Philippians 3:1-4:1

3:1 | The opening command sets the tone for the entire chapter - Rejoice in the Lord. The Philippians shoudl rejoice not in what they have done but in Jesus Christ and all He has done.

3:2 | Paul’s concern for the Philippian Christians is so great that he admonishes them to beware three times. They are to beware of those who demand they return to the legalistic practices of the law, of those who emphasize works as a means of salvation, and of those who insist on circumsicision as a requirement for Christians (Deut. 10:16; 30:6; Rom. 2:28-29; Gal. 6:12-15). It is by grace that anyone is saved, not by works (Eph. 2:8-9).

3:8 | Rubbish means either “bodily excrement” or “food fit only for dogs.” Everything that Pual considered so important before his conversion - his ancestry and Judaistic zeal - is now rubbish in comparison to what he possesses in Christ.

3:10 | The sufferings that Paul speaks of are those experienced by the believer who is truly committed to Christ: suffering for the sake of righteousness (Matt. 5:10-12; 1 Pet. 2:20-21).

3:12-14 | Christians who long to finish well will cultivate: (1) the discipline of focus - striving for the single goal (the one thing) until its completion, undeterred by obstacles or the taunts of the crowd; (2) the discipline of forgetting - refusing to be paralyzed or rendered complacent by the past; (3) the discipline of following - intensely pursuing the calling of the Christian life until victory has won.

3:12 | Paul is not content to rest on his laurels. He must move forward toward God’s plan, purpose, and prize (Luke 9:62; 1 Cor. 9:24; 1 Tim. 6:12; Heb. 6:1).

3:15-17 | The spiritual maturity these believers had attained came through obedience to God’s principles, disciplines, and commands. They were not to let anyone change their approach to the Christian life, staying in line behinds God’s Word.

3:18-21 | The enemies of the cross have a different goal, a different god, and a different glory than Christians. And their grid for making decisions differs as well. Their grid is earthly things (Rom. 12:2); the Christian’s is the things of heaven (Col. 3:23), every believer’s future home.