3:4 If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more:
3:5 circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the
tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee;
3:6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law,
blameless.
3:7 Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of
Christ.
3:8 More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value
of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and
I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ
3:9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from
the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on
faith.
3:10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of
his sufferings by becoming like him in his death,
3:11 if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
3:12 Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal;
but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.
3:13 Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing
I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,
3:14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in
Christ Jesus.
In the new book "Get Up Off Your Knees, Preaching the U2 Catalog," one of the sermons, called "Pressing on with U2 and Paul," suggests that the U2 song "I still haven't found what I'm looking for" draws on the spirit of this passage. I may be using that idea, but it's too early to know..
Writing to Christians in Philippi, Paul admits that his heritage and reputation could give him more reason than most people to place confidence in his spiritual pedigree. But the overwhelming grace of God in Jesus calls Paul to a new set of values.
Like Mary pouring out her love by pouring expensive perfume, Paul shows his love and desire to know Christ by pouring out his credentials and achievements, his life, and considering them all rubbish (the Greek word also means "dung" and "excrement") in comparison to the life to be gained in Christ.
Coho in Midway,
Thanks for submitting your exegesis - it was a fun and insightful read. I had forgotten that "rubbish" was translated from the Greek, "skeballo", equivalent to our crass term for manure.
I also appreciated your exploration of "pisteos Christos" - faith in Christ or Christ's faithfulness? There is a richness to the scriptural texts that taking time for such thorough study only can bring - if only we had time (and energy) to do that more often.
Tigger in MN
I plan to focus on verses 13 and 14. We all have trouble remembering things we need to remember, but there are also things we need to forget. Not that we completely forget anything, but we should set aside some things so we can press on toward the goal of Christ. I am thinking about things like past successes, past hurts, past failures, etc. Paul certainly had a lot of things that merited forgetting as he pressed on for Christ. -- Fred in NC
The last verse strikes me - in most translations it does not say we're called toward the prize. Instead, the prize is the call itself.
Sending now, reading the rest of the posts later.
kbc in sc
As a retired pastor serving part-time as chaplain in a nursing home, forgetting the past has taken on new meaning. Our alzheimer's patients literally forget the past, including their families. One resident, a former entertainer who sang on national television and counted many celebrities as friends, is in early stage alzheimer's and knows what faces her. It is only her faith and hope in Christ that allows her to face such a frightening future.
