Just Win It
Cross-Training
Studies in Paul's Letter to the Philippians
February 9/10, 2008
Digging Deeper (Questions are on the last page)
Cross-Training: Just Win It
(Robert Ismon Brown)
Background Notes
Key Scripture Texts: Philippians 3:1-21
(NIV) Philippians 3:1 Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you. 2 Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh. 3 For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh-- 4 though I myself have reasons for such confidence. If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.
7 But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ-- the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. 10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. 15 All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16 Only let us live up to what we have already attained.
17 Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. 18 For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. 20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.
Introduction
As we have already seen in our previous studies, Paul's letter to the Philippians is written from Rome while he is under house arrest. Because of his close personal relationship with the Philippians, they have expressed deep concern over his situation and sent one of their own, Epaphroditus, to check up on Paul's condition. At enormous personal risk, their messenger served Paul's needs, nearly succumbing to a severe illness in the process. During his time in Rome, Paul has learned about stress fractures forming in the life of the otherwise wonderfully generous community at Philippi. Suffering and conflict, some of it due to the highly stratified nature of Philippian society, and some of it due to internal problems, prompt Paul to pen Philippians and send it back with Epaphroditus and Timothy, his protégé. Using the personal form of a letter, and also framing his arguments in the familiar style of a public speaker (rhetoric), Paul makes his arguments to the Philippians in an effort to preserve their unity and encourage them in the face of suffering. Our last study focused on 2:1-30 in which Paul began the probatio section of his rhetorical appeal, namely, the "arguments" phase.
We now see him continuing the probatio, adding yet one more argument to his appeal. In this case, he shifts away from what is happening inside the Philippian community and looks at the external factors. Among these are an unnamed group of false teachers who have already made inroads into Paul's churches in other cities, but apparently now threaten the spiritual stability of the Philippians. In order to counter their influence, Paul makes a series of statements in support of this argument against them. He calls upon the Philippians to consider his reasons, and then submits the whole matter to God's leading in their lives. One passage especially illustrates Paul's open-handed approach, and his willingness to let God persuade them:
All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you (Philippians 3:15)
As we explore this new section of Philippians, the following outline will help organize our thoughts.
General Outline of 3:1-21 Probatio (II)
Argument Three: Watch Out for the Dogs (3:1-21)
1. The Flesh is Not Reliable: Contra Judaism (3:1-6)
2. Christ the Supreme Value: Contra Tradition (3:7-11)
3. The Goal Still Lies Ahead: Contra Perfectionism (3:12-16)
4. The New Citizenship: Contra Enemies of the Cross (3:17-21)
Argument Three: Watch Out for The Dogs (3:1-21)
1. The Flesh is Not Reliable: Contra Judaism (3:1-6)
As Paul opens this, his third argument, he uses the Greek phrase to loipon. Many translations, including the NIV, handle this as "finally". The NLT says "whatever happens". Witherington's commentary uses "Well, then…" The older Tyndale version (1534) reads "moreover", and may well be closer to the meaning than "finally". Greek writers often used the phrase to simply introduce a new section, and Paul uses it this way in 1 Thessalonians 4:1 and 2 Thessalonians 3:1, as do New Testament writers elsewhere. We could easily translate it with "the remaining" or "here's what's left to say". The key idea is that Paul is not yet finished, and this marks a fresh point in the progression of his thought. Perhaps he's looking for their indulgence when he addresses them as "my brothers", and he will need their open receptivity when he starts writing about some very heavy subjects. He certainly wants them to maintain their overall attitude of "joy" when he writes this new material. And so he says chairete en kurio, "keep on rejoicing in the Lord".
Joy: a brief explanation. The Philippian letter is saturated with references to "joy". Consider its noun form (chara):
1:4
In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy
1:25
Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith…
1:26
…so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me.
2:2
…then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.
2:29
Welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor men like him…
4:1
Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends!
It's verb form (chairpo):
1:18
But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice,
2:17
But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you.
2:18
So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.
2:28
Therefore I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you may be glad and I may have less anxiety.
3:1
Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you.
4:4
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
4:10
I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it.
The idea of "joy" seems to have been new to the culture of Philippi, but was certainly not new to the Hebrew people. Two Hebrew words regularly express the idea: simchah=mirth, gladness and gil=rejoicing. These are vivid words communicating ideas of "to shine" or "to be bright", along with the notion of activity or motion. The Old Testament reveals a deep-seated heart-felt feeling which appears commonly in the Psalms. In those passages joy rises from a person's relationship with God (see Psalm 16:11; 51:12). Meditation on the person of God, that is, thinking about "who God is", leads to joy (Psalm 48:11 and Psalm 97). But this was not limited to just individuals. The whole nation was exuberant through shouting, singing, jumping and dancing. When the prophets wrote about salvation and deliverance, this was their word (Isaiah 49:13; 61:10f). God Himself experiences joy in what He does (Psalm 104:31) and in the success of His people (Deuteronomy 30:9). One prominent theme is found in Nehemiah 8:10 which affirms: "The joy of Yahweh is my strength". Another key passage promises: "For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning" (Psalm 30:5).
Among Jewish thinkers prior to the New Testament period, joy belongs to a future time as well in conjunction with the arrival of Yahweh's Messiah. Thus we read about the joy of the Messianic Feast when Yahweh would fulfill his promises to the whole world through His people Israel. Passages like this one inspired such an expectation: "..then you will find your joy in the LORD, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob." The mouth of the LORD has spoken.." (Isaiah 58:14). And later on, Jesus would give support to such a banquet with these words: "I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 8:11). When Jesus provided wine for the wedding feast at Cana, he was confirming his role as the bringer of the Messianic feast, and with it, the joy of Yahweh.
The writer to the Hebrews uses the word "joy" in this way:
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:1-2).
Joy, in this case, referred to the coming resurrection of Jesus which he would experience after his suffering and death on the cross. When Paul, in our Philippians' passage, says "Rejoice in the Lord", he asks his audience to fasten their eyes on Jesus who fully intends to bring their lives to completion, even as he, Jesus, was brought to completion in his resurrection.
Perhaps among the Old Testament texts, this one comes closest to Paul's usage:
3 Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. 4 Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: 6 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun (Psalm 37:3-6)
With this material as background, Paul sees in Jesus the Messiah, or as he calls him, Jesus Christ, the fulfillment of the coming joy. What Israel awaited at the "end of days", had now dawned in Paul's own time. As Paul traveled throughout the Roman Empire, proclaiming the message of Jesus the Messiah to the Gentiles, he was, in effect, issuing the invitation for all nations to come to the Messianic Feast. In do doing, Paul was filled with "joy" and this joy sustained him in his work. To the Philippians he writes the same encouragement: "rejoice in the Lord", using the Greek present imperative to emphasize the ongoing and consistent practice of being joyful. This joy is to be grounded en kurio, "in the Lord". Kurios is a powerful term in the Roman world, for it was the way people thought of their Emperor, Caesar. But Paul, who was a Roman citizen in his own right, only recognizes "one Lord", and that is Jesus Christ. It is only natural for him to ask the Philippians to anchor their joy in the Lord Jesus Christ, since he is supreme over all, master of everything, and the one before whom all will one day bow (recall Philippians 2:5-11).
Paul tells his readers that the "writing" of this letter, along with its carefully worded arguments, is not something he does reluctantly or with hesitation. The Greek word, okneo, literally means "shrink from doing, hesitate, hang back". None of these actions tempt Paul who is determined to reinforce his arguments, calling for unity and encouraging joy in suffering. Even if Paul must "repeat himself" ("write the same things"), he does so out of deep concern for the well-being of the Philippians. What's at stake for the Philippians? Paul makes clear it is their "safety" (Greek: asphales). This word has additional connotations of "not liable to fall, immoveable, steadfast, firm, unfaltering, assured from danger, secure, convinced". Perhaps this last meaning has the most relevance to Paul's approach: he is using the rhetorical form and spares no effort in making a convincing argument to the Philippians, one that they can embrace with confidence.
So far Paul has been directing his comments to the Philippians about Philippian matters: unity, suffering and joy. However, the focus now shifts to what could well be called "riskier matters", since Paul warns about dangers from outside the Philippian community. He will shortly identify these threats as false teachers whose own rhetoric threatens to undermine the Gospel and the spiritual well-being of his audience.
In 2:2, the tone of Paul's letter suddenly changes as he issues three distinct warnings, each beginning with the word blepete. This word for "watch" can mean simply "look or see", but when combined with an object that portends danger, it normally has this other meaning of "warn". The three instances of this warning climax with what amounts to clear identification of the imminent threat. He simply calls this outside group: "the down-cutters", an uncamouflaged reference to the Jewish circumcision teachers, presumably with Christian credentials, who threaten to sidetrack the Philippians from the pure teaching of the Gospel. Scholars sometimes use the word "Judaizers" to label them. Paul had, early on, encountered such teachers, and he wrote at length about their false ideas in his letter to the Galatians, but makes frequent allusions to their presence in such churches as Corinth and Rome as well. They were certainly active in Jerusalem.
