Philippians 3
Php 3:1-3. A SALUTATION CHANGED INTO A WARNING.
Php 3:2. It is difficult to understand how anyone could find three different classes in these words (e.g., Ws[22]., who divides them into (a) unconverted heathens, (b) self-seeking Christian teachers, (c) unbelieving Jews. See also his remarks in A. J. Th., i., 2, pp. 389-391). The words are a precise parallel to Paul’s denunciations of Judaising teachers in Galatians and 2 Corinthians. Cf. Gal 1:7; Gal 1:9; Gal 5:12, 2Co 11:13; 2Co 2:17. The persistent and malicious opposition which they maintained against him sufficiently accounts for the fiery vehemence of his language. To surrender to their teaching was really to renounce the most precious gift of the Gospel, namely, “the glorious liberty of the sons of God”. For, in Paul’s view, he who possesses the Spirit is raised above all law. Cf. 2Co 3:17, and see Gunkcl, Wirkungen2, etc., pp. 96-98.-βλέπετε. Thrice repeated in the intense energy of his invective. Literally = “look at” them, in the sense of “beware of” them. It is not so used in classical Greek. Apparently some such significance as this is found in 2Ch 10:16, βλέπε τὸν οἶκόν σου, Δαυείδ. Frequent in N.T. (see Blass, Gram., p. 87, n. 1). He would have used a stronger word than βλ. had the Judaisers already made some progress at Philippi. There is nothing to suggest this in the Epistle. But all the Pauline Churches were exposed to their inroads. At any moment their emissaries might appear.-τοὺς κύνας. Only here in Paul. Commentators have tried to single out the point of comparison intended, some emphasising the shamelessness of dogs, others their impurity, others their roaming tendencies, others still their insolence and cunning. Most probably the Apostle had no definite characteristic in his mind. κύων was a term of reproach in Greek from the earliest to the latest times. E.g., Hom., Il., xiii., 623. Often in O.T. So here.-τ. κακ. ἐργ. Cf. 2Co 11:13, ἐργάται δόλιοι. We have here clear evidence that the persons alluded to were within the Christian Church. They did professedly carry on the work of the Gospel, but with a false aim. This invalidates the arguments of Lips[23]., Hltzm[24]. and M‘Giffert (Apost. Age, pp. 389-390), who imagine that the Apostle refers to unbelieving Jews, probably at Philippi.-τ. κατατομήν. A scornful parody of their much-vaunted περιτομή. W-M[25]. (pp. 794-796) gives numerous exx. of a similar paronomasia, e.g., Diog. Laert., 6, 24, τὴν μὲν Εὐκλείδου σχολήν ἔλεγε χολήν, τὴν δὲ Πλάτωνος διατριβὴν κατατριβήν. Lit. = “the mutilation”. Their mechanical, unspiritual view of the ancient rite reduces it to a mere laceration of the body. The word occurs in CIG., 160, 27; Theophr., Hist. Plant., 4, 8, 10; Symm. on Jerem., xlviii., 37 = notch, cutting, incision. It is only found here with any reference to circumcision.
[22] . Weiss.
[23] Lipsius.
[24] tzm. Holtzmann.
[25] Moulton’s Ed. of Winer’s Grammar.
Php 3:3. ἡμεῖς. The contrast drawn, which has already been before his mind in the ironical expression κατατομή.-ἡ περιτ. In LXX it is only found in Gen 17:12, Exo 4:25 (Jer 11:16 has another sense). The verb περιτέμνω is very common. Perhaps the choice of this particular compound to denote the rite of circumcision is due, as Dsm[26]. (BS[27]., p. 151) suggests, to the Egyptian use of it as a technical term for the same custom, long in vogue among the Egyptians. Examples are found in the Papyri. Paul uses it here in its strict sense as a token of participation in the covenant with God and of obligation to maintain it. But the further idea belonged to it of being the outward symbol of an inward grace. Cf. Deu 30:6. As the rite was regarded essentially as one of purification, the grace associated with it was a cleansing process. This explains expressions like that in Jer 9:26, etc.-οἱ … λατρεύοντες. The participle has become a noun denoting a class of men, spiritual worshippers. Contrast Heb 8:5; Heb 13:10, and cf. Heb 9:14. Most edd. with a number of high authorities read Θεοῦ (see crit. note supr.). This gives a peculiar combination: “who worship by the Spirit of God”. But the occurrence of σαρκί immediately after clearly suggests the favourite Pauline antithesis of πνεῦμα and σάρξ. In that case Θεῷ, which is supported by some excellent evidence, would be the natural reading, governed by λατρεύοντες. Aptly parallel is Rom 1:9, ὁ Θεὸς ᾧ λατρεύω ἐν τῷ πνεύματί μου. Certainly Θεοῦ, as the more difficult reading, must be considered. But as λατρεύω had come to have the technical sense of worshipping God, the word might be altered at an early date to get rid of a superfluity.-λατρ. In LXX it is used exclusively of the service of God, true or false. But it is distinguished from its synonym λειτουργεῖν as including the worship of the people as well as the ritual of the priests and Levites. See esp[28]. SH[29]. on Rom 1:9.-καυχώμενοι. One of the Apostle’s most characteristic words. It expresses with great vividness the high level of Christian life at which he is living: “exulting in Christ Jesus”. It belongs to the same triumphant mood which finds utterance so often in this Epistle in χαίρω. This victorious Christian gladness ought to sweep them past all earthly formalism and bondage to “beggarly elements”.-οὐκ ἐν ς. πεποιθ. οὐκ (instead of μή) emphasises the actual condition of their own Christian life.-ἐν σαρκί. On the phrase see Dsm[30]., N.T. Formel “in Christo,” p. 125, who regards it as following the analogy of the Pauline ἐν Χριστῷ. This is manifestly so in our instance where the expressions stand in juxtaposition. Carnem appellat quicquid est extra Christum (Calvin). Here σάρξ has a double antithesis, both Χ. Ἰ. and πνεύματι. The ordinary use of “self” in the popular religious vocabulary corresponds with wonderful accuracy to the Pauline σάρξ (so also Moule). For a strangely kindred conception cf. Seneca, ad Marc., 24, 5: illi (animo) cum hac carne grave certamen est (quoted by Hltzm[31]., N.T. Th., ii., p. 21). Of course σάρξ has become a technical term in Paul’s controversy with the Judaisers, and that particular side of its meaning must always be kept in view (see Romans and Galatians passim).-πεποιθ. The word occurs no less than six times in this short Epistle. Paul has reached firm convictions on the highest things. He knows what he believes and what he rejects. That is the real explanation of his strong, exultant joy.
