Phrases
After reading the passage several times, three phrases got my attention. The first is “hold of.” According to BibleHub, “hold of” means having a firm grip on something, to seize, or to know more about something. The phrase has been repeated three times in the chapter: twice in verse 12 and once in verse 13. In verse 12, Paul uses the phrase “hold of” to clarify that even though he has not been as perfect as Jesus Christ in terms of righteousness and actions, he presses on to take “hold of” the same way Jesus took hold of him. In the same way, Jesus did not give up on him, even if he persecuted and killed several Christians, and Paul promises never to let go of Jesus as well. In verse 13, Paul uses “hold of” to mean mastering something. He says, “brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it.”
Another phrase that I took note of was “our citizenship is in heaven” (Philippians 3:20, NIV). Based on the context, Paul says that unlike false teachers who prioritize “earthly things” (Philippians 3:19, NIV), Christian’s perspectives should be different. Rather than being concerned about meeting flesh’s demand, believers should be more concerned with being spiritually righteous to secure their citizenship in heaven, as their home is in heaven and not on earth (Bible Ref). Although being a responsible citizen is crucial, the believer’s ultimate goal should be to be with the Lord in heaven. Indeed, in John 8:23 and John 18:36, Jesus says that He is not of this world as His Kingdom is not of this world, respectively. Therefore, Paul advises Christians to shift their focus from worldly things to Christ and His return. Believers ought not to focus on sin, greed, or earthly things. Rather, they should be concerned about doing what pleases God.
Another phrase that caught my attention is: “But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ” (Philippians 3:7, NIV). According to Bible Study Tools, the whole verse can be divided into two parts. In the first part, Paul says that his outstanding credentials as a Jewish makes him justified based on the traditional Jewish view. Before the verse, he describes his adherence to the standards of religion, arguing that based on such criteria, he has confidence in flesh as compared to most of his youths. He says that he was circumcised on the eighth day, indicating observance of Jewish law. Besides, he is a natural descendant of Abraham (coming from the tribe of Benjamin), and thus entitled to favor of God, everlasting life, and outward privileges (Philippians 3:5, NIV). Besides, as a Pharisee, he dedicated himself to persecuting the church based on his legal righteousness, which he thought was perfect and is justified by God. However, after converting to Christianity and knowing about Jesus, Paul disregards all these worldly perfections and righteousness as a loss. He consequently considers physical circumcision as useless, and instead, prefers the circumcision of the heart. He considers earthly things as “loss” and heavenly things as “gain”. His human accomplishments regarding religion are incomparable to the greatness of knowing Jesus. According to Paul, the only thing that truly matters in this life is to have fellowship with Christ and believe in Him.