8 Not only that, but I consider everything a disadvantage in comparison with the supreme value of knowing the Messiah Yeshua as my Lord. It was because of him that I gave up everything and regard it all as garbage, in order to gain the Messiah 9 and be found in union with him, not having any righteousness of my own based on legalism, but having that righteousness which comes through the Messiah’s faithfulness, the righteousness from God based on trust. source
Not only that what?
To answer that we will need to back up to verse 1 of Chapter 3 and there we will find Paul voicing the advantages he once held in high esteem. Advantages that others had no grounds to claim as their own. But he did. Here’s a list of those rights to claim:
Circumcised on the 8th day following his birth from the womb
By that birth born into the commonwealth of Israel
From the tribe of Benjamin
Hebrew being his native language, he and both his parents
In reference to the Torah, the Law, he was a Pharisee
As to zeal as a Jew, he persecuted the people of The Way – The Jesus Believing Community
As to the Mosaic Law, he was blameless. Men could not lay a charge against him that would stick.
But not only that, he said, not only my Jewish heritage, my Jewish upbringing, my Jewish zeal, but everything else I had acquired in life – perhaps he meant money, land, family, friends, you name it. All he had he considered in comparison to knowing JESUS, it was garbage. Refuse.
Do you know that any self-respecting Jew stayed away from the garbage heap, the dump?
Shall we say the dung heap? You get the idea — exceedingly repulsive to the Jewish people.
And yet here is Paul saying that Knowing JESUS. Knowing he was forgiven. Knowing the guilt and weight of his sin was lifted from him. Knowing his debt was paid. All this AND knowing he was accepted and beloved and that he could walk in union, in fellowship with JESUS was worth it all to him. He was not willing to hold onto anything of his past or present that would break or soil his fellowship with Yeshua, His LORD. It was as refuse, dung to him.
How many people today do you know like that?
You know what I think I hear here? That was Paul. That was back in the Bible days, we can’t be expected to be like that today; not in this 21st Century. GOD does not expect us to be like Paul or Peter or James or John or JESUS Himself. He knows the times in which we live.
Do you hear it?
You know it’s a lie, right?
Yeah. me too.
By the way, this does not even scratch the surface of the glory and preciousness of this chapter. I hope you will read it all for yourself. Philippians 3.