[26] Deissmann (BS. = Bibelstudien, NBS. = Neue Bibelstudien).
[27] . Bibelstudien
[28] especially.
[29] . Sanday and Headlam (Romans).
[30] Deissmann (BS. = Bibelstudien, NBS. = Neue Bibelstudien).
[31] tzm. Holtzmann.
Php 3:4-6. PAUL’S CONFIDENCE IN THE FLESH.
Php 3:5. The Apostle seems to feel a certain natural pride in recounting his hereditary privileges.-περιτομῇ ὀκταήμ. The dative of περιτ. must be read, expressing the sphere to which ὀκταήμ. belongs. Literally: “Eight-days-old as regards my circumcision”. A.V. satisfies the requirements. He was born in Judaism, and lost none of its advantages from the outset. Proselytes were circumcised as adults. For the usage in this sense see the elaborate list of parallels in Wetstein on Joh 11:39.-ἐκ γένους Ἰ. ἐκ often denotes the class or country of a man, e.g., Joh 3:1. Paul shared in the glories of the covenant-people. Israel was the theocratic name.-φυλῆς Β. B. This tribe stood high in Jewish estimation, not only as descending from Rachel, Jacob’s best-loved wife, but as remaining loyal to the house of David, and, after the exile, forming with Judah the foundation of the future nation.-Ἑβρ. ἐξ Ἑβρ. For the phrase cf. Herodt., 2, 143, Πίρωμιν ἐκ Πιρώμιος; Plat., Phaedr., 246 [32]A, ἀγαθοὶ καὶ ἐξ ἀγαθῶν. The force of these words has been variously estimated. Lft[33]. and others draw a contrast between Ἑβραῖος and Ἑλληνιστής, the former being a Jew who retained the Hebrew language and customs (see Act 6:1). But Euseb., H.E., 2, 4, 2, applies the designation to Philo, and in Praep. Evang., xiii., 11, 2, to Aristobulus, both of them Greek-speaking Jews with little if any knowledge of Hebrew. Cf. 2Co 11:22. The Greek Comm[34]., Th. Mps[35]. and Thdrt[36]., believe that, in using the ancient name, Paul wishes to emphasise the purity of his lineage. Probably they are right.-κατὰ νόμον. Are we to distinguish between νόμος and ὁ νόμος in Paul? Attempts have been made (notably that of Gifford, Romans in Speaker’s Comm[37]., pp. 41-48) to show that when Paul omits the article he is thinking mainly of the principle of law as a method of justification in opposition to faith, etc. In our judgment it has been made abundantly clear by Grafe (Die paulinische Lehre vom Gesetz, pp. 1-11) that, for the Apostle, νόμος with or without the article means the O.T. revelation of the will of God. He makes no distinction between a general conception of Divine law and the special one of the Mosaic law. The Mosaic law is for him the Divine law pure and simple, and therefore has a universal bearing. There are, of course, modifications of this central idea, but they can all be satisfactorily accounted for. Often the insertion or omission of the article with νόμος is entirely a question of formal grammar. Here νόμος is plainly the law of Moses.-φαρισαῖος. Cf. Act 23:6. For an interesting discussion of the influence of the school of Hillel upon Paul see Wabnitz, Revue Théol., xiii., p. 287 ff. The survivals of Rabbinic doctrines and methods in Paul’s thought, however, must neither be exaggerated, nor, because they are Rabbinic, be contemptuously dismissed. “If God was not moving in the Rabbinic thought of Christ’s day, what reason have we to say He … moves in the thought of to-day?” (P. T. Forsyth). Almost certainly Paul’s family must have been in thorough sympathy with strict Judaism. No doubt he would be disowned by them, and this, as Ramsay notes (St. Paul, p. 36), would give special force to his words in Php 3:8 infr.
[32] Codex Alexandrinus (sæc. v.), at the British Museum, published in photographic facsimile by Sir E. M. Thompson (1879).
[33] Lightfoot.
[34] Commentators.
[35] . Mps. Theodore of Mopsuestia.
[36] drt. Theodoret.
[37] Commentators.
Php 3:6. Probably ζῆλος (neuter) is the correct form here. In N.T. the neuter occurs only in 2Co 9:2, but it is found in Ignat., and, alternately with ὁ ζ., in 1 Clem. It is perhaps colloquial (so W-Sch[38]., p. 84), although ὁ ζ. is that used in LXX. ζῆλος would almost have a technical meaning for a strict Jew at that time in connexion with the fanatical party among the Pharisees who called themselves ζηλωταί (cf. Schürer, i., 2, p. 80 ff.). Cf. Gal 1:14, περισσοτέρως ζηλωτὴς ὑπάρχων τῶν πατρικῶν μου παραδόσεων.-διώκ. τ. ἐκκλησ. Cf. Gal 1:13, ἐδίωκον τὴν ἐκκλησίαν τοῦ Θεοῦ. ὁ διώκων is, in classical Greek, the technical term for the “pursuer” or prosecutor in the law-courts. Strangely enough it was by means of prosecutions that Paul usually persecuted.-κατὰ δικ. τ. ἐν ν. “According to (i.e., tested by the standard of) the righteousness which belongs to the sphere of the law.” Of course this righteousness, which is here equivalent to right conduct as a whole, is regarded from the point of view of that which justifies before God. For the exceptional prominence which righteousness has in Jewish religious thought, see esp[39]. Weber, Lehren des Talmud, pp. 269-270, and Charles’ admirable note on Apocal. of Baruch, xxiv: 1. Cf. Ps. Sol. 9:9 for a very precise formulation of Jewish thought on this subject. It would be wrong to limit δικ. here merely to ceremonial observances. It includes, most probably, the ordinary moral precepts of the law as well.-ἄμεμπτος. Exactly parallel to this description is the case of the rich young man in the Gospels. He also could claim to be κατὰ δικ. τ. ἐν νομ. ἄμεμπ. It was at the next step (Php 3:7) that he stopped short. He was unable to “count all things loss for Christ”.
