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Philippians and Philemon - MR Vincent - 1906.pdf

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III. 6, 7] ALL LOST FOR CHRIST 99<br />

is treated as p7-oceeding from the law. The reference need not be<br />

confined to the ceremonial law, for the law is a whole (Gal. iii. 10).<br />

* having become ' : in the course of my pursuit of<br />

yevojLievos :<br />

legal righteousness.<br />

/£/7 : See on ii. 15. Not absolutely blameless, according<br />

to God's st<strong>and</strong>ard, but in human judgment. (Comp. Gal. i. 14.)<br />

On Holsten's attempt to impugn the authenticity of the epistle by<br />

endeavoring to show in this statement a contradiction of Paul's teaching<br />

elsewhere that man is unable perfectly to keep the law, see Introd. vi.<br />

The blamelessness here asserted is according to human, Pharisaic st<strong>and</strong>ards.<br />

me.'<br />

7. axiva. y]v £8 :<br />

' but such things as were gains to<br />

: instead of the simple a, because of €8 :<br />

* things which<br />

were of such a kind that they could be called 8.' It presents<br />

a category of the things specified in vs. 5, 6. See for this usage<br />

Gal. iv. 24, V. 19 ; Phil. ii. 20 ; Col. ii. 23.<br />

.01 : dative of advantage ; not of judgment, ' in my estimation.'<br />

' €8 : gains,' taken separately ; the profits of descent, of legal<br />

strictness, of zeal, etc., each attended with its own particular gain.<br />

: defining <strong>and</strong> emphasising 8.<br />

' '<br />

I have counted -:<br />

: with deliberate judgment. (See on<br />

ii. 6.)<br />

:<br />

' a loss.' The several gains are massed in one loss.<br />

The word only in this epistle <strong>and</strong> Acts xxvii. 10, 21. See farther<br />

on((vs. 8).<br />

From his former experience he now turns to his present Christ-<br />

ian ideal <strong>and</strong> his efforts to attain it.<br />

8-14. Since the hour of my conversion my estimate of the worth-<br />

lessness of my legal righteousness <strong>and</strong> its profits has not changed.<br />

I continue to count them all but loss as compared with the surpass-<br />

ing worth of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. To me they<br />

are mere refuse, if I can but inake Christ my own <strong>and</strong> may be<br />

found living in him, not having a righteousness of my own, which<br />

is of the law, but rather a righteousness which proceeds from God,<br />

which is based upon faith, <strong>and</strong> which becomes mine throtigh faith<br />

in Christ: a righteoustiess which means such intimate <strong>and</strong> prac-<br />

tical knowledge of Christ as that his risen life shall be a power in<br />

my life, <strong>and</strong> his sufferitigs shall be mine, even unto death ; <strong>and</strong><br />

that so^ at last, if this may be, I may be raised from the dead as<br />

he was. I speak of my desire, not of my attainment, for I have<br />

not yet realised my ideal ; but I am pressing on toward the attain-

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