Philippians 3:1-20

Philippians 3:1. Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord.

As much as to say, «If this were the last sentence that I should write to you, I would say, Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord.' It is your privilege, it is your duty, to rejoice in God; not in your health, your wealth, your children, your prosperity, but in the Lord.» There is the unchanging and unbounded source of joy. It will do you no harm to rejoice in the Lord; the more you rejoice in him, the more spiritually-minded will you become. «Finally, my brethren.» That is, even to the end, not with you the bitter end; but even to the end of life, rejoice in the Lord. Make this the finis of everything, the end of every day, the end of every year, the end of life. «Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord.» Blessed is that religion in which it is a duty to be happy.

Philippians 3:1. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe.

Saying the same thing over and over again is Safe, for your minds do not catch the truth at the first hearing, and your memories are slippery.

Philippians 3:2. Beware of dogs,

Men of a doggish, captious, selfish spirit. In Paul's day, there were some who were called Cynics, that is to say, dogs: «Beware of dogs,»

Philippians 3:2. Beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.

By which Paul meant those Jews who made a great point of circumcision; he calls them here «the cutters», for they mangled and cut the Church of God in pieces: «Beware of the concision.»

Philippians 3:3. For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.

These are three marks of the true Israel of God; have you all of them,-worshipping God in the spirit, rejoicing in Christ Jesus, and having no confidence in the flesh?

Philippians 3:4. Though I might also have confidence in the flesh.

If anybody might, Paul might. If birth, if education, or if external religiousness could have saved anybody in the world, it would have saved Saul of Tarsus.

Philippians 3:4. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: circumcised the eighth day,

The ritual was observed even to the hour in his case.

Philippians 3:5. Of the stock of Israel,

Not an Edomite or a Samaritan, but «of the stock of Israel,» and of the very center of that stock.

Philippians 3:5. Of the tribe of Benjamin,

Which remained with Judah, faithful, long after the ten tribes had gone aside.

Philippians 3:5. An Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee,

That is, one who observed all the minutiae and details of the ceremonial law, and a good deal more, the traditions of the elders which hung like moss about the old stone of Jewish ceremonialism. Paul had observed all that.

Philippians 3:6. Concerning zeal, persecuting the church!

Be was most zealous in the cause that he thought right. Bitterly, cruelly, even to the death, did he persecute the believers in Jesus.

Philippians 3:6. Touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.

Paul had been kept from the vices into which many fell. In his young days, he had been pure; and all his days, he had been upright and sincere. As far as he knew, to the best of his light, he had observed the law of God. In another place, he calls himself the chief of sinners; and so he was, because he persecuted the Church of God; but, in another sense, I may say of him that there is no man who stood so good a chance of being justified by works as Paul did, if there could have been any justification in that way.

Philippians 3:7. But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.

His faith in Jesus reversed all his former estimates, ‘so that his gains he counted to be losses. He thought it so much the worse, concerning zeal, to have persecuted the church, and so much to his injury to have imagined that he was blameless in the presence of God.

Philippians 3:8. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung,

Offal, refuse, garbage,

Philippians 3:8. That I may win Christ,

He had every opportunity of advancement. He was a fine scholar, and might have reached the highest degree in connection with the Sanhedrim and the synagogue; but he thought nothing of all that, he threw it all away as worthless, and declared that this was his ambition: «That I may win Christ,»

Philippians 3:9. And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

It must be more glorious to be justified by God than by ourselves. It must be more safe to wear the righteousness of Christ than to wear our own. Nothing can so dignify our manhood as to have Christ himself to be «the Lord our Righteousness.» This Paul chose in preference to everything else.

Philippians 3:10. That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.

See to what Paul is looking forward, resurrection, and therefore he lets this life go as of secondary importance. He is willing to suffer as Christ suffered, and to die as Christ died. You and I may never be called to make that great sacrifice; but if we are true followers of Christ, we shall be prepared for it. If ever it should happen that Christ and our life shall be put in competition, we must not deliberate for a moment, for Christ is all, and we must be ready to give up all for Christ.

Philippians 3:12. Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect:

He does not say that anybody has been perfect, but he does say that he was not so himself; and I should think that any man who believed himself to be better than Paul would thereby prove at once that he was not perfect, for he must be sadly lacking in humility.

Philippians 3:12. But I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.

«All that Christ meant me to be, I want to be. All that Christ meant to give me, I want to have. All that he meant me to do, I want to do; to apprehend, to lay hold of that for which I am laid hold of by Christ Jesus.»

Philippians 3:13. Brethren, I count not, myself to have apprehended:

That is Paul's judgment concerning himself; he has not yet attained to the full all that the religion of Christ can give him.

Philippians 3:13. But this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Always making progress, throwing himself into it, having the reward before him, the prize of perfection in Christ, and running towards it with all his might.

Philippians 3:15. Let us, therefore, as many as be perfect

Or, «would be perfect,»

Philippians 3:15. Be thus minded: and if in anything ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.

I admire that sentence. If any brother has not reached a full knowledge of the truth, let us not condemn him, or cast him out of our company, but say to him, «God shall reveal even this unto you.»

Philippians 3:16. Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.

There are some points upon which we are all agreed. There is some standing-ground where the babe in grace may meet with the man in Christ Jesus. Well, as far as we do see eye to eye, let us co-operate with one another, let us have our hearts knit together in a holy unanimity. «Let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.» There are some people who are always looking out for points of difference; their motto seems to be, «Whereinsoever we differ, let us split away from one another.» Their great idea is that by dividing we shall conquer. The fact is that, by separating ourselves from one another, we shall miss all hope of strength, and play into the hands of the adversaries.

Philippians 3:17. Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample.

For the true servant of Christ teaches by his life as much as by his words.

Philippians 3:18. (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you, even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)

For our conversation Or, citizenship

Philippians 3:20. Is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall change our vile body,

Vile so far that it has been defiled by sin, vile in comparison with that body which shall be, «Who shall change our vile body,» the body of our humiliation,

Philippians 3:21. That it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working ‘whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.