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Philippians
Mature Christians seek righteousness by faith and not righteousness through a series of works.
Verse one begins with a warning. Paul says, finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you.
Paul imparts a warning but he prefaces this with an exhortation to rejoice in the Lord. Rejoicing should be the default reaction of the Christian, no matter what the condition or situation he or she finds themself in.
His warning will not be about something new.
It addresses an ongoing concern in that congregation that he has probably warned them about in the past.
Now, he assures them that he is not troubled by repeating this warning, and assures them that in doing so, he's guarding their souls from the error that is being taught or trying to be taught by false teachers that were creeping into the church in order to cause trouble. By telling them this over and over, he is emphasizing the urgency of it.
The false teachers were referred to as Judaizers.
They promoted the idea that you had to become a Jew and be circumcised before you could become a Christian.
They were adding something to the Gospel.
Verse two, he says, beware of the dogs. Beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision.
Paul goes directly to the core of the matter.
To refer to someone as a dog was a serious insult.
Dogs in those days were not kept as pets.
They wandered about aimlessly, usually in packs, and they acted mainly as scavengers.
It was a term that the Jews used to denigrate Gentiles. These Judaizers were workers, but their efforts and their activities were evil. Their efforts had a destructive result to Christians. And the destructive result was that faithful Christians were falling away from Christ.
Galatians 5:4-6 “You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. 5 For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love.”
The focus of the Judaizer’s teaching was circumcision, which they insisted was necessary for salvation.
They taught Christianity was part of Judaism.
And if a Gentile wanted to become a Christian, he had to first submit to Jewish regulations, which included food laws and other requirements.
The main demand was circumcision.
Their thinking was if one wants to become a Christian he should become a Jew first and then he can be a Christian.
Circumcision was an ancient practice among the Jews beginning with Abraham. It signified that the individual was included in the covenant relationship
between God and the Jewish people.
The physical circumcision performed on the body was a sign of one's willingness to obey God and be one of His chosen people.
Now God's people are regenerated by God's Holy Spirit from within. Physical circumcision is no longer needed for religious purposes. Of course, it continues to this day for health purposes, but not for religious purposes.
In the Old Testament, the prophets spoke of what God really wanted.
Deuteronomy 10:16
16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.
Deuteronomy 30:6-7
6 "Moreover the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live.
Jeremiah 4:4
4 "Circumcise yourselves to the Lord
And remove the foreskins of your heart,
It’s the circumcision of the heart that is important today.
Paul told the Romans that physical circumcision no longer had any spiritual benefits.
Rom 2:29 “But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.”
1 Corinthians 7:18-20
Has anyone been called in uncircumcision? He is not to be circumcised. 19 Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but what matters is the keeping of the commandments of God.
Paul spoke about circumcision in different epistles because different churches were having problems with this.
In the book of Colossians, Paul explains the relationship between Christian baptism and Jewish circumcision.
Colossians 2:8-14 “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. 9 For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, 10 and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority; 11 and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; 12 having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. 13 When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, “
The Colossians also were having problems with Judaizers teaching The necessity of circumcision for Gentile converts.
Note in verse 11 and 12, Paul explains the two features of Christian baptism and its relationship with circumcision.
Number one, that through baptism, Christ Himself performs a spiritual circumcision on the believer.
And number two, what is removed in baptism is not only a small symbolic piece of flesh, as in physical circumcision, but He removes the entire body of sin.
So, our sins are all completely forgiven at the moment of our baptism. See Acts 2:38
This is why physical circumcision is not required.
Physical circumcision is inferior. It is only a preview.
It doesn't serve to remove sin, never did.
It doesn't regenerate the sinner.
Physical circumcision is only relevant now for health reasons, period.
Philippians 3:3, “for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh”
Paul uses this verse to summarize and compare the Judaizers and what they're doing with their false teaching and the status Christians have in Christ.
He lists these attributes of himself and the church that he planted in Philippi.
He tells them, first of all, they are the true circumcision.
There is a circumcision out there being taught that is a false circumcision.
Christians are the true circumcision. He says, we are the substance, not the shadow or the preview.
Physical circumcision was just the preview of what was to come. Christians are the fulfillment of what
the physical circumcision of the Old Testament pointed to.
From a religious and theological perspective, we are the legitimate children of God. Not in any way inferior to Jews or Jewish Christians.
This is what the Judaizers were suggesting with their requirement to be circumcised in order to become a Christian.
The Judaizers were trying to set up a caste system where the original Jewish Christians were better because they were original. They believed the Gentile newcomers had to be circumcised in order to be legitimate Christians.
