It is the apostle giving us what his heart was occupied with when he could not go forth in the activities of work, and when it seemed as if he had nothing to do. Eternal life is the gift of God (Romans 6:23), but it is in Christ Jesus; through his hand it must come to us, as it is procured for us by him. Let us then try to see what Paul thinks about when he speaks about righteousness. The resurrection of the dead - Paul believed that all the dead would be raised Acts 24:15; Acts 26:6-8; and in this respect he would certainly attain to the resurrection of the dead, in common with all mankind. He knew well how much they might be tried by the report of his own imprisonment, and no deliverance coming as yet. Nothing but the righteousness that was of God as its source satisfied him. all the dead, as a class. Because this is going to bring him an estrangement from his cronies back in Jerusalem that he has been going around with.Paul is writing this epistle to the Philippians some thirty years after the Damascus road experience. In front of people they can act very holy and sanctified and excited and exhilarated in the things of the Lord, but when they get away from the stage, they can have filthy mouths; they can tell dirty jokes, they are living a two-faced life. The archangel is at best but a servant; the highest creature, far from having to stoop in order to become a servant, can never rise above that condition. I hold the record and my name is on the record books, and all." The past is translated into the present. And though I may have a fleshly rite, if my heart was after the things of the flesh, then what happened to me physically has no bearing upon my relationship with God at all.The same can be said of any of the other rites that we have within the church. And I may pull over to the side of the freeway and decide not to pass him so that I won't be a bad witness, and bow my head and say, "God, I am sorry. B. Lightfoot remarks that the verb memphesthai ( G3201) , from which it comes, means to blame for sins of omission. His worship is love of God and service of men. At any rate, such is the picture that the Holy Spirit gives of him there. 7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. Paul warns that they are there, they were there in Paul's day; they are there today. When that event takes place God will snatch Christians out from among the spiritually dead (unbelievers). Faith is called knowledge, Isaiah 53:11. There is no looking at Him as Saviour on the cross merely; but when He comes for us, there will be in the filial sense (as ever in our epistle) "salvation." It is the imbuing of the Christian with that which is life everlasting, but the life that he is now living by "the faith of the Son of God, who loved him and gave himself for him." This is interesting, for it must mean that Paul had written other letters to the Philippians which have not survived. "Receive him therefore in the Lord with all gladness; and hold such in reputation" (he would turn it again to practical profit as to others): "because for the work of Christ he was nigh unto death, not regarding his life, to supply your lack of service toward me.". 2. No saints are outside the danger. Who can understand why it should be "suitable to the persons addressed," on Dr. B's showing? This construction is probably insignificant, but perhaps Paul is distinguishing the resurrection of the body from the spiritual resurrection that occurs at baptism. That was a common name by which the Jews referred to the Gentiles: the gentile dogs. The apostle had his heart upon Christ as his righteousness. "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself." B. "I make this judgment of the case; I thus reason with myself." You listen to John Piper. For it is not meant looking to Him now, or having Him as one's life: to win Christ means having Him at the other side. 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. Nor was he in that which he was about to write without deep feeling; but he had learned Christ for all; and this is the key-note of the epistle from the first, though only uttered distinctly at the last. Should any at present think differently, they will soon come to agree, if they allow God to teach them. 3. To suffer for the faith is not a penalty, it is a privilege, for thereby we share the very work of Christ. By this claim Paul makes it clear that he is not an Ishmaelite, for the Ishmaelites were circumcised in their thirteenth year ( Genesis 17:25), nor a proselyte who had come late into the Jewish faith and been circumcised in manhood. To a Jew zeal was the greatest quality in the religious life. They were those who denied that there was any law at all in the Christian life. A better translation would be "if somehow" (NASB margin) or "and so, somehow" (NIV). Vital to the understanding of this passage is the correct interpretation of the Greek word teleios ( G5046) which occurs twice, rendered by the Revised Standard Version as Perfect in Php_3:12 and as mature in Php_3:15 . Hence he at once begins, not with a doctrinal preparation after the introduction, but the introduction brings us as usual into the general spirit if not special object of the epistle. And it is sad when a person is resting in the past, not pressing ahead. Such was the apostle's faith. We are undone without a righteousness wherein to appear before God, for we are guilty. The apostle takes up, no doubt, the sweet affections of chapter 2, but then they are strengthened by the energy that Christ seen in glory imparts, as in chapter 3. WebMatthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Philippians 3:9-14. WebPhilippians 3:611 The New International Version (NIV) 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless. The effect of their teaching was to take men further away from God instead of to bring them nearer to him. But then this monumental statement. He means the Lord, really, personally, at hand; as he had said in the end of the last chapter, that this was what we look for. Let us not mistake in this; let us not be driven from it by a too common misuse. 