[38] Sch. Schmiedel’s Ed. of Winer.
[39] especially.
Php 3:7-9. EARTHLY GAINS COUNTED LOSS THAT HE MIGHT WIN CHRIST.
Php 3:8. ἀλλὰ μενοῦνγε. Probably γε ought to be read (see crit. note supr.), as its absence in some good authorities is accounted for by the ease with which it could be omitted (so D omits it in 2Co 11:16; [41]D[42]F[43]G in Rom 8:32; B in Rom 9:20). Almost = “Nay, that is a feeble way of expressing it; I can go further and say,” etc. ἀλλά suggests a contrast to be introduced, μέν adds emphasis, while οὖν, gathering up what has already been said, corrects it by way of extending his assertion (γε can scarcely be translated, representing, rather, a tone of the voice in taking back the limitations implied in ἅτινα … κέρδη). “Nay rather, I actually count all things,” etc. We cannot well see, in view of the natural translation of ἀλλὰ μενοῦνγε, how the emphasis could be laid on any other word than πάντα. There is no need for contrasting ἥγημαι and ἡγοῦμαι. He does not compare present and past. ἥγημαι already expresses the fixed decision to which he has come. He has spoken of regarding his important Jewish prerogatives as “loss” for Christ’s sake. Now he widens the range to πάντα. This is the goal of Christian life. It is not to be divided up between Christ and earthliness. It is not to express itself in attention to certain details. “If we should say some things, we might be in danger of sliding into a one-sided puritanism” (Rainy, op. cit., p. 191).-τὸ ὑπερέχον τ. γνώς. Χ. Ἰ. κ.τ.λ. An instance of the extraordinary predilection of the later language for forming abstract substantives from adjectives and participles. Cf. 2Co 4:17, τὸ … ἐλαφρὸν τῆς θηίψεως ἡμῶν. Probably = “the surpassing (or supreme) thing which consists in the knowledge,” etc. “We beheld His glory.” That glory outshines all this earth’s guiding-stars.-τ. γνώσεως. This knowledge on which Paul is so fond of dwelling is, as Beysch. well expresses it, “the reflection of faith in our reason” (op. cit., ii., p. 177). It is directly connected with the surrender of the soul to Christ, but, as Paul teaches, that always means a close intimacy with Him, from which there springs an ever-growing knowledge of His spirit and will. Such knowledge lays a stable foundation for the Christian character, preventing it from evaporating into a mere unreasoning emotionalism. The conception, which is prominent in Paul’s writings, is based on the O.T. idea of the knowledge of God. That is always practical, religious. To know God is to revere Him, to be godly, for to know Him is to understand the revelation He has given of Himself. Cf. Isa 11:2, Hab 2:14. It is natural that in the later Epistles this aspect of the spiritual life should come into the foreground, seeing that already the Christian faith was being confronted by other explanations of man’s relation to God. To know Christ, the Apostle teaches, is to have the key which will unlock all the secrets of existence viewed from the standpoint of religion.-τοῦ Κυρίου μ. It was as Κύριος, the exalted Lord, that Paul first knew Christ. And always it is from this standpoint he looks backwards and forwards. To recognise this is to understand his doctrinal teaching.-διʼ ὃν τ. πάντα ἐζημιώθην. τὰ πάντα = “the sum-total” as opposed to a part. (So also Holst.) Perhaps in contrasting ἐζημ. and κερδήσω, as in the similar contrast in Php 3:7, he may have in view our Lord’s words in Mat 16:26. In N.T. only the passive of ζημιόω is used with various constructions. [It gives good sense to regard καὶ ἡγ. σκύβ. as a parenthesis, and thus to make ἵνα κερδ. along with its parallel τοῦ γνῶναι depend on ἐζημ. In this case the Apostle speaks from the standpoint of his conversion. See J. Weiss, Th. LZ[44]., 1899, col. 264.]-σκύβαλα. The derivation is uncertain. It is most probably connected with σκῶρ, “dung”. It is often used in this sense itself, but also in the wider meaning of any “refuse,” such as the remains of a banquet. See a large collection of exx. from late writers in Wetstein and Lft[45]., and cf. the apt parallel in Plautus, Truc., ii., 7, 5, Amator qui bona sua pro stercore habet. Probably εἶναι ought to be omitted, although there is great divergence in the authorities. (See crit. note supr.) It might easily be inserted as parallel to the preceding εἶναι.-ἵνα Χ. κερδήσω. “That I may win Christ.” There is nothing mechanical or fixed about fellowship with Christ. It may be interrupted by decay of zeal, the intrusion of the earthly spirit, the toleration of known sins, the easy domination of self-will, and countless other causes. Hence, to maintain it, there must be the continuous estimating of earthly things at their true value. Accordingly he looks on “winning Christ” as something present and future, not as a past act. (As to the form, an aorist ἐκέρδησα is found in Herod., Joseph., LXX, etc. See Kühner-Blass, Gramm., ii., p. 457.)
[41] Codex Claromontanus (sæc. vi.), a Græco-Latin MS. at Paris, edited by Tischendorf in 1852.
[42] Codex Augiensis (sæc. ix.), a Græco-Latin MS., at Trinity College, Cambridge, edited by Scrivener in 1859. Its Greek text is almost identical with that of G, and it is therefore not cited save where it differs from that MS. Its Latin version, f, presents the Vulgate text with some modifications.
[43] Codex Boernerianus (sæc. ix.), a Græco-Latin MS., at Dresden, edited by Matthæi in 1791. Written by an Irish scribe, it once formed part of the same volume as Codex Sangallensis (δ) of the Gospels. The Latin text, g, is based on the O.L. translation.
[44] . LZ. Theologische Literaturzeitung.
[45] Lightfoot.
