and his legal righteousness, which he fancied was perfect, and so justified him in the sight of God, and rendered him acceptable to him: for the apostle's meaning is, not only that these things were judged by him, while in an unconverted state, good in themselves, and in some respects useful, but that they were really gainful, and meritorious of happiness in another world. But being converted, he saw all those things in a different light, and had a different opinion of them:

those I counted loss for Christ; circumcision he saw was now abolished, and was nothing, and that the circumcision of the heart was the main thing; and that the other was so far from being useful and necessary to salvation, that it was hurtful, was a yoke of bondage, bound men over to keep the whole law, and made Christ of none effect to them; and the same opinion he had of the whole ceremonial law: as for natural descent, which he once valued and trusted in, he now rejected it, well knowing it signified not whether a man was a Greek, or a Jew, a Barbarian, or Scythian, provided he was but a believer in Christ, Col 3:11; and as for any outward form or sect of religion, he knew there was no salvation in it, nor in any other name but that of Christ, Act 4:12; and he was so far from thinking, that on account of his zeal in persecuting the church he was deserving of heaven, that for that reason he was not worthy to be called an apostle of Christ; and as for his legal righteousness, he now saw it to be as filthy rags, Isa 64:6; that many things in it were really evil in themselves, such as his observance of the traditions of the elders, whereby the commands of God were transgressed, and his mad zeal in persecuting the followers of Christ; and other things, which had the appearance of good works, were not truly so, did not spring from love, were not done in faith, and with a view to the glory of God; and that the best of them were very imperfect, and exceeding blamable; yea, that if they had been perfect, they could not have been meritorious of eternal life, as he once thought them to be; he saw now they were of no use in justification and salvation; nay, that they were hurtful and pernicious, being trusted to, as keeping persons off from Christ, and his righteousness: wherefore, he gladly suffered the loss of all his legal righteousness, and renounced and disclaimed it, and all pretensions to justification and salvation by it, for the sake of Christ; of life and salvation by him, and in comparison of him; of the knowledge of him, and of his justifying righteousness, as the following verses show. Hence, what before he pleased himself much with, and promised himself much from, he could not now reflect upon with any pleasure and satisfaction of mind; which is the sense of this phrase with Jewish writers ^x: so it is observed of a drunken man, when he comes to himself; and it is told him what he did when in liquor, he grieves at it, ויחשב הכל הפסד ולא ריוח, "and counts all loss and not gain"; i.e. can take no pleasure in a reflection on it,

Gill: Phi 3:8 - Yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss // for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord // for whom I have suffered the loss of all things // and do count them but dung // that I may win Christ

Yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss,.... Not only the things before mentioned, but anything, and everything else but Christ, or that stood in competition with him, or were short of him; as his natural and acquired parts; the whole compass of learning he had attained to; all that honour, credit, reputation, and popularity he was in for knowledge and devotion; all worldly substance, the comforts of life, and life itself; and all his righteousness since conversion, as well as before; of this no doubt could be made by those who knew him, his principles and his practices: and all this

for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: "by the knowledge of Christ" is not meant subjectively the knowledge that is in Christ, or which he has of others, either as God or man; but objectively, that knowledge which believers have of him, who know him not only in his person, as God over all, but as a Saviour and Redeemer, and as theirs; they know him in all his relations, and particularly as their Lord, not by creation only, but by redemption and grace, as the apostle did, putting an emphasis on these words, "my Lord"; thereby expressing his faith of interest in him, his great affection for him, and cheerful subjection to him. And this knowledge is not general, but special, spiritual, and saving; it is a knowledge of approbation of Christ above all others; a fiducial one, which has faith in him joined with it, and is both experimental and, practical, and, at least at times, appropriating; and though imperfect, it is progressive and capable of being increased, and will at last be brought to perfection. It is attained to, not by the light of nature, nor by the help of carnal reason, nor by the law of Moses, but by the Gospel of the grace of God, as a means; and the efficient cause of it is Father, Son, and Spirit; the Father reveals Christ in his saints; the Son gives them an understanding to know him; and the Spirit is a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him; and this knowledge is very excellent: a spiritual knowledge of Christ is more excellent than a general and notional one, or than a knowledge of Christ after the flesh; and the knowledge of Christ under the Gospel dispensation, though the same in nature, is more excellent than that which was under the legal dispensation, by promises, prophecies, and the ceremonial law, in degree, extensiveness, and clearness; but the most excellent knowledge of Christ is that of the saints in heaven; yea, even there is an excellency in what the saints have here on earth, and a superior one to all other knowledge, if the author and original of it is considered: it is not of ourselves, nor by the assistance of men; it is not in the book of nature, nor in the schools of the philosophers; it is not of earth, nor earthly, but it comes from afar, from above, from heaven, from God the Father of lights; it is a free grace gift, a distinguishing one, and is very comprehensive, unspeakable, and unchangeable: and as to the object of it, it is Christ, the chiefest among ten thousands; who made the heavens, earth, and seas, and all that in them are, the sun, moon, and stars, men and beasts, birds and fishes, fossils, minerals, vegetables, and everything in nature; and therefore the knowledge of him must be superior to the knowledge of everything else; and, which adds to its excellency, it makes Christ precious, engages faith and confidence in him, influences the life and conversation, humbles the soul, and creates in it true pleasure and satisfaction; when all other knowledge fills with self-love, pride, and vanity, and increases sorrow; whereas this is not only useful in life, but supports, as under afflictions, so in the views of death and eternity; through it grace is received now, and by it glory hereafter; for it is the beginning, earnest, and pledge of eternal life. Well may the believer count all things but loss for it, as the apostle did; who adds, for further confirmation of what he had asserted,

for whom I have suffered the loss of all things; he dropped all confidence in his carnal privileges, and civil, ceremonial, and moral righteousness, for Christ and his righteousness; he parted with all for this pearl of great price; he lost his good name, credit, and reputation among men, and suffered afflictions and persecutions in various shapes; he lost the comforts of life, being often in cold and nakedness, in hunger and thirst, and was ready to suffer the loss of life itself for professing and preaching Christ:

and do count them but dung; or dog's meat; see Phi 3:2; what is fit only to be cast to dogs, as the word signifies; and intends every thing that is base, mean, and worthless; as the faeces of men, the dregs and lees of liquor, the falling of fruit, chaff, stubble, the dross of metals, dung, and what not: so he esteemed his carnal descent; his form and sect of religion, and zeal in it; his ceremonial and moral righteousness before and after conversion; and everything of the creature, or what was his own, and but flesh; being of the same opinion with the church of old, who reckoned her righteousnesses, the best, and the whole of them, as "filthy rags". The apostle next expresses his end and views in this,

that I may win Christ; not get an interest in him, for this he had already, and he knew he had, and that he should never lose it; and besides, an interest in Christ is not a thing that begins in time, but commenced from all eternity; and is not gotten at all, not by good works, nor repentance, nor faith; for these, if right and genuine, are the fruits and effects of an interest in Christ, but is what is freely given. The apostle's meaning is, either that he might gain or acquire a larger knowledge of Christ; and he cared not what pains he took, what expenses he was at, nor what loss he sustained for what he esteemed the most excellent, and for which he had already suffered the loss of all things; and if he had had more to lose, he could willingly part with it for more of this knowledge; compare Phi 3:10; or his sense is, that he might gain by Christ, or that Christ might be gain to him, as he found him to be, and as he is to every believer; who by parting with all for Christ, gains much by him, as a justifying righteousness, acceptance with God, peace, pardon, life, grace, and glory.

Gill: Phi 3:9 - And be found in him // not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law // But that which is through the faith of Christ // the righteousness which is of God by faith

And be found in him,.... This is another end the apostle had in view, in counting all things loss and dung, and suffering the loss of all for Christ. Calvin, different from other interpreters, reads the words actively, "and may find in him"; and thinks the sense is, that the apostle renounced all things for Christ, that he might recover all in him: and true it is, that for the loss of carnal privileges, he found in Christ spiritual blessings; and for the loss of his own righteousness, another, and a better, even the righteousness of God; and in lieu of external goods, or worldly substance he was stripped of, true and lasting riches; and in the room of outward credit, peace and plenty, true honour, real peace, and spiritual pasture; and instead of the comforts of life, and life itself, spiritual and eternal life; though it is best to read the words passively, "and be found in him"; that is, "be in him", as the Ethiopic version renders it; so the word found is used in Gal 2:17 Phi 2:8; and he means not a nominal being in Christ, or a being in him by profession, but a real one; and watch is either secret or open: a secret being in Christ he had from everlasting, being chosen in him, given to him, loved by him, betrothed unto him, preserved in him, and represented by him; and an open one he had at conversion, when he became a new creature, and was created in Christ Jesus unto good works: and here he intends a more clear and evident manifestation of his being in Christ; and his desire is, that he might appear to be in him, in life and at death, and at the day of judgment, and in the following manner:

not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law; by which he means his obedience to the moral, as well as the ceremonial law; for the one was as much his own as the other, and more properly his righteousness: this he calls his "own", because performed by him, and wrought out in his own strength; and which he had an high opinion of, as if it was perfect and blameless; and which he had before put his trust and confidence in; as also to distinguish it from another's righteousness, even that which he had in Christ: he moreover calls it, "the righteousness which is of the law"; which the law required, and he performed in obedience to it, seeking for justification by it; this character distinguishes it from the righteousness of God, which is revealed in the Gospel, and is manifested without the law: and this his own legal righteousness he did not desire to "have", and to be found in; not but that he desired to live soberly and righteously, to have, and do works of righteousness, but not depend on them; he would not have, and account this his moral righteousness, as a justifying one; he knew it was imperfect, filthy, and unprofitable, and that by it he could not be justified and saved, therefore he desired to have another,

But that which is through the faith of Christ; not through that faith which Christ himself, as man, had and exercised on God, as his God; but that which he is the author and finisher of, and which has him and his righteousness for its object; not through faith, as the cause of it; for the moving cause of justification is the free grace of God, and the efficient cause is God himself: and it appears from hence, that faith is not the matter of our justification, or is not our righteousness; for faith and righteousness are two distinct things, otherwise righteousness could not be said to be "through" faith. The righteousness of Christ is here meant, and which is the sole matter of justification, and comes to us through faith apprehending, receiving, and embracing it; and which shows, that it must be before faith, or it could not be through it; as water that runs through a bridge must be before and after that bridge through which it runs. This righteousness is further described, as

the righteousness which is of God by faith; that righteousness which Christ, who is the true God, is the author of, hence it is a pure and perfect one, infinite, and serves for many; which God the Father approves of, and is well pleased with, because his law is magnified, and made honourable by it; and what he graciously gives, and freely imputes without works, to his people: and this is "by faith", which beholds the excellency of it, acknowledges its sufficiency, renounces its own righteousness, and submits to, and lays hold on this, and rejoices in it; and thus men are justified openly and manifestly by faith, receiving the justifying righteousness of Christ: or the words may be rendered "upon faith". This righteousness is as a garment put upon faith, or put upon him by God, who has true faith in Christ; see Rom 3:22. This last clause, "by faith", is omitted in the Syriac and Ethiopic versions, and seems to be read by them as belonging to the beginning of Phi 3:10. Now this righteousness the apostle desired to have, and be found in; and this he says not, as supposing that a person may be found in Christ, and yet not have his righteousness; nor as if he himself had not this righteousness, and an interest in it; but to show his value for it, and his desire to be continually exercising faith on it, and the trust and confidence he placed in it; well knowing that in this he was safe and secure from all condemnation; this would answer for him in a time to come; being found in this he should not be naked nor speechless, and should have a right and an admission into the kingdom and glory of Christ Jesus.

Gill: Phi 3:10 - That I may know him // and the power of his resurrection // And the fellowship of his sufferings // being made conformable unto his death

That I may know him,.... The Ethiopic version reads "by faith"; and to the same sense the Syriac. The apostle did know Christ, and that years ago; he knew whom he had believed; he knew him for himself; he knew his personal interest in him; nor did he know any but him in the business of salvation: but his knowledge of Christ, though it was very great, it was, imperfect; he knew but in part, and therefore desired to know more of Christ, of the mystery and glories of his person, of the unsearchable riches of his grace, of his great salvation, and the benefits of it, of his love, which passes perfect knowledge, and to have a renewed and enlarged experience of communion with him. The apostle here explains what he means by winning Christ, for the sake of which he suffered the loss of all things, and counted them but dung; it was, that he might attain to a greater knowledge of the person and grace of Christ:

and the power of his resurrection; not that power which was put forth by his Father, and by himself, in raising him from the dead; but the virtue which arises from it, and the influence it has on many things; as on the resurrection of the saints: it is the procuring cause of it, they shall rise by virtue of union to a risen Jesus; it is the firstfruits, which is the earnest and pledge of their resurrection, as sure as Christ is risen, so sure shall they rise; it is the exemplar and pattern of theirs, their bodies will be raised and fashioned like to the glorious body of Christ; and this the apostle desired to know, experience, and attain unto. Christ's resurrection has an influence also on the justification of his people; when Christ died he had the sins of them all upon him, and he died for them, and discharged as their public head and representative, and they in him: hence it is said of him, that "he was raised again for our justification", Rom 4:25. Now, though the apostle was acquainted with this virtue and influence of Christ's resurrection, he desired to know more of it, for the encouragement of his faith to live upon Christ, as the Lord his righteousness. Moreover, the regeneration of men is owing to the resurrection of Christ; as to the abundant mercy of God, as the moving cause, so to the resurrection of Christ, as the means or virtual cause; and therefore are said to be "begotten again by the resurrection of Christ from the dead", 1Pe 1:3. This power and virtue the apostle had had an experience of, yet he wanted to feel more of it, in exciting the graces of the spirit to a lively exercise, in raising his affections, and setting them on things above, and in engaging him to seek after them, and set light by things on earth, and in causing him to walk in newness of life, in likeness or imitation of Christ's resurrection, to all which that strongly animates and encourages; see Col 3:1.

And the fellowship of his sufferings; either his personal sufferings, and so signifies a sharing in, and a participation of the benefits arising from them; such as reconciliation for sin, peace with God, pardon, righteousness, nearness to God, &c. or the sufferings of his members for him, and with him, and which Christ reckons his own: these the apostle was willing to take his part in, and lot of, knowing, that those that are partakers of his sufferings in this sense, shall reign with him, and be glorified together. What the Jews deprecated, the apostle was desirous of; namely, sharing in the sorrows and sufferings of the Messiah, and which they reckon the greatest happiness to be delivered from,

"The disciples of R. Eleazar ^y asked him, what a man should do that he may be delivered מחבלו של משיח, "from the sorrows of the Messiah?" he must study in the law, and in beneficence.

And elsewhere they say ^z,

"he that keeps the three meals on the sabbath day shall be delivered from three punishments, מחבלו של משיח, "from the sorrows of the Messiah", and from the damnation of hell, and from the war of Gog and Magog.

But our apostle rejoiced in his sufferings for Christ, and was desirous of filling up the afflictions of Christ in his flesh, for his body's sake, the church:

being made conformable unto his death; either in a spiritual sense dying daily unto sin, 1Co 15:31, having the affections, with the lusts, crucified, Gal 5:24, and the deeds of the body mortified, Rom 8:13, and so planted in the likeness of his death, Rom 6:5; or rather in a corporeal sense, bearing always in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, 2Co 4:10, and being continually exposed to death for his sake, and ready to suffer it whenever called to it,

Gill: Phi 3:11 - If by any means I, might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.

If by any means I, might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. Not in a figurative sense, the resurrection from the death of sin to a life of grace, of which Christ is the efficient cause, for this the apostle had attained to; unless the consummation of that spiritual life, in perfect holiness, should be intended, than which nothing was more desirable by him; nor in a representative sense, for this also he enjoyed in Christ his head, being risen with him, and in him, when he rose from the dead; but in a literal sense and designs not the general resurrection of the just and unjust, which he believed; for he knew that everyone must, and will attain to this, even Pharaoh, Judas, and the worst of men; but the special and particular resurrection of the righteous, the better resurrection, which will be first, and upon the personal coming of Christ, and by virtue of union to him, and in a glorious manner, and to everlasting life and happiness: and when the apostle says, "if by any means" he might attain to this, it is not to be understood as if he doubted of it, which would be inconsistent with his firm persuasion, that nothing should separate him from the love of God, and with his full assurance of faith, as to interest in Jesus Christ; but it denotes the difficulty of attaining it, since through various afflictions and great tribulations a believer must pass, before he comes to it; and also the apostle's earnest desire of it, and strenuous endeavour for it; not caring what scenes of trouble, or sea of sorrow what fiery trials, severe sufferings, or cruel death he went through, so be it he obtained as he believed he should, the glorious and better resurrection; he counted not his life dear to himself, he loved it not unto death, having in view the blissful and happy state after it.

Gill: Phi 3:12 - Not as though I had already attained // either were already perfect // but I follow after // if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus

Not as though I had already attained,.... Or "received"; he had received much grace out of the fulness of it in Christ; he had received the gift of righteousness, the forgiveness of his sins, and the adoption of children; he had attained to a lively hope of the incorruptible inheritance, and had received a right unto it, and had a meetness for it; but as yet he had not received the thing itself, nor was he come to the end of his race, and so had not received the crown of righteousness laid up for him; he had not yet attained to perfect knowledge, nor perfect holiness, nor perfect happiness: wherefore he adds,

either were already perfect; he was perfect in comparison of others, that were in a lower class of grace, experience, and knowledge, in which sense the word is used in Phi 3:15, and in 1Co 2:6; he was so, as perfection intends sincerity, uprightness, and integrity; the root of the matter, the truth of grace was in him; his faith was unfeigned, his love was without dissimulation, his hope was without hypocrisy, his conversation in the world was in godly simplicity, and his preaching and his whole conduct in his ministry were of sincerity, and in the sight of God: he was perfect as a new creature with respect to parts, having Christ formed in him, and all the parts of the new man, though not as to degrees; this new man not being as yet grown up to a perfect man, or to its full growth, to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ; he was perfect with respect to justification, being perfectly justified from all things, by the righteousness of Christ, but not with respect to sanctification; and though his sanctification was perfect in Christ, yet not in himself; his knowledge was imperfect, something was wanting in his faith, and sin dwelt in him, of which he sometimes grievously complained: now this he says, lest he should be thought to arrogate that to himself, which he had not:

but I follow after; Christ the forerunner, after perfect knowledge of him, perfect holiness from him, and perfect happiness with him: the metaphor is taken from runners in a race, who pursue it with eagerness, press forward with all might and main, to get up to the mark, in order to receive the prize; accordingly the Syriac version renders it, רהט אנא, "I run", and so the Arabic: the apostle's sense is, that though he had not yet reached the mark, he pressed forward towards it, he had it in view, he stretched and exerted himself, and followed up very closely to it, in hope of enjoying the prize:

if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus; he was apprehended of Christ, when he met him in his way to Damascus, stopped him in his journey, laid him prostrate on the ground, and laid hold on him as his own, challenged and claimed his interest in him, Act 9:3, as one that the Father had given him, and he had purchased by his blood; he entered into him, and took possession of him, and took up his residence in him, having dispossessed the strong man armed, and ever since held him as his own; and he apprehended, or laid hold on him, to bring him as he had engaged to do, to a participation of grace here, and glory hereafter; that he might know him himself, and make him known to others; that he might be made like unto him, have communion with him, and everlastingly enjoy him: and these things the apostle pursued after with great vehemence, that he might apprehend them, and be in full possession of them; and which he did, in the way and manner hereafter described.

Gill: Phi 3:13 - Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended // but this one thing I do // forgetting those things which are behind // reaching forth unto those things which are before

Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended,.... That for which he was apprehended of Christ: he had not attained to perfect knowledge, was not come to the mark, had not received the prize, or laid hold on eternal life; though he had received so much grace, and such gifts, as had qualified him for an apostle; and he had been so many years in that office, and had so great a knowledge in the mystery of the Gospel, and had laboured in it more abundantly than others, and with great success; and even though he had been caught up into the third heaven, and had heard unspeakable words, not lawful to be uttered, 2Co 12:2, yet he had no such opinion of himself, as if he was perfect: by which way of speaking, he tacitly strikes at the arrogance and vain confidence of false teachers, that pretended to perfection; and in this way led the brethren to conclude, that they could never have arrived to it, since so great an apostle had not; some copies read not "yet", and so the Ethiopic version:

but this one thing I do; which he was intent upon, constantly attended to, and earnestly pursued; it was the main and principal thing he was set upon, and which he employed himself in; and which engrossed all his thoughts, desires, affections, time, and labour; see Psa 27:4. The Syriac version reads, "this one thing I know"; signifying that whatever he was ignorant of, and however imperfect his knowledge was in other things, this he was full well apprized of, and acquainted with. The Arabic version renders the whole thus, "I do not think that I have now obtained and received anything, but the one thing"; namely, what follows,

forgetting those things which are behind, meaning not the sins of his past life, which were indeed forgotten by God, and the guilt of which was removed from him, by the application of the blood of Christ, so that he had no more conscience of them; yet they were remembered and made mention of by him, partly for his own humiliation, and partly to magnify the grace of God: nor earthly and worldly things, which believers are too apt to have respect to, to look back upon, and hanker after, as the Israelites did after the fleshpots in Egypt, Exo 16:3; though these were forgotten by the apostle, so as not anxiously to care for them, and seek after them, to set his affections on them, or trust in them: nor his fleshly privileges, and legal righteousness, which he pursued, valued, and trusted in before conversion, but now dropped, renounced, disregarded, and counted as loss and dung, Phi 3:7; but rather his labours and works of righteousness since conversion, which though he times took notice of for the magnifying of the grace of God, for the defence of the Gospel, and to put a stop to the vain boasting of false teachers, yet he forgot them in point of dependence on them, and trust to them; and having put his hand to the plough, he did not look back, nor desist, but went on in his laborious way, not thinking of what he had done and gone through, nor discouraged at what was before him; as also he intends all his growth in grace, and proficiency in divine knowledge, which was very, great; and though he was thankful for these things, and would observe them to the glory of the grace of God, yet he trusted not in them: nor did he sit down easy and satisfied with what he had attained unto, and therefore was

reaching forth unto those things which are before; to perfection of knowledge, holiness, and happiness, which were before him, and he as yet had not attained unto; but was desirous of, and pursued after with great vehemence and eagerness; the metaphor is taken from runners in a race, who did not stop to look behind them, and see what way they have run, and how far they are before others, but look and move forwards, and stretch themselves out to the uttermost, and run with all their might and main to the mark before them; and so the apostle did in a spiritual sense.

Gill: Phi 3:14 - I press toward the mark // for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus

I press toward the mark,.... The allusion is to the white line, or mark, which the runners in the Olympic games made up to, and to which he that came first received the prize; and by which the apostle intends the Lord Jesus Christ, who is σκοπος, "the scope", or "mark", of all the thoughts, purposes, and counsels of God, to which they all aim, and in which they all centre; and of the covenant of grace of which he is the sum and substance, the Mediator, surety, and messenger, in whom are all the blessings and promises of it; and of the Scriptures of truth, the writings of the Old and New Testament, which all testify of him, and agree in him; and of both law and Gospel, he is the end of the law, and the substance of the Gospel; and of all the graces of the Spirit, in the hearts of his people, faith looks at him, hope is concerned with him, and love has him for its object; and of all the duties believers are concerned in, they all point at him, they are done in his name and strength, through faith in him, and from a principle of love to him, and with a view to his glory; and so he is of their thoughts, affections, and desires: and to this mark they press, or "run", as the Syriac version renders it; they look to Jesus, while they are running their Christian race; they keep him in their view, and follow after him, because he is their forerunner, Heb 6:20, and the Captain of their salvation, Heb 2:10; they set him before them as their guide to direct them, according to whom they steer their course, that so they may not lose their way, nor move out of it, to the right hand or the left; and from whom they take great encouragement to go on, and press through the difficulties they do; and besides, they know that there is no coming at the prize, but through the mark, for there is salvation in no other, Act 4:12; and that whoever comes up to the mark, or believes in Christ, shall enjoy the prize of eternal life, which is next mentioned:

for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus: by which is meant, the incorruptible crown; the crown of life, righteousness, and glory, that fadeth not away, Jam 1:12, styled "the prize of the calling of God"; because it is what God in the effectual calling calls his people to, even to a kingdom and glory, and to eternal glory and happiness; of which they have a sight, though but a glimmering view of it, and are blessed with hope in it; in which they rejoice, and see their right unto it, in the righteousness of Christ, and have a meetness for it: this is named "the high calling of God", because God is on high, who calls them to it, in allusion to the judge in the Olympic games, who was placed in an exalted situation, near the mark, with the crown in his hand, which he gave to him that came first; and because the grace by which the saints are called is from above, as every good and perfect gift is, Jam 1:17; and because the prize they are called unto consists of things above, where Jesus is, and is the hope laid up in heaven, Col 1:5, and the inheritance reserved there, 1Pe 1:4; and expresses the great honour and dignity of called ones, who are called to a crown and kingdom, are raised from the dunghill, to sit among princes, and to inherit the throne of glory, and are made kings and priests unto God: and may also denote, that the calling to such high honour is from above, and not below; and is owing to the special grace and favour of God, and not to any merits of men; nor is the prize to which they are called, of him that willeth and runneth, but of God's grace and mercy, Rom 9:16, and moreover, this calling is said to be "in Christ Jesus"; for both the purpose and grace, according to which men are called, are in him; the grace by which they are called, and which is implanted in them when called, is all in and from Christ; the blessings of grace, which they then in person enjoy, are spiritual blessings in him; and even the glory they are called unto is in his hands; not only the promise of eternal life, but that itself; the gift of it is with him, and it comes through him; yea, they are called by him, and said to be the called of Christ Jesus; now the prize of this calling, which is what God has prepared from all eternity, which Christ has in his hands, and will give to all his, and which is of immense richness and eternal duration, and shall be bestowed on all Christian runners, or true believers, is what the apostle was pressing for, pursuing after, with much difficulty, through great toil and labour, diligent searching of the Scriptures, frequent wrestling with God in prayer, and constant attendance on the means of grace, and ordinances of the Gospel.

Gill: Phi 3:15 - Let us therefore, as many as be perfect // be thus minded // and if in anything ye be otherwise minded // God shall reveal even this unto you

Let us therefore, as many as be perfect,.... Not absolutely, but comparatively, with respect to other believers, in a lower class of knowledge and experience; and not with respect to degrees, but parts; and regards such who were not children, but of riper age in divine things, unless the words are spoken ironically:

be thus minded; as the apostle was, to count what were gain to him, loss for Christ; to reckon all things but loss and dung, for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ; to be willing to suffer the loss of all things, to win him, Phi 3:8; to desire to be found in him, and in his righteousness, and not a man's own, Phi 3:9; to know more of him in his person, righteousness, sufferings, death, and resurrection from the dead, Phi 3:10; and to attain to such a state, and yet to disclaim all perfection, and acknowledge their imperfection, Phi 3:11; and to forget things behind, and reach to those before, Phi 3:13; and press towards the mark, Christ, for the prize of eternal glory, Phi 3:14,

and if in anything ye be otherwise minded; as to seek for justification by the works of the law, or partly by Christ and partly by the law, and to imagine and expect perfection in this life:

God shall reveal even this unto you; such errors will be made manifest sooner or later; the day will declare them, and such wood, hay, and stubble, will be burnt up by the fire, which will reveal every man's work, 1Co 3:12.

Gill: Phi 3:16 - Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained // let us walk by the same rule // let us mind the same thing

Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained,.... Whatever degree of knowledge of Christ, and the truths of his Gospel, is attained to, let it be retained, and not departed from:

let us walk by the same rule; either the doctrine of justification by Christ's righteousness in particular, which is a rule of judgment concerning other things; for so far as they agree or disagree with this, they are to be received or rejected; or the Scriptures of truth, which are the rule of faith and practice, and the standard and test, to which all are to be brought and tried:

let us mind the same thing; be of one heart and affection to each other, Rom 12:10, and of the same judgment in the doctrines of the Gospel, 1Co 1:10, and pursue the same measures; particularly press towards the same mark, and for the same prize the apostle did, Phi 3:14, and be followers of him, as is exhorted to in Phi 3:17.

Gill: Phi 3:17 - Brethren, be followers together of me // and mark them which walk so // as ye have us for an ensample

Brethren, be followers together of me,.... Not that the apostle set up himself as the head of a party, which is what he always blamed in others; he did not assume a dominion over the faith of men, or seek to lord it over God's heritage; nor did he desire any to be followers of him, any further than he was a follower of Christ; and in what he was, whether in doctrine or practice, he desires to be followed in: and here he has a particular regard to what went before, concerning reckoning what was gain loss; accounting all things but dung, in comparison of the knowledge of Christ, looking to his righteousness alone for justification, Phi 3:9; disclaiming perfection, yet forgetting things behind; reaching towards things before, and pressing to the mark for the prize, Phi 3:13; and walking according to the rule of God's word; in which things he had some that followed him, who were his spiritual children, and to whom he had been useful in conversion and edification; see 1Co 4:15; and he would therefore have these Philippians followers of him, "together" with them; and which contains in it an encouraging reason, or argument, since others were followers of him; or together with one another, he was desirous, that one and all of them might follow him; that they might all go in the same way, profess the same truth, be found in the practice of the same things, worship the Lord with one consent, pursue the same ends, and draw all the same way; and so be as the church was, like a company of horses in Pharaoh's chariot, Son 1:9,

and mark them which walk so; as the apostle did, and those that were followers of him; these he would have them mark, observe, attentively look to; not as others, who cause offences and divisions, and obey not the word, in order to shun, avoid, and keep no company with; but to imitate and follow, and next to Christ, the mark, to make use of them as inferior ones:

as ye have us for an ensample, or "type"; believers should be ensamples one to another, especially ministers of the word; pastors of churches are not to be lords over God's heritage, but to be ensamples to the flock, 1Pe 5:3, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit; in faith, in purity, as the apostle exhorts Timothy, 1Ti 4:12, and in these things they are to be followed by believers.

Gill: Phi 3:18 - For many walk // of whom I have told you often // and now tell you even weeping // that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ

For many walk,.... אחרניאית, "otherwise", as the Syriac version adds; and which truly explains the words, and gives the sense; they walked not as the apostle and his followers; they walked as men, as carnal men, 1Co 3:3, according to the course of the world, after their ungodly lusts, Eph 2:2; or according to the rites and ceremonies of the Mosaic dispensation, and not uprightly, and according to the truth of the Gospel: and there were many that walked so; the road both of profaneness and error is a broad one, and many walk therein, which makes it the more dangerous; the examples of many have great force, though a multitude is not to be followed to do evil; the conversation of a great part of professors is not to be imitated; the few names in Sardis that have not defiled their garments with error or immorality should be marked for ensamples, Rev 3:4, and the majority shunned:

of whom I have told you often; both when present among them by word of mouth, and when absent from them by writing; for the apostle was a faithful watchman and monitor to this church, and to all the churches, the care of which lay upon him; and diligent he was to warn them against false teachers, whose doctrines and practices he knew were of pernicious consequence:

and now tell you even weeping; partly on account of those evil men, whose state and condition, notwithstanding their profession, was very bad; and partly on account of the glory of God and Christ, and the honour of religion, which suffered much through them; and also on account of the Philippians, lest they should be drawn aside by them; and because they had taken so little notice of his frequent cautions and advice: and that they might the better know the men he spoke of, and avoid them, he describes them by the following characters,

that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ; not that, though they might be Jews, they were like the unbelieving Jews, who were open and implacable enemies of a crucified Christ, called Jesus accursed, and anathematized him and his followers, and to whom the preaching of Christ crucified was an offence and stumblingblock, 1Co 1:23; for these were professors of Christ, and pretended to preach Christ, and him crucified: nor were they such heretics that denied that Christ really assumed human nature, and was really crucified and died; and affirmed that all this was only in appearance, or that an image was hung upon the cross for him, or Simon the Cyrenian was crucified in his room, as some have thought, which was the heresy of Simon Magus, and his disciple Basilides: nor is the sense that they were averse to the crucifixion of the affections with the lusts, though this seems to be their true character, since they were sensual, and minded earthly things; but the meaning is, that they disliked the cross of Christ; they were unwilling to take it up for his sake, and follow him; they studied all ways and means to shun it; they ingratiated themselves into the affections of the unbelieving Jews, by complying with the ceremonies of the law, and bearing hard upon the apostle and his ministry, that so they might not suffer persecution for the cross of Christ; and besides, by enjoining circumcision and an observance of the law as necessary to salvation, they, as much as in them lay, made void the efficacy of the cross and death of Christ, and made that and him unprofitable, and of no effect to the souls of men; and were both doctrinally and practically enemies of the cross of Christ: and so all such professors of Christ, who walk not according to the Gospel, though they are not open and direct enemies to the Gospel, which is the preaching of the cross, yet they are secret and indirect ones, and oftentimes do more mischief to it by their lives, than the keenest adversaries of it can by their pens.

Gill: Phi 3:19 - Whose end is destruction // whose god is their belly // and whose glory is in their shame // who mind earthly things

Whose end is destruction,.... Everlasting destruction, the destruction of both body and soul in hell, Mat 10:28; and this is the end, the reward and issue of bad principles and practices; the broad roads of sin and error lead to destruction, Mat 7:13; however pleasing such ways may be to men, the end of them is eternal death; destruction and misery are in all the ways of profaneness and heresy; not only immoralities, but heresies, such as strike at the efficacy of Christ's cross, his blood, righteousness, and sacrifice, are damnable ones, and bring upon men swift destruction, 2Pe 2:1; and how should it otherwise be, for there is no salvation but by the cross of Christ? and if men are enemies to that, and the efficacy of it, and the way of salvation by it, there is no more, nor any other sacrifice for sin, Heb 10:26, but a fearful looking for of judgment, and fiery indignation, Heb 10:27; and this will be the case of all barren and unfruitful professors, who are like the earth, that brings forth briers and thorns, and is nigh unto cursing, whose end is to be burned, Heb 6:8; for what will the hope of such an one, founded on his profession, though he may have got credit and reputation among men, avail, when God takes away his soul?

whose god is their belly; the belly was the god of the Cyclops, they sacrificed to none but to themselves, and to the greatest of the gods, their own belly ^a; as money is the covetous man's god, whom he loves, adores, and puts his confidence in, so the belly is the god of the sensualist, the epicure, and voluptuous person; he has more regard for the service of that, than for the service of God? and of this complexion were these professors; they were lovers of pleasure, more than lovers of God, 2Ti 3:4; all their pretensions to religion, to Christ, and his Gospel, were only to serve themselves, their own bellies, and not the Lord Jesus Christ, and to do good to the souls of men: or their belly may be said to be their god, because they placed religion in the observance of meats and drinks, either allowed or forbidden in the law of Moses, which profited not those that were occupied therein, Heb 9:10; for the kingdom of God, the Gospel dispensation, internal religion, and the exercise of it, lies not in these things, but in righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost, Rom 14:17,

and whose glory is in their shame; in their evil practices committed in secret, of which it was a shame to speak; in their hidden things of dishonesty, crafty walking, and deceitful handling of the word of God, which were vile and scandalous, 2Co 4:2; in corrupting the Gospel, and the churches of Christ, with their false doctrine; in observing and urging the ceremonies of the law, which were dead, and ought to be buried; and particularly circumcision in the flesh, in that part of the body which causes shame, and in this was their glory, Gal 6:13. The idol Baal Peor, and which is no other than the Priapus of the Heathens, is called by this name, Hos 9:10; so the prophets of Baal are in the Septuagint on 1Ki 18:19 called the prophets, της αισχυνης, "of that shame"; it may be the apostle may have a regard to the secret debaucheries of these persons; or because they made their belly their god, he calls it their shame in which they gloried, and which was the name given to the idols of the Gentiles:

who mind earthly things. The Arabic version renders it, "who entertain earthly opinions"; and some by, "earthly things" understand the ceremonies of the law, called the elements and rudiments of the world, which these false teachers were fond of, and were very diligent to inculcate and urge the observance of; though rather worldly things, such as honour, glory, and popular applause, and wealth, and riches, are meant; for they sought their own things, and not the things of Christ; through covetousness, with feigned words, they made merchandise of men, and amassed to themselves great sums of money; and yet were greedy dogs, could never have enough, everyone looking for his gain from his quarter, Isa 56:11, and now persons of such characters as these were by no means to be followed, but such who are hereafter described,

Gill: Phi 3:20 - For our conversation is in heaven // from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ

For our conversation is in heaven,.... The Ethiopic version renders it, "we have our city in heaven"; and the words may be truly rendered, "our citizenship is in heaven"; that is, the city whereof we are freemen is heaven, and we behave ourselves here below, as citizens of that city above: heaven is the saints' city; here they have no continuing city, but they seek one to come, which is permanent and durable; a city that has foundations, whose builder and maker is God, Heb 11:10, as yet they are not in it, though fellow citizens of the saints, and of the household of God; they are pilgrims, strangers, and sojourners on earth, Lev 25:23; but are seeking a better country, an heavenly one, and God has prepared for them a city, Heb 11:16; they have a right unto it through the grace of God, and righteousness of Christ, and a meetness for it in him; and their conversation is here beforehand, while their commoration, or temporary residence, is below; their thoughts are often employed about it; their affections are set upon it, Col 3:2; their hearts are where their treasure is, Mat 6:21; the desires of their souls are towards it, and they are seeking things above, and long to be in their own city, and Father's house, where Christ is; and to be at home with him, and for ever with him. This is the work and business of their lives now, and what their hearts are engaged in. The Syriac version renders it, "our work is in heaven"; the business, the exercise of our lives, and of our graces, tend that way:

from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ; Christ is now in heaven, at the Father's right hand, Act 2:33, appearing in the presence of God for his people, and making intercession for them, Heb 7:25; and so will remain, until the time of the restitution of all things; when he will descend from heaven, and be revealed from thence: and this the saints look for, and expect; they have good reason for it; from his own words, from the words of the angels at the time of his ascension, Act 1:11, and from the writings of the apostles and they expect him not merely as a Judge, under which consideration he will be terrible to the ungodly, but as a Saviour; who as he has already saved their souls from sin, and the dreadful effects of it, from the bondage and curse of the law, from the captivity of Satan, and from eternal ruin and wrath to come, so he will save and redeem their bodies from the grave, corruption, mortality, and death, as follows.

Gill: Phi 3:21 - Who shall change our vile body // that it might be fashioned like unto his glorious body // according to the working // whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself

Who shall change our vile body,.... Which is defiled with sin, attended with frailty, and is mortal; and being dead, is sown and laid in the grave in corruption, weakness, and dishonour: in the Greek text it is, "the body of our humility"; sin has subjected the body to weakness, mortality, and death; and death brings it into a very low estate indeed, which is very humbling and mortifying to the pride and vanity man: now this vile body, in the resurrection morn, shall be stripped of all its vileness, baseness, and meanness; and be changed, not as to its substance, nor as to its form and figure, which shall always remain same, as did the substance and form of our Lord's body after his resurrection; but as to its qualities, it shall be changed from corruption to incorruption, 1Co 15:42, from mortality to immortality, from weakness to power, from dishonour to glory, and be free from all sin: so the Jews say ^b, that "the evil imagination, or corruption of nature, goes along with man in the hour of death, but does not return with him when the dead arise:

and this change will be made by the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, when he shall descend from heaven; who as he is the pledge, the first fruits, the exemplar, and meritorious cause, so he will be the efficient cause of the resurrection of the saints; who will be raised and changed by him, by his power, and by virtue of union to him:

that it might be fashioned like unto his glorious body; or "the body of his glory", as it is now in heaven, and of which his transfiguration on the mount was an emblem and pledge; for glory, power, incorruption, and immortality, the bodies of the saints in the resurrection shall be like to Christ's, though not equal to it, and shall shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. The Jews ^c have a notion, that "the holy blessed God will beautify the bodies of the righteous in future time, like the beauty of the first Adam:

but their beauty and glory will be greater than that, it will be like the glory of the second Adam, the Lord from heaven, whose image they shall then bear: and whereas this requires almighty power, of which Christ is possessed, it will be done

according to the working, the energy of his power and might; or as the Syriac version renders it, "according to his great power"; which was put forth in raising himself from the dead, and whereby he was declared to be the Son of God: and

whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself; not only sin, Satan, and the world, but death and the grave; and so consequently able to raise the dead bodies of his saints, and to change the qualities of them, and make them like unto his own: and now who would but follow such persons, who are citizens of heaven, have their conversation there, look for Christ the Saviour from thence, Phi 3:20, who when he comes will raise the dead in Christ first, put such a glory on their bodies as is on his own, 1Th 4:16, and take them to himself, that where he is they may be also? see John 14:3, Heb 6:12.

Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Ayat / Catatan Kaki

NET Notes: Phi 3:1

¹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:12.

NET Notes: Phi 3:2

¹ sn Dogs is a figurative reference to false teachers whom Paul regards as just as filthy as dogs.

² tn Grk “beware of the mutilation.”

NET Notes: Phi 3:3

¹ tn There is a significant wordplay here in the Greek text. In v. 2 a rare, strong word is used to describe those who were pro-circumcision (κατατομή, katatomh, “mutilation”; see BDAG 528 s.v.), while in v. 3 the normal word for circumcision is used (περιτομή, peritomh; see BDAG 807 s.v.). Both have τομή (the feminine form of the adjective τομός [tomo"], meaning “cutting, sharp”) as their root; the direction of the action of the former is down or off (from κατά, kata), hence the implication of mutilation or emasculation, while the direction of the action of the latter is around (from περί, peri). The similarity in sound yet wide divergence of meaning between the two words highlights in no uncertain terms the differences between Paul and his opponents.

² tc The verb λατρεύω (latreuw; here the participial form, λατρεύοντες [latreuonte"]) either takes a dative direct object or no object at all, bearing virtually a technical nuance of “worshiping God” (see BDAG 587 s.v.). In this text, πνεύματι (pneumati) takes an instrumental force (“by the Spirit”) rather than functioning as object of λατρεύοντες. However, the word after πνεύματι is in question, no doubt because of the collocation with λατρεύοντες. Most witnesses, including some of the earliest and best representatives of the Alexandrian, Western, and Byzantine texts (א* A B C D² F G 0278^vid 33 1739 1881 Ï co Ambr), read θεοῦ (qeou; thus, “worship by the Spirit of God”). But several other important witnesses (א² D* P Ψ 075 365 1175 lat sy Chr) have the dative θεῷ (qew) here (“worship God by the Spirit”). Ì⁴⁶ is virtually alone in its omission of the divine name, probably due to an unintentional oversight. The dative θεῷ was most likely a scribal emendation intended to give the participle its proper object, and thus avoid confusion about the force of πνεύματι. Although the Church came to embrace the full deity of the Spirit, the NT does not seem to speak of worshiping the Spirit explicitly. The reading θεῷ thus appears to be a clarifying reading. On external and internal grounds, then, θεοῦ is the preferred reading.

³ tn Grk “have no confidence in the flesh.”

NET Notes: Phi 3:4

¹ tn Grk “though I have reason for confidence even in the flesh.”

² tn Grk “flesh.”

NET Notes: Phi 3:5

¹ sn A Pharisee was a member of one of the most important and influential religious and political parties of Judaism in the time of Jesus. There were more Pharisees than Sadducees (according to Josephus, Ant. 17.2.4 [17.42] there were more than 6,000 Pharisees at about this time). Pharisees differed with Sadducees on certain doctrines and patterns of behavior. The Pharisees were strict and zealous adherents to the laws of the OT and to numerous additional traditions such as angels and bodily resurrection.

NET Notes: Phi 3:8

¹ tn The word here translated “dung” was often used in Greek as a vulgar term for fecal matter. As such it would most likely have had a certain shock value for the readers. This may well be Paul’s meaning here, especially since the context is about what the flesh produces.