Comments on the meaning of "Judaizers". From such texts as 2 Corinthians 11:13 we learn of certain "deceitful workmen" who oppose Paul's efforts. Itinerant missionaries (2 Corinthians 11:22), they challenge Paul's presentation of the Gospel, and insist that circumcision must be enforced on Gentile Christians to make them "complete Christians" (see Acts 15:1). Paul's strongest opposition is found in places like Galatians 5:2. Scholars debate whether they were Jewish or Jewish Christians. In either case, they required the external sign of circumcision to be performed on all Gentile converts, whether to Judaism or to Jesus. Along with this stipulation, they also maintained orthodox adherence to the food codes, Sabbath, and other matters deemed indicative of true covenant faith in Yahweh. In practice, they had a theology of Jesus plus a very specific interpretation of Torah which included these additional rituals. In Paul's eyes, this was a sell-out of the Jesus message, and he opposed it, as he does in the present Philippian passage.
1. tous kunas: "watch out for the dogs!" Ironically, strict, orthodox Jews called the Gentiles "dogs", and the Gentiles knew that Jews thought of them in this way. During his own ministry, Jesus encountered a Gentile woman, and they had the following exchange: "25 The woman came and knelt before him. Lord, help me!' she said. 26 He replied, 'It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs.' 27 'Yes, Lord,' she said, 'but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.' 28 Then Jesus answered, 'Woman, you have great faith!'" (Matthew 15:25-28). This interplay on the word "dogs" occurred in a context where the word was commonly applied by the Jews to people like the woman. Jesus, intentionally sparred with her, no doubt for the benefit of those listening, and elicits from her a plain recognition that she, a Gentile, needs to be fed by Jesus just like the Jews. In her case, it meant the healing of her child.That being said, when Paul speaks of the false teachers as "dogs", he is purposefully turning the tables on normal usage and calls the Jewish teachers "dogs", a designation he will now need to explain. Dogs in the Graeco-Roman world, and within Judaism, were not particularly well thought of. Unlike domestic canines who make family pets today, dogs in Paul's day were essentially scavengers disposing of refuse, and were regarded as "unclean animals", carriers of disease. Even Revelation 22:15 speaks of the New City of God which appears as part of the New Creation as being devoid of dogs. Thus, the teachers Paul identifies are treated as religious scavengers, opportunists who follow Paul and other Christian missionaries around, trying to cash in on the progress of the Gospel made among the Gentiles.
2. tous kakousergatas: "watch out for the evil workers!" This further designation implies they are actually doing harm in Paul's churches. More than just a minor annoyance, like the individuals mentioned in Philippians 1 who simply want to make Paul feel bad, these teachers are damaging the unity and faith of the Christ-followers wherever they show up. Divisive, coercive, manipulative, opportunistic, they lead people astray, and Paul cannot allow their "work" to proceed unopposed.
3. tous katatomen: "watch out for the down-cutters!". Here, of course, Paul makes his identification of the false teachers, but he doesn't use the normal word for circumcision, peritome, but this other word instead. This is an intentional wordplay. The root word is tome, which means a "cutting". During the rite of Jewish circumcision, called a bris, the foreskin of the male is "cut around", thus removing it. The procedure requires skill, and is usually done by a "Mohel" who is experienced in the delicate procedure. Paul's objections are not to the rite of circumcision itself, but to the zealous demand made by these teachers that it must be done to Gentile converts. We might say, Paul saw their interest in circumcision as "obsessive", almost to the extreme. And so he co-opts a different word: katatome, same root, but with the pronoun meaning "down", a not-to-gentle expression which usually gets translated "mutilators of the flesh". We might even translate it as "the choppers" or "the butchers"! While Paul no doubt meant this in the graphic sense of the word, he clearly wanted his audience to see how the reckless and ruthless application of this rite was "mutilating" the unity and joy of the Christians at Philippi.
Intentionally setting the word katatome in contrast to what Paul advocated, Paul begins 3:3 with the conjunction "for" (gar) and then calls himself and his co-workers, he peritome, "the circumcision", that is, "we are Jewish, sons of the covenant", but with a remarkable difference. Not circumcision "in the flesh", but hoi pneumati theou, that is, "the [circumcision] ones in the Spirit of God". Though the Greek is a bit rough here, our English translation might simply be: "circumcision, in the Holy Spirit sense". Those who practice and insist on this ritual to complete Gentile conversion are the "choppers", but we practice spiritual circumcision instead. This, of course, might require some explanation, but Paul forges ahead with two present participial phrases:
"worshipping" (latreuontes)
"in Christ Jesus" (en Christo Iesou)
"and not placing confidence in the flesh"
(kai ouk en sarki pepoithotes)
"boasting" (kauxomenoi)
Our identity, writes Paul, lies not "in the flesh" (en sarki, from the root, sarx), but originates from being "in the Spirit" (en pneumat). Because we are in the "realm of the Spirit", that is, in "the kingdom of God", we do not rely on "the flesh" to accomplish God's work. People who insist on the outward, ritualized sign of circumcision, are plainly relying on the "flesh", and not on the "Spirit". Herein lies the real heart of Paul's argument which stretches from 3:1 through 3:21. It is why Paul calls these false teachers "dogs", because they have an obsession with "the flesh", scavengers of the flesh. A few words about the word "flesh" as it is used in the Bible:
Neither Hebrew nor Christian thought saw body and spirit as in direct conflict with each other. Greek culture tended to view the body as inferior to the spirit. Socrates and Plato called the body the "prison of the soul", and counseled that philosophy was the "study of death", that is, the getting rid of the body. Nothing like this appears in the Bible. The body is usually called soma in the Greek New Testament, a different word from the term sarx which appears in Paul's letters. When Paul uses soma, "body", he does not give it a negative meaning at all, but when he uses sarx he sees a very different idea. "Flesh" (sarx) is the human person in his entirety viewed as weak, frail, and damaged by sin. This is wholly consistent with the Old Testament understanding of human beings as fragile (see Isaiah 40:6, compared 1 Peter 1:24). Jesus affirmed that the flesh is weak (Matthew 26:41), while the spirit is willing. So Paul sees the flesh as weak (Romans 8:3), and if we choose to live by its power we will "die" (Romans 8:13). Through Romans 8, Paul consistently contrasts life in the flesh with life in the Spirit, and he does so observing the same distinctions we see in Philippians.
By using the word "worship (or, possibly, serve)" in Philippians 3:3, he is consciously borrowing language from the rituals of Judaism. Paul preached a new worship and a new service to God, one that was not dependent on the external rituals of Second Temple Judaism, with its insistence on the woodenly "literal" application of Torah to human life. Compare a passage like Romans 12:1-2 with the present one, and you will notice how Paul calls on Christians to offer their "whole bodies" as sacrifices to God, an act he calls "reasonable worship (or service)", using the same root word, latreia, to do so. This is very similar to Jesus' words to the Samaritan women in John 4, where he tells her that true worship is not about physical space, but about "Spirit and truth". One can only imagine how Paul's audience could have been affected by the Judaizers who want to replace "Spirit-led worship (and service)" with "flesh-led worship (and service)". "Dogs!", Paul says of this attempt to compromise sincere faith with external ritual. Nor did Paul invent this notion, since the Old Testament already looked forward to a day when external ritual would be replaced by inward, Spirit-based worship:
"The days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will punish all who are circumcised only in the flesh-- 26 … the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart (Jeremiah 9:25-26).
And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh (Ezekiel 11:19).
26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them (Ezekiel 36:26-27).
Paul seizes this deeper meaning of circumcision when he writes:
But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God (Romans 2:29).
Notice the contrast: inward, heart, spirit vs. "the letter", that is, "the woodenly literally meaning of". And further Paul affirms:
In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the flesh, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ (Colossians 2:11).
When Paul speaks of circumcision in terms of "the flesh", he understands it as a thing done by a human being to another human being, a ritual which becomes a badge of honor for some human achievement. That is why in the Romans 2:29 passage above he refers to "praise" that "is not of men, but of God". And it is this that Paul means when he uses his second participial phrase in Philippians 3:3" "boasting". Once more, Paul identifies the threat posed by the false teachers: they encourage an empty "boast" in religious achievement, rather than a trusting confidence in God's gracious work of salvation. This is not a new idea for Paul who addresses the problem elsewhere in his letters (see 1 Corinthians 1:26-31; Romans 4:2; 3:27; Galatians 6:13-14; Ephesians 2:9; 1 Corinthians 3:21--this one is especially sharp: "no more boasting about men"!) Pride remained a constant temptation for the Christ followers. The Corinthian Christians suffered from a large dose of it, as the texts cited above indicate. Paul wants to spare his Philippian brothers and sisters from the incursion of such thinking, after all they were already grappling with issues of unity provoked by internal matters, they surely did not need threats from the outside compounding their difficulty!