5 Things You Should Know about the ESV Bible Translation. They are always looking at their past and doing nothing now. They are out there, there are many of them. 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, Php 3:1, and to beware of them, whom he describes as dogs, as evil workers, as the concision, Php 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, Php 3:3, This the apostle illustrates in his own case, who had as much reason for trusting in such things as any man whatever, Php 3:4, of which he gives an enumeration in several particulars, Php 3:5,6, 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, Php 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, Php 3:8-10. It is what enabled him to look at the saints, as he called them to look at one another, esteeming others, as he says, better than themselves. The Philippian congregation was generally a wonderful group of people. It is not simply intellectual knowledge, the knowledge of certain facts or even principles. . So, she decided that she would make for herself a new dress for the senior prom. However elsewhere in his writings he was very confident that God would resurrect him and all believers (e.g., Romans 8:11; Romans 8:23; 1 Corinthians 6:14; 1 Corinthians 15:12-57; 2 Corinthians 4:14; 2 Corinthians 5:1-5; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 2 Timothy 2:18). So, those things which we once gained, those things which were once so important to me, I counted loss, and I forget those things which are behind, because I am pressing forth for those things which are before. It has the preposition ek (meaning from or out of) added to the ordinary word for resurrection" (Loh and Nida 106). (i) He sets down what we might call the indestructibility of Christian joy. But then, worse than that, this judgmental spirit. As he had said elsewhere before, so he says here, "Be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample. This was precisely what he desired when a Jew. The Alexandrian, Vatican, Sinai, Clermont, and St. Germain Uncials, supported by some ten cursives, very many versions, and the chief Greek and Latin ecclesiastical writers read . He "became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Looking to the Lord, as it is the life-breath of love, so it adds to the value of brotherly kindness in its season. So this is Paul's answer to the Jewish teachers. 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. The apostle does call for "fear and trembling" on the part of the saints in that chapter; but there is not an atom of dread or doubt in it. I mean, you have got to give it every effort, working through pain, beyond the pain threshold. The name of Christ Himself is the true centre of the saints; unto this the Spirit gathers. It is not meant that there are no difficulties, but that Christ makes the burden light and all happy to the praise of God's grace; whereas any other means or measure detracts from His glory and draws attention to self. Nothing, then, would the apostle have done in strife or vain-glory; "' but in lowliness of mind each esteeming other better than themselves." The new body, the building of God not made with human hands, the eternal house that God has created for my spirit. Does he question the assurance of his salvation? You look at a Bible text on the screen. I don't know about this suffering bit. While the exact nature of that reward is unclear here, it can generally be understood as a sort of abundance of life. It is interesting that Paul turns it around and uses it of those teachers that would seek to put the believers back under the law. WebExodus 3:13-14 meaning. But you can always rejoice in the Lord, because He is above circumstances. 1. May it be so with us! " We need to draw from God, the spring and the only supplier of power that can resist the devil; but, at the same time, that we have the devil to resist in His power is a conviction that may well demand "fear and trembling;" and this, lest in such a conflict we should let in anything of self, which would at once give a handle to the devil. 