NET Notes: Phi 3:9

¹ tn Or “faith in Christ.” A decision is difficult here. Though traditionally translated “faith in Jesus Christ,” an increasing number of NT scholars are arguing that πίστις Χριστοῦ (pisti" Cristou) and similar phrases in Paul (here and in Rom 3:22, 26; Gal 2:16, 20; 3:22; Eph 3:12) involve a subjective genitive and mean “Christ’s faith” or “Christ’s faithfulness” (cf., e.g., G. Howard, “The ‘Faith of Christ’,” ExpTim 85 [1974]: 212-15; R. B. Hays, The Faith of Jesus Christ [SBLDS]; Morna D. Hooker, “Πίστις Χριστοῦ,” NTS 35 [1989]: 321-42). Noteworthy among the arguments for the subjective genitive view is that when πίστις takes a personal genitive it is almost never an objective genitive (cf. Matt 9:2, 22, 29; Mark 2:5; 5:34; 10:52; Luke 5:20; 7:50; 8:25, 48; 17:19; 18:42; 22:32; Rom 1:8; 12; 3:3; 4:5, 12, 16; 1 Cor 2:5; 15:14, 17; 2 Cor 10:15; Phil 2:17; Col 1:4; 2:5; 1 Thess 1:8; 3:2, 5, 10; 2 Thess 1:3; Titus 1:1; Phlm 6; 1 Pet 1:9, 21; 2 Pet 1:5). On the other hand, the objective genitive view has its adherents: A. Hultgren, “The Pistis Christou Formulations in Paul,” NovT 22 (1980): 248-63; J. D. G. Dunn, “Once More, ΠΙΣΤΙΣ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΥ,” SBL Seminar Papers, 1991, 730-44. Most commentaries on Romans and Galatians usually side with the objective view.

sn ExSyn 116, which notes that the grammar is not decisive, nevertheless suggests that “the faith/faithfulness of Christ is not a denial of faith in Christ as a Pauline concept (for the idea is expressed in many of the same contexts, only with the verb πιστεύω rather than the noun), but implies that the object of faith is a worthy object, for he himself is faithful.” Though Paul elsewhere teaches justification by faith, this presupposes that the object of our faith is reliable and worthy of such faith.

² tn The words “in fact” are supplied because of English style, picking up the force of the Greek article with πίστει (pistei). See also the following note on the word “Christ’s.”

³ tn Grk “based on the faithfulness.” The article before πίστει (pistei) is taken as anaphoric, looking back to διὰ πίστεως Χριστοῦ (dia pistew" Cristou); hence, “Christ’s” is implied.

⁴ tn Or “based on faith.”

NET Notes: Phi 3:10

¹ tn The articular infinitive τοῦ γνῶναι (tou gnwnai, “to know”) here expresses purpose. The words “My aim is” have been supplied in the translation to emphasize this nuance and to begin a new sentence (shorter sentences are more appropriate for English style).

² tn Grk “to know him, the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings.”

NET Notes: Phi 3:11

¹ tn On εἰ πῶς (ei pws) as “so, somehow” see BDAG 279, s.v. εἰ 6.n.

NET Notes: Phi 3:12

¹ tn Grk “that for which I also was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.” The passive has been translated as active in keeping with contemporary English style.

NET Notes: Phi 3:13

¹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:12.

² tn Grk “But this one thing (I do).”

NET Notes: Phi 3:14

¹ tn Grk “according to the goal.”

² tn Grk “prize, namely, the heavenly calling of God.”

NET Notes: Phi 3:15

¹ tn Grk “those of us who are ‘perfect’ should think this,” or possibly “those of us who are mature should think this.”

sn The adjective perfect comes from the same root as the verb perfected in v. 12; Paul may well be employing a wordplay to draw in his opponents. Thus, perfect would then be in quotation marks and Paul would then argue that no one – neither they nor he – is in fact perfect. The thrust of vv. 1-16 is that human credentials can produce nothing that is pleasing to God (vv. 1-8). Instead of relying on such, Paul urges his readers to trust God for their righteousness (v. 9) rather than their own efforts, and at the same time to press on for the prize that awaits them (vv. 12-14). He argues further that perfection is unattainable in this life (v. 15), yet the level of maturity that one has reached should not for this reason be abandoned (v. 16).

² tn Grk “reveal this to you.” The referent of the pronoun “this” is the fact that the person is thinking differently than Paul does. This has been specified in the translation with the phrase “the error of your ways”; Paul is stating that God will make it known to these believers when they are not in agreement with Paul.

NET Notes: Phi 3:16

¹ tc Although κανόνι (kanoni, “standard, rule”) is found in most witnesses, though in various locations in this verse (א² D² Ψ 075 Ï), it is almost surely a motivated reading, for it clarifies the cryptic τῷ αὐτῷ (tw autw, “the same”). Both the fact that the word floats, and that there are other variants which accomplish greater clarity by other means, strongly suggests the secondary nature of any of the longer readings here. Further, the shortest text has excellent and early support in Ì^16,46 א* A B I^vid 6 33 1739 co, rendering it decidedly the preferred reading. The translation adds “standard” because of English requirements, not because of textual basis.

² tn Grk “Nevertheless, to what we have attained, to the same hold fast.”

NET Notes: Phi 3:17

¹ tn Or “become fellow imitators with me [of Christ].”

² tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:12.

NET Notes: Phi 3:19

¹ tn Grk “whose end is destruction, whose god is the belly and glory is their shame, these who think of earthly things.”

NET Notes: Phi 3:21

¹ tn Grk “transform the body of our humility.”

Geneva Bible: Phi 3:1

Finally, ^{( 1 )} my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. ^{( 2 )} To write the ^{( a )} same things to you, to me indeed [is] not grievous, but for you [it is] safe.

^{( 1 )} A conclusion of those things which have been said before, that is, that they go forward cheerfully in the Lord. ^{( 2 )} A preface to the next admonition that follows, to take good heed and beware of false apostles, who join circumcision with Christ, (that is to say, justification by works, with free justification by faith), and beat into men's head the ceremonies which are abolished, instead of true exercises of godliness and charity. And he calls them dogs, as profane barkers, and evil workmen, because they neglected true works and did not teach the true use of them. To be short, he calls them concision, because in urging circumcision, they cut off themselves and others from the Church.

^{( a )} Which you have often times heard from me.

Geneva Bible: Phi 3:2

Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the ^{( b )} concision.

^{( b )} He alludes to circumcision; and while they were boasting in it, they broke apart the Church.

Geneva Bible: Phi 3:3

^{( 3 )} For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence ^{( c )} in the flesh.

^{( 3 )} He shows that we ought to use true circumcision, that is, the circumcision of the heart, so that by cutting off all wicked affections by the power of Christ, we may serve God in purity of life.

^{( c )} In outward things which do not at all pertain to the soul.

Geneva Bible: Phi 3:4

^{( 4 )} Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more:

^{( 4 )} He does not doubt to prefer himself even according to the flesh, before those perverse zealous urgers of the Law, that all men may know that he does with good judgment of mind, consider of little worth all of those outward things. For he who has Christ lacks nothing, and confidence in our works cannot stand with the free justification in Christ by faith.

Geneva Bible: Phi 3:7

But what things were ^{( d )} gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.

^{( d )} Which I considered as gain.

Geneva Bible: Phi 3:8

Yea doubtless, and I count ^{( e )} all things [but] loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them [but] dung, that I may ^{( f )} win Christ,

^{( e )} He shuts out all works, those that go before, as well as those that come after faith.

^{( f )} That in their place I might get Christ, and from a poor man become rich, so far am I from losing anything at all.

Geneva Bible: Phi 3:9

And be found in ^{( g )} him, ^{( h )} not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

^{( g )} In Christ: for those that are found outside of Christ are subject to condemnation.

^{( h )} That is, to be in Christ, to be found not in a man's own righteousness, but clothed with the righteousness of Christ imputed to him.

Geneva Bible: Phi 3:10

^{( 5 )} That I may ^{( i )} know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the ^{( 6 )} fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

^{( 5 )} This is the end of righteousness by faith with regard to us, that by the power of his resurrection we may escape from death.

^{( i )} That I may indeed feel him, and have an experience of him. ^{( 6 )} The way to that eternal salvation is to follow Christ's steps by afflictions and persecutions, until we come to Christ himself, who is our mark at which we aim, and receive that reward to which God calls us in him. And the apostle sets these true exercises of godliness against those vain ceremonies of the Law, in which the false apostles put the sum of godliness.

Geneva Bible: Phi 3:11

If by any means I might attain unto the ^{( k )} resurrection of the dead.

^{( k )} To everlasting life, which follows the resurrection of the saints.

Geneva Bible: Phi 3:12

Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am ^{( l )} apprehended of Christ Jesus.

^{( l )} For we run only as far forth as we are laid hold on by Christ, that is, as God gives us strength, and shows us the way.

Geneva Bible: Phi 3:15

^{( 7 )} Let us therefore, as many as be ^{( m )} perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.

^{( 7 )} The conclusion of this exhortation standing upon three members: the first is, that those who have profited in the truth of this doctrine should continue in it. The second is, that if there are any who are yet ignorant and do not understand these things, and who doubt of the abolishing of the Law, they should cause no trouble, and should be gently waited for, until they also are instructed by the Lord. The third is, that they judge the false apostles by their fruits: in which he does not doubt to set forth himself as an example.

^{( m )} He said before that he was not perfect. So that in this place he calls those perfect who have somewhat profited in the knowledge of Christ and the Gospel, whom he sets against the rude and ignorant, as he himself expounds in (Phi 3:16).

Geneva Bible: Phi 3:18

^{( 8 )} (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, [that they are] the enemies of the cross of Christ:

^{( 8 )} He shows what the false apostles truly are, not from malice or ambition, but with sorrow and tears, that is, because being enemies of the Gospel (for that is joined with persecuting it) they regard nothing else, but the benefits of this life: that is to say, that abounding in peace, and quietness, and all worldly pleasures, they may live in great estimation among men, whose miserable end he forewarned them of.

Geneva Bible: Phi 3:19

Whose ^{( n )} end [is] destruction, whose God [is their] belly, and [whose] ^{( o )} glory [is] in their shame, who mind earthly things.)

^{( n )} Reward.

^{( o )} Which they hunt after from men's hands.

Geneva Bible: Phi 3:20

^{( 9 )} For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:

^{( 9 )} He sets against these fellows true pastors who neglect earthly things, and aspire to heaven only, where they know that even in their bodies they will be clothed with that eternal glory, by the power of God.

Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Rentang Ayat

Maclaren: Phi 3:1-3 - A Libation To Jehovah

Preparing To End

Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not irksome, but for you it is safe. 2. Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the concision: 3. For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God, and glory in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.'--Phil. 3:1-3 (R.V.).

THE first words of the text show that Paul was beginning to think of winding up his letter, and the preceding context also suggests that. The personal references to Timothy and Epaphroditus would be in their appropriate place near the close, and the exhortation with which our text begins is also most fitting there, for it is really the key-note of the letter. How then does he come to desert his purpose? The answer is to be found in his next advice, the warning against the Judaising teachers who were his great antagonists all his life. A reference to them always roused him, and here the vehement exhortation to mark them well and avoid them opens the flood-gates. Forgetting all about his purpose to come to an end, he pours out his soul in the long and precious passage which follows. Not till the next chapter does he get back to his theme in the reiterated exhortation (Phil. 4:4), Rejoice in the Lord alway; again I will say, rejoice.' This outburst is very remarkable, for its vehemence is so unlike the tone of the rest of the letter. That is calm, joyous, bright, but this is stormy and impassioned, full of flashing and scathing words, the sudden thunder-storm breaks in on a mellow, autumn day, but it hurtles past and the sun shines out again, and the air is clearer.

Another question suggested is the reference of the second half of verse 1. What are the same things' to write which is safe' for the Philippians? Are they the injunctions preceding to rejoice in the Lord,' or that following, the warning against the Judaisers? The former explanation may be recommended by the fact that Rejoice' is in a sense the key-note of the Epistle, but on the other hand, the things where repetition would be safe' would most probably be warnings against some evil that threatened the Philippians' Christian standing.

There is no attempt at unity in the words before us, and I shall not try to force them into apparent oneness, but follow the Apostle's thoughts as they lie, We note--

I. The Crowning Injunction As To The Duty Of Christian Gladness.

A very slight glance over the Epistle will show how continually the note of gladness is struck in it. Whatever in Paul's circumstances was at enmity with joy' could not darken his sunny outlook. This bird could sing in a darkened cage. If we brought together the expressions of his joy in this letter, they would yield us some precious lessons as to what were the sources of his, and what may be the sources of ours. There runs through all the instances in the Epistle the implication which comes out most emphatically in his earnest exhortation, Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice.' The true source of true joy lies in our union with Jesus. To be in Him is the condition of every good, and, just as in the former verses trust in the Lord' is set forth, so the joy which comes from trust is traced to the same source. The joy that is worthy, real, permanent, and the ally of lofty endeavour and noble thoughts has its root in union with Jesus, is realised in communion with Him, has Him for its reason or motive, and Him for its safeguard or measure. As the passages in question in this Epistle show, such joy does not shut out but hallows other sources of satisfaction. In our weakness creatural love and kindness but too often draw us away from our joy in Him. But with Paul the sources which we too often find antagonistic were harmoniously blended, and flowed side by side in the same channel, so that he could express them both in the one utterance, I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again.'

We do not sufficiently realise the Christian duty of Christian joy, some of us even take mortified countenances and voices in a minor key as marks of grace, and there is but little in any of us of the joy in the Lord' which a saint of the Old Testament had learned was our' strength.' There is plenty of gladness amongst professing Christians, but a good many of them would resent the question, is your gladness in the Lord'? No doubt any deep experience in the Christian life makes us aware of much in ourselves that saddens, and may depress, and our joy in Him must always be shaded by penitent sorrow for ourselves. But that necessary element of sadness in the Christian life is not the cause why so many Christian lives have little of the buoyancy and hope and spontaneity which should mark them. The reason rather lies in the lack of true union with Christ, and habitual keeping of ourselves' in the love of God.'

II. Paul's Apology For Reiteration.

He is going to give once more old and well-worn precepts which are often very tedious to the hearer, and not much less so to the speaker. He can only say that to him the repetition of familiar injunctions is not irksome,' and that to them it is safe.' The diseased craving for originality' in the present day tempts us all, hearers and speakers alike, and we ever need to be reminded that the staple of Christian teaching must be old truths reiterated, and that it is not time to stop proclaiming them until all men have begun to practise them. But a speaker must try to make the thousandth repetition of a truth fresh to himself, and not a wearisome form, or a dead commonplace, by freshening it to his own mind and by living on it in his own practice, and the hearers must remember that it is only the completeness of their obedience that antiquates the commandment. The most threadbare commonplace becomes a novelty when occasions for its application arise in our own lives, just as a prescription may lie long unnoticed in a drawer, but when a fever attacks its possessor it will be quickly drawn out and worth its weight in gold.

III. Paul's Warning Against Teachers Of A Ceremonial Religion.

It scarcely seems congruous with the tone of the rest of this letter that the preachers whom Paul so scathingly points out here had obtained any firm footing in the Philippian Church, but no doubt there, as everywhere, they had dogged Paul's footsteps, and had tried as they always did to mar his work. They had not missionary fervour or Christian energy enough to initiate efforts amongst the Gentiles so as to make them proselytes, but when Paul and his companions had made them Christians, they did their best, or their worst, to insist that they could not be truly Christians, unless they submitted to the outward sign of being Jews. Paul points a scathing finger at them when he bids the Philippians beware,' and he permits himself a bitter retort when he lays hold of the Jewish contemptuous word for Gentiles which stigmatised them as dogs,' that is profane and unclean, and hurls it back at the givers. But he is not indulging in mere bitter retorts when he brings against these teachers the definite charge that they are evil workers.' People who believed that an outward observance was the condition of salvation would naturally be less careful to insist upon holy living. A religion of ceremonies is not a religion of morality. Then the Apostle lets himself go in a contemptuous play of words, and refuses to recognise that these sticklers for circumcision had themselves been circumcised. I will not call them the circumcision, they have not been circumcised, they have only been gashed and mutilated, it has been a mere fleshly maiming.' His reason for denying the name to them is his profound belief that it belonged to true Christians. His contemptuous reference puts in a word, the principle which he definitely states in another place, He is not a Jew who is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh.'

The Apostle here is not only telling us who are the truly circumcised, but at the same time he is telling us what makes a Christian, and he states three points in which, as I take it, he begins at the end and works backwards to the beginning. We are the circumcision who worship in the Spirit of God '--that is the final result--and glory in Christ Jesus'--and have no confidence in the flesh '--that is the starting-point. The beginning of all true Christianity is distrust of self. What does Paul mean by flesh'? Body? Certainly not. Animal nature, or the passions rooted in it? Not only these, as may be seen by noting the catalogue which follows of the things in the flesh, in which he might have trusted. What are these? Circumcised the eighth day, of the tribe of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews' --these belong to ritual and race; as touching the law a Pharisee'--that belongs to ecclesiastical standing; concerning zeal persecuting the church'--that has nothing to do with the animal nature: touching the righteousness which is in the law blameless" --that concerns the moral nature. All these come under the category of the flesh,' which, therefore, plainly includes all that belongs to humanity apart from God. Paul's old-fashioned language translated into modern English just comes to this--it is vain to trust in external connection with the sacred community of the Church, or in participation in any of its ordinances and rites. To Paul, Christian rites and Jewish rites were equally rites and equally insufficient as bases of confidence. Do not let us fancy that dependence on these is peculiar to certain forms of Christian belief. It is a very subtle all-pervasive tendency, and there is no need to lift up Nonconformist hands in holy horror at the corruptions of Romanism and the like. Their origin is not solely priestly ambition, but also the desires of the so-called laity. Demand creates a supply, and if there were not people to think, Now it shall be well with me because I have a Levite for my priest,' there would be no Levites to meet their wishes.

Notice that Paul includes amongst the things belonging to the flesh this touching the righteousness which is in the law blameless.' Many of us can say the same. We do our duties so far as we know them, and are respectable law-abiding people, but if we are trusting to that, we are of the flesh.' Have we estimated what God is, and what the real worth of our conduct is? Have we looked not at our actions but at our motives, and seen them as they are seen from above or from the inside? How many blameless' lives are like the scenes in a theatre, effective and picturesque, when seen with the artificial glory of the footlights? But go behind the scenes and what do we find? Dirty canvas and cobwebs. If we know ourselves we know that a life may have a fair outside, and yet not be a thing to trust to.

The beginning of our Christianity is the consciousness that we are naked and poor, and blind, and in need of all things.' Men come to Jesus Christ by many ways, thank God, and I care little by what road they come so long as they get there, nor do I insist upon any stereotyped order of religious experience. But of this I am very sure: that unless we abandon confidence in ourselves, because we have seen ourselves in the light of God's law, we have not learned all that we need nor laid hold of all that Christ gives. Let us measure ourselves in the light of God, and we shall learn that we have to take our places beside Job, when the vision of God silenced his protestations of innocence. I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth Thee; wherefore I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes.'

That self-distrust should pass into glorying in Christ Jesus. If a man has learned his emptiness he will look about for something to fill it. Unless I know myself to be under condemnation because of my sin, and fevered, disturbed, and made wretched, by its inward consequences which forbid repose, the sweetest words of Gospel invitation will pass by me like wind whistling through an archway. But if once I have been driven from self-confidence, then like music from heaven will come the word, Trust in Jesus.' The seed dropped into the ground puts out a downward-going shoot, which is the root, and an upward-growing one, which is the stalk. The down-ward-going shoot is no confidence in the flesh,' the upward-going is glorying in Christ Jesus.'

But that word suggests the blessed experience of triumph in the possession of the Person known and felt to be all, and to give all that life needs. A true Christian should ever be triumphant in a felt experience, in a Name proved to be sufficient, in a power which infuses strength into his weakness, and enables him to do the will of God. It is for want of utter self-distrust and absolute faith in Christ that glorying' in Him is so far beyond the ordinary mood of the average Christian. You say, I hope, sometimes I doubt, sometimes I fear, sometimes I tremblingly trust.' Is that the kind of experience that these words shadow? Why do we continue amidst the mist when we might rise into the clear blue above the obscuring pall? Only because we are still in some measure clinging to self, and still in some measure distrusting our Lord. If our faith were firm and full our glorying' would be constant. Do not be contented with the prevailing sombre type of Christian life which is always endeavouring, and always foiled, which is often doubting and often indifferent, but seek to live in the sunshine, and expatiate in the light, and' rejoice in the Lord always.'

Glorying' not only describes an attitude of mind, but an activity of life. Many things to-day tempt Christian people to speak of their religion and of their Lord in an apologetic tone, in the face of strong and educated unbelief; but if we have within us, as we all may have, and ought to have, the triumphant assurance of His sufficiency, nearness, and power, it will not be with bated breath that we shall speak of our Master, or apologise for our Christianity, but we shall obey the commandment, Lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid.' Ring out the name and be proud that you can ring it out, as the Name of your Lord, and your Saviour, and your all-sufficient Friend. Whatever other people say, you have the experience, if you are a Christian, which more than answers all that they can say.

We have said that the final result set forth hero by Paul is, We worship by the Spirit of God.' The expression translated worship is the technical word for rendering priestly service. Just as Paul has asserted that uncircumcised Christians, not circumcised Jews, are the true circumcision, so he asserts that they are the true priests, and that these officials in the outward temple at Jerusalem have forfeited the title, and that it has passed over to the despised followers of the despised Nazarene. If we have no confidence in the flesh,' and are glorying in Christ Jesus,' we are all priests of the most high God. Worship in the Spirit' is our function and privilege. The externals of ceremonial worship dwindle into insignificance. They may be means of helping, or they may be means of hindering, the worship in the Spirit,' which I venture to think all experience shows is the more likely to be pure and real, the less it invokes the aid of flesh and sense. To make the senses the ladder for the soul by which to climb to God is quite as likely to end in the soul's going down the ladder as up it. Aesthetic aids to worship are crutches which keep a lame soul lame all its days.

Such worship is the obligation as well as the prerogative of the Christian. We have no right to say that we have truly forsaken confidence in ourselves, and are truly glorying' in Christ Jesus, unless our daily life is communion with God, and all your work worshipping by the Spirit of God.' Such communion and worship are possible for those, and for those only, who have no confidence in the flesh' and who glory in Christ Jesus.'

Maclaren: Phi 3:4-8 - A Libation To Jehovah

The Loss Of All

Though I myself might have confidence even in the flesh: if any other man thinketh to have confidence in the flesh, I yet more: circumcised the eighth day of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; as touching zeal, persecuting the church; as touching the righteousness which is in the law, found blameless. Howbeit what things were gain to me. these have I counted loss for Christ. Yea verily, and I count all things to be loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung.'--Phil. 3:4-8 (R.V.).

WE have already noted that in the previous verses the Apostle is beginning to prepare for closing his letter, but is carried away into the long digression of which our text forms the beginning. The last words of the former verse open a thought of which his mind is always full. It is as when an excavator strikes his pickaxe unwittingly into a hidden reservoir and the blow is followed by a rush of water, which carries away workmen and tools. Paul has struck into the very deepest thoughts which he has of the Gospel and out they pour. That one antithesis, the loss of all, the gain of Christ,' carried in it to him the whole truth of the Christian message. We may well ask ourselves what are the subjects which lie so near our hearts, and so fill our thoughts, that a chance word sets us off on them, and we cannot help talking of them when once we begin.

The text exemplifies another characteristic of Paul's, his constant habit of quoting his own experience as illustrating the truth. His theology is the generalisation of his own experience, and yet that continual autobiographical reference is not egotism, for the light in which he delights to present himself is as the recipient of the great grace of God in pardoning sinners. It is a result of the complete saturation of himself with the Gospel. It was to him no mere body of principles or thoughts, it was the very food and life of his life. And so this characteristic reveals not only his natural fervour of character, but the profound and penetrating hold which the Gospel had on his whole being.

In our text he presents his own experience as the type to which ours must on the whole be conformed. He had gone through an earthquake which had shattered the very foundations of his life. He had come to despise all that he had counted most precious, and to clasp as the only true treasures all that he had despised. With him the revolution had turned his whole life upside down. Though the change cannot be so subversive and violent with us, the forsaking of self-confidence must be as real, and the clinging to Jesus must be as close, if our Christianity is to be fervid and dominant in our lives.

I. The Treasures That Were Discovered To Be Worthless.

We have already had occasion in the previous sermon to refer to Paul's catalogue of things that were gain' to him, but we must consider it a little more closely here. We may repeat that it is important for understanding Paul's point of view to note that by flesh' he means the whole self considered as independent of God. The antithesis to it is spirit,' that is humanity regenerated and vitalised by Divine influence. Flesh,' then, is humanity not so vitalised. That is to say, it is self,' including both body and emotions, affections, thoughts, and will.

As to the points enumerated, they are those which made the ideal to a Jew, including purity of race, punctilious orthodoxy, flaming zeal, pugnacious antagonism, and blameless morality. With reference to race, the Jewish pride was in circumcision on the eighth day,' which was the exclusive privilege of one of pure blood. Proselytes might be circumcised in later life, but one of the stock of Israel' only on the eighth day.' Saul of Tarsus had in earlier days been proud of his tribal genealogy, which had apparently been carefully preserved in the Gentile home, and had shared ancestral pride in belonging to the once royal tribe, and perhaps in thinking that the blood of the king after whom he was named flowed in his veins. He was a Hebrew of the Hebrews,' which does not mean, as it is usually taken to do, intensely, superlatively Hebrew, but simply is equivalent to myself a Hebrew, and come from pure Hebrew ancestors on both sides.' Possibly also the phrase may have reference to purity of language and customs as well as blood. These four items make the first group. Paul still remembers the time when, in the blindness which he shared with his race, he believed that these wholly irrelevant points had to do with a man's acceptance before God. He had once agreed with the Judaisers that circumcision' admitted Gentiles into the Jewish community, and so gave them a right to participate in the blessings of the Covenant.

Then follow the items of his more properly religious character, which seem in their three clauses to make a climax. As touching the law a Pharisee,' he was of the straitest sect,' the champions and representatives of the law. As touching zeal persecuting the Church,' it was not only in Judaism that the mark of zeal for a cause has been harassing its opponents. We can almost hear a tone of sad irony as Paul recalls that past, remembering how eagerly he had taken charge of the clothes trusted to his care by the witnesses who stoned Stephen, and how he had breathed threatening and slaughter' against the disciples. As touching the righteousness which is in the law found blameless,' he is evidently speaking of the obedience of outward actions and of blamelessness in the judgment of men.

So we get a living picture of Paul and of his confidence before he was a Christian. All these grounds for pride and self-satisfaction were like triple armour round the heart of the young Pharisee, who rode out of Jerusalem on the road to Damascus. How little he thought that they would all have been pierced and have dropped from him before he got there! The grounds of his confidence are antiquated in form, but in substance are modern. At bottom the things in which Paul's flesh' trusted are exactly the same as those in which many of us trust. Even his pride of race continues to influence some of us. We have got the length of separating between our nationality and our acceptance with God, but we have still a kind of feeling that God's Englishmen,' as Milton called them, have a place of their own, which is, if not a ground of confidence before God, at any rate a ground for carrying ourselves with very considerable complacency before men. It is not unheard of that people should rely, if not on' circumcision on the eighth day,' on an outward rite which seems to connect them with a visible Church. Strict orthodoxy takes the place among us which Pharisaism held in Paul's mind before he was a Christian, and it is easier to prove our zeal by pugnacity against heretics, than by fervour of devotion. The modern analogue of Paul's, touching the righteousness which is in the law blameless,' is I have done my best, I have lived a decent life. My religion is to do good to other people.' All such talk, which used to be a vague sentiment or excuse, is now put forward in definite theoretical substitution for the Christian Truth, and finds numerous teachers and acceptors. But how short a way all such grounds of confidence go to satisfy a soul that has once seen the vision that blazed in on Paul's mind on the road to Damascus!

II. The Discovery Of Their Worthlessness.

These have I counted loss for Christ.' There is a possibility of exaggeration in interpreting Paul's words. The things that were gain' to him were in themselves better than their opposites. It is better to be blameless' than to have a life all stained with foulness and reeking with sins. But these gains' were losses,' disadvantages, in so far as they led him to build upon them, and trust in them as solid wealth. The earthquake that shattered his life had two shocks: the first turned upside down his estimate of the value of his gains, the second robbed him of them. He first saw them to be worthless, and then, so far as others' judgment went, he was stripped of them. Actively he counted them loss,' passively he suffered the loss of all things.' His estimate came, and was followed by the practical outcome of his brethren's excommunication.

What changed his estimate? In our text he answers the question in two forms: first he gives the simple, all-sufficient monosyllabic reason for his whole life --for Christ,' and then he enlarges that motive into the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord.' The former carries us back straight to the vision which revolutionised Paul's life, and made him abjure all which he had trusted, and adore what he had abhorred. The latter dwells a little more upon the subjective process which followed on the vision, but the two are substantially the same, and we need only note the solemn fulness of the name of Jesus Christ,' and the intense motion of submission and of personal appropriation contained in the designation, my Lord.' It was not when he found his way blinded into Damascus that he had learned that knowledge, or could apprehend its excellency.' The words are enriched and enlarged by later experiences. The sacrifice of his earlier gains' had been made before the excellency of the knowledge' had been discerned. It was no mere intellectual perception which could be imparted in words, or by eyesight, but here as always Paul by knowledge' means experience which comes from possession and acquaintance, and which therefore gleams ever before us as we move, and is capable of endless increase, in the measure in which we are true to the estimate of gains' and losses' to which our initial vision of Him has led us. At first we may not know that that knowledge excels all others, but as we grow in acquaintance with Jesus, and in experience of Him, we shall be sure that it transcends all others, because He does and we possess Him.

The revolutionizing motive may be conceived of in two ways. We have to abandon the lower gains' in order to gain Christ, or to abandon these because we have gained Him. Both are true. The discernment of Christ as the one ground of confidence is ever followed by the casting away of all others. Self-dis-trust is a part of faith. When we feel our feet upon the rock, the crumbling sands on which we stood are left to be broken up by the sea. They who have seen the Apollo Belvedere will set little store by plaster of Paris casts. In all our lives there come times when the glimpse of some loftier ideal shows up our ordinary as hollow and poor and low. And when once Christ is seen, as Scripture shows Him, our former self appears poor and crumbles away.

We are not to suppose that the act of renunciation must be completed before a second act of possession is begun. That is the error of many ascetic books. The two go together, and abandonment in order to win merges into abandonment because we have won. The strongest power to make renunciation possible is the expulsive power of a new affection.' When the heart is filled with love to Christ there is no sense of loss,' but only of exceeding gain,' in casting away all things for Him.

III. The Continuous Repetition Of The Discovery.

Paul compares his present self with his former Christian self, and with a vehement Yea, verily,' affirms his former judgment, and reiterates it in still more emphatic terms. It is often easy to depreciate the treasures which we possess. They sometimes grow in value as they slip from our hands. It is not usual for a man who has suffered the loss of all things' to follow their disappearance by counting them but dung.' The constant repetition through the whole Christian course of the depreciatory estimate of grounds of confidence is plainly necessary. There are subtle temptations to the opposite course. It is hard to keep perfectly clear of all building on our own blamelessness or on our connection with the Christian Church, and we have need ever to renew the estimate which was once so epoch-making, and which cast down all our imaginations and high things.' If we do not carefully watch ourselves, the whispering tempter that was silenced will recover his breath again, and be once more ready to drop into our ears his poisonous suggestions. We have to take pains and give earnest heed' to the initial, revolutionary estimate, and to see that it is worked out habitually in our daily lives. It is a good exchange when we count all but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus our Lord.'

Maclaren: Phi 3:8-9 - A Libation To Jehovah

The "Gain Of Christ"

That I may gain Christ, and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own, even that which is of the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.'--Phil. 3:8-9 (R.V.).

IT is not everybody who can say what is his aim in life. Many of us have never thought enough about it to have one beyond keeping alive. We lose life in seeking for the means of living. Many of us have such a multitude of aims, each in its turn drawing us, that no one of them is predominant and rules the crowd. There is no strong hand at the tiller, and so the ship washes about in the trough of the waves.

It is not everybody who dares to say that is his aim in life. We are ashamed to acknowledge even to ourselves what we are not at all ashamed to do. Paul knew his aim, and was not afraid to speak it. It was high and noble, and was passionately and persistently pursued. He tells us it here, and we can see his soul kindling as he speaks. We may note how there is here the same double reference as we found in the previous verses, gaining Christ corresponding to the previous loss for Christ, and the later words of our text being an expansion of the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus.' No man will ever succeed in any life's purpose, unless like Paul he is enthusiastic about it. If his aim does not rouse his fervour when he speaks of it, he will never accomplish it. We may just remark that Paul does not suppose his aim to be wholly unattained, even although he does not count himself to have apprehended.' He knows that he has gained Christ, and is found in Him,' but he knows also that there stretch before him the possibilities of infinite increase.

I. His Life's Aim Was To Have The Closest Possession Of, And Incorporation In, Christ.

His two expressions, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him,' are substantially identical in meaning, though they put the same truth from different sides, and with some variety of metaphor. We may deal with them separately.

The gain' is of course the opposite of the loss.' His balance-sheet has on one side all things lost,' on the other Christ gained,' and that is profitable trading. But we have to go deeper than such a metaphor, and to give full scope to the Scriptural truth, that Christ really imparts Himself to the believing soul. There is a real communication of His own life to us, and thereby we live, as He Himself declared,' He that hath the Son hath life.' The true deep sense in which we possess Christ is not to be weakened down, as it, alas! so often is in our shallow Christianity, which is but the echo of a shallow experience, and a feeble hold of that possession of the Son to which Jesus called us, as the condition of our possession of life. Christ is thus Himself possessed by all our faculties, each after its kind; head and heart, passions and desires, hopes and longings, may each have Him abiding in them, guiding them with His strong and gentle hand, animating them into nobler life, restraining and controlling, gradually transforming and ultimately conforming them to His own likeness. Till that Divine Indweller enters in, the shrine is empty, and unclean things lurk in its hidden corners. To be a man full summed in all his powers, each of us must gain Christ.'

The other expression in the text, be found in Him,' presents the same truth from the completing point of view. We gain Christ in us when we are found in Him.' We are to be incorporated as members are in the body, or imbedded as a stone in the foundation, or to go back to the sweetest words, which are the source of all these representations, included as a branch in the vine.' We are to be in Him for safety and shelter, as fugitives take refuge in a strong tower when an enemy swarms over the land.

And lo! from sin and grief and shame, I hide me, Jesus, in Thy name.'

We are to be in Him that the life sap may freely flow through us. We are to be in Him that the Divine Love may fall on us, and that in Jesus we may receive our portion of all which is His heritage.

This mutual possession and indwelling is possible if Jesus be the Son of God, but the language is absurd in any other interpretation of His person. It is clearly in its very nature capable of indefinite increase, and as containing in itself the supply of all which we need for life and blessedness, is fitted to be what nothing else can pretend to be, without wrecking the lives that are unwise enough to pursue it--the sovereign aim of a human life. In following it, and only in following it, the highest wisdom says Amen to the aspiration of the lowliest faith. This one thing I do.'

II. Paul's Life's Aim Was Righteousness To Be Received.

He goes on to present some of the consequences which follow on his gaining Christ and being found in Him,' and before all others he names as his aim the possession of righteousness.' We must remember that Paul believed that righteousness in the sense of' justification' had been his from the moment when Ananias came to where he was sitting in darkness, and bid him be baptized and wash away his sins. The word here must be taken in its full sense of moral perfectness; even if we included only this in our thoughts of his life's aim, how high above most men would he tower! But his statement carries him still higher above, and farther away from, the common ideas of moral perfection, and what he means by righteousness is widely separated from the world's conception, not only in regard to its elements, but still more in regard to its source.

It is possible to lose oneself in a dreamy mysticism which has had much to say of' gaining Christ and being found in Him,' and has had too little to say about having righteousness,' and so has turned out to be an ally of indifference and sometimes of unrighteousness. Buddhism and some forms of mystical Christianity have fallen into a pit of immorality from which Paul's sane combination here would have saved them. There is no danger in the most mystical interpretation of the former statement of his aim, when it is as closely connected as it is here with the second form in which he states it. I have just said that Paul differed from men who were seeking for righteousness, not only because his conceptions of what constituted it were not the same as theirs, though he in this very letter endorses the Greek ideals of virtue and praise,' but also and more emphatically because he looked for it as a gift, and not as the result of his own efforts. To him the only righteousness which availed was one which was not my own,' but had its source in, and was imparted by, God. The world thought of righteousness as the general designation under which were summed up a man's specific acts of conformity to law, the sum total reached by the addition of many specific instances Of conformity to a standard of duty. Paul had learned to think of it as preceding and producing the specific acts. The world therefore said, and says, Do the deeds and win the character; Paul says, Receive the character and do the deeds. The result of the one conception of righteousness is in the average man spasmodic efforts after isolated achievements, with long periods between in which effort subsides into torpor. The result in Paul's case was what we know: a continuous effort to keep his mind and heart open for the influx of the power which, entering into him, would make him able to do the specific acts which constitute righteousness. The one road is a weary path, hard to tread, and, as a matter of fact, not often trodden. To pile up a righteousness by the accumulation of individual righteous acts is an endeavour less hopeful than that of the coral polypes slowly building up their reef out of the depths of the Pacific, till it rises above the waves. He who assumes to be righteous on the strength of a succession of righteous acts, not only needs a profounder idea of what makes his acts righteous, but should also make a catalogue of his unrighteous ones and call himself wicked. The other course is the final deliverance of a man from dependence upon his own struggles, and substitutes for the dreary alternations of effort and torpor, and for the imperfect harvest of imperfectly righteous acts, the attitude of receiving, which supersedes painful strife and weary endeavour. To seek after a righteousness which is my own,' is to seek what we shall never find, and what, if found, would crumble beneath us. To seek the righteousness which is from God, is to seek what He is waiting to bestow, and what the blessed receivers blessedly know is more than they dreamed of.

But Paul looked for this great gift as a gift in Christ. It was when he was found in Him' that it became his, and he was found blameless.' That gift of an imparted life, which has a bias towards all goodness, and the natural operation of which is to incline all our faculties towards conformity with the will of God, is bestowed when we win Christ.' Possessing Him, we possess it. It is not only' imputed,' as our fathers delighted to say, but it is imparted.' And because it is the gift of God in Christ, it was in Paul's view received by faith. He expresses that conviction in a double form in our text. It is through faith' as the channel by which it passes into our happy hands. It is by faith,' or, more accurately, upon faith,' as the foundation on which it rests, or the condition on which it depends. Our trust in Christ does bring His life to us to sanctify us, and the plain English of all this blessed teaching is--if we wish to be better let us trust Christ and get Him into the depths of our lives, and righteousness will be ours. That transforming Presence laid up in the hidden man of the heart,' will be like some pungent scent in a wardrobe which keeps away moths, and gives out a fragrance that perfumes all that hangs near it.

But all which we have been saying is not to be understood as if there was no effort to be made, in order to receive, and to live manifesting, the righteousness which is of God.' There must he the constant abandonment of self, and the constant utilising of the grace given. The righteousness is bestowed whenever faith is exercised. The hand is never stretched out and the gift not lodged in it. But it is a life's aim to possess the righteousness which is of God by faith,' because that gift is capable of indefinite increase, and will reward the most strenuous efforts of a believing soul as long as life continues.

III. Paul's Life's Aim Stretches Beyond This Life.

Shall we be chargeable with crowding too much meaning into his words, if we fix on his remarkable expression, be found in Him,' as containing a clear reference to that great day of final judgment? We recall other instances of the use of the same expression in connections which unmistakably point to that time. Such as being clothed we shall not be found naked,' or the proof of your faith.., might be found unto praise and glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ,' or found of Him in peace without spot, blameless.' In the light of these and similar passages, it does not seem unreasonable to suppose that this being found' does include a reference to the Apostle's place after death, though it is not confined to that. He thinks of the searching eye of the Judge taking keen account, piercing through all disguises, and wistfully as well as penetratingly scrutinising characters, till it finds that for which it seeks. They who are found in Him' in that day, are there and thus for ever. There is no further fear of falling out of union with Him, or of being, by either gradual and unconscious stages, or by sudden and overmastering assaults, carried out of the sacred enclosure of the City of Refuge, in which they dwell henceforth for ever. A dangerous presumptuousness has sometimes led to the over-confident assertion, Once in Christ always in Christ.' But Paul teaches us that that security of permanent dwelling in Him is to be for over in this life the aim of our efforts, rather than an accomplished fact. So long as we are here, the possibility of falling away cannot be shut out, and there must always rise before us the question, Am I in Christ? Hence there is need for continual watchfulness, self-control, and self-distrust, and the life's aim has to be perpetual, not only because it is capable of indefinite expansion, but because our weakness is capable of deserting it. It is only when at the last we are found by Him, in Him, that we are there for ever, with all dangers of departure from Him at an end. In that City of Refuge, and there only, the gates shall not be shut at all,' not solely because no enemies shall attempt to come in, but also because no citizens shall desire to go out.

We should ever have before us that hour, and our life's aim should ever definitely include the final scrutiny in which many a hidden thing will come to light, many a long-lost thing be found, and each man's ultimate place in relation to Jesus Christ will be freed from uncertainties, ambiguities, hypocrisies, and disguises, and made plain to all beholders. In that great day of finding,' some of us will have to ask with sinking hearts, Hast thou found me, O mine enemy?' and others will break forth into the glad acclaim, I have found Him,' or rather been found of Him.'

So we have before us the one reasonable aim for a man to have Christ, to be found in Him, to have His righteousness. It is reasonable, it is great enough to absorb all our energies, and to reward them. It will last a lifetime, and run on undisturbed beyond life. Following it, all other aims will fall into their places. Is this my aim?

Maclaren: Phi 3:10-11 - A Libation To Jehovah

Saving Knowledge

That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, becoming conformed unto His death; if by any means I may attain unto the resurrection from the dead.'--Phil. 3:10-11 (R.V.).

WE have seen how the Apostle was prepared to close his letter at the beginning of this chapter, and how that intention was swept away by the rush of new thoughts. His fervid faith caught fire when he turned to think of what he had lost, and how infinitely more he had gained in Christ. His wealth is so great that it cannot be crowded into the narrow space of one brief sentence, and after all the glowing words which precede our text, he feels that he has not yet adequately set forth either his present possessions or his ultimate aims. So here he continues the theme which might have seemed most fully dealt with in the great thoughts that occupied us in the former sermon, but which still wait to be completed here. They are most closely connected with the former, and the unity of the sentence is but a parallel to the oneness of the idea. The elements of our present text constitute a part of the Apostle's aim in life, and may be dealt with as such.

I. Paul's Life's Aim Was The Knowledge Of Christ.

That sounds an anti-climax after' Gain and Be in Him.' These phrases seem to express a much more intimate relation than this, but we must note that it is no mere theoretical or intellectual knowledge which is intended. Such knowledge would need no surrender or suffering the loss of all things.' We can only buy the knowledge of Christ at such a rate, but we can buy knowledge about Him very much cheaper. Such knowledge would not be worth the price; it lies on the surface of the soul, and does nothing. Many a man amongst us has it, and it is of no use to him. If Paul had undergone all that he had undergone and sacrificed all that he had given up, and for his reward had only gained accurate knowledge about Christ, he had certainly wasted his life and made a bad bargain. But as always, so here, to know means knowledge based upon experience. Did Christ mean that a correct creed was eternal life when He said, This is life eternal to know Thee, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom Thou has sent?' Did Paul mean the dry light of the understanding when he prayed that the Ephesians might know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge, in order to be filled with all the fulness of God? Clearly we have to go much deeper down than that superficial interpretation in order to reach the reality of the New Testament conception of knowledge. It is co-extensive with life, and is built upon inward experience. In a word, it is one aspect of winning Jesus. It is consciousness contemplating its riches, counting its gains. As a man knows the bliss of parental or wedded love only by having it, or as he knows the taste of wine only by drinking it, or the glory of music only by hearing it, and the brightness of the day only by seeing it, so we know Christ only by winning Him. There must first be the perception and possession by sense or emotion, and then the reflection on the possession by understanding. This applies to all religious truth. It must be possessed ere it be fully known. Like the new name written upon the Apocalyptic stone, No one knoweth but he that receiveth it.'

