The Gospel of Philippians
Finally, my fellow believers, continue to rejoice and delight in the Lord. To write the same things again is no trouble for me, and it is a safeguard for you.
Look out for the dogs [the Judaizers, the legalists], look out for the troublemakers, look out for the false circumcision [those who claim circumcision is necessary for salvation];
for we [who are born-again have been reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, set apart for His purpose and] are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory and take pride and exult in Christ Jesus and place no confidence [in what we have or who we are] in the flesh
though I myself might have [some grounds for] confidence in the flesh [if I were pursuing salvation by works]. If anyone else thinks that he has reason to be confident in the flesh [that is, in his own efforts to achieve salvation], I have far more:
circumcised when I was eight days old, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews [an exemplary Hebrew]; as to the [observance of the] Law, a Pharisee;
as to my zeal [for Jewish tradition], a persecutor of the church; and as to righteousness [supposed right living] which [my fellow Jews believe] is in the Law, I proved myself blameless.
But whatever former things were gains to me [as I thought then], these things [once regarded as advancements in merit] I have come to consider as loss [absolutely worthless] for the sake of Christ [and the purpose which He has given my life].
But more than that, I count everything as loss compared to the priceless privilege and supreme advantage of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord [and of growing more deeply and thoroughly acquainted with Him—a joy unequaled]. For His sake I have lost everything, and I consider it all garbage, so that I may gain Christ,
and may be found in Him [believing and relying on Him], not having any righteousness of my own derived from [my obedience to] the Law and its rituals, but [possessing] that [genuine righteousness] which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith.
And this, so that I may know Him [experientially, becoming more thoroughly acquainted with Him, understanding the remarkable wonders of His Person more completely] and [in that same way experience] the power of His resurrection [which overflows and is active in believers], and [that I may share] the fellowship of His sufferings, by being continually conformed [inwardly into His likeness even] to His death [dying as He did];
so that I may attain to the resurrection [that will raise me] from the dead.
Not that I have already obtained it [this goal of being Christlike] or have already been made perfect, but I actively press on so that I may take hold of that [perfection] for which Christ Jesus took hold of me and made me His own.
Brothers and sisters, I do not consider that I have made it my own yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,
I press on toward the goal to win the [heavenly] prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
All of us who are mature [pursuing spiritual perfection] should have this attitude. And if in any respect you have a different attitude, that too God will make clear to you.
Only let us stay true to what we have already attained.
Brothers and sisters, together follow my example and observe those who live by the pattern we gave you.
For there are many, of whom I have often told you, and now tell you even with tears, who live as enemies of the cross of Christ [rejecting and opposing His way of salvation],
whose fate is destruction, whose god is their belly [their worldly appetite, their sensuality, their vanity], and whose glory is in their shame—who focus their mind on earthly and temporal things.
But [we are different, because] our citizenship is in heaven. And from there we eagerly await [the coming of] the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;
who, by exerting that power which enables Him even to subject everything to Himself, will [not only] transform [but completely refashion] our earthly bodies so that they will be like His glorious resurrected body.
Content source: the Amplified Bible (AMP) by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631.
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Paul states the reasons why he could also place his trust in the fulfillment of the law, and with enough reason expresses them. Paul fulfilled all the precepts of the law, such as circumcision on the date indicated by the priests. , pertaining to the offspring of Jacob, and Pharisee in terms of the interpretation of the law; for the time it was the most influential Puritan religious group, and its main interest was the observance of Jewish law. While our being is transformed into His image, the image and stature of Christ, everything else ceases to matter, eventually he will lose the value that you once had, and with your loss of meaning and value, then you can be ready to beat Him. Your hopes are not set on time-defined goals, nor on the great results you expect to achieve through your work and service. , they are placed in the promises of God, in the life that awaits them. Notice that the fruits are given in our way of acting, not in the way of speaking, many can deceive us by their talk, but their actions will soon reveal the level of Transformation and devotion in which we live. As pilgrims and belonging to a different, spiritual homeland, we live according to the Spirit and not the flesh, our thoughts and desires are spiritual, although we live in the meat. We belong to a spiritual kingdom in which we long to receive Christ as Lord and Savior so that his work may be perpetuated in us.
This chapter describes what Paul wanted in his heart and the true essence of Christianity. His longing was to be with Christ.
I long to see my Lord soon. His return is what we should look forward to. Hallelujah!!