Comments on Philippians 3

v1  Paul must have written to them previously, with that letter
now lost to us.  We would assume from his comments that the
letter he previously wrote dealt with the issue of Judaizers
within the ecclesia.

v2-8  Paul warns the ecclesia at Philippi against Judaizers.  He
uses circumcision as a symbol to warn them against falling back
on the Law of Moses (v. 2-3).  Paul then recounts how he is an
Israelite by birth who used to be a Pharisee zealot, but he
abandoned that and the Law of Moses for the gospel of Jesus
Christ (v. 4-8)

v2 "concision", i.e., the false physical circumcision (Greek:
katatome [most literally: down-cutting]) as opposed to the true
spiritual circumcision (Greek: peritome [most literally: about-
cutting]) referenced in the following verse.  Paul's warning is
against the Judaizers who are still requiring the physical acts
of the Law of Moses, of which circumcision is the prime example. 
Paul tells them that the true circumcision is to remove the
thickening about one's heart, cf. Rom. 2:29.

     In the Greek, Paul uses the prefix "kata-" to describe the
false cutting "tome".  Note he also uses the term "katachthonion"
(most literally: down-terranean) to describe hell in 2:10, also
bearing the prefix "kata-".  In both cases, these words are novel
to the NT, appearing nowhere else.  Paul is probably deliberately
drawing a parallel between the two using wordplay. 

v9-21 Paul states righteousness does not come from the Law,
rather it comes from God through faith in and knowledge of Christ
(v. 9-10).  With this righteousness one can be made like Christ
and receive the resurrection of glory as did Christ (v. 10-11). 
     Paul then addresses those who might already think they are
perfect, or in this context have done whatever it takes to attain
to the resurrection of glory and are therefore "done", and he
tells them he himself has not yet achieved the requirements of
the resurrection of glory (v. 12).  He admonishes them to press
forward, reaching for the goal (v. 13-16).  In other words, they
need to endure to the end in order to obtain the resurrection of
glory.
     He then encourages them to follow his example (v. 17) and
warns them against falling away from the gospel into worldly
things (v. 18-19).  Because their allotment is in heaven with
their Savior Jesus Christ (v. 20), who has the power to transform
the lowly mortal into exalted resurrected person like himself (v.
21).

v11 "resurrection of the dead", the IV/JST emends this to
"resurrection of the just".  Compare Jacob 4:11 for obtaining a
resurrection in Christ, which is what Paul is referring to.

v19 "and whose glory is in their shame", the IV/JST emends this
to "and who glory in their shame".  The most literal translation
of the Greek would be "and glory in their shame".  What Paul
means is these are people who take glory in that which is truly
shameful.  Those who think darkness is light per Isa. 5:20.



Copyright © 2002 by S. Kurt Neumiller <kurtn@cybcon.com>.  All rights 
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