When Paul writes about "boasting", he does so from personal experience. This train of thought is introduced in 3:4 with Paul's rhetorical "boast" that if anybody might have confidence "in the flesh", that is, in achievements based on self-reliance, he could make that claim. Following the natural word order, the text reads: "Even though I am having confidence also in the flesh, if any one seems to be another to have confidence in the flesh, I am more." What's Paul saying? As a Jew Paul knew that practicing his religion involved an implicit competition with other like-minded Jews. Paul's use of the word "other" is carefully orchestrated in this verse. The Greek has allos, "other of the same kind", not heteros, "other of a different kind". It's as if Paul is saying, I am confident that my evidence for being a good Jew can't be matched by any other Jew. This word "confidence" seems to assume the meaning "persuasion" when used in this context, a use consistent with the form of Paul's rhetorical argument found through the Philippian letter, as we have seen. "Want to go head-to-head as a Torah-observant Jew? Bring it on! I'll take you in one round!"
Paul’s Judaism was rooted in trying to prove something about himself. And his credentials were impressive (3:5-6):
1. “circumcised the eighth day”. Literally, “with respect to circumcision, an 8th day guy”, focusing on the original nature of his entrance into Judaism. He was no convert, that is, no proselyte)
2. “people of ‘Israel’”. His racial distinctiveness as an Israelite meant he was a genuine descendent of the covenant people, and as such, better than someone who became part of Israel in some other way. All the rights and privileges of Judaism were his. Recall that Yahweh changed Jacob’s name to “Israel” in conjunction with his “wrestling with the angel” as recorded in Genesis 32:22-32, a name which means “the one who prevails with God”. It is a “mighty name”. Paul saw himself belonging to a people with a “mighty name”.!
3. “tribe of Benjamin”. This tribe had prominence in Israel’s history, named after Joseph’s brother and only other son of Rachel, wife of Jacob (Israel). The first king, Saul (our writer’s namesake!), came from this tribe. Benjamin, as a tribe, was valiant in battle, loyal to the house of David, participated in the return from Babylonian Exile, and joined with Judah in forming the new kingdom of Israel. Technically, Jerusalem and the Temple lay within Benjamin’s boundaries (see Judges 1:21). Paul took great delight in his tribal membership, no doubt seeing himself as strong, courageous, pure and loyal, as were his ancestors.
4. “Hebrew of the Hebrews”. Although Paul was born in Tarsus, outside the borders of Israel, he claimed pure Hebrew ancestry, traceable to many previous generations,as this phrase implies. No Gentile blood in these veins, he seems to be saying! And while he spoke and wrote Greek, he did not adopt the Hellenistic culture of the Roman Empire, but was educated in Hebrew ways (see Acts 21:40, 22:2-3, 23:6, 26:4-5 for Paul’s thorough Hebrew orientation), and resisted the encroachment of pagans and paganism.
Items 1-4 above were obviously due to the providence of God, and not to Paul’s own choices. Still, Paul sees divine favor in each one. He might easily have said, “I was privileged…” But now Paul writes of his own accomplishments. "So what did I, a good Jew, with solid pedigree, do with my endowments?"
5. “a Pharisee in his interpretation of Torah”. Although Paul was educated by Gamaliel (see Acts 23:6, 5:34, 22:3, Galatians 1:14), the more liberal of the Pharisee rabbis, his inclination was clearly toward Shammai who meticulously interpreted Torah according to the strictest oral traditions. Such Pharisees were not leaders of the official thought police who simply wanted to control people’s lives for their own pleasure. Instead, they understood the reasons for Israel’s present bad condition as due to a failure to keep Torah perfectly. If Israel would turn in purity (that is, Torah-purity) back to Yahweh, forgiveness and deliverance would eventually come. But it depended on what they, Torah-aware Israel, could accomplish. Paul gladly put himself in this camp.
6. “zealous in persecuting the church”. And to be in this camp meant opposing any movement which might undermine it. The Jesus movement was perceived as such a threat. Paul, along with his peers, would have know what Jesus taught and did, and how tax collectors, harlots, and “other sinners” sat at his table. Good Pharisees in Paul’s tradition could not tolerate such contamination of “pure Judaism”. And when the deacon, Stephen, offered his sermon (recorded in Acts 7), Paul could not have missed the fact that Stephen was a proselyte to Judaism who had turned to the Jesus movement. “That’s what happens,” Paul no doubt thought, “when you make compromises with paganism. You end up with people like Stephen who go even farther in their hob-knobbing with these Nazarenes.” And so Paul swears himself to the rooting out of Jesus-followers (Acts 8:1), culminating in his visionary encounter with the risen Jesus, which changed the course of his life. “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting,” the voice from heaven replies to Paul’s inquiry (Acts 9:5). “Zeal” is, by all accounts, a tricky business. Directed for the greater purposes of God, it is a mark of commitment. But inflamed by hatred and fueled by self-interest, zeal becomes a deadly weapon in the religious arsenal. Witness the movement which in later Judaism took up the name “Zealot”, and led Israel to its terrifying defeat in 70, 73, and 135 C.E. See Paul’s further remarks in 1 Corinthians 15:9, Acts 22:2-5, 26:9-11; 1 Timothy 1:13. Also, the Old Testament recognized a positive spin on “zeal”, as seen in Numbers 25:1-18, Psalm 106:30, 1 Kings 19:10-14, Psalm 69:9). Perhaps the most famous “men of zeal” were the Maccabees who defeated the Syrians and restored the Hasmonean Kingdom of Judah for nearly one hundred years before the Romans stepped in. The Pharisees saw these valiant “freedom fighters” as their true forebears.
7. “faultless in Torah-righteousness as interpreted by his tradition”. Pride and diligence led Paul to claim that he was “blameless” (Greek: amemptos) vis-à-vis Torah. Paul’s assertion finds parallels in the rich young ruler met by Jesus in Luke 18:21. He qualified as “righteousness achiever” insofar as his own tradition saw him. The “great rabbis” had distilled Torah instruction down to the 613 mitzvot (commandments). (The readers are encouraged to access the following link where one version of this list can be found: http://www.jewfaq.org/613.htm). To be “righteous” in relationship to such a list simply meant you can check off the items you have obeyed. Is Torah more than such a list? For Jesus, the answer was clearly, yes! For Paul, before he met Jesus, the list was a source of comfort that he had met the requirements for “righteousness” (Hebrew: tzedaqah, “righteousness”, “blameless behavior”, “justice”, “what is reliable”, “godliness”, “salvation”; Greek: dikaiosune). Righteousness, on these terms, was an “achievement” which, under the right circumstances, could bring the kingdom of God near to Israel. As a “righteousness achiever” Paul saw himself as contributing to that end.
2. Christ the Supreme Value: Contra Tradition (3:7-11)
Paul begins 3:7 with the words, "But whatever was to my profit", literally, "but whatever was to me a gain (Greek: kerde, "gain", "advantage", "a win"). All of the things that belonged to Paul's "confidence in the flesh", the things that gave him such certainty as a righteous Jew, are swept away. They became, not assets, but liabilities in the accounting book of the kingdom. What once made Paul proud and self-reliant, he takes as a catastrophic loss. The language of this passage is overwhelmingly from the world of accounting as Rabbis would have seen it. Even the word hegeisthai, translated "count" or "consider" is consistent with this meaning. Whatever Paul "accounted" as enhancing his own value to God and to the nation, he even now decisively regards as bringing no value whatever to either. Though the list Paul gave us had many items on it, Paul uses the singular form of the noun, zemia, to consign them to the trash bin. In fact, the noun used here comes from the verb, zemioo, meaning "to affect with damage, do damage to, suffer loss, sustain damage, receive injury". Had Paul used our vernacular, he might have written, "Whatever I thought enhanced my life took a real blow one day." No doubt, Paul had in mind his own encounter with the risen Jesus who "called him out" that day (Acts 9) as a persecutor, not merely of his followers, but of himself. None of what Paul thought he was accomplishing actually amounted to anything, he now recognizes.
