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Elyse Sandberg
Dr. Green
Fall 2016
Philippians 3:7-11
Introduction
Pauls testimony; his journey from being lost to being found. In order to fully
Pauls life, the lives of the people he was writing to, the world in which they
were living, and the context of this passage within the whole letter of
Philippians. Paul writes from his own personal testimony to teach the
Philippians that the only true gain in life is to know Christ, and receive
Occasion of Philippians
The book of Philippians was originally a letter written by Paul to the Christian
church in Philippi.1 This letter is known as the most attractive Pauline letter,
1 Phil 1:1
2 Raymond E. Brown, An Introduction to the New Testament (New York:
Doubleday, 1997), 483.
shared a very close relationship with the Christians at Philippi, as he had
founded their church through his missionary work there. He warmly writes
this letter with affection to his brothers and sisters, often referring to them as
beloved.3 The Philippian church is often said to have been Pauls favorite,
and therefore, this is the most personal and intimate of any of Pauls letters.4
Paul writes this letter primarily to thank the Philippian church for their
immediate attention and could not wait until his next visit. First, he writes to
writes to address the suffering they were undergoing for being Christians at
cross in 3:18). And third, he writes to warn against those who are a danger to
the church.7 Philippians 3:7-11 falls within this last section of Pauls letter.
Paul writes what is known as The Christ Hymn. Theological scholars Karl
Donfried and Howard Marshall write that this hymn is present in Philippians
Following the Christ hymn, Paul begins the next chapter with a warning:
Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of those who
mutilate the flesh!9 Paul is describing people who oppose him, who trust in
the flesh, who set their minds on earthly things. These rival missionaries
that they must be circumcised, and thus become true Jews, in order to be
true Christians.11 In order to show the Philippians that this is not true, Paul
then gives an account of his past, explaining that out of anyone, he was as
Jewish accolades only to dismantle his encomium and draw the opposite
conclude that his once positively viewed Jewish standing is now viewed as
account of his own conversion, explaining that it all means nothing to him in
something that is available in the present moment.15 Paul shares his own
testimony with the Philippians in order to transform their way of thinking and
call them into a deeper, truer relationship with Christ, where they do not try
Cultural Background
The Philippians way of thinking would have been largely affected by their
culture and the world they were living in. In the ancient world, it was
believed that Gentiles had no part in the resurrection of the dead or the
world to come. The Jewish Tractate Sanhedrin states that only Israelites will
obtain eternal life.16 Ideas like this were drawn from verses in the Old
the land for ever.17 The Israelites were given the law by God himself, and
therefore, many Israelites would have rather died than violate it. It was
seriously, believing that through the law, entrance into the world to come
Psalm 19, The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul,19 as well as in
Jewish literature such as the Tractate Aboth of the Mishnah, If he has gained
for himself words of the Law he has gained for himself life in the world to
come.20 The law was believed to bring the presence of God, be the way to
eternal life, and bring benefits to all who obeyed.21 Therefore, when Paul
preaches in this passage that all may obtain righteousness and resurrection
from the dead through Christ, not through the law, both Jews and Gentiles
Greek philosophy would have also influenced the Philippians way of thinking.
