Expositor's Greek Testament (Nicoll)

Philippians 3:13

ἀδελφοί. This direct appeal to them shows that he is approaching a matter which is of serious concern both to him and them. ἐγὼ ἐμαυτόν. Why such strong personal emphasis? Is it not a clear hint that there were people at Philippi who prided themselves on having grasped the prize of the Christian calling already? Paul has been tacitly leading up to this. He will yield to none in clear knowledge of the difference between the old and the new life. He knows more surely than any how completely he has broken with the past. Yet, whatever others may say, he must assume the lowly position of one who is still a learner. It makes little difference whether οὐ or οὔπω be read. The authorities are pretty evenly balanced. λογίζομαι. The word (often used by Paul) has the force of looking back on the process of a discussion and calmly drawing a conclusion. Cf. Romans 8:18 (with note of Sanday and Headlam (Romans). The Apostle expresses his deliberately formed opinion. ἕν δέ. There is no need to supply a verb. His Christian conduct is summed up in what follows. Never has there been a more unified life than that of Paul as Apostle and Christian. “When all is said, the greatest art is to limit and isolate oneself” (Goethe). τὰ μὲν ὀπ. ἐπιλανθ. There are a few exx. in classical Greek of ἐπιλανθ. with the accusative, e.g., Aristoph., Nub., 631. But in the later language there was an extraordinary extension of the use of the accusative. (See Hatz., Einl., p. 220 ff.) Does τὰ ὀπ. mean the old life, or the past stages of Christian experience? If the metaphor were strictly pressed, no doubt the latter alternative would claim attention. But pressing metaphors is always hazardous. And parallel passages seem rather to justify the first meaning, e.g., Jeremiah 7:24, ἐγενήθησαν εἰς τὰ ὄπισθεν καὶ οὐκ εἰς τὰ ἔμπροσθεν (of disobeying God's commands); Luke 9:62, βλέπων εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω; John 6:66, πολλοὶ τῶν μαθητῶν … ἀπῆλθον εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω. τοῖς ἔμπρ. ἐπεκτ. τὸ and τὰ ἔμπρ. are found in Herodot. and Xenoph. Wetstein quotes most aptly from Luc., de Cal., 12, οἷόν τι καὶ ἐπὶ τοῖς γυμνικοῖς ἀγῶσιν ὑπὸ τῶν δρομέων γίγνεται · κᾀκεῖ γὰρ ὁ μὲν ἀγαθὸς δρομεὺς τῆς ὕσπληγος εὐθὺς καταπεσούσης, μόνον τοῦ πρόσω ἐφιέμενος καὶ τὴν διάνοιαν ἀποτείνας πρὸς τὸ τέρμα κᾀν τοῖς ποσὶ τὴν ἐλπίδα τῆς νίκης ἔχων, τὸν πλησίον οὐδὲν κακουργεῖ. In using this comparison, Paul, of course, adapts himself, as among Greeks and Romans, to a custom of their national life. On this kind of adaptation see an excellent discussion in Weizsäcker, Apost. Zeitalter, pp. 100 104.

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Expositor's Greek Testament (Nicoll)

Philippians 3:13

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