Atlas Biblica

    Philippians · 21 verses

    Philippians 3

    Every verse links to the people and places named in it, and to the passages readers connect it with.

    The chapter

    What happens here

    Atlas's own reading, written from this chapter and nothing else, and published only once a person has approved it. Each scene names the verses it covers; the names inside it link to the people and places they name.

    A man presents the finest résumé imaginable—ancestry, ritual, sect, zeal, and legal faultlessness—then calmly drops the whole lot into the rubbish bin for Christ.

    The résumé becomes rubbishvv. 1–11

    The speaker begins with a warning about dogs, workers of evil, and mutilators of the flesh, then sets out his own credentials with almost comical precision: circumcised on the eighth day, Israelite, Benjaminite, Hebrew, Pharisee, zealous persecutor, and faultless under the law. Having displayed the full cabinet of medals, he reverses their value. What was gain becomes loss; all things become rubbish beside knowing Christ Jesus. He wants Christ, the power of his resurrection, the fellowship of his sufferings, conformity to his death, and—somehow—the resurrection from the dead.

    Not yet, but pressing onvv. 12–16

    There is an admirable refusal to pretend that the journey is finished. The speaker has not obtained all this, has not been made perfect, and has not yet taken hold of it; nevertheless, he presses on toward the goal and prize of God’s heavenly calling in Christ Jesus. Mature people are asked to share this view, which is a wonderfully sturdy sort of maturity: knowing that the work is unfinished, and carrying on with what has already been attained.

    Two ways of walkingvv. 17–21

    The speaker points to his own example and to others who follow the pattern set before them. Against this stands a tearful warning about those who live as enemies of the cross: their end is destruction, their god is their belly, their glory is their shame, and their minds are set on earthly things. The contrast ends not with a map but with a citizenship: heaven, from which the Lord Jesus Christ is awaited as Savior, the one who will transform lowly bodies to resemble his glorious body.

    The text

    Read it

    Berean Standard Bible, public domain. Names the Hebrew and Greek put in the verse link to the person, place or people they name; the address beside each verse is a link to that verse, which is what a reader copies and shares.

    1. Phil 3:1Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you.

    2. Phil 3:2Watch out for those dogs, those workers of evil, those mutilators of the flesh!

    3. Phil 3:3For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh—

    4. Phil 3:4though I myself could have such confidence. If anyone else thinks he has grounds for confidence in the flesh, I have more:

    5. Phil 3:5circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin; a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee;

    6. Phil 3:6as to zeal, persecuting the church; as to righteousness in the law, faultless.

    7. Phil 3:7But whatever was gain to me I count as loss for the sake of Christ.

    8. Phil 3:8More than that, I count all things as loss compared to the surpassing excellence of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ

    9. Phil 3:9and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God on the basis of faith.

    10. Phil 3:10I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to Him in His death,

    11. Phil 3:11and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

    12. Phil 3:12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.

    13. Phil 3:13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,

    14. Phil 3:14I press on toward the goal to win the prize of God’s heavenly calling in Christ Jesus.

    15. Phil 3:15All of us who are mature should embrace this point of view. And if you think differently about some issue, God will reveal this to you as well.

    16. Phil 3:16Nevertheless, we must live up to what we have already attained.

    17. Phil 3:17Join one another in following my example, brothers, and carefully observe those who walk according to the pattern we set for you.

    18. Phil 3:18For as I have often told you before, and now say again even with tears: Many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.

    19. Phil 3:19Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and their glory is in their shame. Their minds are set on earthly things.

    20. Phil 3:20But our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,

    21. Phil 3:21who, by the power that enables Him to subject all things to Himself, will transform our lowly bodies to be like His glorious body.

    01 — Also here

    Who else the chapter reaches

    Names written in the English are linked in the text above. These are the ones that are not: an entity the Hebrew or Greek names under a spelling the translation does not use, or one reached only by an assertion about a verse of this chapter.

    Reached by an assertion Atlas extracted from a verse of this chapter rather than by a name written in it — a pronoun, a title, or a participant the sentence carries without naming. This layer is model-read and measured at 88.6–90.3% precision, and it is kept separate from the names above for that reason.

    02 — Read alongside

    Where this is echoed

    Readers' own connections, from OpenBible's crowd-voted cross-references — agreement about relevance, and not scholarly confidence. 537 passages were voted onto 21 verses of this chapter; the 16 shown lead on votes, and each is listed at the verse it was voted onto most strongly.

    • 141 Corinthians 9:24Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way as to take the prize.
    • 13Luke 9:62Then Jesus declared, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and then looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
    • 10Galatians 2:20I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
    • 141 Peter 5:10And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore you, secure you, strengthen you, and establish you.
    • 20Ephesians 2:19Therefore you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household,
    • 13Hebrews 12:1–2Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with endurance the race set out for us.
    • 13Philippians 3:12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
    • 14Revelation 3:21To the one who overcomes, I will grant the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
    • 142 Timothy 4:7–8I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
    • 8Jeremiah 9:23–24This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, nor the strong man in his strength, nor the wealthy man in his riches.
    • 121 Timothy 6:11–12But you, O man of God, flee from these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness.
    • 20Colossians 3:1–3Therefore, since you have been raised with Christ, strive for the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
    • 14Romans 8:28–30And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.
    • 101 Peter 4:1–2Therefore, since Christ suffered in His body, arm yourselves with the same resolve, because anyone who has suffered in his body is done with sin.
    • 102 Timothy 2:11–12This is a trustworthy saying: If we died with Him, we will also live with Him;
    • 141 Thessalonians 2:12encouraging you, comforting you, and urging you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.

    Onward

    Keep reading

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