Philippians 3:7-8 “But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ,” (NASB)
Written by Paul the letter to the church in Philippi would have Mrs. Parker my high school English teacher having fits. Talk about run on sentences. There are no periods just a bunch of commas as Paul strings along this thought of how all of his best efforts are worthless in comparison to Christ.
Let’s take a closer look. We have to roll it back a few verses to get a bit of a context and even understand Paul a bit. Paul was a highly educated Jew in his day. He was a Pharisee. He writes, “Circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee” (Philippians 3:5) So, he’s giving us some of his credentials here. He’s letting us know that among people and even among God’s chosen people the Jews, Paul is special having been educated in the Law and now ranked among the Pharisees.
Why is he telling us this? Because he is giving us perspective. He’s letting us know that among men and even among Jews if there were anyone to claim closeness to God it would be Paul. He’s giving us this hypothetical in reference to his pre-conversion state as an unbelieving but God loving Jew. He says in this state, “I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more:” (Philippians 3:5) So that is the setup for his credentials. He is saying that those credentials give rise to his being able to claim confidence to a higher degree than most anyone else. That is, should he believe it were appropriate.
And … clearly Paul does not believe that is appropriate. His comparison here is to show that if he doesn’t believe it then no one else should either. Paul says, “For we (followers of Christ) are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh,” (Philippians 3:4) So there, he comes out with it, all works apart from Christ as good as they may be when compared are worthless.
And that is the point of the main passage today. “But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ,” (Philippians 3:7-8)
All those accomplishments of Paul, those things he could in his flesh count as gain when put in proper perspective have no value at all. In comparison to the gift of Christ our Savior and Redeemer who offers us eternal life with him when hell was our due, those efforts are but, “Rubbish”. Amen!
Amen !
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