But Paul can't be faulted for trying. His efforts were zealous and in accordance with the most devout tenants of Judaism. Yet, it was all he knew; he knew nothing more; he didn't know anything better. Until… Much like the first disciples who heard Jesus' words: "deny yourself", "take up your cross"--there's something so much better "to follow"! The "whole world" cannot enhance the soul, Jesus said. And Paul discovered as much when he writes here, "Whatever was to my profit…" Paul's rejection of his former way of life came at the insistence of the Lord Jesus Christ. As he writes in 3:8, by "comparing" the old "gains" with the new ones, namely with "knowing Christ", the decision to let go of the old is, to use our slang, "a no-brainer". The Greek words are powerful: huperechon tes gnoseos Christos Iesou tou kuriou mou, literally, "the superiority of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord…" While Paul "knew" Torah through the lens of rabbinic interpretation, and oral tradition, and while he "knew" a kind of righteousness which qualified itself in self-approving ways, all of that pales in the presence of the "superior knowledge" (Greek: gnosis) found in having the Messiah Jesus as his Lord. Given the choice, so keenly set out for him that day on the road to Damascus, Paul came to choose the knowledge of a person to the knowledge of a tradition. So much so, that Paul will call his previous "benefits" skubala, "manure, dung, excrement".
On the road to Damascus that day, Paul died to himself, though at first he knew little of what that actually meant. His eyes covered with blindness, and his mind disoriented, others had to lead him to shelter and provisions. For once, he would be dependent on others for the blessings of God--such as his sight! And in this Philippians passage, Paul reflects on the meaning of all that and then makes clear his newly embraced vocation: "that I may gain Christ" (3:8b). Did he lose his life that day? Absolutely, letting go of the only life he knew, the life in Judaism with all of its assured benefits and grand dreams. This was no small scuttling of baggage, but the accumulated achievement of a lifetime. The whole world looked different to Paul. Even the Scriptures looked different. They ceased to be proof-texts for his dearly-held doctrine and became living words pointing to God's Messiah who had finally arrived. Paul might well have accepted Luther's assessment, made centuries later, "The Old Testament is the manger where the Christ-child is laid". Manger indeed! The Pharisee who once found solace in his chosen-ness, now finds a new identity in the words "gain Christ", and "be found in him, not having my own righteousness, the one derived from law-in-itself, but the one derived from God, righteousness [standing] on faith" (3:9).
What does it mean to "be found in" Christ? The Greek word, heurisko, translated here as "found", has meanings which include: "to find, to find out, discover, devise, intent, make, get, gain, procure, bring, fetch". Paul uses the word in its passive sense, "to be found", along with the preposition en, "in". Whereas, Paul earlier wrote about letting go of everything "for the sake of Christ" (3:7), to "know Christ" (3:8a), to "gain Christ" (8b), in this instance, he wants to be "found in Christ" (3:9). New Testament scholar, Preisker, in his lexical entry on this word, comments:
…its reference is predominantly to the surprising discovery and mysterious understanding of human existence and historical occurrence in their hidden relationships as seen from the standpoint of and with an ultimate view to the kingdom of God [Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, II, p.769]
In other words, Paul made a startling discovery that all attempts to save himself were doomed to fail, but without warning, God showed up one day and turned his world upside-down, and changed the way he thought about things, especially, about himself. In Jesus, God's Messiah, Lord of all things, the kingdom of God had arrived at last, and, wonder of wonders, Paul woke up one day living inside that kingdom! It was all so unexpected and unplanned from Paul's perspective. Everything he had attempted had to be thrown out. Christ was Paul's great and magnificent discovery! And having "found Christ", Paul at last had found himself. Not the old self, rooted as it was in religious piety, well-intentioned though it was, but in real righteousness. This, then, is the rich meaning of heurisko--the discovery of the unexpected: the discovery of Christ, not as Paul imagined him, but as God revealed him. Not arriving in power and majesty, but hanging on a cross.
But Paul is not yet finished telling his readers about his upside-down discovery, his holy heuriskon. Paul's self has changed residence. He is no longer living in his own neighborhood but in the kingdom of Christ instead. "Righteousness" is no longer something that he trots out to show off his achievements, but rather is God's declaration, in Christ, of his acceptance as one of God's people. Righteousness is not something "I possess", rather it is something with which I am blessed by God in Christ. Two kinds of righteousness are contrasted: "my own" as an achievement, attracting the favor of God; and "on faith" as the gift of the faithful God. When Paul speaks about "faith" (Greek: pistis), he is not so much naming yet one more thing that he does, but rather, what God is faithful in doing for him. This is a righteousness growing from the new-found relationship Paul has with Christ, a relationship described earlier, as the "knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord".
By all accounts Paul has died to his old way of being righteous, that is, of being accepted as one of the people of God. It's not about circumcision or birthright or separation from the pagan world or achievement under Torah. Quite the opposite (or, as we would put it, quite upside-down from all of that!), in place of this, Paul discovers a new kind of identity, the sort given to him by Christ himself. Recall his conversation with the risen, exalted Jesus on the road to Damascus [Note: There are four accounts of Paul’s conversion: Galatians 1:15-17 (from Paul himself); Acts 9:1-19 (Luke relating Paul's experience); Acts 22:2b-16 (Luke relating Paul's telling of his conversion to the crowd in Jerusalem); Acts 26:9-18 (Luke relating Paul's telling of his conversion to Agrippa). There are also allusions to Paul's conversion in Galatians 1:11-12; 1 Corinthians 9:1; 15:8. You are encouraged to reader each of these and think about the implications for our study here]. During that exchange with Jesus, Paul gets a new commission: to bring the Gospel to the pagan world, that is, to Gentiles, the hated goyim. Nothing could have been more off the beaten path for this set-in-his-ways Pharisee, bent on purifying Judaism of its paganism. With his fresh vocation, Paul had to let go of all of that. "You are," Jesus was telling Paul, "my servant and witness to the Gentiles. Everything else amounts to nothing compared to this vocation." An undiscovered life lay before him, and the old life was laid in its grave at the cross of the risen Christ. Life would not be the same for Paul ever again.
But now we move to the finale of our present passage, 3:10-11. Paul ended 4:9 with the words, "the from-God-righteousness on the faith" (my literal rendering of the Greek). He has just contrasted "his own" version of this righteousness with the "from-God-on-the-faith" version. But the sentence does not end there, and, unfortunately, our translators give the impression that Paul picks up a new thought with 4:10. He does not, but, instead, continues this one. The Greek of 3:10 begins with the genitive form of the article "the", followed by the infinitive "to know". This roughly translates as "of (or for) the knowing of", implying purpose, a common grammatical form in the New Testament. In addition, the form of the verb "to know" is in the aorist tense, likely the variety of aorist which "sums up the action" at the point it begins, a sort of "crisis event". What is Paul trying to tell us by this maze of linguistic twists?
We have already heard Paul tell us that Christ has turned out to be the greatest discovery of his life. That in Christ, he has had a major shakeup of his personal values. Nothing looks the same anymore. Nothing matters that once mattered. Paul has reached a crisis of knowledge with the result that coming to know Christ matters more than anything else. It's as if Paul has walked through a hidden door (like the one in C.S. Lewis' wardrobe!), and a whole new world suddenly comes into view on the other side. This world is ruled by a different kind of righteousness, a different kind of "order", than the one he left behind. In this new world, Christ Jesus is Lord--he is God ruling over all things, and Paul has met him face-to-face. What follows in Philippians 3:10-11 is a further explanation of what it means for Paul to be "found in Christ".
Paul gathers up everything he says in 3:10-11 in the word for "to know" or, as we have suggested, "to come to know", a crisis of knowing. This "knowledge of Christ is personal and relational", Gerald Hawthorne writes in his commentary on Philippians (Word Biblical Commentary, 43, p.143). The focus is on "understanding", coupled with experience and even intimacy. This is not mere intellectual knowledge of the sort Paul would have known in his rabbinic training. Much of that has been left behind as useless to his pursuit of this new righteousness. The current adage that it's not "what you know" but "whom you know" might be re-baptized in this context to mean that knowledge is not impersonal and entirely objective, but verges on the subjective and highly inter-personal. Some readers might cringe at this, thinking that Paul is advocating some form of relativistic truth. If by "relativistic" we mean "without proper grounding or confirmation", Paul certainly is not intending that. But if we mean "relative" in the sense that it pertains to a "relationship" with God through Christ--most certainly that is Paul's "understanding". Again, Hawthorne: "…he is thinking about a personal encounter with Christ that inaugurates a special intimacy with Christ that is life-changing and on-going" (p.143). The reader is invited to study these texts which shed more light on that idea of "knowing God": John 17:3, 1 Corinthians 2:8, 1 John 2:3-4, 4:8, 5:20.
