1Finally, 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.
2Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh. 3For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh— 4though I myself have reasons for such confidence.
If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5circumcised 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; 6as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.
7But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8What 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 garbage, that I may gain Christ 9and 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. 10I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
12Not 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. 13Brothers, 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, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
15All 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. 16Only let us live up to what we have already attained.
17Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. 18For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. 20But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21who, 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.
Interesting points of Discussion:
- Paul's tone in this letter is one that is aware of his own mortality; he's likely thinking "what do they need to know before I die?"
- [See verse 1] Paul begins the letter by telling the Philippians to 'rejoice in the Lord'- start praising and being thankful; in contrast to the request in his last letter (Philippians 2) for them not to grumble about anything, this seems like an even bigger step forward almost as if he is saying "instead of complaining shout for joy"
- It is easier to rejoice if you understand Jesus' death on the cross; that is, [see Philippians 2, verse 1] 'any comfort from his love'
- [See verse 3] 'Watch out for those dogs'- Paul begins the letter with a cautionary warning against the enemies but also reassures the Philippians that if they follow what he has taught them they will be safe
- The enemies Paul is referring to are the people who tried to bring in the idea of circumcision as righteousness based on the law of the Pharisees; they are the ones who put their 'confidence in the flesh' [see verse 3]
- [See verse 3] 'we who are the circumcision'- Paul is telling the Philippians, who are non-Jews and thus not circumcised, that they are actually more 'circumcised' than the Jews; he seems to be implying here that you do not need to be circumcised to be righteous
- [See verse 5] 'circumcised on the eighth day'- in the Jewish community, this tradition of circumcision is a welcome entrance into society and what defines righteousness
- The wicked 'dogs' are Paul's rival preachers who are telling the Philippians that they need circumcision over Jesus
- [See verses 4-6] Paul tells of how his circumcision brought him Jewish knowledge and inheritance; 'as for zeal'- he would kill people for it, and, 'faultless'- he did it right
- [See verses 7-8] But now that he looks back on it, it was a complete 'loss'- means absolutely nothing and 'garbage'- worthless; it's like he's saying "I spent half my life running the wrong way and now I've got to make up for it"
- Paul had relied on his own actions and interests
- 'Everything a loss', 'all things'- these include freedom (not being in jail like he currently was), marriage, clout (privileges) of being a Hebrew, education, having a place to call home, being alive, goals/dreams, ego ('boast in Christ Jesus' only [see verse 3])
- [See verse 12] 'Not that I have obtained', 'made perfect'- God is enabling Paul but Paul is also choosing to do something on his own; he seems to be hanging onto a miracle that he was sure of and convinced of, like he's saying "Jesus did something for my sake, so I'm holding onto this because I saw him do it"
- The danger is in stopping i.e. "I did it"
- Q: When do you get the 'prize' [see verse 14]?
- A: When you cross the finishline. The 'goal' is the finishline and the 'prize' is the medal on the podium. You can't get the medal without finishing the race.
- If you run toward the 'prize', you will miss it because the 'goal'- death (which the 'dogs' avoid)- must come first in order to get to the 'prize', which is resurrection
- [See verse 17] 'Join with others'- this race is a team sport and one that is meant to be run together
- Circumcision is not the 'prize', not something that has been done in the past as was the case with Paul
- Paul pressed forward to something better despite the fact that he had won a race earlier in his life because the prize was short-lived; this race is longer and the 'prize' is eternal
- [See verse 10] 'becoming like him in his death'- like Jesus we go down and down to the lowest of lowest until we are resurrected as he was
- [See verse 17] Be examples and models for each other
- [See verse 16] 'Only let us live up to what we have already attained'- there is no finite destination but rather you are being called to a higher standard as you know more; do not lose ground on what God has called us to- keep safe on the path that we have been walking on
- Circumcision is a good thing but was misused to become demotivated (due to the fear of death) to pursue the final goal; the act of circumcision was comparable to saying things like "I'm baptized, I'm done", "I'm going to church, I'm finished", etc.
- The ultimate reward to be 'attained' is the gift of salvation [see verse 12]
- [See verse 15] 'God will make clear to you'- The holy spirit gives discernment
- There is no end to what God is doing, what is next? Ask God continually for clarification
- 'mature'- refers to eyesight, particularly better vision
- Run the race to the end for there is an 'awaiting savior' to resurrect us from the dead [see verse 20]
- [See verse 19] 'god is their stomach'- eat to merely stay alive; what is the point? Paul is saying "Run to death with a purpose"