Php 3:9. εὑρεθῶ. It is probably used here in the semi-technical sense which it received in post-classical Greek = τυγχάνω with participle (French se trouver), “turn out actually to be”. “And actually be in Him,” from the eschatological standpoint (see Viteau, Le Verbe, p. 192). The idea is involved of a revelation of real character. Cf. Gal 2:17, εἰ δὲ … εὑρέθημεν καὶ αὐτοὶ ἁμαρτωλοί.-ἐν αὐτῷ. The central fact of Paul’s religious life and thought, the complete identification of the believer with Christ.-μὴ ἔχων. μή either depends directly on ἵνα or is used to express Paul’s own view of what is implied in εὑρεθ. ἐν α. This last thought must be regarded as the basis on which the clauses immediately following rest.-ἐμὴν δικ. “A righteousness of my own.” Cf. Apoc. of Bar., lxiii. 3 “then Hezekiah trusted in his works and had hope in his righteousness”. The noun δικ. is anarthrous to emphasise the idea belonging to it in its essential force. ἐμήν is added to define, and then the definition is elaborated by the clause with the article. An instructive parallel is Gal 2:20, ἐν πίστει ζῶ τῇ τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ (see an important note in Green, Gram. of N.T., pp. 34-35). δικαιοσύνη, as usually in Paul’s writings, means a right relation between him and God. The retention of the word by Paul to denote the position of the Christian before God is, as Holst. (Paulin. Theol., p. 64) points out, a proof of his close connexion with the Jewish consciousness. We may call it a “forensic” word, for certainly there always lies behind it the idea of a standard appointed by God, a law, the expression of the Divine will. The qualifying words here show what Paul has in view.-τὴν ἐκ νόμου. Cf. the lament for the destruction of Jerusalem in Apoc. of Bar., lxvii. 6, “the vapour of the smoke of the incense of righteousness which is by the law is extinguished in Zion” (and see Charles’ note on xv. 5). This hypothetical δικ., which he calls his own, could only spring from complete conformity to the will of God as revealed in precepts and commands. That is the kind of relation to God which Paul has found to be impossible. On νόμος without the article see on Php 3:5 supr. τὴν διὰ πίστεως Χ., τὴν ἐκ Θεοῦ δικ. ἐπὶ τῇ πίστει. The exact character of this δικαιοσύνη which Paul prizes must be carefully noted. The presupposition of possessing it is “to be found in Christ”. It is not a righteousness which he can win by legal observances. It springs from God. What does this new relation to God precisely mean? The one condition of understanding the Apostle’s language is to remember that he combines in his thinking two conceptions of δικαιοσύνη, or perhaps we should rather say that his own experience has made vivid for him a two-sided conception of this relation. On the one hand, he thinks of δικ. as connected with God, the Judge of men. God, strictly marking sin, might condemn men absolutely, because all have sinned. Instead of that, because of His grace manifested in Jesus Christ the crucified and working through Christ’s death, He deals mercifully with sinners, treats them as righteous on account of the propitiation made by the Righteous One, treats them as standing in a right relation to Himself, i.e., pardons them. δικαιοσύνη thus comes to be God’s gracious way of dealing with us, “forgiveness with the Forgiver in it” (Rainy, op. cit., p. 231), the relation with God into which we are brought by His grace for Jesus’ sake, regarded more or less as an activity of His, practically = salvation (which, already in O.T., rested upon the rectitude of God’s character, see, e.g., Isa 51:5-8, Psa 98:2). God’s justifying of us makes us δίκαιοι in His sight: we possess δικαιοσύνη. That, however, might appear arbitrary. But the Apostle gives no ground for such a suspicion. This δικ. ἐκ Θεοῦ is only reached “through the faith of Christ,” i.e., the faith which Christ kindles, of which He is the author, which, also, He nourishes and maintains (see esp[46]. Haussleiter, Greifswald. Studien, pp. 177-178). This δικ. is securely founded on faith in Christ (ἐπὶ τῇ π.). But what does such faith effect? It is that which makes the believer one with Christ. He shares in all that his Lord possesses. Christ imparts life to him. Christ’s relation to the Father becomes his. But this is no longer a being regarded or dealt with by God as if he were δίκαιος. Union with Christ makes it possible for the Christian to be δίκαιος, to show himself such in actual behaviour. Thus δικαιοσύνη may express something more than the relation to God into which believers are brought by God’s justifying judgment (which for their experience means the sense of forgiveness with the Forgiver in it). It embraces the conduct which is the response to that forgiving love of God, a love only bestowed on the soul united to Christ by faith (see esp[47]. Pfieid., Paulin., i., p. 175; Hltzm[48]., N.T. Th., ii., pp. 127-129, 138-139; Häring, Δικ. Θεοῦ bei Paulus, Tübingen, 1896; Kölbing, SK[49]., 1895, 7 ff.; Denney, Expos., vi., 3, p. 433 ff., 4, p. 299 ff., Holst., Paulin. Th., pp. 65-66).
[46] especially.
[47] especially.
[48] tzm. Holtzmann.
[49] . Studien und Kritiken.
Php 3:10-11.-CONFORMITY TO CHRIST’S DEATH AND RESURRECTION.