What is the content of this "knowing"? Paul identifies a few key components:
"the power (Greek: dunamis) of the resurrection of him"
"the fellowship of his sufferings"
"conformed to his death"
"attaining the resurrection out from the dead"
Notice that Paul wants to know Christ in precisely these ways. And, also, that in knowing him in these ways, Paul comes to know himself in a way he has not known before. This knowing causes something to happen to Paul. Once again, the sort of knowledge Paul seeks is not something that he acquires and can neatly catalogue into his lists of "gains", as part of his repertoire of achievements. While Paul certainly believed in the Jesus of history, it was not merely the facts about Jesus that Paul wanted to input into his information store. Nor does he claim such knowledge as an advantage he now holds over other people, giving him a head-start on some newly discovered righteousness that will move him to the head of the line in the kingdom of God. Not at all. Paul wants to know Christ as the living One who is even now delivering him from his self-centeredness, converting him from the old way to the new way of life, gifting him to serve others by the Holy Spirit, and resurrecting him from death to life.
But having put the best foot forward in seeking the "power of Christ's resurrection", Paul honestly admits that the road to resurrection lies by the way of the cross. So then he speaks of the "fellowship" (from the Greek: koinonia, "the shared-ness"; notice the word "coin" embedded in that term--a thing stamped from the same mold) of Christ's sufferings (Greek: pathematon, from which comes our English "pathos", entailing intense feelings, in this case, pain). Such koinonia implies "participation" in something. Paul does not seek his own sufferings here, but those of Christ. He wants the divinely appointed suffering of Christ himself to become his own, that is, Paul wants to "die with Christ", a theme he develops elsewhere in his letters (see Colossians 1:24, Romans 8:17-18, 2 Corinthians 4:7-11, Romans 6:4-11; Galatians 2:19-20). This last passage warrants re-printing here:
19 For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (Galatians 2:19-20)
For Paul, the sufferings of Christ are not something he must imitate, but rather are realities he wants to experience. That is, these are not Paul's sufferings, but instead are Christ's sufferings being made real in his own life. The suffering Christ wields power in his sufferings, since through them he defeats sin and conquers the selfishness in human life. Paul wants that experience in his own life. In fact in writes elsewhere that he "dies daily" (1 Corinthians 15:31).
And not just the sufferings, but their outcome as well--namely, in death. "becoming like him in his death", the NIV translates this last phrase in 3:10. The Greek reads, summorphizomenois to thanto autou. The first word is unique in the New Testament and simply means, "to conform oneself, to make oneself like". Paul favors words beginning with sum- because they emphasize the idea of "together-ness", "oneness with", a thought he has already given us in the word koinonia. Classical Greek used the stem of this word, morphizo, to express, in one of its meanings, the idea of "give shape to", or "form by means of". What Paul seems to be saying here is that he wants the sufferings and death of Christ to be something he shares so that they together might give shape to his life. Imagine that! Until he met Christ, the thought of further suffering brought chills to the spiritual spines of Jewish people. They rejected the thought of a suffering Messiah as an indignity against the whole nation, an insult to its national pride. Lord knows, they thought, we've had our share of failed Messiahs. There is no way we want this one, this "suffering one". Paul's view of that was turned upside-down, and now he sees the suffering and dying Jesus as something that ought to shape his own life. Each life experience he encounters should be shaped by the suffering, dying Jesus. Each decision he makes; each thought he has; each response to his fellow human beings--should be shaped by this knowledge of the Jesus who suffered and died.
However, Paul does not end there. He is not a Stoic who simply accepts his painful lot in life. Beyond the suffering and death, Paul reaches further, even as he began 3:10-11: "if, somehow, I might arrive (Greek: katantao, "to arrive, come to", perhaps of a place "opposite to" where one is now; forms of this exist in Classical Greek which mean "downhill", "right opposite") at the resurrection, "the one out of the dead". What is Paul saying? Simply, that prior to discovering Christ, he was in a certain place, but once Christ entered his life, he was in another place. This new place was pregnant with possibilities, namely, the promise of new life, the kind Jewish people only spoke about when they mentioned the resurrection at the end of days. But things have changed. This resurrection is even now a real possibility, but to arrive at it, we must pass through Christ's sufferings and death. In fact, allowing those to shape our lives is the only way we can "arrive" at an entirely different place. Hence, Paul makes the grand discovery of dying with Christ so that we might live with him also. Unless the dying Christ shapes our lives, the rising Christ cannot. This is the force of the "if" in 3:11, coupled with "somehow" (Greek: ei pos). Is there anyway for Paul to experience, to know Christ, the One who one day turned up in Paul's life? Surprisingly, yes, there is, Paul tells his readers, but it must be through allowing the sufferings and death of Christ to perform their work in our lives. Only then can the resurrection of Christ unleash its power for holy living, freedom from sin, and personal restoration.
3. The Goal Still Lies Ahead: Contra Perfectionism (3:12-16)
Paul's desire to "know Christ" may appear to his Philippian audience as a grandiose claim. Can anyone actually become "like Christ"? Recall how Paul appealed to the examples of Timothy and Epaphroditus in the previous chapter to convince the Philippians that ordinary human beings can live the life of self-less service which promotes unity? In the present case, Paul does something similar: he denies that he has yet "arrived" at the place where he completely mirrors the experience of Jesus. His Greek is instructive: ouch hoti ede elabon e ede teteleiomai: "not that already I have grasped or already have been made perfect" (2:12).
The word for "perfect" comes ultimately from the root telos which means "the goal, aim, end, completion, finish-line". By implication it can mean "perfect". A group of religious teachers, later known as the "Gnostics", may well have been in Paul's thoughts when he writes about perfection, since it was one of their "catch phrases" identifying their claim to have "become perfect" through a special "enlightenment" of knowledge which they called gnosis. Scholars are not agreed if full-flown Gnosticism actually flourished in the area of Paul's churches, but certainly the early stages of such a movement are referenced in Paul's letter to the Colossians. A false pride accompanied this teaching about "perfectionism", and that attitude would have been deadly in the Philippian church, especially in light of Paul's concern that the believers cultivate a humble and self-giving spirit. Then again, the Judaizers also had a similar outlook, when they encouraged the sort of spiritual life Paul once advocated, and documented in 3:5-6, a life he had now given up "for the sake of Christ".
Since telos implies "goal" or "aim", Paul works out its meaning by applying it to "the running of a race". He uses the word diokein, meaning "pursue, chase, hunt down". He reminds his readers that Christ had "laid hold of him" so that Paul might "lay hold of Christ". This word, "lay hold of", is katalambanein, another of Paul's favorite compound verbs, and having the same root as the word for "grasp", a word he has just used. No doubt Paul is thinking about his experience on the road to Damascus (see Acts 9 and parallels) when the risen Jesus spoke to him, commissioning him as his messenger to the Gentiles. On that day, Jesus laid out Paul's vocation, that to which he had been called: his telos, his goal or aim. But this calling was more than just a formal vocation: Paul was called to embody Jesus Christ for the Gentile world; Paul was appealing to the whole world "in Christ's place". Christ was making his appeal to the world through Paul's ministry. As Paul describes it succinctly in 2 Corinthians 5:20-21:
20 We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
When Christ called Paul, he placed before him this enormous goal, this telos, and Paul is making quite clear that he has not yet arrived at it.
Then, in 3:13, he once more affectionately addresses the Philippians as "brothers", and continues to argue that his own attitude does not involve the idea that he has arrived at God's goal for his life. Using the Greek clause, ego emauton ou logizomai kateilephenai, Paul underscores that "he himself" emphatically denies entertaining any thought that Christ's work through his life is completed, that is, perfected. This word logizomai, used in the present active form, implies "to calculate precisely". Unlike his former life (see 3:5-6 above), Paul no longer imagines that his relationship with God consists of a carefully crafted list of achievements which he simply checks off, and then finally declares: "Done!" Following Christ, "grasping Christ", "knowing Christ", doesn't look like that. Paul's old way of life had turned "knowing God" into a kind of religious litmus test, or a punch list for spirituality. Once a person met the requirements, like a person joining a guild, he was finally "in the club", and nothing more needed to be done. "Not so!" Paul declares, "with knowing Christ". Remember, when Paul wrote about his new-found connection to Christ, he described it as "being found in him", from the Greek word which implied "discovery", not "achievement". "Discovery" is full of nuances and surprises. The moment a Christ follower thinks he has figured it all out, suddenly, and without warning, as C.S. Lewis once wrote, God surprises us with His joy. When the process involves such unexpected discoveries, it's very hard to have a carefully worded checklist, and calculate precisely when the work is done.
Since Christ's purposes for Paul's life lie ahead of him, he reasonably concludes that his responsibility for the present is two-fold. His language comes from the Greek games, in particular, the arena runner whose whole being is directed toward "the goal", the telos:
1. On the one hand, letting go of the things “behind”. The Greek participle epilanthanomenos, means “forgeting”, and includes not only things achieved but also wrongs sustained.