According to Greek philosophy, it was widely believed that the only answer to
rational questions was either silence or lies. For the Gnostic, the basic
assumption was that God and the world were entirely separate, and
held the belief that they were superior over all others, for they were the only
ones to truly know God. While Gnosticism didnt fully develop until the 2nd
apostles had to deal with false teachers who held beliefs similar to what
became Gnosticism, such as the belief that they held superior knowledge. 23 It
is probable that these were the types of people that Paul warned the
Philippians 3:7-11
can now study this passage verse by verse. Paul makes a highly bold
circumcised Israelite who is blameless under the law, he states in verses 7 &
8, Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of
value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of
all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ. Paul
considers his following of the law, what was of the highest importance to the
righteousness and eternal life are gained through the law. He is making the
you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.25
The word Paul uses for knowing here is , or gnosis, a word that
would have been very well understood by the Philippians. However, this
attention.27 His use of this word consistently remains within the limits of the
his acts of self-revelation.28 For example, the phrase And you/they will know
25 Luke 14:33
26 Gal 1:14-16, Acts 9:1-2, 14
27 2 Corinthians 5:16, 2 Corinthians 2:14
28 Silva, New International Dictionary, 576.
that I am Yahweh is found over 50 times in Ezekiel and almost 30 times in
the rest of the OT.29 Therefore, knowledge of God comes from the revealing
acts of God and testimony to them. This knowledge of God is also linked to
the OT concept of knowing Gods will.30 However, here we see Paul take this
is regarded as the object of love and devotion in ones life. This relationship
is what is worth giving up everything for. To truly know him is to enter into a
see Paul even clarify this in his letter to the Galatians, Now, however, that
you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God31 Knowing God
is not our own doing, but something that he himself initiates. Paul knows this
from his own personal experience of the Lord blinding him on his way to
Damascus.32 The Lord Jesus himself spoke to Paul, calling him out of his
former way of life to know and serve Him. Paul argues that to know Christ is
to be met by Him and acknowledge him as Lord. Silva explains that this
This is Pauls personal experience with God, which led to Pauls obedience
and service. Paul ends this verse by saying that he suffered the loss of all
29 Exod 6:7, 1 Kgs 20:13, Isa 45:3, Ezek 6:7, 13-14; 7:4; 11:10-12; 28:26
30 Donfried, Theology of Shorter Pauline Letters, 147.
31 Galatians 4:9
32 Acts 9
33 Silva, New International Dictionary, 585.
things in order that he may gain Christ. Donfried and Marshall conclude that
Pauls message here is that to know Christ is to gain more than anything one
could possibly gain on this earth.34 This has future implications, and is
associated with the future hope Paul talks about at the end of this chapter,
where Christ will transform our earthly bodies to be like his glorious body.35
may gain Christ, and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own
that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the
around the phrase faith in Christ. There has been dispute whether the
Christ. The phrase is speaking of this new righteousness that Paul has
found, not a a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one
that comes through faith in Christ. However, the KJV reads, but that which
is through the faith of Christ. This small difference in wording has huge
meaning that Paul wants to be so united to Christ that what is true of Christ
as Christ experienced the power of God which raised him from the dead, so
trust, and confidence in his obedient sacrifice.37 The Anchor Yale Bible
agrees with Donfried and Marshall, resting on the case that the correct
repetitive, it is also claimed that this repetition was supporting Pauls very
point; that righteousness comes from having faith in Christ, not in the law.38
More on this debate can be found in the Anchor Yale Bible Commentary, as
Paul is arguing here that righteousness is gained through faith in Christ, not
through the law. Considering the cultural background covered earlier in this
paper regarding the importance of the law, this would have been very
the law,40 Paul proposes a new way of righteousness, through faith in Christ.
The law is incapable of providing people with true righteousness, for human
nature is too weak to follow the law perfectly, and is actually rebellious and
hostile towards God.41 Therefore, in this verse, Paul sets up the righteousness
Ladd notes that Paul does this in accordance with his theology that the era of
Paul declares, For Christ is the end of the law so that there may be
righteousness for everyone who believes.43 This does not mean that the law
itself is abolished, but that Christ has brought an end the connection
between righteousness and the law because he himself has fulfilled the laws
be a Pharisee who lived under the law, following it perfectly.44 However, this
following of the law led him to be boastful and conceited in his own
this, concluding this was precisely the problem that led Paul to write verses
that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the
10-11 Paul finishes this passage by telling us that to truly know Christ is to
participate in his sufferings: I want to know Christ and the power of his
resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his
death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Jesus spoke
42 George Eldon Ladd, A Theology of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI:
Eerdmans, 1974), 546.
43 Romans 10:4
44 Philippians 3:6, Galatians 1:13-14
45 Ladd, Theology of NT, 546.
them that they will receive the same treatment he did.46 However, there is a
running theme throughout the Bible that the suffering of Gods people is
never final.47 Joseph is thrown into a pit by his brothers, but ends up being
placed in authority over all of Egypt. Israel is sent into exile for 40 years, but
the exile ends in the Promised Land.48 All of this foreshadows the largest of
the cross is followed by his resurrection three days later. To know Christ is to
resurrection from the dead. Paul speaks of this when he writes to the
Romans as well, explaining, if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint
heirs with Christif, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be
in the present, and is part of why Paul counts everything else loss in
comparison with knowing Christ. When one comes to truly know Christ and
46 John 15:18-21
47 D.A. Carson, NIV Zondervan Study Bible: New International Version.
(Grand Rapids, MI, USA: Zondervan, 2015), 2420.
48 Gen 37:24, 41:40-44, Book of Exodus
49 Romans 8:17
50 James D. G. Dunn, The Theology of Paul the Apostle (Grand Rapids, MI:
W.B. Eerdmans Pub., 1998), 319.
of God, a veil taken away, and a complete reassessment of values and
priorities.51
observing the law, but that since Christ came, righteousness is now given
encourage the Philippians that all things are rubbish in comparison to the
reason he has chosen the way of weakness and self-sacrifice52, for only by
sharing in Christs death will we share in his resurrection.53 Paul is calling the
Christians in Philippi into a deeper relationship with Christ, one that is based
on faith, and that beckons they give there all in order to obtain it.
This passage is significant for us today because we also live in a time where
many other things are considered gains apart from Christ. Whether it be a
culture places a higher value on many other things besides knowing Christ.
We also often have the mindset that we must earn our standing before God,
following the rules of being a good Christian in order to gain his favor.
Therefore, Pauls words should speak just as loudly and clearly to us as they
did to the Philippians: all these things are loss in comparison with knowing
who try to earn Gods favor, for he proves that righteousness is based on
faith alone, not through the law, and therefore, not through those things we
obtain righteousness by one way only, trusting in Him.54 This is a gift, and
of Pauls writing, and is still counter-cultural for us today. It is still too good to
be true. Therefore, I can echo Paul in saying that I also want to know Christ,
sharing in his sufferings and resurrection, in such a way that I consider all
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