The knowledge which was Paul's life's aim was knowledge of a Person: the object determines the nature of the knowledge. The mental act of knowing a proposition or a science or even of knowing about a person by hearing of him is different from that of knowing people when we have lived beside them. We need not be afraid of attaching too familiar a meaning to this word of our text, if we say that it implies personal acquaintance with the Christ whom we know. Of course we come to know Him in the first instance through the medium of statements about Him, and we cannot too strongly insist, in these days of destructive criticism, on the absolute necessity of accepting the Gospel statements as to the life of Jesus as the only possible method of knowing Him. But then, beyond that acceptance of the record must come the application and appropriation of it, and the transmutation of a historical fact into a personal experience. We may take an illustration from any of the Scriptural truths about Jesus:--For instance, Scripture declares Him to be our Redeemer. One man believes Him to be so, welcomes Him into his life as such, and finds Him to be such. Another man believes Him to be so, but never puts His redeeming power to the proof. Is the knowledge of these two rightly called by the same name? That which comes after experience is surely not rightly designated by the same title as that which has no vivification nor verification of such a sort to build on, and is the mere product of the understanding. There is nothing which the great mass of so-called Christians need more than to have forced into their thoughts the difference between these two kinds of knowledge of Christ. There are thousands of them who, if asked, are ready to profess that they know Jesus, but to whom He has never been anything more than a partially understood article of an uncared for creed, and has never been in living contact with their needs, nor known for their strength in weakness, their comforter in sorrow, their life in death,' their all in all.

To deepen that experimental knowledge of Jesus is a worthy aim for the whole life, and is a process that may go on indefinitely through it all. To know Him more and more is to have more of heaven in us. To be penetrating ever deeper into His fulness, and finding every day new depths to penetrate is to have a fountain of freshness in our dusty days that will never fall or run dry. There is only one inexhaustible person, and that is Jesus Christ. We have all fulness in our Lord: we have already received all when we received Him. Are we advancing in the experience that is the parent of knowing Him? Do new discoveries meet us every day as if we were explorers in a virgin land? To have this for our aim is enough for satisfaction, for blessedness, and for growth. To know Him is a liberal education.

II. That Knowledge Involves Knowing The Power Of His Resurrection.

The power of His Resurrection is an expression which covers a wide ground. There are several distinct and well-marked powers ascribed to it in Paul's writings. It has a demonstrative force in reference to our Lord's person and work. For He is by it declared to be the Son of God with power.' That rising again from the dead, taken in conjunction with the fact that He dieth no more: but is ascended up on high, and in conjunction with His own words concerning Himself and His Resurrection, sets Him forth before the world as the Son of God, and is the solemn divine approval and acceptance of His work.

It has a revealing power in regard to the condition of humanity in death. It is the one fact which establishes immortality, and which not only establishes it, but casts some light on the manner of it. The possibility of personal life after, and therefore, in death, the unbroken continuity of being, the possibility of a resurrection, and a glorifying of this corporeal frame, with all the far-reaching consequences of these truths in the triumph they give over death, in the support and substance they afford to the else-shadowy idea of immortality, in the lofty place which they assign to the bodily frame, and the conception which they give of man's perfection as consisting of body, soul, and spirit--these thoughts have flashed light into all the darkness of the grave, have narrowed to a mere strip of coast-line the boundaries of the kingdom of death, have proclaimed love as the victor in her contest with that shrouded horror. The basis of them all is Christ's Resurrection; its power in this respect is the power to illuminate, to console, to certify, to wrench the sceptre from the hands of death, and to put it in the pierced hands of the Living One that was dead, and is Lord both of the dead and the living.

Further, the Resurrection is treated by Paul as having a power for our justification, in so far as the risen Lord bestows upon us by His risen life the blessings of His righteousness. Paul also represents the Resurrection of Christ as having the power of quickening our Spiritual life. I need not spend time in quoting the many passages where His rising from the dead, and His life after the Resurrection, are treated as the type and pattern of our lives: and are not only regarded as pattern, but are also regarded as the power by which that new life of ours is brought about. It has the power of raising us from the death of sin, and bringing us into a new life of the Spirit. And finally, the Resurrection of Christ is regarded as having the power of raising His servants from the grave to the full possession of His own glorious life, and so it is the power of our final victory over death.

Now I do not know that we are entitled to exclude any of these powers from view. The broad words of the text include them all, but perhaps the two last are mainly meant, and of these chiefly the former.

The risen life of Christ quickens and raises us, and that not merely as a pattern, but as a power. It is only if we are in Him that there is so real a unity of life between Him and us that there enters into us some breath of His own life.

That risen life of the Saviour which we share if we have Him, enters into our nature as leaven into the three measures of meal; transforming and quickening it, gives new directions, tastes, motives, impulses, and power. It bids and inclines us to seek the things that are above, and its great exhortation to the hearts in which it dwells, to fix themselves there, and to forsake the things that are on the earth, is based upon the fact that they have died, and their life is hid with Christ in God.' Without that leaven the life that we live is a death, because it is lived in the lusts of the flesh,' doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind. There is no real union with Jesus Christ, of which the direct issue is not a living experience of the power of His Resurrection in bringing us to the likeness of itself in regard to our freedom from the bondage to sin, and to our presenting ourselves unto God as alive from the dead, and our members as instruments of righteousness unto God. It is a solemn thought which we all need to press upon our consciences, that the only infallible sign that we have been in any measure quickened together with Christ and raised up with Him is that we have ceased to live in the lusts of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind. The risen life of Jesus may indefinitely increase, and will do so in the measure in which we honestly make it our life's aim to know Him and the power of His Resurrection.

III. The Experience Of The Power Of Christ's Resurrection Is Inseparable From The Fellowship Of His Sufferings.

We must not suppose that Paul's solemn and awful words here trench in the smallest degree on the solitary unapproachableness of Christ's death. He would have answered, as in fact he does answer, the appeal of the prophetic sufferer, Behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow' with the strongest negative. No other human lips have ever tasted, or can ever taste, a cup of such bitterness as He drained for us all, and no other human lips have ever been so exquisitely sensitive to the bitterness which they have drunk. The identification of Himself with a sinful world, the depth and closeness of His community of feeling with all sorrow, the consciousness of the glory which He had left, and the perpetual sense of the hostility into which He had come, set Christ's sufferings by themselves as surely as the effects that flow from them declare that they need no repetition, and cannot be degraded by any parallel whilst the world lasts.

But yet His Death, like His Resurrection, is set forth in Scripture as being a type and power of ours. We have to die to the world by the power of the Cross. If we truly trust in His sacrifice there will operate upon us motives which separate and detach us from our old selves and the old world. A fundamental, ethical, and spiritual change is effected on us through faith. We were dead in sin, we are dead to sin. We have to blend the two thoughts of the Christian life as being a daily dying and a continual resurrection in order to get the whole truth of the double aspect of it.

It may be a question whether the Apostle is here referring to outward or inward and ethical sorrows, but perhaps we should not do justice to the thought unless we extend it to cover both of these. Certainly if his theology was but the generalising of his experience, he had ample material in his daily life for knowing the fellowship of Christ's sufferings. One of his most frequently recurring and most cherished thoughts is, that to suffer for Christ is to suffer with Christ, and in it he found and teaches us to find strength to endure, and patience to outlast any sorrows that may swoop upon us like birds of prey because we are Christians. Happy shall we be if Christ's sufferings are ours, because it is our union with Him and our likeness to Him, not to ourselves, our sins, or our worldliness, that is their occasion. There is an old legend that Peter was crucified head downwards, because he felt himself unworthy to be as his Master. We may well feel that nothing which we can ever bear for Him is worthy to be compared with what He has borne for us, and be the more overwhelmed with the greatness of the condescension, and the humility of the love which reckon our light affliction, which is but for a moment, along with the heavy weight which He bore, and the blessed issue of which outlasts time and enriches eternity.

But there is another sense in which it is a worthy aim of our lives that our sufferings may be felt to be fellowship with His. That is a blessed sorrow which brings us closer to our Lord. That is a wholesome sorrow of which the issue is an intenser faith in Him, a fuller experience of His sufficiency. The storm blows us well when it blows us to His breast, and sorrow enriches us, whatever it may take away, which gives us fuller and more assured possession of Jesus.

But when we are living in fellowship with Jesus, that union works in two directions, and while on the one hand we may then humbly venture to feel that our sufferings for Him are sufferings with Him, we may thankfully feel, too, that in all our affliction He is afflicted. If His sufferings are ours we may be sure that ours are His. And how different they all become when we are certain of His sympathy! It is possible that we may have a kind of common consciousness with our Lord, if our whole hearts and wills are kept in close touch with Him, so that in our experience there may be a repetition in a higher form of that strange experience alleged to be familiar in hypnotism, where the bitter in one mouth is tasted in another.

So, what we ought to make our aim is that in our lives our growing knowledge of Christ should lead to the two results, so inexorably intertwined, of daily death and daily resurrection, and that we may be kept faithful to Him so that our outward sufferings may be caused by our union with Him, and not by our own faithlessness, and may be discerned by us to be fellowship with His. Then we shall also feel that He bears ours with us, and sorrow itself will be calmed and beautified into a silent bliss, as the chill peaks when the morning strikes them glow with tender pink, and seem soft and warm, though they are grim rock and ice-cold snow. Then some faint echo of His history who was acquainted with grief' may be audible in our outward lives and we, too, may have our Gethsemane and our Calvary. It may not be presumption in us to say We are able' when He asks Can ye drink of the cup that I drink of'? nor terror to hear Him prophesy Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of,' for we shall remember joint-heirs in Christ, if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together.'

IV. The End Attained.

The Christian life as here manifested is even in its highest forms manifestly incomplete. It is a reflected light, and like the reflected light in the heavens, advances by imperceptible degrees to fill the whole silver round. It may be e'en in its imperfections beautiful,' but it assuredly has a ragged edge.' The hypothetical form of the last words of our text does not so much imply a doubt of the possibility of attaining the result as the recognition of the indispensable condition of effort on the part of him who attains it. That effort forthcoming, the attainment is certain.

The Revised Version makes a slight correction which involves a great matter, in reading the resurrection from the dead." It is necessary to insist on this change in rendering, not because it implies that only saints are raised, but because Paul is thinking of that first resurrection of which the New Testament habitually speaks. The dead in Christ shall rise first' as he himself declared in his earliest epistle, and the seer in the Apocalypse shed a benediction on him that hath part in the first resurrection.' Our knowledge of that solemn future is so fragmentary that we cannot venture to draw dogmatic inferences from the little that has been declared to us, but we cannot forget the distinct words of Jesus in which He not only plainly declares a universal resurrection, but as plainly proclaims that it falls into two parts, one a resurrection of life,' and one a resurrection of judgment.' The former may well be the final aim of a Christian life: the latter is a fate which one would think no sane man would deliberately provoke. Each carries in its name its dominant characteristic, the one full of attractiveness, the other partially unveiling depths of shame and punitive retributions which might appal the stoutest heart.

This resurrection of life is the last result of the power of Christ's Resurrection received into and working on the human spirit. It is plain enough that if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in us there is no term to its operations until our mortal bodies also are quickened by His Spirit that dwelleth in us. The ethical and spiritual resurrection in the present life finds its completion in the bodily resurrection in the future. It cannot be that the transformation wrought in a human life shall be complete until it has flowed outwards into and permeated the whole of manhood, body, soul, and spirit. The three measures of meal have each to be influenced before the whole is leavened.' If we duly consider the elements necessary to a perfect realisation of the divine ideal of humanity, we shall discern that redemption must have a gospel to bring to the body as well as to the spirit. Whatever has been devastated by sin must be healed by Jesus. It is not necessary to suppose that the body which dies is the body which rises again, rather the Apostle's far-reaching series of antitheses between that which is sown and that which is raised leads us to think that the natural body, which has passed through corruption, and the particles of which have been gathered into many different combinations, does not become the spiritual body. The person who dies is the person who lives through death, and who assumes the body of the resurrection, and it is the person, not the elements which make up the personality, who is spoken of as risen from the dead. The vesture may be different, but the wearer is the same.

So that resurrection from the dead is the end of a supernatural life begun here and destined to culminate hereafter. It is the last step in the manifestation of our being in Christ, and so is being prepared for here by every step in advance in gaining Jesus. It should ever be before every Christian soul that participation in Christ hereafter is conditioned by its progress in likeness to Him here. The Resurrection from the dead is not a gift which can be bestowed apart from a man's moral state. If he dies having had no knowledge by experience of the power of Christ's Resurrection, there is nothing in the fact of death to give him that knowledge, and it is impossible to bring any means' to bear on him by which he will attain unto the resurrection from the dead.' If God could give that gift irrespective of a man's relations to Jesus, He would give it to all. Let us ask ourselves, then, is it not worth making the dominant aim of our lives the same as that of Paul's? How stands our account then? Are we not wise traders presenting a good balance-sheet when we show entered on the one side the loss of all things, and on the other the gaining of Christ, and the attaining the resurrection from the dead, the perfect transformation of body, soul, and spirit, into the perfect likeness of the perfect Lord? Does the other balance-sheet show the man as equally solvent who enters on one side the gain of a world, and on the other a Christless life, to be followed by a resurrection in which is no joy, no advance, no life, but which is a resurrection of judgment? May we all be found in Him, and attain to the resurrection from the dead!

Maclaren: Phi 3:12 - A Libation To Jehovah

Laid Hold Of And Laying Hold

I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I was apprehended of Christ Jesus.'--Phil. 3:12.

I WAS laid hold of by Jesus Christ.' That is how Paul thinks of what we call his conversion. He would never have' turned' unless a hand had been laid upon him. A strong loving grasp had gripped him in the midst of his career of persecution, and all that he had done was to yield to the grip, and not to wriggle out of it. The strong expression suggests, as it seems to me, the suddenness of the incident. Possibly impressions may have been working underground, ever since the martyrdom of Stephen, which were undermining his convictions, and the very insanity of his zeal may have been due to an uneasy consciousness that the ground was yielding beneath his feet. That may have been so, but, whether it were so or not, the crisis came like a bolt out of the blue, and he was Checked in full career, as if a voice had spoken to the sea in its wildest storm, and frozen its waves into immobility.

There is suggested in the word, too, distinctly, our Lord's personal action in the matter. No doubt, the fact of His supernatural appearance gives emphasis to the phrase here. But every Christian man and woman has been, as truly as ever Paul was, laid hold of by the personal action of Jesus Christ. He is present in His Word, and, by multitudes of inward impulses and outward providences, He is putting out a gentle and a firm hand, and laying it upon the shoulders of all of us. Have we yielded? Have we resisted, when we were laid hold of? Did we try to get away? Did we plant our feet and say, I will not be drawn,' or did we simply neglect the pressure? If we have yielded, my text tells us what we have to do next. For that hand is laid upon a man for a purpose, and that purpose is not secured by the hand being laid upon him, unless he, in his turn, will put out a hand and grasp. Our activity is needed; that activity will not be put forth without very distinct effort, and that effort has to be life-long, because our grasp at the best is incomplete. So then, we have here, first of all, to consider--

I. What Christ Has Laid His Grip On Us For.

Now, the immediate result of that grasp, when it is yielded to, is the sense of the removal of guilt, forgiveness of sins, acceptance with God. But these, the immediate results, are by no means the whole results, although a great many of us live as if we thought that the only thing that Christianity is meant to do to us is that it bars the gates of some future hell, and brings to us the message of forgiveness. We cannot think too nobly or too loftily of that gift of forgiveness, the initial gift that is laid in every Christian man's hands, but we may think too exclusively of it, and a great many of us do think of it as if it were all that was to be given. A painter has to clear away the old paint off a door, or a wall, before he lays on the new. The initial gift that comes from being laid hold of by Jesus Christ is the burning off of the old coat of paint. But that is only the preliminary to the laying on of the new. A man away in the backwoods will spend a couple of years after he has got his bit of land in felling and burning the trees, and rooting out and destroying the weeds. But is that what he got the clearing for? That is only a preliminary to sowing the seed. My friend! If Jesus Christ has laid hold of you, and you have let Him keep hold of you, it is not only that you may be forgiven, not only that you may sun yourself in the light of God's countenance, and feel that a new blessed relation is set up between you and Him, but there are great purposes lying at the back of that, of which all that is only the preliminary and the preparation.

Conversion. Yes; but what is the good of turning a man round unless he goes in the direction in which his face is turned? And so here the Apostle having for years lived in the light of that great thought, that God was reconciled in Jesus Christ, and that he was God's friend, discerns far beyond that, in dim perspective, towering high above the land in the front, the snowy sunlit summits of a great range to which he has yet to climb, and says, I press on to lay hold of that for which I was laid hold of by Jesus Christ.'

And what was that? On the road to Damascus Paul was only told one thing, that Christ had grasped him and drawn him to Himself in order that He might make him a chosen vessel to bear the Word far hence amongst the Gentiles. The bearing of His conversion upon Paul himself was never mentioned. The bearing of His conversion on the world was the only subject that Jesus spoke of at first. But here Paul has nothing to say about his world-wide mission. He does not think of himself as being called to be an Apostle, but as being summoned to be a Christian. And so, forgetting for the time all the glorious and yet burdensome obligations which were laid upon him, and the discharge of which was the very life of his life, he thinks only of what affects his own character, the perfecting of which he regards as being the one thing for which he was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.' The purpose is twofold. No Christian man is made a Christian only in order that he may secure his own salvation; there is the world to think of. No Christian man is made a Christian only in order that he may be Christ's instrument for carrying the Word to other people; there is himself to think of. And these two phases of the purpose for which Jesus Christ lays hold upon us are very hard to unite in practice, giving to each its due place and prominence, and they are often separated, to the detriment of both the one that is attended to, and the one that is neglected. The monastic life has not produced the noblest Christians; and there are pitfalls lying in the path of every man who, like me, has for his profession to preach the Gospel, which, if they are fallen into, the inward life is utterly wrecked.

The two sides of Christ's purpose have, in our practice, to be held together, but for the present I only wish to say a word or two about that which, as I have indicated, is but one hemisphere of the completed orb, and that is our personal culture and growth in the divine life. What did Christ lay hold of me for? Paul answers the question very strikingly and beautifully in a previous verse. Here is his conception of the purpose, that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death, if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.' That is what you were forgiven for; that is what you have passed from death unto life' for; that is what you have come into the sweet fellowship of God, and can think of Him as your Friend and Helper for.

Let us take the clauses seriatim, and say a word about each of them. That I may know Him.' Ah! there is a great deal more in Jesus Christ than a man sees when he first sees Him through his tears and his fears, and apprehends Him as the Saviour of his soul, and the sacrifice on whom the burden and the guilt of his sins were laid. We must begin there, as I believe. But woe to us if we stop there. There is far more in Christ than that; although all that is in Him is included in that, yet you have to dig deep before you find all that is included in it. You have to live with Him day by day, and year by year, and to learn to know Him as we learn to know husbands and wives, by continual intercourse, by continual experience of a sweet and unfailing love, by many a sacred hour of interchange of affection and reception of gifts and counsels. It is only thus that we learn to know what Jesus Christ is. When He lays hold of us, He comes like the angel that came to Peter in the prison in the dark and awoke him out of his sleep and said Rise! and follow me.' It is only when we get out into the street, and have been with Him for awhile, and the daylight begins to stream in, that we see clearly the face of our Deliverer, and know Him for all that He is. This knowledge is not the sort of knowledge that you can get by thinking, or out of a book. It is the knowledge of experience. It is the knowledge of love, it is the knowledge of union, and it is in order that we may know Christ that He lays his hand upon us.

The power of His Resurrection.' Now, by that I understand a similar knowledge, by experience, of the risen life of Jesus Christ flowing into us, and filling our hearts and minds with its own power. The risen life of Jesus is the nourishment and strengthening and blessing and life of a Christian. Our daily experience ought to be that there comes, wavelet by wavelet, that silent, gentle, and yet omnipotent influx into our empty hearts, the very life of Christ Himself.

I know that this generation says that that is mysticism. I do not know whether it is mysticism or not. I am sure it is truth; and I do not understand Christianity at all, unless there is that kind of mysticism, perfectly wholesome and good, in it. You will never know Jesus Christ until you know Him as pouring into your hearts the power of an endless life, His own life. Christ for us by all means,--Christ's death the basis of our hope, but Christ in us, and Christ's life as the true gift to His Church. Have you got that? Do you know the power of His Resurrection?

The fellowship of His sufferings.' Has Paul made a mistake, and deserted the chronological order? Why does he put the fellowship of the sufferings' after the power of the Resurrection'? For this plain reason, that if we get Christ's life into our hearts, in the measure in which we get it we shall bear a similar relation to the world which He bore to it, and in our measure will fill up that which is behind in the sufferings of Christ,' and will understand how true it is that if they hate Me they will hate you also.' Brethren, the test of us who have the life of Christ in our hearts is that we shall, in some measure, suffer with Him, because as He is, so are we, in this world," and because we must in that case look upon the world, its sins and its sorrows, with something of the sad gaze with which He looked across the valley to the Temple sparkling in the morning light, and wept over it. So if we know the power of His Resurrection we shall know the fellowship of His sufferings.

And then Paul goes on, in his definition of the purpose for which Christ lays hold upon men, apparently to say the same thing over again, only in the opposite order, that I may be conformable to His death, if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.' Both of these clauses, I think, refer to the future, to the actual dying of the body, and the actual future resurrection of the same. And the thought is this, that if here, through our earthly lives, we have been recipients of the risen life of Jesus Christ, and so have stood to the world in our degree as He stood to it, then when the moment of death comes to us, we shall, in so far, have our departure shaped after His as that we shall be able to say, Into Thy hands I commit my spirit,' and die willingly, and at last shall be partakers of that blessed Resurrection unto life eternal which closes the vista of our earthly history. Stephen's death was conformed to Christ's in outward fashion, in so far as it echoed the Master's prayer, Father forgive them, for they know not what they do,' and in so far as it echoed the Master's last words, with the significant alteration that, whilst Jesus commended His spirit to the Father, the first martyr commended his to Jesus Christ.

These, then, are the purposes for which Christ laid His hand upon us, that we might know Him, the power of His Resurrection, the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable to His death yet by attaining the resurrection of the dead.

II. Notice, Again, Our Laying Hold Because We Have Been Laid Hold Of.

Christ's laying hold of me, blessed and powerful as it is, does not of itself secure that I shall reach the end which He had in view in His arresting of me. What more is wanted? My effort. I follow after if I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended.' Now, notice, in the one case, the Apostle speaks of himself, not as passive, but certainly not as active. I was laid hold of.' What did he do? As I have said, he simply yielded to the grasp. But I may lay hold of' conveys the idea of personal effort; and so these two expressions, I was apprehended,' and I apprehend,' suggest this consideration, that, for the initial blessings of the Christian life, forgiveness, acceptance, the sense of God's favour, and of reconciliation with him, nothing is needed but the simple faith that yields itself altogether to the grasp of Christ's hand, but that for my possessing what Christ means that I should possess when He lays His hand on me, there is needed not only faith but effort. I have to put out my hand and tighten my fingers round the thing, if I would make it my own, and keep it.

So--faith, to begin with, and work based on faith, to go on with. It is because a man is sure that Jesus Christ has laid His hand upon him, and meant something when He did it, that he fights on with all his might to realise Christ's purpose, and to get and keep the thing which Christ meant him to have. There is stimulus in the thought, I was laid hold of by Him for a purpose. There is all the difference between striving, however eagerly, however nobly, however strenuously, however constantly, after self-improvement, by one's own effort only, and striving after it because one knows that he is therein fulfilling the purpose for which Jesus Christ drew him to Himself.

And if that be so, then the nature of the thing to be laid hold of determines what we are to do to lay hold of it. And since to know Christ, and the power of His Resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, is the aim and end of our conversion, the way to secure it must be keeping in continual touch with Jesus by meditating upon Him, by holding many a moment of still, sacred, sweet communion with Him, by carefully avoiding whatever might come between us and our knowledge of Him, and the influx of His life into us, and by yielding ourselves, day by day, to the continual influence of His divine grace upon us, and by the discipline which shall make our inward natures more and more capable of receiving more and more of that dear Lord. These being the things to do, in regard to the inward life, there must be effort too, in regard to the outward; for we must, if we are to lay hold of that for which we are laid hold of by Jesus Christ, bring all the outward life under the dominion of this inward impulse, and when the flood pours into our hearts we must, by many a sluice and trench, guide it into every corner of the field, that all may be irrigated. The first thing they do when they are going to sow rice in an Eastern field is to flood it, and then they cast in the seed, and it germinates. Flood your lives with Christ, and then sow the seed, and you will get a crop.

III. Lastly, The Text Suggests The Incompleteness Of Our Grasp.

I follow that,' says Paul, if that I may apprehend.' This letter was written far on in his career, in the time of his imprisonment in Rome, which all but ended his ministerial activity; and was many years after that day on the road to Damascus. And yet, matured Christian and exercised Apostle as he was, with all that past behind him, he says, I follow after, that I may apprehend.' Ah, brother, our experience must be incomplete, for we have an infinite aim set before us, and there is no end to the possibilities of plunging deeper and deeper and deeper into the knowledge of Christ, and having larger and larger and larger draughts of the fulness of His life. We have only been like gold seekers, who have contented themselves as yet with washing the precious grains out of the gravel of the river. There are great reefs filled with the ore that we have not touched. Thank God for the necessary incompleteness of our apprehending.' It is the very salt of life. To have realised our aims, to have fulfilled our ideals, to have sucked dry the cluster of the grapes is the death of aspiration, of hope, of blessedness; and to have the distance beckoning, and all experience an arch, where thro' gleams the untravelled world to which we move,' is the secret of perpetual youth and energy.

Because incomplete, our experience should be progressive; and that is a truth that needs hammering into Christian people to-day. About how many of us can it be said that our light shineth more and more unto the noonday.' Alas! about an enormous number of us it must be said, When for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you.' All our churches have many grown babies, and cases of arrested development--people that ought to be living on strong meat, and are unable to masticate or digest it, and by their own fault have still need of the milk of infancy. There is an old fable about a strange animal that fastened itself to the keel of sailing ships, and by some uncanny power was able to arrest them in mid-ocean, though the winds were filling all their sails. There is a remora, as they called it, of that sort adhering to a great many Christian people, and keeping them fixed on one spot, instead of' following after, if that they may apprehend.'

Dear friends--and especially you younger Christians --Christ has laid hold of you. Well and good! that is the beginning. He has laid hold of you for an end. That end will not be reached without your effort, and that effort must be perpetual. It is a life-long task. Ay! and even up yonder the apprehending will be incomplete. Like those mathematical lines that ever approximate to a point which they never reach, we shall through Eternity be, as it were, rising, in ascending and ever-closer drawing spirals, to that great Throne, and to Him that sits upon it. So that, striking out the humble may' from our text, the rest of it describes the progressive blessedness of the endless life in the heavens, as truly as it does the progressive duty of the Christian life here, and the glorified flock that follows the Lamb in the heavenly pastures may each say: I follow after in order to apprehend that for which,' long ago and down amidst the dim shadows of earth, I was apprehended of Christ Jesus.'

Maclaren: Phi 3:13-14 - A Libation To Jehovah

The Race And The Goal

This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize.'--Phil. 3:13-14.

THIS buoyant energy and onward looking are marvellous in Paul the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ.' Forgetfulness of the past and eager anticipation for the future are, we sometimes think, the child's prerogatives. They may he ignoble and puerile, or they may be worthy and great. All depends on the future to which we look. If it be the creation of our fancies, we are babies for trusting it. If it be, as Paul's was, the revelation of God's purposes, we cannot do a wiser thing than look.

The Apostle here is letting us see the secret of his own life, and telling us what made him the sort of Christian that he was. He counsels wise obliviousness, wise anticipation, strenuous concentration, and these are the things that contribute to success in any field of life. Christianity is the perfection of common sense. Men become mature Christians by no other means than those by which they become good artisans, ripe scholars, or the like. But the misery is that, though people know well enough that they cannot be good carpenters, or doctors, or fiddlers without certain habits and practices, they seem to fancy that they can. be good Christians without them.

So the words of my text may suggest appropriate thoughts on this first Sunday of a new year. Let us listen, then, to Paul telling us how he came to be the sort of Christian man he was.

I. First, Then, I Would Say, Make God's Aim Your Aim.

Paul distinguishes here between the mark' and the prize.' He aims at the one for the sake of the other. The one is the object of effort; the other is the sure result of successful effort. If I may so say, the crown hangs on the winning post; and he who touches the goal clutches the garland.

Then, mark that he regards the aim towards which he strains as being the aim which Christ had in view in his conversion. For he says in the preceding context, I labour if that I may lay hold of that for which also I have been laid hold of by Jesus Christ.' In the words that follow the text he speaks of the prize as being the result and purpose of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.' So then he took God's purpose in calling, and Christ's purpose in redeeming him, as being his great object in life. God's aims and Paul's were identical.

What, then, is the aim of God in all that He has done for us? The production in us of God-like and God-pleasing character. For this suns rise and set; for this seasons and times come and go; for this sorrows and joys are experienced; for this hopes and fears and loves are kindled. For this all the discipline of life is set in motion. For this we were created; for this we have been redeemed. For this Jesus Christ lived and suffered and died. For this God's Spirit is poured out upon the world. All else is scaffolding; this is the building which it contemplates, and when the building is reared the scaffolding may be cleared away. God means to make us like Himself, and so pleasing to Himself, and has no other end in all the varieties of His gifts and bestowments but only this, the production of character.

Such is the aim that we should set before us. The acceptance of that aim as ours will give nobleness and blessedness to our lives as nothing else will. How different all our estimates of the meaning and true nature of events would be, if we kept clearly before us that their intention was not merely to make us blessed and glad, or to make us sorrowful, but that, through the blessedness, through the sorrow, through the gift, through the withdrawal, through all the variety of dealings, the intention was one and the same, to mould us to the likeness of our Lord and Saviour I There would be fewer mysteries in our lives, we should seldomer have to stand in astonishment, in vain regret, in miserable and weakening looking back upon vanished gifts, and saying to ourselves, Why has this darkness stooped upon my path?' if we looked beyond the darkness and the light to that for which both were sent. Some plants require frost to bring out their savour, and men need sorrow to test and to produce their highest qualities. There would be fewer knots in the thread of our lives, and fewer mysteries in our experience, if we made God's aim ours, and strove through all variations of condition to realise it.

How different all our estimate of nearer objects and aims would be, if once we clearly recognised what we are here for! The prostitution of powers to obviously unworthy aims and ends is the saddest thing in humanity. It is like elephants being set to pick up pins; it is like the lightning being harnessed to carry all the gossip and filth of one capital of the world to the prurient readers in another. Men take these great powers which God has given them, and use them to make money, to cultivate their intellects, to secure the gratification of earthly desires, to make a home for themselves here amidst the illusions of time; and all the while the great aim which ought to stand out clear and supreme is forgotten by them.

There is nothing that needs more careful examination by us than our accepted schemes of life for ourselves; the roots of our errors mostly lie in these things that we take to be axioms, and that we never examine into. Let us begin this new year by an honest dealing with ourselves, asking ourselves this question, What am I living for?' And if the answer, first of all, be, as, of course, it will be, the accomplishment of the nearer and necessary aims, such as the conduct of our business, the cultivating of our understandings, the love and peace of our homes, then let us press the investigation a little further, and say, What then? Suppose I make a fortune, what then? Suppose I get the position I am striving for, what then? Suppose I cultivate my understanding and win the knowledge that I am nobly striving after, what then? Let us not cease to ask the question until we can say, Thy aim, O Lord, is my aim, and I press toward the mark,' the only mark which will make life noble, elastic, stable, and blessed, that I may be found in Christ, not having mine own righteousness, but that which is of God by faith.' For this we have all been made, guided, redeemed. If we carry this treasure out of life we shall carry all that is worth carrying. If we fail in this we fail altogether, whatever be our so-called success. There is one mark, one only, and every arrow that does not hit that target is wasted and spent in vain.

II. Secondly, Let Me Say, Concentrate All Effort On This One Aim.

This one thing I do,' says the Apostle, I press toward the mark.' That aim is the one which God has in view in all circumstances and arrangements. Therefore, obviously, it is one which may be pursued in all of these, and may be sought whatsoever we are doing. All occupations of life except only sin are consistent with this highest aim. It needs not that we should seek any remote or cloistered form of life, nor sheer off any legitimate and common interests and occupations, but in them all we may be seeking for the one thing, the moulding of our characters into the shapes that are pleasing to Him. One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life'; wheresoever the outward days of my life may be passed. Whatsoever we are doing in business, in shop, at a study table, in the kitchen, in the nursery, by the road, in the house, we may still have the supreme aim in view, that from all occupations there may come growth in character and in likeness to Jesus Christ.

Only, to keep this supreme aim clear there will require far more frequent and resolute effort of what the old mystics used to call recollection' than we are accustomed to put forth. It is hard, amidst the din of business, and whilst yielding to other lower, legitimate impulses and motives, to set this supreme one high above them all. But it is possible if only we will do two things: keep ourselves close to God, and be prepared to surrender much, laying our own wills, our own fancies, purposes, eager hopes and plans in His hands, and asking Him to help us, that we may never lose sight of the harbour light because of any tossing waves that rise between us and it, nor may ever be so swallowed up in ends, which are only means after all, as to lose sight of the only end which is an end in itself. But for the attainment of this aim in any measure, the concentration of all our powers upon it is absolutely needful. If you want to bore a hole you take a sharp point; you can do nothing with a blunt one. Every flight of wild ducks in the sky will tell you the form that is most likely to secure the maximum of motion with the minimum of effort. The wedge is that which pierces through all the loosely-compacted textures against which it is pressed. The Roman strategy forced the way of the legion through the loose-ordered ranks of barbarian foes by arraying it in that wedge-like form. So we, if we are to advance, must gather ourselves together and put a point upon our lives by compaction and concentration of effort and energy on the one purpose. The conquering word is, This one thing I do.' The difference between the amateur and the artist is that the one pursues an art at intervals by spurts, as a paragon--a thing that is done in the intervals of other occupations--and that the other makes it his life's business. There are a great many amateur Christians amongst us, who pursue the Christian life by spurts and starts. If you want to be a Christian after God's pattern--and unless you are you are scarcely a Christian at all--you have to make it your business, to give the same attention, the same concentration, the same unwavering energy to it which you do to your trade. The man of one book, the man of one idea, the man of one aim is the formidable and the successful man. People will call you a fanatic; never mind. Better be a fanatic and get what you aim at, which is the highest thing, than be so broad that, like a stream spreading itself out over miles of mud, there is no scour in it anywhere, no current, and therefore stagnation and death. Gather yourselves together, and amidst all the side issues and nearer aims keep this in view as the aim to which all are to be sub-servant--that,' whether I eat or drink, or whatsoever I do, I may do all to the glory of God.' Let sorrow and joy, and trade and profession, and study and business, and house and wife and children, and all home joys, be the means by which you may become like the Master who has died for this end, that we may become partakers of His holiness.

III. Pursue This End With A Wise Forgetfulness.

Forgetting the things that are behind.' The art of forgetting has much to do with the blessedness and power of every life. Of course, when the Apostle says Forgetting the things that are behind,' he is thinking of the runner, who has no time to cast his eye over his shoulder to mark the steps already trod. He does not mean, of course, either, to tell us that we are so to cultivate obliviousness as to let God's mercies to us lie forgotten in unthankfulness, or without praises die.' Nor does he mean to tell us that we are to deny ourselves the solace of remembering the mercies which may, perhaps, have gone from us. Memory may be like the calm radiance that fills the western sky from a sun that has set, sad and yet sweet, melancholy and lovely. But he means that we should so forget as, by the oblivion, to strengthen our concentration.

So I would say, let us remember, and yet forget, our past failures and faults. Let us remember them in order that the remembrance may cultivate in us a wise chastening of our self-confidence. Let us remember where we were foiled, in order that we may be the more careful of that place hereafter. If we know that upon any road we fell into ambushes, not once nor twice,' like the old king of Israel, we should guard ourselves against passing by that road again. He who has not learned, by the memory of his past failures, humility and wise government of his life, and wise avoidance of places where he is weak, is an incurable fool.

But let us forget our failures in so far as these might paralyse our hopes, or make us fancy that future success is impossible where past failures frown. Ebenezer was a field of defeat before it rang with the hymns of victory. And there is no place in your past life where you have been shamefully baffled and beaten, but there, and in that, you may yet be victorious. Never let the past limit your hopes of the possibilities and your confidence in the certainties and victories of the future. And if ever you are tempted to say to yourselves, I have tried it so often, and so often failed, that it is no use trying it any more. I am beaten and I throw up the sponge,' remember Paul's wise exhortation, and forgetting the things that are behind … press toward the mark.'

In like manner I would say, remember and yet forget past successes and achievements. Remember them for thankfulness, remember them for hope, remember them for counsel and instruction, but forget them when they tend, as all that we accomplish does tend, to make us fancy that little more remains to be done; and forget them when they tend, as all that we accomplish ever does tend, to make us think that such and such things are our line, and of other virtues and graces and achievements of culture and of character, that these are not our line, and not to be won by us.

Our line!' Astronomers take a thin thread from a spider's web and stretch it across their object glasses to measure stellar magnitudes. Just as is the spider's line in comparison with the whole shining surface of the sun across which it is stretched, so is what we have already attained to the boundless might and glory of that to which we may come. Nothing short of the full measure of the likeness of Jesus Christ is the measure of our possibilities.

There is a mannerism in Christian life, as there is in everything else, which is to be avoided if we would grow into perfection. There was a great artist in the last century who never could paint a picture without sticking a brown tree in the foreground. We have all got our brown trees,' which we think we can do well, and these limit our ambition to secure other gifts which God is ready to bestow upon us. So forget the things that are behind.' Cultivate a wise obliviousness of past sorrows, past joys, past failures, past gifts, past achievements, in so far as these might limit the audacity of our hopes and the energy of our efforts.

IV. So, Lastly, Pursue The Aim With A Wise, Eager Reaching Forward.

The Apostle employs a very graphic word here, which is only very partially expressed by that' reaching forth.' It contains a condensed picture which it is scarcely possible to put into any one expression. Reaching out over' is the full though clumsy rendering of the word, and it gives us the picture of the runner with his whole body thrown forward, his hand extended, and his eye reaching even further than his hand, in eager anticipation of the mark and the prize. So we are to live, with continual reaching out of confidence, clear recognition, and eager desire to make our own the unattained.

What is that which gives an element of nobleness to the lives of great idealists, whether they be poets, artists, students, thinkers, or what not? Only this, that they see the unattained burning ever so clearly before them that all the attained seems as nothing in their eyes. And so life is saved from commonplace, is happily stung into fresh effort, is redeemed from flagging, monotony, and weariness.

The measure of our attainments may be fairly estimated by the extent to which the unattained is clear in our sight. A man down in the valley sees the nearer shoulder of the hill, and he thinks it the top. The man up on the shoulder sees all the heights that lie beyond rising above him. Endeavour is better than success. It is more to see the Alpine heights unsealed than it is to have risen so far as we have done. They who thus have a boundless future before them have an endless source of inspiration, of energy, of buoyancy granted to them.

No man has such an absolutely boundless vision of the future which may be his as we have, if we are Christian people, as we ought to be. We only can thus look forward. For all others a blank wall stretches at the end of life, against which hopes, when they strike, fall back stunned and dead. But for us the wall may be overleaped, and, living by the energy of a boundless hope, we, and only we, can lay ourselves down to die, and say then, Reaching forth unto the things that are before.'

So, dear friends, make God's aim your aim; concentrate your life's efforts upon it; pursue it with a wise forgetfulness; pursue it with an eager confidence of anticipation that shall not be put to shame. Remember that God reaches His aim for you by giving to you Jesus Christ, and that you can only reach it by accepting the Christ who is given and being found in Him. Then the years will take away nothing from us which it is not gain to lose. They will neither weaken our energy nor flatten our hopes, nor dim our confidence, and, at the last we shall reach the mark, and, as we touch it, we shall find dropping on our surprised and humble heads the crown of life which they receive who have so run, not as uncertainly, but doing this one thing, pressing towards the mark for the prize.

Maclaren: Phi 3:15 - A Libation To Jehovah

The Soul's Perfection

Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in anything ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.'--Phil. 3:15.

As many as be perfect'; and how many may they be? Surely a very short bede-roll would contain their names; or would there be any other but the Name which is above every name upon it? Part of the answer to such a question may be found in observing that the New Testament very frequently uses the word to express not so much the idea of moral completeness as that of physical maturity. For instance, when Paul says that he would have his converts to be men in understanding,' and when the Epistle to the Hebrews speaks of them that are of full age,' the same word is used as this perfect' in our text. Clearly in such cases it means full grown,' as in contrast with babes,' and expresses not absolute completeness, but what we may term a relative perfection, a certain maturity of character and advanced stage of Christian attainment, far removed from the infantile epoch of the Christian life.

Another contribution to the answer may be found in observing that in this very context these perfect' people are exhorted to cultivate the sense of not having already attained,' and to be constantly reaching forth to unattained heights, so that a sense of imperfection and a continual effort after higher life are parts of Paul's perfect man.' And it is to be still further noticed that on the same testimony perfect' people may probably be otherwise minded'; by which we understand not divergently minded from one another, but otherwise' than the true norm or law of life would prescribe, and so may stand in need of the hope that God will by degrees bring them into conformity with His will, and show them this,' namely, their divergence from His Pattern for them.

It is worth our while to look at these large thoughts thus involved in the words before us.

I. Then There Are People Whom Without Exaggeration The Judgment Of Truth Calls Perfect.

The language of the New Testament has no scruple in calling men saints' who had many sins, and none in calling men perfect who had many imperfections; and it does so, not because it has any fantastic theory about religious emotions being the measure of moral purity, but partly for the reasons already referred to, and partly because it wisely considers the main thing about a character to be not the degree to which it has attained completeness in its ideal, but what that ideal is. The distance a man has got on his journey is of less consequence than the direction in which his face is turned. The arrow may fall short, but to what mark was it shot? In all regions of life a wise classification of men arranges them according to their aims rather than their achievements. The visionary who attempts something high and accomplishes scarcely anything of it, is often a far nobler man, and his poor, broken, foiled, resultless life far more perfect than his who aims at marks on the low levels and hits them full. Such lives as these, full of yearning and aspiration, though it be for the most part vain, are,

Like the young moon with a ragged edgeE'en in its imperfection beautiful.'

If then it be wise to rank men and their pursuits according to their aims rather than their accomplishments, is there one class of aims so absolutely corresponding to man's nature and relations that to take them for one's own, and to reach some measure of approximation to them, may fairly be called the perfection of human nature? Is there one way of living concerning which we may say that whosoever adopts it has, in so far as he does adopt it, discerned and attained the purpose of his being? The literal force of the word in our text gives pertinence to that question, for it distinctly means having reached the end.' And if that be taken as the meaning, there need be no doubt about the answer. Grand old words have taught us long ago Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him for ever.' Yes, he who lives for God has taken that for his aim which all his nature and all his relations prescribe, he is doing what he was made and meant to do; and however incomplete may be its attainments, the lowest form of a God-fearing, God-obeying life is higher and more nearly perfect' than the fairest career or character against which, as a blight on all its beauty, the damning accusation may be brought, The God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, thou hast not glorified.'