Paul is teaching them they are the true circumcision without any observance whatsoever of Jewish law.
The third attribute that Paul and the Christians at Philippi share is they are truly saved by faith and not works of the Old Law or the flesh. Paul here does not only refer to the initial Gospel message that the lost sinners is initially saved through his faith in Christ as the divine Son of God and this faith expressed in repentance and baptism. His readers are quite familiar with this, having all experienced this at their point of conversion. Paul's point here is how one remains saved between the initial conversion and the time of one's death.
The Judaizers were not only promoting circumcision to those Gentiles who had not yet confessed Christ or had been baptized. They were also insisting that Gentiles who were already Christians had to submit to circumcision in order to guarantee their salvation.
That was the hook. Are you really saved? Really, are you sure of Heaven? Have you been circumcised? Because let's be sure. This was the pitch.
Paul claims that we are not only saved by faith when we first become Christians, but we preserve that salvation throughout our lives by continuing to believe and obey Jesus. Through faith and obedience, we manifest our trust in Jesus to keep us saved and preserve our hope of eternal life.
Between the time of baptism and the time Jesus comes or you die often times there is a lot of living that goes on. And there's a lot of mistakes that happen. There's a lot of sin that happens. There's a lot of failure that takes place.
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he Judaizer comes along building up doubt in the mind of the Christian. A Christian who realizes he or she is not perfect might really want to hear a message of guaranteed salvation. Something physical they can do to make absolutely sure they have covered all the bases.The idea of circumcision in the Old Testament was that when a Jewish man bathed or whatever, he would always be aware of his relationship with God because it had been carved into his body. And that was a little bit appealing to these Gentile Christians because they might have felt a little bit inferior to the Jewish Christians. The Judaizers used this to sell their ideas on Circumcision. It would serve as a physical visual reminder of their relationship with God.
Such a thing could be quite enticing if you were a little shaky in your faith. If you weren't sure. Or if you weren't very mature in your Christian growth. Paul says our confidence does not rest in what the flesh does.
Whether that be circumcision or other works of the Law. The confidence of the mature Christian rests with Christ and what He has done for us. He died to pay the just debt to God for all our sins.
Philippians 3:4
although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more: 5 circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless.
The objective of the Judaizers was to bring the Gentiles under the Law,
Paul uses himself as an example of one who was formerly under the Law. He under the Law to a degree that neither the false teachers or their followers could ever match.
Paul lists six areas where he excelled. If one were to be measured by the Law.
First, circumcision. Unlike some of the Judaizers or their followers who were circumcised as converts or as adults, which was the case for the Gentile Christians who were being seduced by the false teachers, Paul says he was circumcised on the eighth day after his birth according to the Law.
The second thing he mentions was his Jewish birthright. He wasn't a convert to Judaism. He was a Jew.
Third thing he mentioned was the tribe he was born from. He traced his lineage to one of the two tribes that made up the southern kingdom of Judah.
The 10 northern tribes, which was the kingdom of Israel were destroyed They were scattered. They were done in 722 BC.
The southern kingdom remained intact. And even though it was attacked and exiled in Babylon in 589 BC, a remnant eventually returned to rebuild the city of Jerusalem and repopulate the land. Being from the southern kingdom was a mark of pride. Paul was as a true Jew with an unbroken historical lineage. He wasn't just any Jew. Paul’s people came from the southern kingdom through which the Messiah arrived. He was from one of the two remnant tribes.
He says he was a Hebrew of Hebrews. This refers to the fact that Paul was a pure blooded Jew. There were no marriages with non-Jews on either side of his family, all the way back to his ancestor, Benjamin.
He says he was a Pharisee. The word Pharisee means to separate. A separate one. There was a time where the Pharisees were actually the heroes. We always see them as the bad guys when we read the New Testament. During the Maccabean Revolt and the intertestamental period,
between Malachi and Matthew, the Pharisees became the heroes of the people because they were so zealous for God's Word. They protected the Word from the influence of outsiders that came in.
The Greek influence that spread throughout the land and threatened to pollute the Word with its ideas was resisted. The Pharisees were the protectors of the Word. They started out well and were highly respected among the Jews. But over time they were adding things to the word.
Paul says he was a Pharisee. According to the Law, it was the highest position in society, except for priests. But priests were decided by family lineage. Pharisees were lawyers who taught and interpreted the Law. They were the strictest and most conservative religious group within Judaism.
