Swindoll Study Bible and Searching the Scriptures - Flipbook - Page 19
P hilippians 3 : 5
5 I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am
a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the
tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was
one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand
the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. 6 I was so
zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as
for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault.
7 I once thought these things were valuable, but
now I consider them worthless because of what
Christ has done. 8 Yes, 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 9 and become one with him. I no
longer count on my own righteousness through obey
ing the law; rather, I become righteous through faith
in Christ.* For God’s way of making us right with him
self depends on faith. 10 I want to know Christ and
experience the mighty power that raised him from
the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his
death, 11 so that one way or another I will experience
the resurrection from the dead!
Pressing toward the Goal
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. 13 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, 14 I press on to reach the end of the
race and receive the heavenly prize for which God,
through Christ Jesus, is calling us.
15 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. 16 But we must hold on to the
progress we have already made.
17 Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives
after mine, and learn from those who follow our
example. 18 For I have told you often before, and I say
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it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many
whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the
cross of Christ. 19 They are headed for destruction.
Their god is their appetite, they brag about shame
ful things, and they think only about this life here on
earth. 20 But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord
Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him
to return as our Savior. 21 He 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.
4
Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters,* stay
true to the Lord. I love you and long to see you,
dear friends, for you are my joy and the crown I re
ceive for my work.
Words of Encouragement
2 Now
I appeal to Euodia and Syntyche. Please, be
cause you belong to the Lord, settle your disagree
ment. 3 And I ask you, my true partner,* to help these
two women, for they worked hard with me in telling
others the Good News. They worked along with Clem
ent and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are
written in the Book of Life.
4 Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—
rejoice! 5 Let everyone see that you are considerate in
all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon.*
6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about
everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him
for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s
peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.
His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you
live in Christ Jesus.
8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final
thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honor
able, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable.
Think about things that are excellent and worthy of
praise. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned
and received from me—everything you heard from
LIVING INSIGHTS
3:9 Or through the faithfulness of Christ. 3:13 Some manuscripts read not yet achieved it. 4:1 Greek brothers; also in 4:8. 4:3 Or loyal Syzygus. 4:5 Greek the Lord
is near.
A CLOSER WALK WITH CHRIST Phil. 3:10 In 1958
I chose Philippians 3:10 as my verse for the year. I was
away from my wife in the Marine Corps, and I longed for a
close walk with the Lord. I had never considered embracing
suffering in the way Paul describes in this verse. What deep
truth is here! Life isn’t learning a quick secret and then sit
ting in the stands, watching the game being played, secure
in the knowledge of eternal life. Life is, in fact, a daily
crushing. It’s an experience in the classroom of hardship.
I’ve discovered that the way I grow closer to Christ in it all
is by pressing on and hanging tough regardless.
HEAVENBOUND Phil. 3:20-21 The position of the
Christian is unusual, but it isn’t impossible. Because we
have been born physically on this planet, we are earth
bound. But because we have been born from above,
born anew, we are also heavenbound. Our citizenship is
in heaven, but we are still to pay our taxes on this earth.
We are firmly fixed on this planet where we make a living,
marry, bear and rear children, and carry out an earthly
heritage including representing Christ and His Kingdom.
Because of this, there is always a sense of conflict, and
we need to mind the extremes. Though we are heaven
bound, we are at risk of becoming overly impressed with
this world’s authority, might, and power. We would do well to
remember our true and everlasting citizenship is in heaven.
On the other hand, we can become so heavenly minded
that we are of little earthly good. We can become detached
from the real problems people face and the opportunities
to live as Christ did. The God-pleasing life avoids both of
these extremes.