People sneer at saints' and point at their failings. They remind us of the foul stains in David's career, for instance, and mock as they ask, Is this your man after God's own heart?' Yes, he is; not because religion has a morality of its own different from that of the world (except as being higher), nor because saints' make up for adultery and murder by making or singing psalms, but because the main set and current of the life was evidently towards God and goodness, and these hideous sins were glaring contradictions, eddies and backwaters, as it were, wept over with bitter self-abasement and conquered by strenuous effort. Better a life of Godward aspiration and straining after purity, even if broken by such a fall, so recovered, than one of habitual earthward grubbing, undisturbed by gross sin.

And another reason warrants the application of the word to men whose present is full of incompleteness, namely, the fact that such men have in them the germ of a life which has no natural end but absolute completeness. The small seed may grow very slowly in the climate and sell which it finds here, and be only a poor little bit of ragged green, very shabby and inconspicuous by the side of the native flowers of earth flaunting around it, but it has a divine germinant virtue within, and waits but being carried to its own clime and planted in the house of the Lord' above, to flourish in the courts of our God,' when these others with their glorious beauty have faded away and are flung out to rot.

II. We Have Set Forth Here Very Distinctly Two Of The Characteristics Of This Perfection.

The Apostle in our text exhorts the perfect to be thus minded.' How is that? Evidently the word points back to the previous clauses, in which he has been describing his own temper and feeling in the Christian race. He sets that before the Philippians as their pattern, or rather invites them to fellowship with him in the estimate of themselves and in their efforts after higher attainments. Be thus minded' means, Think as I do of yourselves, and do as I do in your daily life.

How did he think of himself? He tells us in the sentence before,' Not as though I were already perfect. I count not myself to have apprehended.' So then a leading characteristic of this true Christian perfection is a constant consciousness of imperfection. In all fields of effort, whether intellectual, moral, or mechanical, as faculty grows, consciousness of insufficiency grows with it. The farther we get up the hill, the more we see how far it is to the horizon. The more we know, the more we know our ignorance. The better we can do, the more we discern how much we cannot do. Only people who never have done and never will do anything, or else raw apprentices with the mercifully granted self-confidence of youth, which gets beaten out of most of us soon enough, think that they can do everything.

In morals and in Christian life the same thing is true. The measure of our perfection will be the consciousness of our imperfection--a paradox, but a great truth. It is plain enough that it will be so. Conscience becomes more sensitive as we get nearer right. The worse a man is the less it speaks to him, and the less he hears it. When it ought to thunder it whispers; when we need it most it is least active. The thick skin of a savage will not be disturbed by lying on sharp stones, while a crumpled rose-leaf robs the Sybarite of his sleep. So the practice of evil hardens the cuticle of conscience, and the practice of goodness restores tenderness and sensibility; and many a man laden with crime knows less of its tingling than some fair soul that looks almost spotless to all eyes but its own. One little stain of rust will be conspicuous on a brightly polished blade, but if it be all dirty and dull, a dozen more or fewer will make little difference. As men grow better they become like that glycerine barometer recently introduced, on which a fall or a rise that would have been invisible with mercury to record it takes up inches, and is glaringly conspicuous. Good people sometimes wonder, and sometimes are made doubtful and sad about themselves, by this abiding and even increased consciousness of sin. There is no need to be so. The higher the temperature the more chilling would it be to pass into an ice-house, and the more our lives are brought into fellowship with the perfect life, the more shall we feel our own shortcomings. Let us be thankful if our consciences speak to us more loudly than they used to do. It is a sign of growing holiness, as the tingling in a frost-bitten limb is of returning life. Let us seek to cultivate and increase the sense of our own imperfection, and be sure that the diminution of a consciousness of sin means not diminished power of sin, but lessened horror of it, lessened perception of right, lessened love of goodness, and is an omen of death, not a symptom of life. Painter, scholar, craftsman all know that the condition of advance is the recognition of an ideal not attained. Whoever has not before him a standard to which he has not reached will grow no more. If we see no faults in our work we shall never do any better. The condition of all Christian, as of all other progress, is to be drawn by that fair vision before us, and to be stung into renewed effort to reach it, by the consciousness of present imperfection.

Another characteristic to which these perfect men are exhorted is a constant striving after a further advance. How vigorously, almost vehemently, that temper is put in the context--I follow after'; I press toward the mark'; and that picturesque reaching forth,' or, as the Revised Version gives it, stretching forward.' The full force of the latter word cannot be given in any one English equivalent, but may be clumsily hinted by some such phrase as stretching oneself out over,' as a runner might do with body thrown forward and arms extended in front, and eagerness in every strained muscle, and eye outrunning foot, and hope clutching the goal already. So yearning forward, and setting all the current of his being, both faculty and desire, to the yet unreached mark, the Christian man is to live. His glances are not to be bent backwards, but forwards. He is not to be a praiser of the past,' but a herald and expectant of a nobler future. He is the child of the day and of the morning, forgetting the things which are behind, and ever yearning towards the things which are before, and drawing them to himself. To look back is to be stiffened into a living death; only with faces set forward are we safe and well.

This buoyant energy of hope and effort is to be the result of the consciousness of imperfection of which we have spoken. Strange to many of us, in some moods, that a thing so bright should spring up from a thing so dark, and that the more we feel our own shortcomings, the more hopeful should we be of a future unlike the past, and the more earnest in our effort to make that future the present! There is a type of Christian experience not uncommon among devout people, in which the consciousness of imperfection paralyses effort instead of quickening it; men lament their evil, their slow progress and so on, and remain the same year after year. They are stirred to no effort. There is no straining onwards. They almost seem to lose the faith that they can ever be any better. How different this from the grand, wholesome completeness of Paul's view here, which embraces both elements, and even draws the undying brightness of his forward-looking confidence from the very darkness of his sense of present imperfection!

So should it be with us, as many as be perfect.' Before us stretch indefinite possibilities of approximating to the unattainable fulness of the divine life. We may grow in knowledge and in holiness through endless ages and grades of advance. In a most blessed sense we may have that for our highest joy which in another meaning is a punishment of unfaithfulness and indocility, that we shall be ever learning, and never coming to the full knowledge of the truth.' No limit can be put to what we may receive of God, nor to the closeness, the fulness of our communion with Him, nor to the beauty of holiness which may pass from Him into our poor characters, and irradiate our homely faces. Then, brethren, let us cherish a noble discontent with all that we at present are. Let our spirits stretch out all their powers to the better things beyond, as the plants grown in darkness will send out pale shoots that feel blindly towards the light, or the Seed sown on the top of a rock will grope down the bare stone for the earth by which it must be fed. Let the sense of our own weakness ever lead to a buoyant confidence in what we, even we, may become if we will only take the grace we have. To this touchstone let us bring all claims to higher holiness--they who are perfect are most conscious of imperfection, and most eager in their efforts after a further progress in the knowledge, love, and likeness of God in Christ.

III. We Have Here Also Distinctly Brought Out The Coexistence With These Characteristics Of Their Opposites.

If in anything ye are otherwise minded,' says Paul I have already suggested that this expression evidently refers not to difference of opinion among themselves, but to a divergence of character from the pattern of feeling and life which he has been proposing to them. If in any respects ye are unconscious of your imperfections, if there be any witch's mark' of insensibility in some spot of your conscience to some plain transgressions of law, if in any of you there be some complacent illusion of your own stainlessness, if to any of you the bright vision before you seem faint and unsubstantial, God will show you what you do not see. Plainly then he considers that there will be found among these perfect men states of feeling and estimates of themselves opposed to those which he has been exhorting them to cherish. Plainly he supposes that a good man may pass for a time under the dominion of impulses and theories which are of another kind from those that rule his life.

He does not expect the complete and uninterrupted dominion of these higher powers. He recognises the plain facts that the true self, the central life of the soul, the higher nature, the new man,' abides in a self which is but gradually renewed, and that there is a long distance, so to speak, from the centre to the circumference. That higher life is planted, but its germination is a work of time. The leaven does not leaven the whole mass in a moment, but creeps on from particle to particle. Make the tree good' and in due time its fruit will be good. But the conditions of our human life are conflict, and these peaceful images of growth and unimpeded natural development, first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear,' are not meant to tell all the truth. Interruptions from external circumstances, struggles of flesh with spirit, and of imagination and heart and will against the better life implanted in the spirit, are the lot of all, even the most advanced here, and however a man may be perfect, there will always be the possibility that in something he may be otherwise minded.'

Such an admission does not make such interruptions less blameworthy when they occur. The doctrine of averages does not do away with the voluntary character of each single act. The same number of letters are yearly posted without addresses. Does anybody dream of not scolding the errand boy who posted them, or the servant who did not address them, because he knows that? We are quite sure that we could have resisted each time that we fell. That piece of sharp practice in business, or that burst of bad temper in the household which we were last guilty of--could we have helped it or not? Conscience must answer that question, which does not depend at all on the law of averages. Guilt is not taken away by asserting that sin cleaves to men, perfect men.'

But the feelings with which we should regard sin and contradictions of men's truest selves in ourselves and others should be so far altered by such thoughts that we should be very slow to pronounce that a man cannot be a Christian because he has done so and so. Are there any sins which are clearly incompatible with a Christian character? All sins are inconsistent with it, but that is a very different matter. The uniform direction of a man's life being godless, selfish, devoted to the objects and pursuits of time and sense, is incompatible with his being a Christian-but, thank God, no single act, however dark, is so, if it be in contradiction to the main tendency impressed upon the character and conduct. It is not for us to say that any single deed shows a man cannot be Christ's, nor to fling ourselves down in despair saying, If I were a Christian, I could not have done that.' Let us remember that all unrighteousness is sin,' and the least sin is in flagrant opposition to our Christian profession; but let us also remember, and that not to blunt our consciences or weaken our efforts, that Paul thought it possible for perfect men to be otherwise minded' from their deepest selves and their highest pattern.

IV. The Crowning Hope That Lies In These Words Is The Certainty Of A Gradual But Complete Attainment Of All The Christian Aspirations After God And Goodness.

The ground of that confidence lies in no natural tendencies in us, in no effort of ours, but solely in that great name which is the anchor of all our confidence, the name of God. Why is Paul certain that God will reveal even this unto you'? Because He is God. The Apostle has learned the infinite depth of meaning that lies in that name. He has learned that God is not in the way of leaving off His work before He has done His work, and that none can say of Him, that He began to build, and was not able to finish.' The assurances of an unchangeable purpose in redemption, and of inexhaustible resources to effect it; of a love that can never fade, and of a grace that can never be exhausted--are all treasured for us in that mighty name. And such confidence is confirmed by the manifest tendency of the principles and motives brought to bear on us in Christianity to lead on to a condition of absolute perfection, as well as by the experience which we may have, if we will, of the sanctifying and renewing power of His Spirit in our Spirit.

By the discipline of daily life, by the ministry of sorrow and joy, by merciful chastisements dogging our steps when we stray, by duties and cares, by the teaching of His word coming even closer to our hearts and quickening our consciences to discern evil where we had seen none, as well as kindling in us desires after higher and rarer goodness, by the reward of enlarged perceptions of duty and greater love towards it, with which He recompenses lowly obedience to the duty as yet seen, by the secret influences of His Spirit of Power and of Love and of a sound Mind breathed into our waiting spirits, by the touch of His own sustaining hand and glance of His own guiding eye, He will reveal to the lowly soul all that is yet wanting in its knowledge, and communicate all that is lacking in character.

So for us, the true temper is confidence in His power and will, an earnest waiting on Him, a brave forward yearning hope blended with a lowly consciousness of imperfection, which is a spur not a clog, and vigorous increasing efforts to bring into life and character the fulness and beauty of God. Presumption should be as far from us as despair--the one because we have not already attained, the other because God will reveal even this unto us.' Only let us keep in mind the caution which the Apostle, knowing the possible abuses which might gather round His teaching, has here attached to it, Nevertheless '--though all which I have been saying is true, it is only on this understanding--Whereto we have already attained, by the same let us walk.' God will perfect that which concerneth you if--and only if--you go on as you have begun, if you make your creed a life, if you show what you are. If so, then all the rest is a question of time. A has been said, and I will come in its proper place. Begin with humble trust in Christ, and a process is commenced which has no natural end short of that great hope with which this chapter closes, that the change which begins in the deepest recesses of our being, and struggles slowly and with many interruptions, into partial visibility in our character, shall one day triumphantly irradiate our whole nature out to the very finger-tips, and' even the body of our humiliation shall be fashioned like unto the body of Christ's glory, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.'

Maclaren: Phi 3:16 - A Libation To Jehovah

The Rule Of The Road

Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule.'--Phil. 3:16.

PAUL has just been laying down a great principle--viz. that if the main direction of a life be right, God will reveal to a man the points in which he is wrong. But that principle is untrue and dangerous, unless carefully guarded. It may lead to a lazy tolerance of evil, and to drawing such inferences as, Well! it does not much matter about strenuous effort, if we are right at bottom it will all come right by-and-by,' and so it may become a pillow for indolence and a clog on effort. This possible abuse of a great truth seems to strike the Apostle, and so he enters here, with this Nevertheless,' a caveat against that twist of his meaning. It is as if he said, Now mind! while all that is perfectly true, it is true on conditions; and if they be not attended to, it is not true.' God will reveal to a man the things in which he is wrong if, and only if, he steadfastly continues in the course which he knows and sees to be right. Present attainments, then, are in some sense a standard of duty, and if we honestly and conscientiously observe that standard we shall get light as we journey. In this exhortation of the Apostle's there are many exhortations wrapped up; and in trying to draw them out I venture to adhere to the form of exhortation for the sake of impressiveness and point.

I. First, Then, I Would Say The Apostle Means,

Live up to your faith and your convictions.'

It may be a question whether that to which we have already attained' means the amount of knowledge which we have won or the amount of practical righteousness which we have made our own. But I think that, instead of sharply dividing between these two, we shall follow more in the course of the Apostle's thought if we unite them together, and remember that the Bible does not make the distinct separation which we sometimes incline to make between knowledge on the one side and practice on the other, but regards the man as a living unity. And thus, both aspects of our attainments come into consideration here.

So, then, there are two main thoughts--first, live out your creed, and second, live up to your convictions.

Live out your creed. Men are meant to live, not by impulse, by accident, by inclination, but by principle. We are not intended to live by rule, but we are intended to live by law. And unless we know why we do as well as what we do, and give a rational account of our conduct, we fall beneath the height on which God intends us to walk. Impulse is all very well, but impulse is blind and needs a guide. The imitation of those around us, or the acceptance of the apparent necessities of circumstances, are, to some extent, inevitable and right. But to be driven merely by the force of externals is to surrender the highest prerogative of manhood. The highest part of human nature is the reason guided by conscience, and a man's conscience is only then rightly illuminated when it is illuminated by his creed, which is founded on the acceptance of the revelation that God has made of Himself.

And whilst we are clearly meant to be guided by the intelligent appropriation of God's truth, that truth is evidently all meant for guidance. We are not told anything in the Bible in order that we may know as an ultimate object, but we are told it all in order that, knowing, we may be, and, being, we may do, according to His will.

Just think of the intensely practical tendency of all the greatest truths of Christianity. The Cross is the law of life. The revelation that was made there was made, not merely that we might cling to it as a refuge from our sins, but that we might accept it as the rule of our conduct. All our duties to mankind are summed up in the word Love one another as I have loved you.' We say that we believe in the divinity of Christ; we say that we believe in the great incarnation and sacrificial death and eternal priesthood of the loving Son of God. We say that we believe in a judgment to come and a future life. Well, then, do these truths produce any effect upon my life? have they shaped me in any measure into conformity with their great principles? Does there issue from them constraining power which grasps me and moulds me as a sculptor would a bit of clay in his hands? Am I subject to the Gospel's authority, and is the word in which God has revealed Himself to me the word which dominates and impels all my life? Whereunto we have already attained, by the same let us walk.'

But we shall not do that without a distinct effort. For it is a great deal easier to live from hand to mouth than to live by principle. It is a great deal easier to accept what seems forced upon us by circumstances than to exercise control over the circumstances, and make them bend to God's holy will. It is a great deal easier to take counsel of inclination, and to put the reins in the hands of impulses, passions, desires, tastes, or even habits, than it is, at each fresh moment, to seek for fresh impulses from a fresh illumination from the ancient and yet ever fresh truth. The old kings of France used to be kept with all royal state in the palace, but they were not allowed to do anything. And there was a rough, unworshipped man that stood by their side, and who was the real ruler of the realm. That is what a great many professing Christians do with their creeds. They install them in some inner chamber that they very seldom visit, and leave them there, in dignified idleness, and the real working ruler of their lives is found elsewhere. Let us see to it, brethren, that all our thoughts are incarnated in our deeds, and that all our deeds are brought into immediate connection with the great principles of God's word. Live by that law, and we live at liberty.

And, then, remember that this translating of creed into conduct is the only condition of growing illumination. When we act upon a belief, the belief grows. That is the source of a great deal of stupid obstinacy in this world, because men have been so long accustomed to go upon certain principles that it seems incredible to them but that these principles should be true. But that, too, is at the bottom of a great deal of intelligent and noble firmness of adherence to the true. A man who has tested a principle because he has lived upon it has confidence in it that nobody else can have.

Projectors may have beautiful specifications with attractive pictures of their new inventions; they look very well upon paper, but we must see them working before we are sure of their worth. And so, here is this great body of Divine truth, which assumes to be sufficient for guidance, for conduct, for comfort, for life. Live upon it, and thereby your grasp of it and your confidence in it will be immensely increased. And no man has a right to say' I have rejected Christianity as untrue,' unless he has put it to the test by living upon it; and if he has, he will never say it. A Swiss traveller goes into a shop and buys a brand-new alpenstock. Does he lean upon it with as much confidence as another man does, who has one with the names of all the mountains that it has helped him up branded on it from top to bottom? Take this staff and lean on it. Live your creed, and you will believe your creed as you never will until you do. Obedience takes a man up to an elevation from which he sees further into the deep harmonies of truth. In all regions of life the principle holds good: To him that hath shall be given.' And it holds eminently in reference to our grasp of Christian principles. Use them and they grow; neglect them and they perish. Sometimes a man dies in a workhouse who has a store of guineas and notes wrapped up in rags somewhere about him; and so they have been of no use to him. If you want your capital to increase, trade with it. As the Lord said when He gave the servants their talents: Trade with them till I come.' The creed that is utilised is the creed that grows. And that is why so many of you Christian people have so little real intellectual grasp of the principles of Christianity, because you have not lived upon them, nor tried to do it.

And, in like manner, another side of this thought is, be true to your convictions. There is no such barrier to a larger and wholesomer view of our duty as the neglect of anything that plainly is our duty. It stands there, an impassable cliff between us and all progress. Let us live and be what we know we ought to be, and we shall know better what we ought to be at the next moment.

II. Secondly, Let Me Put The Apostle's Meaning In Another Exhortation, Go On As You Have Begun.

Whereunto we have already attained, by the same let us walk.' The various points to which the men have reached are all points in one straight line; and the injunction of my text is Keep the road.' There are a great many temptations to stray from it. There are nice smooth grassy bits by the side of it where it is a great deal easier walking. There are attractive things just a footstep or two out of the path--such a little deviation that it can easily be recovered. And so, like children gathering daisies in the field, we stray away from the path; and, like men on a moor, we then look round for it, and it is gone. The angle of divergence may be the acutest possible; the deviation when we begin may be scarcely visible, but if you draw a line at the sharpest angle and the least deviation from a straight line, and carry it out far enough, there will be space between it and the line from which it started ample to hold a universe. Then, let us take care of small deviations from the plain straight path, and give no heed to the seductions that lie on either side, but whereunto we have already attained, by the same let us walk.'

There are temptations, too, to slacken our speed. The river runs far more slowly in its latter course than when it came babbling and leaping down the hillside. And sometimes a Christian life seems as if it crept rather than ran, like those sluggish streams in the Fen country, which move so slowly that you cannot tell which way the water is flowing. Are not there all round us, are there not amongst ourselves instances of checked growth, of arrested development? There are people listening to me now, calling themselves --and I do not say that they have not a right to do so--Christians, who have not grown a bit for years, but stand at the very same point of attainment, both in knowledge and in purity and Christlikeness, as they were many, many days ago. I beseech you, Hasten to this exhortation of my text, Whereunto we have already attained, by the same let us walk,' and continue patient and persistent in the course that is set before us.

III. The Apostle's Injunction May Be Cast Into This Form, Be Yourselves.

The representation which underlies my text, and precedes it in the context, is that of the Christian community as a great body of travellers all upon one road, all with their faces turned in one direction, but at very different points on the path. The difference of position necessarily involves a difference in outlook. They see their duties, and they see the Word of God, in some respects diversely. And the Apostle's exhortation is: Let each man follow his own insight, and whereunto he has attained, by that, and not by his brother's attainment, by that let him walk.' From the very fact of the diversity of advancement there follows the plain duty for each of us to use our own eyesight, and of independent faithfulness to our own measure of light, as the guide which we are bound to follow.

There is a dreadful want, in the ordinary Christian life, of any appearance of first-hand communication with Jesus Christ, and daring to be myself, and to act on the insight into His will which Christ has given me.

Conventional Godliness, Christian people cut after one pattern, a little narrow round of certain statutory duties and obligations, a parrot-like repetition of certain words, a mechanical copying of certain methods of life, an oppressive sameness, mark so much of modern religion. What a freshening up there would come into all Christian communities if every man lived by his own perception of truth and duty! If a musician in an orchestra is listening to his neighbour's note and time, he will lose many an indication from the conductor that would have kept him far more right, if he had attended to it. And if, instead of taking our beliefs and our conduct from one another, or from the average of Christian men round us, we went straight to Jesus Christ and said to Him, What wouldst Thou have me to do?' there would be a different aspect over Christendom from what there is to-day. The fact of individual responsibility, according to the measure of our individual light, and faithful following of that, wheresoever it may lead us, are the grand and stirring principles that come from these words. Whereunto we have already attained,' by that --and by no other man's attainment or rule--let us walk.

But do not let us forget that that same faithful independence and independent faithfulness because Christ speaks to us, and we will not let any other voice blend with His, are quite consistent with, and, indeed, demand, the frank recognition of our brother's equal right. If we more often thought of all the great body of Christian people as an army, united in its diversity, its line of march stretching for leagues, and some in the van, and some in the main body, and some in the rear, but all one, we should be more tolerant of divergences, more charitable in our judgment of the laggards, more patient in waiting for them to come up with us, and more wise and considerate in moderating our pace sometimes to meet theirs. All who love Jesus Christ are on the same road and bound for the same home. Let us be contented that they shall be at different stages on the path, seeing that we know that they will all reach the Temple above.

IV. Lastly, Cherish The Consciousness Of Imperfection And The Confidence Of Success.

Whereunto we have attained' implies that that is only a partial possession of a far greater whole. The road is not finished at the stage where we stand. And, on the other hand, by the same let us walk,' implies that beyond the present point the road runs on equally patent and pervious to our feet. These two convictions, of my own imperfection and of the certainty of my reaching the great perfectness beyond, are indispensable to all Christian progress. As soon as a man begins to think that he has realised his ideal, Goodbye I to all advance. The artist, the student, the man of business, all must have gleaming before them an unattained object, if they are ever to be stirred to energy and to run with patience the race that is met before them.

The more distinctly that a man is conscious of his own imperfection in the Christian life, the more he will be stung and stirred into earnestness and energy of effort, if only, side by side with the consciousness of imperfection, there springs triumphant the confidence of success. That will give strength to the feeble knees; that will lift a man buoyant over difficulties; that will fire desire; that will stimulate and solidify effort; that will make the long, monotonous stretches of the road easy, the rough places plain, the crooked things straight. Over all reluctant, repellent duties it will bear us, in all weariness it will re-invigorate us. We are saved by hope, and the more brightly there burns before us, not as a tremulous hope, but as a future certainty, the thought,' I shall be like Him, for I shall see Him as He is,' the more shall I set my face to the loved goal and my feet to the dusty road, and press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God.' Christian progress comes out of the clash and collision of these two things, like that of flint and steel --the consciousness of imperfection and the confidence of success. And they who thus are driven by the one and drawn by the other, in all their consciousness of failure are yet blessed, and are crowned at last with that which they believed before it came.

Blessed are they that dwell in Thy house'--the prize won is heaven. But blessed are they in whose hearts are the ways'--the prize desired and strained after is heaven upon earth. We may all live a life of continual advancement, each step leading upwards, for the road always climbs, to purer air, grander scenery, and a wider view. And yonder, progress will still be the law, for they who here have followed the Lamb, and sought to make Him their pattern and Commander, will there follow Him whithersoever He goeth.' If here we walk according to that whereunto we have attained,' there He shall say, They will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy.'

Maclaren: Phi 3:17-21 - A Libation To Jehovah

Warnings And Hopes

Brethren, be ye imitators together of me, and mark them which so walk even as ye have us for an ensample. For many walk, of whom I told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is perdition, whose God is the belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things. For our citizenship is in heaven; from whence also we wait for a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall fashion anew the body of our humiliation, that it may be conformed to the body of His glory, according to the working whereby he is able even to subject all things unto Himself.'--Phil. 3:17-21 (R.V.).

THERE is a remarkable contrast in tone between the sad warnings which begin this section and the glowing hopes with which it closes, and that contrast is made the more striking when we notice that the Apostle binds the gloom of the one and the radiance of the other by For,' which makes the latter the cause of the former.

The exhortation in which the Apostle begins by proposing himself as an example sounds strange on any lips, and, most of all, on his, but we have to note that the points in which he sets himself up as a pattern are obviously those on which he touched in the preceding outpouring of his heart, and which he has already commended to the Philippians in pleading with them to be thus minded.' What he desires them to copy is his self-distrust, his willingness to sacrifice all things to win Christ, his clear sense of his own shortcomings, and his eager straining towards as yet unreached perfection. His humility is not disproved by such words, but what is remarkable in them is the clear consciousness of the main direction and set of his life. We may well hesitate to take them for ours, but every Christian man and woman ought to be able to say this much. If we cannot in some degree declare that we are so walking, we have need to look to our foundations. Such words are really in sharp contrast to those in which Jesus is held forth as an example. Notice, too, how quickly he passes to associate others with him, and to merge the Me' into Us.' We need not ask who his companions were, since Timothy is associated with him at the beginning of the letter.

The exhortation is enforced by pointing to others who had gone far astray, and of whom he had warned the Philippians often, possibly by letter. Who these unworthy disciples were remains obscure. They were clearly not the Judaisers branded in verse 2, who were teachers seeking to draw away the Philip-plans, while these others seem to have been' enemies of the Cross of Christ,' not by open hostility nor by theoretical errors, but by practical worldliness, and that in these ways; they make sense their God, they are proud of what is really their disgrace, namely, they are shaking off the restraints of morality; and, most black though it may seem least so, they' mind earthly things' on which thought, feeling, and interest are concentrated. Let us lay to heart the lesson that such direction of the current of a life to the things of earth makes men enemies of the Cross of Christ,' whatever their professions, and will surely make their end perdition, whatever their apparent prosperity. Paul's life seemed loss and was gain; these men's lives seemed gain and was loss.

From this dark picture charged with gloom, and in one corner showing white waves breaking far out against an inky sky, and a vessel with torn sails driving on the rocks, the Apostle turns with relief to the brighter words in which he sets forth the true affinities and hopes of a Christian. They all stand or fall with the belief in the Resurrection of Christ and His present life in His glorified corporeal manhood.

I. Our True Metropolis.

The Revised Version puts in the margin as an alter native rendering for citizenship' commonwealth, and there appears to be a renewed allusion here to the fact already noted that Philippi was a colony,' and that its inhabitants were Roman citizens. Paul uses a very emphatic word for is' here which it is difficult to reproduce in English, but which suggests essential reality.

The reason why that heavenly citizenship is ours in no mere play of the imagination but in most solid sub stance, is because He is there for whom we look. Where Christ is, is our Mother-country, our Father land, according to His own promise, I go to prepare a place for you.' His being there draws our thoughts and sets our affections on Heaven.

II. The Colonists Looking For The King.

The Emperors sometimes made a tour of the provinces. Paul here thinks of Christians as waiting for their Emperor to come across the seas to this outlying corner of His dominions. The whole grand name is given here, all the royal titles to express solemnity and dignity, and the character in which we look for Him is that of Saviour. We still need salvation, and though in one sense it is past, in another it will not be ours until He comes the second time without sin unto salvation. The eagerness of the waiting which should characterise the expectant citizens is wonder fully described by the Apostle's expression for it, which literally means to look away out--with emphasis on both prepositions--like a sentry on the walls of a besieged city whose eyes are ever fixed on the pass amongst the hills through which the relieving forces are to come.

It may be said that Paul is here expressing an expectation which was disappointed. No doubt the early Church looked for the speedy return of our Lord and were mistaken. We are distinctly told that in that point there was no revelation of the future, and no doubt they, like the prophets of old, searched what manner of time the spirit of Christ which was in them did signify.' In this very letter Paul speaks of death as very probable for himself, so that he had precisely the same double attitude which has been the Church's ever since, in that he looked for Christ's coming as possible in his own time, and yet anticipated the other alternative. It is difficult, no doubt, to cherish the vivid anticipation of any future event, and not to have any certainty as to its date. But if we are sure that a given event will come sometime and do not know when it may come, surely the wise man is he who thinks to himself it may come any time, and not he who treats it as if it would come at no time. The two possible alternatives which Paul had before him have in common the same certainty as to the fact and uncertainty as to the date, and Paul had them both before his mind with the same vivid anticipation.

The practical effect of this hope of the returning Lord on our' walk' will be all to bring it nearer Paul's. It will not suffer us to make sense our God, nor to fix our affections on things above; it will stimulate all energies in pressing towards the goal, and will turn away our eyes from the trivialities and transiencies that press upon us, away out toward the distance where far off His coming shone.'

III. The Christian Sharing In Christ S Glory.

The same precise distinction between fashion' and .form.' which we have had occasion to notice in Phil. 2., recurs here. The fashion' of the body of our humiliation is external and transient; the' form' of the body of His glory to which we are to be assimilated consists of essential characteristics or properties, and may be regarded as being almost synonymous with Nature.' Observing the distinction which the Apostle draws by the use of these two words, and remembering their force in the former instance of their occurrence, we shall not fail to give force to the representation that in the Resurrection the fleeting fashion of the bodily frame will be altered, and the glorified bodies of the saints made participant of the essential qualities of His.

We further note that there is no trace of false asceticism or of Gnostic contempt for the body in its designation as of our humiliation.' Its weaknesses, its limitations, its necessities, its corruption and its death, sufficiently manifest our lowliness, while, on the other hand, the body in which Christ's glory is manifested, and which is the instrument for His glory, is presented in fullest contrast to it.

The great truth of Christ's continual glorified manhood is the first which we draw from these words. The story of our Lord's Resurrection suggests indeed that He brought the same body from the tomb as loving hands had laid there. The invitation to Thomas to thrust his hands into the prints of the nails, the similar invitation to the assembled disciples, and His partaking of food in their presence, seemed to forbid the idea of His rising changed. Nor can we suppose that the body of His glory would be congruous with His presence on earth. But we have to think of His ascension as gradual, and of Himself as changed by still degrees' as He ascended, and so as returned to where the glory which He had with the Father before the world was,' as the Shechinah cloud received Him out of the sight of the gazers below. If this be the true reading of His last moments on earth, He united in His own experience both the ways of leaving it which His followers experience--the way of sleep which is death, and the way of being changed.'

But at whatever point the change came, He now wears, and for ever will wear, the body of a man. That is the dominant fact on which is built the Christian belief in a future life, and which gives to that belief all its solidity and force, and separates it from vague dreams of immortality which are but a wish tremblingly turned into a hope, or a dread shudderingly turned into an expectation. The man Christ Jesus is the pattern and realised ideal of human life on earth, the revelation of the divine life through a human life, and in His glorified humanity is no less the pattern and realised ideal of what human nature may become. The present state of the departed is incomplete in that they have not a body by which they can act on, and be acted on by, an external universe. We cannot indeed suppose them lapped in age-long unconsciousness, and it may be that the dead in Christ' are through Him brought into some knowledge of externals, but for the full-summed perfection of their being, the souls under the altar have to wait for the resurrection of the body. If resurrection is needful for completion of manhood, then completed manhood must necessarily be set in a locality, and the glorified manhood of Jesus must also now be in a place. To think thus of it and of Him is not to vulgarise the Christian conception of Heaven, but to give it a definiteness and force which it sorely lacks in popular thinking. Nor is the continual manhood of our Lord less precious in its influence in helping our familiar approach to Him. It tells us that He is still and for ever the same as when on earth, glad to welcome all who came and to help and heal all who need Him. It is one of ourselves who sitteth at the right hand of God.' His manhood brings Him memories which bind Him to us sorrowing and struggling, and His glory clothes Him with power to meet all our needs, to stanch all our wounds, to satisfy all our desires.

Our text leads us to think of the wondrous transformation into Christ's likeness. We know not what are the differences between the body of our humiliation and the body of His glory, but we must not be led away by the word Resurrection to fall into the mistake of supposing that in death we sow that body which shall be.' Paul's great chapter in First Corinthians should have destroyed that error for ever, and it is a singular instance of the persistency of the most unsupported mistakes that there are still thousands of people who in spite of all that they know of what befalls our mortal bodies, and of how their parts pass into other forms, still hold by that crude idea. We have no material by which to construct any, even the vaguest, outline of that body that shall be. We can only run out the contrasts as suggested by Paul in First Corinthians, and let the dazzling greatness of the positive thought which he gives in the text lift our expectations. Weakness will become power, corruption incorruption, liability to death immortality, dishonour glory, and the frame which belonged and corresponded to that which was natural,' shall be transformed into a body which is the organ of that which is spiritual These things tell us little, but they may be all fused into the great light of likeness to the body of His glory; and though that tells us even less, it feeds hope more and satisfies our hearts even whilst it does not feed our curiosity. We may well be contented to acknowledge that it doth not yet appear what we shall be,' when we can go on to say, We know that when He shall appear we shall be like Him.' It is enough for the disciple that he be as his Master.

But we must not forget that the Apostle regards even this overwhelming change as but part of a mightier process, even the universal subjection of all things unto Christ Himself. The Emperor reduces the whole world to subjection, and the glorifying of the body as the climax of the universal subjugation represents it as the end of the process of assimilation begun in this mortal life. There is no possibility of a resurrection unto life unless that life has been begun before death. That ultimate glorious body is needed to bring men into correspondence with the external universe. As is the locality so is the body. Flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. This whole series of thoughts makes our glorious resurrection the result not of death, but of Christ's living power on His people. It is only in the measure in which He lives in us and we in Him, and are partaking by daily participation in the power of His Resurrection, that we shall be made subjects of the working whereby He is able even to subject all things unto Himself, and finally be conformed to the body of His glory.

MHCC: Phi 3:1-11

Sincere Christians rejoice in Christ Jesus. The prophet calls the false prophets dumb dogs, Isa 56:10; to which the apostle seems to refer. Dogs, for their malice against faithful professors of the gospel of Christ, barking at them and biting them. They urged human works in opposition to the faith of Christ; but Paul calls them evil-workers. He calls them the concision; as they rent the church of Christ, and cut it to pieces. The work of religion is to no purpose, unless the heart is in it, and we must worship God in the strength and grace of the Divine Spirit. They rejoice in Christ Jesus, not in mere outward enjoyments and performances. Nor can we too earnestly guard against those who oppose or abuse the doctrine of free salvation. If the apostle would have gloried and trusted in the flesh, he had as much cause as any man. But the things which he counted gain while a Pharisee, and had reckoned up, those he counted loss for Christ. The apostle did not persuade them to do any thing but what he himself did; or to venture on any thing but that on which he himself ventured his never-dying soul. He deemed all these things to be but loss, compared with the knowledge of Christ, by faith in his person and salvation. He speaks of all worldly enjoyments and outward privileges which sought a place with Christ in his heart, or could pretend to any merit and desert, and counted them but loss; but it might be said, It is easy to say so; but what would he do when he came to the trial? He had suffered the loss of all for the privileges of a Christian. Nay, he not only counted them loss, but the vilest refuse, offals thrown to dogs; not only less valuable than Christ, but in the highest degree contemptible, when set up as against him. True knowledge of Christ alters and changes men, their judgments and manners, and makes them as if made again anew. The believer prefers Christ, knowing that it is better for us to be without all worldly riches, than without Christ and his word. Let us see what the apostle resolved to cleave to, and that was Christ and heaven. We are undone, without righteousness wherein to appear before God, for we are guilty. There is a righteousness provided for us in Jesus Christ, and it is a complete and perfect righteousness. None can have benefit by it, who trust in themselves. Faith is the appointed means of applying the saving benefit. It is by faith in Christ's blood. We are made conformable to Christ's death, when we die to sin, as he died for sin; and the world is crucified to us, and we to the world, by the cross of Christ. The apostle was willing to do or to suffer any thing, to attain the glorious resurrection of saints. This hope and prospect carried him through all difficulties in his work. He did not hope to attain it through his own merit and righteousness, but through the merit and righteousness of Jesus Christ.

MHCC: Phi 3:12-21

This simple dependence and earnestness of soul, were not mentioned as if the apostle had gained the prize, or were already made perfect in the Saviour's likeness. He forgot the things which were behind, so as not to be content with past labours or present measures of grace. He reached forth, stretched himself forward towards his point; expressions showing great concern to become more and more like unto Christ. He who runs a race, must never stop short of the end, but press forward as fast as he can; so those who have heaven in their view, must still press forward to it, in holy desires and hopes, and constant endeavours. Eternal life is the gift of God, but it is in Christ Jesus; through his hand it must come to us, as it is procured for us by him. There is no getting to heaven as our home, but by Christ as our Way. True believers, in seeking this assurance, as well as to glorify him, will seek more nearly to resemble his sufferings and death, by dying to sin, and by crucifying the flesh with its affections and lusts. In these things there is a great difference among real Christians, but all know something of them. Believers make Christ all in all, and set their hearts upon another world. If they differ from one another, and are not of the same judgment in lesser matters, yet they must not judge one another; while they all meet now in Christ, and hope to meet shortly in heaven. Let them join in all the great things in which they are agreed, and wait for further light as to lesser things wherein they differ. The enemies of the cross of Christ mind nothing but their sensual appetites. Sin is the sinner's shame, especially when gloried in. The way of those who mind earthly things, may seem pleasant, but death and hell are at the end of it. If we choose their way, we shall share their end. The life of a Christian is in heaven, where his Head and his home are, and where he hopes to be shortly; he sets his affections upon things above; and where his heart is, there will his conversation be. There is glory kept for the bodies of the saints, in which they will appear at the resurrection. Then the body will be made glorious; not only raised again to life, but raised to great advantage. Observe the power by which this change will be wrought. May we be always prepared for the coming of our Judge; looking to have our vile bodies changed by his Almighty power, and applying to him daily to new-create our souls unto holiness; to deliver us from our enemies, and to employ our bodies and souls as instruments of righteousness in his service.

Matthew Henry: Phi 3:1-3

It seems the church of the Philippians, though a faithful and flourishing church, was disturbed by the judaizing teachers, who endeavoured to keep up the law of Moses, and mix the observances of it with the doctrine of Christ and his institutions. He begins the chapter with warnings against these seducers.

I. He exhorts them to rejoice in the Lord (Phi 3:1), to rest satisfied in the interest they had in him and the benefit they hoped for by him. It is the character and temper of sincere Christians to rejoice in Christ Jesus. The more we take of the comfort of our religion the more closely we shall cleave to it: the more we rejoice in Christ the more willing we shall be to do and suffer for him, and the less danger we shalt be in of being drawn away from him. The joy of the Lord is our strength, Neh 8:10.

II. He cautions them to take heed of those false teachers: To write the same thing to you to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe; that is, the same things which I have already preached to you; as if he had said, "What has been presented to your ears shall be presented to your eyes: what I have spoken formerly shall now be written; to show that I am still of the same mind." To me indeed is not grievous. Observe, 1. Ministers must not think any thing grievous to themselves which they have reason to believe is safe and edifying to the people. 2. It is good for us often to hear the same truths, to revive the remembrance and strengthen the impression of things of importance. It is a wanton curiosity to desire always to hear some new thing. It is a needful caution he here gives: Beware of dogs, Phi 3:2. The prophet calls the false prophets dumb dogs (Isa 56:10), to which the apostle here seems to refer. Dogs, for their malice against the faithful professors of the gospel of Christ, barking at them and biting them. They cried up good works in opposition to the faith of Christ; but Paul calls them evil workers: they boasted themselves to be of the circumcision; but he calls them the concision: they rent and tore the church of Christ, and cut it to pieces; or contended for an abolished rite, a mere insignificant cutting of the flesh.

III. He describes true Christians, who are indeed the circumcision, the spiritual circumcision, the peculiar of people of God, who are in covenant with him, as the Old Testament Israelites were: We are the circumcision, who worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. Here are three characters: - 1. They worshipped in the spirit, in opposition to the carnal ordinances of the Old Testament, which consist in meats, and drinks, and divers washings, etc. Christianity takes us off from these things, and teaches us to be inward with God in all the duties of religious worship. We must worship God in spirit, Joh 4:24. The work of religion is to no purpose any further than the heart is employed in it. Whatsoever we do, we must do it heartily as unto the Lord; and we must worship God in the strength and grace of the Divine Spirit, which is so peculiar to the gospel state, which is the ministration of the spirit, 2Co 3:8. 2. They rejoice in Christ Jesus, and not in the peculiar privileges of the Jewish church, or what answers to them in the Christian church - mere outward enjoyments and performances. They rejoice in their relation to Christ and interest in him. God made it the duty of the Israelites to rejoice before him in the courts of his house; but now that the substance has come the shadows are done away, and we are to rejoice in Christ Jesus only. 3. They have no confidence in the flesh, in those carnal ordinances and outward performances. We must be taken off from trusting in our own bottom, that we may build only on Jesus Christ, the everlasting foundation. Our confidence, as well as our joy, is proper to him.

Matthew Henry: Phi 3:4-8

The apostle here proposes himself for an example of trusting in Christ only, and not in his privileges as an Israelite.

