# Philippians 03 📖: Knowing Christ Above All [[📚 Explore the Bible Books]] [[-Philippians Overview]] | [[Philippians 02]] | [[Philippians 04]] > [!info] Table of Contents > [[#📜 Scripture Text (NET)]] > [[#📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary]] > [[#🤔 Interesting Facts]] > [[#🧠 Chapter Summary]] > [[#✝️ Christ in This Chapter]] > [[#🔎 Key Observations / 🛟 Life Application]] > [[#💬 Discussion Questions]] > [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]] > [[#🔗 Related Passages]] > [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]] > [[#📂 Internal Notes]] --- ## 📜 Scripture Text (NET) (The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005) ### True and False Righteousness **Principle**: Everything pales in comparison to knowing God. [[#Verse 01.]] 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. [[#Verse 02.]] Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of those who mutilate the flesh!  [[#Verse 03.]] 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  [[#Verse 04.]] —though mine too are significant. If someone thinks he has good reasons to put confidence in human credentials, I have more:  [[#Verse 05.]] 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. [[#Verse 06.]] In my zeal for God I persecuted the church. According to the righteousness stipulated in the law I was blameless.  [[#Verse 07.]] But these assets I have come to regard as liabilities because of Christ.  [[#Verse 08.]] 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,  [[#Verse 09.]] 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.  [[#Verse 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,  [[#Verse 11.]] and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. ### Keep Going Forward **Principle**: Never stop walking toward God. [[#Verse 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.  [[#Verse 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,  [[#Verse 14.]] with this goal in mind, I strive toward the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.  [[#Verse 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. [[#Verse 16.]] Nevertheless, let us live up to the standard that we have already attained. [[#Verse 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.  [[#Verse 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.  [[#Verse 19.]] Their end is destruction, their god is the belly, they exult in their shame, and they think about earthly things.  [[#Verse 20.]] But our citizenship is in heaven—and we also eagerly await a savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,  [[#Verse 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. ## 📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary ###### Overall. ###### Verse 01. - Warning against Legalism. - Legalism is doing all the right things for all the wrong reasons. It says that we get to God because of what we do. Grace says we do all the right things because we have already come to God through faith in Jesus Christ. - “*Rejoice in the Lord*”- Paul is reminding us of where our joy comes from. - ”*Beware of dogs*” - most dogs were something closer to modern day wolves or coyotes. Not house pets. Paul is using a derogatory term to talk about the Judaizers who were promoting adherence to Jewish customs as a means of salvation. - “*Beware mutilation*” - circumcision as a means to get to God. ###### Verse 02. ###### Verse 03. ###### Verse 04. - Paul’s Credentials. - During the time (just like now), people credited themselves with their good deeds as a way to promote their ability to be revered or trusted. This is why it is so striking that Paul says he has every right to be respected, but all that is worth nothing compared to knowing Jesus. ###### Verse 05. ###### Verse 06. ###### Verse 07. - Gaining Christ. - “*rubbish*” - In Greek, this is a word that would make many people blush. It means “dung” or “human waste garbage.” Paul is saying all those things are the worst type of trash compared to knowing Jesus. ###### Verse 08. ###### Verse 09. ###### Verse 10. ###### Verse 11. ###### Verse 12. - Pressing Toward the Goal. - “*Not that I have already attained*” - Paul reminds us that it is spiritual journey. Paul has not made it yet, he is still working on full maturity. There are some denominations that teach “perfect sanctification.” They think that it is possible to become fully sanctified and perfect in this life. I think it is safe to say that, if Paul was still working on it, we will have trouble getting there as well. But, we keep walking in that direction. - “*Forgetting those things which are behind*“ - Paul reminds us to focus on growth, not on past failures. ###### Verse 13. ###### Verse 14. ###### Verse 15. ###### Verse 16. ###### Verse 17. - Citizens of Heaven. - “*Our citizenship is in Heaven*” - Paul reminds us that our true home is Heaven. We see this life