Paul was a persecutor of the church. If you were to measure zeal for the Law, then the most enthusiastic and extreme of the already extreme Pharisee was Saul. Saul of Tarsus who actually hunted down and imprisoned other Jews he believed were violating the Law by following Jesus Christ.
Paul is comparing his credentials as one who is zealous for the Law and its application to the Judaizers who are preaching circumcision. Paul is comparing his credentials to their credentials. The implication is that in such a comparison, he is by far more pure as a Jew and more zealous for the Law than they are or could ever be.
This is an important point to establish. before he speaks of his transformation as a Christian in following sections, he is laying down the fact that nobody within the Jewish Christian community is more knowledgeable and more qualified to speak on this matter than himself.
In effect he is saying if anyone knows what they are talking about it’s him. There are none among the Judaizers more qualified to speak on this subject than him. There are none who know more about than him.
This is a prelude to the next section of his letter where he’s going to explain what happened to him to transform him from this zealous Pharisee into the apostle that he is today.
In order to expose the false teaching and legitimacy of these Judaizers, Paul compares their credentials according to the Law to his own. Now he will demonstrate how, in his life, he discarded these so-called privileges given to him by the Law for the superior gifts that he has received by faith in Jesus Christ. Paul is trying to make them understand they have something better than what the Judaizers are offering.
Satan is always promoting a better way. He claims to have a better way to make you happy. Eat this, drink that, smoke this, pop this pill, Be involved in this sex act. He offers a more attractive way to make you happy.
It's nothing new. It's as old as the Garden of Eden.
For Eve, what was the better way? Well, she'd have a better life. She'd have knowledge, she'd have improved spiritual life if she ate the fruit. Satan convinced her there was no need for obedience.
What was the better way that Satan offered Jesus? All the kingdoms of the earth are Yours if You worship me. No need for the cross. Satan offered an easier way.
And in Philippians, what was his better way? The Law and circumcision. You'll have a physical reminder of your salvation. It's a much better way than simply depending by faith. You can't see Jesus. You can't see the benefits. We'll give you something that you can see, that you can be sure of. No need to walk by faith. We'll give you something that enables you to walk by sight. Much better to walk by sight than by faith. Satan will always be offering us what appears to be a better, easier way, even to be saved.
Philippians teaches us to know and understand and maintain our salvation by faith, even when Satan offers us a more attractive way.
Phil 3:7-11
"But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, 9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; 11 in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
In the next section Paul's going to do three things. One, he's going to proclaim the superiority of God's method of saving people through Christ. He uses himself as an example of one who had a reason to boast in the flesh. If anyone out there could boast about being a Jew, it was certainly Paul and yet he discarded of all of these seeming advantages in order to follow Christ.
Secondly he's going to explain what his and by implication every Christian's goal in life should be.
Thirdly he's going to use himself a second time as an example of righteous living and warn those who are not following this particular example that he's going to give them.
Paul uses this section to make the argument that righteousness comes by faith. He's going to make the argument that righteousness comes by faith and it produces righteous living which is the true mark of Christian or spiritual maturity.
What was at stake here was of supreme importance and that is in the manner in which a soul is saved and preserved for eternal life with God in heaven. The Judaizers were introducing a system of salvation that would not work. 1500 years of Jewish history had demonstrated that the attempt to use the law as a tool to create righteousness in a man or woman did not work.
Rule keeping, obedience to the Law, this was not the way to become acceptable before God. Not because God didn't want that but because human beings couldn't keep the law perfectly. And when they failed, the law offered no permanent remedy. Using a system where adherence to rule of law to make someone acceptable to God never succeeded for two reasons.
First of all, human beings were incapable of keeping the Law perfectly and consistently. Paul summarizes this reality in Romans 3:23 when he says, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. In Galatians, He says as it is written, there is none righteous Not even one. There is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God.
Human beings couldn't keep the law. If they could, that would be an acceptable way to become righteous. But they could not and the law also contained no permanent remedy or forgiveness for sin. The Law was given to reveal sin and its consequences. It could not make people perfect. It wasn't given to create righteousness in man, it was given to reveal sin and the punishment for sin.
Going back to Romans, Paul says now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God because by the works of the Law (of Moses), no flesh will be justified in His sight. No human being will become acceptable, righteous in His sight for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin. The purpose for the Law was to show you that you're a sinner,
In answering the Judaizers, Paul with his own experience of one who attempted to achieve righteousness using this system, he's saying, I know what I'm talking about concerning becoming acceptable to God using this system. Paul is saying, “I know what I'm talking about. I tried doing it my whole life.”