I. He shows what he had to boast of as a Jew and a Pharisee. Let none think that the apostle despised these things (as men commonly do) because he had them not himself to glory in. No, if he would have gloried and trusted in the flesh, he had as much cause to do so as any man: If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof to trust in the flesh, I more, Phi 3:4. He had as much to boast of as any Jew of them all. 1. His birth-right privileges. He was not a proselyte, but a native Israelite: of the stock of Israel. And he was of the tribe of Benjamin, in which tribe the temple stood, and which adhered to Judah when all the other tribes revolted. Benjamin was the father's darling, and this was a favourite tribe. A Hebrew of the Hebrews, an Israelite on both sides, by father and mother, and from one generation to another; none of his ancestors had matched with Gentiles. 2. He could boast of his relations to the church and the covenant, for he was circumcised the eighth day; he had the token of God's covenant in his flesh, and was circumcised the very day which God had appointed. 3. For learning, he was a Pharisee, brought up at the feet of Gamaliel, an eminent doctor of the law: and was a scholar learned in all the learning of the Jews, taught according to the perfect manner of the laws of the fathers, Act 22:3. He was a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee (Act 23:6), and after the most strict sect of his religion lived a Pharisee, Act 26:5. 4. He had a blameless conversation: Toughing the righteousness which is of the law, blameless: as far as the Pharisees' exposition of the law went, and as to the mere letter of the law and outward observance of it, he could acquit himself from the breach of it and could not be accused by any. 5. He had been an active man for his religion. As he made a strict profession of it, under the title and character of a Pharisee, so he persecuted those whom he looked upon as enemies to it. Concerning zeal, persecuting the church. 6. He showed that he was in good earnest, though he had a zeal without knowledge to direct and govern the exercise of it: I was zealous towards God, as you all are this day, and I persecuted this way unto the death, Act 22:3, Act 22:4. All this was enough to have made a proud Jew confident, and was stock sufficient to set up with for his justification. But,

II. The apostle tells us here how little account he made of these, in comparison of his interest in Christ and his expectations from him: But what things were gain to me those have I counted loss for Christ (Phi 3:7); that is, those things which he had counted gain while he was a Pharisee, and which he had before reckoned up, these he counted loss for Christ. "I should have reckoned myself an unspeakable loser of, to adhere to them, I had lost my interest in Jesus Christ."He counted them loss; not only insufficient to enrich him, but what would certainly impoverish and ruin him, if he trusted to them, in opposition to Christ. Observe, The apostle did not persuade them to do any thing but what he had himself did, to quit any thing but what he had himself quitted, nor venture on any bottom but what he himself had ventured his immortal soul upon. - Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, Phi 3:8. Here the apostle explains himself. 1. He tells us what it was that he was ambitious of and reached after: it was the knowledge of Christ Jesus his Lord, a believing experimental acquaintance with Christ as Lord; not a merely notional and speculative, but a practical and efficacious knowledge of him. So knowledge is sometimes put for faith: By his knowledge, or the knowledge of him, shall my righteous servant justify many, Isa 53:11. And it is the excellency of knowledge. There is an abundant and transcendent excellency in the doctrine of Christ, or the Christian religion above all the knowledge of nature, and improvements of human wisdom; for it is suited to the case of fallen sinners, and furnishes them with all they need and all they can desire and hope for, with all saving wisdom and saving grace. 2. He shows how he had quitted his privileges as a Jew and a Pharisee: Yea doubtless; his expression rises with a holy triumph and elevation, alla men oun ge kai . There are five particles in the original: But indeed even also do I count all things but loss. He had spoken before of those things, his Jewish privileges: here he speaks of all things, all worldly enjoyments and mere outward privileges whatsoever, things of a like kind or any other kind which could stand in competition with Christ for the throne in his heart, or pretend to merit and desert. There he had said that he did count them but loss; but it might be asked, "Did he continue still in the same mind, did he not repent his renouncing them?"No, now he speaks in the present tense: Yea doubtless, I do count them but loss. But it may be said, "It is easy to say so; but what would he do when he came to the trial?"Why he tells us that he had himself practised according to this estimate of the case: For whom I have suffered the loss of all things. He had quitted all his honours and advantages, as a Jew and a Pharisee, and submitted to all the disgrace and suffering which attended the profession and preaching of the gospel. When he embarked in the bottom of the Christian religion, he ventured all in it, and suffered the loss of all for the privileges of a Christian. Nay, he not only counted them loss, but dung, skubala - offals thrown to dogs; they are not only less valuable than Christ, but in the highest degree contemptible, when they come in competition with him. Note, The New Testament never speaks of saving grace in any terms of diminution, but on the contrary represents it as the fruits of the divine Spirit and the image of God in the soul of man; as a divine nature, and the seed of God: and faith is called precious faith; and meekness is in the sight of God of great price, 1Pe 3:4; 2Pe 1:1, etc.

Matthew Henry: Phi 3:9-14

We now heard what the apostle renounced; let us now see what he laid hold on, and resolved to cleave to, namely, Christ and heaven. He had his heart on these two great peculiarities of the Christian religion.

I. The apostle had his heart upon Christ as his righteousness. This is illustrated in several instances. 1. He desired to win Christ; and an unspeakable gainer he would reckon himself if he had but an interest in Christ and his righteousness, and if Christ became his Lord and his Saviour: That I may win him; as the runner wins the prize, as the sailor makes the port he is bound for. The expression intimates that we have need to strive for him and after him, and that all is little enough to win him. 2. That he might be found in him (Phi 3:9), as the manslayer was found in the city of refuge, where he was safe from the avenger of blood, Num 35:25. Or it alludes to a judicial appearance; so we are to be found of our Judge in peace, 2Pe 3:14. We are undone without a righteousness wherein to appear before God, for we are guilty. There is a righteousness provided for us in Jesus Christ, and it is a complete and perfect righteousness. None can have interest or benefit by it but those who come off from confidence in themselves, and are brought heartily to believe in him. " Not having my own righteousness, which is of the law; not thinking that my outward observances and good deeds are able to atone for my bad ones, or that by setting the one over against the other I can come to balance accounts with God. No, the righteousness which I depend upon is that which is through the faith of Christ, not a legal, but evangelical righteousness: The righteousness which is of God by faith, ordained and appointed of God."The Lord Jesus Christ is the Lord our righteousness, Isa 45:24; Jer 23:6. Had he not been God, he could not have been our righteousness; the transcendent excellence of the divine nature put such a value upon, and such a virtue into, his sufferings, that they became sufficient to satisfy for the sins of the world, and to bring in a righteousness which will be effectual to all that believe. Faith is the ordained means of actual interest and saving benefit in all the purchase of his blood. It is by faith in his blood, Rom 3:25. 3. That he might know Christ (Phi 3:10): That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings. Faith is called knowledge, Isa 53:11. Knowing him here is believing in him: it is an experimental knowledge of the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, or feeling the transforming efficacy and virtue of them. Observe, The apostle was as ambitious of being sanctified as he was of being justified. He was as desirous to know the power of Christ's death and resurrection killing sin in him, and raising him up to newness of life, as he was to receive the benefit of Christ's death and resurrection in his justification. 4. That he might be conformable unto him, and this also is meant of his sanctification. We are then made conformable to his death when we die to sin, as Christ died for sin, when we are crucified with Christ, the flesh and affections of it mortified, and the world is crucified to us, and we to the world, by virtue of the cross of Christ. This is our conformity to his death.

II. The apostle had his heart upon heaven as his happiness: If by any means I might attain to the resurrection of the dead, Phi 3:11.

1. The happiness of heaven is here called the resurrection of the dead, because, though the souls of the faithful, when they depart, are immediately with Christ, yet their happiness will not be complete till the general resurrection of the dead at the last day, when soul and body shall be glorified together. Anastasis sometimes signifies the future state. This the apostle had his eye upon; this he would attain. There will be a resurrection of the unjust, who shall arise to shame and everlasting contempt; and our care must be to escape that: but the joyful and glorious resurrection of saints is called the resurrection, kat' exochēn - by eminence, because it is in virtue of Christ's resurrection, as their head and first-fruits; whereas the wicked shall rise only by the power of Christ, as their judge. To the saints it will be indeed a resurrection, a return to bliss, and life, and glory; while the resurrection of the wicked is a rising from the grave, but a return to a second death. It is called the resurrection of the just, and the resurrection of life (Joh 5:29), and they are counted worthy to obtain that world and the resurrection from the dead, Luk 20:35.

2. This joyful resurrection the apostle pressed towards. He was willing to do any thing, or suffer any thing, that he might attain that resurrection. The hope and prospect of it carried him with so much courage and constancy through all the difficulties he met with in his work. He speaks as if they were in danger of missing it, and coming short of it. A holy fear of coming short is an excellent means of perseverance. Observe, His care to be found in Christ was in order to his attaining the resurrection of the dead. Paul himself did not hope to attain it through his own merit and righteousness, but through the merit and righteousness of Jesus Christ. "Let me be found in Christ, that I may attain the resurrection of the dead, be found a believer in him, and interested in him by faith,"Observe,

(1.) He looks upon himself to be in a state of imperfection and trial: Not as though I had already attained, or were already perfect, Phi 3:12. Observe, The best men in the world will readily own their imperfection in the present state. We have not yet attained, are not already perfect; there is still much wanting in all our duties, and graces, and comforts. If Paul had not attained to perfection (who had reached to so high a pitch of holiness), much less have we. Again, Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended (Phi 3:13), ou logizomai . "I make this judgment of the case; I thus reason with myself."Observe, Those who think they have grace enough give proof that they have little enough, or rather that they have none at all; because, wherever there is true grace, there is a desire of more grace, and a pressing towards the perfection of grace.

(2.) What the apostle's actings were under this conviction. Considering that he had not already attained, and had not apprehended, he pressed forward: " I follow after (Phi 3:12), diōkō - I pursue with vigour, as one following after the game. I endeavour to get more grace and do more good, and never think I have done enough: If that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. "Observe, [1.] Whence our grace comes - from our being apprehended of Christ Jesus. It is not our laying hold of Christ first, but his laying hold of us, which is our happiness and salvation. We love him because he first loved us, 1Jo 4:19. Not our keeping hold of Christ, but his keeping hold of us, is our safety. We are kept by his mighty power through faith unto salvation, 1Pe 1:5. Observe, [2.] What the happiness of heaven is: it is to apprehend that for which we are apprehended of Christ. When Christ laid hold of us, it was to bring us to heaven; and to apprehend that for which he apprehended us is to attain the perfection of our bliss. He adds further (Phi 3:13): This one thing I do (this was his great care and concern), forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth to those things which are before. There is a sinful forgetting of past sins and past mercies, which ought to be remembered for the exercise of constant repentance and thankfulness to God. But Paul forgot the things which were behind so as not to be content with present measures of grace: he was still for having more and more. So he reaches forth, epekteinomenos - stretched himself forward, bearing towards his point: it is expressive of a vehement concern.

(3.) The apostle's aim in these actings: I press towards the mark, for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, Phi 3:14. He pressed towards the mark. As he who runs a race never takes up short of the end, but is still making forwards as fast as he can, so those who have heaven in their eye must still be pressing forward to it in holy desires and hopes, and constant endeavours and preparations. The fitter we grow for heaven the faster we must press towards it. Heaven is called here the mark, because it is that which every good Christian has in his eye; as the archer has his eye fixed upon the mark he designs to hit. For the prize of the high calling. Observe, A Christian's calling is a high calling: it is from heaven, as its original; and it is to heaven in its tendency. Heaven is the prize of the high calling; to brabeion - the prize we fight for, and run for, and wrestle for, what we aim at in all we do, and what will reward all our pains. It is of great use in the Christian course to keep our eye upon heaven. This is proper to give us measures in all our service, and to quicken us every step we take; and it is of God, from whom we are to expect it. Eternal life is the gift of God (Rom 6:23), but it is in Christ Jesus; through his hand it must come to us, as it is procured for us by him. There is no getting to heaven as our home but by Christ as our way.

Matthew Henry: Phi 3:15-16

The apostle, having proposed himself as an example, urges the Philippians to follow it. Let the same mind be in us which was in blessed Paul. We see here how he was minded; let us be like-minded, and set our hearts upon Christ and heaven, as he did. 1. He shows that this was the thing wherein all good Christians were agreed, to make Christ all in all, and set their hearts upon another world. This is that whereto we have all attained. However good Christians may differ in their sentiments about other things, this is what they are agreed in, that Christ is a Christian's all, that to win Christ and to be found in him involve our happiness both here and hereafter. And therefore let us walk by the same rule, and mind the same thing. Having made Christ our all, to us to live must be Christ. Let us agree to press towards the mark, and make heaven our end. 2. That this is a good reason why Christians who differ in smaller matters should yet bear with one another, because they are agreed in the main matter: " If in any thing you be otherwise minded - if you differ from one another, and are not of the same judgment as to meats and days, and other matters of the Jewish law - yet you must not judge one another, while you all meet now in Christ as your centre, and hope to meet shortly in heaven as your home. As for other matters of difference, lay no great stress upon them, God shall reveal even this unto you. Whatever it is wherein you differ, you must wait till God give you a better understanding, which he will do in his due time. In the mean time, as far as you have attained, you must go together in the ways of God, join together in all the great things in which you are agreed, and wait for further light in the minor things wherein you differ."

Matthew Henry: Phi 3:17-21

He closes the chapter with warnings and exhortations.

I. He warns them against following the examples of seducers and evil teachers (Phi 3:18, Phi 3:19): Many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ. Observe,

1. There are many called by Christ's name who are enemies to Christ's cross, and the design and intention of it. Their walk is a surer evidence what they are than their profession. By their fruits you shall know them, Mat 7:20. The apostle warns people against such, (1.) Very frequently: I have told you often. We so little heed the warnings given us that we have need to have them repeated. To write the same things is safe, Phi 3:1. (2.) Feelingly and affectionately: I now tell you weeping. Paul was upon proper occasions a weeping preacher, as Jeremiah was a weeping prophet. Observe, An old sermon may be preached with new affections; what we say often we may say again, if we say it affectionately, and are ourselves under the power of it.

2. He gives us the characters of those who were the enemies of the cross of Christ. (1.) Whose God is their belly. They minded nothing but their sensual appetites. A wretched idol it is, and a scandal for any, but especially for Christians, to sacrifice the favour of God, the peace of their conscience, and their eternal happiness to it. Gluttons and drunkards make a god of their belly, and all their care is to please it and make provision for it. The same observance which good people give to God epicures give to their appetites. Of such he says, They serve not the Lord Jesus Christ, but their own bellies, Rom 16:18. (2.) They glory in their shame. They not only sinned, but boasted of it and gloried in that of which they ought to have been ashamed. Sin is the sinner's shame, especially when it is gloried in. "They value themselves for what is their blemish and reproach."(3.) They mind earthly things. Christ came by his cross to crucify the world to us and us to the world; and those who mind earthly things act directly contrary to the cross of Christ, and this great design of it. They relish earthly things, and have no relish of the things which are spiritual and heavenly. They set their hearts and affections on earthly things; they love them, and even dote upon them, and have a confidence and complacency in them. He gives them this character, to show how absurd it would be for Christians to follow the example of such or be led away by them; and, to deter us all from so doing, he reads their doom. (4.) Whose end is destruction. Their way seems pleasant, but death and hell are at the end of it. What fruit had you then in those things whereof you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death, Rom 6:21. It is dangerous following them, though it is going down the stream; for, if we choose their way, we have reason to fear their end. Perhaps he alludes to the total destruction of the Jewish nation.

II. He proposes himself and his brethren for an example, in opposition to these evil examples: Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark those who walk as you have us for an example, Phi 3:17. Mark them out for your pattern. He explains himself (Phi 3:20) by their regard to Christ and heaven: For our conversation is in heaven. Observe, Good Christians, even while they are here on earth, have their conversation in heaven. Their citizenship is there, politeuma . As if he had said, We stand related the that world, and are citizens of the New Jerusalem. This world is not our home, but that is. There our greatest privileges and concerns lie. And, because our citizenship is there, our conversation is there; being related to that world, we keep up a correspondence with it. The life of a Christian is in heaven, where his head is, and his home is, and where he hopes to be shortly; he sets his affections upon things above; and where his heart is there will his conversation be. The apostle had pressed them to follow him and other ministers of Christ: "Why,"might they say, "you are a company of poor, despised, persecuted people, who make no figure, and pretend to no advantages in the world; who will follow you?""Nay,"says he, "but our conversation is in heaven. We have a near relation and a great pretension to the other world, and are not so mean and despicable as we are represented."It is good having fellowship with those who have fellowship with Christ, and conversation with those whose conversation is in heaven.

1. Because we look for the Saviour from heaven (Phi 3:20): Whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is not here, he has ascended, he has entered within the veil for us; and we expect his second coming thence, to gather in all the citizens of that New Jerusalem to himself.

2. Because at the second coming of Christ we expect to be happy and glorified there. There is good reason to have our conversation in heaven, not only because Christ is now there, but because we hope to be there shortly: Who shall change our vile bodies, that they may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, Phi 3:21. There is a glory reserved for the bodies of the saints, which they will be instated in at the resurrection. The body is now at the best a vile body, to sōma tēs tapeinōseōs hēmōn - the body of our humiliation: it has its rise and origin from the earth, it is supported out of the earth, and is subject to many diseases and to death at last. Besides, it is often the occasion and instrument of much sin, which is called the body of this death, Rom 7:24. Or it may be understood of its vileness when it lies in the grave; at the resurrection it will be found a vile body, resolved into rottenness and dust; the dust will return to the earth as it was, Ecc 12:7. But it will be made a glorious body; and not only raised again to life, but raised to great advantage. Observe, (1.) The sample of this change, and that is, the glorious body of Christ; when he was transfigured upon the mount, his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light, Mat 17:2. He went to heaven clothed with a body, that he might take possession of the inheritance in our nature, and be not only the first-born from the dead, but the first-born of the children of the resurrection. We shall be conformed to the image of his Son, that he may be the first-born among many brethren, Rom 8:29. (2.) The power by which this change will be wrought: According to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself. There is an efficacy of power, an exceeding greatness of power, and the working of mighty power, Eph 1:19. It is matter of comfort to us that he can subdue all things to himself, and sooner or later will bring over all into his interest. And the resurrection will be wrought by this power. I will raise him up at the last day, Joh 6:44. Let this confirm our faith of the resurrection, that we not only have the scriptures, which assure us it shall be, but we know the power of God, which can effect it, Mat 22:29. At Christ's resurrection was a glorious instance of the divine power, and therefore he is declared to be the Son of God with power, by the resurrection from the dead (Rom 1:4), so will our resurrection be: and his resurrection is a standing evidence, as well as pattern, of ours. And then all the enemies of the Redeemer's kingdom will be completely conquered. Not only he who had the power of death, that is, the devil (Heb 2:14), but the last enemy, shall be destroyed, that is, death, 1Co 15:26, shall be swallowed up in victory, 1Co 15:54.

Barclay: Phi 3:1 - "THE INDESTRUCTIBLE JOY"

Paul sets down two very important things.

(i) He sets down what we might call the indestructibility of Christian joy. He must have felt that he had been setting a high challenge before the Philippian Church. For them there was the possibility of the same kind of persecution, and even the same kind of death, as threatened himself. From one point of view it looked as if Christianity was a grim job. But in it and beyond it all there was joy. "Your joy," said Jesus, "no one will take from you" (Joh 16:22).

There is a certain indestructibility in Christian joy; and it is so, because Christian joy is in the Lord. Its basis is that the Christian lives for ever in the presence of Jesus Christ. He can lose all things, and he can lose all people, but he can never lose Christ. And, therefore, even in circumstances where joy would seem to be impossible and there seem to be nothing but pain and discomfort, Christian joy remains, because not all the threats and terrors and discomforts of life can separate the Christian from the love of God in Christ Jesus his Lord (Rom 8:35-39).

In 1756 a letter came to John Wesley from a father who had a prodigal son. When the revival swept England the son was in York jail. "It pleased God," wrote the father, "not to cut him off in his sins. He gave him time to repent; and not only so, but a heart to repent." The lad was condemned to death for his misdeeds; and the father's letter goes on: "His peace increased daily, till on Saturday, the day he was to die, he came out of the condemned-room, clothed in his shroud, and went into the cart. As he went on, the cheerfulness and composure of his countenance were amazing to all the spectators." The lad had found a joy which not even the scaffold could take away.

It often happens that men can stand the great sorrows and the great trials of life but are undone by what are almost minor inconveniences. But this Christian joy enables a man to accept even them with a smile. John Nelson was one of Wesley's most famous early preachers. He and Wesley carried out a mission in Cornwall, near Land's End, and Nelson tells about it. "All that time, Mr. Wesley and I lay on the floor: he had my greatcoat for a pillow, and I had Burkitt's notes on the New Testament for mine. After being here near three weeks, one morning about three o'clock Mr. Wesley turned over, and, finding me awake, clapped me on the side, saying: 'Brother Nelson, let us be of good cheer: I have one whole side yet, for the skin is off but on one side!' " They had little enough even to eat. One morning Wesley had preached with great effect: "As we returned, Mr. Wesley stopped his horse to pick the blackberries, saying: 'Brother Nelson, we ought to be thankful that there are plenty blackberries; for this is the best country I ever saw for getting a stomach, but the worst I ever saw for getting food!' " Christian joy made Wesley able to accept the great blows of life, and also to greet the lesser discomforts with a jest. If the Christian really walks with Christ, he walks with joy.

(ii) Here also Paul sets down what we might call the necessity of repetition. He says that he proposes to write things to them that he has written before. This is interesting, for it must mean that Paul had written other letters to the Philippians which have not survived. This is nothing to be surprised at. Paul was writing letters from A.D. 48 to A.D. 64, sixteen years, but we possess only thirteen. Unless there were long periods when he never put pen to paper there must have been many more letters which are now lost.

Like any good teacher, Paul was never afraid of repetition. It may well be that one of our faults is our desire for novelty. The great saving truths of Christianity do not change; and we cannot hear them too often. We do not tire of the foods which are the essentials of life. We expect to eat bread and to drink water every day; and we must listen again and again to the truth which is the bread and the water of life. No teacher must find it a trouble to go over and over again the great basic truths of the Christian faith; for that is the way to ensure the safety of his hearers. We may enjoy the "fancy things" at meat times, but it is the basic foods on which we live. Preaching and teaching and studying the side-issues may be attractive, and these have their place, but the fundamental truths can neither be spoken nor heard too often for the safety of our souls.

Barclay: Phi 3:2-3 - "THE EVIL TEACHERS"

Quite suddenly Paul's accent changes to that of warning. Wherever he taught, the Jews followed him and tried to undo his teaching. It was the teaching of Paul that we are saved by grace alone, that salvation is the free gift of God, that we can never earn it but can only humbly and adoringly accept what God has offered to us; and, further, that the offer of God is to all men of all nations and that none is excluded. It was the teaching of these Jews that, if a man wished to be saved, he must earn credit in the sight of God by countless deeds of the law; and, further that salvation belonged to the Jews and to no one else, and that, before God could have any use for him, a man must be circumcised and, as it were, become a Jew. Here Paul rounds upon these Jewish teachers who were seeking to undo his work. He calls them three things, carefully chosen to throw their claims back upon themselves.

(i) "Beware of the dogs," he says. With us the dog is a well-loved animal, but it was not so in the East in the time of Jesus. The dogs were the pariah dogs, roaming the streets, sometimes in packs, hunting amidst the garbage dumps and snapping and snarling at all whom they met. J. B. Lightfoot speaks of "the dogs which prowl about eastern cities, without a home and without an owner, feeding on the refuse and filth of the streets, quarrelling among themselves, and attacking the passer-by."

In the Bible the dog always stands for that than which nothing can be lower. When Saul is seeking to take his life, David's demand is: "After whom do you pursue? After a dead dog! after a flea!" (1Sa 24:14, compare 2Ki 8:13; Psa 22:16, Psa 22:20). In the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, part of the torture of Lazarus is that the street dogs annoy him by licking his sores (Luk 16:21). In Deuteronomy the Law brings together the price of a dog and the hire of a whore, and declares that neither must be offered to God (Deu 23:18). In Revelation the word dog stands for those who are so impure that they are debarred from the Holy City (Rev 22:15). That which is holy must never be given to dogs (Mat 7:6). It is the same in Greek thought; the dog stands for everything that is shamelessly unclean.

It was by this name that the Jews called the Gentiles. There is a Rabbinic saying, "The nations of the world are like dogs." So this is Paul's answer to the Jewish teachers. He says to them, "In your proud self-righteousness, you call other men dogs; but it is you who are dogs, because you shamelessly pervert the gospel of Jesus Christ." He takes the very name the Jewish teachers would have applied to the impure and to the Gentiles and flings it back at themselves. A man must always have a care that he is not himself guilty of the sins of which he accuses others.

(ii) He calls them evil workers, workers of evil things. The Jews would be quite sure that they were workers of righteousness. It was their view that to keep the Law's countless rules and regulations was to work righteousness. But Paul was certain that the only kind of righteousness there is comes from casting oneself freely upon the grace of God. The effect of their teaching was to take men further away from God instead of to bring them nearer to him. They thought they were working good, but in fact they were working evil. Every teacher must be more anxious to listen to God than to propagate his own opinions or he, too, will run the risk of being a worker of evil, even when he thinks that he is a worker of righteousness.

Barclay: Phi 3:2-3 - "THE ONLY TRUE CIRCUMCISION"

(iii) Lastly, he calls them, the party of mutilation. There is a pun in the Greek which is not transferable to English. There are two Greek verbs which are very like each other. Peritemnein (4059) means to circumcise; katatemnein means to mutilate, as in Lev 21:5, which describes forbidden self-mutilation, such as castration. Paul says, "You Jews think that you are circumcised; in point of fact, you are only mutilated."

What is the point of this? According to Jewish belief, circumcision was ordained upon Israel as sign and symbol that they were the people with whom God had entered into a special relationship. The story of the beginning of that sign is in Gen 17:9-10. When God entered into his special covenant with Abraham, circumcision was laid down as its eternal sign. Now, circumcision is only a sign in the flesh, something done to a man's body. But if a man is to be in special relationship with God, something far more is needed than a mark in his body. He must have a certain kind of mind and heart and character. This is where at least some of the Jews made the mistake. They regarded circumcision in itself as being enough to set them apart specially for God. Long, long before this, the great teachers and the great prophets had seen that circumcision of the flesh is by itself not nearly enough and that there was needed a spiritual circumcision. In Leviticus the sacred law-giver says that the uncircumcised hearts of Israel must be humbled to accept the punishment of God (Lev 26:41). The summons of the writer of Deuteronomy is: "Circumcise the foreskin of your heart and be no longer stubborn" (Deu 10:16). He says that the Lord will circumcise their hearts to make them love him (Deu 30:6). Jeremiah speaks of the uncircumcised ear, the ear that will not hear the word of God (Jer 6:10). The writer of Exodus speaks of uncircumcised lips (Exo 6:12).

So what Paul says is, "If you have nothing to show but circumcision of the flesh, you are not really circumcised--you are only mutilated. Real circumcision is devotion of heart and mind and life to God."

Therefore, says Paul, it is the Christians who are the truly circumcised. They are circumcised, not with the outward mark in the flesh, but with that inner circumcision of which the great law-givers and teachers and prophets spoke. What then are the signs of that real circumcision? Paul sets out three.

(i) We worship in the Spirit of God; or, we worship God in the Spirit. Christian worship is not a thing of ritual or of the observation of details of the Law; it is a thing of the heart. It is perfectly possible for a man to go through an elaborate liturgy and yet have a heart that is far away from God. It is perfectly possible for him to observe all the outward observances of religion and yet have hatred and bitterness and pride in his heart. The true Christian worships God, not with outward forms and observances, but with the true devotion and the real sincerity of his heart. His worship is love of God and service of men.

(ii) Our only boast is in Jesus Christ. The only boast of the Christian is not in what he has done for himself but in what Christ has done for him. His only pride is that he is a man for whom Christ died.

In the Cross of Christ I glory,

Towering o'er the wrecks of Time;

All the light of sacred story

Gathers round its head sublime.

(iii) We place no confidence in merely human things. The Jew placed his confidence in the physical badge of circumcision and in the performance of the duties of the Law. The Christian places his confidence only in the mercy of God and in the love of Jesus Christ. The Jew in essence trusted himself ; the Christian in essence trusts God.

The real circumcision is not a mark in the flesh; it is that true worship, that true glory, and that true confidence in the grace of God in Jesus Christ.

Barclay: Phi 3:4-7 - "THE PRIVILEGES OF PAUL"

Paul has just attacked the Jewish teachers and insisted that it is the Christians, not the Jews, who are the truly circumcised and covenant people. His opponents might have attempted to say, "But you are a Christian and do not know what you are talking about; you do not know what it is to be a Jew." So Paul sets out his credentials, not in order to boast but to show that he had enjoyed every privilege which a Jew could enjoy and had risen to every attainment to which a Jew could rise. He knew what it was to be a Jew in the highest sense of the term, and had deliberately abandoned it all for the sake of Jesus Christ. Every phrase in this catalogue of Paul's privileges has its special meaning; let us look at each one.

(i) He had been circumcised when he was eight days old. It had been the commandment of God to Abraham: "He that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you" (Gen 17:12); and that commandment had been repeated as a permanent law of Israel (Lev 12:3). By this claim Paul makes it clear that he is not an Ishmaelite, for the Ishmaelites were circumcised in their thirteenth year (Gen 17:25), nor a proselyte who had come late into the Jewish faith and been circumcised in manhood. He stresses the fact that he had been born into the Jewish faith and had known its privileges and observed its ceremonies since his birth.

(ii) He was of the race of Israel. When the Jews wished to stress their special relationship to God in its most unique sense it was the word Israelite that they used. Israel was the name which had been specially given to Jacob by God after his wrestling with him (Gen 32:28). It was to Israel that they in the most special sense traced their heritage. In point of fact the Ishmaelites could trace their descent to Abraham, for Ishmael was Abraham's son by Hagar; the Edomites could trace their descent to Isaac, for Esau, the founder of the Edomite nation, was Isaac's son; but it was the Israelites alone who could trace their descent to Jacob, whom God had called by the name of Israel. By calling himself an Israelite, Paul stressed the absolute purity of his descent.

(iii) He was of the tribe of Benjamin. That is to say, he was not only an Israelite; he belonged to the elite of Israel. The tribe of Benjamin had a special place in the aristocracy of Israel. Benjamin was the child of Rachel, the well-loved wife of Jacob, and of all the twelve patriarchs he alone had been born in the Promised Land (Gen 35:17-18). It was from the tribe of Benjamin that the first king of Israel had come (1Sa 9:1-2), and it was no doubt from that very king that Paul had been given his original name of Saul. When, under Rehoboam, the kingdom had been split up, ten of the tribes went off with Jeroboam and Benjamin was the only tribe which remained faithful with Judah (1Ki 12:21). When they returned from the exile, it was from the tribes of Benjamin and Judah that the nucleus of the reborn nation was formed (Ezr 4:1). The tribe of Benjamin had the place of honour in Israel's battle-line, so that the battle-cry of Israel was: "After thee, O Benjamin!" (Jdg 5:14; Hos 5:8). The great feast of Purim, which was observed every year with such rejoicing, commemorated the deliverance of which the Book of Esther tells, and the central figure of that story was Mordecai, a Benjaminite. When Paul stated that he was of the tribe of Benjamin, it was a claim that he was not simply an Israelite but that he belonged to the highest aristocracy of Israel. It would be the equivalent in England of saying that he came over with the Normans or in America that he traced his descent to the Pilgrim fathers.

So, then, Paul claims that from his birth he was a God-fearing, Law-observing Jew; that his lineage was as pure as Jewish lineage could be; and that he belonged to the most aristocratic tribe of the Jews.

Barclay: Phi 3:4-7 - "THE ATTAINMENTS OF PAUL"

So far Paul has been stating the privileges which came to him by birth; now he goes on to state his achievements in the Jewish faith.

(i) He was a Hebrew born of Hebrew parents. This is not the same as to say that he was a true Israelite. The point is this. The history of the Jews had dispersed them all over the world. In every town and in every city and in every country there were Jews. There were tens of thousands of them in Rome; and in Alexandria there were more than a million. They stubbornly refused to be assimilated to the nations amongst whom they lived; they retained faithfully their own religion and their own customs and their own laws. But it frequently happened that they forgot their own language. They became Greek-speaking of necessity because they lived and moved in a Greek environment. A Hebrew was a Jew who was not only of pure racial descent but who had deliberately, and often laboriously, retained the Hebrew tongue. Such a Jew would speak the language of the country in which he lived but also the Hebrew which was his ancestral language.

Paul claims not only to be a pure-blooded Jew but one who still spoke Hebrew. He had been born in the Gentile city of Tarsus, but he had come to Jerusalem to be educated at the feet of Gamaliel (Act 22:3) and was able, for instance, when the time came, to speak to the mob in Jerusalem in their own tongue (Act 21:40).

(ii) As far as the Law went, he was a trained Pharisee. This is a claim that Paul makes more than once (Act 22:3; Act 23:6; Act 26:5). There were not very many Pharisees, never more than six thousand, but they were the spiritual athletes of Judaism. Their very name means The Separated Ones. They had separated themselves off from all common life and from all common tasks in order to make it the one aim of their lives to keep every smallest detail of the Law. Paul claims that not only was he a Jew who had retained his ancestral religion, but he had also devoted his whole life to its most rigorous observance. No man knew better from personal experience what Jewish religion was at its highest and most demanding.

(iii) As far as zeal went, he had been a persecutor of the Church. To a Jew zeal was the greatest quality in the religious life. Phinehas had saved the people from the wrath of God, and been given an everlasting priesthood, because he was zealous for his God (Num 25:11-13). It is the cry of the Psalmist: "Zeal for thy house has consumed me." (Psa 69:9). A burning zeal for God was the hall-mark of Jewish religion. Paul had been so zealous a Jew that he had tried to wipe out the opponents of Judaism. That was a thing which he never forgot. Again and again he speaks of it (Act 22:2-21; Act 26:4-23; 1Co 15:8-10; Gal 1:13). He was never ashamed to confess his shame and to tell men that once he had hated the Christ whom now he loved and sought to obliterate the Church which now he served. It is Paul's claim that he knew Judaism at its most intense and even fanatical heat.

(iv) As for the righteousness which the Law could produce, he was blameless. The word is amemptos (273), and J. B. Lightfoot remarks that the verb memphesthai (3201), from which it comes, means to blame for sins of omission. Paul claims that there was no demand of the Law which he did not fulfil.

So Paul states his attainments. He was so loyal a Jew that he had never lost the Hebrew speech; he was not only a religious Jew, he was a member of their strictest and the most self-disciplined sect; he had had in his heart a burning zeal for what he had thought was the cause of God; and he had a record in Judaism in which no man could mark a fault.

All these things Paul might have claimed to set down on the credit side of the balance; but when he met Christ, he wrote them off as nothing more than bad debts. The things that he had believed to be his glories were in fact quite useless. All human achievement had to be laid aside, in order that he might accept the free grace of Christ. He had to divest himself of every human claim of honour that he might accept in complete humility the mercy of God in Jesus Christ.

So Paul proves to these Jews that he has the right to speak. He is not condemning Judaism from the outside. He had experienced it at its highest point; and he knew that it was nothing compared with the joy which Christ had given. He knew that the only way to peace was to abandon the way of human achievement and accept the way of grace.

Barclay: Phi 3:8-9 - "THE WORTHLESSNESS OF THE LAW AND THE VALUE OF CHRIST"

Paul has just said that he came to the conclusion that all his Jewish privileges and attainments were nothing but a total loss. But, it might be argued, that was a snap decision, perhaps later to be regretted and reversed. So here he says, "I came to that conclusion--and I still think so. It was not a decision made in a moment of impulse, but one by which I still stand fast."

In this passage the key-word is righteousness. Dikaiosune (1343) is always difficult to translate in Paul's letters. The trouble is not that of seeing its meaning; the trouble is that of finding one English word which covers all it includes. Let us then try to see what Paul thinks about when he speaks about righteousness.

The great basic problem of life is to find fellowship with God and to be at peace and in friendship with him. The way to that fellowship is through righteousness, through the kind of life and spirit and attitude to himself which God desires. Because of that, righteousness nearly always for Paul has the meaning of a right relationship with God. Remembering that, we try to paraphrase this passage and to set down, not so much what Paul says, as what was in his mind.

He says, "All my life I have been trying to get into a right relationship with God. I tried to find it by strict adherence to the Jewish Law; but I found the Law and all its ways worse than useless to achieve that end. I found it no better than skubala (4657)." Skubala has two meanings. In common language it was popularly derived from kusi (compare 2965) ballomena (906), which means that which is thrown to the dogs; and in medical language it means excrement, (dung, as the King James Version translates it). So, then, Paul is saying, "I found the Law and all its ways of no more use than the refuse thrown on the garbage heap to help me to get into a right relationship with God. So I gave up trying to create a goodness of my own; I came to God in humble faith, as Jesus told me to do, and I found that fellowship I had sought so long."

Paul had discovered that a right relationship with God is based not on Law but on faith in Jesus Christ. It is not achieved by any man but given by God; not won by works but accepted in trust.

So he says, "Out of my experience I tell you that the Jewish way is wrong and futile. You will never get into a right relationship with God by your own efforts in keeping the Law. You can get into a right relationship with God only by taking Jesus Christ at his word, and by accepting what God himself offers to you."

The basic thought of this passage is the uselessness of Law and the sufficiency of knowing Christ and accepting the offer of God's grace. The very language Paul uses to describe the Law--excrement--shows the utter disgust for the Law which his own frustrated efforts to live by it had brought him; and the joy that shines through the passage shows how triumphantly adequate he found the grace of God in Jesus Christ.

Barclay: Phi 3:10-11 - "WHAT IT MEANS TO KNOW CHRIST"

Paul has already spoken of the surpassing value of the knowledge of Christ. To that thought he now returns and defines more closely what he means. It is important to note the verb which he uses for to know. It is part of the verb ginoskein (1097), which almost always indicates personal knowledge. It is not simply intellectual knowledge, the knowledge of certain facts or even principles. It is the personal experience of another person. We may see the depth of this word from a fact of Old Testament usage. The Old Testament uses to know of sexual intercourse. "Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived and bore Cain" (Gen 4:1). In Hebrew the verb is yada' (03045) and in Greek it is translated by ginoskein (1097). This verb indicates the most intimate knowledge of another person. It is not Paul's aim to know about Christ, but personally to know him. To know Christ means for him certain things.

(i) It means to know the power of his Resurrection. For Paul the Resurrection was not simply a past event in history, however amazing. It was not simply something which had happened to Jesus, however important it was for him. It was a dynamic power which operated in the life of the individual Christian. We cannot know everything that Paul meant by this phrase; but the Resurrection of Christ is the great dynamic in at least three different directions.

(a) It is the guarantee of the importance of this life and of this body in which we live. It was in the body that Christ rose and it is this body which he sanctifies (1Co 6:13.).

(b) It is the guarantee of the life to come (Rom 8:11; 1Co 15:14.). Because he lives, we shall live also; his victory is our victory.

© It is the guarantee that in life and in death and beyond death the presence of the Risen Lord is always with us. It is the proof that his promise to be with us always to the end of the world is true.

The Resurrection of Christ is the guarantee that this life is worth living and that the physical body is sacred; it is the guarantee that death is not the end of life and that there is a world beyond; it is the guarantee that nothing in life or in death can separate us from him.

(ii) It means to know the fellowship of his sufferings. Again and again Paul returns to the thought that when the Christian has to suffer, he is in some strange way sharing the very suffering of Christ and is even filling up that suffering (2Co 1:5; 2Co 4:10-11; Gal 6:17; Col 1:24). To suffer for the faith is not a penalty, it is a privilege, for thereby we share the very work of Christ.

(iii) It means to be so united with Christ that day by day we come more to share in his death, so that finally we share in his Resurrection. To know Christ means that we share the way he walked; we share the Cross he bore; we share the death he died; and finally we share the life he lives for evermore.

To know Christ is not to be skilled in any theoretical or theological knowledge; it is to know him with such intimacy that in the end we are as united with him as we are with those whom we love on earth and that, as we share their experiences, so we also share his.

Barclay: Phi 3:12-16 - "PRESSING ON"

Vital to the understanding of this passage is the correct interpretation of the Greek word teleios (5046) which occurs twice, rendered by the Revised Standard Version as Perfect in Phi 3:12and as mature in Phi 3:15. Teleios (5046) in Greek has a variety of interrelated meanings. In by far the most of them it does not signify what we might call abstract perfection but a kind of functional perfection, adequacy for some given purpose. It means full-grown in contradistinction to undeveloped; for example, it is used of a full-grown man as opposed to an undeveloped youth. It is used to mean mature in mind and therefore means one who is qualified in a subject as opposed to a mere learner. When it is used of offerings, it means without blemish and fit to offer God. When it is used of Christians, it often means baptized persons who are full members of the Church, as opposed to those who are still under instruction. In the days of the early Church it is quite often used to describe martyrs. A martyr is said to be perfected by the sword, and the day of his death is said to be the day of his perfecting. The idea is that a man's Christian maturity cannot go beyond martyrdom.

So when Paul uses the word in Phi 3:12, he is saying that he is not by any means a complete Christian but is for ever pressing on. Then he uses two vivid pictures.

(i) He says that he is trying to grasp that for which he has been grasped by Christ. That is a wonderful thought. Paul felt that when Christ stopped him on the Damascus Road, he had a vision and a purpose for Paul; and Paul felt that all his life he was bound to press on, lest he fail Jesus and frustrate his dream. Every man is grasped by Christ for some purpose; and, therefore, every man should all his life press on so that he may grasp that purpose for which Christ grasped him.

(ii) To that end Paul says two things. He is forgetting the things which are behind. That is to say, he will never glory in any of his achievements or use them as an excuse for relaxation. In effect Paul is saying that the Christian must forget all that he has done and remember only what he has still to do. In the Christian life there is no room for a person who desires to rest upon his laurels. He is also reaching out for the things which are in front. The word he uses for reaching out (epekteinomenos, 1901) is very vivid and is used of a racer going hard for the tape. It describes him with eyes for nothing but the goal. It describes the man who is going flat out for the finish. So Paul says that in the Christian life we must forget every past achievement and remember only the goal which lies ahead.

There is no doubt that Paul is here speaking to the antinomians. They were those who denied that there was any law at all in the Christian life. They declared that they were within the grace of God and that, therefore, it did not matter what they did; God would forgive. No further discipline and no further effort were necessary. Paul is insisting that to the end of the day the Christian life is the life of an athlete pressing onwards to a goal which is always in front.

In Phi 3:15he again uses teleios (5046) and says that this must be the attitude of those who are teleios (5046). What he means is: "Anyone who has come to be mature in the faith and knows what Christianity is must recognize the discipline and the effort and the agony of the Christian life." He may perhaps think differently, but, if he is an honest man, God will make it plain to him that he must never relax his effort or lower his standards but must press towards the goal, until the end.

As Paul saw it, the Christian is the athlete of Christ.

Barclay: Phi 3:17-21 - "DWELLER ON EARTH BUT CITIZEN OF HEAVEN"

Few preachers would dare to make the appeal with which Paul begins this section. J. B. Lightfoot translates it: "Vie with each other in imitating me." Most preachers begin with the serious handicap that they have to say, not, "Do as I do," but, "Do as I say." Paul could say not only, "Listen to my words," but also, "Follow my example." It is worth noting in the passing that Bengel, one of the greatest interpreters of scripture who ever lived, translates this in a different way: "Become fellow-imitators with me in imitating Jesus Christ," but it is far more likely--as nearly all other interpreters are agreed--that Paul was able to invite his friends, not simply to listen to him, but also to imitate him.

There were in the Church at Philippi men whose conduct was an open scandal and who, by their lives, showed themselves to be the enemies of the Cross of Christ. Who they were is not certain. But it is quite certain that they lived gluttonous and immoral lives and used their so-called Christianity to justify themselves. We can only guess who they may have been.

They may have been Gnostics. The Gnostics were heretics who tried to intellectualize Christianity and make a kind of philosophy out of it. They began with the principle that from the beginning of time there had always been two realities--spirit and matter. Spirit, they said, is altogether good; and matter is altogether evil. It is because the world was created out of this flawed matter that sin and evil are in it. If then, matter is essentially evil, the body is essentially evil and will remain evil whatever you do with it. Therefore, do what you like with it; since it is evil anyhow it makes no difference what you do with it. So these Gnostics taught that gluttony and adultery and homosexuality and drunkenness were of no importance because they affect only the body which is of no importance.

There was another party of Gnostics who held a different kind of doctrine. They argued that a man could not be called complete until he had experienced everything that life had to offer, both good and bad. Therefore, they said, it was a man's duty to plumb the depths of sin just as much as to scale the heights of virtue.

Within the Church there were two sets of people to whom these accusations might apply. There were those who distorted the principle of Christian liberty. They said that in Christianity all law was gone and that the Christian had liberty to do what he liked. They turned Christian liberty into unchristian licence and gloried in giving their passions full play. There were those who distorted the Christian doctrine of grace. They said that, since grace was wide enough to cover every sin, a man could sin as he liked and not worry; it would make no difference to the all-forgiving love of God.

So the people whom Paul attacks may have been the clever Gnostics who produced specious arguments to justify their sinning or they may have been misguided Christians who twisted the loveliest things into justification for the ugliest sins.