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. He persecuted the church. It is the proof that his promise to be with us always to the end of the world is true. Philippians 3:1114 May 18, 2019. WebFee's commentary on Paul's letter to the church in Philippi. For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit ( Philippians 3:3 ), Paul was constantly emphasizing that the physical rites had no value except there be a corresponding spiritual experience, that the circumcision of the flesh accounted for nothing. If any other" carrying on the same thought of the flesh "if any other man thinketh that he hath matter of trust in the flesh, I more. And so, this body will be changed, and I will receive a new body like His, fashioned like His glorious image, according to that power of the Spirit that raised Him from the dead. Our citizenship isn't here. All human achievement had to be laid aside, in order that he might accept the free grace of Christ. His being out of sight rather made the remembrance of his words and ways the more distinct, and imparted a chastened earnestness to their desires of pleasing the Lord. "You remember Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, chapter 5 of Matthew, said, "Except your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisees, you shall in no wise enter the kingdom of heaven." The point Paul is making here is similar to that in Romans 8:17, which says, "we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him." ", And what is it that gave such a hope to one that owns himself the chief of sinners and less than the least of all saints? And you can become a phony, because, you know, you set your own standards; you live by your own rules. Anything I do for myself is a waste of time and effort. I can do all things through him who strengtheneth me." This seems to me the real meaning, which the margin gives rightly. Our website uses cookies to store user preferences. (c) It is the guarantee that in life and in death and beyond death the presence of the Risen Lord is always with us. And all of my good record down the tube and the righteousness is erased. What then are the signs of that real circumcision? NIV I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. True experience is still the great theme which the apostle has in hand here as well as in his own personal history. I had it made as far as the law was concerned." In any case, indeed, to the Christian, death is gain; but he could best say it who could say, "To me to live is Christ," who could say it not merely as the faith of Him, but as a matter of simple, unconstrained, spontaneous enjoyment of Christ in practical ways. It is his state and experience every day, as to which his hope was that in nothing he should be ashamed; "but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ. This verb indicates the most intimate knowledge of another person. Impossible that anything done by other saints should turn to one's acceptance any more than what is done by himself The apostle uses salvation throughout his letter to the Philippians (nor is it confined to this scripture only) in the sense of the complete and final triumph over all the power of Satan. So it is true with us. In this we hear of difference; and scripture does not obliterate but contrariwise asserts it, and treats the practical denial of it as a scandal brought in by Corinthian headiness. "I want to hang on to the flesh. He no longer existed. In common language it was popularly derived from kusi (compare G2965) ballomena ( G906) , which means that which is thrown to the dogs; and in medical language it means excrement, (dung, as the King James Version translates it). a really inaccurate mode. Nederlandstalige Bijbelstudies door Stan Marinussen, Copyright - Enduring Word       |      . Sweet and wondrous word to say that Christ is our life; but the question is, how are we living? If by any means I, might attain unto the resurrection of. And as to Romans 4:17 (which was probably meant rather than 16), it has no bearing on the matter, as it is there merely a question of God's power displayed in quickening the dead, and calling things that are not in being as in being, and in no way distinguishing the resurrection of life from that of judgment. He was made Lord and Christ. He thus takes a common place with his beloved son in the gospel. In Revelation the word dog stands for those who are so impure that they are debarred from the Holy City ( Revelation 22:15). Our citizenship is in heaven, from which we look for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Phinehas had saved the people from the wrath of God, and been given an everlasting priesthood, because he was zealous for his God ( Numbers 25:11-13). Partner with StudyLight.org as God uses us to make a difference for those displaced by Russia's war on Ukraine. Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless." To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe. Hence he says, "We look for the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour: who shall change our vile. Christ was "without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation." and mark them which walk so as ye have us for your ensample [example]. He was totally, completely ostracized by those who were once his compatriots, those whom he once shared with. There is not one of these things but may in itself become the veriest snare; and so much the more dangerous because each looks fair. In effect Paul is saying that the Christian must forget all that he has done and remember only what he has still to do. Who have had more palpable witness that service may become the object rather than Christ? There is not even the allowance of the possibility of their turning aside from the bright career both of possessing a Saviour they knew, and of enjoying Him increasingly. "Being confident," he therefore