So his checklist of religious qualifications as a zealous Pharisee, going all out to destroy the church was a badge that he wore proudly. He believed sincerely that he was acceptable and righteous before God because of killing and putting in prison those following another religion.
Paul now describes the transformation that took place in his life brought about by faith in Jesus Christ. In verse 7 Paul says, “But whatever things were gain to me, what things? Well , I was a Jew, I was a Hebrew of Hebrews, I was a Pharisee, whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. The former status he described which the Judaizers would consider as advantages in the pursuit of salvation, Paul now completely rejects and considers them as lost or damaged. What Paul once thought were advantages in obtaining righteousness were in truth disadvantages when considering salvation through a system that Christ has established. They didn't really help him as he once thought. They in fact, hindered him from obtaining the righteousness he desired. The harder Paul tried with the Law, the further he got away from his goal.
Verse 8, “more than that I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ"
Paul amplifies his statement by declaring that when weighed against the knowledge of Jesus Christ, not just the knowledge of his ministry and his teaching, but the knowledge of Jesus Christ himself. Paul had been called directly by Jesus. In Acts chapter nine we learn where and he was encouraged and comforted directly by Jesus Himself.
Acts 18:9-10, “And the Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, "Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent; 10 for I am with you, and no man will attack you in order to harm you, for I have many people in this city."
Paul's knowledge of both the teachings and the person of Christ surpass the worth of what he considered valuable before. His advantages as a prominent Jewish Pharisee and the sum of what he thought he knew about God and salvation and righteousness was not worth a thing. His knowledge of Christ has reduced the value of these former things to the point of rubbish, nothing, worthless. He adds that even the things he has lost since becoming a Christian and then an Apostle, such as health, His freedom, His safety, his financial security, The respect of the Jewish community, are also worthless when compared to the value of having Jesus Christ.
Paul says what I have now is worth more than all of these things that I had before. He then says, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law. The law was the old way of doing things. But that which is through faith in Christ is the new and better way of doing things. That's the effective way of doing things which is righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith.
Paul summarizes the reason for his transformation and rejection of what he valued in his former life. How do we get to being acceptable before God? Not through a system of lawkeeping but through a system of faith and specifically faith in Jesus Christ, the son of God. Paul believed in the true God and he wanted the right thing. He wanted to be acceptable to God. He wanted to be righteous and thus be saved. He wanted all the right things and he was asking the right person for it. Formerly Paul had the wrong system for obtaining these things. God revealed the correct way to receive these things which is faith and believing that Jesus Christ is the son of God.
Verse 10, "that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death."
Paul follows through by explaining what the faith in Christ system promised and delivered to him. First of all, he witnessed the resurrected Christ on the road to Damascus. He was told when called and has since suffered as Christ suffered in the carrying out of His ministry. Paul also expected to die as a martyr since he had been assaulted and threatened with death many times.
This epistle was written from a Roman prison while awaiting trial and if he lost this case he would likely be put to death by the Roman government. All of this however did not diminish the other promise made to him and of course to all believers and a glorious resurrection from the dead. The Judaizers were surely using his imprisonment as a way of undermining his authority as a teacher and probably discounting his message of the Gospel.
They were claining that If he's an Apostle with God and he's got the true Gospel, what's he doing in jail? If he's so holy and good, what's he doing in jail? Paul brushes aside any comparisons of his ministry or message by glorying in his sufferings because they are the results of having received the truth. Salvation is obtained through faith in Christ, not through any type of lawkeeping system. That includes being circumcised.
He doesn't specifically offer this as proof for his claim but the fact that he considers his own attempt at gaining righteousness through lawkeeping as rubbish and has willingly given up every advantage and every comfort in his service to Christ and that he is even ready to die for the faith provides a powerful witness for his message.
This begs the question; have the false teachers experienced the same knowledge of Christ and would they be prepared to lose as much in the service of their message? Just how much is their message costing them? Paul's encouragement here, now that he's addressed the issue of false teaching regarding salvation, is to pursue spiritual maturity which is the main theme of this letter.
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erse 12, "not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I laid hold of by Christ Jesus."Paul states his case. His premise which he will develop in the next few verses. The question that arises here is, what is the thing or what is the perfection that Paul pursues? He says he is going towards a goal. What is it?
The answer is in verse 11 and in verse 20.In the previous section he explained that everything he has and everything that he had lost, because of Christ, is worth nothing in comparison to what he now possesses as a Christian. That being the hope of resurrection.
Verse 11 he says, "in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead."
That's the jackpot. That's what he's chasing.