Whoever they were, Paul reminds them of one great truth: "Our citizenship," he says, "is in heaven." Here was a picture the Philippians could understand. Philippi was a Roman colony. Here and there at strategic military centres the Romans set down their colonies. In such places the citizens were mostly soldiers who had served their time--twenty-one years--and who had been rewarded with full citizenship. The great characteristic of these colonies was that, wherever they were, they remained fragments of Rome. Roman dress was worn; Roman magistrates governed; the Latin tongue was spoken; Roman justice was administered; Roman morals were observed. Even in the ends of the earth they remained unshakeably Roman. Paul says to the Philippians, "Just as the Roman colonists never forget that they belong to Rome, you must never forget that you are citizens of heaven; and your conduct must match your citizenship."

Paul finishes with the Christian hope. The Christian awaits the coming of Christ, at which everything will be changed. Here the King James Version is dangerously misleading. In Phi 3:21it speaks about our vile body. In modern speech that would mean that the body is an utterly evil and horrible thing; but vile in sixteenth-century English still retained the meaning of its derivation from the Latin word vilis which in fact means nothing worse than cheap, valueless. As we are just now, our bodies are subject to change and decay, illness and death, the bodies of a state of humiliation compared with the glorious state of the Risen Christ; but the day will come when we will lay aside this mortal body which we now possess and become like Jesus Christ himself. The hope of the Christian is that the day will come when his humanity will be changed into nothing less than the divinity of Christ, and when the necessary lowliness of mortality will be changed into the essential splendour of deathless life.

Constable: Phi 1:27--4:10

III. Partnership in the gospel 1:27--4:9

Paul had been saying he hoped to be able to revisit Philippi and to minister to his original readers again in person. However, he was not sure that he could do that. This uncertain state of affairs led him to exhort them now that he had the opportunity. Whether he came to them or not, their duty was the same. In the following verses he emphasized the importance of certain qualities essential to conduct worthy of the Lord. He did this so his readers would perceive the importance of these traits and give them proper attention.

Constable: Phi 3:1--4:2

2. Walking in steadfastness 3:1-4:1

Paul now turned to the second major quality that he introduced in 1:27-30, namely steadfastness in the face of opposition to the gospel (cf. 1:7, 28). He had introduced the idea of joy in the face of opposition earlier (1:19, 28-30; 2:17-18). He would discuss how to face overt persecution later (4:4-9).

There were two main sources of opposition that the Philippians faced as they sought to have fellowship with Paul in the proclamation of the gospel. Paul dealt with both of these. However, he began with a charge to rejoice in the Lord and ended this section with a summary exhortation.

Constable: Phi 3:1

The introductory charge to rejoice in the Lord 3:1

Having created joy in his readers by referring to the sterling examples of Timothy and Epaphroditus, Paul warned them about certain other people who professed to be servants of God.

He introduced this section of his epistle with a transitional statement. "Finally" (Gr. to loipon) introduces such a statement here as well as elsewhere (cf. 1 Cor. 1:16; 4:2; 2 Cor. 13:1; 1 Thess. 4:1; 2 Thess. 3:1; Gal. 6:17). Usually this word does not mark a conclusion so much as a transition on the way to a conclusion.⁹⁸ It introduces what remains to be said.⁹⁹ Anyone who has listened to much preaching knows that Christian communicators often say "finally" long before the message ends.

The apostle's primary exhortation here was that his readers should rejoice in the Lord. They might rejoice in Epaphroditus' return, or in his recovery, or in Paul's prospect of release and return to Philippi. All of these were legitimate though less important reasons for rejoicing. We have noticed the consistent emphasis on joy and rejoicing that has marked this letter so far (1:3, 4, 18, 25; 2:1, 2, 17, 18, 19, 28, 29; cf. 4:1, 4, 10, 18). Joy is the prevailing mood of Philippians, but it is not its major theme. Paul gave the importance of rejoicing special emphasis here. Regardless of circumstances the Christian can and should always rejoice in the person and work of Jesus Christ. He is the basis of true joy and the sphere in which it thrives.¹⁰⁰

False teachers can rob Christians of joy. Paul proceeded to deal with this threat in the rest of this chapter.

He introduced his comments by assuring his readers that he did not regard the need to warn them as a burden even though he had already instructed them on this subject. Paul may have been alluding to what he had just written about unbelievers who opposed the Philippians' witness (1:27-30). He may have been referring to previous instruction he had given them in person or in writing. Further exhortation would be an additional safeguard against their capitulating because of this evil influence.

Constable: Phi 3:2-4

The Judaizing danger 3:2-4a

Paul proceeded to deal with a significant group of antagonists that the Philippians faced.

3:2 Jesus and other prophets used the term "dogs" to refer to opponents of God's truth (Matt. 7:6; cf. Deut. 23:18; 1 Sam. 17:43; 24:14; Prov. 26:11; Isa. 56:10-11). The Jews habitually referred to Gentiles contemptuously as dogs (cf. Matt. 15:21-28). In ancient times many dogs were unclean, wild, vicious animals that threatened the safety of everyone.

"Paul now hurls this term of contempt back on the heads of its authors' . . ., for to Paul the Jews were the real pariahs that defile the holy community, the Christian church, with their erroneous teaching."¹⁰¹

"This metaphor is full of bite,' . . . Paul thus reverses the epithet; by trying to make Gentiles clean' through circumcision, the Judaizers are unclean dogs.'"¹⁰²

The phrase "evil workers" (NABS) stresses the evil character of their labors. However "false circumcision" (NASB) or "mutilators of the flesh" (NIV, cf. Gal. 5:12) gives us the most insight into exactly whom Paul had in mind.

These were evidently the Judaizers that plagued Paul and his converts throughout his ministry.¹⁰³ They taught that people could only enter the church through the vestibule of Judaism, and that once inside they needed to submit to the Mosaic Law.¹⁰⁴ They emphasized circumcision because it was the rite that brought a person into Judaism, which they viewed as a prerequisite to justification (cf. Acts 15:1). False circumcision refers to circumcision for the wrong reasons, namely circumcision contrary to the revelation of God in Scripture.

3:3 The Philippians and Paul, and all true believers, belong to a different camp, that of the true circumcision. Paul was referring to the circumcision of the heart that happens when a person trusts in Jesus Christ. The alternative is trusting in self and in rite-keeping for salvation (Rom. 2:25-29; Col. 2:11, 13; cf. Lev. 26:41; Deut. 10:16; 30:6; Jer. 4:4; Ezek. 44:7).¹⁰⁵

Paul used three terms to describe the false teachers (v. 2). He used three others to characterize the true circumcision. We worship (Gr. latreuein) God in the Spirit. The alternative is going through certain physical rituals (cf. John 4:23-24). Probably Paul meant that the Holy Spirit initiates worship with the result that love and service result (cf. John 14:17).¹⁰⁶ Those who rely on rites and ceremonies to make themselves acceptable to God do not have the Spirit of God. They are not believers in the gospel.

Second, we glory in Christ Jesus. That is, we look to Him as the one who makes us acceptable to God rather than looking to works (cf. Jer. 9:23-24; 1 Cor. 1:31; 2 Cor. 10:17). We focus on Him and find our satisfaction in Him because He is our Savior.

Third, we put no confidence in the flesh to make us acceptable to God. The New Testament writers used the term "flesh" (Gr. sarx) in a literal and in a metaphorical sense. Literally it refers to our bodies (Luke 24:39). Figuratively it refers to human nature (John 1:14) and to sinful human nature (cf. Rom. 7:5; 8:9, 19). Here Paul probably meant our lower unredeemed nature that is not inherently bad but the target of sin's attack and the occasion of our becoming sin's victim.¹⁰⁷ We do not have confidence that anything we do to our bodies will make us acceptable to God but realize that trusting in Jesus Christ is what is necessary. Yet primarily we have no confidence in what we are by nature to make us acceptable to God. We understand that we cannot save ourselves. We acknowledge that God must save us.

3:4a Paul proceeded to explain to the Philippians why he had spoken so harshly against the Jews (vv. 4-11). The apostle rejected confidence in the flesh because it cannot provide the righteousness that God requires (v. 9). He possessed what the Judaizers claimed was essential, namely circumcision, but he did not trust in it for salvation.

Constable: Phi 3:4-6

Paul's privileged position 3:4b-6

3:4b For the sake of the argument Paul adopted the Judaizers' attitude of confidence in the flesh. He did this to show that his rejection of Jewish advantages was not because he lacked them.¹⁰⁸

3:5 Circumcision of the flesh was one thing that the Judaizers trusted in for acceptance by God. Paul had been circumcised on the eighth day after his birth as the Law of Moses prescribed (Lev. 12:3; cf. Gen. 17:12). He had not received circumcision later in life as many people did who converted to Judaism (e.g., Acts 16:3).

Paul was also an Israelite by birth, not a Gentile Jewish proselyte.

Furthermore he was a member of the tribe of Benjamin. Benjamin was the younger of the two sons born to Jacob's favorite wife, Rachel. Benjamin was the only son of Jacob who was born in the Promised Land. The tribe of Benjamin provided many noble warriors throughout Israel's history (cf. Hos. 5:8). Israel's first lawful king came from Benjamin. Jerusalem and the temple stood within Benjamin's territory. This tribe alone, beside Judah, remained loyal to David's house when the monarchy divided. The feast of Purim celebrated the salvation of the Jews by a Benjamite, Mordecai. After the Exile, Benjamin and Judah formed the core of the restoration community. Of course, this tribe's history was not without its shame as well (e.g., Saul's failures, the Gibeans' atrocity that led to the civil war that almost wiped this tribe out, etc.). Nevertheless Paul could legitimately take pride in his Benjamite heritage.

A "Hebrew of Hebrews" means that Paul's parents brought him up as a strict Jew. Specifically he learned the Hebrew language and studied the Old Testament in the original tongue, not like so many other Jews of the Diaspora who could only speak and read Aramaic.

Paul had chosen to join the party of the Pharisees, the most orthodox of the sects within Judaism in his day. The Pharisees were punctilious in their observance of the Mosaic Law.¹⁰⁹

"Not content merely to obey the Law of Moses, the Pharisees bound themselves also to observe every one of the myriad of commandments contained in the oral Law, the interpretive traditions of the Scribes. The most ardent of the Pharisees scrupulously avoided even accidental violations of the Law and did more than they were commanded to do . . . . Paul, a son of Pharisees (Acts 23:6), and a disciple of the great Pharisee, Gamaliel (Acts 5:34; 22:3), chose to be a Pharisee himself and set himself to be the most earnest of the earnest observers of the Jewish Law (Gal 1:14). Pharisee' for Paul was not a term of reproach, but a title of honor, a claim to the highest degree of faithfulness and sincerity in the fulfilment [sic] of duty to God as prescribed by the divine Torah' (Beare)."¹¹⁰

3:6 He had been a zealous promoter of Judaism even to the point of persecuting Christians to death. He had been an outstanding Pharisee.

Paul's obedience to the Law of Moses as it regulated external behavior had been without blame (Gr. amemptos, cf. 2:15). Clearly Paul was not claiming that he had done all that God required in the Law. Had this been true of him he would not have put Christians to death. However, he was very conscientious about what the Law required.

"Like most religious' people today, Paul had enough morality to keep him out of trouble, but not enough righteousness to get him into heaven! It was not bad things that kept Paul away from Jesus--it was good things! He had to lose his religion' to find salvation."¹¹¹

Constable: Phi 3:7

Paul's self-humbling 3:7

Paul formerly regarded all these things that he possessed and others as contributing to God's acceptance of him. Yet he had come to learn on the Damascus road and since then that such fleshly "advantages" did not improve his position with God. Rather they constituted hindrances because the more of them that Paul had the more convinced he was that God would accept him for his works sake. Each of his fleshly advantages strengthened his false hope of salvation.

"While Christ did not consider God-likeness to accrue to his own advantage, but made himself nothing,' so Paul now considers his former gain' as loss' for the surpassing worth of knowing Christ. As Christ was found' in human likeness,' Paul is now found in Christ,' knowing whom means to be conformed' (echoing the morphe of a slave, 2:7) to his death (2:8). Finally, as Christ's humiliation was followed by God's glorious' vindication of him, so present suffering' for Christ's sake will be followed by glory' in the form of resurrection. As he has appealed to the Philippians to do, Paul thus exemplifies Christ's mindset,' embracing suffering and death. This is what it means to know Christ,' to be found in him' by means of his gift of righteousness; and as he was raised and exalted to the highest place, so Paul and the Philippian believers, because they are now conformed to Christ' in his death, will also be conformed' to his glory."¹¹²

Constable: Phi 3:8-11

Paul's greater goal 3:8-11

3:8 Paul had regarded his advantages over other people as what put him in a specially good position with God. However, he had come to realize that absolutely nothing apart from Jesus Christ's work on the cross was of any value in his gaining God's acceptance. No good works improve our standing before God. They are all as filthy rags (Isa. 64:6). Consequently Paul came to regard them as "rubbish." From then on he continued to take this view of things.

The Greek word translated "rubbish" (skybalon) occurs only here in the New Testament. Its derivation is uncertain, but it appears to have referred to excrement, food gone bad, scraps left over after a meal, and refuse. In extrabiblical Greek it describes a half-eaten corpse and lumps of manure.¹¹³ Thus Paul meant that his former advantages were not only worthless but strongly offensive and potentially dangerous.

What he had learned to value was Christ Jesus his Lord. Consequently coming to know Christ, entering into a deeper and fuller appreciation of His person and work, was of primary importance to Paul. This knowledge (Gr. gnosis) is the kind that one obtains only by personal relationship. It is different from the knowledge we gain through objective academic study (Gr. oida), though information is part of our growing personal knowledge of Christ. To gain this fuller knowledge of Christ Paul had let everything else in life go. To use the language of 2:6, Paul did not regard anything else in life worthy of retaining. All he wanted was a fuller and deeper experiential appreciation of his Savior.

"You and I know about many people, even people who lived centuries ago, but we know personally very few."¹¹⁴

3:9 Paul's vision turned again to the future and the judgment seat of Christ. He had made his choices in life since his conversion because of the essential value of getting to know Christ better and because God would evaluate his life one day. On that day Paul wanted to be found "in Him," namely standing in the merit of Christ rather than in his own merit. His own merit rested on his own righteousness as the Mosaic Law defined it. The merit of Christ is His righteousness that God credits to the believer's account when we place our trust in Him (cf. Rom. 3:20-23). This righteousness comes to us "through faith" in Christ, and it comes to us "on the basis of" (or "by," NIV) "faith" from God.

"Faith' is the very opposite of human works; it is the reception of God's work by those who acknowledge the futility of their own efforts to attain righteousness."¹¹⁵

3:10 This verse resumes the thought of knowing Christ in verse 8. The tense of the Greek infinitive tou gnonai ("to know") is aorist, probably an ingressive aorist, which sums up the action of the verb at the point where it begins.

"It suggests that for Paul just the coming to know Christ outweighs all other values, that for him the significance of Christ, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge' (Col 2:3), is so vast that even to begin to know him is more important than anything else in all the world."¹¹⁶

Among all the other things that Paul wanted to learn in His relationship with Christ, he mentioned first the power of Christ's resurrection. Paul probably did not mean that he wanted to experience resurrection supernaturally as Jesus Christ had done. He knew that if he died he would experience such a resurrection. He probably meant that he wanted the power that resurrected His Savior and was within himself because of the indwelling Christ to manifest itself in his life for God's glory (cf. Rom 6:4; Col. 3:1; Eph. 2:5-6).

Paul also wanted to grow in his experiential knowledge of the fellowship of Christ's sufferings. He did not mean that by suffering in the service of His Lord he could add to the merit of Christ's sufferings. Such an idea is completely foreign to biblical teaching (cf. Heb. 10:14). Rather he saw suffering for the sake of Christ as only fair since the Savior had suffered so much for him. The Christian who suffers because of his or her faithful testimony for Christ can enter into Jesus' feelings when He suffered for faithfully obeying His Father. There is a fellowship in that kind of suffering (cf. Rom. 6:8; Gal. 2:19-20). A believer who never suffers for the Lord's sake cannot do that.

The last phrase in this verse modifies the fellowship of Christ's sufferings. Complete dedication to the will of God, which resulted in Jesus' sufferings and which will result in the believer's suffering, means death ultimately. It means death to one's own agenda for life (Rom. 6:4-11), and it may result in physical death. Death is a grim prospect, but Paul did not have a morbid, unhealthy fascination with suffering and death for its own sake. He so loved Jesus Christ that he wished to share all aspects of His life, to know Him as intimately as he could. He even was willing to follow Him into the valley of the shadow of death.

"Christian life is cruciform in character; God's people, even as they live presently through the power made available through Christ's resurrection, are as their Lord forever marked by the cross."¹¹⁷

3:11 This verse does not contain a purpose clause as the NASB translation "in order that" implies. A better translation would be "if somehow" (NASB margin) or "and so, somehow" (NIV). It expresses expectation.

Superficially this verse seems to suggest that Paul had some doubt about the certainty of his resurrection. However elsewhere in his writings he was very confident that God would resurrect him and all believers (e.g., Rom. 8:11, 23; 1 Cor. 6:14; 15:12-57; 2 Cor. 4:14; 5:1-5; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; 2 Tim. 2:18). The Bible teaches that God will resurrect all people, believers and unbelievers, if they have died (e.g., Dan. 12:2; Matt. 22:29-32; Luke 20:37-38; John 6:39-40, 44, 54; 11:25; Acts 4:2; 17:18; 23:6; 24:15; Heb. 6:2; Rev. 20:4-6, 13). Consequently we must look for another explanation of this verse.

"Now, if Paul believed in one general resurrection at the end in which all people, the saved and lost, would participate, it is difficult to understand his use of this language in relation to his personal participation. There would be no question of his being a part of such a resurrection."¹¹⁸

One possibility is that Paul was thinking of his spiritual co-resurrection with Christ.¹¹⁹ In the context he had been speaking of his suffering and dying with Him. Yet these were evidently physical experiences, not spiritual realities. Furthermore the resurrection he said he hoped to attain was still future whereas he had already experienced spiritual resurrection with Christ to newness of life (Rom. 6:1-11).

Another view is that Paul was hoping that he would persevere faithfully in his quest to know Christ until he died. The logical progression in Paul's thought in verses 10 and 11 was from suffering to death to resurrection. Perhaps he meant he wanted to experience suffering for Christ's sake and was even willing to die for Him to arrive at his resurrection in a manner that would enable him to face His master unashamed.¹²⁰ The problem with this view is the unusual word used for the resurrection (Gr. exanastasin, lit. out-resurrection).

The words that Paul used seem to indicate that he was thinking of a resurrection from among those who were dead.¹²¹ The NASB translators captured this idea when they rendered this phrase "the resurrection from among the dead." The NIV translators simply translated it "the resurrection from the dead."¹²² This would point to the resurrection of believers that will result in Christians rising from among the unbelieving dead. However this is not a resurrection that Christians need to strive to attain. God will provide it for all believers.¹²³

Paul may have been speaking of the Rapture.¹²⁴ When that event takes place God will snatch dead Christians' bodies out from among other corpses. This would explain the unusual word Paul employed that appears only here in the Greek New Testament.

"Perhaps he was using this word to refer to the Rapture, thus expressing the hope that the Lord would return during his lifetime."¹²⁵

In other words Paul meant that he hoped he would live to experience the Rapture, the "out-resurrection from among the dead," rather than dying. The verb katavtao ("attain") means to come to, to arrive at, or to attain to something.

Another view is that Paul hoped he would arrive at and participate in the resurrection that will happen at the Rapture rather than experiencing translation while still alive. To do this he would have to die before the Rapture. Maybe the apostle wanted to die and experience resurrection rather than translation because if he experienced resurrection he could better share the experiences of his Savior. Paul evidently expected the Rapture to happen before he died (1 Thess. 4:16-17). Perhaps he wanted to die before the Rapture. This may have been another dilemma for him in which he saw advantages in either case (cf. 1:23-24). This view seems unlikely, however, since elsewhere Paul spoke of death as an enemy that everyone seeks to avoid (1 Cor. 15:54-57).

Another possibility is that Paul meant faithful Christians will experience a better resurrection than unfaithful believers.

"The out-resurrection is a special reward which only faithful believers will receive. While the exact nature of that reward is unclear here, it can generally be understood as a sort of abundance of life. All believers will be resurrected and have joy forever. Faithful believers only will obtain this out-resurrection and have abundance of joy forever. Hebrews 11:35 is instructive here. It speaks of believers who were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection.' All believers will be resurrected, but there is a better one for those who endure. Obviously this out-resurrection is something which is capable of many degrees depending on the measure of one's faithfulness. Thus the degree to which we are faithful to use our talents, treasures, gifts, abilities, resources, and opportunities in life to please Him is the degree to which we will obtain this out-resurrection abundance of life."¹²⁶

There is no question that there will be differences of rewards at the judgment seat of Christ (1 Cor. 3:12-15). However there is no other Scripture that teaches a difference in the resurrection of faithful and unfaithful believers. It seems strange that if Paul wanted to distinguish between faithful and unfaithful believers here he would use the resurrection to do so. Other Scripture points to the judgment seat of Christ as the time when God will make this distinction, not the resurrection. Moreover the term "out-resurrection" seems to stress separation from others at the time of resurrection rather than separation from others following resurrection.

Robert Wilkin, the writer quoted above, later changed his view and adopted the "spiritual resurrection view."

"The spiritual resurrection view posits that the out-resurrection refers to the attainment of Christlike character in this life."¹²⁷

However exanastasis seems to be a very unusual word to use to describe the attainment of Christlike character. I prefer the view that the "out-resurrection" refers to the Rapture.

Constable: Phi 3:12-14

Paul's persistent zeal 3:12-14

3:12 Paul had said that he had not already grasped the intimate knowledge of His Savior that he sought to obtain (v. 10). He did not want his readers to understand him as saying that his conversion brought him into the intimate personal relationship with Christ that he desired. At conversion his views about what is important in life changed drastically, however. He did not believe he was perfect. There are some Christians who believe that after conversion they do not sin (cf. 1 John 1:6-10).

Paul realized his responsibility to pursue greater personal experiential knowledge of Christ, intimacy with Christ, conformity to Christ, and holiness. One of the reasons that God has saved us is that we might enjoy fellowship with Christ (John 15; 1 John 1:1-3). Practical sanctification does not come automatically by faith as justification and glorification do. We must pursue it diligently by following the Lord (vv. 13-15; cf. Gal. 5:16; 2 Pet. 1:5-11).

"To know the incomprehensible greatness of Christ demands a lifetime of arduous inquiry."¹²⁸

"A divine dissatisfaction is essential for spiritual progress."¹²⁹

3:13 Again Paul disclaimed having attained conformity to Christ. He viewed his experience as similar to a runner's. He did not look back. The apostle did not mean that he refused to remember things that had happened to him in the past. He had just reviewed some of those things. He meant that he did not rest in his heritage (vv. 5-7) or in his past attainments (vv. 9-12). He had abandoned the unworthy goal that he had pursued in the past. Now he had a new goal toward which he was looking and running.

"Forget those wrongs done, e.g. the persecution of the church (v 6), and so on, whose memory could paralyze one with guilt and despair. Forget, too, those attainments so far achieved as a Christian, the recollection of which might cause one to put life into neutral and to say, I have arrived.' Forget in such a way that the past, good or bad, will have no negative bearing on one's present spiritual growth or conduct."¹³⁰

3:14 Paul's goal (Gr. skopos, lit. goal marker, the post at the end of the course on which the runner fixes his gaze) was complete knowledge of Christ. He would receive a prize when he reached that goal. He would only reach that goal when he entered the Lord's presence and saw Him face to face (1 John 3:2-3). Nevertheless he pursued the goal while living on the earth because he wanted to get to know the Lord as well as possible before dying.

The prize would come at the end of the race, when he had attained the goal, but not before then. Therefore "the prize of the upward call" probably does not refer to the Rapture. There is another reason this is not a proper identification. The Rapture is not a reward. God will catch up (rapture) into heaven every living Christian regardless of how he or she has run the race (1 Cor. 15:51-52; 1 Thess. 4:15-17). The prize probably refers to the reward faithful believers will receive at the judgment seat of Christ (2 Cor. 5:10). God has called every believer to salvation so we may obtain that prize. However only those who run the race as Paul did, namely to gain an ever increasing experiential knowledge of Christ, will obtain it (1 Cor. 9:24).

"Each believer is on the track; each has a special lane in which to run; and each has a goal to achieve. If we reach the goal the way God has planned, then we receive a reward. If we fail, we lose the reward, but we do not lose our citizenship."¹³¹

"In keeping with the vivid imagery drawn from the Greek games that pervades this section there is still another explanation of the upward call' that seems the most reasonable explanation of all. It sees in the expression tes ano kleseos ["the upward call"] an allusion to the fact that the Olympian games, which included foot-races, where organized and presided over by agonothetes, highly respected officers called Hellenodikai. After each event they had a herald announce the name of the victor, his father's name and his country, and the athlete or charioteer would come and receive a palm branch at their hands' (G. Glotz, Hellenodikai,' in C. Daremberg and E. Saglio [eds.], Dictionnaire des antiqus grecques et romaines [Paris: Hachette, 1900-1963] 3,1, 60-64). This is the call to which Paul is now alluding (Collange)."¹³²

Constable: Phi 3:15-17

Paul's charge to adopt his attitude 3:15-17

3:15 In conclusion, Paul urged those who were mature among his readers to recognize that what he had said was true. He also promised that God would enlighten those who think differently about minor matters if their attitude was right.

"The sentence is thus predicated on their mutual friendship and mutual trust, which is so secure that Paul can simply leave it in God's hands to reveal' to them what further understanding they may need on matters wherein they might not be ready fully to agree with him."¹³³

"Perfect" (NASB) means "mature" (NIV, Gr. teleios). It does not mean sinless. In verse 12 Paul used the same root word and claimed he was not perfect. Probably there he meant that he was not absolutely perfect or mature, and here he meant that he was relatively mature compared to the immature.¹³⁴ He may have been using "perfect" here somewhat ironically.

". . . for the time being true Christian perfection consists only in striving for perfection.'"¹³⁵

3:16 All Christians, but especially the immature who are in view here, need to maintain a consistent life in harmony with our understanding of God's truth. We should not wait until we have a complete knowledge of what God has revealed to put into practice what we do understand.

3:17 This verse is transitional. It applies equally well to what precedes and to what follows.

Paul's advice might appear to some as egocentric. Nonetheless the reason he encouraged others to follow his example was that he was following Christ (cf. 1 Cor. 11:1). Those who walked after Paul's pattern of life included Timothy and Epaphroditus. In Philippians Paul typically gave warnings and then followed them up with encouragements in the form of good examples.

"At issue throughout is living a cruciform existence, discipleship marked by the cross and evidenced by suffering on behalf of Christ."¹³⁶

Paul introduced this section with an exhortation to rejoice (v. 1) and a warning against Judaizing false teachers who would rob the readers of their joy (v. 2). He then explained his own view of the Christian life (vv. 3-14) and gave a final admonition to adopt his attitude (vv. 15-17). This was appropriate since his view differed radically from what the Judaizers taught, and it expressed the mind of Christ (2:5-11).

Paul had previously used the examples of Jesus Christ (2:5-11), himself (2:17-18), Timothy (2:19-24), and Epaphroditus (2:25-30) to challenge his readers. In this section his own example encourages us again to make Jesus Christ the focus of our lives. Many Christians are not very effective because they try to do too many different things. Paul had one clearly defined goal in relation to Christ: to get to know His Savior better and better.

Constable: Phi 3:18-19

The antinomian danger 3:18-19

Another threat to the joy and spiritual development of the Philippians was people who advocated lawless living. This is, of course, the opposite extreme from what the Judaizers taught (v. 2). Paul warned his readers of this danger next. These verses give the reason for Paul's exhortation in verse 17.

3:18 Who these enemies were becomes clear in the next verse. Here we learn that there were many of them though they were probably not in the Philippian church or Paul would probably have addressed them differently. These individuals caused the apostle much grief because they misled Christians. Perhaps he described them as enemies of the cross because what they taught was contrary to the spirit of obedience to God that had led Jesus to the cross (cf. v. 10).

3:19 The context does not specify whether these people were Christians or not, but antinomianism was common among both groups in Paul's day as it is today.¹³⁷ Consequently we should probably understand "destruction" in a general sense. The same Greek word (apoleia) occurs in 1:28 where it probably refers to unbelievers and eternal destruction. Nevertheless believers can experience premature death as discipline if they continue to resist the will of God (Acts 5:1-11; 1 Cor. 11:30; 1 John 5:16).

Three characteristics mark these people (cf. vv. 2-3). First, they give free rein to the satisfaction of their sensual appetites and do not restrain the flesh (cf. Rom. 16:18; 1 Cor. 6:13; Jude 11). Second, they find satisfaction and take pride in things that they do that should cause them shame (cf. Eph. 5:12). Third, they involve themselves almost totally in physical and material things, things pertaining to the present enjoyment of life, to the exclusion of spiritual matters. In short, their ritualistic observances had taken God's place in their lives. They had become idolaters.

"He [Paul] is probably describing some itinerants, whose view of the faith is such that it allows them a great deal of undisciplined self-indulgence. . . . In any case, they have not appeared heretofore in the letter, and do not appear again. They have served their immediate purpose of standing in sharp relief to Paul's own walk' and to his heavenly pursuit, so crucial to this letter, and toward which Paul now turns once more as he begins to draw this appeal to an end."¹³⁸

Constable: Phi 3:20-21

The forward look 3:20-21

3:20 The reason we should follow Paul's example and not that of these sensualists is that as Christians we have a citizenship in heaven as well as one on earth. Our heavenly citizenship and destiny are far more important than our brief earthly sojourn (cf. Gal. 4:26; Heb. 11:10). The Roman citizenship the Philippians enjoyed meant a great deal to them (Acts 16:12, 21). All believers need to learn to live as foreigners and pilgrims on this earth (Heb. 11:13; 1 Pet. 2:11).¹³⁹

"Jews expect perfection now by keeping the Law; Christians yearn for the future at which time perfection will be achieved."¹⁴⁰

The Greek word apekdechometha, translated "look for," is a strong compound.

"The compound emphasizes the intense yearning for the Parousia . . ."¹⁴¹

"The expectation of the Lord's personal and imminent return gave joy and power to the early Christians and to the Christian communities."¹⁴²

Furthermore it is from our heavenly kingdom that a Savior will come to deliver us out of this present evil world and take us to our home with Him above (John 14:1-2). The prospect of our Lord's return should motivate us to live as citizens of heaven even while we are still on earth (1 John 3:2-3).

". . . Paul prefers justification' to describe what has already been done in the Christian by God's action in Christ, while he reserves salvation' for what yet remains to be done (Beare; cf. Rom 5:9-10)."¹⁴³

3:21 When Christ returns for us at the Rapture He will transform our present mortal bodies into immortal bodies such as our Lord's resurrected body. The comparison between these two bodies is striking. One is lowly, weak, and susceptible to all kinds of evil influences. The idea that it is sinful, which the AV implies by using the word "vile," is absent in the Greek word (tapeinoseos). The other new body will be glorious, more expressive of our true state as the children of God, and incorruptible. This transformation will occur whether we are alive or dead when the Lord returns (1 Cor. 15:51-54; 1 Thess. 5:9-10).

This amazing change will transpire because of the same divine power by which God will eventually subject everything in the universe to Himself.

College: Phi 3:1-21

PHILIPPIANS 3

V. WARNING AGAINST "EVIL WORKERS" (3:1-3)

¹ Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you. ² Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh. ³ For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh -

The letter now makes an abrupt and rather surprising turn. Matters are introduced of which there has been little, if any, forewarning. Not only does the content of the letter change, but the section we are now approaching offers certain stylistic peculiarities. "Finally" (v. 1) is understood by some as preparing for the conclusion of the letter (but see the notes on v. 1). If the reader skips from 3:1 to 4:4 the transition is a smooth one and there is no sense of loss of the intervening material. For this reason some have concluded 3:2-4:3 are an interpolated section - another writing of Paul inserted here.

There are other explanations of this phenomenon, however. Readers of Paul know that he can make abrupt shifts, sometimes even in midsentence (cf. Eph 3:1ff), though none are as extensive as this. Further, a personal letter does not flow like the development of a logical treatise. Changes of subject can be dramatic in such documents. There are also connections between 3:1-21 and 1:27-30, and the present text offers possible comment on the destruction and salvation statement of 1:28. If this section is a simple addition to the letter, why insert it here rather than near the end? And if the passage, though an interpolation, was meant to be understood as part of the original text, why wasn't it incorporated more smoothly into the text? Thus, the same argument that is used to favor an insertion can also argue against it.

As for the "finally" in verse 1, O'Brien argues a better sense is to understand it to mean "and so," as in 1 Thessalonians 4:1. Thus it affords a transition, rather than introducing a conclusion. In 1 Thessalonians the word stands one third of the way from the end of the epistle.

3:1 Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord!

Once again the call to joy is sounded (see the discussion at 1:4) but here for the first time "in the Lord" is added. Martin suggests this longer expression could be considered the equivalent of "hallelujah." The last word (2:18) before the personal section in 2:19-30 was a like summons. Some, on the basis of the interpolation theory discussed above, wish to give "rejoice" the sense of "farewell." But the word does not appear in that sense elsewhere in the New Testament.

Here was joy despite potential problems. In fact the contexts in which joy is mentioned in Philippians always mention some difficulty.

It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you.

Paul knew the value of reminder and that a danger to faith could be simple forgetfulness, due to a lack of continual spiritual reflection and nourishment. The meaning of "write the same things" is problematic. Was a previous letter implied? Perhaps. Or was this the first time to write what had been previously delivered in some other form? What were the "same things?" Paul considered them a safeguard, so we think it may be both the multifaceted call to unity in the previous parts of the letter and the warnings which follow these words. They could even include the exhortation in 4:4-9. Note in 3:17f the references to "example," "pattern," and to what was "often told . . . before."

3:2 Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil,

Even the casual reader is struck by Paul's abrupt change of tone here. Various theories have been offered to explain it (an interruption; a problem surfacing during the period the letter was being dictated; stimulus from a coworker, perhaps Epaphroditus). This is a new problem, quite different from the previous text of the letter. To this point Paul had dealt primarily with problems within the church. Here he seems to focus on one from without. The description clearly indicates a threat from a Jewish source. The attempt was to compel Christians to observance of the law. The virulence of Paul's language has led most writers to conclude these were evangelistic Jews (not Christian) trying either to win back Jewish Christian converts or to convert Gentile Christians. We should note, though, that Paul could also use harsh language of Christian brothers whom he opposed (cf. Gal 1:8f).

"Watch out" (blevpete , blepete ) is repeated three times in the Greek, giving a force the English lacks. The Greek also has three words beginning with "k." They are the words translated "dogs" (kuvna" , kynas ), "evil workers" (kakouΙ" ejrgavta" , kakous ergatas ), and "mutilation" (katatomhvn , katatomçn ). This enhances the stylistic impact of the verse.

It seems better for us to consider Paul's words as a warning of a possible danger than as a description of a problem within the congregation. If the latter we would expect a more explicit indication of it.

"Dogs" get negative press throughout Scripture. Jews referred to Gentiles with this term, so Paul was apparently doing a turn on that derogatory epithet in so referring to the Jews. The strength of this "insult" is one reason for presuming Paul did not speak of Judaizing Christians. "Those who do" translates a term used of Epaphroditus in 2:25 (in a compound form - "fellow worker") and elsewhere of Christians. Other translations render the term "workers." If Jews thought keeping the law made them good workers, Paul has done a turn on that as well. It was not that Paul saw law keeping as evil, but the intents of these people would deny salvation through Christ.

those mutilators of the flesh.

"Mutilators" seems an apparent play on circumcision. The word here is katatomhv (katatomç ) and the word for circumcision is peritomhv (peritomç ). The obvious Jewish coloring of this term is a reason for interpreting "dogs" and "men who do evil" in the Jewish sense. Paul had no argument against circumcision; indeed he had circumcised Timothy (Acts 16:3). It was the intent, not the act, that he opposed. Still, "mutilators" was a very strong term, and vividly conveyed Paul's distress (cf. Gal 5:12), no doubt caused by insistence this act was essential for salvation. It was not! It did not make one part of the new Israel. It was surgery, no more.

3:3 For it is we who are the circumcision,

Now Paul speaks of the true circumcision. It is described in three ways, as were those of whom Paul has just warned his readers. In other contexts Paul might simply have denied any need for circumcision as essential to salvation. But given this context it was an appropriate way to speak of God's true community. In a sense he said circumcision still marked the covenant people, if the term were properly understood.

we who worship by the Spirit of God,

The first mark of God's people was "worship by the Spirit of God." Some see the next two terms as modifiers of this; i.e., such worship "glories in Christ" and "puts no confidence in the flesh." This does have the advantage of clarifying Paul's point. Otherwise it is hard to know just what point of difference from Jewish worship he had in mind. Was he implying a contrast between ritual and a more spiritual worship (cf. John 2:24)?

Most commentators prefer to see these three terms as parallel. Then this would be worship by those indwelt by the Spirit and empowered by it in their lives of praise. The term latreuvw (latreuô ) translated "worship" is the Old Testament term for Israel's worship of God, used now by Paul of the new people of God.

who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh -

"Glory" and "confidence" present two places the human heart can look for meaning and security. This is a theme Paul develops from his own experience in the next few verses. It is implied that Israel did not "glory in Christ Jesus" (obviously) and did put "confidence in the flesh." The verb translated "glory" (kaucavomai , kauchaomai ) is used by Paul thirty times in the New Testament, and only two times by other writers. We learn the meaning of "confidence in the flesh" from the following verses. To "glory in Christ Jesus" meant an abdication of pride in self and one's accomplishments. It admits the human need which, though real, is often ignored or disguised. The verb translated "put confidence" is found elsewhere in Philippians 1:6,14,25; and 2:25.

"Flesh" (savrx , sarx ) is understood two ways in the commentaries. One position sees it as all in which humans trust; and the other as Jewish righteousness, with its lawkeeping, ritual, etc. Paul focuses on the second in the succeeding verses, but his case may have been a specific demonstration of a broader truth, i.e., the first meaning.

VI. PAUL'S CHANGED LIFE (3:4-11)

A. PAUL'S FORMER CONFIDENCE (3:4-6)

⁴ though I myself have reasons for such confidence. If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: ⁵ circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; ⁶ as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.

Paul turns again to personal reference to enforce his point. He is arguing to support the true "circumcision" set forth in verse 3. In verses 4-6 he recounts his past, which would eminently qualify him for divine approval in the eyes of those against whom he inveighed in verse 2. His own situation made his point more telling than if he simply made impersonal arguments.

3:4 though I myself have reasons for such confidence.

Key words of this and the previous verse are "confidence" and "flesh." "Flesh" here was Paul's Jewishness, both by his birth status and by his personal accomplishments. But placing "confidence in the flesh" would be to lack ultimate confidence. Aside from the power of the argument in context , we are given marvelous insight into Paul's spiritual commitment (cf. also 2 Cor 11:16-12:11; Gal 1:13-24).

If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more:

This testimony would demonstrate to the reader that Paul knew whereof he spoke. He had once been on the other side of the fence, and knew the futility of that position. The wording of verse 2 showed how strongly he felt this. It is even possible that Paul may have presented his preeminence in Judaism as a way of saying "if I changed, so should others." Whoever would argue Paul changed because he was not a loyal and zealous Israelite would be refuted here.

3:5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel,

This verse and the next list seven qualities. The first four were a result of birth and circumstance. The fifth, being "a Pharisee," may have been a matter of heritage (cf. the son of a Pharisee in Acts 23:6) or of choice.

Several of these characteristics appear more significant if we assume that Paul was contrasting himself with Jewish proselytes. He was circumcised on the eighth day, in contrast to proselytes who would be circumcised later in life. "People" is from a word indicating racial descent, again in possible contrast to proselytes. Nor could a proselyte claim membership in a particular tribe, as Paul could (in Benjamin). And "Hebrew of Hebrews" may mean he spoke Hebrew and Aramaic, in distinction from Greek-speaking proselytes. It could also indicate his refusal to compromise with Greek culture (though compare his attitude in 1 Cor 9:19-23). But even if Paul was not making an implicit contrast here, his statements still supported his argument about the true source of righteousness. However, there was not any particular virtue in these first four items since they were Paul's "birthright," beyond his control.

of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews;

Why the reference to Benjamin? Did this bear special significance in Judaism? Benjamin was the only son born in the promised land. Jerusalem was located in its tribal territory. The first king of Israel, Saul, was from Benjamin, and our Saul/Paul may have been named after him. Paul also noted that he was from Benjamin in Romans 11:1. Thus membership in this tribe seemed of special significance, though at this distance we may not know why.

in regard to the law, a Pharisee;

Besides this verse Pharisees are mentioned in the New Testament only in the Gospels and Acts. Their zeal for pure lives and rigid adherence to law and tradition is well known, as is the fact some of them carried it to excess (cf. the woes in Matt 23; Luke 11). They were admired by the people and many of them were admirable and energetic in their religious zeal (besides Paul, note Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus).

3:6 as for zeal, persecuting the church;

Though zeal in normal Jewish thought might be understood as zeal for the law, Paul offers a surprising alternative. His former role as a persecutor was a lifelong haunting and, because of divine mercy, a source of joy (1 Cor 15:9; Gal 1:13, etc.). If he was convinced the church was so wrong, why did he change? This would seem to be an appeal to outsiders, not to Judaisers in the church. This could support the argument that Paul was opposing evangelistic non-Christian Jews.

as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.

"Legalistic" translates words which are literally "in law" (ejn novmw/ , en nomô ), and the exact meaning of the term is debated. The most logical sense would be that they referred to one who achieved righteousness by law keeping. Is "legalistic" the best translation here? Does a modern negative attitude to the term unduly prejudice Paul's thought?

Paul was "faultless" (the Greek word, a[mempto" [ amemptos ], is translated "blameless" in 2:15) in his law keeping. We believe one could observe the law's demands punctiliously and still come to have doubts, as Paul might have done even before the Damascus Road experience (cf. Acts 26:14). Some have felt a difficulty in reconciling "faultless" here with Paul's statements of failure in Romans 7:14-25 (assuming Romans describes his pre-Christian experience). It could well be, however, that Romans describes his inner perceptions, while the present text speaks of outward observance.

Bruce has well caught the thought of this and the next section when he observes that Paul "made the grade" only to find it inadequate!

B. FROM LOSS TO GAIN (3:7-11)

⁷ But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. ⁸ What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ - the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. ¹⁰ I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹ and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

3:7 But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss

Now Paul offers a striking personal contrast in validation of the situation described in verse 3. He employs bookkeeping language. "Profit" (kevrdo" , kerdos ) and "gain" (kerdaivnw , kerdainô , v. 8) describe the one side of the ledger, and "loss" (zhmiva [zçmia ], here and twice in v. 8) the other. The life transition was dramatic. "Profit" is a plural term, as if Paul had counted his past benefits one by one (like a miser, it has been suggested). But his mind changed ("consider") due to the powerful motivations which he relates in the following verses. "Loss" is singular, indicating all Paul once had was lumped together and put aside. The one who had measured his treasures individually now discards the whole stack of them as one.

for the sake of Christ.

Paul did not consider his background valueless per se . But in comparison to his new state, and as preferable to knowing Christ, it was "loss." Use of the term "rubbish" in verse 8 should be seen the same way - compared to Christ, and not as an absolute judgment. Upon analysis Paul counted as loss the saving value of correct ritual observance (circumcision), birth status (Israel, Benjamin, Hebrew of Hebrews) and personal accomplishments (Pharisees, zeal, law keeping).