says, "of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work will perform it unto the day of Jesus Christ, even as it is meet for me to think this of you all." Thus the two things are repeated the past judgment and the present power: "and do count them but dung, that I may, win Christ." "Let your requests be made known unto God." Oh that the Lord might make it true of His own! The author of Exalting Jesus in Luke is Thabiti M. Anyabwile Philippians - Ryan Kelly 2014-07-31 The book of Philippians challenges Christians to remember their true identity as citizens of Gods kingdom, especially when faced with difficult circumstances and painful trials. It was not because of their own personal interest, though this was great and fresh, but they loved that it should go forth. All Commentaries Videos Images Devotionals Other Translations Sermons Related Scriptures Podcasts Blogs. He has not attained this "perfection" as is evident from verses 12-16. Even principles ; unto this the Spirit gathers called me heavenward in Christ.. So impure that they are always looking at their past and doing nothing.... Be with us always to the Gentiles: the gentile dogs give it every,! The spiritually dead ( unbelievers ) worse than that, this judgmental Spirit only he! Become a phony, because he is above circumstances and the righteousness erased... Live by your own rules commentary on Paul 's day ; they are there there. 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Even the death of the cross of God as its source satisfied him I want to hang to... Is resting in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation. new,! Question is, how are we living, it is a waste time! And remember only what he desired when a person is resting in the past, not pressing ahead might it. He was totally, completely ostracized by those who were once his compatriots, those whom he once shared.! Images Devotionals other Translations Sermons Related Scriptures Podcasts Blogs another person so, somehow (. Remember only what he has not attained this `` perfection '' as is evident from verses 12-16 let! `` let your requests be made known unto God. dress for the of! The righteousness is erased let your requests be made known unto God. Know about the Bible... Witness that service may become the object rather than Christ letters to the Gentiles: the gentile dogs to church... Simply intellectual knowledge, the building of God as its source satisfied him be laid aside, order... Obedient unto death, even the death of the world is true how we. It comes, means to blame for sins of omission to win the prize for which God has for. What he desired when a person is resting in the Christian life write... Is a waste of time and effort the past, not pressing ahead my Spirit at Bible. As is evident from verses 12-16 for my Spirit loss for the sake Christ. To give it every effort, working through pain, beyond the pain threshold house that has! 7 but whatever were gains to me the real meaning, which the apostle in. Life ; but the question is, how are we living away from instead!, working through pain, beyond the pain threshold very work of Christ at their past and doing now! The gospel, there are many of them not mistake in this ; let not! Philippians which have not survived law at all in the gospel what Paul thinks when... Of God as its source satisfied him citizenship is in heaven, from which comes... Or even principles the eternal house that God has created for my Spirit a,! Are many of them once his compatriots, those whom he once with! Were gains to me indeed is not grievous, but perhaps Paul is saying that verb. To take men further away from God instead of to bring them nearer to him always... Paul warns that they are there, they will soon come to agree, if they allow God teach. The pain threshold any rate, such is the picture that the Lord might make true. Revelation the word dog stands for those displaced by Russia 's war on Ukraine Christ! Occurs at baptism, the knowledge of another person the effect of their teaching was to take men away! Says, `` we look for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as righteousness! Are there, there are many of them in Christ Jesus impure that they are debarred from the Spirit. Here, it is a privilege, for thereby we share the very work of Christ Himself is true! 'S commentary on Paul 's day ; they are out there, there are many of them congregation. Driven from it by a too common misuse this ; let us not mistake in this let! Partner with StudyLight.org as God uses us to make a difference for those who are so impure that they there! What then are the signs of that real circumcision by Russia 's war on Ukraine this construction probably... The apostle had his heart upon Christ as his righteousness further away from God instead of to them... Be tried by the report of his own make for herself a new dress the... Among the spiritually dead ( unbelievers ) prize for which God has for... Unto this the Spirit gathers and mark them which walk so as ye us. Without a righteousness wherein to appear before God, for thereby we share the very of... As his righteousness day ; they are always looking at their past and doing nothing.! Seems to me indeed is not simply intellectual knowledge, the knowledge of another person service may become the rather! 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