2. On the other hand, stretching out for the things “in front”. This word epekteinomenos, yet another participle, clearly shows the race-runner metaphor. It describes the runner with his body bent over, his hand outstretched, his head fixed forward, without a backward glance. His is ceaseless exertion and intensity of desire for the goal. In Paul's case, that he might eventually know fully, completely, entirely, and, yes, perfectly what it means to be like Jesus the Christ. Paul is not simply registering his deep desire to win the race, but to "win Christ", that is, to arrive at the place where Christ already is (refer once more to Hebrews 12:1-2, cited above).
Perfection, then, is not something Paul has within his grasp, but it is something he has within his sites! The past is behind: he cannot change it. The future is ahead: he must exert everything to reach it. As if to climax the power of his runner's metaphor, Paul now, in 3:14, extracts further "race-track" images. He has skillfully made clear that his situation is incomplete. He is living between the "already" and the "not yet" phases of his Christian life. But his race is not aimless: it has a goal, he simply has not yet arrived at it. To communicate this Paul uses the Greek words kata skopon, "down-to-the-goal-marker". The term skopos is not the goal, the telos, itself, but rather the object which marks the goal. For the runner, it is the post at the end of the race. And the runner sets his eyes intently on that marker. In Paul's case, his eyes are ever fixed on the cross of Jesus Christ, the true goal-marker. Once he knows the Christ of redemptive suffering, once he allows the cross to become God's instrument for his own death to self, he knows the goal is at hand. The goal marker is the cross, but the goal is Christ risen from the dead; Christ entered into his glory; Christ seated at the right hand of God.
To speak of this, Paul again reaches for a metaphor from the Greek games. He writes of the "prize", and describes it this way: to brabeion tes ano kleseos tou theou en Christo Iesou, that is, "the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus". During the award ceremonies, highly respected officers of the Olympian games, the Hellenodikai (Greek judges), would preside. A herald would announce the victor's name, his father's name, and his country. Then the athlete would receive a palm branch. But there are two critical expressions used here which require some explanation.
1. The brabeion, translated “prize”, actually means “the prize of conflict” (Stauffer, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, I, pp.638-639), that is, a prize which comes after an athletic contest where competition and suffering are involved. Into such a contest, the athlete throws his whole life, but then, in the end, leaves his reward, his “prize” to another. In Paul’s case, he leaves the decision up to God:
"God is He who in vocation sets for man the goal which at once gives meaning to his work and direction to his life. By this divine act, however, man is summoned to supreme activity. He must break with all the things which are behind and bend all his thoughts and actions to the divinely appointed goal. He must keep in step with the march of divine revelation. He must resolutely integrate his own will into the divine will. The will of man is thus made free and strong, and God reaches His goal as man does. The brabeoin is the point in eternity in which the two parallel lines meet. It is the goal beyond this age and its possibilities. It is the meeting-lace of divine and human action" (Stauffer, p.639).
In one other eloquent passage, Paul explains his understanding of "the prize" as it pertains to the Christian life reaching its goal:
24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27 No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize (1 Corinthians 9:24-27).
2. Then Paul invokes the image of the athlete making his way “upward” (Greek: ano) at the invitation of God who has already issued that invitation in Christ Jesus. The words used to describe this are: “the upward call”. What is this call? We need only refer back to Paul’s argument thus far to remember that what Paul truly desires is to attain “resurrection” (see 3:10-11). To be called “upward” is to be resurrected! In the Corinthian passage above, Paul contrasts the “crown” which does not last with the one which “lasts forever”. This is, of course, the imperishable body given us at the resurrection. “Onward and upward to resurrection!” is the goal of God’s people. As we have already indicated, the goal marker is the cross, but the goal is the resurrection. During the race, as we exert every fiber of our being, stretching toward the goal, we are drawn by the cross, empowered by the cross. But beyond the cross lies the upward call, the full and complete restoration of our whole persons.
"Keep your eyes on the prize!" This frequently used expression in our own time admirably applies to Paul's argument. The work of being the people of God is not finished. We have not yet arrived at the goal. But we are in the race. Much lies behind us: forget it. The finish line lies ahead: stretch forward toward it. Keep the goal-marker in sight: the cross. Don't forget what lies beyond it: the resurrection.
With these words, Paul hoped to correct the tendency toward perfectionism threatening the Philippian community. Having once been inside such a system, Paul knew its pitfalls and warns his brothers at Philippi to adopt his own model of the Christian life as their own. That being said, some would likely resist his appeal. Paul has a word for them in 3:15:
15 All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16 Only let us live up to what we have already attained (Philippians 3:15-16).
The word translated "mature" in the NIV is actually the Greek word for "perfect", teleioi, this time used in the plural form. In spite of Paul's carefully crafted appeal in 3:12-14, there were still some who wanted to be thought of as "perfect", that is, as those who had already reached the goal. Ironically, Paul addresses these as osoi oun teleioi: "as many [of us] then as [are] 'perfect'", placing the single quotes around the word. However, he challenges them to give up this claim and adopt the attitude he has described in the preceding verses: touto phronomen: "think this way". This Greek verb form is called a "hortatory subjunctive", the use of the subjunctive mood to encourage, exhort, or command oneself and others. Paul puts himself in the same group by using this particular expression. For clarification: the Greek language has several verb moods, the common ones being:
1. indicative: closest to being real
2. subjunctive: desire for something to become real ("if, would, might")
3. imperative: command for something to become real
Rather than use a straightforward imperative which might be seen as coercive by the dear brothers in Philippi, Paul choose the hortatory subjunctive instead, allowing for his own deep desire to be expressed, while still making clear what he wants to see happen in their lives.
Finally, in this section, Paul allows for the unpersuaded in his audience, and gently hands them over to God's leading. Remember, Paul has used the skillful art of rhetoric to convince his audience to adopt the perspective he teaches them. Yet, he knows full well that none of his clever rhetorical tools can ultimately change their hearts. For that, a direct revelation from God is required. And so Paul writes: kai touto o theos umin apokalupsei, that is, "even this God will reveal to you". The word for "reveal" is the familiar word apokalupsein, from which comes our English "apocalypse" and "apocalyptic". It literally means to "uncover the head", and has significance in the Bible through God's showing of Himself to human beings, both in deed and word. Jesus revealed God's character through is words and deeds (see John 2:11 where Jesus' first miracle "revealed his glory", that is, his true divine nature). Only the word of God is capable of producing the sort of change Paul desires in the lives of those who have adopted the course of "perfectionism", and so he now hands over his opponents to the gracious and firm dealings of God's revelation.
However, Paul reminds the Philippians that they have already been taught the word of God. He expresses this idea with the words: plen eis ho ephthasamen, that is, "except, with respect to what we have first attained". The Greek word phthano implies something which comes "first" or has already "arrived" or been "overtaken". While Paul is patient in his hope that God will help his perfectionist opponents see things more clearly, he in no way concedes that these folk should neglect the well-established truth already known to them. Disagreements about particular details of Christian teaching must never distract the Christ follower from working out the implications of those teachings which are not in dispute. Some things are rock-solid and beyond controversy. Of these, Paul goes on to write: to auto stoichein, literally, "draw up in a line to this sort of thing". The work stoichein means to "be in line with". There are plenty of things we agree on, Paul is saying, and we need to get in line with these: things like harmony, mutual understanding, unity--even when people have differing views on other things. Paul calls for the Philippians to walk along in line with him in following the things they have already come to know: the Gospel as it has already been revealed and understood. Hawthorne remarks:
There may be differences of opinion, levels of understanding, degrees of apprehension of truth; there will be further revelations…but the differences must not lead to dissensions and criticisms of each other.
We are all called to live at the level of truth we have received, while we patiently wait for God to reveal new truth as the need arises.
4. The New Citizenship: Contra Enemies of the Cross (3:17-4:1)
Much of the Christian life is lived by the sheer force of example. Parents know, for example, that their children acquire skills to act and speak by watching and listening. An old sage wisely claimed that some things are better "caught" than "taught'! Even in the animal kingdom, the young of a species "imprint" their behaviors from the adults. As Paul prepares to conclude his final point in this section about "the dogs", that is, the opponents of the Christian message who threaten Philippi, he writes: summimetai mou ginesthe, literally, "continue being co-imitators of me." Once more Paul shows his affinity to words compounded with the preposition meaning "together with" (sun).