as the preparation for that life. We will live in eternity longer than we will live here. Therefore, we live as visitors longing to go home. ###### Verse 18. ###### Verse 19. ###### Verse 20. ###### Verse 21. ## 🤔 Interesting Facts - In verse 2, Paul warns against legalistic false teachers. Ironically, Jews often called Gentiles “dogs,” but Paul flips the term on Jewish legalists who were corrupting the gospel. - In Philippians 3:8, Paul uses the Greek word skubalon—a strong term meaning dung or filth—to describe his former religious credentials compared to knowing Christ. It’s one of the strongest Greek words in the New Testament. - Verses 4–6 include Paul’s impressive religious background: circumcised on the eighth day, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Pharisee, blameless in the law. But he rejects it all for the sake of Christ. 1. Paul was circumcised on the eighth day (3:5), as the law required (Leviticus 12:3), showing he was born into Israel rather than a later convert. 2. The tribe of Benjamin gave Israel its first king, Saul, whose name Paul also carried (Acts 13:21). 3. "A Hebrew of Hebrews" (3:5) likely means Paul was raised by Hebrew-speaking parents who kept Hebrew customs. 4. Paul also calls himself a Pharisee in Acts 23:6, and he was trained under the respected teacher Gamaliel (Acts 22:3). 5. "Those who mutilate the flesh" (3:2) uses *katatome*, a pointed wordplay on "circumcision" (*peritome*, 3:3). 6. "Gain" and "loss" (3:7-8) are bookkeeping words, like columns in a ledger. 7. "Press on" (3:12, 14) uses the same Greek word translated "persecuting" in 3:6. Paul once chased the church; now he chases Christ. 8. The "prize" (3:14) pictures the reward given to the winner at athletic games. 9. Philippi was a Roman colony, so its people prized Roman citizenship. Paul reminds them that their true citizenship is in heaven (3:20). 10. "Savior" and "Lord" (3:20) were titles also claimed for the Roman emperor. ## 🧠 Chapter Summary Paul warns against false teachers who put confidence in human achievements and the law. He contrasts this by listing his impressive Jewish credentials—then calls them garbage compared to knowing Christ. Paul presses on to know Christ more deeply, embracing suffering and striving toward the resurrection. He urges believers to follow his example, live as citizens of heaven, and long for the transformation Christ will bring at His return. ## ✝️ Christ in This Chapter Christ is the surpassing treasure worth losing everything to know (3:8). He gives us a righteousness from God by faith, and at His return He will transform our humble bodies to be like His glorious body (1 John 3:2). ## 🔎 Key Observations / 🛟 Life Application - 📌 Paul rejects his religious résumé in favor of knowing Christ (vv. 7–9). - 📌 He desires to know Christ through resurrection and suffering (v. 10). - 📌 He presses forward, forgetting the past and striving for the prize in Christ (vv. 13–14). #### Today, I can apply this chapter by: - ✅ Don’t trust in your past achievements. Only a relationship with Christ gives you righteousness before God. - ✅ Pursue spiritual growth with urgency. Make knowing Christ your life’s highest goal. - ✅ Let go of past failures or successes. Keep moving forward in faith and obedience. ## 💬 Discussion Questions 1. Paul once trusted his religious résumé (3:4-6). What are we tempted to rely on to feel right with God? 2. Paul wants to know Christ, the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings (3:10). Why do you think he includes suffering? 3. Paul forgets what lies behind and presses on (3:13-14). What do you need to leave behind to keep moving forward? ## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember - 📖 verses 7-8: Paul counts everything as loss compared to knowing Christ Jesus his Lord. - 📖 verse 9: Paul wants the righteousness that comes from God by faith, not his own from the law. - 📖 verse 10: Paul longs to know Christ and the power of His resurrection. - 📖 verses 13-14: Forgetting what lies behind, Paul presses on toward the goal. - 📖 verses 20-21: Our citizenship is in heaven, and Christ will transform our bodies. ## 🔗 Related Passages - 🔗 [[Romans 03#Verse 21.|Romans 3:21-22]] - Righteousness through faith apart from the law. - 🔗 [[Isaiah 64#Verse 06.|Isaiah 64:6]] - Our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment. - 🔗 [[John 17#Verse 03.|John 17:3]] - Eternal life is knowing God and Jesus Christ. - 🔗 [[1 Corinthians 09#Verse 24.|1 Corinthians 9:24-27]] - Run to win the prize with discipline. - 🔗 [[2 Timothy 04#Verse 07.|2 Timothy 4:7-8]] - I have fought the good fight. - 🔗 [[Hebrews 11#Verse 13.|Hebrews 11:13-16]] - Longing for a better, heavenly country. ## 🙏 Devotional Reflection 📝 SOAP: [[Philippians 03 - SOAP|I Want to Truly Know God]] ## 📂 Internal Notes [[SeriesOverview- Piece of Work (Philippians)]]