I have spent this last week reviewing Chapter Three of Paul’s Letter to the Philippians. I, myself, have been blessed beyond measure in taking the time to read through what Paul wrote a number of times again and then read the Gems I wrote to cover this amazing chapter. I am absolutely staggered at the depth therein but I also discovered a hidden, unpublished Gem.
Bible Gem 1978 – The Mind of a Champion; Who is the GOAT? (Phil 3:10-16)
There had been a glitch on the website where Gem 1977 had Gem 1979 as the next Gem. I searched the website for 1978 but was told no Gem existed. But I distinctly remember writing it because it was the GOAT Gem. I unearthed it and found something strange had happened and it had never been published on the site. So that is corrected now and those of you who get the Gems and Nuggets by email received it yesterday. I was struck by how timely it is finding it now with all the controversy over Djokovic in the week before the start of the Australian Open. There is something about the timing of the “discovery” of this missing Gem that is remarkable.
This chapter of Philippians would have to be one of the deepest I have found in Scripture with the exception of Isaiah 53 I think. It contains absolutely brilliant connected thoughts from Paul. Let me walk you through it to provide you with some help to review it if you haven’t done so already. I will point out the highlights and give you a synopsis of the other sections.
I began this chapter in the normal way I do by paying close attention to the way the chapter fits with the flow of Paul’s thought around it. Did Robert Estienne divide the chapter in the right place? How does the opening of Chapter Three fit with what went before it? I looked at how seven different Bible versions divide this block of text into pericope. (Gem 1959) From Gem 1960 to 1963 I investigated the challenges this chapter contains as to how the pieces fit together. If you find this kind of thing interesting then follow it up. If you want to know how to do this for yourself then pay attention to the aforementioned Gems. Otherwise, by-pass these Gems for the meat of what Paul has written to the Philippians and for us.
Doing what I did in those opening five Gems led me to the insights I found when you put all of what follows together. The next 18 Gems contain some of most fascinating connected thought that I have found in the Bible. I strongly suggest you spend the time reviewing every Gem between Gem 1964 and Gem 1981.
The first four Gems focus on Paul’s use of the term [skubalon] translated as dung, rubbish and many other choice words. Paul spent time looking back on what he had done as a Judaiser and realised the error of his ways. He had been just like those he was now against since meeting the Resurrected Christ.
Bible Gem 1964 – Paul Attempts to Balance the Ledger (Phil 3:7-9)
Bible Gem 1965 – A Pile of Dung is the Only Thing Left in the Bank (Phil 3:7-9)
Bible Gem 1966 – The Stench of Human Effort (Phil 3:7-9)
Bible Gem 1967 – Setting the Next Pericope in Context (Phil 3:10-16)
Don’t miss the last one of this series as it sets the connection for what follows. Paul’s thoughts all naturally follow on and make perfect sense. Then follow three Gems which I wrote to explain the complexity of Paul’s thoughts related to the Greek verb to know [ginōskō]. I laid these Gems out using propositional analysis to show how Paul’s thoughts are arranged.
Bible Gem 1968 – To Know Him Is To Trust Him (Phil 3:10-16)
Bible Gem 1969 – To Know the Power of His Resurrection (Phil 3:10-11)
Bible Gem 1970 – To Know the Fellowship of His Sufferings; Morphed with Him in Death (Phil 3:10-11)
In Gem 1971 I gave you readers a hint that Paul keeps the mention of what the prize of the resurrection from the dead is to himself and leaves it unstated. I am convinced that he did this deliberately for emphasis. What could he have been alluding to? In the Gems which followed Paul’s thought connection became clear. He was using the background of the PanHellenic Games (which included the Olympics) as the thought connection to what he used as an analogy for the running races in each of the Greek Games. So I turned this set of Gems into a Gem series: Running the Race of Life – Gem 1971 to 1981.
Bible Gem 1971 – What is the Prize of the Resurrection from the Dead? (Phil 3:10-12)
Bible Gem 1972 – What is the Background to Paul’s Thoughts in Philippians 3:10-16?
Bible Gem 1973 – Running The Race of Life; Going For Gold (Phil 3:12-16)
Bible Gem 1974 – This One Thing I Do (Phil 3:12-14)
Bible Gem 1975 – Unpacking Paul’s ‘Running the Race’ Word Picture (Phil 3:12-14)
What follows are Gems that still belong to the Running the Race of Life series but which I wrote to the investigate the claim by H. A. Kennedy (a commentator) that the Greek terms for goal and prize are synonymous. I strongly disagree. Paul was intentionally making a major point related to the prizes given out for the PanHellenic Games which were very relevant to all Paul wrote from Gem 1964 onward.
Bible Gem 1976 – Pursuing the Goal to Win the Prize (Phil 3:14)
Bible Gem 1977 – Did Paul Actually Care About the Greek Games? (Phil 3:12-14)
Bible Gem 1978 – The Mind of a Champion; Who is the GOAT? (Phil 3:10-16)
Remarkably all of the above Gems were written at a time when both sets of the Olympic Games were on in addition to the US Open Tennis. You can tell that my thoughts were centred on what Paul was communicating to the Christians in Philippi in the context of PanHellenic Games, which of course matched our time frame with respect to the Olympics and the US Open. The match was remarkable. Only God could have scheduled the timing of it all. Then for Gem 1978 to be buried until now is also significant. Paul’s thought process from Philippians 3:7-16 is all interconnected. I strongly recommend that you read all the Bible Gems I have picked out for you. The interconnection is breathtaking.
Bible Gem 1979 – Keeping the Themes & Motifs in Mind (Phil 3:10-16)
Bible Gem 1980 – What is the Heavenly Prize? (Phil 3:14)
Bible Gem 1981 – How Do I Get Eternal Life (Zoē)? (Phil 3:10-16)
All of Paul’s letter to the Philippians is centred around this passage in Philippians and is interconnected and brilliantly written. Paul’s choice and emphasis of words was all deliberate to communicate the depth of the connections he was making. I found it all so mind blowing. What follows from Gem 1982 to the end of the Gems on Philippians Chapter Three is still part of the same flow of thought finishing with Gem 1987. But I have already suggested you read all 18 Gems of those I have linked above so I refrained from suggesting you should read every single Gem I wrote on Chapter Three. That would not be a summary. However, the value of reading again the above eighteen Gems in a block really did bring home to me the power of all Paul wrote in this third chapter of the letter to the saints in Philippi. It is brilliant. As I wrote in Gem 1977, Paul didn’t care all that much about the PanHellenic Games, but the point he was making regarding the triteness of the prizes for the PanHellenic Games in comparison with the Prize of Eternal Life was immense. Immerse yourself in his thought process as you read through what he wrote in conjunction with the eighteen Gems above.
Some selected pithy quotes from the review of Philippians 3.
Eternal life, the life of the age to come, is a gift from heaven, not the result of human effort. Humbly accept it when it’s offered without feeling you have to pay for it. Jesus has already paid the price.
Ian Vail
The same power that brought Christ back from the dead is operative within those who are Christ’s. The Resurrection is an ongoing thing.
Leon Morris
Just as at the Olympic games it is not the handsomest or strongest men who are crowned with victory but the successful competitors, so in life it is those who act rightly who carry off all the prizes and rewards.
Aristotle
We are God’s trophy and prize. Remember this when you experience difficulty because God is polishing you, His cherished prize.
Lavonia Grabau
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 2:5