Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Philippians 3:9

Textus Receptus:
και ευρεθω εν αυτω μη εχων εμην δικαιοσυνην την εκ νομου αλλα την δια πιστεως χριστου την εκ θεου δικαιοσυνην επι τη πιστει

King James:
And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

Comments:
being found: The last time Paul used this word in Philippians was in chapter 2:8, describing Christ being found in fashion as a man. Now he describes himself being found having righteousness through faith in Christ.

mine own righteousness which is of the law: The righteousness Paul identifies as inadequate is that which would be associated with his own effort to obey the law. It is unlikely that it is inadequate because of the law, which is itself fine. Rather, it (his righteousness) is inadequate because he does not satisfactorily live up to it (the law,) a lesson he teaches in some detail in Romans 8:3.

Expanded Paraphrase:
My only hope for gain now is to have Christ and to be found ultimately to be in Him. There no one will even notice the feeble effort I made to keep the law. All that will matter is being in Him, having faith in Him, and having the righteousness that comes from God because of that faith.

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