Php 3:11. εἴ πως καταντ. This construction closely corresponds to the Homeric usage of εἴ κε or ἤν (as in Odyss., 3, 83, πατρὸς ἐμοῦ κλέος μετέρχομαι, ἤν που ἀκούσω) where the protasis really contains in itself its own apodosis “which consists of an implied idea of purpose” or hope (see Goodwin, MT[54]., p. 180; Burton, MT[55]., § 276; Viteau, Le Verbe, pp. 62, 116). Here the clause is almost equivalent to an indirect question. The Resurrection is the Apostle’s goal, for it will mean perfect, unbroken knowledge of Christ and fellowship with Him. Paul knows by experience the difficulty of remaining loyal to the end, of being so conformed to Christ’s death that the power of sin will not revive its mastery over him. So his apparent uncertainty here of reaching the goal is not distrust of God. It is distrust of himself. It emphasises the need he feels of watchfulness and constant striving (cf. διώκω, Php 3:12), lest “having preached to others” he “be found a castaway” (1Co 9:27. 1Co 9:24-27, along with Rom 8:17, are the best parallel to the passage before us). But, on the other side, he is always reminded that “faithful is He that calleth you” (1Th 5:24).-καταντήσω. Probably aorist subjunctive (as corresponding with καταλάβω in Php 3:12).-τὴν ἐξαν. τ. νεκρ. Authority, both external and internal, supports the reading τὴν ἐκ νεκρῶν. ἐξανάστ. is found nowhere else in N.T., and never in LXX. In later Greek it means “expulsion”. It occurs only here in this sense. Holst, suggests that ἐξαν. is used here of the actual resurrection, because ἀνάστασις was used above of believers with an ethical, ideal meaning. We are disposed to believe (with Ws[56]. and others) that Paul is thinking only of the resurrection of believers (cf. Ps. Sol. 3:13-16 for Jewish thought on this subject, the thought which had been Paul’s mental atmosphere). This is his usual standpoint. In the famous passage 1Co 15:12 ff. it is exclusively of Christians he speaks. We have no information as to what he taught regarding a general resurrection. But considering that it is with spontaneous, artless letters we have to do, and not with theoretical discussions, it would be hazardous to say that he ignored or denied a general resurrection. For him the resurrection of Christians depends on and is conformed to the resurrection of their Lord. Teichmann (Auferstehung u. Gericht, p. 67), comparing chap. Php 1:23 with this passage, holds that Paul, although he has replaced the idea of resurrection by that of a continuous existence after death, occasionally (as here) uses the traditional termini technici. This may be so. More probably at one time he would give prominence to the thought of uninterrupted fellowship with Christ after death, while at another his longings would centre round the great crisis when Christ should acknowledge all His faithful servants and make them full sharers in His glory. It is not to be doubted that Paul, like the rest of the early Christians, expected that crisis soon to come.
[54] . Moods and Tenses (Burton, Goodwin).
[55] . Moods and Tenses (Burton, Goodwin).
[56] . Weiss.
Php 3:12-16. THE MARK OF THE MATURE CHRISTIAN,-TO PRESS FORWARD.
Php 3:13. ἀδελφοί. This direct appeal to them shows that he is approaching a matter which is of serious concern both to him and them.-ἐγὼ ἐμαυτόν. Why such strong personal emphasis? Is it not a clear hint that there were people at Philippi who prided themselves on having grasped the prize of the Christian calling already? Paul has been tacitly leading up to this. He will yield to none in clear knowledge of the difference between the old and the new life. He knows more surely than any how completely he has broken with the past. Yet, whatever others may say, he must assume the lowly position of one who is still a learner. It makes little difference whether οὐ or οὔπω be read. The authorities are pretty evenly balanced.-λογίζομαι. The word (often used by Paul) has the force of looking back on the process of a discussion and calmly drawing a conclusion. Cf. Rom 8:18 (with note of Sanday and Headlam (Romans). The Apostle expresses his deliberately formed opinion.-ἕν δέ. There is no need to supply a verb. His Christian conduct is summed up in what follows. Never has there been a more unified life than that of Paul as Apostle and Christian. “When all is said, the greatest art is to limit and isolate oneself” (Goethe).-τὰ μὲν ὀπ. ἐπιλανθ. There are a few exx. in classical Greek of ἐπιλανθ. with the accusative, e.g., Aristoph., Nub., 631. But in the later language there was an extraordinary extension of the use of the accusative. (See Hatz., Einl., p. 220 ff.) Does τὰ ὀπ. mean the old life, or the past stages of Christian experience? If the metaphor were strictly pressed, no doubt the latter alternative would claim attention. But pressing metaphors is always hazardous. And parallel passages seem rather to justify the first meaning, e.g., Jer 7:24, ἐγενήθησαν εἰς τὰ ὄπισθεν καὶ οὐκ εἰς τὰ ἔμπροσθεν (of disobeying God’s commands); Luk 9:62, βλέπων εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω; Joh 6:66, πολλοὶ τῶν μαθητῶν … ἀπῆλθον εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω.-τοῖς ἔμπρ. ἐπεκτ. τὸ and τὰ ἔμπρ. are found in Herodot. and Xenoph. Wetstein quotes most aptly from Luc., de Cal., 12, οἷόν τι καὶ ἐπὶ τοῖς γυμνικοῖς ἀγῶσιν ὑπὸ τῶν δρομέων γίγνεται· κᾀκεῖ γὰρ ὁ μὲν ἀγαθὸς δρομεὺς τῆς ὕσπληγος εὐθὺς καταπεσούσης, μόνον τοῦ πρόσω ἐφιέμενος καὶ τὴν διάνοιαν ἀποτείνας πρὸς τὸ τέρμα κᾀν τοῖς ποσὶ τὴν ἐλπίδα τῆς νίκης ἔχων, τὸν πλησίον οὐδὲν κακουργεῖ. In using this comparison, Paul, of course, adapts himself, as among Greeks and Romans, to a custom of their national life. On this kind of adaptation see an excellent discussion in Weizsäcker, Apost. Zeitalter, pp. 100-104.
Php 3:14. κατὰ σκ. “In the direction of the mark.” Exactly parallel is Act 8:26, πορεύου κατὰ μεσημβρίαν. Perhaps akin are uses like Thucyd., 6, 31, κατὰ θέαν ἥκειν; Hom., Odyss., 3, 72, κατὰ πρῆξιν (“for the sake of business,” Ameis-Hentze). It is needless to distinguish between σκοπόν and βραβεῖον in the Apostle’s thought. Both really point to that unbroken and complete fellowship with Christ which is attained through the power of His resurrection, that resurrection being the condition of the believer’s victory over sin and death, and making it possible for him to enter the “house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens”. The purified life in heaven is, in a word, both the goal and the prize. Contrast with this exulting thought Omar Khayyám, xxxviii.: “The stars are setting and the caravan starts for the dawn of nothing”.-εἰς τὸ βραβ. The word occurs in Comedy, Inscrr[1]. and N.T. (1Co 9:24). Cf. 1 Clem., 5:5, ὁ Παῦλος ὑπομονῆς βραβεῖον ὑπέδειξεν, where it is perhaps suggested by our passage. It is possibly one of those words which must have been common in colloquial Greek (cf. the frequent use of βραβεύς), but have survived only in a few books. εἰς must be read with the best authorities, for, as Lft[2]. notes, “the prize marks the position of the goal”. ἐπί is an explanatory gloss.-τῆς ἄνω κλ. “The upward calling.” The Apostle seems to mean that the βραβεῖον is the ἄνω κλῆσις (so also Lips[3].). κλῆσις is the technical word in the Epistles for that decisive appeal of God to the soul which is made in Jesus Christ: the offer of salvation. Those who listen are designated κλητοί. Cf. Rom 8:30 and Hltzm[4]., N.T. Th., ii., p. 165 ff. This κλ. is not merely to “the inheritance of the saints in light”. Its effect must be seen in the sanctification of the believer’s life on earth. But here the addition of ἄνω suggests that the Apostle has before him the final issue of the calling which belongs to those who have endured to the end, who have run with patience the race set before them. The phrase seems to carry much the same meaning as Heb 3:1, κλήσεως ἐπουρανίου. Cf. the suggestive comment of Chr[5]., τοὺς μάλιστα τιμωμένους τῶν ἀθλητῶν καὶ τῶν ἡνιόχων οὐ στεφανοῦσιν ἐν τῷ σταδίῳ κάτω, ἀλλʼ ἄνω καλέσας ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐκεῖ στεφανοῖ.-ἐν Χ. Ἰ. Although it would give a satisfactory sense to take these words with διώκω (so e.g., Myr[6]., Ws[7].), it is far more natural to join them closely with τ. ἄνω κλ. This is emphatically ἐν Χ. Ἰ. Only in connexion with Him has the κλῆσις either in itself or in its goal any meaning.
[1] scrr. Inscriptions.
[2] Lightfoot.
[3] Lipsius.
[4] tzm. Holtzmann.
[5] Chrysostom.
[6] Meyer.
[7] . Weiss.
Php 3:15. τέλειοι. What Paul understands by τέλ. we can easily discover from Eph 4:13-14, Col 1:28; Col 4:12, 1Co 2:6 (Cf. also the definition of the word in Heb 5:14 taken in connexion with Heb 6:1). In all these passages τέλ. depends upon knowledge, knowledge gained by long experience of Christ, resulting both in firm conviction and maturity of thought and conduct. It has not so much our idea of “perfect” = “flawless,” as of “perfect” = “having reached a certain point of completeness,” as of one who has come to his full growth, leaving behind him the state of childhood (νήπιος). Cf. chap. Php 1:9-10. Lft[8]. supposes a reminiscence of the technical term τέλειος, used in the Mysteries to denote the initiated, and imagines Paul to speak with a certain irony of people at Philippi who claimed to be in this fortunate position as regards the Christian faith. There is no need to assume here the language of the Mysteries (as Anrich shows, Das Antike Mysterienwesen, Gött., 1894, p. 146, n. 1), or to find irony in Paul’s words. Probably there were some (see on Php 3:13 supr.) at Philippi who boasted of a spiritual superiority to their brethren and who may have called themselves τέλειοι. This may have been due to special equipment with the Spirit manifesting itself in speaking with tongues, etc. See 1 Corinthians 12 passim. But Paul takes the word seriously and points out what it involves. [Wernle’s attempt in Der Christ u. die Sünde bei Paul., pp. 6-7, to show that this passage is no argument against Christian perfection which he believes Paul to hold, rests on the erroneous association of τέλ. with the Mysteries.]-τοῦτο φρ. Let us show our humble conviction that we are still far from the goal which we desire to attain.-καὶ εἴ … ἀποκαλ. If, in the case of any separate detail of character or knowledge, you imagine yourselves to be τέλειοι, to have reached the highest point, God will reveal the truth (the true standpoint of humility) on this matter also. The form of the conditional sentence suggests that Paul knew of persons at Philippi who had erroneous views on this subject. But his hint of rebuke is very delicately put. εἴ τι κ.τ.λ. It is far-fetched to take this (as Hpt[9]. does) of their judgment on the Judaisers. Paul has forgotten, for the time, the special anxiety which weighs upon him, and has become absorbed in the glorious vista which unfolds itself to the Christian. καὶ τοῦτο κ.τ.λ. A firm conviction of the Apostle’s. See esp[10]. 1Co 2:10 (and Cf. Von Soden, Abhandlungen C. v. Weizs. gewidmet, p. 166).
[8] Lightfoot.
[9] Haupt.
[10] especially.
Php 3:16. πλήν. It is quite common as introducing a parenthesis. “Only one thing! So far as we have come, keep the path” (Weizs.). For the word Cf. Schmid, Atticismus, i., p. 133, and Bonitz’s Index to Aristotle.-εἰς ὃ ἐφθάς. In later Greek (as in modern) φθάνω has lost all idea of anticipation and simply means “come,” “reach”. Cf. 2Co 10:14 (and see See Hatz., Einl, p. 199; Sources of N.T. Greek, p. 156). “So far as we have come.” In what? Weiss thinks in right φρονεῖν, connecting the words immediately with τοῦτο φρονῶμεν. Kleiss supposes the νόμος δικαιοσύνης, referring to the earlier part of the chap. (esp Php 3:9). Does he not rather mean the point reached on the advance towards the goal (the κατὰ σκοπὸν διώκειν), which is the subject directly before his mind? The very use of στοιχεῖν seems to justify this interpretation.-τῷ αὐτῷ. It is, at first sight, natural to refer τ. αὐτ. immediately to ὅ preceding. And this may be right. But there is much force in the interpretation of Lipsius, who renders “let us walk on the same path” (so also Hlst.). The exhortation would then be directed against the difference of opinion and feeling which were certainly present in the Church at Philippi, and is suggested to Paul by the ἑτέρως φρον. of Php 3:15. That this was an early interpretation is shown by the v.l. of TR. The words κανονι το αυτο φρονειν (not found in the best MSS.) are evidently a gloss on the text. “Only, so far as we have come, let us keep to the same path.” τῷ αὐτῷ is an instance of a dative common after verbs of “going” and “walking” in N.T. Cf. Buttm., Gram., p. 184.-στοιχεῖν. An imperatival infinitive found in Hom., Aristoph., Inscrptions (see Meisterhans, Gram. d. att. Inschrr., § 88 A; Viteau, Le Verbe, p. 147). Probably this usage is closely connected with the origin of the infinitive, which was a dative, as is shown, e.g., by the infinitive in English, e.g., “to work”. This might easily become an imperative, “to work”! Analogous is the use of χαίρειν and ὑγιαίνειν in Letters. στ. is only found in late writers, although, from the frequency of στοῖχος, we may infer that it must have existed in earlier times. Literally it means “march in file”. Moule well observes that στ. more than περιπατεῖν (the common word) suggests the step, the detail.
Php 3:17-19. A SOLEMN WARNING AGAINST THE EARTHLY, SENSUAL MIND.
Php 3:18. πολλοὶ κ.τ.λ. To whom does he refer? Plainly they were persons inside the Christian Church, although probably not at Philippi. This (against Ws[1].) is borne out by the use of περιπατεῖν compared with περιπατοῦντας (Php 3:17) and στοιχεῖν (Php 3:16), by κλαίων which would have no meaning here if not applied to professing Christians, and further by ἐχθρούς which would be a mere platitude if used of heathens or Jews. Some (e.g., Schinz, Hort, Cone, etc.) refer this passage to the same persons as he denounces at the beginning of the chapter, the Judaising teachers. And no doubt they might fitly be called ἐχθροὶ τοῦ σταυροῦ (Cf. Gal 6:12-14). But the rest of the description applies far more aptly to professing Christians who allowed their liberty to degenerate into licence (Gal 5:13); who, from an altogether superficial view of grace, thought lightly of continuing in sin (Rom 6:1; Rom 6:12-13; Rom 6:15; Rom 6:23); who, while bearing the name of Christ, were concerned only with their own self-indulgence (Rom 16:18). If there did exist at Philippi any section disposed to look with favour on Judaising tendencies, this might lead others to exaggerate the opposite way of thinking and to become a ready prey to Antinomian reaction. Possibly passages like the present and Rom 16:18 point to the earliest beginnings of that strange medley of doctrines which afterwards developed into Gnosticism. That this is the more natural explanation seems also to follow from the context. The Apostle has had in view, from Php 3:11 onwards, the advance towards perfection, the point already attained, the kind of course to be imitated. It seems most fitting that he should warn against those who pretended to be on the straight path, but who were really straying on devious by-ways of their own.-οὓς πολλάκις ἔλεγον κ.τ.λ. “Whom I often used to call,” etc. (so also Grotius, Heinrichs, Hfm[2].). Cf. Æsch., Eumen., 48, οὔτοι γυναῖκας ἀλλὰ Γοργόνας λέγω. Hatz. (Einl., p. 223) remarks that in the Greek islands they say μὲ λέγει or λέγει με = “he names me”. Paul speaks with a depth and vehemence of feeling (πολλοὶ … πολλάκις … κλαίων) which suggest his genuine interest in those disloyal Christians who had once seemed to receive his message. If we imagine that the terms he uses are too strong to apply to professing Christians, we must remember that he speaks in a most solemn mood and from the highest point of view.-τ. ἐχθροὺς τ. στ. τ. Χ. If we are right in taking λέγω = “call,” “name,” τοὺς ἐχθ. will come in as the remoter accusative. Otherwise it must be regarded as assimilated to the relative clause, as in 1Jn 2:25. The true Christian is the man who is “crucified with Christ,” who has “crucified the flesh with its affections and lusts”. The Cross is the central principle in his life. “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.” Those here described, by their unthinking self-indulgence, run directly in the teeth of this principle. The same thing holds good of much that passes for Christianity in modern life. “Who has not known kindly, serviceable men hanging about the Churches with a real predilection for the suburban life of Zion … and yet men whose life just seemed to omit the Cross of Christ” (Rainy, op. cit., p. 286). It is quite probable that Paul would feel their conduct all the more keenly inasmuch as Judaisers might point to it as the logical consequence of his liberal principles.
[1] . Weiss.
[2] Hofmann.
Php 3:19. ἀπώλεια. Paul regards the two issues of human life as σωτηρία and ἀπώλεια (1Co 1:18, 2Co 2:15-16). The latter, is a common word for “destruction”. There is much in the Epistles to support the statement of Hltzm[3]. (N.T. Th., ii., p. 50): “To be dead and to remain dead eternally, that is to him (Paul) the most dreadful of all thoughts”. (Similarly Kabisch, Eschatol. d. Paul., pp. 85, 134.)-ἡ κοιλία. Most comm. compare Eupolis, Κολακ. 4, κοιλιοδαίμων, a “devotee of the belly”. κ. is probably used as a general term to include all that belongs most essentially to the bodily, fleshly life of man and therefore inevitably perishes. Istorum venter nitet: nostrum corpus atteritur: utrumque schema commutabitur (Beng.). Hort (Judaistic Christianity, p. 115 ff.) supposes that we have here the same development of Judaism which is attacked in Col 2:20-23. But this type of life was by no means confined to Jews.-ἡ δ. ἐν τ. αἰσχ. “Who boast of what is really a disgrace to them.” Wetst. aptly quotes Polyb., 15, 23, ἐφʼ οἷς ἐχρῆν αἰσχύνεσθαι καθʼ ὑπερβολήν, ἐπὶ τούτοις ὡς καλοῖς σεμνύνεσθαι καὶ μεγαλαυχεῖν. Cf. Pro 26:11, ἔστιν αἰσχύνη ἐπάγουσα ἁμαρτίαν, καὶ ἔστιν αἰσχύνη δόξα καὶ χάρις. (So also Sir 4:21.) This was apparently a current proverb. The limiting of αἰσχ. here to sensual sins is doubtful.-οἱ τ. ἐπίγ. φρον. It seems reasonable to explain the nominative as a resumption of the opening words of the sentence, summing up tersely the character in view. Cf. Mar 12:38-40. τὰ ἐπίγ. are opposed to τὰ ἔμπροσθεν or τὰ ἄνω. Curiously parallel is the Homeric phrase (Odyss., 21, 85), νήπιοι ἀγροιῶται ἐφημέρια φρονέοντες.
[3] tzm. Holtzmann.
Php 3:20-21. HEAVENLY-MINDEDNESS AND ITS PROSPECT.
Php 3:21. μετασχ. It is doubtful whether, in this passage, any special force can be given to μετασχ. as distinguished from μεταμορφοῦν, carrying out the difference between σχῆμα and μορφή. The doubt is borne out by its close connexion here with σύμμορφον. Perhaps, however, the compound of σχῆμα has in view the fact that only the fashion or figure in which the personality is clothed will be transformed. We have here (as Gw[9]. notes) the reverse of the process in chap. Php 2:6-11. The locus classicus on the word is 2Co 11:13-15. It is found in Plato and Aristotle in its strict sense. Cf. also 4Ma 9:22. It is Christ who effects the transformation in the case of His followers, because He is πνεῦμα ζωοποιοῦν (1Co 15:45). Cf. Apocal. of Bar., li. 3: “As for the glory of those who have now been justified in my law … their splendour will be glorified in changes, and the form of their face will be turned into the light of their beauty, that they may be able to acquire and receive the world which does not die”.-τὸ σῶμα τ. ταπειν. The expression must apply esp[10]. to the unfitness of the present bodily nature to fulfil the claims of the spiritual life. It is pervaded by fleshly lusts; it is doomed to decay. ταπειν. is plainly suggested by δόξα which follows. σῶμα is “pure form which may have the most diverse content. Here, on earth, σῶμα = σάρξ” (see an illuminating discussion by F. Köstlin, Jahrb. f. deutsche Th., 1877, p. 279 ff.). Holst. (Paulin. Th., p. 10) notes that for this conception of σῶμα as “organised matter,” the older Judaism had no word besides בָּשָׂד. Later Hellenistic Judaism used the word σῶμα in its Pauline sense (see Wis 9:15).-εἰς τὸ γ. α. is to be omitted with the best authorities. See crit. note supr.-σύμμορφον is used proleptically as its position shows. Cf. 1Th 3:13, στηρίξαι τὰς καρδίας ὑμῶν ἀμέμπτους. Perhaps the compound of μορφή is used to remind them of the completeness of their future assimilation to Christ. Cf. Rom 8:29. The end of the enumeration in that passage is ἐδόξασεν. δόξα is the climax here.-τ. σώμ. τ. δόξης α. With Paul δόξα is always the outward expression of the spiritual life (πνεῦμα). It is, if one may so speak, the semblance of the Divine life in heaven. The Divine πνεῦμα will ultimately reveal itself in all who have received it as δόξα. That is what the N.T. writers mean by the completed, perfected “likeness to Christ”. This passage, combined with 1Co 15:35-50 and 2Co 4:16 to 2Co 5:5, gives us the deepest insight we have into Paul’s idea of the transition from the present life to the future. He only speaks in detail of that which awaits believers. Whether they die before the Parousia or survive till then, a change will take place in them. But this is not arbitrary. It is illustrated by the sowing of seed. The Divine πνεῦμα which they have received will work out for them a σῶμα πνευματικόν. Their renewed nature will be clothed with a corresponding body through the power of Christ who is Himself the source of their spiritual life. The σῶμα σαρκικόν must perish: that is the fate of σάρξ. If there be no πνεῦμα, and thus no σῶμα πνευματικόν, the end is destruction. But the σῶμα πνευματικόν is precisely that in which Christ rose from the dead and in which He now lives. Its outward semblance is δόξα, a glory which shone forth upon Paul from the risen Christ on the Damascus road, which he could never forget. Hence all in whom Christ has operated as πνεῦμα ζωοποιοῦν will be “changed into the same likeness from glory (δόξα) to glory”. Paul does not here reflect on the time when the transformation takes place. That is of little moment to him. The fact is his supreme consolation. On the whole discussion see esp[11]. Hltzm[12]., N.T. Th., ii., pp. 80-81 and Heinrici on 1Co 15:35 ff.; for the future δόξα Cf. Apocal. of Bar., xv. 8 (Ed. Charles).-κατὰ τ. ἐνέργ. ἐνέργεια is only used of superhuman power in N.T. Quia nihil magis incredibile, nec magis a sensu carnis dissentaneum quam resurrectio: hac de causa Paulus infinitam Dei potentiam nobis ponit ob oculos quae omnem dubitationem absorbeat. Nam inde nascitur diffidentia quod rem ipsam metimur ingenii nostri angustiis (Calvin).-τοῦ δύν. “His efficiency which consists in His being able,” etc. The beginnings of this use of the genitive of the infinitive without a preposition appear in classical Greek. But in N.T. it was extended like that of ἵνα. Cf., e.g., Act 14:9, 2Co 8:11. See Blass, Gram., p. 229; Viteau, Le Verbe, p. 170.-ὑποτάξαι. Cf. 1Co 1:24-28.-ἑαυτῷ. αυτω must be read with the best authorities. How is it to be accented? Is it to be αὑτῷ or αὐτῷ? W.H. read the former, regarding this as one of the exceptional cases where “a refusal to admit the rough breathing introduces language completely at variance with all Greek usage without the constraint of any direct evidence, and solely on the strength of partial analogies” (N.T., ii., Append., p. 144). On the other hand, Blass (Gram., p. 35, note 2) refuses to admit αὑτῷ. Winer, although preferring αὐτῷ, leaves the matter to the judgment of edd. Buttmann gives good reasons for usually reading αὐτ. (Gram., p. 111). Certainly αὐτοῦ is quite common as a reflexive in Inscriptions of the Imperial age (see Meisterhans, Gram. d. Att. Inschrr., § 59, 5). To sum up, it cannot be said that the aspirated form is impossible, but ordinarily it is safer to omit the aspirate. Cf. Simcox, Lang. of N.T., pp. 63-64.
[9] . Gwynn.
[10] especially.
[11] especially.
[12] tzm. Holtzmann.