In verse 12 he expands the thought by explaining that he has not yet experienced resurrection. We're not going to be perfected in this life. We're going to be perfected in the resurrected life. Paul wants to lay hold of the resurrection and the eternal life promised to all faithful Christians. The perfection he speaks of is the full maturity of both knowledge and conduct in Christ that one will have when this mortal body is shed and the glorious eternal body is put on at resurrection.In 1 Corinthians 15:50 Paul says, "now I say this brethren that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, (remember sleep now in Christian terms means to be dead). We will not all sleep but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet for the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised imperishable and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable and this mortal must put on the immortal."
Keeping that in mind, let's go back to Philippians. Paul says, "brethren I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead. I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
Paul has talked about his own past and the transformation he has undergone along with references to the suffering that he has and continues to endure but he says he doesn't dwell on these things. Paul's mind is focused on a specific event in the future and that is his own resurrection. It's a goal in the sense that it guides his decisions and actions. It's a prize, not a payment because it is a gift and not something that he could earn. There's nothing he or anyone else could do to earn the resurrection. God gives that by grace through faith.
Paul's an Apostle but like every other Christian he too pursues the upward call of God which is the call to resurrection and eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ. The upward call is the resurrection. That’s where we're raised up from the dead and receive everything that accompanies that event.
Philippians 3:15-16, "Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you; 16 however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained."
The perfect in this verse refers to those in the church that haven't been carried away by these teachings of these false teachers about circumcision and obeying the Law for salvation. The mature Christians are the ones that have held on to the Gospel and hadn't been swayed away from that teaching. Paul encourages these people who have influence in the church because of their spiritual maturity to maintain the same attitude or standard. The standard is we're saved by faith in Jesus Christ. He's saying don't be moved away from that standard. Don't be moved away from the very thing that saved you. Don't be led astray by these false teachers.
There may be disagreements about various matters but if they maintain the basic and the critical teaching concerning the Gospel and faithful Christian living he says God himself will help them with understanding. Those who are mature need to maintain their belief and practice according to Paul's teaching and example and if there are differences, these will be taken care of with God's help if they continue in the way that Paul has shown them. If however they veer off and go with the Judaizers there is no help for them there.
Paul gives a warning in the last couple of verses.
Philippians 3:17-20, "Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. 18 For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, 19 whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things."
He concludes the section by turning his attention once again to the Judaizers. He warns the Philippians about their conduct and eventual ruin. The condemnation is directed at the Judaizers themselves but the implicit warning is that if they copy their behavior they will suffer the same consequences. Paul repeats his previous exhortation to follow his example as one whose eyes are fixed on heaven. And he tells them to live in the way the mature Christians among them live.
Paul describes the very opposite lifestyle of those who are teaching the circumcision method of salvation and he mentions a few of their actions. First of all, he says they're enemies of the cross. They negate the power and purpose of Jesus' sacrifice by substituting a law works system.
He says, they served their own desires or their own appetite. What they do is guided by what they desire.
Thirdly, what they see as success or glory is in reality shameful before God. The Judaizers boasted in their followers who had exchanged their freedom in Christ for the futile effort to become righteous through the Law of Moses. This was seen as a victory by these false teachers but in reality was a terrible loss to the individuals in dishonoring God who sacrificed his son. Paul says, there's no glory in this. There's no victory here. This is shameful and then he says they're devoid of the spirit. Their teaching their motivation, their thinking, is not guiding by the spirit of God. Paul mentions in verse 19 the end result of their lives and that is destruction. He uses the word perdition which refers not only to their lives here but to their everlasting ruin.
In the last two verses in this chapter Paul immediately compares the goal and the fate of the Judaizers to what awaits those who are faithful.
Philippians 3:20-21 "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; 21 who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself."
They are waiting for the return of Jesus who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory. Our body is going to be like Jesus’ body. By the exertion of the power that He has we will be resurrected to a body that is like His. Jesus has power over everything including death. He removes death from us. We're able to rise.
Paul provides more detail to the prize he mentioned verse 14. Christians are citizens of heaven. We're only pilgrims here. Our true home is in heaven. Jesus Christ is the one we eagerly await to bring us there.
He removes the physical body through death and equips us with a new glorious body that will enable us to exist with God in the spiritual dimension called heaven. Our new glorious body will be like his body. Consider the transfiguration as an example of what this body will be like.
Matthew 17:1-2, "Six days later Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. 2 And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light."
This is the result of those who attain to the resurrection of the dead.
This student of God's word gratefully acknowledges the work and scholarship of James Burton Coffman and Mike Mazzalongo's lessons on Paul's letter to the Philippians.
