Paul tells his Philippian brothers- and sisters-in-Christ to rejoice & watch out.
[This discussion can be read in 6 1/2 min.]
Philippians: Shine Like Stars – DAY 63
Family Discussions for the New Year
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DAY 63/MONDAY
Philippians 3:1-9
Rejoice & Watch Out
“Further, my brothers and sisters, 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. 2Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh. 3For 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…”
Philippians 3:1-9a (NIV)
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Biblical Literacy
Jen Wilkin, author of Women of the Word: How to Study the Bible with Both Our Hearts and Our Minds, is an advocate for biblical literacy. Literacy* can simply mean being able to read and write. It can also mean being knowledgeable in a particular subject or field. Biblical literacy is not just being able to read the words in the Bible, but also knowing & understanding what it says, what it means, and how it may apply to life.
*The American Heritage College Dictionary, 4th ed.
“How should we build our understanding of Scripture? By what orderly process? A good literacy-builder honors the learning process by moving through three distinct stages of understanding: comprehension, interpretation, and application. Each of these three stages seeks to answer a specific question about the text.”
Jen Wilkin, Women of the Word, p.87 (2014)
- Comprehension asks, “What does it say?”
- Interpretation asks, “What does it mean?”
- Application asks, “How should it change me?”
*Wilkin, Women of the Word, p.87 (2014)
Here at the beginning of Philippians 3, we are going to go through these three stages of good literacy-building. First up, comprehension.
Comprehension
As we ask and answer questions for basic comprehension, most of us will naturally feel like skipping ahead to the “What does it mean?” and “How might this apply to me?” stages of study. Let’s resist that for now. (It’s hard for me, too!) Our interpretation & application will most certainly be off if we rush this first stage. Let’s choose to correctly handle the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15).
Rejoice!
“Further, my brothers and sisters, 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.”
Philippians 3:1 (NIV)
Q & A – Phil. 3:1
Q: What is Paul telling his Philippian brothers- & sisters-in-Christ to do?
A: “Rejoice in the Lord!”
Q: Paul says it is “no trouble” for him to do what?
A: To write the same things to them again
Q: He says that writing to them again is a what?
A: It is a safeguard for them.
Watch Out!
“Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh.”
Philippians 3:2 (NIV)
Q & A – Phil. 3:2
Q: What command is Paul giving the Philippian believers?
A: “Watch out!”
Q: For whom are they supposed to “watch out”?
A: “Those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh”
It Is We Who Are
“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.”
Philippians 3:3-4a (NIV)
Q & A – Phil. 3:3-4
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”
Q: Who does Paul say has reasons to put confidence in the flesh?
A: Paul himself
Reasons for Confidence in the Flesh
“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 3:4b-6 (NIV)
Q & A – Phil. 3:4-6
Q: Who has “more” reasons for confidence in the flesh?
A: Paul says he does.
Q: What are Paul’s reasons?
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
Gains Now Loss
“But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.”
Philippians 3:7 (NIV)
Q & A – Phil. 3:7
Q: What were the “gains” that Paul now considers “loss”?
A: Those things we listed above: his reasons for confidence in the flesh.
Q: Why does Paul now consider these reasons for confidence in the flesh “loss”?
A: “For the sake of Christ”
Lose to Gain Christ
“What 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…”
Philippians 3:8-9a (NIV)
Q & A – Phil. 3:8-9
Q: What more does Paul consider a loss?
A: Everything
Q: Why does Paul consider everything a loss?
A: “Because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord”
Q: For whose sake has Paul “lost all things”?
A: Christ Jesus his Lord
Q: Paul considers all he’s lost as what?
A: Garbage
Q: Why?
A: That he may gain Christ and be found in Him
More Questions Than Answers?
We have an answer to every question I asked for comprehension, but if you’re like me, you now have many more questions about Philippians 3:1-9.
I know it’s an odd feeling to leave a discussion with more questions than answers, but that is exactly what I want to do right now. The comprehension stage does not give us the satisfaction of answering “But what does it mean?” — and that’s OK!
Students do not have all the answers; students have questions because they are learning. Disciples are learners. As disciples of Christ, our Lord expects us to have questions and to go to His word for the answers. We get it wrong, however, when we think answers are supposed to appear as quickly as the results of a Google search.
Let’s follow the example of the Bereans in Acts 17:
“Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.”
Acts 17:11 (NIV)
Today, comprehension.
In our next post, interpretation.
DAY 63/MONDAY Prayer
Father God,
Teach us to correctly handle the word of truth (II Timothy 2:15). May we have noble character like the Berean Jews, receiving Your message with great eagerness and examining the Scriptures every day to see if what we’re told about You and what we think about You is true.
Thank You for Your Word!
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
DAY 63: Paul tells his Philippian brothers- and sisters-in-Christ to rejoice & watch out.