Paul sets the tone with a warning
Philippians 3:2-Watch out for those dogs, those people who do evil, those mutilators who say you must be circumcised to be saved.
Paul’s explanation of where we find confidence in our salvation
- The of our cannot be secured through valuing for God
Philippians 3:3b-4: We put no confidence in human effort, 4though I could have confidence in my own effort if anyone could. Indeed, if others have reason for confidence in their own efforts, I have even more!
But when we try to lean on our confidence to , we miss out on the confidence of what has already .
- The of our can only be sustained in the of Jesus
v.7-9: I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. 8Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ 9and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith.
What a pursuit of Jesus looks like…
- Pursuit results in ; it results in recognizing in our life
12: I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me.
2. Pursuit doesn’t to the ; it to a with Jesus
v.13-14: No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, 14I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.
- Pursuit is meant to in order to press on in the face of those who
v.15-19: Let all who are spiritually mature agree on these things. If you disagree on some point, I believe God will make it plain to you. 16But we must hold on to the progress we have already made. 17Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example. 18For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ.
- Our pursuit will result in us reaching our with Jesus
v.20-21: But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. 21He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.