Philippians 3 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.
Time Period
~AD 60-62
Location
Written from Rome (or possibly Caesarea) to the church in Philippi, Macedonia
Audience
The Christian community in Philippi, a Roman colony consisting of both Jewish and Gentile believers
Situation
Paul writes from prison, addressing a threat from Judaizers who were insisting that Gentile Christians must follow Jewish law, particularly circumcision, to be truly saved. He warns the Philippians to beware of these 'dogs' and 'evildoers' who promote confidence in the flesh.
Key Background
Philippi was a prominent Roman colony with strong imperial loyalty and few Jewish residents. Paul contrasts his impeccable Jewish credentials (Hebrew lineage, Pharisee, persecutor of the church) with his new identity in Christ, counting all former advantages as loss. This chapter reflects the first-century tension between Jewish tradition and the gospel of grace, a central issue in the early church's expansion to Gentiles.
Finally, my and find your in the Lord. Writing the same things to you is no trouble for me, and it keeps you safe.
Watch out for those Watch out for those who do evil. Watch out for those who the
Because we are the real — we who worship by the of who boast in The Jesus, and who put zero confidence in
Even though I have every reason to put confidence in too. If anyone else thinks they have grounds for confidence in external credentials — I have more.
Circumcised on the an Israelite by birth, from the of a Hebrew born to Hebrew parents, a when it comes to the law,
so passionate I persecuted the and measured against the standard of — flawless.
But whatever was on my list of — I've written it all off as a because of The One.
More than that, I consider everything a loss compared to the of The One Jesus my Lord. For his sake I've lost everything, and I consider it all — so that I can gain The One
and be found in him — not having a of my own that comes from rule-keeping, but the that comes through in The One, the from God based on
I want to him — to experience the power of his resurrection and the of his sufferings, being the of his death,
so that somehow I might at the from the
Not that I've already gotten there or already reached the finish line. But I keep it because The One Jesus has already of me.
Brothers and sisters, I don't consider myself to have grabbed hold of it yet. But here's my one strategy: forgetting what's behind me and what's ahead,
I on toward the goal for the prize of God's in The One Jesus.
So all of us who are should think this way. And if you think differently about anything, God will make that clear to you too.
Only let's by the standard we've already reached.
in my brothers and sisters, and pay attention to those who live by the we've given you.
Because many people live as enemies of the of The One — I've told you about them often, and now I'm telling you again with
Their end is Their god is their Their pride is in what should shame them. Their minds are set on earthly things.
But our is in heaven, and we for a from there — the Lord Jesus, The One,
who will our to be like by the that enables him to