Philippians 3:1-11
October 7, 2006
3:1Finally, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! To write this again is not a bother for 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 might gain Christ, 3:9 and be found in him, not because of having my own righteousness derived from the law, but because of having 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.
It’s as if Paul suddenly realized that he had written this before, and he wanted his readers to know that his only concern was to protect them from the false teachers in their midst.
The false teaching in mind was from the “Judaizers” who were insisting that Gentile Christians must be circumcized to be allowed into the inner circle with the Jewish Christians. This could easily lead, if it hadn’t already, to a system of first class and second class Christians.
Paul’s answer is straightforward and compelling, for he himself is a circumcised Jew. He now regards his Jewish assets as liabilities that can only keep him from serving the risen Lord. His only goal now is “to know him, to experience the power of his resurrection, to share in his sufferings, and to be like him in his death.” Sterling Jewish credentials don’t figure at all in reaching his goal. His example in such selflessness is the risen Christ. -sdg-
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Have you read Senator John Danforth’s new book….”Faith and Politics” ? It is worth reading.
Hi Marilyn,
No I haven’t, but it’s been getting some interesting reviews. I’m something of a Danforth fan, so I will probably be reading it somewhere down the line. It’s an important topic, for sure.