Philippians Bible Study: Chapter 3

Rejoice in the Lord: The Letter to the Philippians

CHAPTER THREE: Pressing On Toward the Goal

Paul restates his theme at the beginning of chapter three. The word translated as "Finally" (loipos, Gk) can have many possible related meanings, such as "still," "moreover," or "last." The verb form for "rejoice" is an imperative, which carries the meaning of a command.

Next, Paul touches on a subject that threatened the unity of the early Church. The "dogs" of which he speaks are those who insisted that converts to Christianity had to be circumcised in addition to being baptized. Dogs were fairly despised animals in Biblical times, because they often preyed on the sick, dying, or dead. Paul is being uncomplimentary to these false teachers, because their insistence on following Old Testament practices obscured the saving grace of Jesus Christ alone. In other words, circumcision was being taught as a work that was necessary for salvation.

He goes on to "boast" (for the sake of making a forceful point) that if life with God was really about human performance, he would be well off. But it all leads up to verses seven through eleven, where he admits that all of his good qualities and achievements actually get in the way of knowing Jesus as his Lord. He counts his achievements as "loss" (zemia, Gk) which can be translated as "damage" or "disadvantage." Paul realized that confidence in his heritage and works interfered with knowing God. The message that Paul sends with brilliant clarity is this: the foundation of a life with God is the shift away from self to a life that centers on Christ.

FOR DISCUSSION: In what ways can confidence in heritage and works get in the way of knowing Jesus as Lord?

Paul uses interesting language to talk about Christian living, with the word "dioko" meaning "pressing on," "striving," or "pursuing," to "make it (life with God and resurrection) my own" or to "win it" because Christ Jesus has "won me." This takes the motivation for doing "good works" in a different direction. Paul's line of thinking could be summarized this way: Jesus has won me (or made me his own); Jesus has given me His own righteousness; now I want to live up to what Jesus has made me. (Verse sixteen: "But let us hold to/agree with/live in what we have attained/reached/come to." Basically, the thought is "Let us be who we are (in Christ).")

In a sense, this is athletic language. The flavor of this passage can be understood as this: "Jesus is the Champion. You could not earn the championship yourself; but He shares His championship with you; so run (conduct yourself) like a champion."

FOR DISCUSSION: Paul repeatedly uses a word that means "pressing on," striving," or "pursuing" to describe his life with God. Would you use those words to describe your life with God? Why or why not?