A. Beware of those who oppose the truth of the gospel (3:1–3). 3:1–2. Paul uses the Greek expression to loipon (“in addition,” 3:1) to draw his readers’ attention to what follows: he wants to warn them to be watchful in the face of a recurring danger (see “Literary Unity” in the introduction to Philippians).
3:3. The text of 3:3 leaves little doubt that circumcision is the central issue in his debate with these opponents. Here he contrasts “those who mutilate the flesh” (3:2) with those who are “the circumcision,” among whom he includes himself. Those who have the right to the title of “the circumcision” are characterized by three things. The first is that they worship in the Spirit given by God. The second is that they boast of Christ and show his humility and servanthood in their lives. Third, they trust only in Christ, not in fleshly circumcision.
3:4–6. The contrast between “mutilation” and “circumcision” in 3:2–3 sets the stage for Paul’s defense. Paul is willing to compare himself with anyone who “thinks he has grounds for confidence in the flesh” (3:4), because he has more. Three of the reasons Paul gives are ethnic: he was born a Jew of the tribe of Benjamin; he was circumcised according to Jewish law; he was raised as a culturally pure, Hebrew-speaking Jew (3:5).
3:7–8. But “knowing Christ Jesus” (3:8) has brought about a dramatic change in Paul’s life. He now considers all his former advantages as a Jew, the things that he used to consider “gain,” to be a total “loss” for the sake of knowing Christ (3:7). He would give up his heritage entirely in order to not be separated from the Lord. This reversal in Paul’s life has occurred because of the “surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (3:8). It is the greatness of this revelation, not a deficiency in the Jewish law or Paul’s righteousness, that makes his former life appear as “loss.”
3:9–11. Paul makes it clear that being found in Christ excludes “having a righteousness of my own from the law” (3:9a). Being found in Christ means that Paul can no longer be found in the Jewish law (3:6)—the two are mutually exclusive. Now Paul’s righteousness, and the righteousness of all who follow Christ, comes from God through faith in Christ (3:9b). Paul reminds the Philippians that accepting circumcision and embracing the Jewish law as necessary for right standing before God undermines one’s position in Christ and “the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus” (3:8).
3:12–14. Paul continues to stress the purpose toward which his whole life is oriented. One of the most striking aspects of this account of Paul’s life is that Paul sees “knowing Christ Jesus” (3:8) not only as something in which he already participates but also as a goal he continues to pursue. This double sense of purpose, Christ as both motivation and goal, is explained in these verses: Christ has grasped Paul, so Paul presses on to grasp Christ, the goal of his life. Those things he now counts as “loss,” and he looks only at the goal that lies ahead—the “prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus” (3:14). Christ is the basis of this call as well as the prize, and the divine call in Christ provides the power Paul needs to attain the goal (3:12). Being in Christ means being shaped by Christ’s death and resurrection, so the events of the Christ hymn of Php 2:6–11 find their counterpart in the way Paul presents his experience in Php 3:4–14. As Paul empties himself of all but Christ and becomes “conformed to his death” (3:10), he embodies the gospel he preaches.
3:15–16. The Greek phrase touto phroneō of 2:5, translated as “adopt the same attitude,” is echoed in the touto phroneō of 3:15, translated as “let all . . . think this way.” Paul wants the Philippians to have the mind of Christ, and he is so confident that his message and his life exhibit the truth of the gospel that he can exhort them to join in imitating him as he imitates Christ (3:17). The Greek word for “mature” has the idea of a goal toward which one is striving; those who are mature have in mind the same goal as Paul. He is so confident of the truth he has stated that he can invoke God to illumine the minds of those who do not share his convictions. So he merely urges them to “live up to whatever truth we have attained” (3:16). Since the Philippians are already following the standard Paul has set, all they need to do is keep walking in the same way.
3:17–19. Here Paul holds up his life to the Philippians as a pattern to be imitated (3:17). He contrasts his example with those who are enemies of Christ, whose lives are characterized by opposition to the gospel and its message of the renunciation of power, privilege, and selfish interests (3:18–19). They are consumed with earthly desires and self-centered aims. The gospel demands one to sacrifice for the good of others, and thus they live as enemies of the cross.
3:20–21. Paul reminds his readers that those who have the mind of Christ have their citizenship in heaven (3:20). Their minds are not set on earthly things, for they “eagerly wait for a Savior” from heaven and the resurrection power that he will bring, which will vivify their bodies and renew God’s creation. Those who embrace the crucified Christ and become “conformed to his death” (3:10) will be made into the “likeness of his glorious body” (3:21) when he brings all things under his control. This conforming of the believer to the image of Christ both in death and in glory is accomplished by the enabling power at work in him. One day the image of Christ will be revealed in all who have experienced the heavenward call of God in Christ Jesus.