This chapter Philippians 3 consists in the main, of exhortations to holy living, and to an effort to make great attainments in the divine life. It is full of tenderness and affection, and is one of the most beautiful appeals which can anywhere be found to induce Christians to devote themselves to th... [ Continue Reading ]
FINALLY, MY BRETHREN, REJOICE IN THE LORD - That is, in the Lord Jesus; see Philippians 3:3; compare the Acts 1:24 note, and 1 Thessalonians 5:16 note. The idea here is, that it is the duty of Christians to rejoice in the Lord Jesus Christ. This duty implies the following things: (1) They should rej... [ Continue Reading ]
BEWARE OF DOGS - Dogs in the east are mostly without masters; they wander at large in the streets and fields, and feed upon offals, and even upon corpses; compare 1 Kings 14:11; 1Ki 16:4; 1 Kings 21:19. They are held as unclean, and to call one a dog is a much stronger expression of contempt there t... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR WE ARE THE CIRCUMCISION - We who are Christians. We have and hold the true doctrine of circumcision. We have that which was intended to be secured by this rite - for we are led to renounce the flesh, and to worship God in the spirit. The apostle in this verse teaches that the ordinance of circum... [ Continue Reading ]
THOUGH I MIGHT ALSO HAVE CONFIDENCE IN THE FLESH - That is, though I had uncommon advantages of this kind; and if anyone could have trusted in them, I could have done it. The object of the apostle is to show that he did not despise those things because he did not possess them, but because he now saw... [ Continue Reading ]
CIRCUMCISED THE EIGHTH DAY - That is, he was circumcised in exact compliance with the law. If there was any ground confidence from such compliance with the law, he had it. The law required that circumcision should be performed on the eighth day Genesis 17:12; Leviticus 12:3; Luke 1:59; but it is pro... [ Continue Reading ]
CONCERNING ZEAL, PERSECUTING THE CHURCH - Showing the greatness of my zeal for the religion which I believed to be true, by persecuting those whom I considered to be in dangerous error. Zeal was supposed to be, as it is, an important part of religion; see 2 Kings 10:16; Psalms 69:9; Psalms 119:139;... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT WHAT THINGS WERE GAIN TO ME - The advantages of birth, of education, and of external conformity to the law. “I thought these to be gain - that is, to be of vast advantage in the matter of salvation. I valued myself on these things, and supposed that I was rich in all that pertained to moral char... [ Continue Reading ]
YEA, DOUBTLESS, AND I COUNT ALL THINGS BUT LOSS - Not only those things which he had just specified, and which he had himself possessed, he says he would be willing to renounce in order to obtain an interest in the Saviour, but everything which could be imagined. Were all the wealth and honor which... [ Continue Reading ]
AND BE FOUND IN HIM - That is, united to him by a living faith. The idea is, that when the investigations of the great day should take place in regard to the ground of salvation, it might be found that he was united to the Redeemer and depended solely on his merits for salvation; compare the notes a... [ Continue Reading ]
THAT I MAY KNOW HIM - That I may be fully acquainted with his nature, his character, his work, and with the salvation which he has worked out. It is one of the highest objects of desire in the mind of the Christian to know Christ; see the notes at Ephesians 3:19. AND THE POWER OF HIS RESURRECTION -... [ Continue Reading ]
IF BY ANY MEANS - Implying, that he meant to make use of the most strenuous exertions to obtain the object. I MIGHT ATTAIN UNTO - I may come to, or may secure this object. THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD - Paul believed that all the dead would be raised Acts 24:15; Acts 26:6; and in this respect he wo... [ Continue Reading ]
NOT AS THOUGH I HAD ALREADY ATTAINED - This verse and the two following are full of allusions to the Grecian races. “The word rendered ‘attained’ signifies, to have arrived at the goal and won the prize, but without having as yet received it” - The Pictorial Bible. The meaning here is, I do not pret... [ Continue Reading ]
BRETHREN, I COUNT NOT MYSELF TO HAVE APPREHENDED - That is, to have obtained that for which I have been called into the service of the Redeemer. There is something which I strive after which I have not yet gained. This statement is a confirmation of the opinion that in the previous verse, where he s... [ Continue Reading ]
I PRESS TOWARD THE MARK - As he who was running a race did. The “mark” means properly the object set up at a distance at which one looks or aims, and hence the goal, or post which was set up at the end of a race-course, and which was to be reached in order that the prize might be won. Here it means... [ Continue Reading ]
LET US THEREFORE, AS MANY AS BE PERFECT - see the notes at Philippians 3:12. Or, rather, those who would be perfect; or who are aiming at perfection. It can hardly be supposed that the apostle would address them as already perfect, when he had just said of himself that lie had not attained to that s... [ Continue Reading ]
NEVERTHELESS, WHERETO WE HAVE ALREADY ATTAINED, LET US WALK BY THE SAME RULE - This is a most wise and valuable rule, and a rule that would save much difficulty and contention in the church, if it were honestly applied. The meaning is this, that though there might be different degrees of attainment... [ Continue Reading ]
BRETHREN, BE FOLLOWERS TOGETHER OF ME - That is, live as I do. A minister of the gospel, a parent, or a Christian of any age or condition, ought so to live that he can refer to his own example, and exhort others to imitate the course of life which he had led. Paul could do this without ostentation o... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR MANY WALK - Many live, the Christian life being often in the Scriptures compared with a journey. In order to induce them to imitate those who were the most holy, the apostle says that there were many, even in the church, whom it would not be safe for them to imitate. He evidently here refers mai... [ Continue Reading ]
WHOSE END IS DESTRUCTION - That is, as they have no true religion, they must perish in the same manner as all sinners. A mere profession will not save them. Unless they are converted, and become the true friends of the cross, they cannot enter heaven. WHOSE GOD IS THEIR BELLY - Who worship their ow... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR OUR CONVERSATION IS IN HEAVEN - That is, this is true of all who are sincere Christians. It is a characteristic of Christians, in contradistinction from those who are the “enemies of the cross,” that their conversation is in heaven. The word “conversation” we now apply almost entirely to oral di... [ Continue Reading ]
WHO SHALL CHANGE OUR VILE BODY - compare the notes at 1 Corinthians 15: The original words, which are rendered here as “vile body,” properly mean “the body of humiliation;” that is, our humble body. It refers to the body as it is in its present state, as subject to infirmities, disease, and death. I... [ Continue Reading ]