Philippians 3:3b-14

This passage occurs as a New Testament Lesson in the RCL "Pentecost"/"Ordinary"/"Proper" Season, Year A, most recently October 2020.

Summary:  In certain theological circles I often find that justification is the aim; yet for Paul in this passage justification has a purpose.  As the Greek indicates, it has a purpose, namely that we would know Christ, his resurrection and his suffering.  Rather than claim this is something other than good Lutheran doctrine, Luther and countless other Lutherans have seen justification has the key to the kingdom, but not the kingdom itself, which is Christ.

Key Words
σαρξ ("flesh" 3:4 and elsewhere)  Normally we think that Paul sees the flesh as an entirely evil entity.  In this case Paul talks about his righteousness in the law (and therefore the flesh).  He never says that his Jewish upbringing was evil.  In fact, Paul's whole take on flesh and law provides more a productive evangelical tact than the normal torpedo attack on human sinfulness.  Simply acknowledge that people have seen and accomplished great things, yet they still often sense a worthlessness about themselves and are haunted by a sense that something greater exists.  To reiterate, Paul is not claiming the flesh is evil, but he is clearly affirming its limits.

ζημια ("loss" or "damage"; found as noun and verb 3:7 and 3:8)  Interestingly, Paul calls his accomplishments a loss.  The Greek here is a bit stronger in that it can also mean "damage" or "penalty."  Paul here lays the groundwork for a later group of Lutheran orthodox thinkers who argued that good works are damaging to salvation.  While I don't like admitting this, I can see both Paul's and the orthodox thinker's point here that human achievement can cloud our vision from seeing Christ's blessings.
side note:  Paul here echoes back to 2:5 and 2:6 in the Christ hymn; Christ did not regard (ηγεομαι) equality with God as something to be exploited. Here Paul is saying he regards all of his benefits as loss through Christ.

συμμορφιζομενος ("together-shaped", 3:10; noun form in 3:21).  I believe this is a crucial word to understanding Paul's letter to the Philippians.  Paul writes that Jesus was in the shape (μορφη) as God, but chooses a different shape, one of a slave, for our sake.  However, for Paul this does not mean the Christian can avoid death  No, Paul believes that we to will be transformed by Christ, in that we will receive the same shape as him -- a crucified slave, so that ultimately, we might receive a resurrected body like his.  This is also found in Romans 3:17 - co-inheritors, co-sufferers, co-will be glorified-ers.  I would argue that chapter 3 of Paul's letter to the Philippians is applying the Christ him of suffering and glory to the Christian.  

διωκω ("pursue"; 3.6, 3.12 and 3.14):   Paul's bragging here has a double rhetorical effect -- he will return to the words "pursue" (διωκω) and "righteousness" (δικαιοσυνη) later in this section (3.9, 12 and 14).

σκυβαλα ("crap"; 3:8)  Rubbish is about as nice as you can translate this.  Paul wants a rhetorical effect here. 

καταλαμβανω ("receive, obtain, overcome"; 3:12,13)  This verb presents a problem in most cases for the translator because it has a broad array of meanings.  In this case, the challenge is in the tenses.  In verse 12 Paul claims that he has been obtained (aorist passive) by Christ; yet he also says in the aorist subjunctive that might obtain it; finally, in the perfect active he says he has not obtained it.  Here is Paul at his grammatical worst and perhaps theological best: The event of Christ's death and resurrection obtained Paul for Christ, but this process is not finished!

επιλανθανομαι ("forget"; in participle form in 3:13).  Most important is not the participle form, but the present tense.  Both verbs in the second half (forgetting and looking ahead) in the present tense, suggesting this is an on-going process of doing this. We cannot simply forget once, but must continually forget.

Grammar review & theological commentary on verses 3:9-10
Infinitive purpose clauses  In Greek, the infinitive can be used to express purpose, especially when it is an "articular infinitive."  (ie, article + infinitive)  In verse 9 Paul discusses justification by faith.  He begins verse 10 (which the Greek scribes connect with a comma to the previous verse, not a period) with the "articular infinitive":  του γνωναι (the knowing).  Paul's use of an infinitive here suggests that justification's purpose is to know God, the power of the resurrection and the fellowship of suffering. In other words, 9 and 10 are linguistically linked by Paul and a strong possible reading is purpose...vs 9 (justification) is for the purpose of vs 10 (resurrection).  To build on last's weeks passage about μορφη (shape), justification leads to transformation as our "morph" becomes like Christ.

