RSV ~ Philippians 3 Notes

Phil 3:1 | ISB Notes

the same things: Refers either to the preceding instructions or, more likely, to the following warnings (3:2-21). Paul had apparently addressed the dangers of false teaching with his readers in person or in a previous letter. His purpose here is more to protect them than to correct them, since no indication is given that the Philippians themselves have embraced any dangerous teaching.

Phil 3:2 | ISB Notes

mutilate the flesh: An allusion to the Judaizers, a band of Jewish Christian missionaries who demanded circumcision and adherence to the ancestral traditions of the Old Covenant as indispensable requirements for salvation (Acts 15:1-5). Paul opposes their effort to bring believers under the yoke of the Mosaic Law. See note on Gal 5:1.

Phil 3:3 | ISB Notes

true circumcision: The spiritual circumcision of the heart performed in Baptism (Col 2:11-12).

• This covenant procedure was prefigured by the ritual circumcision of the foreskin (Gen 17:9-14) and was announced in advance by Moses as a sign of the messianic restoration (Deut 30:6). See note on Rom 2:29.

Phil 3:4-5 | ISB Notes

Paul boasts impeccable credentials in the face of Judaizing missionaries trying to discredit his theology and mission. He was circumcised in accordance with the Abrahamic covenant (Gen 17:9-14); his tribal affiliation with Benjamin makes him a true Israelite (2 Cor 11:22); his ancestry as a Hebrew (from Eber, Gen 11:16) makes him a pure-blooded Semite (from Shem, Gen 11:10); and his zeal as a Pharisee linked him with one of the strictest renewal movements in Judaism (Acts 22:3; Gal 1:14). Paul is confident these facts will silence the rival claims of any Judaizing competition that makes its way to Philippi. See note on 2 Cor 11:22.

Phil 3:6 | ISB Notes

zeal: Sometimes expressed through violent action in the OT. Ancient defenders of Israel like Phinehas and the Maccabees were revered for their commitment to this philosophy (Num 25:6-13; Sir 45:23; 1 Mac 2:23-26; 3:8). Paul’s zeal as a Pharisee was unleashed on the early Christians, whom he persecuted as traitors to the hopes and ideals of Judaism (Acts 8:3; 1 Cor 15:9; Gal 1:13). After his conversion, he realized this zeal was tragically unenlightened (Rom 10:2).

blameless: Faultless in his outward commitment to the Jewish way of life (Lk 1:6). God asked this of Abraham in his preface to the covenant of circumcision (Gen 17:1).

• Paul could have fulfilled the Law outwardly, for fear of punishment, and still transgressed the Law inwardly through evil desire (St. Augustine, Answer to Two Pelagian Letters 1, 15). The apostle lived innocently according to the external righteousness of the Law, not according to the righteousness of faith, which pertains to the heart and makes a man pure (St. Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Philippians 3, 1).

Phil 3:7 | ISB Notes

I counted as loss: Paul renounces the resume he built up in Judaism. The benefits of being a Pharisee are counted as trash compared to the blessings he received from Jesus (3:8). The point is that God’s gifts to us in Christ far exceed in greatness and worth anything we can give back to him (CCC 428).

Phil 3:9 | ISB Notes

righteousness: A distinction is made between legal righteousness, which persons under the Old Covenant tried to attain by faithfulness to the Law (Deut 6:25), and divine righteousness, which we receive through faith in Jesus Christ under the New Covenant (Rom 5:17). For Paul, legal righteousness is not a saving righteousness because it depends on human effort apart from the inward grace of God. This distinction is also set forth in Rom 9:30-32 and 10:3. .

Phil 3:12 | ISB Notes

made me his own: Christ took possession of Paul on the Damascus road (Acts 9:3-19).

Phil 3:14 | ISB Notes

I press on: The life of faith is compared to a race, where the prize of salvation has yet to be won since the competition is still in progress. Paul is encouraging readers to summon their energy and charge ahead after holiness (Heb 12:14). See note on 1 Cor 9:24-27.

Phil 3:17 | ISB Notes

imitating me: Paul knows that his witness will leave a more lasting impression than his words. He appeals to readers to follow his example as he models his own life after Christ (4:9; 1 Cor 11:1).

• Imitation of the saints is a practice long revered in the spiritual tradition of the Church. The heroism of holy men and women can inspire a deeper commitment in others who contemplate their extraordinary faith and generosity of life.

Phil 3:18-19 | ISB Notes

Paul attacks unidentified opponents. Whoever they are, they are slaves of gluttony, shamelessness, and worldly ways of thinking. Paul weeps because their indulgence in earthly pleasures is holding them back from heaven and hastening their doom (1 Cor 6:9-10).

Phil 3:20 | ISB Notes

our commonwealth: Many residents of Philippi are honored recipients of Roman citizenship. Civil privileges such as these are only a dim reflection of the benefits

they possess as Christians. Believers are citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem, enrolled among the angels and saints in the family of God (Heb 12:23) (CCC 2796). See introduction: Destination.

Phil 3:21 | ISB Notes

like his glorious body: Christ will complete his work of salvation in us when he transforms our frail and mortal bodies into glorious and immortal ones like his own (CCC 999). See note on 1 Cor 15:42-44.