Paul informs the Philippian Christians that he has new goals, new gains after meeting Jesus.
Philippians: Shine Like Stars – DAY 71
Family Discussions for the New Year
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DAY 71/MONDAY
Philippians 3:3-10
New Goals, New Gains
“For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by His Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh — 4though I myself have reasons for such confidence.
If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5circumcised 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; 6as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.
7But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9and 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 on the basis of faith.
10I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of His resurrection and participation in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, 11and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.”
Philippians 3:3-10(NIV)
*Click here to read in the NIrV, NLT, ESV, & CSB.
Building Biblical Literacy
- Comprehension asks, “What does it say?”
- Interpretation asks, “What does it mean?”
- Application asks, “How should it change me?”
*Jen Wilkin, Women of the Word, p.87 (2014)
In our DAY 63 discussion, we said we would go through these three stages of good literacy-building here at the beginning of Philippians 3.
DAY 63 was about Comprehension.
In our DAY 64 discussion, we began Interpretation.
Today, we use comprehension & do a little interpretation, always aiming to correctly handle the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15).
You may notice as you read that some of our comprehension questions are the same or similar to those we asked & answered on DAY 63. No, I didn’t forget, and no, I’m not being lazy 😉 — unless we have completely memorized Philippians 3:3-9, we need to remind ourselves what it says before we move ahead.
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| WARNING: Parental Discretion is advised. In the following, we continue to discuss circumcision. Some parents may feel the topic is too sensitive for younger children. Please read ahead before you decide whether or not to discuss this topic as a family. |
Reasons for Confidence
Our passage of Scripture for today contains a lot of important information. We’re going to start with — you guessed it — simple Q & A.
“For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by His Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh — 4though I myself have reasons for such confidence.
If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5circumcised 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; 6as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.”
Philippians 3:3-6 (NIV)
Q & A #1
Q: Who is “the circumcision”?
A: “We who serve God by His Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh” (v.3)
Q: Who has reasons for confidence in the flesh — even more than others?
A: Paul says he does. (v.4)
Q: What are Paul’s reasons? (v.5-6)
A:
- 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;
- as for zeal, persecuting the church;
- as for righteousness based on the law, faultless
This may not mean much to 21st-century Americans, but this list would have given Paul major Jewish bragging rights.
Q & A #2
“But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9and 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 on the basis of faith.”
Philippians 3:7-9 (NIV)
Q: What does Paul now consider his gains — his confidence in the flesh — to be?
A: “Loss for the sake of Christ” (v.7)
Q: In v.8, Paul goes even further. What else does he consider loss?
A: Everything
Q: Why does Paul now consider everything a loss?
A: Because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus his Lord (v.8)
Q: Paul says he considers all his previous “gains,” all that made him confident in the flesh, “garbage” now. Why?
A: That he may gain Christ and be found in Him (v.8,9)
Q: In v.9, what does Paul say he doesn’t have?
A: A righteousness of his own that comes from the law (v.9)
Q: What kind of righteousness does Paul have?
A: “The righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith” (v.9)
Q: Through what does this righteousness come?
A: “Through faith in Christ” (v.9)
Before meeting the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus [Acts 9], Paul thought he could have a righteousness of his own before God by keeping the law himself. Problem: No one can keep the law perfectly & completely, not even Saul/Paul, the zealous Pharisee!
After seeing Jesus, Paul’s vision of righteousness changed. He realized all the works of the flesh, works he was doing to try to earn righteousness for himself, were as good as garbage. As the prophet Isaiah wrote,
“All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.”
Isaiah 64:6 (NIV)
New Goals, New Gains
Paul’s views of goals & gains changed. He realized his gains had nothing to do with anything he had done, but everything to do with what Christ had done on his behalf. All Paul needed to bring to the table was faith in what Jesus had already done.
Q & A #3
“I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of His resurrection and participation in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, 11and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.”
Philippians 3:10 (NIV)
Q: What does Paul want to know now?
A:
- Christ
- the power of His resurrection
- participation in His sufferings
Q: How does Paul want to become like Christ?
A: He wants to become like Him in His death.
Q: What is a goal Paul now wants to attain?
A: The resurrection from the dead
Knowing Christ is now far more important to Paul than knowing what he himself can do on his own, in the flesh.
DAY 71/MONDAY Prayer
Father God,
Thank You for Your Word.
May we continue to read it carefully, “always aiming to correctly handle the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).
Show us Your ways, Lord; teach us Your paths. Guide us in Your truth and teach us, for You are God our Savior, and our hope is in You all day long (Psalm 25:4-5).
In Jesus’ name,
the name above all names,
Amen.
DAY 71: Paul informs the Philippian Christians that he has new goals, new gains after meeting Jesus.