Romans 13:8-14

This passage occurs in the Revised Common Lectionary, Year A, most recently September 6, 2020.

Summary:  These words brought about the conversion of St. Augustine.  May they also bring about the constant renewal of us and our flocks as well!  I think Romans 12 is more exquisite poetry than Romans 13, but this passage still packs some punch, especially the later verses!  Ultimately, I think this needs to be read in context of Romans 12-14 and Paul's real world ethics, lest it become interpreted as anti-life-on-earth.

Some words and phrases I've pondered:

νόμον πεπλήρωκεν (fulfilled the law, 13:8)   Here Paul uses the word fulfilled (πληρόω) and the law (νόμος)...Paul also uses the words together in 8:4 in conjunction with the Spirit's work in us. In fact, Paul uses these words together in Galatians 5:14; the translations there say the law is "summed up" in this one command. 

One more note -- the word fulfilled here is in the perfect tense, which means that there is nothing more that has to be done, that is completely finished and remains finished. 

ἀνακεφαλαιοῦται ("summed up", 13:9)  Big word!! Literally again-headed or recapitulate. It means bring or sum together. It is the word that Paul uses in Ephesians to talk about how things were summed up and brought together in Christ. Here is Romans Paul does not say all things are summed together in Christ. Instead he uses indicates that all the commandments are summed up in this Word (λόγος; it is not commandment).  Paul is elevating this commandment to a transcendent level -- it is not a Jewish custom we can avoid, but it is our life's aim to fulfill.

εὐσχημόνως (euschem-onoos, meaning "proper", 13:13)  Interestingly, the word here for "live honorably," contains the root word "scheme."  That root word -- scheme -- is the word we heard in Romans 12:2, not to be conformed to the scheme of this world.  Now we hear about how to be properly conformed, namely, to put on Christ!

ὅπλα τοῦ φωτός (armor of light, 13:12)  While Paul will refer to the idea of armor elsewhere, what is really powerful here is that Paul connected the armor of light with Jesus Christ.  In verse 12 we are told to put on the armor...we discover what this armor is as we are told to put on Jesus Christ!

κώμοις (κῶμος, "revelry", 13:13) This word originally meant the festal procession in honor of Dionysus and then become a meal or banquet (BDAG) but with connotation of excessive drinking, feasting and perhaps sex. (Louw and Nida).  The other word for drunkenness is more straight forward :-)  (μέθαις)

κοίταις (κοίτη, "bed" or sex", 13:13)  This is a strange word in that it literally means "bedding"; is Paul simply referring to all sexual activity?  Paul puts these words in three sets of pairs:  Not A nor B; Not C nor D; Not E nor F.  In this way, this word needs to be translated by looking at "ἀσελγείαις" which BDAG translates as "lack of self-constraint which involves one in conduct that violates all bounds of what is socially acceptable." This is not simply marital sex, but sex that is licentious, etc.  To what extent is Paul suggesting limits on sex within marriage?   Tough question!

ἔριδι (ἔρις, "quarreling", 13:13)  Paul here employs a word that means excessive quarreling; he pairs this with jealousy "ζήλῳ"   Makes one wonder about the connection between these two words; it is also fitting to hear this in the year of a Presidential election...  But how does one take up Christ, disagree wit someone and yet avoid excessive quarreling?

σάρξ ("flesh", 13:14)  It is worth reflecting.  Is Paul saying that pleasure is itself a bad thing?  Paul seems to lean heavily into a piety that is anti-flesh in 13:13.  Yet Paul calls us to love our neighbor in earthly ways, both in terms of how we relate to our fellow citizens (Romans 13) and our fellow Christians (Romans 12 and 14).  While Paul may push uncomfortably against the body for our modern ears, this does not grow out of an anti-earth or anti-human construct, but an anti-self-satisfaction mentality.