3:8 What is more, I consider everything a loss

Paul now begins to amplify the statement of verse 7. In the Greek verses 8-11 are a single sentence. He first develops the idea of loss, then goes on to speak of the profit, expanding the concept by speaking of what it means to "know" Christ. There is a powerful statement of divine grace in these verses. What Paul was and did was nothing. What Christ had done was everything. Nor was it just the Jewish background he counted loss. Paul gave his statement universal validity with the word "everything." Absolutely nothing could transcend for him the value of knowing Christ.

compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.

"Surpassing greatness" and "knowing" are in apposition - two ways of describing the same reality. The content of this experience is given in verses 9-11. "Knowing" here, therefore, included personal involvement - love, obedience and blessing. It was not just a detached intellectual awareness. Paul never knew Jesus in the flesh, though he did see him on the Damascus Road. But he knew him.

I consider them rubbish,

"Rubbish" (skuvbala , skybala ) is a strong term, found only here in the New Testament. It has been called a vulgar word, and is the more forceful for that. A survey of the translations shows the variety of possibilities. They seem to fall into two categories. The word either refers to human waste or to unwanted food (garbage). Which of these two is meant here remains an object of discussion. With either option the point is unforgettable. Could Paul have put it any more strongly?

that I may gain Christ

"Gain" picks up the idea of "profit" from verse 7. The term indicates the "gain" experienced through life in relationship with Christ (cf. the idea of growth in Christ at 1:6; 2:13 and 16) as well as the ultimate gain at the last day. It goes from the Damascus Road to the final glory. The idea of growth will be further developed in verses 12ff.

3:9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ - the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.

Advancing on the idea of "surpassing greatness/knowing" the apostle now develops the idea of gaining Christ. It would involve righteousness (v. 9), power, sharing (v. 10), and the hope of resurrection from the dead (v. 11).

Some believe being found in Christ referred to the experiences of this life. Others see it as a hope for death. We believe it had a comprehensive meaning. The righteousness is God's gift in this life, but will assure acceptance by God at death.

There are two kinds of righteousness described here. The first, Paul says, is "of my own" and "comes from law." It represents human achievement, and writings like Galatians and Romans show how this righteousness cannot save. The second righteousness is "through faith in Christ," "comes from God," and is "by faith." It is quite possible that "faith in Christ" could mean the faithfulness of Christ. Christ's fidelity to God's purposes (cf. 2:5-11) achieved man's salvation. Then "by faith" in the last of the verse would refer to the human trust that must accept what God had done. This verse contrasts faith in Christ and human merit. If one attempts to receive righteousness by the latter means, then it cannot be gained by the former, which means, in Christian terms, it cannot be gained at all. Paul does not develop the reasons why righteousness that comes from the law is unavailing. Elsewhere he argued that law keeping imposed an impossible task (Gal 3:10ff).

3:10 I want to know Christ

The "knowing" of verse 8 is here elaborated as "power" (duvnami" , dunamis ) and "fellowship" (koinwniva , koinônia ) (the two expressions are preceded by a single article in Greek, unlike the English). Thus the knowledge was clearly experiential, depicting a lifestyle. Paul's expressed goal indicated his desire for continual progress, and is elaborated in verses 12-14.

and the power of his resurrection

"Power of his resurrection" probably did not mean Paul's resurrection, of which he speaks in the next verse. Rather the stress was on "power" - "power" so mighty that by it Jesus was victor over death. That power both energizes the life and sets its hope. In this context the special significance may be to the ability to endure suffering.

and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,

"Sharing in his sufferings" does not imply that Paul sought martyrdom. "Sharing" (koinônia ) is the key word. To what does he refer by this and by the following reference to "death?" Some see these as referring to dying and rising in baptism. It seems preferable to consider the reference as the total experience of dying with Christ through life and accepting any consequences of that. To share with Christ is high joy and privilege to those with the assurance death cannot conquer them (cf. 1:29). The unbelievers would find Paul's words about suffering and death being gain highly puzzling. One only comes to glow with holy joy in the experience of faith.

3:11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

The reference to resurrection here is clearly the final resurrection. The Greek expression, found only here, means something like "out of the death of the dead." "Attain" is a subjunctive, indicating something yet to be attained. Again the themes of the Christ hymn are seen as central to the letter, with these words echoing those of 2:8.

VII. PRESSING ON TO THE GOAL (3:12-16)

A. "ONE THING I DO" (3:12-14)

¹² Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. ¹³ Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Pulsing through these verses are the ideas of growth and progress in Christ, as well as the idea of spending maximum energy in the cause of Christ. The theme of growth permeates the letter (1:6,9-11, 2:1-4,12f, etc.) The idea of energy demonstrates that though righteousness comes by faith and is God's work, it does not imply a lax and indolent "let God do it" attitude (cf. 2:12f). The course to be run and the goal to be achieved are exciting and challenging, so that one who loves Christ because Christ loved him must run it.

But why are these words included here? Certainly Paul was using his own outlook as a way to encourage the readers to press on. Was there more? Parts of the text would make sense if we assume Paul was refuting those who claimed to have reached perfection (perhaps by lawkeeping, as v. 2 might imply). But if so, there are no other references to such persons in the book, and we might think Paul would be more explicit if he were debating them.

If it appeared from Paul's statements about "profit" and "loss" and "confidence in the flesh" that he seemed to deny the importance of human effort, his own testimony now refutes that.

3:12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect,

Commentators have puzzled over what Paul had not "already attained." He had just spoken of knowledge of Christ, righteousness by faith, resurrection power, sharing in Christ's suffering and death, and future resurrection. He had already been accounted righteous, so that was probably not his meaning. Nor would it be the resurrection from the dead since he was discussing attainments in this life. Resurrection power and sharing with Christ could both be subsumed under "knowing Christ." Thus we suppose Paul spoke of further growth in Christ. He denies complacency and affirms yet unreached possibilities. Indeed, one of the joys of being in Christ is this process of open-ended growth. As one writer has observed, the more one knows of Christ the more one wishes to know. The opportunity opens before one like a race course. "Perfect" (from teleiovw , teleiôo ) is in parallel to "all this" and if Paul gave the term a different shade of meaning it is not clear from the text. Certainly these words would include an ethical dimension.

Those who think Paul was arguing against persons claiming to have reached perfection cite this passage (see the remarks above). "Perfect" implies the idea of completion or maturity, and need not be understood as complete sinlessness. The same term is rendered "mature" in verse 15.

but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.

Added to the power of the "loss" and "rubbish" images of verse 8 is the picture of a runner devoting maximum effort to finish the race. A runner would ignore all else in pursuit of "one thing" (v. 13). Christ took hold of Paul, which was grace, and Paul therefore pressed on, which was work responding to grace. God's deed was the motive. God allowed Paul to enter the race, but Paul had to run it.

3:13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it.

The point must have been an important one, for Paul here affirmed his incompleteness a third time. Paul was doing more than giving a personal devotional statement. He was expressing what should be true for all Christians. Note that when he spoke of his Jewish background the idea was that he had "arrived." In Christ, however, he is "straining" forward. Yet the former gave no assurance, and the latter does.

But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,

Though a runner may occasionally steal a glance at competitors this dare not detract from the one goal of completing the race. Thus Paul forgot what was behind. This could include his achievements in Judaism as well as Christian accomplishments. Could it also include wrongs done, such as the persecution of the church? He was aware of these things but they did not weigh on him or deter his dedication. His forward progress was intense, as indicated by the strong "straining" (from ejpekteivnw , epekteinô ). Cf. race imagery also in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27.

3:14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

This is a race in which all finishers are winners. Yet this does not diminish the effort of the runner, for the course (like a marathon) is such that even to finish is an achievement. The Greek term translated "goal" (skopov" , skopos , literally "goal marker") is found only here in the New Testament. The prize is not defined, but would include all that is involved in complete fellowship with God beyond the restrictions encountered in this life. "Heavenward" (a[nw , anô ) does not translate the usual word for heaven, but is a term meaning "above" or "upwards." Some see the prize as identical to the call, and others as the reward. This kind of nuanced interpretation may oversophisticate a basic point which all Christians would understand quite well.

Hawthorne suggests an interesting interpretation, citing the custom of the herald announcing the name of the victor after the race (remember that in this race all finishers were winners). Thus the image would be God calling the spiritual athlete and giving him the prize (in Christ) as his name was announced. This interpretation is colorful, though we cannot know if it was in Paul's mind or not.

B. THE MATURE VIEWPOINT (3:15-16)

¹⁵ All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. ¹⁶ Only let us live up to what we have already attained.

3:15 All of us who are mature

Paul now leaves his personal narrative to call readers to share the dedication he has expressed. If he was controverting those who claimed perfection (see discussion at v. 12), this could be his exhortation to them. They would be dealt with by God. But it has been argued that the gentleness of Paul's words here implies they were addressed to friends, not to opponents.

Not all would be "mature," so Paul was inviting those who lacked maturity to achieve it. It involved knowing the need to forget the past and press on. "Mature" is from the Greek word tevleio" ( teleios ) rendered "perfect" in verse 12. How are we to explain Paul's denial of the quality in verse 12 and his affirmation of it here? He may have been using the word in two senses, a not uncommon practice. In verse 12 it was the full knowledge of Christ, and here it was the recognition of one's incompleteness. Or Paul's use may have been ironical: i.e., the way to be perfect (mature) in Christ is to realize one is imperfect. "Grow up and recognize you aren't grown all the way yet." However Paul was using the terms, the ultimate call of the verse is clear.

should take such a view of things.

"Take . . . a view," as well as "think" both translate fronevw (phroneô ), a term often employed by Paul in this letter. See the discussion at 1:7. The term indicates the values of a lifestyle, not just intellectual concepts.

And if on some point you think differently,

The last sentence of this verse offers a major interpretive problem. What is involved in "think differently"? The word for "think" (phroneô ) would indicate it was not simply a matter of doctrine. Rather it would be belief which determined how one lived. Some think Paul now turns from major to minor issues, leaving it to God to convict those of whom he spoke. Others think he refers to the bad attitudes causing disunity in the church. In this case Paul felt that if he could not correct the division then he would let it be left to God. However, since disunity has always plagued the church, one would have to assume such correction would come at the last day. This implied threat of judgment does not seem to fit the tenor of Paul's argument here.

We prefer to think these were the immature who were not prepared to accept and practice the single-minded devotion to Christ which characterized Paul. Since ultimately it is God's active grace that leads to such commitment, Paul hoped that God would reveal the truth to them in ways that Paul's example could not. The apostle recognized that Christians are at different stages so he lovingly indicates how God leads each person to greater levels of Christian service and life. Paul himself knew he had growing to do, and thus did not grow impatient with others in the same condition. This was no bossy, "holier than thou" attitude.

that too God will make clear to you.

"Make clear" translates the verb (ajpokaluvptw , apokalyptô ) from which "apocalyptic" and the Greek title for the book of Revelation come. The mode by which God would give revelation is not stated. Given the general use of the term in the New Testament, it is logical to hold that the revelation would come through the growing process of being Christian (as in fact it does for all Christians).

3:16 Only let us live up to what we have already attained.

This exhortation is corporate ("let us"). The mature and those who think differently should still follow Christ in unity, as would Paul himself. Differences in spiritual levels ought not deter Christians from being consistent with whatever level each had reached. Minor differences in spiritual development have often divided the church, and Paul would not have that happen in Philippi. "Already attained" would be the righteousness that comes by faith and whatever of the blessings listed in verses 9-11 each had appropriated, though these things may not have exhausted Paul's intentions (cf. 1 Cor 4:17, and note "pattern" and "example" in the next verse). The apostle was apparently asking them to augment the growth process by building on what they had. Paul's words may indicate he feared apostasy or divisiveness by some.

VIII. TRUE AND FALSE MODELS (3:17-21)

¹⁷ Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. ¹⁸ For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. ¹⁹ Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. ²⁰ But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, ²¹ who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

In this paragraph verse 17 gives a positive exhortation. Verses 18 and 19 describe a group negative to Christianity, and verses 20 and 21 the blessings of those committed to Christ.

3:17 Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you.

"Example" and "pattern" are two ways of expressing the same thing. Paul taught the faith ("pattern") and also lived it. In a day when no written New Testaments were available, it is possible the "incarnated" message was more influential than today (though not without influence in any age). It was important to follow Paul, however, only as he lived the pattern. Thus the deeper reality was to follow Christ. Throughout Philippians Paul has offered exhortation through example, with the Christ hymn (2:5-11) being the centerpiece. But Timothy and Epaphroditus were also commended for their examples.

Paul was no egotist here. He had expressed his renunciation of everything for Christ's sake in verses 7-11, and acknowledged his imperfection in verses 12-14. Indeed, these attitudes are basic to any who would follow Jesus. "Following" would be recognized by readers, however, as containing all those aspects of Paul's life and teaching which showed forth Christ.

"Join with others in following . . . example" (summimhthv" , symmimçtçs ) translates an expression found only here in all Greek literature. The basic root, which means "mimic," is prefixed by "with." Quite possibly the prefix indicated that the "following" should be done together with one another - another stress on the importance of unity within the church.

"Pattern" (tuvpo" , typos ) is singular, while "we" is obviously plural. Though some see a problem, we hold that the one pattern of Christian life was demonstrated by Paul, Timothy, and Epaphroditus, as they "mimicked" Christ. Some would change "we" to the singular, and argue that Paul was asserting apostolic authority. But this lacks textual support, and Paul was not concerned in this letter to affirm and defend his apostolicity (cf. absence of "apostle" in 1:1).

3:18 For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears,

Paul speaks of another facet of his past instruction - regarding the lamented enemies of the cross. "Often" indicates an intense and ongoing concern and probably a pervasive problem as well. There is no proof these people had reached Philippi. If they had not, they were yet perceived as a very real threat. Or previous warnings may not have been totally effective so that now they had infiltrated the church. We cannot know for sure. Paul's "tears" (cf. Acts 20:31; Rom 9:2f; 10:1; 2 Cor 2:4) indicate both his passionate personal concern and the seriousness of the situation. Imitation of Christ, then (v. 17), was a powerful antidote. Here and in verse 17 Paul has presented two ways to pursue, stressed by the repetition of "live."

many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.

Who were these people? Was their failing doctrinal or behavioral? Were they Christians or outsiders? A wide range of speculations has failed to resolve the question. If Christians, it has been suggested they may have been Judaizers; or perhaps quasi-Gnostics; or those who considered themselves outside any law; or those whose commitment was nominal; or those who denied Christ under persecution. If non-Christians, suppositions suggest heathens who opposed Christian ethical standards; or evangelistic Jews. Though the issue is very difficult, we think Paul's tears and the use of the word "enemies" (most significant if they might have been assumed to be friends) of the cross indicate Christians. Beyond this it is difficult to conjecture, but if a guess be hazarded, we would opt for Christians still snared in the ways of the world whose lifestyles evinced no true reform and who thus denied the efficacy of the cross for their lives. Whatever their reason for being in the church, it had little to do with God's intent in crucifixion. If this view be correct, we are not dealing with an organized party or position in the church but with moral failure. It may or may not have infected the Philippian church. A survey of the Pauline letters (and others in the New Testament) shows how pervasive was the problem of worldliness in the early church.

Another perspective on these people considers their relation to the "dogs," "evil men," and mutilators of verse two. If they were the same and those in verse 2 were Judaizers, then so were these. Though we have accepted an alternate view, we will show how this position leads us to understand the next verse.

3:19 Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame.

Those considering these as Judaizers interpret "stomach" as indicating the scrupulous practice of the food laws; in Paul's view virtually deifying them. "Shame," which is a term for the private organs, is interpreted as circumcision, with the sense that they boasted because of their circumcision. Though Paul says nothing against circumcision per se (see the notes on 3:3) in this context it was shameful to him because they gloried in it.

If these were worldly Christians then the "stomach" could refer to gluttony in the specific sense, or to unlicensed sensuality in the more general sense. Thus "stomach" would stand for all uncontrolled appetites. And "shame" would refer to excesses as well, especially of a sexual nature.

Where did this course lead? Inevitably to destruction and thus to the opposite destiny from that which God intended for humans. Some suggest "destruction," "stomach," and "shame" all implied the perishability of man. Thus these people had given the highest value to that which must pass away. This was a sad situation indeed. No wonder Paul wept.

Their mind is on earthly things.

"Mind" is from another form of phroneô (see the notes at 1:7). This was their life intent and direction. "Earthly things" (ejpijgeia , epigeia ) forms a sad counterpoint to "heaven" in the next verse.

3:20 But our citizenship is in heaven.

As Paul contrasted his past (and Jewish achievements) with his present in verses 4-11, so here he completes another contrast of lifestyles. A link is formed to verses 20 and 21 by verse 11. The resurrection noted there receives fuller elaboration here.

Verses 20 and 21 form a contrast to verses 18 and 19 in several ways. The "mind on earthly things" contrasts with "heavenly citizenship." The "stomach as god" contrasts with the transformation of the body to be like Christ's. And "glory in shame" contrasts with likeness to Christ's glorious body.

Because of the language, form, and theology of this section some have conjectured it was also a Christian hymn, as was 2:5-11. Others disagree, but grant that the verses may contain hymnic fragments. Still others think the un-Pauline expressions may be because the apostle reflected earlier Christian traditional usage.

Morna Hooker has observed an interesting relation of these verses to 2:5-11. Verses 5-8 of chapter 2 speak of Christ becoming like man; verses 9-11 speak of him as he now is; and the present text speaks of men as they will be when transformed into his likeness.

"Citizenship" (polivteuma , politeuma ) translates a word found nowhere else in the New Testament. The parallel is probably to the right of Roman citizenship possessed by the citizens of Philippi. Wherever a Philippian went, he enjoyed the "rights and privileges" of his Roman citizenship, and he would spread Roman culture as well. So those in Christ, wherever they were, and whatever their circumstances, were heavenly citizens. Included in that position was the assurance of a wonderful transformation. What a powerfully sustaining thought! The Christian thus possessed both present and future blessing. See Hebrews 11:13,16; and 1 Peter 1:4f.

And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,

"Enemies of the cross" denied the saving efficacy of the crucifixion. By contrast his followers acknowledge Christ as Savior (the first time Paul adds the term to Jesus' name in Philippians). Because Jesus had saved and would save their lives, they knew the excited anticipation of "eagerly" awaiting.

3:21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control,

The certainty of that which Paul anticipated is underscored by the reference to power. Though "power" (ejnevrgeia , energeia ) could be described with several illustrations, this is the ultimate one, comprehending all others. The word "power" comes from a Greek root which stands behind the English "energy."

will transform our lowly bodies

"Lowly" (tapeinwvsi" [tapeinôsis ]; some translations have "vile") was not meant to derogate the body, but to indicate its weakness or frailty. But God who raises the dead brings strength out of weakness. The Christian doctrine is the resurrection and transformation of the body. It will be changed, as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:44, to a spiritual body (see 1 Corinthians 15:42ff for the fullest description of the phenomenon in the New Testament). Similar ideas are found in 2 Corinthians 4:16-5:4 and 1 John 3:2. The enemies focused on the body only as it related to this life (v. 19). Christ called men to consider it as it related to the next. The Christian's destiny is not decay, but transformation.

so that they will be like his glorious body.

"Like his glorious body," though an expression incapable of exact definition, sets the mind stretching to exalted heights, and raises hope to the boiling point.

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV

Tafsiran/Catatan -- Lainnya

Evidence: Phi 3:8

The greatest discovery . Dr. James Simpson, born in 1811, was responsible for the discovery of chloroform’s anesthetic qualities, leading to its medical use worldwide. He also laid a solid foundation for gynecology and predicted the discovery of the X-ray. Dr. Simpson was president of the Royal Medical Society and Royal Physician to the Queen, the highest medical position of his day. He once stated, " Christianity works because it is supremely true and therefore supremely livable. There is nothing incompatible between religion and science."

When asked what his greatest discovery was, Dr. Simpson replied: " It was not chloroform. It was to know I am a sinner and that I could be saved by the grace of God. A man has missed the whole meaning of life if he has not entered into an active, living relationship with God through Christ." The greatest discovery in history has not been the law of gravity, calculus, telescopes, or the telegraph. The greatest discovery an individual could ever make is finding Jesus Christ and making Him both Lord and Savior.

Evidence: Phi 3:12

" Man is never so tall as when he kneels before God—never so great as when he humbles himself before God. And the man who kneels to God can stand up to anything." Louis H. Evans

Evidence: Phi 3:13

" Oh God, let this horrible war quickly come to an end that we may all return home and engage in the only work that is worthwhile—and that is the salvation of men." General " Stonewall" Jackson

Evidence: Phi 3:21

New bodies for Christians . The unsaved have no idea of our hope. They presume that when we die we will spend eternity in heaven as a spirit or an angel. In truth, God’s kingdom is coming to earth, and God’s will will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We will become neither spirits nor angels, but we will have new bodies similar to the resurrected body of the Savior, never again to be plagued by disease, decay, death, or even dandruff. See Luk 24:36-43 .

Pendahuluan / Garis Besar

Robertson: Philippians (Pendahuluan Kitab)

The Epistle to the Philippians

From Rome About a.d. 61

By Way of Introduction

There is something to be said for the idea that Paul wrote the Epistle to the Philippians while a prisoner in Ephesus if he ever was a prisoner there. All that can be said for that view has been presented by Professor George S. Duncan in St. Paul’s Ephesian Ministry (1930). But, when all is considered carefully in the light of the facts in the Acts and the Epistles, the best that one can say is that a possible case is made out with many difficulties remaining unexplained. The argument is more ingenious than convincing. It is not possible here to review the arguments pro and con that convince me that Paul was in Rome when he wrote this letter to Philippi. It is not clear whether it was written before the three that went together (Philemon, Colossians, Ephesians) or afterwards. Probably there was no great difference in time, but there was time for Epaphroditus to come to Rome, to fall sick, for the news to reach Philippi and for Epaphroditus to hear of their concern about him. The church in Philippi was Paul’s joy and pride and they had helped him before as they did this time.

The Epistle is a beautiful expression of gratitude for the love and gifts of the Philippian saints. He is a prisoner of hope in Rome with possible death before him, but with the note of joy running through all that Paul says. He hopes to be set free and to see them again.

Meanwhile he tells the Philippians about the difficulties and triumphs in Rome. The Judaizers have followed Paul here and there is an echo in chapters Philippians 1; 3 of their opposition. But Paul rises to full stature in the great Christological passages in chapters Philippians 2; 3 which prepare the way for the controversy with the Gnostics over the Person of Christ in Colossians and Ephesians.

JFB: Philippians (Pendahuluan Kitab)

The INTERNAL EVIDENCE for the authenticity of this Epistle is strong. The style, manner of thought, and doctrine, accord with Paul's. The incidental allusions also establish his authorship. PALEY [Horæ Paulinæ, ch. 7] instances the mention of the object of Epaphroditus' journey to Rome, the Philippian contribution to Paul's wants, Epaphroditus' sickness (Phi 1:7; Phi 2:25-30; Phi 4:10-18), the fact that Timothy had been long with Paul at Philippi (Phi 1:1; Phi 2:19), the reference to his being a prisoner at Rome now for a long time (Phi 1:12-14; Phi 2:17-28), his willingness to die (compare Phi 1:23, with 2Co 5:8), the reference to the Philippians having seen his maltreatment at Philippi (Phi 1:29-30; Phi 2:1-2).

The EXTERNAL EVIDENCE is equally decisive: POLYCARP [Epistle to the Philippians, 3; 11]; IRENÆUS [Against Heresies, 4.18.4]; CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA [The Instructor, 1.1, p. 107]; EUSEBIUS [The Epistle of the Churches of Lyons and Vienne, in Ecclesiastical History, 5. 2]; TERTULLIAN [On the Resurrection of the Flesh, 23]; ORIGEN [Against Celsus, 1.3, p. 122]; CYPRIAN [Testimonies against the Jews, 3.39].

Philippi was the first (that is, the farthest from Rome, and first which met Paul in entering Macedonia) Macedonian city of the district, called Macedonia Prima (so called as lying farthest eastward). The Greek (Act 16:12) should not be translated "the chief city," as English Version, but as above [ALFORD]. Not it, but Thessalonica, was the chief city of the province, and Amphipolis, of the district called Macedonia Prima. It was a Roman "colony" (Act 16:12), made so by Augustus, to commemorate his famous victory over Brutus and Cassius. A colony was in fact a portion of Rome itself transplanted to the provinces, an offshoot from Rome, and as it were a portrait of the mother city on a small scale [AULUS GELLIUS, Attic Nights, 16.13]. Its inhabitants were Roman citizens, having the right of voting in the Roman tribes, governed by their own senate and magistrates, and not by the governor of the province, with the Roman law and Latin language.

Paul, with Silas and Timothy, planted the Gospel there (Act 16:12, &c.), in his second missionary journey, A.D. 51. Doubtless he visited it again on his journey from Ephesus into Macedonia (Act 20:1); and Act 20:3, Act 20:6, expressly mentions his third visit on his return from Greece (Corinth) to Syria by way of Macedonia. His sufferings at Philippi (Act 16:19, &c.) strengthened the Christian bond of union between him and his Philippian converts, who also, like him, were exposed to trials for the Gospel's sake (1Th 2:2). They alone sent supplies for his temporal wants, twice shortly after he had left them (Phi 4:15-16), and again a third time shortly before writing this Epistle (Phi 4:10, Phi 4:18; 2Co 11:9). This fervent attachment on their part was, perhaps, also in part due to the fact that few Jews were in Philippi, as in other scenes of his labors, to sow the seeds of distrust and suspicion. There was no synagogue, but merely a Jewish Proseucha, or oratory, by the riverside. So that there only do we read of his meeting no opposition from Jews, but only from the masters of the divining damsel, whose gains had been put an end to by her being dispossessed.

Though the Philippian Church was as yet free from Judaizing influence, yet it needed to be forewarned of that danger which might at any time assail it from without (Phi 3:2); even as such evil influences had crept into the Galatian churches. In Phi 4:2-3 we find a trace of the fact recorded in the history (Act 16:13-14), that female converts were among the first to receive the Gospel at Philippi.

As to the state of the Church, we gather from 2Co 8:1-2 that its members were poor, yet most liberal; and from Phi 1:28-30, that they were undergoing persecution. The only blemish referred to in their character was, on the part of some members, a tendency to dissension. Hence arise his admonitions against disputings (Phi 1:27; Phi 2:1-4, Phi 2:12, Phi 2:14; Phi 4:2).

The OBJECT of the Epistle is general: not only to thank the Philippians for their contribution sent by Epaphroditus, who was now in returning to take back the apostle's letter, but to express his Christian love and sympathy, and to exhort them to a life consonant with that of Christ, and to warn them against existing dissensions and future possible assaults of Judaizers from without. It is remarkable in this Epistle alone, as compared with the others, that, amidst many commendations, there are no express censures of those to whom it is addressed. No doctrinal error, or schism, has as yet sprung up; the only blemish hinted at is, that some of the Philippian Church were somewhat wanting in lowliness of mind, the result of which want was disputation. Two women, Euodias and Syntyche, are mentioned as having erred in this respect (Phi 4:2-3). The Epistle may be divided into three parts: (1) Affectionate address to the Philippians; reference to his own state as a prisoner at Rome, and to theirs, and to his mission of Epaphroditus to them (the first and second chapters). Epaphroditus probably held a leading office in the Philippian Church, perhaps as a presbyter. After Tychicus and Onesimus had departed (A.D. 62), carrying the Epistles to the Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon, Paul was cheered in his imprisonment by the arrival of Epaphroditus with the Philippian contribution. That faithful "brother, companion in labor, and fellow soldier" (Phi 2:25), had brought on himself by the fatigues of the journey a dangerous sickness (Phi 2:26, Phi 2:30). But now that he was recovered, he "longed" (Phi 2:26) to return to his Philippian flock, and in person to relieve their anxiety on his behalf, in respect to his sickness; and the apostle gladly availed himself of the opportunity of writing to them a letter of grateful acknowledgments and Christian exhortations. (2) Caution against Judaizing teachers, supported by reference to his own former and present feeling towards Jewish legalism (Phi. 3:1-21). (3) Admonitions to individuals, and to the Church in general, thanks for their seasonable aid, and concluding benedictions and salutations (Phi. 4:1-23).

This Epistle was written from Rome during the imprisonment, the beginning of which is related in Act 28:16, Act 28:20, Act 28:30-31. The reference to "Cæsar's household" (Phi 4:22), and to the "palace" (Phi 1:13, Greek, "Prætorium," probably, the barrack of the Prætorian bodyguard, attached to the palace of Nero) confirms this. It must have been during his first imprisonment at Rome, for the mention of the Prætorium agrees with the fact that it was during his first imprisonment he was in the custody of the Prætorian Prefect, and his situation, described in Phi 1:12-14, agrees with his situation in the first two years of his imprisonment (Act 28:30-31). The following reasons show, moreover, that it was written towards the close of that imprisonment: (1) He, in it, expresses his expectation of the immediate decision of his cause (Phi 2:23). (2) Enough time had elapsed for the Philippians to hear of his imprisonment, to send Epaphroditus to him, to hear of Epaphroditus' arrival and sickness, and send back word to Rome of their distress (Phi 2:26). (3) It must have been written after the three other Epistles sent from Rome, namely, Colossians, Ephesians, and Philemon; for Luke is no longer with him (Phi 2:20); otherwise he would have been specified as saluting them, having formerly labored among them, whereas he is mentioned as with him, Col 4:14; Phm 1:24. Again, in Eph 6:19-20, his freedom to preach is implied: but in Phi 1:13-18, his bondage is dwelt on, and it is implied that, not himself, but others, preached, and made his imprisonment known. Again, in Phm 1:22, he confidently anticipates his release, which contrasts with the more depressed anticipations of this Epistle. (4) A considerable time had elapsed since the beginning of his imprisonment, for "his bonds" to have become so widely known, and to have produced such good effects for the Gospel (Phi 1:13). (5) There is evidently an increase in the rigor of his imprisonment implied now, as compared with the early stage of it, as described in Acts 28:1-31; compare Phi 1:29-30; Phi 2:27. History furnishes a probable clue to account for this increase of vigor. In the second year of Paul's imprisonment (A.D. 62), Burrus, the Prætorian Prefect, to whose custody he had been committed (Act 28:16, "the captain of the guard"), died; and Nero the emperor having divorced Octavia, and married Poppoea, a Jewish proselytess (who then caused her rival, Octavia, to be murdered, and gloated over the head of her victim), exalted Tigellinus, the chief promoter of the marriage, a monster of wickedness, to the Prætorian Prefecture. It was then he seems to have been removed from his own house into the Prætorium, or barrack of the Prætorian guards, attached to the palace, for stricter custody; and hence he writes with less hopeful anticipations as to the result of his trial (Phi 2:17; Phi 3:11). Some of the Prætorian guards who had the custody of him before, would then naturally make known his "bonds," in accordance with Phi 1:13; from the smaller Prætorian bodyguard at the palace the report would spread to the general permanent Prætorian camp, which Tiberius had established north of the city, outside of the walls. He had arrived in Rome, February, 61; the "two whole years (Act 20:30) in his own hired house" ended February, 63, so that the date of this Epistle, written shortly after, evidently while the danger was imminent, would be about spring or summer, 63. The providence of God averted the danger. He probably was thought beneath the notice of Tigellinus, who was more intent on court intrigues. The death of Nero's favorite, Pallas, the brother of Felix, this same year, also took out of the way another source of danger.

The STYLE is abrupt and discontinuous, his fervor of affection leading him to pass rapidly from one theme to another (Phi 2:18, Phi 2:19-24, Phi 2:25-30; Phi 3:1, Phi 3:2-3, Phi 3:4-14, Phi 3:15). In no Epistle does he use so warm expressions of love. In Phi 4:1 he seems at a loss for words sufficient to express all the extent and ardor of his affection for the Philippians: "My brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved." The mention of bishops and deacons in Phi 1:1 is due to the late date of the Epistle, at a time when the Church had begun to assume that order which is laid down in the Pastoral Epistles, and which continued the prevalent one in the first and purest age of the Church.

JFB: Philippians (Garis Besar)

• INSCRIPTION. THANKSGIVING AND PRAYERS FOR THE FLOURISHING SPIRITUAL STATE OF THE PHILIPPIANS. HIS OWN STATE AT ROME, AND THE RESULT OF HIS IMPRISONMENT IN SPREADING THE GOSPEL. EXHORTATION TO CHRISTIAN CONSISTENCY. (Phi. 1:1-30)
• CONTINUED EXHORTATION: TO UNITY: TO HUMILITY AFTER CHRIST'S EXAMPLE, WHOSE GLORY FOLLOWED HIS HUMILIATION: TO EARNESTNESS IN SEEKING PERFECTION, THAT THEY MAY BE HIS JOY IN THE DAY OF CHRIST: HIS JOYFUL READINESS TO BE OFFERED NOW BY DEATH, SO AS TO PROMOTE THEIR FAITH. HIS INTENTION TO SEND TIMOTHY: HIS SENDING EPAPHRODITUS MEANTIME. (Phi. 2:1-30) The "therefore" implies that he is here expanding on the exhortation (Phi 1:27), "In one Spirit, with one mind (soul)." He urges four influencing motives in this verse, to inculcate the four Christian duties corresponding respectively to them (Phi 2:2). "That ye be like-minded, having the same love, of one accord, of one mind"; (1) "If there be (with you) any consolation in Christ," that is, any consolation of which Christ is the source, leading you to wish to console me in my afflictions borne for Christ's sake, ye owe it to me to grant my request "that ye be like-minded" [CHRYSOSTOM and ESTIUS]: (2) "If there be any comfort of (that is, flowing from) love," the adjunct of "consolation in Christ"; (3) "If any fellowship of (communion together as Christians, flowing from joint participation in) the Spirit" (2Co 13:14). As Pagans meant literally those who were of one village, and drank of one fountain, how much greater is the union which conjoins those who drink of the same Spirit! (1Co 12:4, 1Co 12:13) [GROTIUS]: (4) "If any bowels (tender emotions) and mercies (compassions)," the adjuncts of "fellowship of the Spirit." The opposites of the two pairs, into which the four fall, are reprobated, Phi 2:3-4.
• WARNING AGAINST JUDAIZERS: HE HAS GREATER CAUSE THAN THEY TO TRUST IN LEGAL RIGHTEOUSNESS, BUT RENOUNCED IT FOR CHRIST'S RIGHTEOUSNESS, IN WHICH HE PRESSES AFTER PERFECTION: WARNING AGAINST CARNAL PERSONS: CONTRAST OF THE BELIEVER'S LIFE AND HOPE. (Phi. 3:1-21)
• EXHORTATIONS: THANKS FOR THE SUPPLY FROM PHILIPPI: GREETING; AND CLOSING BENEDICTION. (Phi. 4:1-23) "Wherefore"; since we have such a glorious hope (Phi 3:20-21).

TSK: Philippians (Pendahuluan Kitab)

The Church at Philippi in Macedonia was planted by the Apostle Paul about ad 53 (Acts 16:9-40); and it appears he visited them again, ad 60, though no particulars are recorded concerning that visit (Act 20:6). The Philippians were greatly attached to St. Paul, and testified their affection by sending him supplies, even when labouring for other churches (Phi 4:15, Phi 4:16; 2Co 11:9); and when they heard that he was under confinement at Rome, they sent Epaphroditus, one of their pastors, to him with a present, lest he should want necessaries during his imprisonment (Phi 2:25; Phi 4:10, Phi 4:14-18). The more immediate occasion of the Epistle was the return of Epaphroditus, by whom the apostle sent it as a grateful acknowledgment of their kindness; which occurred towards the close of his first imprisonment, about the end of ad 62, or the commencement of 63.

TSK: Philippians 3 (Pendahuluan Pasal)

Overview

Phi 3:1, He warns them to beware of the false teachers of the circumcision; Phi 3:4, shewing that himself has greater cause than they to trust in the righteousness of the law; Phi 3:7, which notwithstanding he counts as dung and loss, to gain Christ and his righteousness; Phi 3:12, therein acknowledging his own imperfection; Phi 3:15, He exhorts them to be thus minded; Phi 3:17, and to imitate him, Phi 3:18. and to decline the ways of carnal Christians.

Poole: Philippians 3 (Pendahuluan Pasal)

CHAPTER 3

MHCC: Philippians (Pendahuluan Kitab)

The Philippians felt a very deep interest for the apostle. The scope of the epistle is to confirm them in the faith, to encourage them to walk as becomes the gospel of Christ, to caution them against judaizing teachers, and to express gratitude for their Christian bounty. This epistle is the only one, among those written by St. Paul, in which no censures are implied or expressed. Full commendation and confidence are in every part, and the Philippians are addressed with a peculiar affection, which every serious reader will perceive.

MHCC: Philippians 3 (Pendahuluan Pasal)

(Phi 3:1-11) The apostle cautions the Philippians against judaizing false teachers, and renounces his own former privileges.

(Phi 3:12-21) Expresses earnest desire to be found in Christ; also his pressing on toward perfection; and recommends his own example to other believers.

Matthew Henry: Philippians (Pendahuluan Kitab)

An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The Epistle of St. Paul to the Philippians

Philippi was a chief city of the western part of Macedonia, prōtē tēs Makedonias polis , Act 16:12. It took its name from Philip, the famous king of Macedon, who repaired and beautified it, and it was afterwards made a Roman colony. Near this place were the Campi Philippici, remarkable for the famous battles between Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great, and that between Augustus and Antony on one side and Cassius and Brutus on the other. But it is most remarkable among Christians for this epistle, which was written when Paul was a prisoner at Rome, a.d. 62. Paul seems to have had a very particular kindness for the church at Philippi, which he himself had been instrumental in planting; and, though he had the care of all the churches, he had, upon that account, a particular fatherly tender care of this. To those to whom God has employed us to do any good we should look upon ourselves both as encouraged and engaged to study to do more good. He looked upon them as his children, and, having begotten them by the gospel, he was desirous by the same gospel to nourish and nurse them up. I. He was called in an extraordinary manner to preach the gospel at Philippi, Act 16:9. A vision appeared to Paul in the night: There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us. He saw God going before him, and was encouraged to use all means for carrying on the good work which was begun among them, and building upon the foundation which was laid. II. At Philippi he suffered hard things; he was scourged, and put into the stocks (Act 16:23, Act 16:24); yet he had not the less kindness for the place for the hard usage he met with there. We must never love our friends the less for the ill treatment which our enemies give us. III. The beginnings of that church were very small; Lydia was converted there, and the jailer, and a few more: yet that did not discourage him. If good be not done at first, it may be done afterwards, and the last works may be more abundant. We must not be discouraged by small beginnings. IV. It seems, by many passages in this epistle, that this church at Philippi grew into a flourishing church, and particularly that the brethren were very kind to Paul. He had reaped of their temporal things, and he made a return in spiritual things. He acknowledges the receipt of a present they had sent him (Phi 4:18), and this when no other church communicated with him as concerning giving and receiving (Phi 4:15); and he gives them a prophet's, an apostle's reward, in this epistle, which is of more value than thousands of gold and silver.

Matthew Henry: Philippians 3 (Pendahuluan Pasal)

He cautions them against judaizing seducers (Phi 3:1-3) and proposes his own example: and here he enumerates the privileges of his Jewish state which he rejected (Phi 3:4-8), describes the matter of his own choice (Phi 3:9-16), and closes with an exhortation to beware of wicked men, and to follow his example (Phi 3:17-21).

Barclay: Philippians (Pendahuluan Kitab)

A GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE LETTERS OF PAUL

The Letters Of Paul

There is no more interesting body of documents in the New Testament than the letters of Paul. That is because of all forms of literature a letter is most personal. Demetrius, one of the old Greek literary critics, once wrote, "Every one reveals his own soul in his letters. In every other form of composition it is possible to discern the writercharacter, but in none so clearly as the epistolary." (Demetrius, On Style, 227). It is just because he left us so many letters that we feel we know Paul so well. In them he opened his mind and heart to the folk he loved so much; and in them, to this day, we can see that great mind grappling with the problems of the early church, and feel that great heart throbbing with love for men, even when they were misguided and mistaken.

The Difficulty Of Letters

At the same time, there is often nothing so difficult to understand as a letter. Demetrius (On Style, 223) quotes a saying of Artemon, who edited the letters of Aristotle. Artemon said that a letter ought to be written in the same manner as a dialogue, because it was one of the two sides of a dialogue. In other words, to read a letter is like listening to one side of a telephone conversation. So when we read the letters of Paul we are often in a difficulty. We do not possess the letter which he was answering; we do not fully know the circumstances with which he was dealing; it is only from the letter itself that we can deduce the situation which prompted it. Before we can hope to understand fully any letter Paul wrote, we must try to reconstruct the situation which produced it.

The Ancient Letters

It is a great pity that Paulletters were ever called epistles. They are in the most literal sense letters. One of the great lights shed on the interpretation of the New Testament has been the discovery and the publication of the papyri. In the ancient world, papyrus was the substance on which most documents were written. It was composed of strips of the pith of a certain bulrush that grew on the banks of the Nile. These strips were laid one on top of the other to form a substance very like brown paper. The sands of the Egyptian desert were ideal for preservation, for papyrus, although very brittle, will last forever so long as moisture does not get at it. As a result, from the Egyptian rubbish heaps, archaeologists have rescued hundreds of documents, marriage contracts, legal agreements, government forms, and, most interesting of all, private letters. When we read these private letters we find that there was a pattern to which nearly all conformed; and we find that Paulletters reproduce exactly that pattern. Here is one of these ancient letters. It is from a soldier, called Apion, to his father Epimachus. He is writing from Misenum to tell his father that he has arrived safely after a stormy passage.

"Apion sends heartiest greetings to his father and lord Epimachus.

I pray above all that you are well and fit; and that things are

going well with you and my sister and her daughter and my brother.

I thank my Lord Serapis [his god] that he kept me safe when I was

in peril on the sea. As soon as I got to Misenum I got my journey

money from Caesar--three gold pieces. And things are going fine

with me. So I beg you, my dear father, send me a line, first to let

me know how you are, and then about my brothers, and thirdly, that

I may kiss your hand, because you brought me up well, and because

of that I hope, God willing, soon to be promoted. Give Capito my

heartiest greetings, and my brothers and Serenilla and my friends.

I sent you a little picture of myself painted by Euctemon. My

military name is Antonius Maximus. I pray for your good health.

Serenus sends good wishes, Agathos Daimonboy, and Turbo,

Galloniuson." (G. Milligan, Selections from the Greek Papyri,

36.)

Little did Apion think that we would be reading his letter to his father 1800 years after he had written it. It shows how little human nature changes. The lad is hoping for promotion quickly. Who would Serenilla be but the girl he left behind him? He sends the ancient equivalent of a photograph to the folk at home. Now that letter falls into certain sections. (i) There is a greeting. (ii) There is a prayer for the health of the recipients. (iii) There is a thanksgiving to the gods. (iv) There are the special contents. (v) Finally, there are the special salutations and the personal greetings. Practically every one of Paulletters shows exactly the same sections, as we now demonstrate.

(i) The Greeting: Rom_1:1 ; 1Co_1:1 ; 2Co_1:1 ; Gal_1:1 ; Eph_1:1 ; Phi_1:1 ; Col_1:1-2 ; 1Th_1:1 ; 2Th_1:1 .

(ii) The Prayer: in every case Paul prays for the grace of God on the people to whom he writes: Rom_1:7 ; 1Co_1:3 ; 2Co_1:2 ; Gal_1:3 ; Eph_1:2 ; Phi_1:3 ; Col_1:2 ; 1Th_1:1 ; 2Th_1:2 .

(iii) The Thanksgiving: Rom_1:8 ; 1Co_1:4 ; 2Co_1:3 ; Eph_1:3 ; Phi_1:3 ; 1Th_1:3 ; 2Th_1:3 .

(iv) The Special Contents: the main body of the letters.

