Exegesis Sample: Philippians 3:7-16
Posted by David Ketter on November 10, 2006
Note: This new series will demonstrate different aspects of exegesis and how we approach the reading of the Scripture. There are many aspects of exegesis but I have opted to post a sample application (last step) first.
It is always helpful to write a “free translation” of the passage you are exegeting when you have grasped the sense of the passage in the context of the book and history. Here, then, is a free translation of Philippians 3:7-16. It should be noted that paraphrase is not the right word to use when referring to this style of translation - the idea is to translate the spirit of the passage.
(7) No matter how many good things I have done in my life, they are useless in pursuing Christ. (
Everything I have done is worthless except to have a relationship with Jesus Christ my Lord. It is because of Him that I will endure the futility of my efforts and consider them a waste of my time. (9) To know Him, I will give it all up and be known as His child through His gift of faith – this faith that I cannot earn, but that which brings goodness from God. (10) To live forever in His kingdom, I will learn of His victory of death, endure trials for His name, and crucify the flesh. (11) Indeed, I will do anything to come into this resurrection!
(12) I have not yet come to this point where I can say that the flesh is dead. Yet I still press on to take hold of it! Why? Because my Lord Jesus embraced me, shall I not embrace His reward? (13) Forgetting the details of my past and looking forward to Christ’s glory, I press on. (14) Even now, I am being called to His throne – to heaven – and I press on to receive the prize He has for me when I get there. (15) I want all believers to do as I do and put their focus on the heavenly destination. Do you not agree with me? God shall show you the truth. (16) Yet, whatever you do, hold onto the righteousness of God.
In Philippians 3:7-16 is found one of the paradoxes of the Christian life. Having since spoken at length to the Philippian Church concerning the spread of the Gospel, humility and Paul’s fellowship hope for the church in Philippi, he turns now to the matter of righteousness and how it is obtained. Writing to a Roman colony, Paul would have been well aware that any retired soldiers in the church would tend to think of virtue by the things that they had done in life. So he sets out to dislodge the dominance of the flesh over faith in the mind of these believers.
The principle behind verses 7 & 8 is very much applicable to all believers. Consider the situation: Paul himself came from background and tradition that emphasized the deeds of law and strict observance of the traditions of the elders and purity of living. His readers lived in an atmosphere were discipline, virtue, honor, and endurance had been the norm. The many Romans settled in Philippi had served with distinction to the glory of Caesar and Empire. They, like Paul, understood what it meant to be able to boast in their deeds. Yet, as Paul attempts to teach them, it is all to be considered of no value when compared with Christ.
What is the point of this principle? As Paul continues in verses 8 through 11, he explains to the Philippians that in giving up on the boasts of the flesh, they will all, in fact, “gain Christ.” The very idea of it would seem like foolishness to Roman thought. Among these believers stand veterans of one of the greatest war machines ever to grace the earth. They know that every gain in ground brings the warrior one step closer to victory. Why wouldn’t this principle work in their Christian walk? Paul goes on to point out that to gain Christ – that is, to achieve victory, the believer must know the power of his resurrection – our salvation – and share in his sufferings, even becoming humble “to the point of death” to attain to Christ and the bodily resurrection from the dead.
These are straightforward facts. All believers have done “good” in their former lives, as God has enabled them. All will have to consider those efforts useless in the pursuit of Christ’s righteousness. All must needs submit to knowing His power, His sufferings, and crucify the flesh. In doing so, all believers have the hope of attaining to the resurrection. In the same way, as it is stated by Paul, none can have obtained perfection.
The Christian race, this struggle that Paul has engaged, is about pressing on, to race heavenward to the arms of Christ and to our common reward in Him. The final test of that application lies in Paul’s statement in verse 15: “Let those of us who are mature…” Mature believers should all be of the heaven-minded perspective, totally focused on the struggle home. In this, they should hold on to what they have thus far attained and continue on in faith.
November 17, 2006 at 3:00 pm
Excellent job on this David! I will definetly be looking forward to this entire series…
November 19, 2006 at 3:04 am
Hey David, I’ve seen your site before but now I’ve actually been reading through some stuff. I love how in depth you are - over just three verses, too. It’s amazing how much just a few words of the Bible can hold. God bless =)
November 25, 2006 at 12:39 am
When you say “free translation,” are you translating from the Greek text, or are you simply rephrasing the English text in your own words? I think you must be doing the latter, since the Greek text says nothing like what you’ve written.
I’m sorry to get technical on you, but what you’re doing here is neither a translation nor a paraphrase. A translation takes something from one language (Greek in this case) to another (English in this case). A paraphrase is something like an interpretive translation. With biblical literature, a paraphrase is not so concerned with translating word by word and more concerned with expressing the ideas in an easily understood way–phrase by phrase if you will, hence the word “paraphrase”. Both would normally be done with careful reference to the original language.
I hope you will keep on exegeting! Nothing could be a more worthwhile effort. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
November 25, 2006 at 10:43 am
When I say “free translation” I do mean paraphrase. This is to follow in the tradition of Fee and Stuart - and many other Evangelical scholars - who have taken an eye to this phrase to distinguish between those done in order to give the “plain meaning of the text” true embodiment, and those which are just designed to sound like modern, contemporary English.
I want to thank you for your encouragement in all of this. I’m just glad to be able to understand the Words of My Lord and Master.
Grace and Peace,
David