The word for "imitate" has a root which appears in "mimic" and "mime". By using the compound preposition for "together", Paul stresses the "shared" nature of their imitation. It's not one person or another trying to imitate Paul, and even attempting to "outdo each other" in their imitations. Instead, Paul wants the whole community to engage in this "highest form of flattery". What Paul sought to "model" for the Philippians was how to live together in the Christ-community, setting aside one's own interests, and taking up the concerns of others. Living in unity, resolving conflict, resisting divisive false teaching--these are the qualities Paul wants expressed in their "shared life together". Of course Paul knows that he won't always be around to model this sort of life-style, and so he adds that like the runner in a race: "keep your eyes on those who live according to the pattern I give you." The Greek word for "pattern" is tupos from which we get our English word "type". "Pattern", tupos, implies a model or guide for doing something. In the printing trade, "type" refers to that which imprints itself on some medium, and does so with consistency. Paul has already cited Timothy and Epaphroditus as reliable "types" for the Philippians to model. "See how these brothers walk, and follow them", Paul is saying.
The word translated "live" in the NIV of 3:17 is actually a word which means to "walk": perpipatein. A participle used in the present tense, it has the force of a command. "Walk the talk", he seems to be saying, even as he earlier called upon his readers who disagreed with him to "follow the line".
Once more Paul calls attention to the threats faced by the Philippian community. He picks up the "walking" metaphor of 3:17 and brings it into his concerns of 3:18. Not everybody is walking a straight line. Paul is not saying these persons are actually inside the Philippian church, but, as this whole chapter has suggested, have become ever-present threats to the joy, unity and service of the Philippian community. Paul recalls his many previous warnings about such persons, even as this letter has contained a number of them. There are all kinds of "dogs" roaming the streets of the Roman Empire, and they are quickly becoming a menace to the Christ community. What is so vexing about them? Paul minces no words, but gets to his point immediately: They are enemies of the cross of Christ. The Greek says: tous echthrous tou staurou tou Christou. This word for "enemy" is among the strongest Paul has used throughout his letter. The Philippians knew about "enemies", since their colony was garrisoned within the Empire, and had retired Roman soldiers among its residents. Rome worked hard to maintain order, and sedition was punished by crucifixion. If you were an enemy of Rome, the cross was your judgment. In a strange turnabout of meaning, Paul speaks of the false teachers he has just discussed as "enemies of the cross". Ordinarily, enemies of the Roman cross were revolutionaries and brigands. But enemies of the cross of Christ bring tears to the eyes of Paul (klaion="weeping", a circumstantial participle of manner, showing in what way Paul spoke to them about this).
Nor is this the first time Paul wrote about the resistance people had to the cross. Consider his words in his other letters:
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God (1 Corinthians 1:18)
23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:23-24)
May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world (Galatians 6:14)
For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified (1 Corinthians 2:2)
The cross was the central message of Paul's preaching, and embodied the way he lived. Yet, he recognized that the cross had many enemies, both among the Jews and the Gentiles. 1) For the Jews, the cross was a humiliating symbol of weakness in the face of Roman justice. To die on the cross meant you had failed as a resistance fighter against Rome, and had brought shame on your people. That is why the Jews resisted Pilate's attempt to place the placard, "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews", above the cross, and wanted it prefixed with the words "He said that he was…" The bleeding, dying crucified man representing Israel's Messiah? No way! However, Paul everywhere affirmed that the weakness of the cross led to the resurrection power of God. Through the cross, the world's power over Paul was finally broken. Through the cross, we are saved.
2) The Romans would simply scoff at the idea that the cross meant anything else than the guilty verdict of Rome. Condemned and guilty men hang on crosses, men who failed to be justified in a Roman court of law. And the Romans prided themselves on their system of justice, justicia in Latin, or dikaiosune in Greek. They actually thought they had perfected this method of keeping order, keeping pax, "peace", in the Empire. Criminals who failed the test were dealt with swiftly and decisively. Those who opposed Rome were crucified. Now comes the Christian Gospel and its declaration that the cross of Christ had nothing to do with Rome at all, but was the public revelation of the mercy and love of God for sinners. Paul preached Christ crucified, dying for sins, defeating the powers of evil, and then rising from the dead, vindicated by God, not as a criminal but as Lord of all. Caesar could not accept this verdict. The cross of Christ was his enemy indeed!
When Paul describes these enemies in additional detail (3:19), he constructs a somewhat complicated sentence in Greek, requiring some explanation. Were we to translate its sense, it would read:
"Whose god is: the belly and the glory in their shame."
It's as if someone asked Paul, what god do these false teachers actually worship? To which he replies: "the belly" and "the glory in their shame". Matters of "food" and "sexual organs" preoccupy them and are their real worship. A little thought will yield this interpretation: Paul is referring to the Judaizers who make matters of religious diet and circumcision more important than anything else. Their obsession with these ritual concerns leads Paul to allege that they have become the true god of these false teachers. In effect, though they claim to be Messianic Jews, followers of Jesus the Messiah, they spend more time on a literalistic application of Jewish rituals to the Christ followers, than they do preaching the Gospel of Christ crucified and risen.
Where will it lead these false teachers? Paul leaves no doubt: "their end (telos) is destruction (Greek: apoleia)". Notice how Paul reintroduces the word telos into his remarks about the false teachers. Earlier, in the previous section (3:12-16), he spoke of the goal-marker and the ultimate goal of the Christ-runner, achieving resurrection, after risking suffering and death. What is the destination, though not intended, of the false teachers? It is a horrific end of life as expressed in the word apoleia which means "loss, waste, annihilation, ruin", and was used by Jesus to speak about the judgment of the wicked (see Matthew 7:13; also, Revelation 17:8, 11; 2 Peter 3:7).
Why is their telos so completely different from that of the Christ-follower? Once more Paul answers this implied question in his argument. "They think about earthly things" (Greek: hoi ta epigeia phronountes). The Greek word geia is compounded with the preposition epi in order to make the connection between the "thinking" of these false teachers and their fatal outcome. "Earth-thinkers": this is how Paul describes them. The whole universe starts and ends with the ground beneath their feet and the immediate world around them. In many ways, they are like the writer of the book of Ecclesiastes who kept saying that life is lived "under the sun". Ironically, though these false teachers claim to be religious leaders, bringing needed doctrine to their would-be students, their god and their frame of reference is earth-bound after all. They do not rise any higher than the physical rituals they demand of their followers, and, sadly, they will end their own lives in the same material way they tried to live it: in the dust.
But the cross of Christ which Paul preached is not earth-bound. And in 3:20-21 Paul draws up his final argument in one glorious expression of confidence in the coming kingdom of God. We reprint these verses in order to emphasize their key points:
20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body (Philippians 3:20-21).
In using the word "citizenship", from the Greek, politeuma, Paul tapped into the deepest loves and loyalties, suspicions and fears of the Philippian community. Five possible meanings could apply to this term:
1. colony
2. commonwealth
3. state
4. constitution
5. citizenship.
What is Paul's intention in using this word? He is saying that the ruler of the Christ-followers, namely Christ, rules them from heaven according to the principles of heaven. This stands in contrast, then, to those false teachers who advocate principles that are earth-bound. But it also throws down another challenge, this time, to the claim that Caesar and Rome are the true rulers of the human race. If you were a Philippian, you thought the politeuma was in Rome. But as a Philippian Christian, you now hear from Paul that you have another citizenship which belongs to another commonwealth already ruling from heaven. A curious historical fact illustrates Paul's claim. In 42 B.C.E. Octavian granted Philippi a Roman form of government. That meant it could be ruled as if it were a city in Italy (this status was known as the ius italicum, the highest legal privilege possible for a provincial city). Philippi's citizens were also citizens of Rome with all of the attendant legal privileges. How it ruled itself looked very much like Rome. And so when Paul speaks of a politeuma "in heaven", his readers would understand what it meant to be "ruled from afar" (Witherington, 99). Andrew Lincoln, a former professor of mine, defined the word politeuma as: "the state as a constitutive force regulating its citizens". Paul is telling the Philippian Christians that they belong to another state, and that this state has supreme political authority. Caird remarks in his commentary, Paul
…pictures the world as an empire over which Christ rules de jure, though not yet de facto. Each local church is a colony of heaven, its members enjoying full citizenship of the heavenly city (cf. Galatians 4:26; Ephesians 2:19), but charged with the responsibility of bringing the world to acknowledge the sovereignty of Christ. Neither the Roman colonist nor the Christian depended for the meaning, character and purpose of his life on the ethos of his alien environment, nor did he allow that environment to determine the quality of his behavior.
The Jewish opponents of Paul's work would also hear familiar themes in his reference to politeuma. In the Roman Empire, Jews were permitted to reside in semi-autonomous colonies among Gentile populations. As ethnically and religiously distinct, they formed their own politeuma wherever they lived, and Rome granted them freedom to exercise their faith. However, in Paul's mind, they are only colonies of earthly Israel, earth-bound, and focused on this world alone. Christ followers, are a colony of heaven, though residing in cities throughout the Empire. Their true privileges emanate from heaven where Christ rules as Lord as God's right hand, and grants eternal life to his earthly citizens.
