Philippians 3:4–14

⁴I have many reasons to trust in my human nature. Others may think they have reasons to trust in theirs. But I have even more. ⁵I was circumcised on the eighth day. I am part of the people of Israel. I am from the tribe of Benjamin. I am a pure Hebrew. As far as the law is concerned, I am a Pharisee. ⁶As far as being committed is concerned, I opposed and attacked the church. As far as keeping the Law is concerned, I kept it perfectly.

⁷I thought things like that were for my benefit. But now I consider them to be nothing because of Christ. ⁸Even more, I consider everything to be nothing compared to knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. To know him is the best thing of all. Because of him I have lost everything. But I consider all of it to be garbage so I can get to know Christ. ⁹I want to be joined to him.

For me, being right with God does not come from the law. It comes because I believe in Christ. It comes from God. It is received by faith.

¹⁰I want to know Christ better. I want to know the power that raised him from the dead. I want to share in his sufferings. I want to become like him by sharing in his death. ¹¹Then by God’s grace I will rise from the dead.

Moving on Toward the Goal

¹²I have not yet received all of those things. I have not yet been made perfect. But I move on to take hold of what Christ Jesus took hold of me for.

¹³Brothers and sisters, I don’t consider that I have taken hold of it yet. But here is the one thing I do. I forget what is behind me. I push hard toward what is ahead of me. ¹⁴I move on toward the goal to win the prize. God has appointed me to win it. The heavenly prize is Christ Jesus himself.