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Philippians 3

Paul sets knowing Christ above religious status and directs believers toward the resurrection Christ will bring about.

Paul warns the believers in Philippi against teachers who place confidence in circumcision and religious standing. He lists his own credentials, then counts them as loss beside knowing Christ and receiving righteousness from God through faith. Though Christ has taken hold of him, Paul says he has yet to reach the goal. He urges his readers to follow faithful examples, grieves over enemies of the cross, and looks toward Christ’s return and the transformation of their bodies.

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1Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord! To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not tiresome, but for you it is safe.
2Beware of the dogs; beware of the evil workers; beware of the false circumcision.
3For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh;
4though I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If any other man thinks that he has confidence in the flesh, I yet more:
5circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee;
6concerning zeal, persecuting the assembly; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, found blameless.
7However, I consider those things that were gain to me as a loss for Christ.
8Yes most certainly, and I count all things to be a loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I suffered the loss of all things, and count them nothing but refuse, that I may gain Christ
9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own, that which is of the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith,
10that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming conformed to his death,
11if by any means I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
12Not that I have already obtained, or am already made perfect; but I press on, that I may take hold of that for which also I was taken hold of by Christ Jesus.
13Brothers, I don’t regard myself as yet having taken hold, but one thing I do: forgetting the things which are behind and stretching forward to the things which are before,
14I press on toward the goal for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
15Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, think this way. If in anything you think otherwise, God will also reveal that to you.
16Nevertheless, to the extent that we have already attained, let’s walk by the same rule. Let’s be of the same mind.
17Brothers, be imitators together of me, and note those who walk this way, even as you have us for an example.
18For many walk, of whom I told you often, and now tell you even weeping, as the enemies of the cross of Christ,
19whose end is destruction, whose god is the belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who think about earthly things.
20For our citizenship is in heaven, from where we also wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
21who will change the body of our humiliation to be conformed to the body of his glory, according to the working by which he is able even to subject all things to himself.
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
Philippians 3:9Righteousness from God through faith is the foundation of Paul’s hope of being found in Christ.
Philippians 3:8Knowing Christ changes Paul’s whole account of gain and loss, including the credentials he once prized.
Philippians 3:21The chapter ends with bodily transformation grounded in Christ’s power to bring all things under his rule.
Where this chapter reaches

Romans shares Paul’s teaching that righteousness comes from God through faith, while 1 Corinthians shares the hope of resurrection and transformed bodies. Hebrews also uses the image of a race to describe endurance directed toward a goal, matching Paul’s forward-reaching pursuit here.

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After reading the whole chapter

Which gains in your life are hardest to reassess beside the worth of knowing Christ?

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How does Paul’s hope of a transformed body shape your understanding of heavenly citizenship?

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Questions people ask about Philippians 3

Who are the dogs in Philippians 3:2?

Paul uses this harsh label for opponents whom he also calls evil workers and the false circumcision. They appear to promote circumcision as grounds for confidence before God. The chapter does not name them. Paul counters their claims by recounting his own credentials and locating righteousness in Christ.

Why does Paul say he is not perfect, then call some believers perfect?

In verse 12, Paul says he has yet to reach completion, with resurrection still ahead. In verse 15, the same language describes believers who are mature. Such maturity includes recognizing that the goal remains ahead and continuing toward it. Paul claims no finished state of spiritual perfection.

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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).