What follows shows the degree to which Christ rules both heaven and earth. Paul piles up privileged names and applies them to Jesus. Though he rules from heaven, he await his arrival (Greek: apekdechometha). Paul uses this word for "wait" some six times, and it has endearing meaning to him. Through it he expresses the yearning, and joyful expectation for the coming (Greek: parousia, official "arrival" of the Emperor) of Jesus. Notice the words Paul uses to describe him:
1. Savior: From the Greek soter, this word had deep roots in the Old Testament, where God was the "deliverer" of his people from Egypt, and the One who brought them into their promised land. The name "Jesus", Yeshua, has embedded within it the word for "save", as does Hosea, and Joshua. But Paul's interest in using this Greek word derives from its meaning with Imperial Rome. In much Greek and Roman literature, we find references to the Emperor being called by this name. When the city of Philippi was liberated from its Thracian occupiers, it was Rome who did it and then earned its Emperor the title "Soter", that is, "Savior". The one who preserves the pax (peace) and defeats Rome's enemies on every side is the "Savior". And so when Paul intentionally applies this word to Jesus, he is saying, Jesus is the true Soter, the real Savior of the world. This Jesus is one day coming from heaven in his saving role, and all the Christian colonies throughout the world await is coming, as do the Philippians. Whatever else Philippi might have thought of its Roman citizenship, Paul engenders a more permanent one rooted in the heavenly rule of Jesus.
2. Lord: From the Greek kurios, like soter, this word was applied to the Emperor as supreme ruler, and mighty Lord. For Christ followers, familiar with their Old Testament, the Lord from heaven is Yahweh, Adonai of His people Israel, and now of the whole world. Paul has already affirmed in 2:11 that one day every tongue will confess that Jesus is kurios, Lord.
3. Christ: The roots for this word are Hebrew: hamashiach, the "Messiah", God's anointed and rightful ruler. With the coming of Jesus, this word has assumed larger proportions, for it stresses the arrival of God's kingdom, led by His king, Jesus. Of course, to the Romans, any claim of "another king" raised alarm, since Rome intended to control the right to use that title. Even the Herods, Rome's favorites, were stripped of this title "king", when misrule led to revolt within Israel. "We have no king but Caesar" was a more welcome declaration to the ears of the Empire. Unfortunately it was spoken by the Jewish leadership on the occasion of Jesus' trial before Pilate (see John 19:12-15).
The colony of Philippi, rich with its Roman privileges, certainly had its share of official visits from Rome. Pomp and circumstance surrounded such occasions, as the citizens went out to greet some dignitary. For Paul, a much more significant state visit will one day take place. It will be the arrival of the true Savior, the Lord, Jesus, the Messiah. But his coming will be more than ceremonial, for on that occasion, a major political transformation will take place. The colonies of heaven, now residing on earth, will experience a remarkable transformation. Paul describes it in 3:21 with the Greek word metaschematizo which means to "change, transform". Again this word is Paul's invention, compounding the idea of "change" (meta) with the idea of "form" (schema). What sort of change is this? Paul applies it to "our bodies" (soma), but then describes those bodies as "lowly" (Greek: tapeinoeos). This is the same word Paul used to describe Christ's humbling of himself in 2:5-11. Because of our lowly condition, Christ became lowly. But now with his royal arrival, at his coming again, he intends to put an end to the lowly condition of humanity, and transform it so that it "conforms" to his own "body of glory", that is, the body of his own resurrection.
This language of "humiliation" vs. "glory" is appropriate for Paul's Philippian audience. As we have noted in previous studies, the social stratification of Philippian society, placed the majority Greek population under the rule of the minority Roman population. Further, the holders of Roman citizenship per se were not the majority either. If the composition of the Philippian church reflected that of the outside society, one could expect a large number of persons who did not participate substantially in the benefits of Roman rule. Paul, of course, means more than just a social adjustment. He imagines Christ's arrival to his earthly colonies as bringing with it the resurrection of human life itself. What happened to Jesus three days after his crucifixion will also happen to the Christ followers. Was not this the very thing that Paul wished to attain? Was not this the "prize" which lay past the goal marker of the cross? Christians proclaim something more than just life after death, a soul at home in heaven, and the world be damned. Quite the contrary, the message of the Gospel is indeed "good news", offering the hope that the Lord of heaven will one day return to complete the work he began, and Paul wants the Philippians to catch the passion of his heart in making this wonderful announcement to them.
But this is more than the resurrection of individuals. Paul concludes 3:21 by referring to the "power" with which Christ performs his saving work in the world. Using the Greek word energeia, Paul stresses that Christ unleashes the power of God within the world. This word does mean "power", but not merely in the sense of something potential or imposing. Energeia is "power in action", power to accomplish, power in operation, power working, and power achieving a goal. When Jesus rose from the dead, he became a living, historical witness to what God's power can accomplish when it is unleashed in the world. If a dead man can rise from the dead, never to die again, then a precedent has been set for humanity that it too can rise again. The resurrection of Jesus, something Paul has consistently pursued in his letter to the Philippians, shows that Jesus is "able" (Greek: dunasthai) to do much more: hupotaxai auto ta panta, that is, "to arrange all things under himself". This word hupotasso implies a mastery over something. The Roman Emperor imagined he had so arranged the Roman world under himself and Roman law. Peace (pax) enforced by order was Rome's systematic way of arranging the world under itself. But now Paul proclaims the Lord Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, ruling his earthly colonies from heaven, and intending to return once more to bring all of his creation in conformity to his purpose and love.
Through the optimistic proclamation of this message, Paul hopes to bring unity to the Philippian Christ community as well. If Jesus, Lord of heaven, and intended ruler of earth, has as his goal the uniting of all things under himself, should not the Philippian community seek to resolve their differences and, at the same time, resist the efforts of false teachers to undermine that unity by proclaiming an earth-bound message? That, in a nutshell, is the force of Paul's argument as it reaches its conclusion in 3:21. For Paul, Christians eagerly look to the future, indwelt by a persistent desire, marked with joy, for the day when Jesus, crucified but risen, finally appears as Savior and Lord. Welcomed by his earth-colonies, this Jesus brings in his royal procession the end of suffering and death, and the beginning of resurrection life. Bodies of humiliation become bodies of glory, imperishable, immortal, and witnesses to his mighty power. But he comes, not only for his colonies, but also for the whole world. Caesar might have imagined an Empire, but Jesus will rule the cosmos. The instrument of his rule will not be the earthly scepter or the Roman fasces, but instead, the power to transform broken persons, broken families, broken societies, and a broken world by his all-embracing and reconciling love.
Glory to God! Amen.
Digger Deeper: Cross-Training: Just Win It
(Bob Brown)
To gain a deeper understanding of Cross-Training: Just Win It, carefully read the selected passages below. To aid you in your study, we invite you to visit the website http://notes.chicagofirstnaz.org, or pick up a copy of the notes at the Connect desk, or from your ABF leader. Now consider the following questions, as you ask the Lord to teach you.
Special Note: The Background Notes are especially useful in working through some of these questions. You are encouraged to secure a copy as you begin.
1. As you carefully read Philippians 3:1-21, see if you can create an outline of its main ideas. What seems to be the main theme running through the whole passage?
2. In what ways does Paul show his "caring side" in 3:1-2?
3. What threats to the Philippian Christ community does he see? Why does he refer to some of those threats as "dogs"?
4. Why does Paul offer his readers a detailed resume of his spiritual achievements in 3:4-6? Note each so-called "badge of honor" and suggest the reason Paul includes it in his list.
5. Based on studying 3:7-8, write a few sentences on the theme: "Paul, the Spiritual Accountant".
6. Paul obviously wants a growing relationship with Christ. Based on 3:7-11, carefully describe the ways Paul wants to "know Christ". In what sense does Paul use the word "know" in this section?
7. What is Paul's supreme goal as he summarizes his thoughts in 3:7-11?
8. Shifting focus to 3:12-16, what does Paul mean by "being made perfect"? What figure of speech does he use to develop the real meaning of Christian perfection? What do you think the word "perfect" means as it is used here?
9. When Paul senses he may have some resistance to his view of perfection, what attitude does he adopt in 3:15-16.
10. How does Paul describe the false teachers in 3:17-21? Why might people have problems with "the cross of Christ?" (For comparison, read 1 Corinthians 1:18-24; contrast this with Paul's own view in 1 Corinthians 2:2 and Galatians 6:14).
11. What special privilege is ours according to 3:20? What does Paul tell us about the role of Jesus in heaven? In the world?
12. How might Paul's remarks about Jesus "bringing all things under his control" affect the way the Philippians saw their own unity?
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