(v) Special Salutations and Personal Greetings: Rom 16 ; 1Co_16:19 ; 2Co_13:13 ; Phi_4:21-22 ; Col_4:12-15 ; 1Th_5:26 .

When Paul wrote letters, he wrote them on the pattern which everyone used. Deissmann says of them, "They differ from the messages of the homely papyrus leaves of Egypt, not as letters but only as the letters of Paul." When we read Paulletters we are not reading things which were meant to be academic exercises and theological treatises, but human documents written by a friend to his friends.

The Immediate Situation

With a very few exceptions, all Paulletters were written to meet an immediate situation and not treatises which he sat down to write in the peace and silence of his study. There was some threatening situation in Corinth, or Galatia, or Philippi, or Thessalonica, and he wrote a letter to meet it. He was not in the least thinking of us when he wrote, but solely of the people to whom he was writing. Deissmann writes, "Paul had no thought of adding a few fresh compositions to the already extant Jewish epistles; still less of enriching the sacred literature of his nation.... He had no presentiment of the place his words would occupy in universal history; not so much that they would be in existence in the next generation, far less that one day people would look at them as Holy Scripture." We must always remember that a thing need not be transient because it was written to meet an immediate situation. All the great love songs of the world were written for one person, but they live on for the whole of mankind. It is just because Paulletters were written to meet a threatening danger or a clamant need that they still throb with life. And it is because human need and the human situation do not change that God speaks to us through them today.

The Spoken Word

One other thing we must note about these letters. Paul did what most people did in his day. He did not normally pen his own letters but dictated them to a secretary, and then added Ws own authenticating signature. (We actually know the name of one of the people who did the writing for him. In Rom_16:22 Tertius, the secretary, slips in his own greeting before the letter draws to an end). In 1Co_16:21 Paul says, "This is my own signature, my autograph, so that you can be sure this letter comes from me." (compare Col_4:18 ; 2Th_3:17 .)

This explains a great deal. Sometimes Paul is hard to understand, because his sentences begin and never finish; his grammar breaks down and the construction becomes involved. We must not think of him sitting quietly at a desk, carefully polishing each sentence as he writes. We must think of him striding up and down some little room, pouring out a torrent of words, while his secretary races to get them down. When Paul composed his letters, he had in his mindeye a vision of the folk to whom he was writing, and he was pouring out his heart to them in words that fell over each other in his eagerness to help.

THE LETTER TO THE PHILIPPIANS

Introduction To The Letter To The Philippians

We are fortunate in one thing in our study of Philippians--there are practically no critical problems involved; for no reputable New Testament critic has ever doubted its genuineness. We can accept Philippians as undoubtedly an authentic letter of Paul.

Philippi

When Paul chose a place wherein to preach the gospel, he always did so with the eye of a strategist. He always chose one which was not only important in itself but was also the key point of a whole area. To this day many of Paulpreaching-centres are still great road centres and railway junctions. Such was Philippi which had at least three great claims to distinction.

(i) In the neighbourhood there were gold and silver mines, which had been worked as far back as the time of the Phoenicians. It is true that by the time of the Christian era they had become exhausted, but they had made Philippi a great commercial centre of the ancient world.

(ii) The city had been founded by Philip, father of Alexander the Great, and it is his name that it bears. It was founded on the site of an ancient city called Krenides, a name which means The Wells or Fountains. Philip had founded Philippi in 368 B.C. because there was no more strategic site in all Europe. There is a range of hills which divides Europe from Asia, east from west and just at Philippi that chain of hills dips into a pass so that the city commanded the road from Europe to Asia, since the road must go through the pass. This was the reason that one of the great battles of history was fought at Philippi; for it was here that Antony defeated Brutus and Cassius, and thereby decided the future of the Roman Empire.

(iii) Not very long after, Philippi attained the dignity of a Roman Colony. The Roman Colonies were amazing institutions. They were not colonies in the sense of being outposts of civilization in unexplored parts of the world. They had begun by having a military significance. It was the custom of Rome to send out parties of veteran soldiers, who had served their time and been granted citizenship, to settle in strategic road centres. Usually these parties consisted of three hundred veterans with their wives and children. These colonies were the focal points of the great Roman road systems which were so engineered that reinforcements could speedily be sent from one colony to another. They were founded to keep the peace and to command the strategic centres in Romefar-flung Empire. At first they had been founded in Italy; but soon they were scattered throughout the whole Empire, as the Empire grew. In later days the title of colony was given by the government to any city which it wished to honour for faithful service.

Wherever they were, these colonies were little fragments of Rome and their pride in their Roman citizenship was their dominating characteristic. The Roman language was spoken; Roman dress was worn; Roman customs were observed; their magistrates had Roman titles, and carried out the am ceremonies as were carried out in Rome itself. They were stubbornly and unalterably Roman and would never have dreamt of becoming assimilated to the people amidst whom they wert set. We can hear the Roman pride breathing through the charge against Paul and Silas in Ac 16:20-21: "These men are Jews, and they are trying to teach and to introduce laws and customs which it is not right for us to observe--for we are Romans."

"You are a colony of heaven" (King James Version), Paul wrote to the Philippian Church (Phi_3:20 ). Just as the Roman colonist never forgot in any environment that he was a Roman, so they must never forget in any society that they were Christians. Nowhere were men prouder of being Roman citizens than in these colonies; and such was Philippi.

Paul And Philippi

It was on the second missionary journey, about the year A.D. 52, that Paul first came to Philippi. Urged on by the vision of the man of Macedonia with his appeal to come over and help us, Paul had sailed from Alexandrian Troas in Asia Minor. He had landed at Neapolis in Europe, and thence made his way to Philippi.

The story of Paulstay in Philippi is told in Ac 16 ; and an interesting story it is. It centres round three people--Lydia, the seller of purple; the demented slave-girl, used by her masters to tell fortunes; and the Roman jailor. It is an extraordinary cross-section of ancient life. These three people were of different nationalities. Lydia was an Asiatic, and her name may well be not a proper name at all but simply "the Lydian lady." The slave-girl was a native Greek. The jailor was a Roman citizen. The whole Empire was being gathered into the Christian Church. But not only were these three of different nationalities; they came from very different grades of society. Lydia was a dealer in purple, one of the most costly substances in the ancient world, and was the equivalent of a merchant prince. The girl was a slave, and, therefore, in the eyes of the law not a person at all, but a living tool. The jailor was a Roman citizen, member of the sturdy Roman middle-class from which the civil service was drawn. In these three the top, the bottom and middle of society are all represented. No chapter in the Bible shows so well the all-embracing faith which Jesus Christ brought to men.

Persecution

Paul had to leave Philippi after a storm of persecution and an illegal imprisonment. That persecution was inherited by the Philippian Church. He tells them that they have shared in his bonds and in his defence of the gospel (Phi_1:7 ). He bids them not to fear their adversaries for they are going through what he himself has gone through and is now enduring (Phi_1:28-30 ).

True Friendship

There had grown up between Paul and the Philippian Church a bond of friendship closer than that which existed between him and any other Church. It was his proud boast that he had never taken help from any man or from any Church, and that, with his own two hands, he had satisfied his needs. It was from the Philippians alone that he had agreed to accept a gift. Soon after he left them and moved on to Thessalonica, they sent him a present (Phi_4:16 ). When he moved on and arrived in Corinth by way of Athens, they alone again remembered him with their gifts (2Co_11:9 ). "My brethren whom I love and long for," he calls them, "my joy and crown in the Lord" (Phi_4:1 ).

The Occasion Of The Writing Of The Letter

When Paul wrote this letter he was in prison in Rome, and he wrote it with certain definite objects.

(i) It is a letter of thanks. The years have passed; it is now A.D. 63 or 64 and once again the Philippians have sent him a gift (Phi_4:10-11 ).

(ii) It has to do with Epaphroditus. It seems that the Philippians had sent him not only as a bearer of their gift, but that he might stay with Paul and be his personal servant. But Epaphroditus had fallen ill. He was sick for home; and he was worried because he knew that the people at home were worried about him. Paul sent him home, but he had the unhappy feeling that the people in Philippi might think Epaphroditus a quilter, so he goes out of his way to give him a testimonial: "Receive him with all joy, and honour such men, for he nearly died for the work of Christ" (Phi_2:29-30 ). There is something very moving in the sight of Paul, himself in prison and awaiting death, seeking to make things easier for Epaphroditus, when he was unexpectedly and unwillingly compelled to go home. Here is the peak of Christian courtesy.

(iii) It is a letter of encouragement to the Philippians in the trials which they are going through (Phi_1:28-30 ).

(iv) It is an appeal for unity. It is from that, that there rises the great passage which speaks of the selfless humility of Jesus Christ (Phi_2:1-11 ). In the Church at Philippi there were two women who had quarrelled and were endangering the peace (Phi_4:2 ); and there were false teachers who were seeking to lure the Philippians from the true path (Phi_3:2 ). This letter is an appeal to maintain the unity of the Church.

The Problem

It is just here that the problem of Philippians arises. At Phi_3:2 there is an extraordinary break in the letter. Up to Phi_3:1 everything is serenity and the letter seems to be drawing gently to its close; then without warning comes the outburst: "Beware of dogs; beware of evil workers; beware of the concision." There is no connection with what goes before. Further, Phi_3:1 looks like the end. "Finally, my brethren," says Paul, "rejoice in the Lord" and having said finally he begins all over again! (That, of course, is not an unknown phenomenon in preaching).

Because of this break many scholars think that Philippians, as we possess it, is not one letter but two letters put together. They regard Phi_3:2-21 and Phi_4:1-3 as a letter of thanks and warning sent quite early after the arrival of Epaphroditus in Rome; and they regard Php 1 - 2; Phi_3:1 and Phi_4:4-23 as a letter written a good deal later, and sent with Epaphroditus when he had to go home. That is perfectly possible. We know that Paul almost certainly did, in fact, write more than one letter to Philippi, for Polycarp, in his letter to the Philippian Church, says of him, "when he was absent he wrote letters to you."

The Explanation

And yet it seems to us that there is no good reason for splitting this letter into two. The sudden break between Phi_3:1 and Phi_3:2 can be otherwise explained in one of two ways.

(i) As Paul was writing, fresh news may have come of trouble at Philippi; and there and then he may have interrupted his line of thought to deal with it.

(ii) The simplest explanation is this. Philippians is a personal letter and a personal letter is never logically ordered like a treatise. In such a letter we put things down as they come into our heads; we chat on paper with our friends; and an association of ideas which may be clear enough to us may not be so obvious to anyone else. The sudden change of subject here is just the kind of thing which might occur in any such letter.

The Lovely Letter

For many of us Philippians is the loveliest letter Paul ever wrote. It has been called by two titles. It has been called The Epistle of excellent Things--and so indeed it is; and it has been called The Epistle of Joy. Again and again the words joy and rejoice recur. "Rejoice," writes Paul, "again I will say rejoice," even in prison directing the hearts of his friends--and ours--to the joy that no man can take from us.

FURTHER READINGS

Philippians

J. B. Lightfoot, Saint PaulEpistle to the Philippians (MmC; G)

R. P. Martin, The Epistle of Paul to the Philippians (TC; E)

J. H. Michael, The Epistle of Paul to the Philippians (MC; E)

M. R. Vincent, Philippians and Philemon (ICC; G)

Abbreviations

CGT: Cambridge Greek Testament

ICC: International Critical Commentary

MC: Moffatt Commentary

MmC: Macmillan Commentary

TC: Tyndale Commentary

E: English Text

G: Greek Text

Barclay: Philippians 3 (Pendahuluan Pasal)

The Indestructible Joy (Phi_3:1)

The Evil Teachers (Phi_3:2-3)

The Only True Circumcision (Phi_3:2-3 Continued)

The Privileges Of Paul (Phi_3:4-7)

The Attainments Of Paul (Phi_3:4-7 Continued)

The Worthlessness Of The Law And The Value Of Christ (Phi_3:8-9)

What It Means To Know Christ (Phi_3:10-11)

Pressing On (Phi_3:12-16)

Dweller On Earth But Citizen Of Heaven (Phi_3:17-21)

Constable: Philippians (Pendahuluan Kitab)

Introduction

Historical background

The name of the city of Philippi was originally Krinides (lit. springs). It stood about 10 miles inland from the Aegean Sea in the Roman province of Macedonia. In 356 B.C. Philip II, king of Macedonia and father of Alexander the Great, renamed the town after himself and enlarged it.

In 42 B.C. the Romans Octavian, Antony, and Lepidus defeated Brutus and Cassius in a battle fought just west of Philippi. After that battle Philippi became a military colony. Subsequent battles in 42 and 31 B.C. resulted in Philippi receiving even higher status. The citizens enjoyed autonomous government, immunity from taxes, and treatment as if they lived in Italy.¹ Some commentators have seen indications of the pride the Philippians took in their city in Acts 16:20-21 and Philippians 1:27 and 3:20. Luke's description of Philippi as a "leading city of the district of Macedonia" (Acts 16:12) probably refers to its colonial status since it was the only colony in the area. Amphipolis was the capital of the district, and Thessalonica was the capital of the province.

The Via Egnatia, the main highway from Rome to the east, ran through Philippi and brought much commerce and many travelers to Philippi. Also the nearby Gangites (modern Angitis) River was another natural advantage since it constituted another ancient thoroughfare (cf. Acts 16:13).

The story of the founding of the church in Philippi appears in Acts 16. Philippi was the first town in which Paul preached after he crossed the Aegean Sea from Troas and entered Europe. Then (50 A.D.) the city had few Jewish residents and the first converts were Lydia, a Gentile businesswoman from Thyatira in the province of Asia Minor, and the Philippian jailer. The church evidently met in Lydia's home at first (Acts 16:15). Paul's companions on his first visit to Philippi included Silas, Timothy, and Luke. Luke may have stayed in Philippi to establish the new converts when the other members of Paul's missionary team moved on to Thessalonica.² The Philippian Christians sent financial support to Paul in Thessalonica more than once (Phil. 4:15-16).

Probably Paul visited Philippi again during his third missionary journey in 57 A.D. He travelled from Ephesus to Corinth by land and then from Corinth back to Miletus mostly by land. From there he took a ship to Jerusalem. The land route he took on both occasions would have led him through Philippi.

No serious question about the Pauline authorship of this epistle arose until the nineteenth century. Paul claimed to have written it (Phil. l:1), and the references to his acquaintances, events in his life, and his way of thinking all point to him as the writer.

The apostle was a prisoner when he penned this letter (Phil. 1:7, 13, 16). References to the palace guard (1:13) and Caesar's household (4:22) have led most interpreters to conclude that Paul wrote from Rome rather than from Caesarea (cf. 1:19-24; 2:24).³ The Marcionite Prologue (c. 170 A.D.) also refers to Paul writing Philippians from Rome. Evidently he did so during his first Roman imprisonment (60-62 A.D.) during which time he also wrote Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon, the other Prison Epistles.⁴

The primary purpose Paul had in mind in writing this epistle seems to have been to reassure the Philippians. Epaphroditus, whom they had sent with a gift for Paul and to minister to his needs in prison, had recovered from a serious illness and was about to return to Philippi. Paul built up Epaphroditus in the eyes of his readers (2:25-30), which suggests that they may not have appreciated him adequately for some reason. Secondary reasons for sending this letter include expressing thanks for the Philippians' gift to Paul in prison (4:10-14) and announcing Timothy's approaching visit (2:19). Paul also wanted to explain his desire to revisit his readers (2:24) and to deal with the problem of the two women in the church who needed to reconcile (4:2). One commentator identified the genre of this epistle as a letter of friendship and moral exhortation.⁵

Of all Paul's epistles Philippians is the most consistently positive and personal. It reflects a joyful spirit.⁶ Paul did not rebuke this church sharply nor did he refer to any major problems in it. His warnings are of a precautionary nature. His occupation with Jesus Christ also stands out. In 104 verses there are 51 references to the Lord Jesus by name.

". . . what is most noticeable in this letter is the general paucity of Paul's more specialized theological vocabulary and the infrequency of the explanatory for,' which is always a dead giveaway that Paul is involved in heavy argumentation."⁷

Message⁸

The Philippian Christians were special favorites of the apostle Paul. Their response to the gospel and their subsequent progress in the faith were exemplary. However the connections between Paul and Philippi that the New Testament records, both in Acts and in this letter, reveal an interesting paradox.

In both books there is a lot about prison and a lot about rejoicing. Paul ended up in prison when he first evangelized Philippi. Yet in prison Paul and Silas sang praises to God. When Paul wrote Philippians he was in prison, this time in Rome. However the dominant emotion that he projected in this book was rejoicing.

The paradox of a man in prison rejoicing lies at the root of what this book is all about. Such an attitude demonstrates an unusual view of life. It is a uniquely Christian view of life. It demonstrates the mind of Christ, which is the key to this epistle.

The theme of the epistle is participation in the gospel. Everything in this letter deals with that subject in some way, as I have pointed out in the notes. By participation in the gospel I mean the fellowship that Paul and the Philippians shared in the work of disseminating the gospel. This is the work in which all Christians should participate as well. Paul, the Philippians, and we are all partners in the work of the gospel. The key to working together effectively as partners in the gospel is having the mind of Christ. Therefore in this overview of the book I would like to emphasize this fundamental attitude about which Paul had so much to say in this book.

The key revelation in this epistle is that of the Christian attitude, or viewpoint, or consciousness. Note some of the references to the mind or attitude in this epistle: 1:7; 2:2, 3, 5; 3:15, 19; 4:2, 10. This is a key word in this book, and it indicates the emphasis of Philippians.

Paul revealed what the mind of Christ was in the Savior. We find this revelation in 2:5-11, one of the greatest Christological passages in the Bible. The Gospels reveal Jesus' words and works, but this passage unveils His mind.

Notice first the mental attitude of our Savior in 2:6. He did not regard His privileged position as something that He needed to retain. He did not value His position for the sake of the position. He laid it aside and stooped to unbelievable depths to lift those who needed redemption out of ruin.

This attitude resulted in certain activity, which we read of in verses 7 and 8. Jesus Christ selflessly gave up what was in His own best interests for the sake of the betterment of others. He left the heights of heaven for the lowliness of earth. He who was sovereign became a servant. Instead of becoming the highest of servants, an angel, he became a lowly servant, a man. He could have lived a life of ease, but He submitted to shame and death. He might have died in comfort and private surrounded by those who loved Him. Instead He died in agony and shame in public surrounded by those who hated Him. He could have died appreciated, but instead he died hated and misunderstood. This is the mind of Christ, a lowly mind, a loving mind.

This activity resulted in an award: verses 9-11.

Paul also revealed what the mind of the saints who are in Christ should be. We too should have a certain attitude that expresses itself in specific activity, which God will just as surely reward.

Our attitude should be that our love abounds increasingly and that we are sincere and void of offense (1:9-10). Christ's love is to be our love. His attitude is to be our attitude. Regardless of the present privileged position we may occupy we must not retain it as a prize.

Paul had this attitude. We can see it clearly in the statement he made in Romans 9:1-3. Just before he wrote these words, Paul wrote that nothing could separate him for the love of God in Christ Jesus. Yet he did not count that secure position something to retain for his own benefit. He was willing to give it up for the welfare of the Jews. You may remember that Moses voiced a similar sentiment in Exodus 32:32.

What is the activity that should flow out of this attitude?

Look first at 1:27. Our life should be worthy of the gospel. This was one of Paul's favorite ways to describe our conduct responsibility as Christians (cf. Eph. 4:1; Col. 1:10; 1 Thess. 2:12). Worthy conduct is not just morally upright behavior. It is conduct that the gospel drives, conduct that aims at proclaiming the gospel, making it known. It is conduct that responds appropriately to God's gift of grace to us.

Notice also 2:14-15. We are to be blameless in our relationship to God. Moreover we are to be harmless in our relationships with people, not doing them harm but good. Our Lord's example of humble service to the point of death is our model. How much do we know about emptying ourselves, humbling ourselves, becoming obedient to death, even the death of the cross?

What is the award that will follow this attitude and this activity? It is twofold.

There is present victory over circumstances. This whole epistle is a revelation of Paul's triumph over circumstances that would have defeated many people. The pioneer missionary to the regions beyond sat confined in prison. Rather than saying everything was against him, Paul rejoiced that God's program was advancing. In all the Prison Epistles, Paul viewed himself not as the prisoner of Nero but of Jesus Christ. He believed the Lord had placed him where he was for the best purpose. Anyone can sing when he or she escapes from prison, but Paul sang in prison.

Second, there is also future reward. Throughout this epistle Paul had the judgment seat of Christ in view (1:6, 10-11, 20; 2:16; 3:8-9, 14; 4:1, 5). God will reward the mind of Christ in the saints just as He has rewarded the mind of Christ in the Savior. We should strive to gain that prize, not to glorify ourselves in heaven but to have a crown to lay down at Jesus' feet in worship in heaven (cf. Rev. 4:10).

We have seen that the mind of Christ is the key to this epistle. We have also seen that Paul revealed this mind in the Savior and in the saints. What did he say about this mind or attitude? He said, "Have this mind in you" (2:5).

What is the resource for this kind of thinking? Where do we find what it takes to have the mind of Christ in us? We find it in Christ. Specifically we find it when we orient our lives with Him at the center. Paul put it this way: "To me, to live is Christ" (1:21). For some people to live is finances. For others it is fame. For some it is family. For others to live is fun. Life is whatever we put at the center of living. Paul put Christ there. Consequently he viewed God as Christ did. He saw people as Christ did. He viewed his purpose as Christ did. He established his priorities as Christ did. He conducted his daily affairs as Christ did. His life was Christ.

What is our responsibility with this attitude? It is to work out our own salvation in response to God's working in us (2:12-13). We work out what God works in. How do we do this? We do this by forgetting what is past and by pressing on to God's goal for us. Paul used the same Greek word to describe his persecution of Christians (3:6) and his pressing toward his new goal (3:14; dioko). He pursued both goals zealously. He transferred all the passion and fervor that he once expended on tearing down the church into building it up. Our responsibility is absolute dedication and unfailing endeavor to the goal of building the church.

What are the rules we must follow with this attitude? Primarily we must rejoice in the Lord (3:1; 4:4). Rejoicing is not only a privilege, but it is a duty for the Christian. God has commanded us to rejoice. To do this we need to focus our thinking on what God is really doing as He has revealed this in His Word. We must also be forbearing toward all men rather than antagonistic (4:5). We must also give ourselves to prayer rather than to anxiety (4:6). These are the basic rules we need to follow.

By way of application, what does adopting the mind of Christ mean?

For the church the measure of her authority is the measure of her conformity to the mind of Christ. The church, the corporate body of believers, depends on many different things today to give it authority: political power, charismatic leaders, social influence, etc. Yet the church's real authority today is the same as Jesus Christ's authority was when He walked this earth, His humble attitude of submissiveness and obedience to His Father. The essence of the mind of Christ is love. Its consciousness is joy. Its expression is sacrifice. If love, joy, and sacrificial service characterize the church, it will have authority in the world.

For the individual Christian the application is that we should allow Jesus Christ to master us completely. We should view ourselves as His captives, His prisoners (cf. 1:1). It is only by entering into bondage to the Savior that we can find true liberty. His ideal must become our ideal. His power should be what we depend on to fulfill that ideal. Furthermore the certainty of His ultimate victory and ours now and in the future should be the inspiration for our ceaseless song. The present joy of our lives should come from our comradeship with Him day by day. Sharing the mind of Christ will teach us how to love, to serve, and to sing as we live the Christian life.

Constable: Philippians (Garis Besar)

Outline

I. Salutation 1:1-2

II. Prologue 1:3-26

A. Thanksgiving 1:3-8

B. Prayer 1:9-11

C. Progress report 1:12-26

1. Paul's present imprisonment 1:12-18

2. Paul's anticipated deliverance 1:19-26

III. Partnership in the gospel 1:27-4:9

A. A worthy walk 1:27-30

B. Unity and steadfastness 2:1-4:1

1. Walking in unity ch. 2

2. Walking in steadfastness 3:1-4:1

C. Specific duties 4:2-9

1. Restoring unity 4:2-3

2. Maintaining tranquillity 4:4-9

IV. Epilogue 4:10-20

A. The recent gift 4:10-14

B. The previous gifts 4:15-20

V. Greetings and benediction 4:21-23

Constable: Philippians

Philippians

Bibliography

Alford, Henry. The Greek Testament. 4 vols. Cambridge: Deighton, Bell, and Co., 1884.

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Bateman, Herbert W., IV. "Were the Opponents at Philippi Necessarily Jewish?" Bibliotheca Sacra 155:617 (January-March 1998):39-61.

Baxter, J. Sidlow. Explore the Book. 6 vols. London: Marshall, Morgan & Scott, 1965.

Beare, F. W. A Commentary on the Epistle to the Philippians. London: Adam & Charles Black, 1959.

Bing, Charlie. "Does Philippians 1:6 Teach Perseverance?" Grace Evangelical Society News 6:2 (February 1991):2.

Blazek, Gerald. "Unity through Humility in Philippians." Th.M. thesis, Dallas Theological Seminary, 1977.

Bock, Darrell L. "A Theology of Paul's Prison Epistles." In A Biblical Theology of the New Testament, pp. 299-331. Edited by Roy B. Zuck. Chicago: Moody Press, 1994.

Boice, James Montgomery. Philippians. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1971.

Bruce, F. F. The Epistle to the Galatians. New International Greek Testament Commentary series. Exeter, England: Paternoster Press, 1982; reprint ed., Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1983.

Brug, John F. "The Principles of Financial Stewardship in Paul's Letter to the Philippians," Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly 86:3 (Summer 1989):215-24.

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Constable, Thomas L. "Analysis of Bible Books--New Testament." Paper submitted for course 686 Analysis of Bible Books--New Testament. Dallas Theological Seminary, January 1968.

_____. "What Prayer Will and Will Not Change." In Essays in Honor of J. Dwight Pentecost. Edited by Stanley D. Toussaint and Charles H. Dyer. Chicago: Moody Press, 1986.

Conybeare, W. J. and Howson, J. S. The Life and Epistles of St. Paul. New ed. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1964.

Dahms, John V. "The Subordination of the Son." Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 37:3 (September 1994):351-64.

Dalton, William J. "The Integrity of Philippians." Biblica 60:1 (1979):97-102.

Darby, John Nelson. Synopsis of the Books of the Bible. 5 vols. Revised ed. New York: Loizeaux Brothers Publishers, 1942.

Deissmann, Adolf. Light from the Ancient East. Translated by Lionel R. M. Strachan. Revised and reprinted ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1965.

Dictionary of the Apostolic Church. Edited by James Hastings. 1915 ed. S.v. "Philippians, Epistle to the," by D. Mackenzie.

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Dillow, Joseph C. The Reign of the Servant Kings. Miami Springs, Fl.: Schoettle Publishing Co., 1992.

Duncan, George B. The Life of Continual Rejoicing. Chicago: Moody Press, 1965.

Duncan, G. S. "A New Setting for Paul's Epistle to the Philippians." Expository Times 43 (1931-32):7-11.

Eadie, John. A Commentary on the Greek Text of the Epistle of Paul to the Philippians. Edinburgh: T. and T. Clark, 1894; reprint ed. Minneapolis: James and Klock Christian Publishing Co., 1977.

Fee, Gordon D. Paul's Letter to the Philippians. New International Commentary on the New Testament series. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1995.

_____. "Philippians 2:5-11: Hymn or Exalted Pauline Prose?" Bulletin for Biblical Research 2 (1992):29-46.

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Hendricksen, William. New Testament Commentary: Exposition of Philippians and Exposition of Colossians and Philemon. Reprint ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1979.

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_____. "The Epistolary Thanksgiving and the Integrity of Philippians." Novum Testamentum 12:1 (January 1970):40-53.

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Kent, Homer A., Jr. "Philippians." In Ephesians-Philemon. Vol. 11 of Expositor's Bible Commentary. 12 vols. Edited by Frank E. Gaebelein and J. D. Douglas. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1978.

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Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable

Haydock: Philippians (Pendahuluan Kitab)

THE

EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL, THE APOSTLE,

TO THE PHILIPPIANS.

INTRODUCTION.

Philippi, a considerable city in Macedonia, so called from Philip, father of Alexander the Great. St. Paul had preached there. (Acts xvi.) Those people had a great veneration for him, and supplied his wants when he was at Corinth, and again when he was a prisoner at Rome, sending to him by Epaphroditus, who is thought to have been the bishop of Philippi. St. Paul sent this letter by him to the Philippians, (written during his imprisonment) from Rome; but whether during his first or second imprisonment, is uncertain. (Witham) --- It is generally believed that St. Paul wrote it about the year 62, in his first confinement. In it he testifies to the faithful his most tender gratitude and acknowledgement for the assistance they had sent him, and a zeal the most ardent for their salvation. He felicitates them on their courage under sufferings for the cause of Jesus Christ, on their good works also, and forcibly excites them to confidence and joy. --- The Philippians were the first among the Macedonians converted to the faith. St. Paul, in this epistle, recommends charity, unity, and humility; and warns against false teachers, whom he calls dogs, and enemies of the cross of Christ. He also returns thanks for their benefactions. It was written about twenty-nine years after our Lord's ascension. (Challoner)

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Gill: Philippians (Pendahuluan Kitab)

INTRODUCTION TO PHILIPPIANS

Philippi was a Roman colony, and the chief city of one part of Macedonia, Act 16:12, it is by Appianus called Datos which was its original name; and by Diodorus Siculus it is called Crenidae ^a, from, the fountains about it; and it took its name Philippi, from Philip king of Macedon, father of Alexander the great, who rebuilt and fortified it; near this place a famous battle was fought, and a victory obtained by Augustus Caesar and Mark Antony, over Brutus and Cassius; it is now called Chrixopolis, properly Chrysopolis, from the plenty of golden mines near it: here the apostle was directed by a vision, to go and preach the Gospel; and which was succeeded, to the conversion of Lydia, and the jailer, and their families; which laid the foundation of a Gospel church in this place, to whom this epistle is written; and which was written by the apostle when he was a prisoner at Rome, as many things in it show; for he more than once makes mention of his bonds, and of these being made manifest in Caesar's palace, and of some of Caesar's household sending their Christian salutations to this church: Dr. Hammond makes the date of this epistle to be the year 59, and Dr. Lightfoot places it in the year 60, and the sixth of Nero; the occasion of it was this, the Philippians, to whom the apostle was very dear, he being the first preacher of the Gospel to them, and the instrument of their conversion, hearing that he was a prisoner at Rome, send their minister and pastor Epaphroditus to him, to visit him, and by him a present to support him under his afflicted circumstances, and who related to him the case of this church; and at his departure he sent by him this letter; the design of which is, to express his love and affection to them; to give them an account of his bonds, and the usefulness of them, and how he was supported under them; to encourage them under all the afflictions and persecutions, they endured for the sake of Christ; to excite them to love, unity, and peace, among themselves; to caution them against false teachers, judaizing Christians, that were for joining Moses and Christ, law and Gospel, works and grace together, in the business of salvation; to exhort them to a holy life and conversation, and to return them thanks for their kind present.

Gill: Philippians 3 (Pendahuluan Pasal)

INTRODUCTION TO PHILIPPIANS 3

In this chapter the apostle cautions the Philippians against false teachers, whom he describes as evil men, and exhorts them to walk as they had him, and other faithful ministers for an example. And whereas these judaizing teachers were for drawing them off from Christ, and weakening their joy and glorying in him, he exhorts them in the first place to rejoice in Christ, Phi 3:1, and to beware of them, whom he describes as dogs, as evil workers, as the concision, Phi 3:2, and opposes to them the characters of real saints, who are truly what they vainly boasted of, really circumcised persons in a Gospel sense, spiritual worshippers of God, joyful believers in Christ, and such as placed no confidence in outward things, Phi 3:3, This the apostle illustrates in his own case, who had as much reason for trusting in such things as any man whatever, Phi 3:4, of which he gives an enumeration in several particulars, Phi 3:5, upon which he passes his judgment, and shows of what account, and in what esteem they were with him before, and now; that formerly they were reckoned gain, but now loss, Phi 3:7, and which he explains as referring to every thing short of Christ, and in comparison of the knowledge of him, and which he preferred to everything; and this he confirms by his willingness to suffer the loss of all things for him; his ends in which were, that he might win him, and be found in him, without his own righteousness, that legal one the false teachers extolled, and with the righteousness of God which faith receives, and is the only justifying one; and that he might know more of him, feel more of his power, have more fellowship with him, and conformity to him, Phi 3:8. His view in all which was, that he might attain to that glorious and happy state of the resurrection of the dead in Christ, Phi 3:11, and to prevent mistakes, and anticipate an objection that might be made to him, as if he ascribed perfection to himself in the present state, he owns he had not arrived to it: all he meant was, that it was his desire to enjoy that which Christ had laid hold on him for; in order to which he buried in oblivion what was past, looking and pressing to things before hint, even to Christ, and the glory he was called unto, which was with him, Phi 3:12. Next follow various exhortations, as to be of the same mind with the apostle in pressing after spiritual and heavenly things, to which he exhorts those that had a greater knowledge of them than others; and who, though otherwise minded, the apostle was persuaded would have, the same revealed to them, Phi 3:15, and both he exhorts, according to their different attainments, to walk by the same rule and mind the same thing, Phi 3:16, and to be followers of him, and of them that walked after his example, Phi 3:17, giving this as a reason, because there were men who walked otherwise, to the grief of him, to the dishonour of Christ, and to their own shame and destruction, whom he describes as sensual and earthly minded men, Phi 3:18, and to engage them to follow him, and others, and not such persons, he draws a character of them opposite unto them; that whereas the minds of those others were carnal and earthly, their minds were spiritual and heavenly; their conversation was in heaven, and they were waiting for Christ from hence, Phi 3:20, and the blessedness they expect from him then, is the resurrection of their bodies, which is illustrated by the efficient cause of it, Christ; the subject of it, their vile bodies, as in this lifts, and in the grave; the exemplar and pattern of it, the glorious body of Christ; and the means by which it will be effected, the energy and power of Christ, who is omnipotent, Phi 3:21.

College: Philippians (Pendahuluan Kitab)

INTRODUCTION

THE CITY

When Paul bypassed the seaport at Neapolis and moved eight miles inland to Philippi, he did so because Philippi, though small, was a city of some importance. The history of the city stretched back several centuries. A small village, known as Krenides, was captured by Philip of Macedon and annexed to his empire in 356 B.C. The area was attractive because of the many springs in the vicinity, and because of the nearby gold mines. Hence Philip named the city after himself, i.e., Philippi.

The city remained insignificant until conquered by the Romans almost two centuries later (168, 167 B.C.). The area was made a Roman province, and included in the first of the four districts into which the Romans divided Macedonia.

The most significant event of the pre-Pauline city took place in 42 B.C. There, on the plain of Philippi, the forces of Brutus and Cassius (Caesar's assassins) clashed with the armies of Antony and Octavian, only to go down in defeat. Thus Philippi was the spot at which the destiny of the Roman empire was set for some time to come.

Later (31 B.C.) Octavian defeated Antony. As a result of the battles of 42 and 31 B.C. a number of military veterans, from both the victors and the vanquished, were settled there. In 31 B.C. the name of the town was enhanced to honor Octavian (Caesar Augustus), its conqueror.

Philippi was made a Roman colony, a high privilege indeed for a provincial city within the empire. Rights of the citizenry included Roman citizenship, the right to own and transfer property, and exemption from certain taxes. The city was in municipal pattern and architecture modeled on Rome, as well as in legal and administrative detail. The citizens wore Roman dress, had coinage with Roman inscriptions, and used (though not exclusively) the Latin language. Roman citizens had certain rights under Roman law, a fact that stood to Paul's advantage when he came to Philippi (Acts 16:37ff).

The city was located on the Via Egnatia, one of the major Roman roads of the time. Some evidence indicates the road in this area was in bad condition during the time of Paul's visit, so that visitors to Philippi may have used the sea route (as Paul did) with greater frequency. However, bad roads, though an inconvenience to travel, did not stop it completely. When Paul left the city it was by road toward the west.

Residents of the city would have included a core of veterans of the Roman wars or their descendants. Also in residence were Greeks, descendants of the native Thracian population, and some Jews. Some read the story of the conversion of Lydia in Acts 16 to indicate there were not enough male Jews in the city to constitute a synagogue. But others argue that there was a synagogue built by the river to which Paul went to preach.

ORIGINS OF THE CHURCH

The origins of this church are recorded in Acts 16:6-40. Compare the commentary by Dennis Gaertner in this series for detailed comments. The following should be noted.

First, it was by divine impulse that the mission to Philippi and Europe was undertaken. A vision, coupled with earlier prohibitions, spurred Paul on his way (Acts 16:6-10). Paul traveled with Silas, Timothy (who had joined the party earlier), and, by assumption, Luke, who is identified by "we" in Acts 16:10. This is based on the view that Acts was written by Luke. When Paul and Silas left the city, Luke was apparently left with the fledgling church, to be picked up by Paul when he passed through Philippi on his third journey (Acts 20:5).

Second, the initial convert in the city was Lydia (Acts 16:13-15), an open-minded God-fearer, whose profession (a dealer in purple cloth) and hospitality lead to the conclusion she was a person of some means. Though she is not mentioned in Philippians, two of the four specific names of Philippian Christians given in the letter are women, and it is generally thought that the women exercised significant roles in the church.

Third, a slave girl was exorcised, and this good deed destroyed her commercial advantage to her owners. In retaliation they inflamed a crowd, with the result that Paul and Silas were beaten and imprisoned in the most miserable of conditions (Acts 16:16-24).

Fourth, this incarceration served to make the faith of Paul and Silas shine more brightly, as they sang praises to God from their cell, rather than uttering the groans of pain that might have been expected. An earthquake so devastated the prison that the prisoner's cells were opened and their bonds loosed. The jailer, contemplating suicide because he thought his prisoners would have escaped, was reassured by Paul and Silas that they were all still there. More importantly, he found Christ, and he and his family became Christians in what is one of the remarkable conversions of the New Testament (Acts 16:23-34).

Finally, the release of Paul and Silas from prison and the embarrassment of the Philippian officials when they learned they had afflicted Roman citizens is told with a touch of humor. Paul and Silas, apparently taking their time, finally left the city, no doubt much to the relief of the city authorities (Acts 16:35-40). But their companion Luke stayed behind, with a group of believers whose ties to Paul through the years were especially affectionate. Though the first convert was a God-fearer, evidence indicates the church was composed predominantly of Gentiles who had not necessarily been sympathetic to Judaism. The date for these events is generally considered to be from A.D. 49-52.

PAUL'S LOCALE

Paul nowhere in this letter names the place of his imprisonment. A long held tradition, dating as early as the second century, identifies Rome as his locale. In recent years two other main options have been advanced: Ephesus and Caesarea. In considering this issue there are basic data to be kept in mind.

(1) Paul was a prisoner (1:7) and did not know the outcome of his trial (1:19f; 2:17).

(2) The place from which Paul wrote was also populated by those of "Caesar's household" (4:22).

(3) Timothy was with Paul (1:1; 2:19ff).

(4) The Christians in Paul's locale were engaged in evangelism (1:14ff).

(5) Paul hoped to visit Philippi if circumstances allowed (2:24).

(6) There was frequent communication between Philippi and Paul. The Philippians had heard Paul was in prison and sent Epaphroditus, who became ill. This news reached Philippi, and their anxiety reached back to Paul. The letter Paul wrote would be sent to Philippi, to be followed by visits from Timothy, and later (if possible) Paul himself (2:19-28).

A theoretical Ephesian imprisonment meets some of these criteria, but founders on others. Most telling is the fact that though Acts says Paul was in Ephesus for some time (Acts 19:8, 10) there is no record of an imprisonment there.

Paul was imprisoned for at least two years at Caesarea (Acts 24:27), but again that imprisonment does not account for all the statements in Philippians. One of the reasons for objection to Rome as the place of origin was that the distance between Rome and Philippi was too great for all the trips indicated by Philippians. But the distance was just as great to Caesarea. Actually the journey from Rome to Philippi took about forty days. Thus a major objection to a Roman imprisonment, and justification for a Caesarean, is removed.

Two major objections to Rome have to do with the amount of time needed for travel, just discussed, and the change in Paul's travel plans from his announced intention to visit Spain (Rom 15:24, 29) to his intent to visit Philippi (Phil 1:25-27; 2:24). Given Paul's unexpected changes in circumstances due to his arrest and imprisonment (Acts 21), a change of intent should not be found too surprising.

Though Rome cannot be proved to be the place from which Paul wrote, it does seem to fit the circumstances better than the alternatives. If from Rome, the date of writing was probably the early 60s. While holding this view, students still should not close themselves to evidence suggesting other possibilities. Despite the details in Acts and his biographical statements in the letters, there is still a great deal we do not know about Paul's activities.

REASONS FOR WRITING

Hawthorne lists a number of reasons Paul wrote this letter. From his list we may select the following as the most obvious.

First, there was the matter of Epaphroditus and the gift sent to Paul by his hand. Paul wished to respond to their generosity (4:10-20). He also wished to allay their apprehensions about Epaphroditus (2:25-30), with whom he doubtless sent the letter.

Second, he took the opportunity to share certain news about himself and his situation. He especially told them of a problem he faced because some brethren hoped to create trouble for him by preaching Christ out of envy and rivalry (1:14-18). At the same time he addressed the issue of his imprisonment and his possible future (1:19-30; 2:24).

Third, he wished to address a serious problem of division within the church. He names two women (4:2), but we suspect the problem was of wider dimension. There are touches throughout the book directed to this need, but it is addressed most powerfully in 2:1-11.

Fourth, Paul wished to warn about those he calls "dogs," "men who do evil," and "mutilators of the flesh" in 3:2. Later in the chapter he laments about "enemies of the cross" ( v. 18).

EMPHASES

In addition to these central purposes there are certain notes sounded throughout the book which can enrich pursuit by the serious student. The joy motif through the book has been often observed (cf. the reference at 1:4). Though some have argued the church was a joyful one, we believe that not to have been the case. Paul's repeated exhortations indicate their lack of joy, and we suppose that a capturing of the "joy of the Lord" would go far to resolving the Philippians' problems.

Another noteworthy emphasis is the repeated use of the forms of the root fron- ( phron ; references at 1:7). From examining these it can be discerned how Paul's call was for a whole approach to life, not just to superficial thought or action. Study of this term makes it clear that Christianity was a deep and total commitment to the Lord and to a way of life.

In addition the reader might examine the texts listed under "all" (1:1), "partnership" (1:5), and "in the Lord" (4:1).

DEVOTIONAL TEXTS

Some of the great devotional New Testament texts are found in Philippians (see 1:21; 2:5-11,12f; 3:7-11; 4:4-7,8f, and 11-13). Often these verses are taken out of context, and are given an independent existence. We note this to stress the fact that Paul did not write Philippians (or any letter) so it could be the subject of a commentary - though commentaries have real value. To follow Christ meant to live a life, not to judiciously make detailed observations about grammar, word meanings, syntax, etc. So if a commentary enhances understanding, that is a noble thing. But understanding may stop short of salvation. As Paul wrote to enhance discipleship, so this author hopes this work will have the same effect! To God be the glory!

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV

BIBLIOGRAPHY

PHILIPPIANS

Beare, F.W. The Epistle to the Philippians . London: Adam and Charles Black, 1959.

Bruce, F.F. Philippians . Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1983.

Craddock, Fred. Philippians . Atlanta: John Knox, 1985.

Harrell, Pat. The Letter of Paul to the Philippians . Austin: Sweet, 1969.

Hawthorne, Gerald. Philippians . Waco: Word Books, 1983.

Martin, Ralph. Philippians . Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1987.

Melick, Richard. Philippians, Colossians, Philemon. Nashville: Broadman, 1991.

O'Brien, Peter. Philippians . Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991.

Saunders, Ernest. First Thessalonians, Second Thessalonians, Philippians, Philemon . Atlanta: John Knox, 1981.

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV